In Sickness and In Health

Last Tuesday as soon as my pleurisy was diagnosed, Thomas came right home and did not leave my side for almost 6 days. Doctor's appts, blood lab, getting girls hither and thither, cleaning, cooking, shopping, laundry, playing with kids, he did it all with nobody asking.
He's not here so I can't take his picture to put on this blog, but here's a few old shots to remind us both where this crazy ride all began.






The photo below is surely the reason I was struck down with pleurisy after a 6-yr incubation period: this shot is certainly an effrontery to God and the Church - what were we thinking posing like this is the House of the Lord?
Last week on Thursday and Friday we spent 2 days holed up with no kids, no work, no activity and nobody else. Something we haven't done in a long, long time.
Now he's gone back to work, and now that I'm healing at home alone, I miss him.
Thanks Thomas.

Advent Calendar Bonanza!

I always say, nothing like 6 advent calendars in an apartment less than 1000 sq feet to get your holiday season off with a BANG! Below: Advent Calendar #1, and certainly the most coveted: The Kinder Surprise = every day is Kinder chocolate. Thanks Papy & Manou!
Below: Advent Calendar #2: from Estelle's "Pom d'Api" magazine, the little donkey goes from window to window each night. You tear off the window and on the other side is a picture of something he is bringing to Jesus. Today (Dec. 1st) item was clover. You put it in his basket on his back. The magazine has a story, one page per day, to accompany each window and explain what happens. There's even a Star of Bethlehem that moves along with him, to guide him. Great!
Below: #3 - Vermont Christmas Company's version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" - each window has a different verse on the inside cover and a charming little image to go along with the verse. Thanks Martha & Chris!
A little Jingle Bells to get things rockin'..... Funny, Estelle burst out into singing "Rudolph" tonight, which surprised all of us that she would remember so many of the words since last year. So I plucked it out by ear and then we wrote out the music for her. She is practicing the first two lines - stayed tuned for a video of THAT!
Below: Calendar #5's book component: Eric Carle's "Dream Snow". Thanks Darlene/Wes/Wayne/Cole & Heather! Such a great story to go with a VERY cleverly made Pop-Up Advent calendar which you'll be seeing in our next installment, along with #6, both of which escaped the photo shoot today. They're not in the Advent Calender Union.
Meanwhile, a few videos from yesterday which showcase our new favorite buddy:
CB, or as Léna calls him "Le Bonhomme de Niege".

Thanksgiving, one last time

Saturday afternoon: One last Thanksgiving with Craig & Doug and their gang. This was in Cannes at their flat - the villa has changed hands officially, and the flat sale will be signed off on in about 2 weeks or so.

Below: on the left, a Dutch friend Michel, on the right a Dutch boy from a different family, Stayne. When I met Stayne he was 4 1/2 and peed his pants at the first Thanksgiving. This is when you realize 10+ years have gone by. Now he golfs and drives a scooter.
Please note the Elton John video in the background. There's Stayne's dad pilot Harry explaining something important to Curtis.
Below: Ian and Mark, Scottish and British. Live in London, have a place for holidays in Nice. Mark and I discovered that we lived in DC at the same time - usually there are so many people at C & D's villa events that you can't really talk to people. With a reduced crowd (14 adults), I really got to visit with some people - like Mark, who lived close to where my niece Sara lives now. Mark is a big biker and is preparing to bike from Land's End in England to someplace in Scotland whose name I've forgotten - John Dows?
Craig, Curtis (American) and Claudia, Stayne's Dutch Mom.
The Lonely Doll decided to come to Thanksgiving with us. It seemed like a Dare Wright kind of day.
Lizzy & Barry, old friends from London who moved here about 8 years ago. I'll miss seeing them.
Here's Craig's piece de resistance: Phillipino Sheila and Bonita that he hired to be in the kitchen and deal with dishes and serving and clean-up. We love them. They have seen my girls grow up at each event. Sad to not see them anymore! Thomas told me after that they asked him if he knew of any French guys looking to marry a Phillipino friend of theirs so she could have her papers. Cracked me up. You can see the terrace off the kitchen.
Doug attack. Behind you can see all the gifts for our Yankee Swap game.
Yes that is still Elton John.

Brigitte (French wife of Sylvain, their handyman for the past 11 years) discusses dogs with Lizzy.
The boys. No Mark cause he was too busy with Estelle....
Mark and Estelle played games for an hour in front of the fire.


Watching the game, waiting for our #'s to come up. Note the pocket doors that had been closed. Behind those doors those Philippino ladies turned that kitchen from post-buffet disaster into a dessert showcase (showcasing my desserts, of course - cheesecakse with berry coulis and lemon curd plus oatmeal chocolate chip pumpkin bars).
Léna wanted to bring everyone their gift. All the time. There's Stayne's sister Emma sitting on the couch. Those kids flipped between English, French and Dutch every other sentence. Wild.
Claudia gets help.
I found out Sunday that later that evening after everyone had left, Doug bought a Jaguar. Literally. On-line. Doesn't he look like he has something up his sleeve here?
They were, as always, great hosts. I still can't believe they are leaving. Like my only family here and they are leaving. Such a bummer, but such a great new opportunity for them! Very exciting.

