wintry colours

Hmmm...

I begin to wonder if I'm getting old. Why? Here are five reasons:

1. I finished knitting my scarf today. It's full of autumnal colours and very warm, in that knitted scratchy kind of way.

2. Ben and I are presently baking a yoghurt cake to use up some oldish pears.

3. Waking up late this morning, I read a little in bed before stumbling throughto the kitchen to enjoy tea and croissants with Ben.

4. Our Saturday ritual of visiting the mediatech feels comfortable, as we gleefully return to the house with an armful of CDs and books to pour over.

5. As the snow fell this week, I noticed how the sparrow hawks tucked their heads into their fluffy chests as they sat on bare trees watching the world; I saw how the orange of a fox running across an open field burned like a flame; and, I realised that whenever crows fly overhead in a flock of dark light I cannot help but remember how the bats swirled out of Carlsbad Cavern in New Mexico and out into a different world than my own.

But, if these are the joys of growing old, may the world roll on.

St Martin

This Sunday afternoon we're back home to catch up on work and stuff but, before I start, I thought I'd tell you about our Friday night. You see November 11th in Germany is St Martin's day and in the evening all the children (and their parents) dress up warmly and parade through the streets while proudly showing off their 'lanterns.'
Who was St. Martin? He was a Roman monk who cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm. As the moon hung in the dark sky over Schwieberdingen, Juliette and Regis' home town, the parade was hence led by a Roman on a horse (that is, by St Martin) and finished in a church with a small reading of the history and, most importantly, with bretzels to munch on the way home!.

lac de pierre percée

Hello,

This Friday morning we're catching up on stuff so that we can bunk off for the weekend. Indeed, in a few hours we're heading through to Germany because its Antoine's 4th birthday tomorrow.
We have to arrive this afternoon because tonight we are joining in a 'German lattern parade' to celebrate (I think) a saint's day. I'll post more about that once we return.

Otherwise, the week has been busy for both Ben and I as work is keeping us occupied from dawn to dusk. No complaints, though, as we both really enjoy what we're doing.. which is, for my part, training various business man and women how to speak English. If this sets any of you off yawning.. imagine my day yesterday.

I left the house around 7am and drove through mist covered fields... where the silhouettes of trees stood out like charcoal sketchings on blank page. Upon arriving at Forexplo - a forestry company - I was offered the choice of a hundred different types of tea (they'd been shopping!) before I sat down to work with the first two clients. After about 3 hours of pleasant chatting and laughing it was time for lunch... which with this company means a little restaurant and a three course meal. Yesterday, though, after aperitif, starter, main course, apple pie desert, and - of course - coffee, they were slightly upset that the bill had come to as much as 15euros! Needless to say, I wasn't that upset given my lunch is - we could say - not usually that extravagent! Then, at around 2.30pm, the English work began again .. though, of course, in a slightly sleepier fashion than before! Now, all my days are not like this - indeed they tend to involve a lot of driving and additional preparation and the occassional swear word - but hey, nobody said the world was perfect!

Last Sunday was kinda perfect, though, - at least after a crappy start.

A crappy start? Yep, you know that nice shiny new car we spent loads of money on? Well, it came with a faulty battery (I can still hear Ziggy's laughter if I listen hard enough at night). So, the first part of Sunday was spent calling out a repair guy and then driving it to a garage before we headed off into the hills in Ben's Laguna!

Ah well!

The hassle was worth it... as we arrived at the (man-made) lake with enough time to enjoy a 2 hour walk around its border before the sun began to set over its sandy edges. As the air is beginning to chill (that's to say Ben and I are quite happy in our cosy pajamas at night, thank you very much!), the lake air felt fresh and clean. So, much of the walk was spent talking and laughing as the yellow flames of leaves danced through the air. All round, like a hearth as the last heat dwindles, the trees were becoming ashen and cold. But, we didn't mind as the pinks and oranges of the sunset cast their own light through the embers. Indeed, as we clambered back into the car to go home, we were already trying to plan the next time we could return.

Have a nice weekend, y'all!

Mont St Odile

As the French celebrated Toussaints and as we all had a day off work, Ben and I began the day slowly with home-made waffles and a lazy morning upstairs in the office. Then, as the afternoon rolled away the grey clouds and revealed some blue sky, we drove through the autumn trees and yellowing vineyards to Mont St Odile.

In 1000bc the Celts used this mountain top as a source of shelter and as a place to sacrafice, and even today you can see why. Standing sheltered by rich pines, you cast your eyes left and right trying to absorb the expanse of the plateau. Today you are also sheltered by the immense abbey which still welcomes nuns and which is decorated by numerous small chapels and recluses.

After exploring the main site, Ben and I wandered along wooded paths and over big square bolders. In fact, the bolders lying on the green moss made one rather imagine the Gods had left their dice on the gambling table and gone to bed.

Now we're home we're looking forward to raclette, relaxation, and the next national holiday in - oh - ten days time!