Time

 There is never enough time.

I've tried to write this many times over the past nine days. It's not easy.

After a sudden illness, two major surgeries and nine days in ICU, my daddy was reunited with my mother on September 11, 2024. 

We have a lot of memories and I know they will provide comfort in the days to come but dang, I was not ready for this. None of us were.

Never one to back down from a challenge, he zipped lined across the Royal Gorge one day after his 80th birthday. What a great trip that was!

I'm so grateful we got to take the trip to France in May - a trip he had wanted to make for a long time. He drank champagne at the top of the Eifel Tower at 82. (Mine! He swiped my glass right of my hand!) We saw all 5 beaches in Normandy, Mont Saint Michel and The Palace of Versailles. He was quite fascinated with the baguettes. So much fun.

 People have asked if he kept up with us while on that trip - the truth is we were having trouble keeping up with him! 

They were married in 1961. I'm sure when they said in sickness and in health they had no idea what that would look like. Mother was diagnosed with MS in 1984 and told she would be lucky to make it 5 years. She was stubborn and showed them. They had been married for 57 years when she passed in 2019. He took care of her those last, hard years an did everything he could to keep her home. I know he has missed her these past 5 years - we all have.

The reward for 83 birthdays. Daddy with the two youngest great grandbabies in June of this year. They were the light of his life. No matter what kind of mood he was in when those babies showed up he was all smiles. 

How do you say goodbye to someone who was always there?

It's going to take awhile to wrap our heads around this one.

Love you forever.

Omaha Beach

The view from our 'home' the second part of our trip.

The rest of these are in no particular order but were taken at Omaha Beach, the visitors center there and  at the American Cemetery.

 

There were six of these huge 'panels' that showed the movements of the troops

This area was behind a fence where they were getting ready for events marking the 80th anniversary - we were there a few weeks before the actual anniversary.

Random pics along the route either to or from...

We visited all 5 beaches over the course of three days - more pics to come.

Cousins

 Before we get back to photos from France...

These babies!

Pure joy. 

You just can't be in a bad mood with them around.

They both have the sweetest personalities.

But they are growing way too fast!

More Photos From France

 These are all out of order but when I try moving stuff around I end up losing pictures and get frustrated so we are going with what I have!

My request for the trip was a needlework shop. The only one I found listed was Sajou in Versailles and we just happened to be going to Versailles so...

 

The tiny sign in the window - that's Sajou and that's the only signage. Your tap on the window and they will meet you at the side door. 

Fun fact - many businesses close from noon until 2:00 for  lunch. We hit it during that time frame so we went for lunch then returned.

The lady is super sweet and does speak English - she did have to ask us fast talkers to slow down a bit. It's a tiny place but packed with goodies. I could have come home with much more than I did but I had limited luggage space so I had to restrain myself!

I knew I wanted a pair of scissors and chose this small pair.

Love them!

The piece with scissors on it is actually a dish towel but I haven't decided what I am going to do with it yet. The front piece is cotton fabric. I will probably make a project bag with that. Eventually.

We actually stopped in Versailles on the way to our second destination. We ran out of time to look for it the day before because the Palace is HUGE. The store is actually just across the street from the palace.

The following pictures are actually from the first day in Versailles. Some are just random pics taken on our way to the Palace along with some pictures from the palace grounds. We didn't make it inside - we didn't even see all the outside. It's huge and a maze. They have maps, thankfully. They do rent golf carts but you have to be there really early to get them and they are limited. If you want to see all of it, I recommend getting there early and getting a cart! It was also hot, especially in the sun. I don't know if the inside has a/c since we didn't have time for touring the inside. 

The back side of the palace

They were spiffing up the place getting ready for the Olympics.

  It's a maze and confusing - even with the map. 

Random street on the way to the palace - lots of narrow streets with cars parked making them even smaller! (told you they were out of order)

Front side of the palace - I think there is more than one entrance.

Another picture from the back side - it was fenced off and they were preparing for something. Don't know if it was connected to the Olympics or what.

Snack time - daddy liked the truck! Said grandpa had one like it.

We took a bus over and then walked to the palace.

An outdoor market on the way to the palace. 

Had to stop and get daddy a cap - he forgot his!

More to come.

Between the 4 of us there are almost 1200 pictures!

Better late than never?

 Been home two whole months and still have only made one post on the trip to France.

Between the four of us there are almost 1200 photos.

I will try to keep it to a minimum over a few posts.

After our rather interesting ride from the airport this was our 'home' for the next few days.

It's uphill, inside that door is a set of steps - I didn't count them but once we got inside the actual front door to the apartment, there were 40 steps. Narrow, winding, steep steps. Yep - I counted them.

It was mid-afternoon and we had so we took a minute to rest up and size up the place before walking down to the little store to get a few necessities. It was downhill on the way to the store - which meant it was uphill all the way back. Wasn't sure my fat self was going to make it.

Our nightly view - once it finally got dark. It stayed daylight until 10:00ish.

The next day (our first full day) we took a bus to Paris, navigated the metro and walked. 

We really didn't have a plan but headed towards the Eifel Tower.

The open market was interesting. 

Finally stopped for a bite to eat. We dined outside on the sidewalk.

Good place for people watching.

Getting closer! 

Don't know why daddy was trying to hide in the back.

It's pretty big!

Actually went all the way to the top!

The views were beautiful!

Already getting ready for the Olympics.

We stopped at the restaurant on the way down for a snack.

Did a little more walking around then

took the bus back to our little home away from home.

Decided to try pizza from this truck that we parked close to the little market. The pizza wasn't that great but the show we saw while waiting was entertaining.

There was an older gentleman on our side of the road that was having a rather loud conversation (in French) with a mail carrier on the other side of the street. They had quite a lengthy 'discussion'. While it was all in French, the universal gestures were enough to know it wasn't friendly!

Okay, I'm out of time for today. 

More soon!