Halfway

Like the Wisteria blooming on only half this vine, we are officially half-way through our trip to France...half-way through our experiment, "Tryin' to be French."

We've spent the first nearly 50 days learning about each other and learning about the place we now literally call home (for the time being), Uzes, France.

It all felt so new -- and was so new -- just a few weeks ago.

Now, we have rhythms.

Because we love what we love and because we have ideas about what a good life is, we seek it here, as we do in Truckee.

And in seeking this goodness, we establish rhythms.

For example, we love connecting to people, so we've searched for and made friends.

We love art, so we've connected with a sweet kids' community of artists.

Making paper at Les Petites Mains

We love music, so we have a wonderful music teacher, whose daughter we now see weekly because she is Frances's and Eleanore's french teacher.

Eleanore says, "At music lessons we are working a duet for our cousin's wedding"

And we Skype Liz, too!

Marc's Daughter Alice is a treasure--

creative, funny, and brave to teach for the first time

(they try to speak french in all they do together).

Eleanore says, "Alice our french teacher made wool wraps around braids of our hair.
While I was having my hair done Frances served me aged gouda and spicy olives. In this picture, I had my mouth full of olive pits."

Eleanore says, "Frances had her hair done in the tower. She was very excited to have hers just as long as Alice's."  Frances says, "Alice pulled a little bit hard but I survived it and it was worth it!"

Eleanore says, "Frances and I looked just like Alice, except we didn't have all the hair jewelry she did. Do you see the cool glasses on her head?"

We love good, organic food, so we know which stand to go to at the market and we have our own French "New Moon," called the "Bio Coop." 

Bio Coop...no bags even OFFERED here.

Frances says about shopping at the Bio: "My favorite gross thing was the worm on the cookie. It was nighttime and we were about to have dessert and I opened the package to these cookies and I saw this worm and I said, 'IT'S ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'"

My favorite breakfast. I found KEFIR! Thank you, "nouveau lune!" 

We love nature so we hike and I run and Jeff bikes and the girls play in the park every day. 

Eleanore says, "We played soccer in the park a few days ago. Gosh, it was tiring!  My cousin Mallory is on the elite soccer team. I don't know how she DOES it!"

Frances learned how to toss a football. Frances says, "It's fun letting go of the ball and then catching it again."

Jeff learned how to make a daisy chain.

I practiced my new love of photography--I don't know how Cath DOES it!

We all laughed at the genetic traits surfacing in Eleanore...

Jeff sat like this his whole childhood.

Jeff loves cooking and we love eating together, so you can imagine how good our nights are.  

Of course we were craving burritos, so we hunted down the ingredients and Jeff worked his magic. There's just something about burritos in France.

Eleanore says, "Mmmmmmm, a burrito after weeks of pasta, cheese and bread!"

Frances says, "It was a dream come true."

We love reading together, so we read in the morning, midday, in the park, and especially at night. Eleanore says, "They stole my book.  I was reading The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, but I had trouble understanding one part, so I asked my mom to read it over to me again. I had my dad listen so he could say what he thought it meant. They read it and loved it so much that we have decided to all read it together. Now I don't have a book."

This book is so scary in spots that Frances tucks her feet under her because, as she says, "I'm not scared...my FEET are."

Because we love what we love no matter where we are, we have surrounded ourselves with those things. 

We didn't plan on finding rhythms.

But they were bound to happen.  

Of course, there are other rhythms we've found.

Like late afternoons in the Place aux Herbs for coffee, glace or a crepe.

And Frances's Edward-Scissor-Hands time:

And puzzle time:

And Eleanore's jumping time (whenever we go out)...

 Frances is garbage girl. Eleanore is in charge of laundry. Jeff cooks.

I help with and occasionally write our blog. 

If walking everywhere constituted a "rhythm" I'd add that to the list. I cherish the function-walking.  Frances does too (now, she's our baguette retriever).

She said the other day, "Let's walk in Truckee too...how could we do that?"

I said, "We could promise not to drive two days a week."

Frances said, "Mommy, goals don't work like that. You have to THROW AWAY YOUR CAR, then you can do it." 

If Frances had a car with a "little teensy weensy" rear view mirror like this one, she wouldn't want to throw it away...

So, here we are, at our halfway mark for Uzes. We have established our rhythms. We are as close to "being french" as we've ever been. And yet, because we came here to experience newness, we'll try not to get too comfortable in our rhythms. 

We're walking to a new town tomorrow.

And Mary Ann and Dick arrive next week.

Through them, we'll see our town new again

and we are excited to share our lives with them.    

Our last big international trip together was five years ago to Croatia.

We have mixed feelings about the other big change to our rhythm.

We're renting a car. We want to see the villages beyond ours, but life without a car is exceptionally rich. I swear, cars are dementors, sucking the lifeforce right out of us. Frances and Eleanore agree. We might just park the thing until we leave for Italy. 

Oh, I forgot. 

BEST rhythm of all: laughing hard every single day.

Goodnight.

 Eleanore will be back next time.