winifredcreamer

Guest Post #2: Virus Stories–Our Man in Paris

[Today I have another guest post. Rick Scott is an American who has lived in France for many years. In response to Joyce’s virus story, Rick provided his update on leaving the US to get back to Paris before he was stranded away from home, and what it has been like since his return.] WhatContinue reading “Guest Post #2: Virus Stories–Our Man in Paris”

Guest Post: Virus Stories

This is another guest post by my good friend Joyce Heard, sharing her story of how the COVID-19 virus is affecting her life that moves between Paris and Aix-en-Provence, France and Sidi ifni, Morocco. By now you probably have your own coronavirus story. Here’s ours. First off, we are well. Jean Marie and I spentContinue reading “Guest Post: Virus Stories”

The Sky Falls sometimes

I was beginning to put clothing on the bed. I was starting to put away all the beach glass remaining in the studio. I was thinking about what I needed to take with me to the US. There was still a week before we were due to fly to the US, and we agreed toContinue reading “The Sky Falls sometimes”

Travel Planning, the Schengen area, and Coronavirus

We begin planning our travels for the coming year just after we land in the US at the end of September. By the time we’ve hashed out where exactly we’d like to spend the following April-September, it’s some time in October and Jonathan begins scouring the Airbnb listings. This year we ran into a problemContinue reading “Travel Planning, the Schengen area, and Coronavirus”

Climate Change in my Neighborhood

One of the reasons people have had trouble believing in man-made climate change has been the lack of symptoms. Things have changed, or we’ve passed a tipping point, because now everyone sees climate change around them. Summer in Europe turns Florence into an oven, while winter in some parts of the US doesn’t bring enoughContinue reading “Climate Change in my Neighborhood”

Fiesta Weekend, Feb. 7-12, 2020

This was the weekend of the annual fiesta in our neighborhood. The Virgin of Lourdes is the patroness of our area. A tiny chapel sits up on the hillside, and the larger chapel is at the end of our block. Every year a local resident sponsors the festival and organizes a weekend of activities. ThisContinue reading “Fiesta Weekend, Feb. 7-12, 2020”

Enjoying the Slow Lane

We walk to the opposite end of the beach and back almost every day. We walk down on the sidewalk by the seawall, and back on the beach. You’d think we’d get tired of the up and down, but we always find new things to look at. By taking the same route every day, weContinue reading “Enjoying the Slow Lane”

January Celebration

Jonathan’s birthday is Jan. 24, and as we chatted with neighbors on the beach, we found three others with birthdays on the same day, one the day before, one the week before, one the week after. We decided that a celebration was in order, and began our planning. Our first issue was when to haveContinue reading “January Celebration”

A wall decal

Our neighbor, Toto, has just built a new guest house and put some really nice decals on the walls. It’s a nice way to add decoration when you don’t want to use up a lot of space. When I asked where he got his decals, he offered to get me the contact information. A coupleContinue reading “A wall decal”

Family Visit

We had the best holiday in a long time, with all our girls coming to Peru. Lillian and Neil came from Champaign, IL, Lyra from Los Angeles, and Amanda and Jim from Los Angeles. It wasn’t as logistically awful as it could have been, with one group arriving on the Friday night before Christmas andContinue reading “Family Visit”