“I think that I am on your street.” I looked out of the window to see a lovely blonde precariously balancing a tray while leading a Golden Retriever and talking on her cell phone zoom past our corner. “Wait! Stop! Back up! Look up!” I leaned out of the window and waved like mad. I could see Aidan’s smile blossom from a far and with a “Hooray!” I ran down to open up the front door to let her inside.
I remember writing to Aidan on her wonderful blog Conjugating Irregular Verbs pretty much immediately after we first came into contact asking “When can we meet?!”. She had somehow stumbled upon my Haunted series and we clicked right away. And she lives in Montpellier! A mere 40 minute drive away! Alas, these things take time. There are children to be wrangled (Aidan has three beautiful ones) and schedules to be balanced. Six months later, it all came together.
Although I am shy, I knew that Aidan and I would get along and it felt wonderful to not be even the slightest bit nervous, just excited. And I wasn’t the only one! Within minutes our words were over-lapping and we could barely finish one thought because it sparked off several others. There was so much that we wanted to cram in we were practically hyper-ventilating! Although we eventually settled down to a fine lunch of the crisp pissaladière that Aidan had generously baked, the five hours we spent together passed far too quickly and we were literally still chatting in the parking lot as she was loading up the car to head home.
But I wasn’t the only one that was thrilled. As previously mentioned, Aidan brought along her one year old Golden, Clementine. The meeting of our two beloved puppers was just the icing on the proverbial cake. Oh, how she tortured Ben! She chewed on his ears until they were a soggy mess and pounced on his back until they rolled into the furniture. And he loved every minute of it. Goldens seem to have an innate recognition for other Goldens and they quickly formed a big brother/little sister bond. Unfortunately, it was way too hot to take them on the stroll that I had imagined (32°C/90°F) but we did manage to stop off at the new gelato shop with dollops of salted caramel for Aidan, beet and cucumber for me. Surprisingly, Clementine was less than thrilled when I offered for her to lick the bowl for the last crimson stain of beet! I wonder why…
Aidan’s writing is open, honest and so funny, just like her wonderful self. Now I know firsthand and I am so thrilled to have made a new friend. I have to say it has been a pretty fabulous week as far as connecting due to the internet and thank you to all that were so supportive about Wijnand Boon’s peace-walk. Such positive experiences. Let’s hear it for the joy of discovery!
Bon weekend!
For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, summer is running at an Olympic pace so let’s make the most of it…
Liza, did you enjoy your visit? I hope that you did! And yep, we are all linked, which is wonderful!
We are all caught up in the Olympics too and I am delighted because I have TWO countries to cheer on! 🙂
Just love it when blogging leads to things like doggy play dates!!!
Hello Heather
Your meeting Aidan and Clementine and hitting it off is marvelous news.You lunch looked delicious and such a wonderful idea to eat in and have uninterrupted time together, without he waiter hovering and looking at his watch.
It is great that you are so near and can do it all again. My Aunt Helen, who was my mentor, always said "keep making new friends" The blog world has provided us with so much joy and friendship. I loved Liza's comment above, she summed it up so nicely when she said she knew exactly who Aidan was when she read your opening comments.
Have a glorious weekend
Helen xx
A wonderful story of kindred spirits (human and canine) discovering each other-I'm very glad you four found each other!! Very little delights me more than watching dogs play. Did you get any photographs of Ben and Clementine in action? Glad you are keeping Ben inside in high heat. It's supposed to reach 98⁰ F here tomorrow (after a mild summer up until then), so we'll limit outside play to early and late. (Like you, I'm a redhead!)
Maybe we'll search for Olympic water events during the day. Have a lovely weekend! Fondly, Leslie in Portland
I love when stuff like this happens.
It's so funny to me that all the way over here in Ann Arbor I thought to myself "oh I know who Aidan is" because I read both your blogs! Cracks me up. It's like I'm there (which I was a couple of weeks ago!), but now I'm here again. The dogs are too adorable!
Your blog reminds me of happy holidays in Provence. Hopefully when OH's health is better I may get at least one more. Here in N England I have just noticed the nights are drawing in and we still have to have a summer. We are in Olympic fever here for another week, happiness is another medal of any colour.
Jeanne, I know that you would appreciate Aidan–she just recommended 'Tigers in Red Weather' to me! Hoping you have a lovely and fun weekend too!
I am still shaking my head in wonder of how you got dissed by Cupcake Vineyards, Ella. You were robbed, I tell ya, robbed!
And yes, having lived both in Paree and here in Provence, I have to say people definitely know how to have a good time here. Fix a broken washing machine? Not so much. But have a blast, definitely.
Bisous!