Signing off for the summer

It was difficult to find an image for this final post of the year. (Don't worry, I think in school years!) So what more fitting photo than my place of work, which I said my summer good-bye to on Friday?

On Monday I'll be staying in a hotel in Toulouse to catch an early flight to Frankfurt, then Seattle. It will be the first time since 1990 that I will have made the trip alone. But she is already there, and she is staying behind with papa for a few weeks before the four of us will be reunited in the USA in late July.

I usually manage to do some blog posting over the summer, at least here where anything can happen -- although nothing has been happening of late. But I think I'm going to take advantage of my summer respite to rethink my blogging, although I may write a few retrospectives on Cuisine Quotidienne, which is breathing its last.

Come September, I will likely be writing only one blog -- certainly this one.

In the meantime, I hope to catch up with you and do some blog reading...and I'll certainly remain active on my Twitter page.

A great summer to all! Bon été!

Wordless Wednesday 66...

...with a good reason for being one day late!

Joyeux anniversaire, ma chérie

As you know, I don't post a lot of personal pictures on this blog. But I did want to celebrate my eldest's 18th birthday with you.

Today is the big day, but we started the festivities yesterday evening with a mini family celebration -- having a drink at a lovely new wine bar/restaurant that is located right behind the Rodez cathedral.

The eighteenth birthday is a big deal here in France. There is no concept of "sweet sixteen," and 18 is the year when kids officially become "majeurs," or adults, and can do about anything -- vote, drive, and work without restrictions.

It also often corresponds to the year kids take the Baccalaureate exam, and this is the case for my daughter. That's also why her major fête d'anniversaire won't be until July the 3rd. There's just too much studying to do for now!

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The Colors of Colmar

This year it was my turn to go to the national convention of the organization I work for, and I couldn't be more delighted that it was held in Colmar, Alsace.

I only found out about the possibility of going two weeks ago, and I must admit that at first glance the travel plans were daunting. Flying from Rodez to Paris, then Paris to Strasbourg, then take a taxi or public transporation into the Strasbourg train station, then take a train to Colmar? All of that sounded pretty complicated, and would have left quite the carbon footprint behind.

I opted for two night trains for the Paris-Rodez leg, and did the whole trip by train. Luckily there was one night in a hotel involved in between, even though I love night trains and sleep soundly on them.

Unfortunately, my photos didn't turn out very well, as they were taken quickly with my small camera as I rushed off on foot to and from the convention. So I won't post any more here -- I just wish I had been able to truly capture the city's vibrant colors. They amazed me at every turn.

Wordless Wednesday 64

I just get home, and then I leave again...

"I just get home, and then I leave again,
It's long ago and far away..."

("Departure Bay," Elvis Costello and Diana Krall)

Tomorrow I turn the calendar to June -- and panic strikes. Where did the school year go? What happened to all of those home projects I had promised I would get done this year, to the vows to see friends more often, to my New Year's Resolutions, to my eldest daughter's last year of high school?

Time has happened. And, as usual, I'm facing June with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Excitement because it's a fun time of year in France -- lots of social events, concerts, generally nice weather, late light. All the ingredients are there to make it a kicking time.

But at the end of this whirl of gaiety is a plane ticket for the USA, July 7th to August 20th. Of course that's wonderful news. I'll be seeing my family, and, most importantly, I'll be seeing my youngest daughter for the first time in over 10 months, which will be a great joy.

Yet, so much remains to be done. My oldest daughter is taking her Baccalaureate exam, her driving exam, and looking for an apartment in Rodez for her studies next year. Correction: I will be looking for the apartment.

At this time of year, I start to feel like I'm being squeezed through an hourglass.

The song lyrics above used to remind me of going "home" to Olympia, but this year, they could just as well apply to coming "home" to Aveyron. It seems like I just got back, and it's time to leave again.

Wordless Wednesday 63

(Photo courtesy of Thierry Jouanneteau. Click on it to enlarge.)

Tooting my own horn

Angela in Europe recently bestowed the above blogging award to me. I might quarrel a bit with the deformation of the word "awesome," but I'll take any award I can get at this time of flagging participation in the blogosphere!

In fact, I could perhaps even pontificate about the word itself, which my USA daughter probably now utters in every other sentence, peppered with at least two "like"s. But be that as it may.

These are the rules, which I obviously will not follow to the letter, or even to the sentence:

List 7 Things That Make You Awe-Summm!
Pass It On To 7 Bloggers Who Are Awe-Summm!
Be Sure To Tag Your Awe-Summm Bloggers To Let Them Know!
Then Link Back To The Queen That Tagged You

There's certainly no shortage of exclamation points in those directions! Let's go!

Angela interpreted the first point as referring to blogging only, but since I have been a pretty lame blogger of late, I'm taking it to be just about ME (or HER, in her case.) I'm feeling good so I should be able to find 7 things that make me awe...some, although I would have trouble doing as much about my blog!

1. I have two absolutely fabulous daughters, and I can safely say that their teenage years have been a joy.

2. I adjusted well to life in France -- in the pre-Internet age when I didn't have many fellow expats to vent and gripe to.

3. I turned away from any number of extremely lucrative career paths in order to follow my professional vocation, and I'm still following it.

4. I do some professional writing practically every weekday evening. I don't talk much about it here, but it's quite a feat of organization.

5. I know quite a bit about a lot of different types of music, although my tastes are too eclectic to be an expert in any one genre.

6. I get angry in French only.

7. I stay in touch with a lot of people from my past, and did even before the digital age.

I'm not going to tag anybody, but if you don't know what to blog about this week, try writing some positive things about yourself. My experience in France has been that not that many other people are going to say these things to you!

Wordless Wednesday 62

(Photo courtesy of Thierry Jouanneteau)