VALENTINE’s DAY is OVER, but the LOVE continues on…………….

Valentine’s Day is OVER – but the LOVE continues on……………….   

The LOVE?  Not the ROSES?  Not the HEARTS?  Not all that RED in the HEARTS?   RED in the ROSES?       

NO.  And,

Yes.  The L O V E.

Of what?
Of blinding tiny sun dials whirring

Of the rugged Hills where you live

The NAME of the hills in French “Les Collines” (pretty eh?)

The breathtaking height and majesty of Ste Victorie

Montagne Sainte-Victoire (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The fact that Cezanne painted it over 60 times

The Energy of the Seaport in Marseille

Marseille Vieux Port (Photo credit: Esme_Vos)

The quiet of the Port town in Cassis in Winter

The beauty of the Mediterranean in all it’s shades of bright blue, dark blue, angry black, foamy tide and glistening turquoise on your favorite day     

The SMILE on the Boulangerie clerk’s face when we tell her the pain (baguette) we took yesterday was fabulous (even though it’s exactly like all the other baguettes every morning, only this particular one was HEART shaped!)

The Freshly squeezed orange juice every single morning – no electric squeezer – all old fashioned manuel squeezing

The Médiathêque Marcel Pagnol (Library – Marcel Pagnol – in Aubagne)

The BOOKS

The Discovery of Marcel Pagnol’s first edition books      

The Beauty of the words in those books of Pagnol

The FACT that your husband sits reading in the Library because he waits for you and all he can read in there is FRENCH!

The Discovery of a Spring water source where one can get their water in a jerrycan

libre  or FREE    – (story coming…….)                               

The wonder of the Cistern and that the Romans set up camp in this very place

The further wonder that it’s been there 2000 years before Christ.

The memories of a particular day, called VALENTINES DAY and the taste of the

chef’s best on your tongue even the next morning………The Beginning and his finale looked like this:

(Not wanting to brag personally, but still – bragging on HIM – THE CHEF

from ANGELINA – Cassis)

Here it is:

The kindness of perfect strangers. The pleasant and sincere greetings, the lilt in tone of a thank you for coming, the smile,  the movement of hand gestures that allows you to proceed, the shutting off of a leaf blower just so the worker can say “Bonjour” to you.      The unexpected e-mails, and facebook greetings from anyone and everyone –  family, people who we had thought “disappeared”……..

It’s a GIFT to open such e-mail! How wonderful to keep in touch with those you care about – all electronically!

The Love that she shares with her husband, amidst everything good, everything frustratingly difficult, amidst  language barriers, amidst failing eyesight,

amidst doctor’s visits and shots for her knees, amidst having to repeat things because he won’t wear the damn hearing aids, amidst hips colliding in too tight a kitchen, amidst laughter that is so strong it turns to tears, amidst the incredible odds of just being HERE………

THANK YOU FOR THE LOVE — whether it be strangers, friends, close friends, family, and especially to the person I love.    🙂

(The freshly squeezed orange juice too)   😉

freshly squeezed orange juice (Photo credit: Geoff Peters 604)

I Love You