American picnic, family weeding party, more soccer

Yesterday we had a lovely languid afternoon out in the country at an informal picnic. It was a friend of Zari's from school and his family, extended family, and family friends. We had perfect weather and a quintessentially American afternoon:

✓ Turn of the century farmhouse nestled among corn and soy fields
✓ Ducks, rabbits, sheep, dogs, and cats
✓ Classic rock playing softly in the stereo in the garage
✓ Beverages nestled inside coolers filled with ice, set next to hay bales in the garage
✓ Potluck meal with fried chicken, macaroni & cheese, several pasta salads, green salads, fruit platters, chips & dip, cookies, bars, and other desserts (I brought sourdough rolls, not knowing this was an event involving food, so it was a lucky guess!)
✓ Wiffleball game in one of their fields as the sun was coming nearer the horizon

Today is a national holiday, but not at the university. While Eric was up at work, I rounded up the children for an hour of weeding and landscaping. They were remarkably good-spirited and got tons of work done. Dio mostly did the trimmer and blower. Ivy and Inga shoveled mulch into the wheelbarrow. Zari weeded and spread mulch.

Inga and Ivy went to a soccer practice out of town this evening. I headed out on a walk with Dio and Zari just as they were pulling back into the driveway. They're so much fun to hang out with. I feel like a tiny teeny little person next to Dio (and I'm not short!).

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This morning started with sleeping in until almost 8:30! It felt amazing because I have been sleeping poorly this week. I made a big pancake breakfast for the sleepover crowd. They all left by late morning.

We had a Freeze Family yardwork day after lunch. We got about an hour of work out of the kids before they petered out. I stayed and, with the help of someone I'm paying, we got a massive amount of weeding and cleanup done. I finished when Zari called me in for dinner.

We watched Vesper, a post-apocalypic movie that was interesting and a bit weird. Eric and I went on a walk this evening, appreciating the cooler weather.

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Sleepover

Ivy and Inga invited 3 friends over for a sleepover and the house is loud and crazy. We had dinner and then went to the university track to play. There were thunderstorms rumbling on the horizon, but no rain. Eric made a big batch of crepes when we got back.

They had plans to watch Coraline, but they got distracted playing a whole-house game of hide and seek. And then, once it was dark, the storm arrived. We headed out to the front porch to watch the rain and lightning. The girls ran around in the rain and waved at cars passing by.

We'll make a big pancake breakfast in the morning (we = me) and put the movie on afterward.

It was so hot today that all soccer practices were cancelled, with the exception of Zari's 6:30 am practice.

After the sleepover horde went back inside, Zari and I stayed on the front porch and talked, mostly about relationships and how she overthinks them. Mostly I just listened because honestly, what do I know? But I reminded her that she should just enjoy the moment and not worry about what a relationship may or may not turn into in the future. That will sort itself out.

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Too much Zoom

I had 6+ hours of Zoom meetings today! The last one ended at 10 pm. One was with two DNP students at the University of Seattle. One was to record our next video analysis. And one was a Board meeting.

The heat wave is getting better but it was still a high of 90 today and humid enough that some soccer practices were cancelled and games rescheduled later in the evening. By Saturday we should be over it. I have a morning walking group twice per week and today was super hot by the end of our hour walk!

Dio had a home game this evening, winning 2-1. He played very well, according to Eric. He brought Inga and Ivy and they played pickup soccer with a group of boys. Meanwhile I sat on a chair in front of a computer on a Zoom meeting.

I found sourdough starter in our deep freeze two days ago. I've been reviving it and it was good enough to make a batch of sourdough bread this morning! It was my fasting day so I will get to eat the bread tomorrow.

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Soccer, quizzes, books

Half of our family was gone until 10:20 pm! Zari came home at 10 pm from her away soccer game, and then I had to go to the high school and pick her up. (I was supposed to go at 9:30 and totally forgot...oops...but it worked out ok). Inga and Eric had just pulled in when we came home. Dio's soccer practice ended at 8 and Ivy came home right before I had to pick him up. Such is life chez les Freezes.

I had a super productive work day, putting together an interactive online quiz that goes along with our breech birth video analysis (volume 3). I picked and edited 19 videos, cutting them into short excerpts, fast-forwarding parts and putting others in slow-motion, then worked on integrating each excerpt with a quiz question and discussion point.

