u/LifeInTheFrenchAlps

"Bernadette", Proust and Joy: a little explanation

Call me a sentimental, old fool, I wont even argue with you.
I am and I stand for it.

On November 21st, 2024, at 7:30 in the morning, I helped Proust climb into "Bernadette" and settle in between 12 suitcases and ski gear and bags, and we started our 900km journey from Rheinstetten, Germany, near Strasbourg, France, towards Chamberanger in the French Alps, to our house.

It was one of the most painful trips I had to take, some of you know why.

The day before, we had arrived by plane in Frankfurt, Germany, from D.C., drove a rental van to Strasbourg, got picked up in Strasbourgs city center by the incredible friendly Billy Christof from Weckar Classic Cars and driven out 45 minutes to their garage and shop where my newly acquired 1988 HJ61 Landcruiser with 420.000 km waited for us. 

I bought the car sight unseen while still living in Hampton, Virginia, just by looking at pictures and watching videoclips that Billy sent me. I sent them the money and copies of all necessary documents and asked them to prepare the car so that it will take me and Proust to the mountains without breaking down. I trusted them fully with my money and that car, at the back end of an arduous journey leaving behind my previous life, in the truest and hardest sense of the word. 

On that cold and grey 21^(st) of November, we slowly advanced over German and Swiss and French highways towards our beloved mountains, Proust snoozing in the back on his matress, and me carefully montoring speed and rpm to not exceeding what I deemed safe enough for Bernadette , as I named the old, scruffy Landcruiser.

Among many other factors, the possibility of me breaking down somewhere on the way, with a stressed 85kg Great Dane, a dozen suitcases and a frayed emotional state of mind weighed heavily on me. I had no idea if my old "Berndette" was up to a 12h/900km+ marathon drive and a climb up into the mountains. I turned off the music just to be able to listen to the engine and gears and all the noises a 35y old car can make while driving at 110 km/h o the Autobahn, I stared at oil pressure , temperature, and any gauge that was still working and prayed that everything will hold together. It was stressful, but also weirdly satisfying with each 100km of distance checked of our road map taking us closer to home. 

Needless to say, Bernadette brought us home, safely and without a hitch . 

Bernadette, rattling and smoking, slow and noisy,  with Proust in his super size dog bed in the back was part of my daily life from now on up here in the mountains. 

Fast forward 1 and a half year. 

Proust and I had to split ways on March 20^(th)  2026 after he got diagnosed with DCM in August 2025. Bernadette drove him to countless imaging appointments and vet rendezvous as long as he managed to get up the folding stairs into the back of the Landcruiser.

The diagnosis was unexpected, the loss was hard, and way to soon after my last one. 

I lived without a dog in my house for the first time for decades, and it was just not feeling right. When I felt I was ready for another dog in my life I found a breeder in northern Italy I trusted and a litter of puppies born on May 8^(th) this year. I visited once, (in a rental car due to Bernadette being in the shop) just to make sure that "I was sure".

And when the date came to bring little Joy  home into her new life, it felt just as a given that this would be with Bernadette, my old and beloved Landcruiser.

It was a 900Km + round trip, in the blazing heat of the 4^(th) canicule of 2026, in a car that has no AC and whose electric windows only open on the driver side. ( we are still waiting for parts) . 

I considered renting a car. 

Family offered graciously to drive me for the entire trip in their car. 

Yet, I felt I needed to do that trip with Bernadette.

By myself, bringing her home to the mountains, just like I did with Proust.

And the situation had changed since November 2024: Kenny, the owner of the Garage de la Rossa in Pralognan had done a great job helping me keeping Bernadette on the road. Vital parts where changed, updated, replaced, and I had full trust in Kenny's judgement if the Toyota would make it.

He checked fluids before I left and said: She's good to go!"

So I went . 

I left at 3am in the morning, rolled  through the night towards Italy, crossed the Frejus tunnel and drove past Turin at sunrise, to be at Borgonovo Val Tidone at 8:30am.

The drive home was hot, very hot, I cant deny it. Little Joy was laying on the back seat on a wet towel, covered with another wet towel to keep her cool and the ventilation kept moving hot air around us.

The Po-river valley was blazingly hot even at 10:30 in the morning but we made our way back,  slowly and steadily towards the mountains. I chose to go up the Aosta valley towards la Thuile and over the Petit San Bernard pass, to escape the heat on the highways in the plains. 

Again, Bernadette climbed up and up and rolled back down towards the Vanoise valley and brought us home, without a hitch.

Just like Proust, I brought Joy home in that old, battered Landcruiser that will need some serious work to keep her on the roads. 

And I will keep her on the roads.

Driving me and Joy through the mountains and through life. 

When people ask me about the car, I always say: "This will be the last car that I ever will buy and will ever drive- gotta make her last" .

I am not even joking. 

Call me an old, sentimental fool. 

I am. 

And I am fine with it. 

