Tomorrow is the 4th of July!

 The Summer has crept up on me.
The last post was May 6.  
What happened to May and June?

Let's see, I will start with May...

• Found a friend with a sewing machine so I could make this wall hanging to cover up the stain in the entryway

• Started the Jigsaw puzzle I've been eyeing.  It's going to take a while to finish this.

• The Flags on the boulevard went up for the Summer Season.

• John continues to enjoy the view from "his window view chair"

• The Ancient Mariners had the first Zoom gathering in about 4 months.

Susie, Christine, Melinda, Paula
Candace left early, Mary Sue and Jan didn't make it

• We managed to take a long walk along the River Gave past the Castle Park.

• By the end of the month, the sky views seemed to want to impress us.

***

We then prepared to travel back to Sierra Madre for the month of June for celebrations and reunions of friends and family with doctors' appointments in between.

• June 1, Susie's 81st birthday with immediate family.

Birthday Girl, Daniel, Anthony, John and Taylor

• Mini Ancient Mariner Reunion. We celebrated at Adam's Pack Station in Chantry Flats

Christine, Melinda, Susie, Mary Sue and Laurie

Stephen and Ginger came, too

• Then the Sierra Madre Public Library Reopening.
  
  
• Adrienne and Cynthia came to celebrate the opening of the Mary Tumily Community Room.

Adienne & Cynthia

Mary Tumily's Family
Chris, Peter, Adrienne, Cynthia, Cassie, Micheal and Alice

The Ancient Mariners and Friends
Melinda, Christine, Cynthia, Diane, Adrienne, Susie and MarySue

• Welcome to the post party at 367 W. Highland Ave. for Family and Friends of Mary Tumily.

Adrienne, Cynthia, Christine, Laurie, Diane and David

Melinda, Christine, Susie, Ginger, Cynthia and MarySue

Yayoi, Susie, Dave, Stephen and Ann

• After the Celebration/Reunion of the Library, John and I went to Yucca Valley where Yayoi and Dave were staying.

Yayoi and Dave relaxing after a day's shoot.

John relaxing by the Cowboy Pool

Susie and Yayoi enjoying Joshua Tree National Park

The Berteaux Family

• I got to visit with some of my "girl" cousins.

Susie, Ann, Nicki and Kathy
at O'seayo

• A final dinner at Bess in Sierra Madre with extended Family

Daniel, Anthony, Naomi, Taylor
Chelsea, Susie and John

***

June 29, we flew back to Pau for rest and our lives in our home away from home.

At Maison Constanti
Café au Lait and Croisants

It's good to be in France!

It's already May of 2026!

May 6, 2026

What's been happening with Susie and John?

S & J's Big Adventures
in Pau at Residence le France

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It's been 7 weeks since we've moved into the new/old apartment...

We are loving the views from our balconies

and

Coffee in the mornings before starting the day

___

I have started a Jig-saw Puzzle station

Am cleaning the old things like this wonderful painted screen

Screen - cleaned and folded up in the corner

Have been taking a zoom watercolor class with Kim Russo

Working on making/repairing things in the new/old apartment.

After sealing the curling wallpaper seams
the room looks much neater

I made a wall hanging for the entryway

with the help of new friends Katie and Shauni

and their sewing machine

_______

Easter Sunday, we welcomed the new day!

Celebrated with a feast with David and Christie ("Kate" as the locals call her)

___

Out and about with Peter and Nicola

at Risto dit Vin

___

Fuad comes to Pau for a visit with us!

Eating at Henri IV

Entering the Chateau Gardens

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We've been "nesting" and seem to be settling into this place to make it our own.

We are enjoying things with friends and hosting guests, 

so I guess we'll be making this place our home for a while.

***

Enjoying the views from "John's Chair" and the balconies

We are feeling like this is home.

WOW! It's nearly the end of March 2026

Sunday, March 22, 2026

Many things have happened since the last posting of

S & J's Big Adventures

Welcome to Residence le France

We've now been in Pau for 2 1/2 months.
Since the last blog here is what has happened:

• We settled in on the 2nd floor of Residence le France and fell into our routine of Pau

• We started the process of registering our long term visa

• I started a watercolor (zoom) class

• Robin and Scott came for a week's visit, living 2 blocks away from us

• Registered for residency, successfully, so we can yearly renew the visa for the next five (5) years

• Started looking for a more permanent residence

• As luck would have it, we heard about another apartment on the 1st floor (twice the size of the one we were in.) With references from our landlords, we were able to secure the apartment.

• It's been about two weeks of waiting for the place to be cleared and cleaned; we signed a lease agreement on March 11 and moved stuff, bought a new bed and rearranged furniture before actually sleeping in the new/old apartment.

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Before...

 

After...

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Living space...

Living room & Dining room

Painting on hallway wall...
La Jolla Cove by Christie Dimon
(Housewarming gift)

We've been in this new/old apartment for a week now. 

Every day brings new things to do and buy to make it our own.  

We feel so lucky to be able to live in this spacious apartment that was once part of the Hotel de France, Pau, France, where royalty, government officials, celebrities and the wealthy resided in the 1800's.  In the 1970's, the Hotel was converted into apartments and public office space. We are in the south wing of the hotel building.

The 95 year old woman who lived in this apartment has been the original occupant/owner since 1975 (or so.) We "inherited" much of her furniture and kitchen with all it's acrutriments; we only had to purchase a bed.  There is one WC, 2 bathrooms (showers, one with a washer/dryer), a bedroom, living room and another large room that I am using as a studio/office space with space enough to put a futon couch (or "hide-a-bed") and chairs as another sitting room and/or guest bedroom.  Lots of closet space and cupboards for our clothes and storage are in the entryway and hallways. 

There still is a lot of cleaning and repairing to do to make it clean and presentable enough for John A. Berteaux, PhD and myself, but it is a beautiful apartment and I think we will enjoy it for as long as we can.

 

First Floor View
on a cloudy day in the Pyrenees