CHRISTMAS in France



Well jolly old St. Nickolas managed to find us again.
Christmas started in earnest last night. We went to church after a day of preparation. The kids were excited at the church, but fairly well behaved. Kimmy, did kind of run around. She got her head stuck between the chairs, tried to hide behind an old cabinet.
Christmas morning didn't come too early. 8:30 or so. The kids were excited that the fat man made it...and Jean-Loup even saw him! He didn't see Jean-Loup though!

Fall Colors

The fall colors seem to hit here later than back in Missouri. I had a break between classes and took these photos down by an old mill on the Villaine. Hope you enjoy them.


My holidays ended Monday, and the kids on Thursday...but not to worry, we have next Tuesday off for Remembrance day.

Halloween Fun

Well it's over...the Costumes, the Candy...the spooks have left the building. Here's our entry in the Pumpkin Carvin' Contest...not that the carving was any good, but production value should play some part.

Whew! I need...

a holiday! It's been at least 8 weeks. Time for a holiday! We just started our fall holiday today. I'll have to hand it to the French, they sure know when it's time for a break. Jean-Loup's been going to the swimming pool every week for lessons with the school. After Santa Claus comes, it's the green groups turn. Annouck is having some trouble concentrating at school sometimes, so the teachers have offered some special classes for the younger students in her class. Jean-Loup benefits too, since it'd be inconvenient to have to come to school twice to pick up the kids. It's a good thing they like school...until it's holiday time! Yippee. Now if the weather will just hold, and I can keep from getting sick, we might just have a good time. PS. I'm not completely off, I still have my individual classes scheduled, but the University courses have holidays. Get to grading those essays!

The Race!...and the aftermath.

Today's Comic
This comic seems appropriate for yesterday...to a point. Yesterday I had an orienteering race at Merlin's tomb. You all know Merlin, the wizard in King Arthur. I should have known better. An enchanted forest, what was I thinking? I'm sure my map had a spell cast upon it. I'd look down, and I'm sure Merlin had moved the control placement on my map...why else would I be heading the wrong direction? It's the only logical explanation. I did manage to escape the forest, which apparently made Merlin mad, since he cursed me with a reoccurrence of the gout attack I had on Friday. Probably due to dehydration and concentrating the uric acid in my blood. By the time I got home, the attack was in full swing.

Note to self: DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!!!

...and the meds did nothing to alleviate the pain this time. I fitfully tried to fall asleep, and sometime during the night (well after midnight) the pain subsided and I was able to get a few hours sleep.

Fall Escapades in Bain de Bretagne

When the weather's nice...and we're not in school it's time to play!

Annouck's 4th Birthday!

Annouck turned the big 4 yesterday.  A day her Godfather Franc gladly shares with her...his 77th birthday!  Today we all celebrated together.

Pictures from the last two days