Recent Posts
A Day with our Friend Hannah!
Bonjour, Friends in Paris are treasures and yesterday, we spent all day with Hannah, our friend of many years. She lives partly here and partly in the US. We are rushed for time this morning to play tour guide today to Pat Sims from Huntsville so no commentary…just photos and captions. Hope you enjoy as […]
A web article you must read!
A friend sent me this from home regarding the Louvre. It’s a must read. https://www.yahoo.com/news/lines-stretch-outside-louvre-paris-104546436.html
Creeping Temperatures in a Dry, Hot Paris
Bonjour, For mid-June, it’s very hot in Paris and very dry which adds to the pollution and dusty aura around Paris. Also the dog poop on the sidewalks! Yes, you have to trod carefully. Yesterday, we did laundry, of course, because it was Monday! Our washing machine is unusual by Paris standards. Typically, a load […]
Saying Farewell to the Guys
Bonjour mes amis, Yesterday was Jamie and Andrew’s last day with us after a very good visit. Less frenetic, less touristy and more informative for them. They plan to return sometime in the fall to do more research in regard to living here permanently. They honored Bernie yesterday with cards and gifts for Father’s Day […]
Books
Her first book entitled Leading Ladies published in 2003 offers practical leadership tips for women, encouraging them to embrace their femininity as a leadership asset.
In Catch Your Breath, Linda has written a raw, honest series of meditations for caregivers based on her experiences in caring for her own mother. These will evoke both laughter and tears as they offer insight and courage to those caught in the caregiving web.
In Bernie ‘s Paris…Travel Stories with Love, Linda describes with tender and often humorous clarity her eleven years visiting Paris with her best friend and lover, Bernard Verdier, a native Frenchman. From Southern belle to world traveler, she will delight you with her Parisian escapades, her love affair with “Bernie” and hopefully inspire you to fall in love with Paris as she has. Bernie’s photographs will ignite the urge to plan a Paris fling. The book is now available.
Now Available: Bernie’s Paris…Travel Stories with Love
This memoir captures an improbable journey between a love-starved, Southern belle and an over-eager, homesick Parisian. If you’ve ever been to Paris or have always dreamed of going, this is a must-read full of savvy tips, funny mistakes, compelling drama—all entangled in the tender love story of two people who had mostly given up on a late-in-life relationship. You will chuckle; you will sigh; you will remember; and maybe, you will call your travel agent!
Now Available from Balboa Press
Whether you have chosen to be a caregiver or were hijacked by circumstances, Catch Your Breath, a series of touching meditations by Linda Spalla, will become a wisp of sanity and a day-to-day stabilizer. Spalla retraces an eight month care-giving journey with her mother, captured in raw, candid images, truly becoming a walk in her shoes. What started as a thirty-days-to-live commitment of care in her home turned into an unexpected eight months of never-ending responsibility. You will feel a kinship with the roller coaster of emotions; from anger, confusion, surprise, resentment, guilt and ambivalence, to finally relief, recovery and celebration. You will learn through the various vignettes some refreshingly practical information on such topics as finding sitters, managing medicine, dealing with sibling rivalry, contracting with Hospice, moving to assisted living, doing will preparation and other legalities as well as funeral planning. You will laugh; you will sob; your heart will soar; your heart will break. You will find solace, encouragement and inspiration for one of life’s most daunting challenges. But especially, you will discover your best self, emerging stalwart, strong and forged by the fire of your caregiving experience. Give yourself a gift of renewal and Catch Your Breath.