A few days ago (or maybe a week ago?) Michael and I had a lovely meal at an Italian restaurant in Aix. As is common here, our table was outside. But instead of a large square filled with people, we were on a tiny side street–so tiny that if a car passed by, it very…
Author: renaissancerebecca
A Writer’s Block
“Will you be writing while you’re there?” “Yes,” I said. “I’ll be blogging, and I’ll post them to Facebook.” Ah, the best laid plans. Sometimes I wonder what it is that keeps us from doing the things that we say matter most to us? I have plenty of unscheduled time. Huge “blocks” of it during…
To Market, To Market
The sun shone in a bright blue sky and Michael and I were delighted to have such idyllic weather for our first full day in Aix-en-Provence. The night before, our neighbor told us about the outdoor market that happens every Saturday, but the location didn’t stick with either of us. “We’ll just head out and…
Travel–Times Two
In February, my mother called to tell me a surprise party was being thrown for my grandmother’s 90th birthday the following month. It was to take place in New York, where she lives. That meant, in order to attend, I would have to hop a plane or drive twelve hours. I called my boyfriend, Michael. “So Grandma…
Ode to a Porch
I sit on the porch, rain lightly falling around me. The roof over my head, the eaves hanging down, protect me–allow me to sit in the midst of nature, without the threat of bee stings, mosquito bites, or rain. I sit at the table facing one corner–the corner that looks out at the yard next…
Chopped: Rebecca Style
With five weeks left before our departure, I have become just a wee bit obsessed with using up things. Why? Because I don’t want to pack them away for three months and have to deal with them upon my return. Travel-size bottles of lotions swiped from hotels sit upside down on my bathroom shelf. The…
My Third Thing
“A choice between two things is not a choice. It becomes a fight between right or wrong.” I read the sentence again. As the afternoon sun warmed the page, I pulled out my pen to underline it. I had never thought of it like that. No wonder I hate making decisions. “We need a third thing,…
Being Catholic: A Reason, A Season or a Lifetime?
It is hard to walk a 500-mile pilgrimage trail without thinking about religion. In 2012 (the year I walked the Camino) 93% of pilgrims who arrived in Santiago reported that their reason for walking was, at least in part, religious. I was part of that 93%. Having been born Catholic, I knew it would always be part of…
A Belated Christmas Gift
Jessica was the second sibling to receive a hand-made crocheted blanket from me. As she pulled her Christmas gift from its wrapping, the family ooh’ed and aah’ed. “How long did it take you to make that?” Meg, my youngest sister, asked. “Forty hours,” I said, without hesitation. “How do you know that?” “Well, I timed how…
Luck? I think not.
I should take showers more often. Not for hygiene reasons (I think life is entirely too short to waste so much of it on such a silly daily ritual). I’d take them more often for this reason only: it’s under that flow of water that I come up with some of my best writing ideas….
RenaissanceRebecca 