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friendship

A merry, merry, happy, happy, ho, ho, ho, to you!

December 24, 2015 by Patricia Sands 19 Comments

My warmest wishes for this holiday season to everyone who happens to stop by. Take a minute to watch this heartwarming video below and I will see you back here on the blog in 2016!

Thank you so very much to all who generously supported our Books that Celebrate Paris fundraiser. After this week, I’ll be sending a cheque off to the French Red Cross that is made possible by each of you. Our hope for world peace never dims.

As we know, there are people who are alone at this time of year and in need in many different ways. Let’s help wherever possible. There are families, such as our own, who have lost someone whose absence is keenly felt every single day. The spirit of that loved one will be with us always. I found these words by an unknown author helpful. I hope you do as well.

“Those we love don’t go away. They walk beside us every day, unseen, unheard, but always near ~ still loved, still missed and very dear.”

Whether you are alone or celebrating with family and friends, I trust the spirit of this special time of year brings you peace and joy, in moments or in great abundance.  May  the New Year bring the best of health and happiness to you and yours. Onward!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qehqv13PJwI

 

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Filed Under: Blog, France, Social issues, Uncategorized Tagged With: 2016, Books that Celebrate Paris, French Red Cross, friendship, happiness, love, Merry Christmas, New Year, peace

Happy American Thanksgiving

November 26, 2014 by Patricia Sands 6 Comments

 

Warmest wishes to you and yours!

I’m grateful to be celebrating Thanksgiving twice this year.  In October in Canada as posted here and now in Panama City Beach visiting with good friends for a few days. Wherever you are, I hope you celebrate well with good memories, good company and good food!

Here’s a simple way to share our attitude of gratitude every day. Just click right here and see the good you can do!

images

 

How are you celebrating this special day? 

 

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Filed Under: Blog, Social issues Tagged With: American Thanksgiving, friendship, give thanks, gratitude, The Hunger Site

Taking Root In Provence – France Book Tours

November 24, 2013 by Patricia Sands Leave a Comment

It’s always a pleasure to have friends drop by the blog! The multi-talented Anne-Marie Simons and her husband Oscar, who is … hold your breath, ladies … an expert on Provençal cooking, AIX EN PROVENCEpaid a visit here last June. They  shared their experience of retiring and relocating from the States to Aix-En-Provence in the south of France. If you missed the post before, take a minute to read it now. 

Go ahead! I’ll wait!

As I said then, they are are living my dream.

I also said this: “They are perfect examples of how it’s never too late to do something different: true possibilitarians ~ which you know is one of my favourite words!” Read the post Anne-Marie has gifted us with today and you will see what I mean!

This is the initial stop on her extensive tour with the fabulous France Book Tours! I’m delighted to be the first to this party!

taking-root-in-provence-banner

Here’s a synopsis of Taking Root in Provence:

Two expatriates left Washington DC in search of the ideal place to retire where climate, culture, accessibility and natural beauty all had a role to play. Curious about the vaunted quality of life in the south of France, they traveled the length and width of Provence where, preferring the city to the countryside, they decided to settle in the ancient town of Aix-en-Provence. That was in 1998 and Taking Root in Provence is the story of their slow integration into the French mainstream — both easier and more difficult than expected but ultimately successful.

In a series of vignettes Anne-Marie Simons gives us a warts-and-all picture of life among the French and with warmth and humor shares her lessons learned. Contrary to most publications about Provence, this book focuses on life in the city rather than the quiet countryside, and promises to be both informative and revealing to those who want to spend more than a passing holiday here.

 For this part of her tour, I asked Anne-Marie if she would treat us to a bit more about her life in Aix-En-Provence. Enjoy!

At first glance, Aix-en-Provence is paradise. At least for this retiree. It has beauty, culture, an enviable climate, daily markets, is well located for international travel and lives at a pleasant pace. So far, so delicious. Yet, there are those who say: “But what do you DO there?”