We're filming the video analysis tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow...I have something like 6 hours of Zoom meetings! Aie!

Also 10 boxes of books arrived on my porch today. I'm teaching a group of 100-150 Amish midwives next week in Missouri and thought I'd bring a pile of books to sell.

Zari came home elated from her game; she played the best and hardest ever and scored 1 goal, assisted another, and had many shots on goal that were blocked. Her team won 5-0. I'm so proud that it "clicked" and she really notched up her effort.

We're past the peak of the heat wave. We were supposed to get thunderstorms today but I saw no trace of one anywhere! We need the rain.

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Blast from the past--Zari's debut in Grazia

I had an hour-long interview today with journalist Clare Wiley about my experience having an unassisted birth with Zari. As I was gathering my thoughts, I remembered that our story had been featured in Grazia magazine when Zari was still a baby. (What is Grazia? Imagine People magazine + Vogue had a baby in the UK).

I found the magazine tucked away in a drawer underneath batteries and contact paper. I thought I had shown it to the kids, but none of them knew about it! So we had fun looking through the story and seeing me and Zari juxtaposed with pictures of Paris Hilton and Victoria Beckham 🙂 Such a fancy life we lead!

The story is written in first person, but they are not my words. I had a very long interview with the author, and she then chose how to put my story together as if I were the one telling it.

On to other news: by a miracle of a heat wave (96°F or 35.5°C), all four children came home after school! All games and practices were cancelled. We ate dinner together and then went to the indoor track at the university. We picked up one of Inga's friends (also a soccer player). I mostly walked around the track while the others had a 3-v-3 game.

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Too much

I have missed very few days of journaling since the start of the pandemic in 2020...until now. I really want to put my foot down for next year and say, "No more."

Driving Inga 3x a week to extra club practices (2.5 hrs round-trip), Ivy going 2x a week to her extra club practices (almost 2 hrs round trip, fortunately she can carpool), plus 6 sets of soccer games between 4 kids. We hardly ever see each other because the kids don't even get home from normal soccer practice until 6 or 6:30 and then Inga and Ivy are getting home at 9 pm or 10:30 pm.

I've told Eric many times that I thought it was too much and I still feel that way. It's ok say to say no to things, even if they are individually good opportunities.

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SAT, sleepover, live music & food festival

We had an early start for Zari's SAT test, leaving at 7 am and getting back before noon. I went grocery shopping, bought a journal at a book store, and stopped by a thrift store near the testing site.

I left Dio and Ivy with instructions to do some chores once they woke up.

I got home just in time for a breech live session--amazing and informative, as usual. Then it was time for Ivy's friend to come over. We're having a heat wave, so it was hard to get Zari and Dio out. But Ivy and her friend played in a sprinkler and had a great time. It wasn't too bad sitting in the shade. I read a book and enjoyed the live music from the food festival across the street.

After dinner, we watched a movie of Ivy's choice: Legally Blonde. It's still so fun many years later. Then we went outside for a bonfire and Smores. Music still going strong, cicadas whirring, streetlights coming on.

Inga's first game they were up 2-0 but in the last 3 minutes, the other team scored twice! They won their second game 8-0 with Inga scoring 2 goals.

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Chicago tournament, SATs

Eric and Inga left this evening for a weekend-long tournament in Chicago. And Zari takes her SATs tomorrow!

We had a rare afternoon with 3 of the 4 children coming home after school instead of staying for soccer practice. I had them all help me with some gardening and yardwork tasks. There was a bit of grumbling but they still did it.

Then we watched a movie: for lack of anything else available, we tried out Sharknado. It was terrible, just as expected. Zari couldn't stand to watch it. The funniest part was listening to Dio narrate the plot to Zari afterwards. "And then the shark, that swallowed a woman who mid-air when trying to bite a helicopter, landed on top of a man holding a chainsaw, and then he somehow sawed through the inside of the shark and came out the other end, but also he didn't saw through the woman who was inside the shark, and then he pulled her out and she was still alive."

