I went to the kid's school play

I was going to call this post

"And then.... I saw a bunch of 9, 10 and 11 year olds in a play about Jews struggling in Russia and they all had British accents"

but thought that might be too long ~

The kid's school music department put on Fiddler On The Roof with the fourth and fifth graders.  What a big undertaking!  And as the British mom's say it was "bloody brilliant"!  The kids did great and the leads in the play where suprisingly good.  We were told that we couldn't take video and to please refrain from photography because of the distraction, but I held the i-Phone low and recorded some of the songs! **Shame, shame**

Okay..this is where I was going to have a little sample 

of the music I surreptitiously recorded

but I couldn't get the file to load.  Maybe when Patrick gets back in town....

I also snuck a few pictures as the kids were filing in.

No, the other children aren't evil....
red eye reduction fail!

Max in back row, second from the right

I overheard some of the parents before the play discussing how they thought Fiddler was a strange choice for the music teachers (two older, very dynamic men) to pick.  I mean, why not a play of persecution, poverty, and the struggle to hold on to one's beliefs in the midst of a hostile and chaotic environment?  I mean what 10 year old can't relate to the constricting customs required of them by Judaism within Russia on the brink of revolution and Jews feeling increasingly unwelcome in their villages?


But seriously, I applaud them.  The music is fantastic.  Great songs like "Sunrise, Sunset", "Matchmaker", "If I Were A Rich Man" and my personal favorite "Do You Love Me?".  The play also has wonderful comedic scenes which the kids played to a "T".  Great choice by these guys!  Not traditional, but really how many times can parents sit through "The Music Man" or terrible (and in my opinion, too mature content!) renditions of "Grease"?  And most of all, the kids had fun and were proud of their production.  **claps all around**


I wish I could have recorded the whole thing!  Patrick unfortunately is in Prague and missed it, but I anxiously await next year and have put in a request that he not travel the last two weeks of school next year.  Too much to miss!


And now ~ Wet Dog, Part Deux

Einstein says, "This is SO not cool"
(sorry about picture quality ~ dark hallway plus laughing at the poor, pitiful creature!)

this is what you get when it rains in the morning

Our dog Einstein has never been partial to being wet.  She is a fastidious little thing when it comes to being dirty or wet, especially her paws.  We call them her "royal feet" because she won't let you touch them and pulls them away quickly if you do.  So when it rains in the mornings, like it has been doing here, she is not a happy camper.  And then even after the rain has stopped, she will do anything to avoid stepping in the wet grass!  I think if she could "hover pee" she would.  So you can only imagine her dismay when it was really coming down yesterday......but they had to go......

"I am displeased and shall now pout"
"Someone get me to a day spa, STAT!"

And then there's Morgan.....

".....raining?  Was it raining"

......Soldes are upon us

This is the first official Soldes since we have arrived.  Here is a brief definition of Soldes in Paris:

Sales are state-regulated in France and generally run during two periods of the year: once in summer, just before the massive exodus toward the sea and sun, and once in the winter, shortly following Christmas. Department stores, boutiques, designer outlets, and even hardware shops clear out items from the previous season, gradually slashing prices over the course of the sales period.

Patrick and I experienced one when we were here last December.  Well actually I think it was pre-Soldes since we were here before Christmas.  We have been told it is the equivalent of Black Friday only these biannual sales last 6 weeks with discounts going up each week but if you want the "good stuff" it will go in the first weeks.

Now herein lies the problem.  People in Paris do not know how to form a line!  I have been to Black Friday sales in the U.S.  Yes, people will try to "cut in" the line, but there is a line. It should look something like this:

The "lines" (or queues) here look something like this:

But increase it by two more people side to side and then add the people who linger around the sides and front.  These "lines" are not just for sales, but can be seen at the Metro stations, bus depots, checkout counters.

I imagine that when the Soldes start the line might look like this:

"Ve Vant fashion"

Even when angry, U.S. crowds still keep in line, but might appear like this:

Just a short post for now.....got to go make dinner.  Patrick is in Prague for the next two weeks and the kids are in their last two weeks of school.  I doubt I will be checking out any sales myself, but there are some stores that offer online deals...might have to check those out from the comfort of my own home....no line!

....we make some friends

We are starting to meet people here through our children.  We made some great friends in N.C. like this. We met the Beck family through the same daycare and even when our kids went to separate schools, we kept in touch. Even though we are scattered around now, I can see us continuing to play a part in each other's lives.  Max and Charlie email each other now, usually just a couple of lines,  but keep abreast of each other and things going on.

