France

In the 60s’ we lived in an attic room with a small bathroom and a stove which stood next to the bathroom wall. There was a small table and two chairs. We lived on bread, square fish and tomatoes. And Kraft dinner. With ketchup.

Below us lived a Chinese family, recently arrived from Hong Kong. I used to play with Mr and Mrs Kwan’s two children, Cynthia and Jason. Mr Kwan worked in a Chinese restaurant somewhere downtown. Mrs Kwan would come upstairs and give mother and I chicken wings to cook up and eat. The natives were poorer than the immigrants, and Mrs Kwan knew this.

We used to shout “Gung ho” at one another. “Gung ho” means “work together”.

The Chinese with their long millenials of history know that we all have to work together to survive. Those chicken wings meant everything to us.

They are a great people, the Chinese. As far as I am concerned they can do no wrong. People will comment on the CCP – the government of China – and its “outrages” against Hong Kong and Taiwan.

I say governments, any government, whether Chinese, French, German etc, are not représentative of its people. Not in this day and age.

One day I will go to China and remember Mr and Mrs Kwan.

The Lotus is white which is the highest healing colour and white will pierce all other colours. Sadly the world is tipped towards evil at the moment…..the darkest colour is black and white will always pierce this. Just a tiny pierce of light and then it will grow.

In a rainbow the highest colour is violet. As we said in school so as to remember the rainbow colours <<Richard of York gave battle in vain>>, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

The Lotus is sitting in a pool of water, water that is a cobalt blue. So healing a blue. I can see green leaves peeking out from under the Lotus. Deep green. All three colours a part of nature.

When I lived in Scotland a friend told me that her mother had had a very difficult time giving birth to her. My friend was quite sickly for some time. One early morning she told me, her mother woke up suddenly and she saw someone standing over my friend’s layette “beaming” cobalt blue down to her. My friend’s mother was not afraid; she knew Mairi was being healed.

From that day, Mairi began to thrive.

Think of a brillant white lotus, deep green leaves and a pool of cobalt-blue water. Feel the peace; feel the healing.

Just in time to have a little treat <<friandises>> a half of a small Specaloos biscuit….those delicious Belgian coffee biscuits (that I eat with a cup of tea). The best coffee can be found in Belgium and the most beautiful <<places>> or town squares where you can sit and drink it….Apple wants to go there…..

Well, it’s been cold, really cold, this past week and Apple doesn’t seem to mind it. It’s the cold I remember growing up in Canada. I never thought it would be this cold in France, wind chill factor and all, however Eastern Europe isn’t all that far away so I should have known better.

Apple is under the weather – not that weather above – but a slight infection that the vet prescribed a week’s antibiotics <<antibiotiques>> for. The first tablet <<comprimée>> that she had last night made her ill. So she had her second one today at lunchtime. Wait and see.

It’s very quiet here now….. outside and in. The 2-hour French lunch break is over but perhaps the high winds and cold are keeping my neighbours indoors.

Apple knows what’s good for her…..she’s in her basket or <<pannier>>.

À la prochaine…….

Gourmande

Apple is a gourmande…..in the greedy sense of the word, not the usual French sense of a lover of fine cuisine. She does love fine cuisine and the French do use the word <<gourmande>> to describe a greedy-guts.

Today, the 20th day after Toussaint she ate two helpings of rice with carrots and beef with her croquettes surrounding her human food. I thought it was nice présentation; she did too. Dessert, <<le dessert>> was two biscuits with her name on them from a shop in Béziers.

Nice finish to the day. But she’s still hunting…..

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