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I started the day with a run (1 mile each way) to the university gym, 10 minutes of rowing, and weight lifting. Then lots of sitting for most of the day!

I did take a late afternoon gardening break because I needed to be outside after all that computer work. I pulled hundreds of thistles, which have invaded a few areas of the landscaping. I'm going to also have to spray them every few weeks as they start to sprout again, because the smallest bit of root left in the ground allows them to regrow. What a pain.

Another late night for Inga; she and Eric got back at 10:30 pm from her soccer practice! I will be driving her tomorrow night for the same practice, since Eric wants to see Dio's home game.

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Soccer season is in full swing. Zari and Dio both had games today (in different locations, one an hour away). I drove Inga to her practice yesterday, a bit over 1 hour drive each way. On the up side, there is an Aldi nearby so I did grocery shopping during her practice.

I've been doing massive amounts of video editing. I've received an influx of breech birth videos lately, which is great both for general educational uses and also for our video analysis project. I saw Zari's soccer picture up on the high school field.

The weather has been amazing lately: lows in the high 50s, highs in the low 70s. I even had to wear a light jacket when I went walking this morning!

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Soccer and swimming and soccer (movie)

Dio had a tournament this morning at the high school; they won both games. While he and Eric were gone, I weeded and mulched. I WILL beat this yard back into submission!

We had a birthday party / pool party for the whole family after lunch. Ivy and Inga swam nearly nonstop for 3+ hours! I put my feet in but couldn't muster the drive to get wet. At one point I had a cat nap in a lounge chair.

Zari drove a few times today, once out in the country and once around town running errands.

We watched an old Will Ferrel soccer movie. I'm not even sure of the title. (Just looked it up: Kicking & Screaming). It wasn't that great but it was nice to sit and relax together.

I need to put some beans on to soak. Then bedtime.

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Chauffeur

Due to thunderstorms and downpours and 6:30 am soccer practice, I drove Zari and Dio to and from school today. Because of their different start times, I made 5 trips! So very American.

We are undergoing our decontamination tonight--showers for the sweaty soccer-playing kids, then NIX cream, complete with totally washed bedding and all clothes going through the wash. Yay us.

I have a dermatologist cousin and, at my mom's prompting, I sent him an email. Nothing like saying, "Hey, we haven't talked for years, so how about I tell you all about my weird skin rash?" He said, "I love weird skin rashes! Tell me all about it."

He's leaning towards some other type of bug bite but said it wouldn't hurt to treat for scabies since we have the cream.

Amazingly, we were all home for dinner tonight. Most weeknights that isn't the case due to soccer (also so very American--everyone running everywhere and rarely sitting down together for dinner). It was so fun to just be together and joke around. We watched "A Man Called Otto," which definitely was not a comedy as advertised!

I 100% get engineers and their need for order in the universe. (My dad is one, my grandpa is one, and in another life maybe I would have been one. As it is, I do plenty of on-the-fly engineering between my renovating and my breech work, like designing and building the foldable simulator frame with my dad, or the giant pelvis.)

I took Zari driving today. It was her first time driving outside of a parking lot in the US! We went far out on a country road and I think she's much more comfortable now. She even went--gasp--55 mph! I hate to admit it, but it is so much easier for her to learn on an electric car, compared to our 5-speed manual transmission Mazda 5. This new (used) car has 1-pedal driving, which means you basically never need to use the brake pedal except for emergencies. It's a bit weird for me but more intuitive for new drivers.

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The pestilence is upon us

Before I left for the conference in KY, I noticed 1 or 2 small itchy bumps on my hips and thought nothing more of it. By time I got home 5 days later, I had about 15-20 bumps on my waist/hips/butt and several on both ankles. Now the 3 girls have also presented with the same bumps in the same locations: waist/hips and ankles. They're not mosquito bites--they are a bit more hard and raised and poison ivy level itchy.

I went to the doctor 2 days ago and she was flummoxed. One possibility is that it's scabies. (I had to look it up.) Although none of us have the classic tunneling, the fact that 4 of us have the same spots in the same parts of the body is suspicious. However, the doctor doesn't have the equipment to test for it so it's just a guessing game. We're going to treat the whole family with NIX cream, wash all clothes and bedding, and see if it goes away. Another option is taking ivermectin rather than using the cream. Double yay.

