What the world needs now…

I’m sitting here eating my way through a baguette and drinking my way through a bottle of a very fine Bourgogne and as I stare at my little computer screen I’m thinking that ‘What the world really needs is more pixels’. If the world were composed of more pixels then everything wouldn’t look so blurry to me. Or I could just suck it up and get glasses I guess. Listening to Ray Charles – Genius Loves Company. Not the best of reviews but I like the duets. Did you all have a good Valentine’s Day? Here it's all about the chocolate. And do the French love their chocolate. I, personally, have never been real big on chocolate but these people have chocolate in and on almost anything. The chocolate store in the 'mall' looked very tempting, I have to admit. Quite the Valentines display in there. I dropped S at the airport this morning; he's in Seville for another week. But the good news is that next week we're off to the U.S. for two weeks. S to St. Louis for work and me to Sycamore house to asses the damage...I mean to visit with J. Since word leaked I've been getting loads of IM's about plans and stuff to mark on my calendar. I can't wait to see J and spend some time with her and to see the Ya-ya's and catch up with them. I started a Blog this morning that was supposed to be my periodic book review blog, but I've read so many stinkin books since my last book review blog that I'm having to choose what to write about. So hopefully I'll get that up in the next few days. Meanwhile here in France I'm trying to get the landlord to fix the radiator unit. The water heater portion has a small leak that I fear if left unattended it will be quite a lake when we return from the states. Of course the next two weeks are vacation time in France. The kids are out of school and everyone is going skiing, consequently I cannot get a return call from the man. The French and their multitude of holidays! We are participating in the French census. I don't know how often a census is done but we got lucky this year. I tried to get out of it, but the man would not accept any excuse I threw at him. So tomorrow afternoon he will be by to review and pick up our completed forms. They weren't too hard to fill out, but there was alot to translate. That's all I have for you today. We're firming up summer plans and the summer looks full. I'm even planning a solo trip to Cork, Ireland around the first of August to visit with Mags and her parents. That should be quite a cultural experience. Love to all and Happy V day.

P.S.

Haloscan, the wonderful group of people who provide me with the 'comments' service, are in the process of upgrading software/hardware. This means that the 'comments' link at the bottom of each post will come in and out of service over the next few weeks. If there's something you desperately need to say...send an e-mail. Thanks!

That is all, you may now resume your regularly scheduled...whatever.

Of winter and birthdays and stuff…

Let's face it, homes in the south of France are not by any means built to the standards of homes in the midwest. Primarily because they are not meant to have to withstand the midwests inhospitable winters. Doors and windows (and roofs, in places) leak like sieves A couple of weeks ago when highs were barely reaching 30° during the day and were falling deeply into the low 20°'s overnight, the radiators could not keep up. I had the dial turned up to 4, which tells you (or me) nothing since the damn thing has no thermostat, suffice it to say that I've never had that dial turned higher than 2. The thermometer that I keep in the bedroom seemed to struggle all day to reach 68° and would hover around 63° overnight. Everyone I talked to said they'd never seen it this cold in Toulouse. (Which is what they said for the last 2 summers about the heat waves, so I think they may just all suffer from poor long term memories) Heck, it snowed everyday that week; it rarely snow's here. Mind, not like a midwest snow, since the ground is hardly frozen it didn't actually accumulate at all, but it sure did snow like the dickens at times; I took pictures.

The view from my bedroom window. Mind, I hope you appreciate the sacrifice I made, since I had to take these photos with the windows open so you could get the best possible view. The things I do for you people!

The view of the front garden.

Anyway, all of that back ground to say this. There is literally a breeze blowing in the entry hall. Despite the fact that we brought and used rolls and rolls of window insulation strips from the US, the slightest breeze blowing outside creates a steady and chilly breeze in the front hall.

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In other news...Friday night I went out to celebrate my birthday (yes I realize that it was over a month ago) with Mags, Paula and Clare. It was a real girls' night out (well except for the absence of strippers...I kid). I haven't had a real girls' night out in a very long time. We went out to the Texxas Cafe for tex/mex french style. Probably the worst mexican food in the world, but heck they serve Corona beer and they make some of the best Margaritas I've ever had. Of course we started with 'aperitifs' at Paulas' before hand, where we finished two bottles of champagne between the four of us. Mags and Eliane bought me some gorgeous silk 'jamas. I absolutely love them! So anyway, due to events early on at Paulas' house, a good portion of the evening is a bit of a blur. We carried the party on to the Kilarney for an after party drink (I had pepsi and lots of water; I was driving) where we were a pretty subdued group. But by then it was after 2:00 a.m. Sadly (or fortunately) there are no photos from the evening.

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Speaking of birthdays, today is S's birthday. Happy Birthday! If you haven't shipped that gift yet, there's still plenty of time. Speaking of S, he has some meetings in St Louis from February 22nd thru March 5th, so I'm tagging along with him. Don't tell J, I want to surprise her and get a good look at what Illinois house looks like normally. Heh! Can't wait to see the look on her cute little face! And we'll have a Ya-ya birthday to celebrate too while I'm there. And there was mention of the remote possiblity of some stalking by Ky who promises to make sure I meet my Starbucks intake quota for the year. Ah, good times. Well, that's all I have for now.

More about sheep?

Speaking of stupid sheep...

CITY GENT Good afternoon. RUSTIC Afternoon. CITY GENT Ah, lovely day isn't it? RUSTIC Ar, 'tis that. CITY GENT You here on holiday? RUSTIC No, no, I live 'ere. CITY GENT Oh, jolly good too. I say, those are sheep, aren't they? RUSTIC Ar. CITY GENT Yes, yes of course, I thought so... only... er why are they up in the trees? RUSTIC A fair question and one that in recent weeks has been much on my mind. It's my considered opinion that they're nesting. CITY GENT Nesting? RUSTIC Ar. CITY GENT Like birds? RUSTIC Exactly. Birds is a key to the whole problem. It's my belief that these sheep are labouring under the misapprehension that they're birds. Observe their behaviour. Take for a start the sheeps' tendency to hop about the field on their back legs. (off-screen baa-ing) Now witness their attempts to fly from tree to tree. Notice that they do not so much fly as...plummet. (Sound of sheep plummenting) CITY GENT Yes, but why do they think they're birds? RUSTIC Another fair question. One thing is for sure, the sheep is not a creature of the air. They have enormous difficulty in the comparatively simple act of perching. (crash) As you see. As for flight, its body is totally unadapted to the problems of aviation. Trouble is, sheep are very dim. Once they get an idea in their heads, there's no shifting it. CITY GENT But where did they get the idea? RUSTIC From Harold. He's that sheep over there under the elm. He's that most dangerous of animals - a clever sheep. He's the ring-leader. He has realized that a sheep's life consists of standing around for a few months and then being eaten. And that's a depressing prospect for an ambitious sheep. He's patently hit on the idea of escape. CITY GENT But why don't you just get rid of Harold? RUSTIC Because of the enormous commercial possibilities should he succeed. From Monty Python's Flying Circus.

You gotta love Monty Python! Thanks for reminding me SCWLC.