8 May 2015

The whirlwind continues, and there are times – perhaps too many times – in which Richard and I wonder whether we are now too old for this. My mood oscillates widely – from depression and moments of wishing it were all over to the idyllic times at the farm in the Midi – such as currently the last two days with perfect weather, lunches outside, coffees outside at a sidewalk café in town, cocktails outside and just the pure sumptuous lushness of the south of France.

We returned to Amsterdam after the winter stay at the “centre of the world” traversing Paris both going and for the return. The now reopened Picasso Museum in the Marais was a total treat. Another treat was visiting Marie Laure’s beehives in the Butte de Bergeyre with its isolation and stunning views right within urban Paris. Amsterdam itself was a two-month sojourn. Early March both Patrick’s parents died at home in a fire. People of course are dying everyday and often needlessly, but when the unexpected shock is not what we hear daily through the news but is more immediate and involves or affects loved ones, it requires a more mindful adjustment. My sympathy remains with Patrick and his grief.

Amsterdam has been a blend of incessant bureaucracy and joyful times with friends and loved ones. While there, I began my Cherry Hill Seminary class on ‘The World’s Religions from a Pagan Perspective’ and finished the teaching during the return transit through Paris. Richard and I both did medical check-ups and colonoscopies – me also a gastroscopy. Basically we are fine, and Richard has learned that he does not have an onset of emphysema after all!

We missed the blackout that hit most of Amsterdam and only learned about it through Willian and Alexis when they came to clean the house. Rix and Janey brought their mother Janet for a weekend. She is 91 and totally inspiring. That was a real treat for me. James performed in Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion at the Concertgebouw, and that was lovely. Otherwise I have read All Families are Psychotic by Douglas Copeland and Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer. Enjoyed both, although both may have been contributing factors to my depression. Chloe came to Amsterdam twice – the first time with her boyfriend Matt. For the second, I saw her literally for only 90 seconds.

Richard and I dashed over to London for two nights so that his UK spousal visa could be validated within the necessary time limit. We took Peter to the Club for dinner. We also saw the Greek Body exhibit at the British Museum which was utterly stunning. Short but sweet, and I am actually looking forward to the forthcoming and more permanent encampment on the ‘Western Isles’.

Back in Amsterdam, Richard and I went for his birthday and the Fordicidia to the Melkweg for ‘B-Movie Orchestra’. Enjoyable for the times I could stay awake; it had been a long day of indulging. The next day we had the party for Richard’s birthday with friends – me cooking all day for a buffet. We were 20 in all. Jonathan and Gaelle were visiting us from France, and Jay from Florida. A week later, Hilary and Steven came also to Amsterdam, and we had them to dinner. We stayed in Holland for King’s Day which was fine but low key. Pierre explained that since the holiday fell on a Monday, everyone had been celebrating already for three days and they were exhausted let alone had to be at work the next day.

The first few days in Paris were lovely and noticeably warmer than Amsterdam. Our first night we had dinner at Les Philosophes outside with Marie-Laure. Then it rained for the rest but did not matter; the city is still enchantingly beautiful even with the rain. Françoise invited us to dinner our last night in the City of Light, and Anne-Laure was able to join us. And then back to paradise in the Midi. The miasma that continues to cling, however, is the horror over what America has become – let alone the political ineptness that seems to prevail just about everywhere. But with America, the three things that foremost come to mind are the contaminated food supply that few can escape, the blatant deceit over fracking, and the arrogant imperialism and bullying to which everyone else – at least almost everyone else – capitulates. Nevertheless, for the moment, we have begun our garden: tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber and even some maize. It’s all we need. For the rest, there is our whole cosmos as an affirmative wish.