Wherever I Am: January 2019

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Lake Santa Fe in December

The weather is literally freezing when K.J. loads our suitcases in the car, and we drive to Charles de Gaulle airport. We board the plane with coats and hats and pull them off as quickly as we can when we land in Orlando. Finagling eight suitcases and four carry-ons out of the airport and to the pick-up curb makes me sweaty. The humidity and the temperature immediately remind us that we've entered a world of citrus fruit and sunshine.

Arriving and leaving the U.S. from Florida is a ritual I love. It's a quiet transition that welcomes us back to America, though not yet back to the state we call home. When we're leaving it offers us another middle place, not with our immediate family anymore, but not yet out of the country.

Florida gives us time with extended family it would otherwise be hard to see, and it's a warm welcome to people living in the gray of a northern European winter. Vitamin D is abundant here, as is the moss hanging from the trees.

The sunrise is stunning and peaceful, but you still feel the chance of something wild. Something about the landscape makes me imagine what it would have been like to be a Spanish conquistador seeing this land for the first time. I watch the dark shallows nervously for gators and snakes, even though they don't come around too often anymore. You can never be too careful.

Thankfully, there are no snakes today, only woodpeckers.

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

La Neige a Marly-le-Roi

It snowed last Tuesday and Wednesday, and in a happy serendipitous way it snowed again last night. It feels like the perfect winter moment, just enough snow to enjoy playing in two weeks in a row. I feel so grateful today that we've been able to adjust our schedule to maximize enjoyment of it this week. Sledding and snowball fights made the perfect afternoon recess. The kids even got a snow day last Wednesday, which they were not expecting because:

I'm usually the mom who says, "We can play in the snow AND learn today!" while my kids stare at me in disbelief.

Unlike last week when the skies stayed cloudy, the sun is shining brightly today so the kids are having P.E. early before it becomes too slushy, and I'm having unexpected time alone in a quiet house, one of my favorite things.

I walked in the park this morning just after sunrise. The snow was deeper than last week. The steps in the picture above once led to the door of a chateau, torn apart during the French Revolution. You can still walk around the foundation of the house, enjoy the view of a king.

I love the colorful buildings in our town. Marly-le-Roi is actually a place several impressionists came to paint. Here is one by Alfred Sisley:

This could be the same spot we pulled the kids on sleds last week; I just didn't get as wide a view from the bottom. But that is the park on the left and the row of trees we're walking between on the right.

Here's another painting of the park in the snow by Sisley. The trees have grown a lot in 140 years, so I don't think this view exists anymore. You can see the tip of the church steeple in my picture from this morning.

The kids are back so it's time to fix lunch and do their math. They'll be so pleased.

Friday, January 25, 2019

Friday Favorites, vol. xvi

I thought we might return to our regularly scheduled programming this week after recovering from jet lag, catching all the mice, and putting away all the suitcases, but instead we had a lovely interlude of snow and a movie night that stretched into two movie nights.

These are a few of my favorite things this week:

1. Built-in Warm Jeans from Old Navy

The inside of these jeans is cozy and warm, and I'm so glad I bought them last month. I had a feeling they would serve me well through the Paris winter, and I lived in these all week. My legs stayed warm amidst all our snowy outings without resorting to wearing leggings under jeans, which is what I usually do.

2. My New Camera Backpack

My brother and sister-in-law gave it to me for Christmas, and it is making it that much easier to take my camera along on outings and still have a place to carry the other things I need, too, in the separate compartment at the top. It came with a waterproof cover that came in very handy in the snow this week; it slipped right over the backpack easily and kept everything dry.

The camera bag normally couldn't come with me to the

library when my backpack was filled with books, but the

new bag allowed me to carry my books and my real camera.

3. Reuniting with friends

It's been a joy to reunite with all the people in our lives here in Paris. This week we enjoyed brunch, church, hot chocolate, games, movies, and running errands with different people.

4. I've always loved Cary Grant in this scene of Charade.

I've been wanting to re-watch this movie for a long time and finally had the chance to this week.

What were some of your favorite things this week? We literally got snowflakes on our nose and eyelashes this week, so it was a good one. Bon weekend, as they say in France!

