Back in exile
Well, it’s
official. We are back in political exile for 4 more years. Unless you are just
back from Mars or haven’t read our blog in the last 8 years, you know that we
are not in-the-closet conservatives and have recently taken a pummeling at the
polls.
Again.
We live in 3 countries that seem to be 95% dominated by Dem… eh, non- conservatives. Still, prostitutes, shoplifters, drug addicts and we conservatives seem to find our way. As taxpayers, we can look forward to being used like bed springs in a brothel for the next 4 years. It is making the idea of declaring Honey Bee an independent country more appealing every day. Perhaps we could declare war on someone and then collect foreign aid like everyone else.
Janice in the Hospital
Days
after I had my knee surgery (I am recovering slowly but surely) Janice took her
turn to go in for a day stay in the hospital. Understandably, after 2 bouts of
cancer, she is rather sensitive to any new lump, bump or anything that feels
different or new. Not able to confirm just what she had found, she underwent a barrage of tests, each being inconclusive, ending with a definitive double
biopsy. Needless to say, there were a number of sleepless nights around here
prior to this final “tell all” test. 4 days of waiting for the results didn’t
help either.
In
the end, whatever it was was benign, all was well and much prayerful rejoicing
was had. Still, dodging this latest bullet has still taken its toll on the
psyche. A reminder that we are only guaranteed the breath we have just drawn.
The next one is a gift.
We want to appreciate what we have, before we find ourselves having to appreciate what we had.
For people of faith, we were very grateful for your prayers. As for the rest of you heathens, we thank you for the positive energy you sent our way, good thoughts, heavy karma, various crystal alignments and healing feelings.
You can't argue with success, as clearly the combined total of efforts worked. Hare Krishna.
We want to appreciate what we have, before we find ourselves having to appreciate what we had.
You can't argue with success, as clearly the combined total of efforts worked. Hare Krishna.
Monte and Cinde
We were fortunate to have family from Nebraska come stay with us the week before we flew to Europe. Monte and Cinde are utterly cool cousins from Nebraska with a prosperous little* farm operation, who gave us a much needed excuse and reprieve from the punishing schedule we had undertaken to enjoy taking in the local sights with us. ( * if you consider a farm slightly smaller than half the state of Nebraska “little”). With any luck, they will make their way to the Bee sometime next fall to see if we can turn them into certified river people.
During their
stay, Cinde got a kick out of some of the art pieces I shared with you last
month in the Epistle and found a new one worthy of mention. At the end of our
entry sidewalk by the parking area is a bell. Not particularly noteworthy on
its own, until you hear the rest of the story….The bell was salvaged from a New
Orleans plantation where it had served on a slave’s “whistle walk”.
When food was prepared for each meal by the slaves in a nearby building's kitchen, the black children were enlisted to carry it up to the master’s quarter’s dining room. The cook would ring the bell to notify the master that the meal was on its way and the kids would walk up a path from the kitchen to the big house whistling the whole time, to assure the master that they were not sampling any of it along the way.
When food was prepared for each meal by the slaves in a nearby building's kitchen, the black children were enlisted to carry it up to the master’s quarter’s dining room. The cook would ring the bell to notify the master that the meal was on its way and the kids would walk up a path from the kitchen to the big house whistling the whole time, to assure the master that they were not sampling any of it along the way.
OK, so not all
of our history is a source of pride.
After my surgery
in the last weeks before leaving home in California, I did something I have
never done. I hired a laborer to finish up little odds and ends we wanted done
prior to our departure. In the past I would wait for one of the kids to
misbehave, then send them out to paint the half mile of 3 bar fence that
surrounds our property as therapy and to help with any required attitude adjustment.
There was never a shortage of paint on that fence. But since they have all up and moved on, I have encountered far more resistance when I have tried to apply the same principles to Janice. Add to the fact that she was also working 12 hour days side by side with me the whole time we were there so something had to give.
There was never a shortage of paint on that fence. But since they have all up and moved on, I have encountered far more resistance when I have tried to apply the same principles to Janice. Add to the fact that she was also working 12 hour days side by side with me the whole time we were there so something had to give.
I soon
discovered that this was a great gig. Point to what needed done to the man then
head back in the house to grab a beer and the remote. A fella could get used to this in a
hurry. I have also finally come to grips with one more aspect of our frequent
moves; quit driving myself crazy over having something I need that is in the 'other' house (tools or whatever).
Solution? Man up, buy 3, have one in each home and move on. There now, that was easy…why didn’t I think of that before? Now the only things we travel with as we transition are things available in one country that we would like to have but are not available in the other so we bring them with us. On this trip, the only clothes I packed was what I had on my back. Winter / Spring wardrobe in France, Summer wardrobe in Canada, eternal sunshine wardrobe in California. No fuss, no muss.
Solution? Man up, buy 3, have one in each home and move on. There now, that was easy…why didn’t I think of that before? Now the only things we travel with as we transition are things available in one country that we would like to have but are not available in the other so we bring them with us. On this trip, the only clothes I packed was what I had on my back. Winter / Spring wardrobe in France, Summer wardrobe in Canada, eternal sunshine wardrobe in California. No fuss, no muss.
