By car, the time it would take to say “Bonjour” to … Paris, Aix-les-Bains, Avignon, Apt and the Villages in the Luberon, and, Nice (in FRANCE)…  would be more than 13 hours without stopping.

On foot, it would take me more than 10 days… and that is if I do not stop to take photographs, use les toilettes, sleep, bathe or eat.

“]”]”]

My friend Sharon taking photos in Avignon / Mon amie Sharon prend des photos à Avignon

21 juin 2025 Avignon FRANCE

I used to drive, a lot.  [ Je conduisais beaucoup.]

I drove all over the state of California in USA for my mother-daughter novel Love Made of Heart - to bookstores, schools, libraries, writers’ conferences, writers’ organizations, book festivals, trade shows, community events.   I will always be grateful to literary agent Stacey Glick, Vice President, and everyone at  Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC; acquisition editor/director John Scognamiglio, president Steven Zacharius, publisher Laurie Perkin, art director Louis Malcangi, and everyone at Kensington Publishing Corp. in New York; sales representatives, teachers, librarians, my then spouse, my sister, friends, mentors, colleagues, the folks at the day job – the East Bay Regional Park District, the folks in the communities, members of California Writers Club, members of Women’s National Book Association, members of Women’s Brain Exchange, every reader …  everyone who cheered for me and my work, everyone who invited me and my book to show up.

I used to see the world from behind the steering wheel. Now I see not only with my eyes, but also, with each foot step I take.

In France, I walk and gawk … at the architecture, the window displays at shops, the heavy doors, the balconies, the gardens, the churches, business signs, the trees, les boulangeries, les pâtisseries, the names of streets, the sky, the food, the food, the food. Aahh… the visuals.

As for the audios .. I adore hearing the French language. My favorite phrase right now is “Je vous en prie.” I feel like I’m eight years old again… learning a new language. It’s slow going for me; the verb conjugations; the article-noun pairing; the silent letters, the silent syllables; the “liaison” (connecting sounds). At first, I thought… why do so many French words begin with the letter “L”?  That’s what I hear.  When I see the spelling … no more mystery; when a noun begins with a vowel, the pronunciation of the article preceding the noun is rolled onto the noun.

le + appartement becomes  l’appartement — sounds like  “la-par-te-mont”

le + aéroport becomes l’aéroport — sounds like “lair-o-port”

le + orchestre becomes l’orchestre — sounds like “lor-kestr”

“]”

Me Teresa Jade, with Sasa and Sharon / Moi Teresa Jade, avec Sasa et Sharon

Festival du livre de Nice 2025

le chien Claude et Guillaume, le mari de Sasa.

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20 juin 2025

Last night June 19, 2025, after a cool shower (it was 36 Celsius / 96.8 Fahrenheit in Avignon), new energy flowed through me.  I worked until 8:00am June 20, then, I went to bed.

I haven’t been this happy in many many months.  I am grateful. I celebrate everyone who has been kind to me.

“

Caroline's magnificent plant / La magnifique plante de Caroline

Being in FRANCE this time has revived me. It’s because for the first time, I am in a real home for many weeks, not a vacation rental. Through the kindness of MCC who had asked her dear friend CK to rent me the studio apartment in her house in Avignon… I am experiencing tranquility.

CK is kind and creative, and, she has finished rewrites of her novel. Also, she has written a series of stories for children. I celebrate CK’s perseverance!

Happiness spreads.  Just the day before, I opened an email from author Ann Tashi Slater https://www.anntashislater.com/

who shared her happy news -

Traveling in Bardo: The Art of Living in an Impermanent World (Hachette Book Group) is arriving September 9, 2025!

I celebrate Ann’s perseverance!  I met Ann at San Francisco Writers Conference when Sasa Southard, Mary E. Knippel and I were presenters, and, our pal Margie Yee Webb was in Linda Lee’s super team.

I pre-ordered Ann’s remarkable book.

