After 4 1/2 years in southern France, it is a monumental moment when you qualify for a loan. Loans are extremely hard to get. In France the banks do not look at your equity, your bank account balance, assets, or anything of that sort. They only look at your weekly income, the paycheque. You can…
I wonder how far 6 degrees of separation could take me. My ex-sister-in-law’s cousin is Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, so that’s two degrees, and I bet he knows Céline Dion. If I asked Céline, do you think she would come to Capestang to sing for charity? Probably not. Even with only three degrees of separation, getting a…
I want to know who our readers are. Of course I see the stats and have a rough idea where you live, how long you visit us for and even know the most frequent visitors personally. But I want to know, who you really are. Have you taken action in your own life towards fulfilment…
TRAVEL IS A JOURNEY, AND THE JOURNEY ITSELF IS HOME. MATSUO BASHO Many of us have the notion of travel being the best form of education. Not only can we learn from visiting historical sites, experiencing diverse cultures and tasting novel food and wine, but it can also shape who we are. The journey itself can…
How to you know it is time to pick your olives? If you like them green, pick them before they start to turn brown. That would be before the temperature at night drops, and the tree and fruit produce a defence against the weather, and start to ripen. The longer you wait the healthier…
It started with a letter to my husband. A simple post on what if you only had one year left to live. From there we started to plan how we would make our dream a reality. I hope this brings you a little inspiration. Here is the letter to Alfonz, One year left to live, what…
How are our studies coming along? Glad you asked… Currently I am working until seasons end for the canal boat company France Afloat. As I work, I listen to ‘French with Michel Tomas’ CD’s downloaded to my iPhone. It has given me confidence to talk to Sylvie my French co-worker who speaks zero English. I…
Moving to a new country comes with its’ worries. New language, new people, and new customs and that is aside from setting the children up with everything they need with school and so forth. Back when we meticulously completed our ‘TO DO List’ when moving to France, once here and settled into our new life,…
Just a note to our readers… this is not the usual post about travelling or moving to a foreign country, but a very personal account what travelling throughout Europe and moving allowed me to accomplish on a personal level. I believe we all have the ability to determine our futures through the power of thought,…
In the days when my friend Anne was a child living in Capestang, she would be playing in her grandmother’s garden near the canal when she would hear the long repeated horn of a canal barge. This signaled the locals to stop what they were doing and run to the stone bridge, where many neighbours who also heard the…