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Signs of Spring

I learned many things while living in England, and there are many ways living there changed me. One of those ways is my knowledge of flower bulbs and awareness of the new green shoots peeking out of the frozen earth. They're a sign that even on the coldest, darkest days things are happening in the dark. During the short winter days in North Yorkshire, I learned to keep time with the coming spring by watching first the snowdrops, then the crocuses, and finally the daffodils arrive.

I'm not sure how the planting of all these bulbs everywhere began; it feels like a vast conspiracy of flowers to an outsider like me. It's not just that people have them in their gardens. They are everywhere!

And it doesn't stop with the spring! But we'll leave the bluebells for another time.

This morning there are great big fat snowflakes drifting down outside my window. But Sunday night as I walked to my door after church, I noticed some green shoots peeking out of the flowerbeds, and I got excited. Because spring is coming.

"Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light."

- Theodore Roethke -

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

The Morning Commute

We live in the quietest little suburb outside of Paris at the tail-end of La Grande Rue that runs through town. It's a single lane street with about three places for passing. When two cars turn down the street at the same time, one must give way to the other.

It's a quiet French town like the one Belle sings of, yet almost every morning when people begin their morning commute you can hear the horns honking impatiently. It's so funny. There's not much that anyone could do to make the situation move any quicker, but still, they honk. And it all feels very French.

Monday, January 14, 2019

What's in Our Suitcases?

The Pugh family has landed in Paris with our eight suitcases and various carry-ons. One of Noreen's sons was here to help us bring in our luggage, and he couldn't believe what we traveled with. What do we bring back with us from our home country?

Christmas gifts - Going home at Christmas does mean we carry back lots of generous gifts, which this time included boots, books, and board games. They take up a lot of space and weight.
Homeschool Curriculum - James was ready for the next year's Math books, and I picked up several other workbooks for writing, science, coding, and my personal favorite: juggling.
Gifts for friends - baby clothes I couldn't resist for new babies in our midst here; gluten free cake and cookie mixes; candles and books
Snacks - I've found that coming back with a supply of our favorite protein bars and Pop Tarts brings a lot of joy and a sense of connection to our home country during the first few weeks we're back in our new home. This year's offerings included Ortega taco sauce that Ella has acquired a taste for.
Make-up and Toiletries - I stock up on our favorite deodorant and toothpaste. I buy face wash and lotion that I can read the back of in my own language. I buy my favorite razors as well as any new product I want to try that I can't find outside of the U.S.

But honestly, between the four of us, this time around our weight and space was mostly taken up with books and board games.

If you have friends who live outside their home countries, maybe this could spark ideas of what to send them. Having small things from home around gives me an extra sense of well-being and contentment. And the fun thing is that this begins to work the other way, too. When I found Wensleydale cheese with cranberries at a supermarket in Alabama, made in Hawes--a place we visited several times--I got a great surge of happiness.

Monday, January 7, 2019

End of Trip Reflections

We've entered the last week of our Christmas visit home, which means we're feeling all the feelings. I feel grateful for such a wonderful time with family and friends in Florida and Alabama. I feel sad at saying good-bye and for the ocean that will soon separate us. I feel a little homesick in advance for pine trees and for how warm and friendly every single stranger is. You don't really meet strangers in the south, and I feel a tinge of reverse culture shock sharing laughs with women in public restrooms after the anonymity of the streets of Paris. But I love it.

I feel excited for all 2019 holds in Paris. I'll be happy to get back to our church and my friends, and I'm excited about all the visitors we'll be having pass through Paris in the year ahead. I'm happy to be spending another year with K.J. Pugh. As hard as it is to leave the holiday season behind, it's also nice to think of new year goals, new year routines, and fresh starts.

Yesterday was the sweetest time hearing K.J. preach at our home church and talking and connecting with old friends. The next three days are full of doctor and dentist appointments, play-dates and girlfriend dates, and last-minute trips to Target and Old Navy. I am so thankful for friends and family who fill us up with encouragement and love. Sometimes you need to pull out the King James Version and say, "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits..."