On Friday Max had a friend, Hathorn, come over to the apartment after school.   They ride the bus together and Hathorn is in Samantha's class.  They had already hit it off at school and since they ride the bus together, we knew Hathorn lived in the area.  As it turns out, he is a short walk from our apartment.  Hathorn is one of 5 children, the rest being girls (Lilly 12, Peony 7, Sapphire 5, and Giselle 1).  We had briefly met the parents, just long enough to say "hi", while dropping the kids at the bus stop, so when Patrick and Max walked Hathorn home, Patrick was pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome he got from the the dad, Rupert.

Rupert shared the story of how he and his wife came to Paris about 16 years ago with the intent to get a little "cross cultural experience" for a few months and ended up staying.  Patrick told Rupert that at times it feels like it's not "real" that we are here in Paris and Rupert stated that he still feels like that too at times even after 16 years!  He then invited us to go with him (his wife and oldest daughter were out of town checking out a boarding school in London) and the other kids to Hathorn's cricket match at the club they belong to.  Even said Max could play if he wanted!

So we met up at their house and caravanned over to the Standard Athletic Club.  It was great.  The Club in primarily English speaking (WOO HOO!) and offers all kinds of sports and even has an outdoor swimming pool (something kind of rare here).  Max and Hathorn went off to practice cricket and Samantha, Peony and Sapphire (the littlest one, Giselle, stayed home with the nanny) took to the playground and ladybug hunting. Max was a little leery of pitching and batting during a game, but volunteered to field (much like baseball fielding).

A little practice

Max on the side waiting to field errant balls
(white shirt, black shorts)

Samantha swinging 

It was a beautiful place.  Large, grassy fields and great play areas.  The pool was set in a wooded area surrounded by lounge chairs.  After the game, we had some lunch at the clubhouse (not a fancy affair, but nice!) and parted ways as Rupert then had to take Peony and Sapphire to birthday parties.

Patrick and I looked at each other and thought, "hmmmmm, maybe we are on to something".  It is a little pricey and does require a car to get there as it is surrounded by a huge natural park with trails, etc. but an English speaking, pool-having, sports-playing place 20 minutes or so from the apartment?!?  We might just have to tighten our belts.....we'll see.....

Game over

Deep in conversation about cricket, probably

Happy boys

....I had a birthday

.....but enough about that!

We did go exploring on Sunday and decided to try our hand at some of the brocantes (kinda like giant yard sales with many vendors).  It was very interesting.  There was your usual junk (but one man's junk is another's treasure...so they say) and then there were the lovely antiques.  You could basically go from some questionable looking stuff to vintage treasures.  It was fun looking at all the stuff.  The kids even enjoyed it.

After that we decided to get some lunch.  We could hear music from some street performers and as we turned the corner to get a better look, we saw lunch!

Advertised in the window
Tex-Mex cuisine

It was perfect.  It had burgers for the kids and mexican for Patrick and me.  We sat outside (cafe style) and listened to the music which only lasted about 20 more minutes, but that was fine 'cause it was kinda loud!  It was kind of ironic because although it was my birthday, Indiana is where Patrick was born!

I had a yummy beef brisket burrito with rice
and light "white" beer

The cafe was near the Bastille.  The old location of the fort is now called the Place de la Bastille. The large ditch behind the fort has been transformed into a marina for boats.The original outline of the fort is also marked on the pavement of streets and sidewalks that pass over its former location paving stones.

Monument in the roundabout

...some theories

The question has been asked "how do French women stay so skinny and eat all that bread, cheese, etc."  Now first of all, there are plus size French women of all ages.  I have seen them with my own eyes.   That being said, there does seem to a disproportionate number of thin women to plus size women here.

I think that part of the reason French women stay fit is that they walk EVERYWHERE.  And because they walk everywhere, they carry all their possessions with them.

Kinda hard to tell from this picture (taken on the down low!).  This lady is pausing to eat her breakfast of some kind of pastry before she gets back up and lugs her purse, rolling suitcase,briefcase and purchases to her next destination.

This lady is walking to work lugging a huge, stuffed backpack, an overflowing briefcase and a bag of unknown items (it could be bricks for all we know).  And not only is she lugging al this stuff, she is wearing heels.








Okay, that's another thing.  These women are walking everywhere but still have to be "styling" so they are walking in high heels!  This place is probably a podiatrists dream!

Even summer sandals have heels

This lady actually ran for the bus in these shoes!

They also drink, drink, drink lots of water.  I can understand this.  When a 12 oz. can of Coke costs on average about $2.00 and a bottle of water is .60, it only makes economical sense.  Plus they have these great syrups over here (kinda like Starbucks flavor shots) in all kinds of flavors.  At bottle of syrup on average costs $2.00 but can flavor about 30 glasses of water.  They come in fruit flavors (strawberry, raspberry, orange, lemon, gernadine......) and the very odd mint.  I had to try this one.  Well, not my best purchase because what it makes is the equivalent of a glass of mouthwash!  Oh well, live and learn.

