Kittens in the Country

Well, this is taking some getting used to. How can not even three years out of the country make for such a rough transition? Some things are no problem to return to: Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be the weekend, high speed internet is wonderful and so is the full panoply of satellite television even though we rarely watch it. But even though it feels right to be back on our native soil, some things are lacking.

It's a given we'd miss having down the street beach access, a live-in maid, and exotic vacations. Actual seasons and weather, while in theory are nice, lend a certain unpredictability to daily life; when you know it's going to be (extremely) hot and sunny everyday, events don't get rained out unexpectedly and kids don't stay home from school for days on end due to a few inches of snow or rain.

I miss my big white truck. I miss the Lebanese Flower. I miss the British Club, scuba diving on weekends, my yoga studio and acupuncturist.

Some of my maladjustment can be simply chalked up to small town living. Absolutely everybody I talk to knows either exactly who I am or who my family is. Church is the major form of social interaction. Once again I'm stuck with a choice of two or three grocery stores and none of them has chutney or sea salt. There are only a couple of restaurants worth the effort of shlepping out to; fortunately one of them is Mexican. We do have a movie theatre fairly close by but for most real shopping, including books, I have to make the 45 minute trek to Memphis, which I do, every week.

Old Town Hall, Covington, TN


I'm probably just overwhelmed. We are trying to fit furniture and stuff that we've been given or collected over the course of 20+ years into yet another radically different house, and it's not working out too well. At all. At the same time, we're trying to get my mother-in-law's house ready for sale and that's akin to literally dismantling someone's life. Plus there is Connie's 98 year old grandma, living in the nursing home, and who has a house of her own that we are responsible for. My dream of owning three houses, realized at last! I'd hoped one of them would be on the Riviera.

Pick a bale of cotton.



It's enough to make me want to update my will, buy a burial plot, and pare down my possessions to the size of a large suitcase. I'm really feeling the drag of material things and wordly possessions. Only, maybe what I'm actually feeling is the weight of people's need. My cats need me, my son needs me, poor grandma Irene and her sitter need me, my late mother-in-law needs me. Did I mention my husband works from home now? LOL!!!

What keeps me going? Friends, family, cats, books, the knowledge that this has all happened before and will all happen again (Ooh, a little Cylon philosophy). Where ever you go - there you are, or something like that. Every place has its pluses and minuses; it just so happens that I believe that Paris has more pluses than anywhere else.

From my garden.



I wanted to write this for the few of you who were missing the "Kittens". Sometimes it's hard to be totally light hearted. I'm not sure I shouldn't close out this particular blog/chapter of my life and start a fresh one. "All My Chickens" maybe, or "All My Tomatoes". This I will ponder and then I'll get back to you.

In closing, it is really pretty here. Enjoy the photos!

Our yard in winter.


Pear trees in bloom.


Now you know where Tootsie Rolls come from! (This is for you Mlle. Z)

Nevertheless,


My bowl runneth over!


Peace, Love, (fill in the blank)!

J