Happy May Day! A new month, reason to celebrate; we made it through April! I had an "
If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" moment this morning. When I spoke with my Dad on the phone today he told me that my grandparents' former home (I grew up living next door to my grandparents) is being remodeled and that a large addition is going on, as well as an in-ground swimming pool. He learned this from a friend of his who still lives in our old hometown. "
Interesting", I thought, I filed that away. A few minutes after we spoke I decided to look at this house via Google Earth to see if I could see any changes. No, none yet; the satellite image of my grandparents home isn't that up to date but, as happens, one thing led to another and I was looking up satellite pictures of other homes that we've lived in. From July of 1996 through June 1999 we lived in Geneva, Switzerland. We lived in a fortress of an old house there, on a hillside in a lovely neighborhood with a commanding view of the lake and the Jura Mountains behind. Imagine my shock and surprise when the satellite image for that address revealed a
vacant lot! I was dumb-founded. From there I had to do some sleuthing, not only was the home that we lived in gone but, also, the homes on either side. I was able to pull up the Swiss equivalent of a building permit online for that village and found that (using my very best translation skills from French to English) permission had been granted for the construction of four adjoining villas on those sites! Hmmmm. Sad. I have
so many wonderful memories of living in that house, of my sewing room in the basement (also with a lake view) and the great adventures we had coming and going. Of course, this revelation sent me scrambling for photographs of our time together there!
(One thing leads to another...) At that time our daughter was in college back in the U.S.; our son attended high school in Geneva, so, for the most part it was the three of us then. Sigh. Anyway-- May Day always reminds me of our time living there when bunches of Lilies of the Valley were sold on street corners: "Muguet Day", it's a lovely remembrance of a time long ago and far away.
And, right here, right now: this precious little basket that Lynnleigh brought us two years ago. 💗
Yes, today's May Day, I hope yours is a happy one.
Will you dance around the Maypole?
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Life is Good!
2 comments:
What a fascinating discovery you made. Sad to think that the place where you made those wonderful memories is gone. Sounds like a great experience living there.
Lilies of the Valley make me think of the home in which I grew up. There was just a narrow swath of grass between our home and the one to the south of us. The homes blocked the sun from this area for much of the day. I recall that we would see little sprigs of the fresh white flowers along the edge of the grass beside the neighbor's house, near our sandpile. I don't think I have ever seen them growing anywhere else.
A neighboring community has held a May Day celebration complete with a May Queen and a Maypole Dance for almost 160 years. This year it is not being held. My husband always loves the small town feel of the event, and though we don't reside in the community, he may feel the loss as deeply as any. :)
It sounds like an adventure and I was so happy to read your post. It is always nice to see where we once were and all the latest. I always enjoy your post.Hugs, Marie
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