On a side note, as I was walking in Paris doing some errands, I saw what had to be one of the oddest (and largest) ad placements ever.

This is on one the side of the Louvre!

Can't really do justice to the size of this ad in pictures!

Then right by the Metro entrance there was this fountain........

Okay, I know "art" comes in all styles, but really.....
water vomiting pharaohs?

Didn't his Mummy tell him it's not nice to spit?!?!
(snicker)

Stay tuned, I'm working on a theory for why the French don't smile....... maybe for the women it's because of the pain from the high heels and sore shoulders from carrying everything they own........

....things that make you go "huh, what the...."

But first on the home front:

So I have been dutifully going to French lessons on Tuesday and Thursday and have only reconfirmed my belief that languages are not my forte.  Instead of each lesson making things clearer, it seems that once I think I finally understand, my instructor says "Non" and then throws a new monkey wrench into the plan.  And who's bright idea was it to assign genders to inanimate objects over here?!?  The table is feminine but the telephone is masculine......I mean COME ON really!!!  So now you just can't say "the table" because you have to say "la table" because supposedly it's a girl!  But the male telephone must be called "le telephone" or you might offend it or give it some kind of complex about it's sexuality!

The kids are doing great.  They just got back from a class trip to Normandy.  They spent 3 days and 2 nights at the PGL Center (uk/PGLWeb/Schools/Primary-schools/france/centres/Normandy.htm) and loved it. The kids said "PGL" stands for "Parents Get Lost"!  Each class takes a trip durning the school year (starting in Year 3 - just a day trip) and the time away increases as they go up in grades.  I think the seniors actually do a week-long trip somewhere each year. It is a class building trip and involves mostly fun and games, but there is some "cerebral" activities too.

They both loved the agility/obstacle course even though Samantha came home with a huge bruise on her shin she doesn't remember getting but thinks it was this course (really, the bruise is about 2 1/2 inches wide and about 6 inches long....you'd think you'd remember that hit!?)  They also did rock climbing, repelling and something called "problem solving".  Max was excited about the problem solving activities.  It seems, as best I can tell, that they were on a course like the obstacle course, and given a set of instructions and then had to figure out as a team the best way to "solve" the problem.  The way he told it, the camp leader would say something like "You are stuck on an island, you have no boat, but there are rocks every 3 feet and you have a 4 foot long piece of board with you, how do you get off the island?".  Then there would be tires or other low lying things placed 3 feet apart and the team of boys (3 or 4 in a group) would figure out a strategy and get off the island.  Of course, then there were also land mines and guns and all things "boy" as the problems got harder.


Patrick's work is going well.  Coming from a private office in N.C. back to "cubicle world" here as been a slight challenge for him, but he is embracing it as best he can.  There are more women than men it seems in his office, which is also a challenge for him as he doesn't do well with "petty women stuff".  But I have to give him this one, because I have met and talked to some of his co-workers/friends and they confirm that there are some doozies up there! Like the woman who takes naps under her desk during the day or the one who books the conference room for a whole week just so she can have a private office!  One way he's "rebelling" is he purchased a USB "missile launcher" that shoots Nerf-like darts at his co-workers from controls on his computer.  Maybe they will rethink his being with the general population and put him behind closed doors again!


The dogs are doing well.  Walking gets easier every day and they aren't as alarmed at everything either.  Morgan has actually been able to walk off the leash both in the neighborhood and in open spaces and does very well, keeping close to us and coming when called.  Einstein does okay in secluded places off the leash, but we still don't trust her in populated places!  Morgan is happy with her 4 walks a day, but I think Einstein really misses her yard.  She has taken to climbing out onto the 2 foot ledge that overlooks the central garden (don't worry, there's a rail) and lying down for a nap.

Poor Einstein.  She misses her yard!

Four Stories in the air

"Don't mind me, I'll just lie here looking
pathetic"

Now, other pictures that make you go "Huh, what the....."

This is the "American" section at one of the grocery stores.
It is primarily Pepperidge Farm cookies with a little peanut butter
and condiments!  This is what the French think we eat!

Poster for a car.  I don't know, but he name "Punto" just doesn't
seem like a model I'd want to buy.  "Punt"o this one to the
curb!

That's right, ladies and gentlemen!
The fashion capital of the world has people walking around in Harem pants!
Not only is this chick "rocking 'em" but they are ORANGE!
M.C. Hammer take notice.....they're back!

What!?!
The definition of Foie Gras is "a food product made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened"
Really Weight Watchers?!?

Now a little name recognition!

For my super smart niece!
Congrats on your graduation!
Come take a picture with your store.

And of course, gotta have the last name too!

Oh so close!  Damn hyphen.....
Too bad it's a stinky cheese store.......

And lastly, nothing is complete without a pig in a basket.

Surprisingly, not a butcher!
Another stinky cheese store.......

'Til next time...................