Carpe Diem All Over the Place

 When my Dad died at age 69 and one day, I vowed that when I reached the same age, that I would seize each day and live a life of carpe diem for him and for me.

Part of it is to try to enjoy small things: peeling a carrot and liking the shade of orange, holding a special pen to write a grocery list - simple things. Some are more special, a violet growing in the crack of a sidewalk or a clever, well-written sentence in a book.

Then there are days that are beyond normal carpe diem like yesterday. 

As we waited for the bus, I chatted with an older woman who told me about a new service offered by the TPG, the Geneva bus company. Taking the bus avoids traffic and you don't need to find a parking space. Plus it's great for people watching.

Once downtown, Rick and I wandered through the Geneva Marché de Noël. Little chalets were set up along the lake front. The Jet d'Eau was on. Boats bobbed against their moorings.

It was cold, the way a Christmas market should be.

We were killing time before noon when we would meet a writer friend at Le Cottage restaurant.  

It was still too early for some of the chalets to be opened, but we appreciated the wood-burning spots, the decorations, especially one ceiling. 

Best of all we found an open Canadian chalet and it had the packets of poutine gravy. My husband loves poutine from his days in Montreal. The vendor was from Montreal. In chatting we discovered they were both connected with aviation.

In the restaurant, the waiter remembered I liked my Coca-Cola zero without ice. 

My writer friend arrived. We go back to the nineties when we met at the Geneva Writers Group. I like her and respect her on so many levels that any time together is a treat.

It was a soup kind of day, and the restaurant has nontraditional soups, which we all ordered. It was also a good dessert kinda day too: pecan pie, chocolat moellux and cheesecake. They were presented with blueberries and a mint leaf. 

Besides the food, the enjoyment of just sharing in the restaurant, looking out the book-lined window to dogs playing in the park added another dimension. 

Our next stop was the renovated English Library which occupies three rooms of the Emmanuel Church. The church looks like it was moved from an English village and set down near the lake.  

The library occupies three rooms in the church.It has fed my reading habit since 1993.

The two women working were ecstatic about the beautiful parquet floor found under the old, ugly green rug. The casement windows, and a huge Paddington Bear made me smile. A change of desks made the library seem bigger.

Our final stop was Auer Chocolates. Just entering the shop is a treat with the chocolate aroma and the counters filled with little chocolate squares, both dark and light. Some are decorated with a nut, a gold squiggle, or a decorative design.

It's our tradition to buy 24 of their chocolates for our Advent Calendar bought at Auer over a dozen years before.Watching the woman pick them one by one with her gloved hand, I could imagine the pleasure Rick and I will have opening a box each day. We halve them so we don't miss any tastes.

The 33 bus was waiting at Rive, warm contrast to the chilly outdoors.

At home, Sherlock greeted us and we settled into our cozy flat for the night. 

On this Thanksgiving evening, I'm more aware then usual of the blessed life I have with so many carpe diem days. Not all are blog worthy, but even the simplest, where I my fingers fly over the laptop keys putting down words as I want them, the dog snuggling next to me, the hot shower relaxes me, my husband sitting by my side watching Netflix film is a carpe diem moment for me and my Dad.