We're back in paradise!

After 5 wonderful days of family (we have 2 children & 5 grandchildren) & friends in Chicago, Les & I flew to Paris on May 30. We always check in there before we take off for our 90 days here. It sets the reboot button on our lives. This year, especially, we needed to do that. We have both been way too busy! Good busy, but TOO busy!

The French have a wonderful saying: "Il faut cultiver notre jardin", litterally meaning that we need to take care of our garden. But it means more than that--it means we have to take care of what we have, & stop to smell the roses in the garden we've created. And that is our theme for this summer: we are committed to slowing down, rebooting, & getting our lives into a more relaxed mode as we are about to enter our 8th decade. We will both turn 70 (oh dear!) in November.

On that note, our flowers are planted, our bushes are pruned (see our photo album entitled Week 1, 2017), & our house is in order (almost). We've already been to IKEA for that "fix". We did our first weekly walk yesterday, through vineyards & olive groves, on an ancient Roman road. We also visited our favorite guinguette (outdoor restaurant), as well as 2 of our favorite restaurants down the hill in Sommieres.

Our summer plans include visits from 2 sets of friends, a couple from Charleston, & another from Zurich. We have planned a July trip to Corsica, as well as an August driving trip to the Dordogne, along with our usual round of visits to art museums & to outdoor concerts, wherever it suits us. And just maybe the Tour de France will show up nearby--that's always a treat. If you're interested, you can check out our picture album from last summer (mid-July) from our Tour de France experience.

I've just discovered a new cousin who lives in Canada, descended from another line through our mutual great-grandmother. Both Les & I have done the "spit test", which determines our DNA, & this woman contacted me after getting her "you have a close match" email. I'm going to devote a significant amount of time this summer to geneological studies. In both sides of my lines, everybody keeps repeating the same names, & I am totally confused! My geneology website is super (I get new "leaves" very often with all kinds of great info), but my laptop screen is too small, so, visual person that I am, my plan is to create a "geneology wall" in our upper stairway landing. It's wasted space anyway. I can't wait to see all those index cards lined up diagonally to the left (my dad's side) & to the right (my mom's side) climbing up the wall!

Actually, the spit tests really are amazing! Our daughter-in-law was adopted 46 years ago in Milwuakee, WI. She did the DNA test last winter, & has since been linked to her birth uncle, who lives about 30 minutes away from her. We met him over Memorial Day weekend. Amazing!

We hope you all have super summer plans, wherever you are. Please join us from time to time, if you're interested in how we are taking care of our "jardin", literally & figuratively. Let's hope there are more flowers than weeds!

Elise & Les