Second Lives as Expats in France

Maryl meets three expats, see how they live

Maggie                                             Martine                           Nili               

The shopping, art, personal tours and CannesFilm Festival aside, one of the greatest pleasures I experienced my three weeks in France was making friends with three women….expats to be precise.  In the little village of Collobrieres, I met Maggie from London, Martine from San Francisco (originally from Paris though) and Nili from Iran but then Austria after the Shah was deposed.

These women all started their second lives in different ways but all arrived at fulfillment together in a small community in Provence.  Each story is unique but all took the courage to just get up and move.

Three Women Sculptors - True Artists with Some Engineering Expertise on the Side

Maryl marvels at the magnitude of their sculptures

Nathalie Decoster                                     Carol Friedmann                                    Carolyn Palmer 

So do these three women look like engineers to you?  I had the occasion to experience eye-opening work of two female sculptors on my recent trip to France and a similar encounter with another in our own neck of the woods. Nathalie Decoster who works in Paris sculpts figures in bronze - although she is beginning to work with other materials – that represent man confronting time and nature. Gloria Friedmann, originally from Germany who also works in France, is a sculptor, painter, photographer and videographer who interprets man against nature, culture and humanity. Carolyn Palmer is a New York portrait artist who creates life-size bronze busts and statues. As I walked around and admired their art pieces it occurred to me that these are also engineering feats and that artists need to know some sciences along with their arts. You may remember the media frenzy Lawrence Summers, then President of Harvard, set off when inferring that innate differences between the genders may be the reason so few women scientists make it to the top.  I'm not looking to open up that debate but maybe we're not measuring female aptitude in the right places.  Anyway, just take a look at these sculptures for yourselves and enjoy their magnitude and beauty. 

Should you Eliminate Dairy in your Diet?

Ruth dumps the dairy and get her calcium elsewhere.

In the second half of life, should you dump dairy? One of the sensitivities that can occur as you age is your sensitivity to dairy. I am lactose intolerant, it runs in my family, so this food allergy happened in my forties. You can become intolerant of dairy at any stage, so if you are experiencing gastro intestinal discomfort, you should look to eliminate the culprit. Do two weeks avoiding dairy products and see if your situation improves. I laugh when I think about my daughter’s response to milk. During Hurricane Sandy her refrigerator stopped working, and when she went to pour the soured milk down the drain, it was a solid mass of stench. She has since refused to drink milk because it reminds her of that smell. LOL! She adds hot water to her coffee instead of milk. It works for me too. But you can substitute almond milk, or soy milk if you prefer.

Here's how dairy can do more harm then good: