Blog suspended

No, not really. But I sure got you worked up, didn't I?

Actually, I'm being vetted as a possible replacement for Sarah Palin in case she drops out of the race.

I mean, why not? I'm an American from a small town. I look pretty sharp when I wear glasses, too.

And hey, the country I'm living in now shares borders with a whole lotta foreign countries! That certainly qualifies me to be Vice-President, and maybe even President, of the USA.

I mean, I can see Spain from here! And I even know the name of its president!

No seriously...

It-- it's funny that a comment like that was-- kind of made to-- cari-- I don't know, you know?

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New look at Cuisine Quotidienne

Faithful readers of this blog probably know I limp along with two other personal blogs: Cuisine Quotidienne, which is ostensibly "devoted" to everyday French food and cooking, and And So Forth, where I occasionally write about whatever I feel like discussing -- which, these days, has meant a number of political posts.

I'm grateful, and at times amazed, that readers keep up with even one of my blogs, but I did want to tell anyone reading La France Profonde that Cuisine Quotidienne has undergone a facelift, with a brand new design created by Madeline Miller of Made by Madeline.

I haven't played around with the new template at all, but if you have a minute, hop over and tell me what you think.

I'm also hoping to get away from the "photo/recipe/look at what I ate" format and write more about cooking and eating habits in France, which was my original intention for the blog anyway.

Hope to see you here and there!

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(Photo courtesy of Thierry Jouanneteau -- click to enlarge)

On the road again

My daughter and I are skipping off to another area of France this weekend for a one-night trip to see friends.

It's always great to get away and see new -- or in this case, familiar -- parts of the country. It will also be a chance for eldest daughter to work on her driving skills outside of Aveyron, which she knows so well. (She has the equivalent of a driver's permit now, and will be practicing with us until she can get her permis de conduire at the age of 18.)

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we will be having the same weather as in the above photo, but we will be near the same place.

Any guesses as to where?

(Photo courtesy of Cath at Grain de Sel, a very nice blog en français that combines music experiences and travel photos.)

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(Photo courtesy of Thierry Jouanneteau)

Are they having fun yet?

(Example of a French high school student's schedule -- click to enlarge)

Oh, there are plenty of good things to say about the French public school system. But today, I'll be leaving it up to my readers to say them.

While one of my daughters is discovering the joys of finishing her school day at 2:37 pm, the other is gritting her teeth and bracing herself for another year of the 35-hour workweek -- 35 hours a week of class, that is.

She doesn't have it quite as tough as the student above who finished four days a week at 6:00 pm or 7:00 pm. My eldest will be getting out of class twice a week at 5:00 pm, twice a week at 6:00 pm, and at 11:00 am on Wednesdays. (High schools and middle schools do, mercifully, have Wednesday afternoons off.)

Is she having fun yet? Well, "fun" and "school" don't seem to be associated very often in France. And maybe they shouldn't be. American schools, with their pep assemblies and dress-up days, must look absolutely ridiculous to French educators.

And as a teacher, I certainly know that learning isn't a Disney ride.

But I do wonder what added value is France getting out of a high school system where students have to be in class as many hours a week as many French employees work, and then are expected to slog through a ludicrously huge homework load on the side.

What do you think?

Wordful Wednesday

Good-bye, little bird...and don't forget to fly home.

(My youngest daughter playing Chava in a summer production of Fiddler on the Roof.)

When you were barely 6 months old, I bundled you up and took you on the train from Tours to Paris to get your American birth certificate and Social Security number.

A formality. Just a bunch of papers. A long day.

For years, I never really thought of you as American. You've always spoken perfect French, of course, with no American accent -- amazing! You look so French, too. And you were always referred to as "one of the French girls" whenever I took you and your sister back to the USA.

Little by little, the American side of your dual nationality pushed its way out, and four years ago your 6th-grader's voice announced to me that you wanted to spend your sophomore year in the USA.

An interesting idea. A fantasy. It would go away.

It didn't.

So, after years of nurturing this plan, after two months of transition, our family came back from our American summer notably lighter.

I'm happy for you. I know you'll love your new school -- it's one of the best around. I should know: I went there as a student and spent eight blissful years teaching there:

A long hallway that will bring you plenty of memories.

"Je m'envole," I saw you write this summer as a photo caption on MySpace, Facebook or some such. That's a wonderful feeling.

I hope you can keep it up all year, but there may be a few times when you get the blues:

But you will have four generations of your American family there to buck you up.

And we'll be here too, of course: across the miles, across the ocean, across the wires.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

I'm back.