Otherwise the doctor is stumped. She suggested going to a dermatologist, but it would take 4-6 weeks for an appointment and it would only be a nurse practitioner or PA (nothing against them, but for something as weird as this, I'd prefer to see a specialist).

So yeah, on top of everything else going on, we have The Pestilence chez les Freezes. Yay.

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Life keeps speeding by. I'm back from the conference as of Monday late afternoon (Aug 12). Yesterday was busy--I was finishing up the Italian translation of Breech Pro (huge project!). We had a dinner picnic at the President's house. Bonus for not needing to cook dinner!

I got the translation finalized and published this morning, leading to some celebratory weeding and gardening. I needed a break from computer work.

I got to drive our new car (used Tesla model Y, 7-seater) for the first time today. I'm amazed I figured it out because most of the controls and buttons are missing! You have to find them on the dashboard screen. It's weird not needing to use the break pedal basically ever. As soon as you take your foot off the accelerator, the car slows down and brakes. Something to do with energy capture.

Eric and Inga are off at her 3x weekly practice north of Indianapolis. Ivy also has 3x weekly practices near Indy. Plus all the kids have their usual 5x weekly school soccer. Phew. So much soccer. Plus Eric is helping coach middle school soccer.

I had to run a quick errand to Home Depot and came home with 2 flats of perennials. This is not my first flower purchase since I've been here. It's going to be so pretty out front!

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Feeling better

I've been feeling progressingly better throughout the day, thank goodness. I was able to attend all of the conference sessions, do a simulator session, and hang out in the hot tub with a group of attendees after the final dinner.

It's been a long weekend filled with laughter and sharing hard stories and hugging and crying and feeling nurtured.

Morning simulations tomorrow and then a 2.5 hour drive HOME!!

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Sick and tired (at, not of!) the conference

I was feeling a bit icky last night but figured it was due to conferencing for 13+ hours. But no...this morning I woke up quite sick: fever, body ache, headache, sore throat. I made it to a morning session that I really didn't want to miss. Then Dr. Stu and I worked on revising a draft of our paper (comments from peer reviewers).

I had lunch and of course got loved on by all of the amazing midwives. They supplied me with all sorts of remedies (Vitamin C, beet extract, goldenseal...). It's the best possible place to fall ill, although a very inconvenient time.

I took it easy in the afternoon, doing a bit of computer work and going outside to get some much-needed sun and fresh air. Once I felt like I was starting to burn, I headed back inside to lie down and read.

After dinner, I went to the hot tub and soaked for a while. Several of the midwife organizers and attendees joined, so I got to hear lots of birth stories and other midwife shop-talk. This is where I feel most at home. Definitely my tribe.

We had a previously scheduled Zoom live session, so I invited the conference attendees to join us up on the rooftop. We had a nice crowd gathered around the laptop, including many of the conference speakers and presenters (Gail Tully, Nicole Morales, Betty-Anne Daviss, Denny Hartung, etc). Despite feeling ill, I was so energized and excited to be in this amazing group discussing one very difficult sacrum posterior breech birth and one lovely spontaeous unassisted sacrum posterior breech.

I had a lovely moment today while we were watching traditional Mexican midwife Dona Lina demonstrate her rebozo techniques. We were all crowded around the stage, sitting on the floor. I must have done something to stretch my neck and back, because someone sititing behind me starting giving me a lovely massage. I finally looked behind me--it was Betty-Anne! And then Carol Gautschi sitting next to me gave me a lovely arm rub. I felt so nurtured by these wise women.

I managed to take a picture today! The first once since the conference began.

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All conferenced out!

I left the last session a bit early (well, technically an hour late as it went overtime) because by 9:30 pm, I was just wiped out. We've been conferenceing since 8 am with no downtime. Today was my busy day, between 1.25 hours of video analysis, then almost 2 hours of simulations, then another hour of extra video analysis just for fun.

I ran up to the hot tub before it closed. Ahhhh...I really wanted to exercise but it's hard for me to do that late at night. I am a "first thing or it doesn't get done" kind of person.

I've sent off invitations for tomorrow's breech live session and now I'm going to do one of my favorite things in the world: like down and read until I fall asleep (which will not take long).

