The End of the Extended Vacation

 

Notes on the end of Christmas vacation and the return to reality.

I have reluctantly gotten back into the swing of things.  I should, I tell myself.  After all, it is the end of January and vacation ended two weeks ago.  I like blogging, it’s not that.  I was just hoping to have some mind blowing revelation to share; I don’t.  Coming back to Southern France was hard; it is every year.  I’m generally grouchy for the first week or two.  I need to time adjust: our rhythm, the weather, the house.  In the kitchen, I’m always bumping into Christophe; by American standards, our kitchen is small.  I quickly adjusted to the large kitchens of my family and friends.  Now, at home, I cannot warm up soup without getting bumped and jostled and finding myself in some kind of tangle.  The house needs time to warm up too.  Taking the chill out of the three feet thick stone walls doesn’t happen overnight.  Starting the wood heater; bringing in wood; hanging up the laundry – the daily chores of life have returned with no promise of a candy cane or twinkling lights afterwards.  I’d love to be distracted by winter sports, but alas, there is none here; there’s not enough snow and way too much wind.  So, I’m focusing on spring – and maybe keeping the house clean.  I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, but I’m still try to better myself and my life by doing what some people manage to do all the time.  That said, I’ve got laundry to be folded, a sink full of dishes waiting for my attention, a two week old copy of The New York Times I still haven’t finished (but I won’t recycle it until I do), and presents that I have not found space to organize yet.  Yep, I’m off to a great start.

Door to Door

I’m back.

Twenty six hours door to door.

I’m not complaining, I had an extended vacation visiting family and friends back in the US.  The journey was long, but worth every minute of it.  I know I said I was going to pop in from time to time over the break, but just like everyone else, time slipped past me and before I knew it, I found myself back in France.  Here’s the rundown on what went down:

Train, plane, family, shopping, eating, presents, chocolate, Santa, real Vermont maple syrup, bacon and eggs, Michigan, friends, New Year’s Eve, Bell’s brewery, good burgers, wii bowling, homemade pizza, New Glarus beer, standing rib roast, and the first snow of the season. 

The last came in as a shocker on the very late date of January 12^th, the day of our departure.  Chicago somewhat surprised me here.  A city that normally takes a snow storm in stride suddenly got nervous when 6 inches fell.  Our international flight out was only slightly delayed, but I learned from stranded passengers that domestic flights were cancelled across the board.

We missed mild temperatures while away, but were welcomed back with hard frosts.  Work in the village appears to be continuing, but I’m unclear on what’s been done and what still needs to be completed.  We look forward to a good year, filled with hope, love, warm fires, homemade breads, good health, a bountiful garden, and lots of adventure.