AIX EN PROVENCEThe short answer would be “everything you do minus your job” but that does not say it all. We do as the locals do (given our intended goal of total integration), and that means that we go to market every day (instead of the supermarket once a week) and spend a lot of time cooking − from scratch, of course, including soups, stews and other slow-cooked food. We give a lot of dinner parties and are invited to dinner at a lot of friends’ houses since that is where social life takes place in France: à table. We go to movies a lot, often in the afternoons (cool in summer), because we live in a movie-mad town and have three cinemas with a total of 20 theatres in the old center close to home. I love to read and spend a lot of time hanging out in one of the five bookstores in the city center, and at various book fairs in the surrounding countryside where I sometimes appear as author but rarely sell because nobody speaks English. No matter, I love the fraternity of writers and marvel at the crowds who attend, even in the smallest villages. And of course, we walk everywhere in town since everything essential (food, entertainment, doctor, dentist, etc.) can be reached on foot. The car stays in the garage, reserved for out-of-town use only.

So – looking at this list – most of the time we do nothing extraordinary but take more time doing everyday things that feel and taste better than before, when they were done on the run and without enthusiasm.

Contrary to our working days in Washington where we spent weekends and vacations resting up3. market copy from heavy work schedules, our summers in Provence are busy, not to say hectic, what with the July opera festival in Aix and the theatre festival in Avignon that get our full attention, as well as visits to and from friends who descend on Provence in summer. Culture blooms everywhere in this season, with concerts on village squares, in churches and chapels, or in castle courtyards. But high culture co-exists very happily with folklore here, and both draw equally big crowds.

Our Mediterranean climate and the French tendency to celebrate everything (harvest, solstice, animals, saints, foods) with a “festival” makes for many a weekend throughout the year with a festival to attend: olive, wheat or grape harvests, truffles, goats, specialty foods like calissons in Aix and navettes in Marseilles, any number of saints, and of course the famous chickpea; they all have their own celebration. And who would want to miss the Chickpea Festival?

Traditions are strong in France, and even though this is officially a lay country there is no lack of religious celebrations where the local saint’s statue gets carried around the village, followed by the notables and the Confrérie des Vignerons in official dress with tasting cups around their neck, a few Camargue cowboys on white horses, some beautifully dressed Arlésiennes in open coaches, and the traditional fife and drum band with dancers in Provençal costume. With lots of food on hand and wine à volonté, the idea is to Eat, Drink and Be Merry. France is unthinkable without it.

These festivities lose some of their charm if you don’t speak French, as does the daily market where nothing is bought or sold without a chat or at least a bit of advice. “So how was yesterday’s lapin? See? What did I tell you?” After all, it’s more than food you buy here; it’s tradition, a way of life, a mutually respectful peasant-bourgeois exchange that has changed little over time.

After the years of hard work and stress it takes to arrive at retirement, what greater reward than to slow down and have the time to enjoy your hobbies and the local offerings. If you are lucky enough to live in a place with good weather, good friends, good food and good healthcare, I would say: Grab that brass ring! Nothing lasts forever.

Thanks, Anne-Marie, and come back for a visit any time!

Anne-Marie will send a copy of Taking Root in Provence to a lucky winner. Leave a comment below and one name will be randomly drawn … AND the draw is international! Bonne Chance!

There are going to be many excellent posts from Anne-Marie and opportunities to win a copy of Taking Root in Provence at the other websites on the tour. Check out the schedule below! Keep entering and hopefully you will win a copy. I love this book!

VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, Nov 25
Guest-post + Giveaway at Patricia Sands’ Blog

Tuesday, Nov 26
Review + Giveaway at The French Village Diaries

Wednesday, Nov 27
Review + Interview at I Am, Indeed
Review + Giveaway at Enchanted by Josephine
Review + Giveaway at The Most Happy Reader

Thursday, Nov 28
Highlights at Words And Peace

Friday, Nov 29
Review + Giveaway at Turning The Pages

Saturday, Nov 30
Review + Excerpt at Jorie Loves A Story

  Author Information:

Anne-Marie Simons has worked as a translator, teacher, journalist, sportswriter (covering Formula 1Book cover small races), and director of corporate communications.

Her Argentine husband, Oscar, left a career in international development banking to become an expert on Provençal cooking and other local pleasures.

