Patricia Sands

Author

Canadian Author Association

Up close and personal … sort of …

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Join me in the garden of this beautiful home … can’t we just move here … ? Or at least have a writers’ retreat here? Or just all sit around and tell stories?

France-PSandsPhotos
France-PSandsPhotos

I know I just posted this photo a little while ago but I love this place SO much I just had to do it again. Excusez-moi.

First of all, I know it’s Saturday. Here’s my story and I apologize if you feel it is TMI. I began to think about my post last evening and ended up falling asleep at my computer … seriously … I was leaning on my elbow, perusing my French photos and suddenly – THUNK! My head hit the keyboard … I thought it was time to take a hint …

I normally have tons of energy but this month has been crazier than most with three weekend drives up to cottage country – one to speak to the wonderful women of Haliburton Highlands CFUW, one to attend the CAA CanWrite!2013 conference, and one to meet with the other tour leaders for the amazing Women’s Travel Network who have organized the ten-day tour to the south of France that I will be leading in June 2014, along with my speaking partner Susan Sommers. ( p.s. There are only 6 spots left!)

This week my DH and I drove to Stratford on Wednesday to join my brother and his wife  in seeing Blithe Spirit written by the always cleverly entertaining Noël Coward. Then on Thursday Susan and I drove to London where I was invited to speak at the first Cocktails

canstockphoto12590151
canstockphoto12590151

and Conversation event organized by Cynthia O’Neill, founder of the outstanding Power of The Purse women’s conferences.  What an enjoyable evening that was with so many interesting and involved women from the London, ON area.

I owe a great deal of thanks to a lot of people for making June so full of exciting, stimulating, occasions. In between all of that I’ve been doing the usual – writing, blogging, making deadlines. SO … all this is to say that for the rest of this holiday weekend (in Canada) I’m going to move away from my computer to play golf, tennis and bridge and hang out with my DH and some wonderful friends (at least for today and tomorrow … I might be writing again on Monday … yeah …)

Bon weekend tout le monde! Have a great weekend and take time to have fun! What plans do you have?

CanWrite! 2013 … and a French poodle named Maurice …

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

I’m away for a few days at the Canadian Authors Association’s annual conference  ~ CanWrite! Conference 2013. It’s being held in the land of Canada’s beloved humorist (although British-born) Stephen Leacock in  Orillia, Ontario. Leacock and a group of  prominent authors founded the organization in Montreal in 1921 with a goal of lobbying for the protection of authors’ rights.

caa-whw

“Writers helping writers.” What could be better? If you are a writer in Canada and haven’t joined this group yet, get on over to their website and get involved!  Click here … do it! Indie or trad, it doesn’t matter. Writing is what it is all about.

They have branches right across the country and it has been a buzz to meet members from both the east and west coasts there this week.

This weekend is a time to be immersed in workshops, presentations and networking with fellow authors. Heaven! Attending writers conferences is a treat … with enormous benefits. It’s something writers should all try to do when possible.

Yesterday, amongst other good ‘stuff’, super-engaging and enthusiastic author Vikki VanSickle gave an absolutely outstanding presentation on social media. It was an Oscar-worthy talk with valuable information for authors of every level of experience. Thanks again, Vikki!

In the meantime, I don’t want to miss my post today for If it’s Friday, it must be France …

So I’ve invited my friend, Anne-Marie Simons who visited here last week,to stop by again and entertain with another vignette from her delightful book Taking Root in Provence. This had me laughing out loud which you must know by now is one of my favourite things to do!

Et voilà!

 

Book cover smallIt is not unusual to find dogs in restaurants. They are generally accepted and usually no bother at all. But when dogs dine like people and sit on a chair it does get some attention. On a recent trip we spent the night at a hotel with a one-star restaurant where we decided to have dinner. Among our fellow diners was a couple with a poodle. Madame and poodle were seated on a banquette and Monsieur across the table facing them. They selected their menu and soon were served, all three, the same food on the same china. Poodle must have been there before because the waiter addressed him by his name, Maurice. After a while, it really did not seem odd, perhaps because Maurice was perfectly well behaved. He finished his plate without spilling and kept his paws off the table at all times. The only thing he did not do was take a sip of wine, but if he had woof-woofed nicely he might have been served that too.

 

P.S. Taking Root in Provence is reviewed here on Words And Peace today. Another of my fave websites!

Pets in dining establishments are very common in Europe. Are there any restaurants near you that allow this? Have you ever enjoyed the company of your beloved canine as a dinner companion at a restaurant?