Day 6 - SkyLines from the French Lock-down: Kindness

Bonjour les amis!  (Hello Friends!)

There are clouds in the sky and
and in the headlines

Today it was cloudy when we stepped out to hang the laundry on the little terrace.  Yes, there are two, a small one off our bedroom that faces the sunrise and a big one at the back of the house that looks out at Canigou Mountain and the sunset.  We know we are very lucky to have landed here, especially now.  It's only Day 6 here in the south of France, but the cracks are appearing in the facade and I don't mean the walls of the house....  

Day 6 - People are feeling the strain already.  Not around me, but on the internet and in the news.  Please, hang in there and don't get pulled down by that.  One of the most important things you can keep in your heart during difficult times is "La Gentillesse" - Kindness.  And I'm not just talking about kindness to others.  I want you to be kind to yourself.  Keep your head above water and swim away from the negative thoughts.  So, my little ideas for coping today:

Let's keep fit, mes amis!  When I get up, I'm never thinking, "Oh goody, time to exercise!"  Nope.  But as I start to wake up and it's a new day, I turn on my music, roll out the mat, open my fit8 app and do my routine.  And it's a kindness.  A kindness to myself.   I finish my routine and now I feel full of energy and good.You need to do that - take care of you first.  You can't help anyone else effectively unless you feel good.  I see too many friends frazzled from caring for others when they need healing themselves.  And the ones they are helping probably don't realize it.  So please, find a way to do yourself the kindness of energizing yourself. 

Breakfast - It's tastier than it looks!

Let's stoke our engines, mes amis!  Breakfast is another kindness.  Whatever it is you choose, this is your fuel to move through the morning.  Mine is cereal with strawberry protein powder to boost my vegetarian diet.  Yum!  It's like eating dessert for breakfast.  I find drinking water the toughest part of being kind to my body.  I aim for two liters a day (8 glasses)  But only in summer is that easy.  So, I drink a lot of herbal tea when it's cool.  I find it warm and soothing.
I'm pretty sure the coffee is a bit hard on my system, but I do love it.  Especially the moment I’m holding the warm cup in both hands and taking a deep breath of that gorgeous aroma.  So I linger at the table, savoring the coffee and I read your posts, the news, and my emails.  The coffee may be sinful but, like chocolate, it gives me a ton of pleasure.  And so it is a kindness in my eyes.

Kay & I decided to go for it!

My dear friend and fellow writer, Kay, told me about her 80-20 plan years ago.  It works.  80% of the time I eat healthy.  I try to mix it up every day and get some vegetables or fruit at least in two of my three meals.  I limit the carbs, though I believe they are important too.  I drink my water.  AND THEN.... 20% of the time I pamper myself.  I have the coffee, I eat the square of dark chocolate and close my eyes in bliss!  Sometimes when we eat out I say, “yes!” and try the decadent delight at the end of the meal.  We have ice cream in the freezer as well as fruit from my french kitchen garden.  So, every now and then I make a dessert for us.

A crumble, or baked apples can feel like a big splurge if you only do it once every ten days. 

frozen fruit with a bit of oats, butter,
cinnamon and brown sugar

(And it fills the house with good aromas!)  But we have to be extra careful about not over-eating while we're in quarantine.  I've stopped eating while watching films or tv.  It's way too easy to eat more than you realize.  Stoke the engine and enjoy your food.  But think about how much.  Don’t overfill the tank. (PS, I use that scale in the bathroom every 3rd day and it's easier to say no when I see the fluctuations....)  I try to stop while I still have that feeling that I could eat more.  Be kind to your body and just enjoy enough to make you feel pampered but never eat so much that you feel full (for the sake of your self image.)

Wise woman and author, Kay

Let's be creative, industrious, or curious, mes amis!  We have this time given to us against our wishes.  But use it.  Yes, we're binge watching movies and series in the evenings, but during the day we read, make music, write, talk, or watch informative/educational programs.  I go out on the internet and think seriously about leaving only positive messages and comments.  (I don't always succeed.  I'm human and idiocy is very irritating!)  Try it.  It's a kindness to your mind and will help to avoid depression. Your heart will feel lighter.  

Enough of that.  You get where I'm at.  I watched the news and the nurses need masks.  The gendarmes are having to give fines and use bullhorns to break up people who think they have a right to meet at the beach or stand around talking like nothing's changed.  Everything has changed.  It will pass but people are dying and more will.  This is a fact.  But - No, we're not "all going to die" (from this virus, I mean).

Quarantine will slow its spread and hey, it will save your life and or people you are not being exposed to if you can do it.  It's not easy.  My partner, Y, says that not only will many babies be born in nine months time, but that once we have the vaccine, there will be many divorces.  (I'm pretty sure he's not talking about us - we aren't married.)  You can see how it's probably true.  Some people are going to realize for the first time, exactly who that person is they married.  And decide that's enough of that because life is short and nobody gets to know how long they'll be here.  

Even making a salad can be art
Think about how you would
share it if you were blogging!

We went out to the bakery for bread and walked home again.  Lunch was Y's special mixed salad for the starter followed by my Chili and cornbread for the entree.  I told him we should do some recipes in a blog for our friends and figure out a way that they could share theirs with us.  We plan on starting a yoga routine together.  Maybe I'll do one of those exercise challenges with all of you again.  That was a lot of fun.  The problem was Facebook was taking so long to upload and then sometimes muted the sound.  I finally got frustrated with that.  Maybe if I use YouTube we can do it all again.  


We did the dishes and watched a series about the survivalists in

It will take a bit of work
to return to the form
of our challenges!

Alaska.  
It's amusing to hear the American voices underneath with the French dubbing on top.  Sometimes the person talking is saying something like, "It ain't pretty." and the translation comes out as, "It is not a very pleasant thing to see."  Yes, the idea is the same but the accent sure isn't!

Lunch had settled and because he had run around the block for an hour yesterday, Y, my partner,  was ready to try something new.  I had suggested yoga a few days ago.  So, we found a few French YouTube videos for beginning.  We streamed it to the TV and half an hour later, he said, "That is amazing!  I can feel the energy!"  I smiled and said, "I'm sure not as flexible as I was a few years ago!"  I told myself that I was going to have to do this everyday, just like the blog.




And so, the day finished and the sun set was prettier for having a few clouds around it.  Now is a special time.  I'm right here writing to you.  You are in my heart and thoughts.  We are a kind of family.  A world family.  My partner wonders if I'm working on my book.  "Not yet, maybe tonight.”  I have something more important to finish.  This blog.  It's my way of hugging you from a very long, social distancing ways away.  

We can keep the kindness going around.  I think of you out there, feeling the same way we do, reading these sad headlines, feeling sorrow for the friends and families of the nearly 15,000 recorded deaths so far.  Yes, it's bleak.  But it will get better.  The news from China tells us that if we really work on staying home, really quarantine we might keep the hospitals from getting overwhelmed and that will save lives.  We will come out of this stronger than ever.  Together.

Soon, I'll go through my picture file over the last 16 years in France. I'll try to find some beauty to share with you over the next week.  I'll tell you what's going on here but I'll also bring you some pretty pictures.  Take care, mes amis.  You are important to us.   

It is the darkness of the clouds that makes us aware of the light

A demain!  (Until tomorrow!)

Link to DAY 7