A bit of an accident

 Wow, it's been a long time. Everything has been fine. We had a disconnected Christmas, the family distributed all over the place, so we celebrated quietly, at home. Anne came over. Same for New Year's Eve. Very quiet and I think we appreciate quiet sometimes.

At the Winter school break, Chl came to spend the week with us because she was enrolled in the pony club week-long half-days of activity. It was great fun. So much so, she is doing it again, during Spring break, next week. 

A little over two weeks ago, I fell. I missed the curb and tripped onto the street, landing on my right side. I knew something was wrong when people tried to help me up and ended up dragging me to the sidewalk. One guy, who actually saw me fall came running from his work and stayed with me until the pompiers (Fire brigade EMTs) arrived to take me to a hospital, told me that I was the 10th person he'd seen fall exactly as I had at that spot and that the city was aware of the dangerous extra-high curb. As soon as I'm really up and about, I'll go back and thank him, again. He called the security people from the Gare de Lyon; some police showed up; other passers-by stopped to see if they could help. I felt very well surrounded.

So, today I voted. I had hoped to be able to walk (with crutches) all the way to the polling station. It's normally a 5-minute walk. I just don't have the stamina I hoped for. Paul drove me over and picked me up. That's done.

I'm making headway with our taxes. I am in the process of calculating the French tax on something in order to claim a foreign tax credit on the U.S. taxes. Then, I can finish both the U.S. and French declarations. I just can't sit for long. It's stop and go. 

And that's it. 

Fall is Beautiful!

 I've become lazy. I don't feel like writing. More precisely, I don't feel like opening the computer, and typing or swooshing on the phone just doesn't work for me. There's not really anything new, just routine.

Since my last post was over 3 months ago, though, there is some catching up to do. We returned to Ginals early in July with the two Parisian grandchildren. They stayed with E & G; we stayed at our base - Hôtel Belle Rive in Najac. They had a great time helping around the property. We all did a little tourism. I'm very proud to announce that I managed to go up to the center of Cordes-Sur-Ciel and back down. The new hip is doing its job. It was a pleasure to be able to walk and go up and down steep hills. In this part of France, most picturesque medieval villages are perched high up overlooking a valley. We went to the market at St.-Antonin-Nobel-Val and had lunch at the Auberge des Sens. It was almost like old times -- not quite as crowded as in the past, but still bustling.

Delapre Abbey

The U.K. family canceled their trip to France because of the ever-changing Covid rules. Would they have to do multiple expensive tests upon return to the U.K.? Would they have to quarantine? At home? In a hotel? It was looking like a logistical and economic nightmare so they canceled. We went to them, instead. By the time we decided, it was pretty clear that if we had to quarantine it would be at their home. And if we needed tests, there are only two of us versus five of them, so much less expensive. In the end, we did not have to quarantine and we only had to do the "Day 2" test. We got to spend some much-needed cuddle time with them. 

Delapre Abbey

We went to a history event at the Delapre Abbey. There were stands all around the "parade" ground with embroidery, fabric dyeing, music, cooking, and other demonstrations of the 17th century revolutionary times. Inside the Abbey, there was a "dentist/doctor" demonstrating the various medical devices of the time. Everyone manning the stands seemed to be quite an expert in his or her field. I think we all learned a lot. The kids seemed captivated.

Another day, we went to Sulgrave, touted as the ancestral home of George Washington. In a way, yes. But his family had left the home many generations before George Washington was born. His great-great-great-great-grandfather built it in the 16th century but it was no longer in the family by the mid-17th. By 1911, it was a rundown farm. My take on it is that owners wanted to sell at the same time a group of investors was looking for a symbol of 100 years (give or take) of Anglo-American friendship. It was purchased in 1914 but restoration had to wait for the end of World War I. It is U.S. property. You are on U.S. soil when you are there. They have a beautiful garden and an extensive apple orchard. 

We were lucky to be there for A's birthday at the end of August, but by the time C's birthday came around, we were already home. Right now, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the girls on their first school break. In England, as in France, there's a two-week break after about 6 weeks in school. 
In September, P & G came up from Six-Fours for a week. They stayed in Paris and we got together with them for lunch and the Botticelli exhibit at the Jacquemart-André Museum. I'm not a real fan of Botticelli. Interesting, but not riveting, for me. 

Fall is also the period of doing the medical rounds. I'm seeing doctors, getting all the check-ups, and so on. In France, our flu shots will be available from October 26. I've got my 3rd Covid shot scheduled for the 29th. Then, in November, my mammogram and an unrelated minor surgery. By mid-November, I should be clear of all the routine stuff. It's as if the beginning of the school year is still the beginning of my year. 

