Leap Month

The days and weeks meld together in my mind, and this month, once again, I'm thankful for the ritual of compiling a photo from each day because it reminds me of all the happy moments in the midst of the ordinary routines of life.  Looking at the pictures from this month I'm most struck by how much time I spent outside even though the outside has mostly been rainy, windy, cold, and muddy.  

February 1 - I continuously wish I had the confidence to just leave my car in non-parking spots like this intrepid woman at the movie theater.

February 2 - View from the Steps of the Panthéon

February 3 - Notice the small things.

February 4 - Morning has often brought our only glimpse of blue skies before the rain comes in for the remainder of the day.

February 5 - A Muddy and High River Seine

“One of the features of a Paris winter was the annual rise of the Seine.  

This provided a flood of conversation whenever talk lagged anywhere,

 any time, between December and April.”

- Elliot Paul, The Last Time I Saw Paris -

February 6 - Super Smash Brothers with Friends

February 7 - Different countries have different Coca-cola flavors, and I like this one.

February 8 - I took a picture at a stoplight, because I love the church that looks out over St. Cloud.

February 9 - Church Greeting Team

February 10 - Snowdrops at Versailles

February 11 - Off for a Morning Jog

February 12 - I love the colors of these buildings lining the Seine.

February 13 - Valentine's Flowers from My Husband

February 14 - Valentine Swan Pastries

February 15 - This color scheme reminded me of the one in the Paris buildings, and it's on the street where we live.

February 16 - a library find

February 17 - Zoofari

February 18 - The sun makes all the difference.

February 19 - There are a lot of details to love in the houses in our town.  

February 20 - More Lovely Details

February 21 - A Jane Austen Movie Night with Ari

February 22 - The wooden ceiling of the church at Saint Germain-en-Laye

February 23 - I'm so thankful for these friends in our kids' lives.

February 24 - Beautiful Colors, Beautiful Blossoms

February 25 - Sharing a Costco Sundae, cheapest dinner in town

February 26 - Glimpses of Sunshine and Plants that Need to be Watered

February 27 - MagnaTile Car Creation

February 28 - At the end of the day, we unwind with June and Ward Cleaver.

It strikes me that the items in the above picture are a good snapshot of our current life:  a read-aloud, the Rubik's Cube that E can now solve in a minute, the kalimba and notebook where she records how to play songs, the Nintendo Switch, James's Bible under the TV, and Leave it to Beaver, where we get a lot of solid parenting advice.

February 29 - We have a busy day ahead on this extra day of 2020, but for the sake of posting this before the activities begin, I was really happy to find this hardback on clearance at the Paris W.H. Smith.  

I hope your Leap Day is filled with a little extra magic and fun.

President's Day: Paris Edition

Every once in a while I find myself reading a book that I can't help stopping every few pages or paragraphs to read something interesting or funny aloud to K.J.  If I stop often enough with a strong need to share what I'm reading, I give it up and commit to reading the whole book aloud to him.  He's a gem of a husband.  

One of the books I couldn't help but read aloud recently is the hefty John Adams by David McCullough.  We are 66% of the way through a book that chronicles many significant historical moments.  One of these takes place in Paris in 1785.

John Adams lives in Paris through most of the Revolutionary War, working to gain support for the United States in France.  His young son John Quincy travels with him and is educated in Europe.  Many years later when the war is over John Adams is still in Europe, and he is finally joined by his wife, Abigail.  Thomas Jefferson is also selected to represent the newly formed nation in France.  

In the spring of 1785 Queen Marie Antoinette gives birth to a son, and there is a service of praise to God on the occasion at Notre Dame.  Louis XVI is there, of course, and the service is also attended by John and Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and a now 18-year-old John Quincy Adams.  

Picture this scene:  a monarch giving thanks for the birth of his son with great pomp and circumstance.  In just four years revolution will break out followed by mass chaos and the king's execution in 1793.  He has no idea how his fortunes are about to change.  Three future U.S. presidents are present at this stately occasion, but at this point in time there is no U.S. constitution and not even a first president.  They have no idea the courses their lives will take or that they will one day hold the highest office in their new republic.  

John Quincy records his thoughts afterwards:

What a charming sight:  an absolute king of one

of the  most powerful empires on earth, and perhaps

a thousand of the first personages of that empire,

adoring the divinity who created them, and 

acknowledging that He can in a moment reduce

them to the dust from which they spring.

Indeed.  

Bolton Abbey

When we lived in England we were constantly seeing new-to-us beautiful places, and I was constantly taking 200 pictures of said beautiful places; thus, I have a lot of pictures I never had time to review and pick out my favorites.  These were taken on a day out in the Yorkshire Dales near Skipton in February 2016.

It was the half-term break from school, and we went to Billy Bob's Parlour for authentic American cuisine with some good friends.  It is THE place for pancakes and bacon with maple syrup, there are great play areas for kids, and the views are incredible.

These sheep look really different from other breeds in North Yorkshire to me, but I can't figure out which breed they are.  Maybe it's just all the hair on their heads that's making it hard to tell.

We always combined our trips to Billy Bob's with a walk around Bolton Abbey.  It's close by, and on this day in particular I couldn't get over how stunning the location is and mentally applauded those that chose this location for building a priory back in 1154.  Can you just imagine the quiet, beautiful, sheltered life this would have been?  

I thought 2016 J and E were doing some Ninjago Spinjitzu moves here, but they just informed me they were playing at secret agents who had to make it up the hill by sundown.

Ever-changing skies are a constant in North Yorkshire.  Very often in the winter it would be grey all day and then turn absolutely glorious just in time for the sun to set.

As you can see from the view from above, my secret agents are making it up the hill.

They made it!  And then we went back down again.

These walks always brought me a lot of joy, and the drive home wasn't bad either.