Friday, May 16, 2014

Home, Briefly

I have returned from my cruise to Bermuda with Gogo, tanned and rested! What a week! And what a way to spend Mother's Day! Usually, we host Gogo and my mother-in-law, various cousins and aunts. And although I always feel adored and feted, I also cook and entertain. This year, Gogo and I lay on a pink sand beach together drinking rum swizzles and eating grouper sandwiches. And talking. And talking. And talking. Gogo and I have no secrets from each other, and I relish our time together reviewing the good, the bad, and the ugly of our lives, past and present. Real mother-daughter time, now that was a Mother's Day to remember...

It was no coincidence that that night, the lounge act was a guy singing a Beatles' Tribute, as if Gracie was there with me too.

And now I'm back! Just in time to pick up Annabelle from her field trip to Mystic Seaport, and take her to her on-site dance performance...in the rain!!! Her dance company, Jump!, is so innovative and exciting. They've done on-site performances at the Rochembeau Library here in Providence, as well as at the Athenaeum, both really terrific. Excited to see them dance down Blackstone Boulevard tonight, and then go to the annual fundraiser.

A crazy day tomorrow as Annabelle and I pack up for our three weeks in Chamonix, France. Our apartment is waiting for us, and I'm already dreaming of sitting around at night eating good cheeses, drinking good wine, maybe working on a jigsaw puzzle...We've got a trip to Beaune and Lyon all booked, and hopefully we will also get to Turin, Italy. But mostly looking forward to getting to know our little town, taking some hikes, and hearing Annabelle's French in practice!

Books I'm taking along with me:
The Possibilities by Kaui Hart Hemmings
Euphoria by Lily King
Elsewhere by Richard Russo
I Hate to Leave This Beautiful Place by Howard Norman
Family Life by Akhil Sharma

That's a lot of books, and with teaching four days a week I'm not sure I'll read all of them. But like friends, I need books around me.

Haven't decided what knitting project to bring. That Bristol and Ivy silk cami takes a lot of concentration...should I limit myself to just dishrags? I'll reconsider once I see how heavy my suitcases are!