STEP BY STEP...SOMETIMES A STUMBLE!!

What a week we've had!  Moving from Paris to Kansas City is enough in itself then we add to that having to close on our new condo on the Plaza and finish up and get geared for our big Bloom event and we're beat!!!

We heard earlier this week our closing papers had arrived and everything was good (whew!!!).  A few days later we received the news we were the proud owners of a condo at 4506 JC Nichols Pkwy!!  As exciting as this should have been at the time, I'm afraid it didn't get the celebration it deserved as I've been under the weather all week and we'd just had a difficult meeting for Bloom.  But now, a few days later, we're facing our new home with excitement and wonder.

4506 JC Nichols Parkway, #3N
(Our condo is the third floor up on the right)

The Country Club Plaza

While we were in KC in August, we met with a painter so all of the condo would be painted and clean by November 1.  After days of going back and forth with emails and calls to our wonderful realtor, he finally backed out of the job completely.  Our realtor, Sara, spoke with him (she'd been the one to recommend him and had met with him several times on our behalf) and she had no idea why he decided it was too much for him.  Perhaps the whole banking/payment issue which, while a little more difficult from here, is something we've done often and isn't that complicated was a problem.  Perhaps the client (that would be us!!!!) was too particular (who?  us?????!!!).  Whatever the reason, he's out and Sara went about finding us a new painter, Jeff, who met her at the condo and should be sending us a quote early next week.  We'll also be remodeling the main bathroom (the second bath, which will be used primarily by David,  has been redone and, though not especially how I would have done it, is nicely finished out...once we repaint the walls!) but we can do that after we arrive.  Steps and stumbles!!

Today the movers are here packing up our stuff to go back.  They came out last week to see what we had and gave us a quote.  We decided just to have our things sent back as part of a larger crate.  It saves us a reasonable amount of money and will arrive later, but there's nothing among it we will need right away.  So we've been busy going through all our things and deciding what we'll need through November 1 and what can go.

Mostly "things" - the suitcases are full of clothes 

It looks a little sad to me!

As you can see from the above shelves that, up until now, have been full of esteemed treasures, things are really going to look bare for the next six weeks!  I didn't take pictures of the walls, but there are holes on multiple walls where we removed my signs, plates etc.  It's kind of amazing how there are certain things that become habitual...looking at a clock on the dining room wall as I enter the room or glancing at the bedroom mirror to put on earrings or touch up my hair before leaving.  Now those things are gone.

People have asked if we're sad at leaving.  I wouldn't say either of us is sad.  We always knew it was a short-term adventure not our last chapter.  But, as we stroll the streets of Paris, as I sit in my dining room eating or typing this blog, as I open the large, wonderful windows each morning and look out on the courtyard behind us, I know I will miss this.

This is the view from my dining room chair.  The window boxes on the right are ours.  The green "bushes" on top of the building opposite us I've watched as the seasons pass...they started out green last spring when we moved here, had yellow flowers in early summer then became bare and brown over the winter.  I have loved watching them change.

This is from the balcony off our bedroom.  I have loved looking at the clock tower each morning as I open the windows and each night as I pass through the guest room on the way to the bathroom...there's something peaceful about it.  Sometimes I can see the reflection of the Eiffel Tower twinkling in the glass windows on the left.  I love that!

Something else, less romantic, I'll miss.  Our elevator.  Last night we watched "5 Flights Up" with Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman.  I've seen it before but this viewing really hit home.  Now, we'll only be walking up three flights of stairs in our new home (there's no elevator!😢)but, with groceries, that may seem like 5 flights...or even more!!!!  I guess if nothing else I'll stay fit.

I imagine the next six weeks will be filled with steps and stumbles both physically and emotionally as we prepare to return to the US.  Sometimes I lay awake at night and wonder what our next chapter will look like and how it will unfold.  I wonder....

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

After two headaches and ten days of jet-lagged sleep (not being able to sleep when I wanted to and wanting to sleep when I shouldn't), I think I'm finally recovering from our journey home.  We had been in contact with our landlord while we were gone, and she told us we would be coming back to this:

Who knew a new refrigerator could make you so happy??!!

Now, this may not seem like a big thing to you, you probably have large, fancy refrigerators.  But we've been living for 18 months with a fridge slightly larger than a college dorm refrigerator.  Seriously.  David has grumbled about it since we first went to the market and had to store our food in it.  But, now she is preparing to rent our apartment when we leave and, at our suggestion (and probably her daughter's also), she bought a new refrigerator in our absence.  How exciting!!!  She also had some bathroom caulking redone, did some work on some of the drapes and had some work done on a section of our wood floors.  While we wish she'd done these things BEFORE we were leaving, it's all good and we hope it will enable her to rent this beautiful space easily.  And we have two months to enjoy the improvements!!

It was nice getting back to our "adventure home" and see our friends.  Our first week back was spent getting groceries, library visits, and occasional meetings.  Now that we're back and in our schedule, we've gotten to do some fun things...yesterday we went to Adrian's Apres-Midi, a monthly afternoon event she hosts with various speakers at a little cafe.  We've been many times during our time here and always enjoy it.  Yesterday's speaker was Susan Herrmann Loomis, journalist, author, professionally-trained chef and owner of a cooking school.  I've read two of her books, "On Rue Tatin", her memoir, and "In A French Kitchen", a beautiful cookbook I think I have in storage in Texas.   She has a new book, "French Grill" which I purchased and she signed.  It's a fun way to spend an afternoon and I love meeting and hearing authors of books I've read (I've seen Cara Black of the Amelie Leduc mystery series several times.