What sort of music will I be making this year?

Quick update

The best-laid plans of mouses and blogging seem to have gone awry for the summer.

I've posted a little over on And So Forth, where I've also started to weakly Twitter since I realized I wasn't going to be crowing out all of the great posts I had imagined for the summer.

My husband is flying in from France today and my daughters will be opening their two musicals this week and next, so times will be even busier. But I did want to say hi to my blogging buddies.

I will return!

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Let us out!

A few summer flowers being held prisoner in a tiny village in Aveyron.

The look of love

If you're wondering what I've been up to, suffice to say that I was involved in organizing a 50th wedding anniversary for my parents which was held last week.

I thought for this special occasion, I would share a family photo with you. I imagine you can pick out my parents. As for me, I'm in blue and my sister is next to me.

Finishing the planning for this event took up most of my first week here in the USA, and recovering took the beginning of the second week!

We had exactly 100 attendees at the party, which my sister and I hosted at my parents' home. The location was their choice and it was a great one because they have a lovely, shady back yard and the weather was out-and-out hot: nearly 90 degrees. (Yes, I'm speaking Fahrenheit again.)

I'm having a little trouble getting back into the blogging routine after a crazy end of my school year, the trip over, and this intense family experience. But not to worry -- I may be slowing down on writing my personal blogs this summer, but I'm not giving up.

My village seen through other -- known -- eyes

(Photo courtesy of Rares Serban of Rares Serban Photography)

Not many bloggers write about Aveyron, and certainly few, if any, have ever posted about my very own village of residence, Gages.

Personally, I avoid communicating about my home town, preferring to focus on Rodez, where I work, or other parts of the local countryside into which my husband forays for his job.

And, increasingly, I find myself wanting to share places beyond...

So imagine my surprise when a Google alert came along for a lovely post about Gages. And imagine my further surprise when I discovered, after a little digging around, that it was created by a colleague of mine!

Here's to you, Rares. I think you have a great eye and I loved the way you captured familiar views of my village. I hope you expand your blogging activity.

PS: Click here for a rundown on the summer status of my three blogs.

Windows onto and into La fête de la musique

This lady and her cat had a nice view of events going on below for the annual Fête de la Musique, which takes place all over France -- and now, all over the world.

What a way to kick off the summer! I take back what I said about writing my last post before my trip to the USA. I need to do just one more, to share with you some of the more serene moments of yesterday's festive festival.

A restaurant with a coveted view onto the Place de la Cité waits for customers under the watchful eye of Aubrac cattle:

An unusually colorful (for Rodez) window catches the eye of passers-by as dusk falls:

If anyone had been looking out of it, he or she could have watched this group of musique folklorique having some informal fun:

A piano shop brought in an excellent pianist from Toulouse to play within the confines of his small boutique; a large crowd gathered on the sidewalk to watch and, especially, listen:

Of course, there was plenty of bustle, noise, and beer. But it's the quiet corners of La Fête de la Musique that draw my attention.

My thoughts are many miles away

Between a two-day trip to Paris next week for work and my departure for the USA in less than three weeks, my mind is racing over a lot of ground besides the fetching Aveyron countryside and weird parts of Rodez.

And in looking over my last months of blogging, I am surprised how many posts haven't dealt with Aveyron at all. Since la rentrée, I've spilt a lot of virtual ink about Albi, Paris, Montpellier, Paris again, Toulouse, encore Paris...

Soon I will be writing from even farther afield, reviving And So Forth to blog all summer from Olympia, Washington.

Is my mind elsewhere? Possibly.

Is this my last written post for France Profonde before next September? Could be.

See you on Wordless Wednesday! And if you're bored on Sunday, you can create an image of yourself like my new avatar here.

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(Photo courtesy of Thierry Jouanneteau)

Taking a closer look

One of the joys of digital photography in general, and photo blogging in particular, is getting the chance -- and taking the time -- to look more closely at sights that have caught my attention.

Rushing off to a professional engagement in Rodez on Thursday, I noticed this striking green gate and made a mental note to take a shot of it on the way back from the appointment. And rushing back to catch my bus, I allowed myself no more than 15 seconds to take the photo.

I had barely even looked at the object in my objective -- I was just struck by its color, which is not that common in the area's exterior decoration.

But examining it at home on my computer screen, I saw so much more: the overflowing plant that prooves what a green spring we're having; the contrast between the old stone on the right and the rather less attractive material used to cover the building; the fact that the gate doesn't seem to be attached right -- or at all.

It reminded me of Aveyron: green, full of contrasts, and a little off-kilter.

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