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I made it to the Born Free Twins-Breech Conference in Louisville, KY! Super exhausted. My presentation is tomorrow morning and I think it's ready, finally. I know I won't have time to get through all of the videos. Maybe I can continue via an optional video analysis during one of the breaks...those who are very interested can stay to watch a few more.

Once my presentation is done, I can kick back and enjoy.

Once again, the conference rooms are so cold that I've had to put on long pants and wrap up in my rebozo. And I'm still cold! My hotel room was set at 69 F (20.5 C) when I came in. That's colder than I tend to keep my house in the winter. What a waste of energy. I don't need to live in a fridge. I HATE being too cold in the summer!

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First day of school

It's weird having an empty, quiet house. We're used to kids coming home for 2-hour lunches and, the older kids, coming home at various times throughout the mornings and afternoons.

Zari and Dio had after school practice, but Inga and Ivy's doesn't start for another week or so. Then Inga had her far-away practice (1 hr 15 min drive each way).

We've very reluctantly decided to buy a second car in order to get children to their various practices and tournaments. We just can't figure out a way to do it with one car. Ugh. It will be a used electric car, so at least we will save on gas.

I'm heading to the Twins-Breech Conference in Louisville, KY tomorrow! I've been busy prepping my presentation materials. 150 signs later, I think I'm ready.

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Lumberjacking and whirlwinds

The pace of life has picked up significantly, and school hasn't even started yet! (It does tomorrow)

We've had to cut down 8 trees, one of which is an enormous pin oak, probably 5-6 feet in diameter. We had some very sad children. However, watching the lumberjacking over the past 2 days was quite fun. I have lots of videos but no time to put them together into a montage tonight.

We're trying to figure out how to get all of the children to their various soccer practices--some are on 2 different teams and some of those teams are as much as 75 minutes away in different directions. We're not sure we can do it with one car. I am so frustrated because having two cars is just so wasteful and antithetical to the way we've been trying to live. It's not sure...but we're starting to look at used electric vehicles.

I'm going to a big twins-breech conference in Louisville in a few days. I've been prepping some fun props for my video analysis presentation. It's a new idea but it should be fun and interactive. I also sewed two sets of stirrups for the Sophie and Her Mum simulators.

Zari doesn't need to take any more classes to graduate. However, she has to be enrolled in at least 5 classes to play soccer! She may be able to audit some university classes in lieu of high school classes; we've got to look into that more. But at least she has several fun electives.

I met with a potential person to help out with yardwork. I could do it (and have been doing it) but there's just such a massive amount and I need to prioritize my time. He used to run a landscaping service so he knows his way around plants. It's funny that I feel like I need to apologize to the interwebs for possibly hiring out a task! I think it's the thrify, I-can-do-that-myself ethic I was raised with.

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Family lessons, frisbee, swimming, Sherlock

Eric is still really sick, so he and the kids stayed home. We had an impromptu family gathering where I showed the kids a Ted talk on empathy, Eric shared some spiritual thoughts, and the kids (well, only Ivy had prepared anything) shared anything they wanted to. Ivy's lesson was on how to argue less.

Ivy was also the only one up for playing Ultimate Frisbee with friends this afternoon. Then all of us but Eric joined them afterwards to swim in their pool! These are the friends who worldschooled last year and stayed in Le Chateau for almost a month.

After dinner, we watched a riveting episode of Sherlock that ended in a cliffhanger. Despite begging to see the next episode, we said no. It was time for bed. Dio has a 7 am soccer practice so we all needed to get to sleep on time.

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Review of the past several days

What a tornado of airplanes and border crossings and illnesses the past few days! We're back in the US as of about 44 hours ago. Very quick summary of what we've been up to...

Tuesday July 30
Our last full day in Wales. We visited Caernarfon Castle (10/10, immense and you could wander various corridors and turrets for hours and still not have gone everywhere). After lunch we went to the nearby beach. Eric took a group (including Zari, Dio, and Inga) to a faraway little hidden cove another mile+ down the coast, and eventually they called and asked the rest of us to come (including me and Ivy). They were catching spider crabs and said it was amazing. We made the long trek over there and then decided to swim--why not? Inga caught a big crab and was so proud of herself that she caught dinner. Then Eric caught a few more, including one even bigger. Eric convinceed Inga to put hers back and then as he was going to kill his crab, he looked and discovered it was a female full of eggs. So he put it back instead, leading to a crying Inga because she really wanted to eat her crab! It took a long time to console her. And then a very long walk back home.

