Parlez vous?

DH:  "By the time I leave Paris, I'll be fluent in French enough to be able to talk with a three year old."
Me:  "See if they have Sesame Street in French."

I Need to Be There

  This is the lovely entrance to our apartment building, 13 rue Benjamin Franklin.  I love the old architecture found in Europe, so this door makes me swoon.  I showed my mother this photo and she said it looks like my husband "lives in the French Embassy".  I laughed.
  If you're a student of French history as I am (I love history, period) you know why a street in Paris is named for an American diplomat.  Yes, our Benjamin Franklin.  My husband said, "See, that is why you need to be here-to tell me about these things."
  Well, dear Husband, just as soon as that ticket is purchased, I'm there.

New Wheels

  I haven't posted here in awhile because there really hasn't been anything new.  At least that's the situation on my end of this transcontinental relationship!  I'm still unpacking and ruthlessly getting rid of things.  My mantra:  "Do you really want to move this again?!"  It's very effective.

  The good news is that my DH will be here in Colorado in mid-July, for a few days.  He's put the paper work in for my trip to Paris-the one that is courtesy of his company.  We should know what is happening with that next week.

  I am so proud of my husband.  He's getting to know his way around Paris.  Tired of the fickleness of service on the Metro, he rented a car.
  My husband has driven in Boston and Los Angeles.  He's driven in Rome.  When we lived in London, he was the only American in his company to own and drive a car there.  He's a car enthusiast, so relying on public transportation just isn't his thing.
  I'm amazed that he can remember his way around a city, years after he's been there.  It's amazing because when we're in a shopping mall, he sometimes can't remember what entrance we came in.  But drop him in Boston and he's good to go!
  He's always loved BMWs, his car of choice.  So I wasn't surprised that he bought a car to drive in Paris.  The dealer spoke some English and Mark speaks passable French, et voilà !
  His concession to narrow streets was to buy the smallest BMW he could.  If he ever gets to drive the German Autobahn, there is a powerful engine under that small hood.
 

Ah well.  We all have our passions.

I told him to do laps around the Arc de Triomphe.  

One of Those Days

  My DH was able to buy two air conditioners from a couple of expats, returning to the States.  Air conditioners aren't common in Paris, and they are very expensive too.  I'm referring to small units that go in apartment windows.
  Mark hasn't had time to install his units.  With the temperatures in the high 60's and low 70's he "doesn't need them yet."  So two nearly new air conditioning units are sitting in his apartment, unused.
  Meanwhile, I'm here in Colorado Springs where it's unseasonably warm.  Though not near me, three wildfires are burning and ash has fallen on my hair.  My eyes are watering from the smoke.  I have four fans going and hope my brothers-in-law will set up my air conditioner soon.

  My best friend had to help her parents load up their belongings and evacuate their home.  The estimate is 100 homes destroyed and possibly some deaths.  The fire hasn't been contained.  It isn't even summer yet.

  I'm still unpacking, making some progress.  At least I can walk around and not fall into a box or a storage crate. I do have to take a chihuahua head count before I take a box out to the recyclables container.

  DH just got back from two days in Brussels, Belgium.  Tomorrow he leaves for Poland.  I can't sigh any deeper without harming a body part.

  I'm watching my chihuahuas playing right now.  All six are trying to cram themselves into one dog crate, like clowns in a Volkswagen.

  I have nothing funny or clever to end this entry with.  So here's a photo of the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Paris.

Yeah.  I'm not there either.

Monday

  Up and down a ladder.  Up and down stairs, carrying things. Moving furniture around.
  Taking down a heavy Christmas tree that has stood since November 2012 because we didn't have time or desire before we left to go back to Tucson. By myself.
  If I could find a hacksaw in this moving mess, I'd cut that sucker apart and celebrate a different holiday that doesn't involve artificial 9 foot tall trees.
  No wonder my knee looks like figgy pudding.  Big purple bruise too. I don't like the sounds it's making or the looseness. I don't want more knee surgery.
  I want to cry big tears of self pity, hoping I haven't redamaged my scarred mess of a knee.

  Then I read the quote I received in my email today.
  "Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out."

  I'm going to have a nice lunch now. And then I'll go buy a huge fan because it's over 80 degrees in this house.
  When it's all over, I'm going shopping like I've won the lottery.
 

Miscellaneous Stuff

It's difficult for me to believe that at this time last week we were a few hours away from our final destination of Colorado Springs. In some ways the time has scurried past.  In other ways,such as today, it feels as if it just drags on forever. I'm still unpacking. When will it be done?!
  Notes to myself:  Never ever make an artist move. We have lots of stuff.
   The stuff I do want?  It's in storage for two years.
  Never underestimate how moving and unpacking can physically beat you up.  My poor hands ache to the point where I can't grasp things tightly. I dropped a mug of coffee the other morning. Bad hands- the kind that end a pro football or baseball career.
 I need to remember that I have been here  less than week. The stuff is not going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere soon.
  Hard not to envy my husband who is going to Belgium and Poland on business this week.

Inflatable Furniture--its Time has Come

  Friday May 31 was the longest day of this move.  The crew didn't leave until 7:30 p.m.  This move is now the longest one we ever had to endure-4 days of packing and loading.  We were so done with it 2 days ago.

  Today was very emotional, stressed and tiring.  It started with me having to take my panther chameleon, Tiger, to the vet to be helped over the Rainbow Bridge.  Tiger was an elderly chameleon, 4 years old, and had quit eating.  My vet, Dr. Yeager, agreed that it was time.  He was so thin and his eyes were sunken.  So I handed over my colorful companion to Dr. Yeager.  I also said my goodbyes to her and her wonderful staff and was told I was going to be missed.

  I went back to the chaos at our house for a short while then left for Kaitlin's Creative Cottage.  For the last time, I enjoyed being with my artistic friends.  We laughed a lot and traded stories, and promised to stay in touch.  I'm going to miss these creative and compassionate women and am glad for the short time I had them in my life.  

  It was almost 3 p.m. when I got back to the house.  I saw 2 moving trucks in our driveway and my  heart just fell.  They were supposed to have finished up by noon!  I was not happy.

  Thursday the movers couldn't get our overstuffed sofa out of the living room.  Well, the men who delivered it to our home obviously got it inside, didn't they?  So they lifted it up, turned it this way and that, walked it down the hallway and otherwise took it for a parade through the house.  They even removed the window in the living room to try to take it out that way. FINALLY they listened to me when I told them to remove the moving blankets and the plastic wrap. And yes, the sofa went right through the front door. 

  Lack of sleep, fatigue, stress and 98 degrees--it wasn't surprising that I got a major migraine headache.  What awful timing!  Light streaming in, noise, and heat-all of it made me nauseous and gave me such a headache I could've punched myself, hoping to get relief.  The pain was so awful that I had tears running down my face.  I just wanted to lie down and whimper.  So I went to the darkest room and laid on the carpet. Two tablets and two cups of strong coffee and I managed to pull myself together.
  The estimator was apologetic about how long it took and said he learns from every move. What he should learn is to listen to us experienced moving victims when it comes to how long a job will take. This move has been the worst of ALL our other moves combined. And that includes TWO trips overseas.
  The best thing we did for ourselves that day was to make a hotel reservation.  I tried to find my sense of humor again.  Pretty sure it is in the very last box packed. 

Feelings, Whoa, Oh oh Feelings...

How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.

Asking for a small elephant.
And a big big fork...