Author Links:

Website

Blog

takingrootinprovence@gmail.com  anne-marie.rozic@live.fr

Facebook

Book Links:

Goodreads

Buy directly from the publisher

Buy on Amazon

Kindle edition

As many of you know, I am leading a women’s tour of the south of France in June 2014 and this book is right up at the top of my “Recommended Reading” list. Besides that, come hell or high water, I am going to meet and spend time with Anne-Marie when I am in Aix in June. We had to cancel a lunch last October (my fault!) and that’s not going to happen again!

After you read Taking Root in Provence, please take a minute to leave a review on the links above. It’s so important for authors to receive reader reviews and we are often shy about asking. Merci mille fois!

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Filed Under: Author Promotion, Blog, France, If it is France... Tagged With: Aix-En-Provence, Anne-Marie Simons, friendship, living in the south of France, Patricia Sands, Taking Root In Provence, The Promise of Provence, Women, Womens Travel Network, writing

Pinch me!

November 24, 2012 by Patricia Sands Leave a Comment

If it’s Friday, it must be France ...

Ooops – I’m late again  – I know it’s Saturday, but we have company and I’m attempting to sneak this post in while still being a somewhat gracious hostess. Good thing we have understanding friends who realize writing and blogging are  consuming my life  somewhat distracting at times.

What I want to say today is this: if you have a dream, keep pursuing it.

You never know when unexpected opportunities will become a reality.

Taking a deep breath and publishing our writing, into which we put our hearts, minds, and bare our very souls a good chunk of our lives, sometimes opens doors we might never having imagined.

PSandsPhotos

Here are the best parts of writing for me (without getting into the satisfaction, frustration, challenge and all-around buzz of crafting stories): connecting with readers ~ becoming part of amazing communities of writers and bloggers all over the planet ~ receiving invitations to share thoughts, knowledge and experience ~ hearing the same from others ~ discovering ways to give back through what we do ~ listening, learning, laughing ~ feeling inspired to keep writing.

Yin-Yang – Image from Wikipedia

To be sure there’s another side: the search for the right words and ideas ~ the questioning and self-doubt that sneaks in ~ the hours of researching, editing, rewriting ~ the demands on time and money and presence that may be needed elsewhere in our lives ~ the inevitable struggle that is part of any creative process. And for many, that’s just the short list.

The yin and yang.

And then, out of the blue, may come something totally unexpected.

For example being invited to lead, along with my good friend, non-fiction author and speaking partner, Susan Sommers, a tour of 16 women (sorry, guys … this an all-girls’ party) to the south of France for 12 days in October, 2013.

It’s part of the innovative Broad Horizons program  of Uniglobe Instant Travel based in London, Ontario

Seriously.

It happened.

And you know how I love the south of France.

I’ve been guiding friends around that part of the world for years and love to do it.

Here’s the fabulous itinerary – South of France Itinerary 2013. We’ve worked hard to ensure it’s going to be a very good time – inspiring, energizing, providing memories for a lifetime.

There’s just the right combination of literary, art and laughter: enjoying café au lait or sipping pastis in the shadow of authors we have read, walking in the footsteps of great artists, touring, shopping, wining (including wine tasting at an ancient vineyard) and dining (including a cooking class in Provence), and relaxing. Call your bestie and  come if you can. It’s going to be superbe, magnifique, and fantastique … and if you can’t go with us, rest assured I’ll be writing about it  to share here with all of you.

We’ll be here …

EZE – PSandsPhotos

And here …

Nice,FR – PSandsPhotos

And here …

Monaco-PSandsPhotos

And in the countryside of Provence strolling streets like these …

Provence-PSandsPhotos
Provence-PSandsPhotos

Visiting places like this …

Antibes-PSandsPhotos
Marché Provençal-PSandsPhotos

And taking endless photos of these

Valbonne-PSandsPhotos

Tempting? There’s more info on my website too. Click here if you would like to see it.

Keep dreaming. Keep believing. Keep writing. You just never know …

What are the lows and highs of the yin and yang in your creative process? How do you find the balance for which we all search? Share your dreams. What doors have opened for you?You know we care.

Villefranche-Sur-Mer – PSandsPhotos

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Filed Under: Blog, France, If it is France... Tagged With: Antibes, Cote D'Azur, follow your dreams, France, French Riviera, friendship, Nice, Patricia Sands, Provence, The Bridge Club, the power of friendship, travel, Uniglobe Instant Travel, Women, writing

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