I'm a Dreamer

the Atlantic Ocean on a cold winter's
 day in Maine

When I was a young girl, une fillette, I would stare at the globe that sat on the corner of my desk. I wondered what life was like in all those places near and far. And I wanted to go there... At that time I think most kids had globes on their desks. Times sure have changed though. Globes, maps, and Encyclopedia Britannica have been replaced by the internet and GPS. Amazing how the kids today are growing up so differently than I did – which wasn’t that long ago!! For instance, back then, after playing a basketball game we’d pile into the bus and be driven back to our hometown, talking and laughing the whole way. Today I suppose the very same bus ride is much quieter, and the only sound you’d hear would be that of thumbs tapping away at warp speed on the tiny keypads of BlackBerries and Nokias…important messages?...or with the smooth Samsung and iPhone, there’s no sound at all. By the time these kids are home, they’ve networked with half their school. Texting, for just $9.99 a month, has effectively replaced talking. I do not give this a thumbs up! So I wonder…would the kids today laugh if their parents offered to buy them a globe for their desk? Hello Mom, I have Google Earth on my phone...duh.

There were less distractions when I was a kid. I had more time to daydream. And daydream I did. Taking a break from homework, I would sit at my desk, spin the globe, and then stop the spinning with my pencil. Wherever my eraser tip landed, I’d daydream about that place. So here's where today's kids would really laugh; if my pencil landed on Sydney, I’d grab

the ‘A’ encyclopedia and read about Australia. Then I’d picture myself living there, immersed in another culture, being married and having a family there.

Even when I was young I knew that I’d marry a man from another country. And I did. I always had a feeling that my husband would be from a country whose native language was not mine. I always dreamt of living in another country. And now I live in France. Not a clue what ever made me think this way – or what made me sure of it. I certainly possess no psychic ability!

even leopards daydream

I loved growing up in New England and my home there was idyllic. I carry a piece of it with me everywhere I go. My parents worked very hard to provide my sister and I with a happy childhood. And every kid has dreams. It's such a big world out there, and we're all staring up at the same big sky, I'd think as I looked at my globe. And now, living in the south of France...it's my life's greatest adventure. What can I say...I have wanderlust. I love to explore, take photos, write about it. I am a dreamer. And I probably always will be!    

Life with Turkey: Sharing the Ottoman

It's mine!

So if the ottoman was purchased for the humans why is it that every time I turn around I see our cat on it? Does she work? No. Does she fit on it? Uh, not really. Does she need to put her feet up at the end of a hard day? What hard day. You mean eating and sleeping and meowing at us? Maybe it’s the countless hours she spends grooming her soft fur? That must be tiring. 

Flirting with disaster

Our cat’s name is Turkey. She is a world-traveling, Miami-born, gorgeous, porky grey tabby. She sleeps 18 hours a day and when she’s not sleeping she is either eating, cooing or mooing (much like the sounds pigeons and cows make) at us, or is spending countless hours bird watching from our balconies. (She also does her fair share of cat and people watching.) She believes of course that all furniture is for the humans 2nd and the feline 1st.

In the case of the ottoman, she clearly thinks it was purchased for her. This cracks me up. She almost has that look that says, “Hey thanks..yawn..where’s yours?” As the rest of you humans know, ottomans rock. After a long day at work, or after walking here there and everywhere, the foot rest provides instant relief and happiness. Elevating the feet in my opinion is definitely underrated. The moment the feet go up, the tension just seems to exit your body.

Now that we have this magical piece of furniture, I can’t imagine ever being without one. Even now, while writing this blog, I am so much more comfortable…thanks to the ottoman! Weird word though, ottoman. Anyway, the ottoman wasn’t in the living room five minutes before our plus-sized grey tiger had claimed it. Five minutes after that we were reminded that Turkey doesn’t share. The fact that I had the nerve to try out the ottoman at the same time that she was trying it out, completely ruffled her feathers. Ears turned back, she stared at me out of the corner of her eye. I gave her big sloppy kisses on her soft fur. I got up to do something and moments later I noticed she was still on the ottoman but this time was in complete relaxation mode. Fur, jelly belly, fuzzy pantaloons, and whiskers were everywhere. Her look seemed to say, “Too..comfortable..to..care..about..anything.”

Because we love everything about her, including her sometimes difficult attitude (cattitude) we find a lot of things she does to be hysterical. She has an unreal personality. And we also spoil her rotten. Big surprise, she eats it up! I mean, is there any other way to treat your animals? She is very funny. She still plays like she’s a kitten, something we’re told is normal for grey tabbies. Sometimes, the ottoman makes her frisky. We don’t know why. A lot of things make her frisky, and sometimes for no reason at all, you’ll look at her just the right (or wrong) way and her eyes will become fully dilated until they’re all black. At this point, you know IT’S ON. Just say in your head “Let’s Get Ready to Rummmblllee!!” She might do what's called 'the head move' where she does a little Stevie Wonder action -- it's a call sign to come play. Grab a toy and play with her. Watch her go bananas on the ottoman. Or, she might run to the ottoman, ears flat back, jump up on it and get ready for battle. Already laughing we laugh some more when the ottoman slides a foot across the floor as she lands on it. And when she spreads out she almost covers the whole thing! She's either playing like a kitten or is curled up somewhere and looks as cute as a kitten. We love her to pieces.

beautiful Turkey

So, when I want to relax in this chair and I see that there’s a pile of grey tabby on the ottoman, I find two spots on either side of her, watch one ear turn in annoyance and then settle back once she realizes she HAS to share. Sometimes she’ll put an arm over my leg and rest her furry head on my foot. And it’s moments like that that I just love. Life with Turkey – there’s never a dull moment.