Friends, Walks and More friends.

Here is Frances talking about the afternoon at our friend's house: I didn't really have fun at Solie's house. We didn't really do much and the other friend who I think is happier didn't even show up. And the dad, well, there was this big box of corks and he was sorting them out into piles of big and small and different shapes. And also one of the reasons I didn't have fun was we couldn't talk. We had to do signals. Eleanore explained tag so funny. She said, "Moi!" "cour!" 'tag.'" Then she slow-motion-ran to me and made breath noises when she was doing that.

Here's a video of me explaining something I signaled:

Frances and I going off to Solie's house.

Right from Solie's house we went to another party. This time, parents were coming. It was hosted by people we met at Kent's art opening. It was more lively there. There were like 15 people in a small, small room. Some spoke english and some did not. The appetizers were chips and sodas. The kids were all different ages--from 5 to 18--but were all playing together. All the adults were talking, like my mom and an American woman who moved to England with her British husband and then recently moved to Uzes. And then Daniele, our hostess gathered us all up around the coffee table and began a game that will take me very long to explain so I won't explain it at all. But the name of it is very cool. It's called Werewolf. It took us an hour and a half to play the game but it felt like 10 mintues. SO FUN!

My mom says, "As the secret 'sorcerer,' I ended up 'killing' the last 'werewolf' which was Bruno, my friend and translator, sitting next to me! Who would have known he'd be a werewolf?"

My mom says, "Such great women!"

Tonight was our last time with Dan. Sadly, John had awful migraines, so he couldn't come over, but Dan came and played some gospel for us. Daddy was ready with a menu and some extra sauce ingredients from the only store open on Sundays.

We actually brought the keyboard up to the living room so we could all listen to him play.
My dad says, "Dan knows everything about every style of music and can articulate origins and nuances. He is crazy good"

Here's a video of him playing some gospel...you'll recognize the tune:

You can check out Dan's website if you want more of him.

www.danchouinard.com

I tried a little aged gouda tonight...not a huge fan...but Frances LOVES it.

For our get-together, Daddy made baked, thinly sliced aubergine with a drop of creme fraiche and drizzle of fig balsamic, along with chunked aged gouda and a plate of proscuitto and thinly shaved parmesano. Frances says, "Dan is the best instrument player I've ever seen."

Daddy says, "And for dinner, I marinated a large duck breast in balsamic and garlic and made a raspberry reduction sauce based on the classic brown sauce of french cooking."

Along with pesto pappardelle and a fresh organic gree salad, the duck was perfect. Mommy had sauteed sprouted garbonzo beans with truffle salt and green onions in place of the duck.

Pause. Rewind.

Today, before Dan came over, we all went on the same walk we do every day but we added a little extra path along a pasture to a verteranarian's clinic. I was in charge of the camera today. Here are the pics. Don't worry, I'll make captions.

The gate to the well in our building (which we pass everyday on our way out)

is unlocked!!!!! That's where Edgar the well demon lives!!!!!!

Okay, now that trees are actually blossoming it's definitely starting to be spring.

Look at that thatched gate with the ivy spilling over it and the stone walls on either side. So Middle Ages.

These are two elderly women, dressed fancily on a forest hike. Every woman is dressed as if they're walking to a party. I am very embarrassed because my mom wears her yoga pants and a red tank top. I want her to wear a dress and high heels on this walk. She said, "Never."

What does this look like to you? It looks to me like a car covered by a tarp, but the thing is, it's only as tall as me.

Never before caught in a photo: two horses farting at the same time. This is the best photo I think I've ever taken.

Frances loves grass. Every night at dinner, she says she's grateful for "THE GRASS." But my mom and dad make her say something extra, too.

This is another old lady but this time it looks like she just got out of bed. See the curlers?

I think that moss is pretty cool. I've never seen yellow moss on a tree before.

This is one of Frances tossing her hair. It took me 8 tries to get the timing right.

Frances wanted to try taking a picture of me. This is me tossing my hair. For this one, Frances had me turn around. Interesting effect!

Beside the house with the vicious guard dogs (we named them Zoey and Julie), there is a wall with a little door in it. As the story goes, that's where all the mothers and fathers from all over France send their bad little boys and girls. They are kept in there without food or water for a week. Gosh, I hope I don't have to go in there.

Love birds in the park.

I loved having the camera today because I could get a chance to take a picture exactly when I wanted to. I didn't have to wait for the camera to be given to me and in the meantime lose the picture. Thanks for looking at today's blog.

Eleanore