Susan Herrmann Loomis

Susan said these recipes can be adapted to a cast iron stove top grill.

Earlier yesterday I spent several hours at my hair salon getting "refreshed"!!!  For 18 months I've gone to this same salon and seen the same woman.  She only speaks French, and I only speak English (except for a tiny bit of French and Google Translate!!).  Somehow, we manage.  I was able to tell her about our upcoming move and that my next appointment would be my last.  She was very kind and said (in French which I only partly understood) when she speaks to her friends about Americans she tells them about David and me and how nice we are.  It was very sweet...I'm glad I stayed with her.

(Here's my shorter, new do after yesterday.  I've decided selfies are for the young...I can never get far enough away to make me younger, thinner or less wrinkled!!!!!!!!!!!)

One of the other items that has taken our time since we returned to Paris is going through the process for purchasing our new home in KC.  As you know, part of the process is having documents notarized, which can only be done at the US Embassy in Paris.  Because of a mix-up we weren't going to receive our closing papers in time for our meeting at the Embassy today.  Fortunately, we realized this yesterday so were able to work with our US title company and get the papers emailed directly to us, we printed them and had them for today's appointment.  Our appointment time this morning was 8:45 and, as you know by now from my posts, we had to leave early in order to make sure our bus would get us there in time.  David likes being early (and, in this situation, I don't disagree) so we sat outside the Embassy for 30 minutes at a cute little park.  The morning was cool, cloudy and felt very much like fall.  The streets were pretty quiet, and I sat watching people walking to work, jogging through the park, walking dogs, hurrying to catch buses.

Not quite like this today...you get the idea!

You can't take pictures in front of the Embassy so this is a photo I got online.  It's a pretty building surrounded by large trees.  There was quite the process getting in (as there should be) but in a little over an hour from our scheduled time we were walking out with our closing papers signed and ready to be mailed back to the US for the official closing.

Later this week someone is coming to take photos of the apartment for listing so we'll make sure everything looks fabulous and shining and our miscellaneous stuff is put in hiding.  Then we also have the moving company coming by one day to discuss what we'll be shipping back (mostly small things...just one antique side table we love).  Little by little, day by day we're getting closer to closing this chapter and opening another.

This is what Oz looks like to us:

Christmas time on The Plaza in Kansas City.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Like many Parisians do each year, this year we took off the month of August and flew back to the United States--our first trip back in 18 months.

I wondered how it would feel returning to US grounds...would I feel like I was home, would I feel like I was a foreigner, or would I just feel like I was on vacation???  Too, I'd left open the possibility we might realize while on US soil we were not ready to return and would live out the remainder of our second-year visa (taking us to March, 2020).  I felt quite open to all possibilities.

We arrived in Boston spending our first several days with dear friends (Americans) from Paris.  Though we were anxious to see our kids, this brief visit rejuvenated us from the flight and prepared us for the weeks ahead.  Surprisingly, I didn't struggle with jet lag, perhaps because of the quiet, relaxed pace we had with our friends.

Sharon and I recuperating after a walk

What a view as we walked

The remainder of our month was spent divided among our three children (two in Dallas and one in Virginia Beach), close friends in North Carolina, David's sister, Deb, outside Washington, DC and Kansas City, Missouri,  where we found our next home (that's for another post!!).  Needless to say, our days were filled with many varied activities, some shopping, many wonderful meals, time with our grandsons and much, much visiting!  One of my friends from Plano asked (while we were at church there) if I was "socially exhausted"!!!!  Boy did she hit the nail on the head!!!  But it was all wonderful!

While we visited, they "visited"!!!

Shade and popcorn kept these guys happy while I said hello to friends

An early birthday was celebrated!

Cheesecake Factory is always a good idea!!

Playtime at an Eric Carle exhibit

Nothing beats a quiet dinner with friends

How did I feel as we returned to Paris??  Ready to finish out our Paris adventure and ready to begin a new chapter in our retirement journey.  Paris is a beautiful city, and our adventure, though more difficult than I'd imagined, has been wonderful.  To quote the movie, Casablanca, "we'll always have Paris."  But I'm ready for an easier life where I don't struggle just to chat with someone, where I can easily find things I need/want (be it food, clothing, decor--anything!!) without multiple stops (I guess I am a spoiled American!!), and where I can easily be in contact with my children and grandchildren. Will I miss things about Paris??  Absolutely!!  I'll miss the beautiful architecture, the cafes on every corner (nearly), the green spaces (I will have some of that in our new apartment) and, be ready, the ease of healthcare (and cost too!!).

Kansas City has beautiful green space too!

What have I learned about myself these past months (a question posed to me by my sister-in-law)?  I've learned the world and the people in it are greater and broader than I thought.  I've learned to welcome new ideas and thoughts instead of thinking my way was the only way.  I've learned every city, every country has its good and its bad.  Oz isn't necessarily better than Kansas (or Missouri in our case!), it's just different.

And, in the end, "there's no place like home'!!