Thankful for....

...post-nap cuddles....
discovering new toys with a really great dad...
....new toy = and Ipad2!
...getting all Craig & Doug's luxury hotel toiletry stock...

...free face painting at Youth Cinema day on Sunday....
No school on Wednesdays. Most of the time it is too intense (dance, piano, pool), but there are sweet moments after the nap....
...reading about Pilgrims....
...getting advent calendar's ready.....
Thankful for 2 beautiful healthy daughters. They drive us crazy, but dang they're cute.
Eventually I will be truly thankful to no longer have pneumonia. 3 weeks of coughing and caring for young children and teaching is....what it is. For the moment things aren't worse, but they're not better. The doctor will see me again Friday morning.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, especially my family and my mom, and my sister Mary. We wish so VERY much we could be with you on Thursday.

Nebulizer

Top Five reasons to love having pneumonia:
5. Xrays of your lungs look like a white Christmas tree and can possible be turned into trendy holiday cards.

4. Get your Moses groove on: tell people you have pneumonia and the seas part around you.

3. Finally be able to convince all your students you are NOT a closeted chain smoker.

2. Learn 2nd meanings for French words. Ex: "foyer". This means an entryway in your house (you know, like a foyer!) or, that other wacky tricky 2nd definition: pneumonia. (Why? Because a hearth is in a foyer and it's the hotbed of the house? And infections are hot? This question is bothering me more than the coughing)

1. Simultaneously fascinate your kids by looking like a Storm Trooper while also creating bag-envy with your friends by flouting a super-chic blue leather carrying case.

Olive Harvest

Last Saturday we did our annual olive harvest party at Xavier & Valerie's:
But first, how about that lemon tree! Estelle took that photo!
We should also note that last wkend Estelle got to take home her class mascot, a stuffed bear called "Biscotte". Biscotte got to harvest olives too.
Here, my old boss from 10 years ago, Philippe, shows Estelle how to work the elecric gaule. Xavier invested in this tool a few years back and it certainly has expedited the whole experience.
Estelle waits with Biscotte and her peigne (comb) to attack some of the lower branches on the trees below on this terrace.
Laying net = the first step in the whole process. It is a fine art, and very specific because catching the olives as they fall, and then being able to peel away/lift up the nets depending on how they are overlayed on each other is crucial.
Above: Jean-Pierre sends Estelle up the embankment to place a "sardine" (like a tent stake).
Waiting with the peigne! Below: using the Gaule - wooden bamboo stick that you tap tap tap to knock down the olives. These gaules belonged to Xavier's father's father. Behind Estelle are Michelle and Antonia.

Above: a small take from a few branches. Below: the wind machine. Once the olives have been taken from the nets and put into the crates, we haul the crates up the hill to this machine and dump them in. The machine blows air thru the olives as they fall, thus blowing out the leaves. Two of us kneel down at the chute and pull out any heavy things that don't get blown away - like stones and twigs.
Below: the best moment: Eating lunch outside in the sun on the terrace at the upper villa. You see Zet, Xavier's mom on the left. She made the polenta, which is wrapped up like a sausage in a tea towel. We had it with "daube" - traditional Nicois stewed beef with carrots. Succulent. One year the daube was made with wild boar that Xavier had shot as it was eating his tomatoes. But it's illegal so we have to keep that on the QT.
Here's Michel lowering the metal trap stop on the wind machine because the crate below was full.
Estelle and Jean-Pierre and Philippe pull out the big branches before we all do the tricky manoeuver to lift this net and tip all those kilos of olives into a crate to haul up the hill.
Here's Estelle with some of the finished sorted crates. What you can see is that they are stacked two on top of each other. The pressure is always on for Xavier because he makes an appointment at the moulin (Olive press place) in Italy months in advance and you can't change it. So on Tuesday, no matter what, he loads his truck high and drives to Italy with the olives and they are pressed into oil and bottled before his eyes. So he always wants to have all 25 trees done.
A fun moment in Papito, Xavier's fishing boat parked near the olive trees.
At 4:30 Thomas and Lena arrived to fetch us.
Xavier had 3 days with 3 different teams. We were Day 2, on the team with his childhood friends of Philippe (my old boss from 2001 and how I originally met Xavier), Jean-Pierre and Michel. Somehow Xavier, the man himself, escaped my camera, as did Quentin, Xavier's son and my student for 10 years, who is now off at Merchant Marine school but was home for the holiday wkend.
Back at home: breakfast with Biscotte:
Grocery shopping with Biscotte:
Coloring with Biscotte:
We feel so incredibly lucky to be able to participate in that olive harvest each year because it is authentic and private and not something trucked up for a tourist experience. I remember 10 years ago I had no clue as to what the heck was going on. Now I'm an expert - though I still get barked at about laying net wrong. Reminds me a lot of my dad!