“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…
Carolyn, I really recommend it if you can make it happen. My friend Judith just came back from a BlogHer conference in NYC and met a ton of people all in one swoop!
Really, Cindy? I find it so funny! Just goes to show how people like to put others in categories in their mind, doesn't it? And Ben was in heaven…for the first couple of hours and then he got a little cranky! :O He finally had to tell Clementine "Enough!".
What a wonderful post! How exciting to meet friends that you talk to through your blog! I'm hoping to be able to do that one day….thanks for sharing all of your adventures with us!
Ben looks like he is in heaven! Loved this post and especially all the comments…especially the one about the surgeon mowing his lawn. I too have been mistaken for 'the gardener' many times. I just play along.
Not to start inaccurate rumors. I met Caryl and Maryl from Second Lives Club, who have run two posts about Claude Noelle.
We are back home safe and sound.
Wish you had been there too. You would have loved meeting all the inspiring women there.
Spicy tomato confit? Those are three of my favorite words all together. I will need to look up the recipe although I have the sneaking suspicion that I am far too lazy to make even one batch let alone 100 jars. I am simply too hot to consider anything that requires boiling. So we are eating a fair amount of salad. So much that I might turn into a rabbit.
And I have to say that your hoping that the chipper couple "Good for you!" would hire you was my favorite part of your story…would love to see the expression on the Bama folks faces when they realize that they are trying to hire a surgeon…
P.S. In regard to my anecdote about the snotty-boots neighbors? I spoke with an old college friend (who's married to my college room-mate, a surgeon) last night. they live in Mountain Brook, an exclusive enclave of Birmingham, Alabama…..where NO ONE does his/her own yardwork. She told me that John mows their lawn with a push-mower (he enjoys the exercise), and "I don't know HOW many times people have stopped their cars and tried to hire him to mow their lawns".
Well, I'm making a wonderful, "spicy tomato confit"…..basically a relish from my pals, Karen & Ben Barker's cookbook for the Magnolia Grill (they're both James Beard award-winning chefs). Folkjs seriously LOVE this stuff (which is supposed to be a condiment, but someone at the table always ends up eating all of the jar. I can 100 or so jars each summer. As for "reserving" the tomatoes?…..For the first time in 20 years I don't have my own, large vegetable garden (courtesy of moving in late June), so I order and buy from a fellow who owns a very productive organic farm up north in the county.
Merci Michel, wishing you the same…
Just like you!