Ready to go!

First of all, Unmute Yourself, Girlfriend is already published. BookBaby has been distributing the pre-orders, not waiting for the July 4 publication date. Susan, our chief editor, who laid out all the publishing cost, has recovered her expenses and from that point on, all the money goes to the alumnae association for a scholorship for a Girls' High girl for college. On BookBaby, you can order an e-version and or the print version, but the Kindle version will not be out until it's available on Amazon, which, I suppose will be next week. If you are thinking of ordering it, via BookBaby will allow us more funds for the alumnae association than Amazon will.

For anyone wondering about the cover, the school has pink marble halls (and the real cover is more pink than the purple in this image) and there is a replica of the Winged Victory in the main hall. 

We went to Najac for a few days earlier this month, visiting Emma and Gabriel in Ginals, and we came back with Emma, who spent a few days going to museums and trying to see friends. She managed to see her best friend since Ecole Maternelle (pre-K) but was not so successful with the other visits and her appointment with the dentist was cancelled at that last minute because of water damage in the office or the building. Not a complete failure, but not a complete success, either. 

While we were there, I took picures of the vegetable garden. We picked lots and lots of cherries and we came home with some fresh artichokes, which I just finished up cooking, yesterday. Here, I managed to pick some raspberries this past week. It's not the kind of crop we've had in the past. There are fewer plants and they are not producing as much. I did manage to make a small jar of jam, though. And I suppose we'll get some more to eat this week.

Yesterday, Anne invited me to the Magritte / Renoir exhibit at the Orangerie. We had lunch together beforehand. Our reservation was for 2:00 p.m. It's not a big exhibit and doesn't take much time to walk through. I liked seeing the Renoir and Magritte paintings associated like that. I would not have imagined such a powerful influence on Magritte. I was also impressed by Magritte's efforts to lighten up the Surrealist movement during and especially after the war -- to focus on the positive. There are arrows on the floor to make sure you follow the flow and, of course, there aren't many people allowed in each time slot. It makes it really pleasant. You can step back to see the whole picture; you can get up close if you need to. Since it didn't take us much more than half an hour, we walked through some of the permanent exhibit - Matisse, Picasso - and sat for a while among Monet's Waterlilies, where I really appreciated not having a crowd block the view between the seat in the center of the room and the paintings. This is one nice effect of the Covid restrictions. 

From there, we went up the Champs-Elysées by métro because I was not feeling up to the walk from Concorde almost all the way up to the Arc de Triomphe. That gave us time for a smoothie at a café (2 smoothies cost us more than lunch for the two of us!) before going to the movies (again, thanks to Anne) to see "Minari". It's the Korean Film Festival week. A foreign movie, on a weekday afternoon -- I think there were not more than 10 of us in the theater. That's too bad. It's a good movie. 

It was a full day out and about in the city. I can't remember the last time I had such a day. I hope to start up my Navigo transportation pass again in September and go into Paris more frequently as I used to. 

Spring has sprung

After a pleasantly warm last end of winter, we had a chilly and rainy beginning of spring.

Sunday, May 30, was the day Americans in France were invited to celebrate Memorial Day, since it is not a French holiday and Monday is not a day off. It was a glorious morning -- blue sky, blazing sun. Paul and I drove to Marnes-la-Coquette to attend the ceremony at the Mémorial de l'Escadrille Lafayette once again. Since I was representing AARO, even though we had not sent a wreath, we were in the widely spaced seats just in front of the monument. There were only 30 seats this year because of Covid-19 restrictions still in effect, here. Masks are still de rigueur, even outdoors, too. As usual it was a lovely ceremony, shorter than usual. It started at 10:30 with a flyover of four jets (2 Rafales from the Escadrille Lafayette based in the south of France and 2 U.S. planes from Utah). The mayor of Marnes-la-Coquette gave her two distinct speeches, one in French, the other in English. The Chargée d'Affaires, Brian Aggeler, spoke on behalf of the Embassy, but the French and American generals did not speak this year. There was a tiny honor guard, no live music for the national anthems and taps. The speeches were followed by the presentation of the wreaths -- not as many as usual. The event was over by 11. Still, I wouldn't have missed it. It's an honor and a pleasure to attend.

The books ("Unmute Yourself, Girlfriend"), arrived! The release date was supposed to be July 4, but they sent out advance copies. There are a few glitches in these advance copies and the publisher is replacing them with the final edition, or so I've been told. When I've got confirmation that the glitches are history, I'll repost the link to order. The ones I've ordered are for my kids.