THIS AND THAT...

I think maybe spring has come to Paris!!  The temps have been mid 50's and 60's this week and it looks as though next week may be the same.  Yea!!!!  Today I had windows open while cleaning,  and it was so nice to come into the apartment later and it not be hot.  We don't have any heat on right now since it has been milder and so often when we go out, where it's cooler, when we come back in the apartment feels warm.  Not today!

My little camellia bush I showed you in the last post finally has a flower....actually two!!!!  You know I wrote I was checking every day and, finally, there was one perfect flower.  Seriously, I sound like my mother who was really into gardening (which I'm not particularly).  I do, however, really like fresh flowers inside and I love flower boxes and pots of bright color.

Soon my little bush will be covered with flowers

This only shows that first blossom....but there's a second one and the buds surrounding this flower are about to burst!  I wish they were pink, but, alas, they didn't have pink when we bought this last year.

The other night, because it was so mild out, we decided after dinner to go for a stroll along the Seine. Though there are always people on the streets and, especially, down by the river, at night it seems quieter and peaceful.  I always think of this Dean Martin song.....

Today I had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon about the problems I've been having with my left leg.  This is the same leg I had meniscus repair on before we moved to Paris a year ago.  I've continued to have pain and discomfort so my Dr. here sent me for an X-ray.   Surprise...I have no cartilage in my left hip joint...bone on bone!!  Of course, the only remedy is hip replacement.  Are you kidding me????!!!!  I feel as though my body has betrayed me...I'm not, nor have I ever been, athletic or abusive to my body.  In fact, I laughingly tell doctors when they ask me what sport I played in high school that I was not an athlete...I should be blind because I read a lot!!!!!  Anyway, because the pain I'm having right now is minimal and easily manageable, I think I'm going to wait for now.  I loved the Dr. and even though he spoke minimal English (I actually think our French was better than his English!), we were able to communicate.

I was a good girl at the doctor's so on the walk home I got an ice cream cone--the first for this year!

Can't beat eating ice cream with this view!

It was a little warm outside by this time so perfect for ice cream.  Although, as most of you know, for me anytime is a perfect time for ice cream!!!

Yesterday, strolling we saw more signs that spring is making its appearance.....

carousels are open and putting smiles on the faces of children.  Too, we watched a "grandmother" (I'm guessing) with her little granddaughter as the little girl picked little white flowers in the grass.

"Grandmother" was very patient

Oops, here's another flower!!

Many of the trees are budding and flowering bushes are beginning to add color and beauty to the already pleasant walkways.

All the areas didn't have tulips, but I'm partial to tulips this time of year

Saturday at the market, I couldn't resist buying tulips for the dining room.  Each week I buy a bouquet from one of the florists (I always use the same one), and while I love roses, sometimes I buy something different just for a change.  They've had tulips for several weeks now, but,  in my experience, tulips don't last long, and I want them to last til the next market day (one week).  Well, it's Friday as I'm writing this and look at my tulips......

they look great!  Now, I do think they're finally getting a little tired but tomorrow is market day so I'm good.  The first two days they sucked the water like crazy....in fact, two of the flowers were hanging by the first evening,  and when I checked the water was gone!  Oh my gosh!!!!  Since then I've checked the water level several times a day to keep the flowers satisfied.  Tomorrow I may even buy pink and white tulips!!!!😉

The only other news right now is David and I have put Kansas City on the list as a place we might consider moving to when we return to the US.  As you probably know, that's where our journey together began (many years ago now) and, though I never thought I'd go back, we both are very attached to a particular area, The Country Club Plaza, and think we might like buying an apartment there.

The man who developed The Plaza in 1922,  J.C. Nichols,  remembered his travels to Europe and the Southwest and chose a Spanish theme for The Plaza.  This included beautiful courtyards and stucco buildings with red tile roofs and ornate towers.  He hand-picked works of art to adorn the Plaza's streets and sidewalks; antique sculptures, columns,  tile-adorned murals, wrought iron and fountains were all meticulously placed by JC Nichols himself.

I've seen flowering baskets hanging from the lamp posts like this in  European cities we've visited

We really do like pseudo-urban living...apartments, shopping, restaurants etc. all close like we had in Plano at The Shops at Legacy and the Plaza provides that environment.  Why not go back to Plano?  Economics for one reason.  We can live cheaper on the Plaza and get more for our retirement dollars.
Too, this is an area that we have always carried in our hearts.  Each year we've been married (with very few exceptions), as we've gone to KC to visit family, we have stayed on the Plaza and strolled the streets, shopped in the stores and, if it's snowing especially, gone on a horse-drawn carriage ride!

