Une lumière dans… Light...

La grisaille ambiante. In the ambient gray 

Non, je ne parle pas des merveilleux arbres de Noël dont voici deux exemples: quoique

très lumineux et toujours les bienvenues, je pense plutôt à notre grande nouvelle : la route est de nouveau ouverte!

Pour ceux qui ne le savent pas, la route entre moi et mon village a été bloquée depuis longtemps suite à des travaux pour le changement du système des eaux-usées. Combien de kilomètres en plus j’ai dû faire ces derniers mois – dans un sens c’était 4 km, dans l’autre presque 4.5. Chaque fois qu’il fallait chercher un paquet à la poste, chaque fois que j’allais voir deux amies habitant au-delà du fameux croisement des chemins, chaque fois que j’allais faire des courses en France, chaque fois que je voulais aller à la décharge, chaque vois que…. Bien vous voyez c’était devenu très embêtant de toujours devoir faire le tour.

Maintenant grâce à Noël nous sommes du nouveau libérés de ces contraintes – ma journée et mon avenir sur les routes à Noël sont ensoleillés, malgré le ciel gris et le temps pluvieux.

As I don't think much sometimes of the translations, here is the text also in English - if anyone who reads English wants to amuse themselves  they can have Google translate the above and see how close it comes to my own English verions.

Corsier

St.Maurice

Light …

In the ambient gray.

No, I am not talking about the lovely Christmas trees (two examples here): although luminous and always welcome, I am thinking more of the latest BIG news to us in my community: the road is again open!

For those who were unaware of the situation, the road linking me to the village has been blocked for quite some time as they are working on the new system of transportation (underground pipeline) for rainwater. How many kilometers did I have to drive every time these past few months: 4 in one direction, 4 and a half in the other. Each time that I wanted to pick up a package at the post office, each time that I went to see two of my friends who live in the village, each time I went to get groceries in neighboring France, each time that I had items to take up to the recycling center, each time that I … As you can see we were mighty sick of having to always go around.

Now, thanks to the holiday season, we are finally free from these constraints – my day and my future on the roads at Christmas have suddenly been “lightened” in spite of the gray skies and wet weather.

Sunrise Dec.17, 2014

Christmas Day, Christmas gray

Leads one to looking inward, to concentrate on the lights that can be lit, the various decorations and ornaments involving lights; the sharing of other’s lights

Those of you living in sunnier climes don’t perhaps enjoy the lights to the same degree that those of us who look outside and see gray and rain, yet more rain. However, I am sure that everyone in his or her own way has the odd gray day.  Think back to those and focus on what made the gray go away: usually there is some sort of light involved.

They remind us of the sun, of better weather so we indulge ourselves with new ones every year and on those days, such as mine today, when the outside is blanketed in many shades of gray, we even light them all to celebrate the lights that lead the way, the lights that guide us in the darkness, the lights that lift our spirits.

But there are other kinds of gray,  the gray of the spirit : we must never forget, that to others we can be the light; we can lift the darkness of loneliness, we have the capacity to shed the light of human warmth and love.

On this Christmas Day look around, shed some light – you’d be amazed at how strong the rays can be that return to you.

Old tea light container

New "Swedish chimes" from D-L & R

Champagne at friends

Dark days, Light events

In the dark days of late November, beginning of December until the wonderful day of Dec.22 when the days start getting longer again, some of us notice more than others the blackness of the elements.  This is the time of year when every little light, every little glow takes on an extra warmth, a meaning of life and light to chase away the shadows.

We meet friends more, go out and about to see the pre-Christmas lights – and it certainly doesn’t matter what one's religion, or lack thereof, is – we revel in a fireplace, a string of fairy lights, anything and everything that helps lighten the gloom.

There are the Christmases to plan (yes, I said Christmases – when one has friends and family far and near, one tends to multiply, in accordance with the others plans, those celebrations.

This morning, the household had its Christmas, breakfast on a Sunday morning being about the only time where the three of us could actually coordinate our separate lives and calendars.

Being the savvy women that we are, both housemate D-L and I, delegated the making of Christmas breakfast to her love, Rick.  He did us proud, bacon and eggs (seasoned mind you), table prettily set – and to both of our surprise the bonus of champagne, colored with cranberry juice for the color, no less!

The eggs cooled as pictures were taken, which in no way diminished our pleasure in eating them. In fact it was all so extraordinary that it wasn’t until a couple hours later when I was questioning the fact that the champagne had really gone to my head, that I realized that I hadn’t had my coffee!

Here’s to the warmth of friendship: a light on a gray day.