Day 5 and things are ... "evolving" :D

Whereas the first few days were a carefully period of assessing the situation, establishing a certain mellow and slightly distant personality to lull everyone in careless safety, by days 4 and 5 , (Baby) Joy has managed to blow her cover and show her true self:

A sassy, stubborn drama queen with a tendency to turn into a double lit fire cracker after meals and before bedtimes, mixed with that irresistable sweet look in her amber colored eyes that melts all hearts except the ones of older canine ladies who know the trick and dont fall for it.

Joy learned and perfected the mastery of selective staircase climbing and descent: Up and down in slow, careful and precise movements, not hesitant and not reckless, at any occasion that suits her current mood and needs.

If she suspects that the descent will lead to a car ride, she immediately hides that skill and becomes a 21kg lump of soft fur, endless legs dangling everywhere, a tail that I need to be careful not to step on and her nose and mustache tearing my glasses of their cord.

From stealing socks out of my laundry basket to gnawing on my bed posts, from the "Aria of Complaint in D Minor" to bouts of "spinning-in-circles" on the sofa, from "100-0" naps in the middle of where-ever she is to that "big eyed puppy face" when she wants a belly rub, she holds true to her name.

She is really the Joy of my life!

so far she:

met Luna ( elderly Maltese lady,) Cookie (mature Pyreneese lady, distinct neighbor and doggy queen of the village) Thelma (4year old Golden Retriever and stepsister, living part time with us), the unnamed village rooster, Minette and Treacle ( 2 mean cats), she learned how to chase and catch crunchy grasshoppers, developed a taste for empty snail shells from the garden, she stayed in restaurants and other social human events sleeping peacefully under the table, has horrible eating habits: (one mouthfull of food, some water and the a roundtrip (TRIPTRIPTRIP!) through the house, repeat until bowl is empty), she discovered that a sofa and a bed are not that bad after all compared to tile floors, (but she would like to change the throws on the sofa and the duvet cover on the bed ) and, most important of all, she has smitten every humans heart she met so far, so I would say that the first weeks grades are on a good trajectory.

Dear (Baby) Joy, 
Welcome to your new life. 
Welcome to my world. 

I admit, I am scared. 
I am as anxious, scared, insecure as I have not been for a long time. 
At the same time I could not be happier. 
I could not be happier to have you in my life. 

I will promise  you that I will take care of you, watch out for you, protect you and love you with all of my heart.
You will be at my side day in and day out, night and day, as much as life will allow.
I will show you the mountains, the streams and waterfalls,  the cows, the ibex and the marmottes,
You will see and feel snow for the first time in your life and I am sure you will be as exited about it as I am.
I will show you beaches and dunes, forests and meadows, birds and butterflies, sheep and goats. 
You will meet many new people to greet and love and new doggie friends, cats and chickens. 
We will stroll through cities, towns  and villages, we will visit stores and all the places that welcome you by my side. 
You will get to nibble on healthy treats and enjoy the best food one can by, and you will be spoiled rotten with toys and stuffies - and I dont regret it one bit. 
We will hang out on the couch together on rainy evenings and watch the clouds drift by the mountains that are now your home. 
You will travel with me in Bernadette to different countries, explore other cities and see the world. 
We we will play, work, eat and sleep, laugh and cry together. 

I cant wait to life life with you . 

Welcome home, Joy. 

You are already living up to your name. 

Waiting can be exciting but I find it mostly nerve-wracking, but thats how it is and I might as well make good use of the time. So, my question to the IW community: while she is still a puppy, harness yes or no ? And if yes, what kind/ brand did you use and can recommend - and which do avoid ? (pic from our first visit for the puppy-picture-tax)

Weekend trip to Italy to get to know our breeder and visit the 10 beautiful puppies plus their momma, dad, and all the aunties, sisters and nephews . FIngers crossed for little Joy coming to live in France soon !

A weekend trip to the northern edge of the Appeninn Mountains in Italy to visit the breathtakingly beautiful home of "della Bassa Pavese", their 10 puppies , mom and dad and all the aunts, uncles, sisters and nephews. Fingers crossed for little "Joy" coming home to me to France soon. Its such a wonderfull area, great food, wine and such lovely people .

Below is a message I received last night from a French friend of mine. I couldn’t have said it better.

“Hi my friend,

I’ve been following what’s happening around Le Planay and Pralognan over the last few days. Seeing those mountains under smoke is heartbreaking enough, and the death of that young volunteer firefighter makes it all feel painfully real. It’s a heavy time for everyone who calls this valley home.

I just wanted to tell you how glad I am to see you so involved since coming back to France. It says something about the kind of person you are. You could simply be living here, but instead you’re paying attention, helping, caring about the people around you and about these villages that mean so much to all of us.

Communities are built by people who refuse to look away when difficult moments arrive. Seeing you stand with them reminds me that belonging isn’t about where you were born, it’s about where your heart decides to stay.