Wed July 31
We got up very early, drove 2+ hrs to Liverpool, had a flight that was delayed 2 hours, arrived in Nice, hurried to the post office with 4 minutes to spare to pick up 250 kg of books (10 boxes of 25 kg each) and transport them home (the mail carrier refused to deliver them because they were "too heavy" even though we had paid for door-to-door delivery). Then we had to pack, wrap, and label 77 books that evening. I started coming down with a fever around 7 pm, right when the rest of the family left for the Canadian women's Olympic soccer game (I had to stay home to get hte books done). I finished at midnight, right when they arrived home

Thurs Aug 1
We were up at a good hour, in time to carry all 77 books to the post office. The man at the counter made several remarks about how one customer was taking up so much of his time. Well, yes, that IS your job, you know! It's not like we sign an agreement that we will only ship one package or one piece of mail at a time. We got all the books mailed and were on our way to the airport by 10 am.

We were super lucky and only had 2 flights to get back to the US, rather than our usual 3. Direct from Nice to Philadelphia! I was super super sick all day, fever, chills, body aches, sore throat, the works.

We got stuck in a special screening at customs due to having a few pieces of fruit that the kids hadn't finished eating. But we still made it to our next flight. We finally arrived home close to midnight (6 am to our bodies). Everyone collapsed into bed but of course I couldn't get to sleep for a while and slept fitfully and woke up early. It's my curse when I'm sick. Eric, on the other hand, goes into a sleep coma when he is sick.

Fri Aug 2
Unpacking, opening 7 months of mail, looking with horror at 7 months of weeds, pulling weeds despite my best intentions not to (and still feeling very sick...but I just couldn't resist), buying groceries, buying and planting some herbs and perennials (what can I say...they were so pretty!), watching Sherlock. Eric started feeling sick this evening.

Sat Aug 3
I slept ok but not great, was up too early again. Ah well. Did more weeding, unpacked more stuff, ran some errands, bought more plants, went to the thrift store and farmer's market with Ivy and Inga. I still feel pretty terrible and now Eric is super sick. He's already in bed (see: sleep coma, above). Kids are playing games or something downstairs with instructions to go to bed at some point. I made fresh pesto with basil that I bought and planted yesterday.

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Wales, day 4

We visited several family-related sites today, starting in Abersoch, where Eric's grandma was born and lived until she emigrated to Canada when she was 4. We found her home and the current tenants were super friendly and let us come and take pictures in the backyard (which is actually where the front entrance is).

We then wandered through town and down to the beach, over a long stretch of rocks and hidden inlets, and back over to the main beach. There are rows of beach huts which apparently sell for something ridiculous like 200,000 GBP even though they can only be used during the day and not for habitation or sleeping.

Next, we drove to a church in a village 1 1/2 miles away, Llanengan, where Eric's great-great-great? grandfather was the choir director for many years. We picked up the key to the church at a nearby inn and enjoyed having the church all to ourselves. Eric's mom organized a Freeze Family Choir, several songs with everyone and one with just the Freeze siblings. "I know where I get my choir directing genes from!" she said.

There were wool blankets folded on every pew, likely from local sheep. A nice touch for what is probably a very cold church during the winter.

We also found several ancestor's grave stones in that church yard. We had a picnic lunch in the shade of a big yew tree, sitting right next to a line of gravestones.

Inside the red telephone box, we discovered a little free library. Inga took home a Stephen King book. I discovered a hilarous book called "Fifty Sheds of Gray" which Zari almost took with her. Just like it sounds: black & white photos of sheds interspersed with funny text, such as, "You never forget your first shed."

We also drove past a few more acestral homes in Llanengan.

We headed home, ready for rest and/or play. The kids all hopped straight into the pool and played for 2 hours! I read a book and supervised. 

