goodbye Deleilan...

Lately, I have become increasingly impatient with the sheer complicatedness of the world around me. I crave simplicity, quietness, genuineness. Little by little, I am banishing what seems superfluous or causes me unnecessary irritation, and thus far have made considerable progress. It therefore made perfect sense when, on the eve of moving to a new apartment, I found myself itching for a fresh start.

The time has now come to leave behind the pseudonym I adopted years ago (as a defense against being "found out") and to start afresh on a new blog. I will be writing there under my real name, in French as well as in English, about simple things, what I love, and what is important to me.

(I have not yet decided what to do about my Twitter account, though I must admit to feeling a growing degree of annoyance with the medium.)

So, dear readers, please update your links, bookmarks and RSS readers as you wave Deleilan goodbye!

The Moonstone / Wilkie Collins

But when you are old, you acquire one excellent habit. In cases where you don't see your way clearly, you hold your tongue.

(Gabriel Betteredge)

serendipity?

Following this post, I spent a week feverishly checking multiple web sites and local papers, taking long walks around the neighbourhood, making dozens of phone calls, all the while armed with notepad and pen. My mood fell lower and lower with each walk, each call, each visit. I don't handle stress well, you see; it makes me physically sick, so I hoped that my quest would be a short one.

As it turned out, all I had to do is say "hello"...

This Saturday, while on my way to view what seemed to be a nice enough place, I stopped to chat with one of my neighbours, a retired gentleman who spends most of his time outdoors with his cats, doing one thing or another. We had passed the time of day on occasion, commenting on the weather or his cats, but until then didn't even know each other's names. He was sitting in the sun, removing grit from his winter tires before putting them in storage. We joked that this was a very zen occupation, then he asked what I was up to. When I mentioned my appointment, he gave me a searching look and asked: "Do you have a car?" I answered in the negative. He narrowed his eyes, lowered his voice, and said: "I have the apartment for you." I thought he was just teasing me, but he made a gesture towards a house across the street from his: "The upstairs is empty, and he doesn't advertise because he doesn't want just anybody living there. And there's no parking space." It sounded too good to be true! He wanted me to come over and meet the house's owner (him) straight away, but I was already running late, so I scribbled my name and phone number on a piece of paper, which he agreed to deliver.

The "promising" apartment I viewed failed to impress (and the landlord seemed a bit creepy). My messenger was still sitting outside with his winter tire when I returned home. He must have seen the look of expectation on my face, but insisted on showing me his garden before speaking of anything else. Quite a character, I assure you! He finally turned to me and said: "Let's go and see him now." It was dinner time, but he didn't appear to think this was a problem. He introduced me to Denis (him), who gave me a tour of the upstairs apartment while telling me of the circumstances that prompted its existence. (You'll have to wait for the details.)

To make a long story short (too late...), I fell head over heels for this space! It's very unique, with tons of charm and quirky little details. I'm getting the keys on May 1st!

Part of me can't quite believe that, had I not stopped to greet someone, I would never have known about the apartment and would still be making myself thoroughly miserable... Perhaps there really is such a thing as serendipity!

Thanks, Universe!

                 Love,

                 Deleilan

Le Médecin de campagne / Honoré de Balzac

Nous avons tous des penchants qu'il faut savoir ou combattre, ou rendre utiles à nos semblables.

(Benassis)

[Josiane, j'ai immédiatement pensé à toi en lisant ce passage!]

curtail

As a preliminary step before moving to my yet-to-be-found new apartment, I went through all the drawers and cupboards and the boxes crammed under my bed, setting aside the few objects that I truly want to keep and filling numerous bags destined for the thrift shop. My possessions have now been halved, and I cannot help but feel a little proud of my willingness to let go of so many material things. Of course, I could not have achieved this without RD's invaluable assistance and vigilance. This intensive sorting session lasted an entire day... tiring work, as you can see.

I was overjoyed to finally find the Green Mousie, RD's long-lost favourite toy, stuck in the fold of a plastic bag under the bed.

But RD inexplicably transferred all his affection to this tension sample as soon as he caught sight of it.

I suppose it does somewhat resemble a mouse, at least from a certain angle! He has been pouncing on it and tossing it about with such ferocious energy that I have now taken to calling him "my fierce warrior".

As for my search for a new home, I have thus far visited only two likely candidates; the first was located in a sadly neglected building (never a good sign) and the second unfortunately proved too small...