Thank you for being one of those people. It genuinely means a lot to me, and I hope the valley will soon find some peace again.

Take care of yourself, my friend.”

Daily driver with the occasional break for “restorative maintenance”. 😅🤞
Recently drove over the Petit St Bernard - Pass to Italy - Courmayeur.
She did a great job .
Just love to drive her and see the reactions she gets.
Cruiserlove 🤩🤞

Its 3 month now, and it has not really changed. Especially hiking the trails we used to explore together is a real challenge to do by myself.

This is from a dog behavior blog. I found it comforting in a way - maybe it helps some of you who lost their beloved fur nose...

"When we loose a dog, we experience grief and profound sadness.

The biology of sadness is relatively well researched.
The experience of grief is not. From a behavioral perspective, one of the most interesting observations is that grief appears to be the price of attachment.
When someone important to us dies, the brain is not simply processing an abstract concept of death. It is responding to the sudden absence of a relationship that has become embedded within our nervous system.
The brain has spent days, months, or years predicting the presence of that individual. Then suddenly they are gone. The brain continues to search for them.
Neuroscientists sometimes describe grief as a prediction error. Your brain expects a dog to be waiting at the door or a person to answer a phone call. When reality contradicts those expectations, a profound state of distress occurs. The same regions involved in emotional pain overlap significantly with areas involved in physical pain.
We often debate whether animals feel grief, sadness, disappointment, love, fear, jealousy, or loss. But if we are honest, we cannot directly access our own subjective experience either. I can tell you which brain regions become active when you cry. I cannot tell you why losing one being feels different from losing another.
The conscious brain may understand death. It may understand the medical facts but another part of the brain is responding to the loss of a relationship. And that system does not necessarily respond to logic.
Crying is one of the least understood phenomena. Humans are the only species known to produce emotional tears. Animals produce tears to lubricate their eyes, but emotional crying appears uniquely human.
We know crying involves activation of the autonomic nervous system, hormonal changes, and limbic structures. What we do not know is why emotional overload specifically results in tears. We can describe the mechanism. We cannot fully explain the purpose.
Some theories suggest tears evolved as a social signal. Others suggest crying helps regulate physiological arousal. Some researchers argue it may simply be a by product of emotional circuitry becoming overwhelmed.
The truth is we still don't know."

"Grief is love with nowhere to go."
Thats about all there is to it.
I can try to read, learn,reason, distract or compensate.
It does not change the fact:
"Grief is love with nowhere to go." source u/PilgrimPayne59

(first pic is from my balcony last summer - just to set the mood)

Hi fellow gardeners - first time post here - I live in a small hamlet in the French Alps at 1250m / 4100ft altitude and - like a good alpine village dweller 😄 - I have geraniums on my balcony and my garden fence, Its about 50 plants all together to make things look nice and I love it.

Over the past, I usually didnt have time and space to overwinter the plants, although when I was a child I remember that my mom and grandmother in Germany always kept their geraniums in the basement during winter.

Last fall I decided to give it a try in the non occupied part of my house and "put them to sleep" with limited light, low temps but well above freezing and very little water. After our last snow and frost sweeping through here last week ( Les Saints de Glace, normal for here haha) I cleaned them all up and pruned them to prepare for spring and summer. They are still looking a bit pale and scraggly but there are plenty of tiny little green dots in the leave - knots so I was quite hopeful.

Now someone told me that it takes up to 2 months for overwintered geraniums to bloom - is that true ? In that case I will just buy new ones although it seems like such a waste each year to throw away the plants ? Or will the grow faster since they are already strong and estabished plants ?

Thanks for your advice and comments - all welcome also on the pruning - too much or too little ? I hope I didnt butcher them too much ?

I never used a tracking app tbh but just had a chat with a neighbor who showed me his and his stats for the season. The high speed readings made me a bit sceptical on how accurate / realistic the metrics are . (or he is REALLY GOOD haha) He used Ski Track app. (pic for ambiance and attention :))

recommendations for seat cover for front seats for my "Bernadette" I had them redone and want to protect them from the usual "thigh'n butt wear'n tear" Bonus points for EU company to avoid shipping and tariff bs.

This is it.
Promise! 🤞
The last skiing post for 8 months 😅
I moved my ski gear out of Bernadette* where it’s been since December and put it up .
The “real End of the Season” . 😢🤣😢
A gorgeous day in Tignes/Val d’Isere with my friends🤩🥰👆.
Tignes Val Claret- Glacier de la Grande Motte- Bellevarde- Face Olympique- Val d’Isere -Solaises- Glacier de Pisaillais and retour.
Awesome lunch break at 3000m at Chalet La Cascade with views over the Maurienne and Bonneval sur Arc.
A fitting last day for the season 26/26 .
A deeply grateful thank you to all of my friends and family that came to ski with me all those days.
Love and hugs from the mountains, be happy and safe, y’all 🥰🤩😘

* Bernadette is my 1988 Landcruiser 😎