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/ann-tashi-slater/traveling-in-bardo/9780306835216/

And… I so hope to see Ann on September 27, 2025 at Book Passage Corte Madera in California.

https://www.bookpassage.com/event/ann-tashi-slater-sylvia-boorstein-traveling-bardo-corte-madera-store

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Sharon et Marie-Christine au Le jardin Singulier /Esprit des lieux / Maison forestière 84390 Saint-Léger-du-Ventoux - photo by TL

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A bookstore in a forest?  Oui.

https://www.provenceguide.com/patrimoines-culturels/mont-ventoux/le-jardin-singulier-esprit-des-lieux/provence-5294194-1.html

The quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry -

“Si tu diffères de moi, mon frère, loin de me léser, tu m’enrichis.”

[  "If you differ from me, far from hurting me, you enrich me." ]

 https://francearchives.gouv.fr/fr/commemo/recueil-2000/38930

 http://evene.lefigaro.fr/citation/differes-frere-loin-leser-enrichis-1406.php

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22 juin 2025

In this blog post, I shall include references to movies that have hooked my attention this month.

Why do I study movies? To honor the writers of the scripts. While the names of the authors for books and stage plays are almost always associated with the title of the book or the play … the names of the writers for screenplays aren’t always the foremost association with the movie titles.  Generally, in the public’s eyes.. the names of the actors and directors get the most attention.  When a movie compels me to watch it again, I always rewind to the opening credits to say “Thank you” to the writer(s).

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15 juin 2025 in Avignon, FRANCE

Today I realized that I know more people who are dead than those who are alive. I’m not being funny… it’s  just that on June 11, 2025, I said to Marie-Christine that I would like to show Sharon one of my favorite places in the town of Apt  – Maison du Parc du Luberon https://www.parcduluberon.fr/ 60, place Jean-Jaures, 84400 Apt. While I was mesmerized by the display showing a scale of geological times in the Luberon region (10 million years ago, 35 million years ago, 150 million years ago), the phrase “ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” came to mind.

Standing there, in front of the display

… the voice inside me said  … when I die, I shall be part of the geology of the planet.

[ … la voix en moi m’a dit … quand je mourrai … je ferai partie de la géologie de la planète.]

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https://www.theluberon.com/villages/

https://en.luberon-apt.fr/

https://www.luberon-apt.fr/apt-et-les-villages

Those words ”ashes to ashes, dust to dust” – spoken by the character Delbert in this movie – made me chuckle.

Undertaking Betty – original title: Plots with a View (comedy movie) – To start a new life, she had to fake her own death!

• Writer:  Fred Ponzlov
• Director:  Nick Hurran
• Stars:  Brenda Blethyn, Alfred Molina, Christopher Walken
• Thank you, Youtube Channel: Cinéfilm, for posting

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21h45 le 16 juin 2025

The mighty wind in this part of FRANCE… Le vent puissant…

Avignon, FRANCE https://www.avignon.fr/

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https://www.britannica.com/place/Avignon

Avignon, city, capital of Vaucluse département, Provence–Alpes–Côte d’Azur région, southeastern FRANCE. It lies at a point on the east bank of the Rhône River where the narrow valley opens into a broad delta plain, northwest of Nîmes. It was the capital of the papacy from 1309 to 1377. Recognized for its architectural beauty and historic importance, the centre of Avignon was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995, and the city served as the European cultural capital for 2000.

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I wish everyone excellent health, peace and happiness always.

Je souhaite à tous une excellente santé, la paix et le bonheur toujours.

 

me, Teresa Jade, at L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue https://www.islesurlasorgue.fr/

 

a grateful Teresa Jade LeYung

Une Teresa Jade LeYung reconnaissante

 

Author / Blogger / Story-Theme Consultant / Photo Historian

 

Auteur / Blogueur / Consultant en matière d’histoires / Historien de la photo

 

https://m.youtube.com/@teresajadeleyung/videos for short short movies of Aix-les-Bains and Paris, FRANCE 2024 and 2025; Portland, Oregon USA 2024; Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA 2024

 

https://www.youtube.com/@teresajadeleyung/shorts for “shorts” 

 

https://LoveMadeOfHeart.com/blog/  goes to Teresa Jade LeYung’s Blog on Wellness, Story Themes, Archetypes

 

Love Made Of Heart ®