The aircraft carrier
 |
| Click on the pic to enlarge |
I
recently got an email from our friend and neighbor Joe in the islands with a disturbing
picture of my aircraft carrier about 40 feet (13M) from our island in open
water. Still right side up, it is intended to keep my plane out of the water
when I am not flying but currently has our aluminum boat on it where we store
it for the winter.
This could get ugly.
It has been suggested that after a big storm a rapid rise in the water levels lifted the ice under the whole shebang from where it was moored and began drifting downstream. I may have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night. Far more likely is either a Russian submarine has managed to make its way through the areas 3 feet (1M) of water in an attempt to cripple the TIAF (Thousand Island Air Force) or somehow it is tied into a Democratic ploy to raise taxes, again.
This could get ugly.
It has been suggested that after a big storm a rapid rise in the water levels lifted the ice under the whole shebang from where it was moored and began drifting downstream. I may have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night. Far more likely is either a Russian submarine has managed to make its way through the areas 3 feet (1M) of water in an attempt to cripple the TIAF (Thousand Island Air Force) or somehow it is tied into a Democratic ploy to raise taxes, again.
After
a salvage operation upon our return in June and as soon as I learn to fly my
plane this summer, I will begin patrolling the area for both.
Back
in France
Car
here running well……check
House
in good condition after 8 month absence…..check
Initial
(read major) grocery run after long absence……check
A
few Euros to start……check
Two
gold bars to pay for the $2.50 / Liter $10.00 a gallon gas here……Hey honey, didn’t you
pack them?
Well,
we are back. If you are looking for tall tales about our latest projects, you
are reading the wrong blog. Truth is, other than swilling French wine and
eating cheese, we have NO projects to speak of left to do here. Oh, I may go
over and beat a little metal at the forge for old times’ sake later in the
season but to be honest, we are thrashed and beat like a broom on an oriental rug.
The past 4 months work in California has taken its toll and we are ready to be professional slugs for a while.
(You can take a peek with what we ended up with in the house renovation by checking out this short video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4fdDn0kwRA ) [Click on the purple words, Olga] Add to the fact that I am still recovering from my knee surgery and I just plain don’t feel like doing much. I really have to shake this off or old age and rigamortis will surely start to take hold.
The past 4 months work in California has taken its toll and we are ready to be professional slugs for a while.
(You can take a peek with what we ended up with in the house renovation by checking out this short video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4fdDn0kwRA ) [Click on the purple words, Olga] Add to the fact that I am still recovering from my knee surgery and I just plain don’t feel like doing much. I really have to shake this off or old age and rigamortis will surely start to take hold.
One
of the challenges of returning each year we having our phone and internet
turned back on. It is like re-inventing the wheel. They have all our
information in the computer, know where we live, our banking details and
whatever but act like we just got off the boat. It takes between a week and a
month (they say) to turn us back on. They did this morning, on day 15.
Contrast this to our experience at the Island in Canada where I call our local 2 horse town phone company on my cell phone to announce our return for the summer and by the time I have hung up I have a dial tone on the house phone and our internet is live. No, not all Canadians live in igloos or hunt Caribou and fish for food. Much to my Californian dismay, they are by far closer to the information highway on ramp.
Contrast this to our experience at the Island in Canada where I call our local 2 horse town phone company on my cell phone to announce our return for the summer and by the time I have hung up I have a dial tone on the house phone and our internet is live. No, not all Canadians live in igloos or hunt Caribou and fish for food. Much to my Californian dismay, they are by far closer to the information highway on ramp.
We
do have English TV here, thank god, but with limited watchable programming.
English television (UK) is like the language they speak. It’s sort of like
English, but different.
The
commercials simply take the cake. For an American it’s like watching the
tryouts for “Saturday night live” skits. Most are soooooooooo obtuse that
Janice and I often compete to see which one of us can figure out just what they
are advertising. Often, we both strike out. Product names like
“Moonpig.co.uk” and “Thedogsdoodah.co.uk” should give you an idea what we
are up against. There are so many infantile cartoon characters in the
commercials that it screams of what would be perceived by an American audience
as arrested development.
There
are many more travel related TV commercials here. Perhaps the relative ease of
traveling shorter distances to visit foreign countries is part of the reason.
Another very popular theme is the “save the (fill in the blank)” campaigns. We
have seen commercials at home to “send a donation to save abandoned puppies”
appeals. Here they take it to a whole new level.
There are appeals for abused children (fair enough) but also for monthly donations to adopt dogs, cats, tigers, polar bears ( I am serious) and today I saw one for …..wait for it……donkeys! I kid you not, you can “adopt” a mistreated donkey (accompanied by graphic video and suitable music) to nurse them back to health and live in a protected environment. What about mice, Iguanas and lobsters? Don’t they need love also?
Enough. We hope your month is as great as we intend to make ours. Lets meet here again and compare notes.
There are appeals for abused children (fair enough) but also for monthly donations to adopt dogs, cats, tigers, polar bears ( I am serious) and today I saw one for …..wait for it……donkeys! I kid you not, you can “adopt” a mistreated donkey (accompanied by graphic video and suitable music) to nurse them back to health and live in a protected environment. What about mice, Iguanas and lobsters? Don’t they need love also?
Enough. We hope your month is as great as we intend to make ours. Lets meet here again and compare notes.