Eric got bored and finally went to the nearby beach and discovered some great areas for snorkeling. He even caught a large spider crab but let it go because he wasn't sure if it was off season to catch.

I made a stuffed roast chicken and roast broccoli for dinner.

We had a quick but energetic game of Capture The Flag after dinner, then ice cream for all the kids.

We finished the evening with a walk to the beach (adults). Most of the kids are in another cottage socializing.

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Wales, day 3

We all headed out at 9:30 am towards Aberdaron. The drive there was...hair-raising. The roads became progressively narrower until we were on a tiny single-lane road, sunken deep in the ground between earth banks and hedgerows. One late, but two-way traffic = children who are worried we'll crash into an incoming car. "Papa, slow down!"

"Ca va," he would always reply.

(We did not crash into anyone, although we had some close brushes with the bushes along the side of the road.)

We pulled into Aberdaron two minutes before the church service started. It was a big event: a visitation by the Archbishop, which apparently hasn't happened for a long time. It was a bilingual service in Welsh and English. Very interesting! And the Archbishop's sermon was quite entertaining and engaging.

We stayed afterwards to chat, eat lunch, and get access to the parish records. Eric's great-grandfather is buried in that churchyard, and with some assistance we were able to find the headstone.

Some very nice church ladies stopped to chat with us, and we got invited to come back tomorrow evening for a sing-along. "We only have 3 people right now so you'd be a welcome addition!" It would be fun, but I suspect we'll be too tired to make a 1.5 hour round-trip drive just for some singing.

Next, we took another "interesting" drive up to Mynydd Mawr, an old coastguard lookout point on the westernmost tip of Northern Wales. Such a gorgeous area.

We were blessed with another day of full sun and warm temperatures (for Wales). Many of us came away quite sunburned by the end of the day.

Our last stop was Traeth Porthor or Whistling Sands Beach, where the sand indeed whistles when you step on it the right way. I didn't have the courage to swim, but Eric, Ivy, and Dio all jumped in. Eric said the size and number of fish were incredible, and he wished he had his spearfishing equipment (he only had room for a mask & snorkel).

We drove home in the late afternoon, very hungry. By time dinner was done the hunger had gone up to ravenous! We had some leftover mushroom ravioli, plus an Asian vegetable stir-fry and barbequed spareribs.

A few of Eric's family put on a family history lesson in the evening, going back about 5 generations through the families that all lived in this small area in Wales. Eric's grandmother emigrated to Canada when she was 4 years old in 1924. Now his immediate family is scattered all oll over the US, Canada, and EU.

Ivy is in bed now, and the other kids are watching one of the women's Olympic soccer games. I'm exhausted so I'm going to read a little bit and then get to bed.

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Wales, day 2

We were up at 8 and out of the youth hostel by 8:30. We had breakfast at the grandparents' airbnb and then were pulling out at 9:30 am. We didn't have far to go--just the parking lot for the local castle/tower and the National Slate Museum.

The Dolbadarn Castle is one big tower in partial ruins dating back to the 1200s, give or take. Very picturesque. I didn't take many pictures today but I saw Inga and Dio taking lots of them...which means they liked it! Even the walk to the castle was so beautiful--moss and ferns and trees, and rocks covered with moss. Vivid shades of green on top of the purple-gray shale.

Next stop was the National Slate Museum, which was very fun. Until this family reunion, I knew nothing about the history of slate mining in Wales. Llanberis is the site of the Dinorwig quarry, which was open until 1969 and was the 2nd largest slate quarry in the world. It's an open quarry on the side of the mountain. Very impressive.

The slate museum is situated in the former workshop/foundry/forge and it was amazing to see all of the various industries taking place in one site. The entire thing was powered by an enormous waterwheel, one of the largest in the world. It's still turning today. (There's a much smaller, more efficient water wheel that was installed in the 1920s that is now powering everything, but the old one is still going!) I loved seeing how all of the machines were connected to the central drive shaft.

We had a picnic lunch, enjoying the weather that became progressively sunnier, and then took a short hike around Vivian quarry, one of the quarries that makes up the larger Dinorwig quarry site.

