“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…
Oh no, really Judith? That is the LAST thing that anyone should have to deal with on a visit to NY. Your poor husband and poor you! But it does sound wonderful that you are meeting so many people–plus a trip to Le Fanion. How I wish that I had been there with you…And you met Tish?! Very jealous of that!
Hope the rest of the weekend goes smoothly…
Ooh my, not feeling so fascinating this Sunday morning after a late night…but thank you…
Well, if you are going for a short trip then you would just board her/him with some lovely person who would spoil your pupper as much as you do. We found the nicest couple who met while volunteering at the local ASPCA! Needless to say, I feel just fine about leaving Ben with them. And if for longer (!), then you would just bring the pupper with you. Having a dog, changes everything in life. But you know that. 😉 As for getting over here, you are one smart tomato so I fully believe in your powers of selling ONE of your clients a in France that you need to research…
And finally, tilapia plus dill sounds wonderful. Why can't we get fresh dill in France?
xo,
h
Oh merci, Jeanne. I was so touched by this. How I would love to! My goodness. In other times, I took the plane like other folks take a bus but now…well, it could be something to plan and save for–how wonderful it would be to explore Saigon with you!!!
Gros bisous,
H
Good one Judith.
And David, back to something I wanted to ask earlier: 75 POUNDS of tomatoes? That you RESERVED?
Not to mention a French phrase that you undoubtedly know already: "tel chien tel maitre"… 😉
David, if there is such a thing as reincarnation, I hope after I die to come back as a fly on your wall. My life as a fly would be short, but it would be worth it. (And hopefully you wouldn't swat me before I got in a few good laughs.)
Here I am in hot, sweaty, Brooklyn where our car was towed because it committed the sin of being a hair's breadth over the designated parking area while wearing an out-of-state license plate. Poor husband spent the day dealing with that while I was at my conference.
Where I too had the chance to meet up with several folks I only know from online contact. What fun! And Heather, I stopped in at Le Fanion, which has beautiful pottery and other treasures from your part of the world. Sadly, Claude Noelle was out of town. But I did meet the two bloggers who first brought her to my attention!
And now I shall reply to David, who has managed to make me laugh out loud, even thought I am too hot and tired to do so!
Oh, Heather….most of my dogs are just fine…..but the oldest female (who RUNS the pack) simply hates any dog that comes into her orbit without first rolling over on its belly. I'm lucky actually….I've never had to train the younger males….she bites and attacks the HELL out of them if they even think of peeing or shitting in the house (which is her QUEENDOM!, thank you…). and she doesn't like strange dogs.
Oh, well,….there could be worse problems in the world. I should add that I've panted or drawn Kate at least ten times, and all those small picures have sold for at least 700 bucks. She has more than earned her keep hereabouts ( I think I've made about 10,000 bucks off pictures of her…no kidding)….and she IS quite lovely, although not of the stupid, American "round face westie" type that shows up on dogfood cans and christmas cards.
well….I grew up with terriers and know how to live with them. In case you wonder?….they're VERY different from your sort of sweet, mild-mannered dog.
Level Best as Ever,
David Terry
http://www.nasty-tempered, smallmen&small dogs.org
My dear David, I hope that you will excuse the condensed version of a response here: this was a knee-slapper. Literally. While you often give me the just absolutely gorgeous gift of making me laugh (and yes, as a former actor I can confirm that dying is easy, comedy is hard), I absolutely guffawed and slapped my knee at this one. Ooh, I can not wait to hear about the moment when the first couple realizes that you aren't exactly visiting…you gave Remi a hearty laugh as well. Merci my friend. But now I will suggest:
Good luck with your tomatoes.
Please for goodness sake, stay inside.
Bisous to your killer Westies…
H
Such interesting encounters! (I need to get out more!)
And this post has made me terribly hungry (I have tilapia and fresh dill from the Farmer's market in the fridge; time to make a good meal), and also made me miss our beloved mutt. Dreadfully. Part retriever, part who-knows-what.
But if we get another rescued dog (much as I would love that), how could I pick up and go to France again (dreaming, dreaming, dreaming) – and enjoy some encounters with fascinating people – such as yourself?
Beautiful!