My First Blog

WELCOME to my blog site. Those of you who know me are probably surprised that I am blogging and even more surprised that I have created a website. By nature, I prefer to stay out of the public eye. However, I have been led by circumstances to venture into the on-line social world. One reason I’m doing so is having been cut off from my stateside family and friends when Laurent and I moved from the Eastern Shore of Maryland to return to France in the fall of 2019. The second and very compelling reason is the Covid pandemic: since the beginning of 2020, Covid-related lockdowns and travel restrictions have prevented me from flying to the states to see the people I love and prevented them from visiting me in France. In this time of enforced isolation, like so many others I am learning to reach out through new vehicles of communication: Facetime, Zoom, a reactivated Facebook account, and now a blog. I plan to stay in touch by posting regularly about what Laurent and I are up to here in central France, giving glimpses of the activities that fill our days: renovating a century-old manor house with a fascinating story, restoring its gardens, and spending happy hours in the kitchen pursuing our shared passion of cooking. 

I’ll also share the ups and downs of the other reason why I’m reaching out into social media, including launching a new website: I’m in the process of publishing a book I have written about two cousins of my grandfather: Susanna Parry and Alice Paul, infamous suffragist and author of the Equal Rights Amendment. The book is entitled Susanna and Alice: Quaker Rebels, and hopefully Sunbury Press will release it within the next six months or so. That is, if I’m able to do all the daunting tasks they are asking me to do. Having written the book is only the beginning of the journey. I’ll share my successes and failures as I navigate the sometimes choppy waters of the publishing process, hopefully helping new authors like me to persevere.

Thanks for visiting with me. I’m looking forward to the next time. Au revoir for now!