A series of essays....
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| EARLIER THIS YEAR, EXPLORING EAST LANSING'S CAMPUS AFTER ALL THESE YEARS AWAY.....! GO GREEN! |
....as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E Hughes
“Joyeux anniversaire!” Or, more specifically, “Heureux anniversaire de mariage!” Happy Anniversary and Happy Anniversary of Marriage.
Happy Anniversary alone seems to fit many things happening in our lives this time of year. For example, August 17 marked our first year living back in Michigan after our long hiatus in Orlando, Florida. Although, initially, our Orlando life was never meant to be an interruption in the continuity of our work, or a gap between chapters; Dan and I worked long and hard in order to maintain a good life in paradise and we always planned on calling it ‘home’ for as long as possible.
Life decisions get tossed around like rinsed greens in a salad spinner and after a little while, when the spinner slows down a bit, you realize it’s time to decipher how the leaves lie and in which direction your life will follow their calling...if you succeed in understanding their visual signals. After all this time, I still don’t know if I’ve been able to remotely accomplished this.
Meanwhile, life continues on. I wake-up early in the gray-layered morning hours to settle in and write down my thoughts, my words, my stories, each long awaited chapter of my novel. I anticipate the deep, dark, and shadowy early morning hours of late autumn and winter when I feel shrouded in their magical darkness with the only light softly streaming in from a side lamp and the screen of my device as I sit pecking away within my own small world.
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| BON ANNIVERSAIRE WITH MUCH HAPPINESS AND SUNSHINE TO FILL YOUR LIVES! HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY TO BRENDAN AND KERRINGTON |
Courtesy of Ali Siskind
Bon anniversaire! This time of year is celebrated in doubles, Happy Birthday!...Happy Birthday!, as our youngest daughter’s twins celebrate eight years of life; with bright, shiny faces hidden from the caresses and kisses meant just for them. These two aging hearts are bursting with love and wish them all of the Joy and Happiness this world can bring to each on their Special Day of Celebration as well as every other day of the year! Only true love and hope has ever filled this lacuna in our lives.
One year ago, on September 16, four of us boarded our plane in Detroit with visions of Edinburgh, a working sheep farm, Trinity College, the wonders of the Wild Atlantic Way, a small cottage in County Mayo, and everything in between dancing in our heads. With our dear friends by our side, we met amazing people, experienced a Scottish town filled with books, books, and more books, ate haggis, drank well-aged whisky and many pints O’Guinness, marveled at some of the most scenic views ever observed while constantly having Dan stop the car for precious photo ops.
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| GLIDING OVER THE LOIRE VALLEY BETWEEN AMBOISE AND CHENONCEAUX |
One of the most magical nights for all four of us came about when Dan and I introduced Michael and Marsha to our good friends in an arranged meeting at Gus O'Connor's Pub located along Fisher Street in Doolin, County Clare, Ireland.
Dan and I met Adrian and Bev years ago while staying in Doolin, a noted centre of traditional Irish music. Bev’s career as a nurse has endeared her to everyone she meets. Adrian plays many musical instruments, arranges his own music and sings the lyrics to many traditional Irish songs throughout the local pubs, created his own Trad Music CD, and written many of his own songs. The latest original song, entitled Racism, showcases Adrian’s distinctively Irish voice that implores all of us to make a stand against racism and fight this evil tide together. Words of wisdom to be sent all over the globe.
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| EXPLORING THE WALLED CITY OF CARCASSONNE |
We were officially brought into the fold as locals when this famous pub locked its doors to tourists and celebrated with song, dance, and drink in tribute to one of their own turning the grand old age of eighty-one! The music and joy danced around us as if mimicking the little people, local fairies and sprites, the magical creatures with human appearance, magical powers, and a penchant for trickery. With full hearts, wicked imaginations, and a Guinness in hand, Dan and I caught-up on lost time with Adrian and Bev and vowed to return to Doolin as soon as possible. Michael, Marsha, Dan and I often talk about this amazing evening together. The magic still lingers in every fiber of our beings.
Heureux anniversaire de mariage! Literally, Happy Anniversary of Marriage. It’s funny how we generally associate weddings with the month of June. In our case, and with many of our good friends, our weddings tended to take place closer to the autumn season with its shorter, sun-filled days and crisp evening breezes happily enjoyed while dancing the night away!
Along with two of my best high school friends with whom I’ve become joyfully reacquainted with in the last several years and both having been a part of my own wedding party, share and celebrate wedding anniversaries in September and October. I think it was because it is a romantic time of the year and certainly not typical as a June wedding would have been. Coming out of the ‘60’s, most of us ladies were a bit rebellious in our own right and, at least with me, if someone said the sky was blue, I would say that it was azure with thin streaks of white cloud trails. So, June was never in the picture for me.
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| 'SPLITTING PEAS' AT CHATEAU DE QUERIBUS AND BEING OFFERED PERFECT FOOD AND WINE PARINGS BY OUR OWN SOMMELIER |
Dan and I have been fortunate enough to associate many of our latest anniversaries with memorable visits to France where we celebrated the day up in a hot air balloon with people from all over the world (the basket held thirteen people including the pilot), sitting on the terrace of a fine, ancient home in the middle of the walled, hilltop village of Sablet near the Luberon along the D23 and sharing food and wine from a local farmer’s market, and ‘splitting peas’ at an upscale restaurant in the heart of the layered vineyards just to the southwest of the walled city of Carcassonne in the south of France. (Please read my essay entitled, Memories of a September Wedding Celebration dated September 10, 2015 to enjoy some of the amazing places and things to do in this beautiful area in the south of France!)
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| ENJOYING LIFE WITH OUR DEAR FRIEND, DANIELE, NEAR THE HILLTOP TOWN OF GORDES |
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| INTERIOR OF OUR BEAUTIFUL GITE IN SABLET |
This Anniversary we’ll be soaking-up the beauty of Michigan with a drive up the scenic coast of Lake Michigan with our destination in the Finger Lakes area located to the northeast of Torch Lake. Our stay in a French farmhouse (naturally) overlooking Lake St. Clair gives us direct access to fifty-three acres of walking trails, a short drive to visit Charlevoix and Petoskey, and a long anticipated venture up to the 119 to drive the scenic route of the Tunnel of Trees.
I will lovingly title this trip Falling In Love Again In Michigan! This time, the play of warmth and light along the beautiful coastline of Western Michigan will call out to us like a lavender scent carried along by a gentle breeze as we enjoy our Anniversary, once again, enveloped in artistic beauty with a stylish French flair!
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| HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, DAN! REMEMBERING RODIN'S THE KISS.... |
Copyright © 2019 by Jacqueline E Hughes
All rights reserved
Photos Copyright © 2019 by Jacqueline E Hughes
All rights reserved
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