Something that has been difficult, at least for me, is keeping myself active and involved. It's been hard for me, in part, because I feel we aren't really here long enough for me to get involved in something meaningful. Also, while I would love to start taking some dance classes and getting to know people in the process, I'm physically not capable of taking class at the moment, so I'm at a loss of what to do. My husband has been trying to help in his own way.
In fact, just the other night my husband goes to collect the kids from the park and was gone for what seemed to be an extraordinary length of time. It had gotten to the point that I was about to send out search and rescue, when suddenly he burst through the front door yelling in French, "Nous Invites!!". I was startled and had no idea what he was yelling. He must have seen my look of absolute confusion, because he quickly clarified by saying "We have guests" in English. Evidently, on his way to the park, he took advantage of opportunities to talk to any people he could find along the way, as is his custom, and ended up meeting our new neighbors. In an quirk of fate, they are both professional dancers around my same age, so my husband invited them over. Only my husband could walk down to the park and come back with professional dancers in tow! It was awesome. I really enjoyed meeting them, and hope that the bad beer didn't put them off completely. If I lived here, I could totally see myself getting involved in some of the projects they were talking about, such as forming a class for mature, trained dancers. That would be amazing. They seemed disappointed when they found out I'm only here for a couple of months. I was disappointed too, and I'm having to rethink my expectations for this year. Maybe something is better than nothing...it is definitely something to ponder.
Just to clarify, lest I come across like a complete slug, I haven't been doing absolutely nothing. I've been cooking a lot more. In a complete side point, I love to collect and read cookbooks, and the lady from whom we are renting the house has several cookbooks that I am enjoying. When we first got married, my husband wanted to get rid of all my cookbooks, thinking they were unnecessary. He quickly learned that he appreciates them, mostly because I get inspired by them and he loves to eat. I can remember random recipes in my cookbooks and I use them often. I know that most of the recipes are probably online, but there is something about holding the book in my hands that I really enjoy. Plus, they are pretty! So needless to say, I've been perusing the cookbooks here, adding to my repertoire, and getting mixed reviews from my family, but that's typical. I haven't been Chopped yet!
I've also been catching up on my Netflix, and I went to the movies with my Sister in Law. The kids and I have also been to the movies. My husband and I went to a fancy launch party last week that involved alcohol, so that was fun, and we have been to tour a vineyard where they were bringing in the fall harvest. The kids are now is horseback riding lessons every week and loving it. Rocco is involved with a rocket club, thanks to his Uncle, and we've also been out to eat several times. So quite a few fun and unique things to do, but I'm still personally lacking something. For now I'm giving it some more time. I just have to make sure I don't turn into a Netflix watching couch potato!