This is one of several fountains

In 1925 one single strand of lights started the tradition of the Plaza Lights.  Each Thanksgiving evening the entire area is covered with the most beautiful lights.  It's become a holiday tradition for many residents as well as visitors.  I love it!!!  It's magic!!

This doesn't do the Christmas lights justice..but you can get the idea

All that said, this is not a done deal for us!!  We're praying about this, of course, as it makes us a 7-8 hour drive from our Texas kids and grandsons though an inexpensive, short flight is also available.  So, we'll see what God has for us.

I guess that's it for now from here.  This is probably my favorite time of the year in Paris....after months of wintery, gray skies, I welcome with open arms the days of blue skies, sunshine and warm strolls down the streets of this beautiful city.

SPRING IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!

The last few weeks I'm afraid I've been a little boastful about how wonderful our weather was...perhaps a little prematurely!!!!  We had days (even weeks) of beautiful blue skies, mild temperatures and no rain.  Certainly we believed spring had come!!!   But, alas, as one of our friends said "it was just to tease us"!!!!  This week winter has returned with temps in the low 50's (F), cloudy and sometimes, rainy days and several nights of very strong winds.  Arrrggghhh!😖. What it is they say about pride?????

However, it's still nicer right now than it was one year ago when we moved here.  Yes, that's right.  We moved here on March 3, 2018, to begin our Paris adventure.  In many ways, I can't believe the year has passed so quickly.  On the other hand, the last month of our first year seemed to be so looooong.  I felt as though I kept saying "we've been here nearly a year" for months.   I have thought several times had we decided to return to the US, we'd be there now starting our life there.  But there are things to do here first.    We have family visiting in the next few months, an occasional friend here and there and we're directing Bloom again.  Too, we're planning a trip back to the US in, hopefully, August when everyone here (or so it seems) leaves for "vacances".

Remember my flower box geraniums from last spring?  Well, they're still alive though not nearly as thick and full.  We bought some fertilizer,  and they've already begun to green up.  I'm hopeful they will also fill out.  I suppose it's no surprise the one where we had baby birds is HUGE and beautiful!!!  Maybe birds need to live (short-term) in all the boxes!!!!!

Here's one we just started fertilizing-I have high hopes for it!

And here's where the baby birds were born!!!  Amazing what a little bird "fertilizer" will do!!

I had to show you my camellia bush-we bought it last year about this time and watched it bloom all spring.  It's been on the balcony since then and look at all the buds.  Every day I check it to see if I have any blossoms.  I think it may need a little sun!!!

As our visas expire, we have to do the necessary things to renew them in order to stay and in order to leave and return.  Because we couldn't get these appointments earlier, we had to get an "extension" that will serve as our official I.D. until our appointments (David's in late March and mine not until May).  I often wonder what paperwork formalities our internationals in the US have to go through to get to stay in our country.  Having worked with them through the ESL program at Hunter's Glen, it didn't seems nearly as tedious as what we're experiencing here but perhaps it was.

In the midst of all this, some friends called last week and spontaneously invited us to a jazz club in their neighborhood.  A friend had told them about this club so it was new to them too.  We had a light dinner at their apartment then proceeded to Le Bal Blomet.   It was fabulous!!!  This particular evening they were doing "Lumiere sur Broadway" (light on Broadway).   Le Bal Blomet is the oldest jazz club in Europe that is still entertaining people.  It got a major renovation in 2017 respecting its history.

Le Bal Blomet

 I thought it would just be a jazz band playing Broadway tunes.  But, even better, there were two performers, a man and a woman,  who were wonderful.  Both, but especially the woman, were very talented but also very warm and fun.  Most of the songs we knew (of course) and most were in English (to my surprise).  The place was full,  and we had great seats.  We got tickets online but then seats were first come.  Though there were floor seats, most were taken and we went upstairs where chairs and small tables were set up and we had great views.

This gives you an idea of the inside of the club-that's my head at the bottom of the picture so you can see how good our seats were

It was such a fun evening and we hope to go back another time.  But we might not enjoy another show as much as we enjoyed this one since it was not only music we know,  but it was in a language we understand!!!!  Sharing this with friends just made it more meaningful and fun.