We drove through some very narrow roads--Zari was stressing out--down through the Welsh mountains and towards the sea. We were hoping to make a quick stop at Beddgelert, site of the grave of the dog that was (infamously) murdered by its owner, who thought it had killed its baby, only to discover after killing the dog that the dog had killed a wolf that was trying to get to the baby. (Who knows how much of this is folklore. But it makes for a good story.) But...the village was so crowded that there was nowhere to park!

So we continued on to Harlech to see the castle. Again, nothing really preserved, just the shell and the exterior walls. It's a shame that all of the interior parts are gone. I would love to have seen the original living quarters.

Ivy got a treasure hunt and enjoyed finding all of the clues, which spelled out "water gate." At the bottom of the fortified hill, there used to be an inlet from the sea. It has since silted over and is now roads and houses and sports complexes. But previously, the castle could get supplies directly from the sea, allowing it to outlast sieges.

We also went to the world's steepest street, or at least tired to because we walked down what was supposed to be the steepest street but I think we were on the wrong part of it. It wasn't that steep at all. We shrugged and got back in the car. Oh well.

Our next destination is the farm that we are all staying at, only we had to make a grocery stop on the way. 130 pounds later, we came out of the store with food for the rest of our stay. We bought Magnum bars for the kids, who were waiting in the car. I opened the door and exclaimed, "We have an ice cream emergency!" This startled Zari, who had just fallen asleep against the car door.

And then finally...we arrived at the farm. There's a big farmhouse and many small outbuilings made into cottages. We're in 3 units among all of us (20 or so in total, I think). There's an indoor pool, a game room, lots of very quiet, beautiful outdoor spaces. There's a lake further down the road and about a mile away on foot, the ocean.

Zari, Eric, and I took a long walk right before dinner to find the lake and the path to the ocean. Our legs are sore from yesterday!

We made dinner (tortellini with mushrooms, cream, & parmesan cheese, plus Caesar salad). The kids minus Zari took a walk to the beach with the cousins and some of adults. We stayed back and relaxed, since we had already gone there. Eric looked up clams and other seafood that we may be able to catch. Razor clams look like so much fun to catch! I hope we can find some.

Anyway it's late over here and we have a busy day tomorrow. Bonne nuit!

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Wales, day 1

Friday, July 26

We arrived in Liverpool after midnight on Thursday. By time we walked to our hotel and got into bed, it was 2 am French time, 1 am local time. We had 4-5 hours of sleep before we had to be up again to pick up the rental car.

Because we had a tight schedule for meeting the rest of Eric's family, Eric made us get there 30 minutes early to ensure we'd be the first in line to pick up the car. We waited...finally the employee showed up at 7:30. She looked at our booking. "I'm sorry, your car is not booked until 9. I have 13 other car rentals before yours. Come back in an hour and a half."

Never mind that we were the only people there at the moment. We had to wait our turn.

The kids were super hungry, so we walked back to the airport and bought food at a small grocery store. Each of us got a "meal deal": sandwich, snack, and drink for 5.50 pounds, which in an airport was actually not a horrible price.

We were on the road shortly after 9 am in our toaster van, a litttle box of a Vauxhall that has about 6" of luggage area in the back. Even with us just having one backpack each, the car is overcrowded!

Our destination on Friday morning was Llanberis, a little village at the base of the highest mountain in Wales (Snowdon Peak or Yr Wyddfa). Our objective: to hike the mountain! The rest had already started on an alternate trailhead, but we chose to start in Llanberis itself on the Llanberis path.

I hadn't done any research prior. I was expecting an easy-to-moderate hike because we were going with other family members who aren't really big hikers. But no! It was a proper hike that even kicked my butt at times.

Length: 14.5km
Anticipated Duration: 7 Hrs (it took us 4 hrs 15 min, including a lunch break!)
Ascent: 3,199 Feet (975 Metres)

We were in short sleeves for the first half or more of the hike. 3/4 of the way up, we hit wind, clouds, and rain. I was so sweaty that I delayed putting on a jacket until the last 30 minutes before the summit. And then I went from being too hot to really, really cold. My fingers were numb and my head and ears super cold (I was the only one who didn't have a hood of some sort). We had very little visibility on the last part of the hike, which is really a shame. All that hiking and no view from the summit.

We pushed the kids really hard and didn't stop to eat on the way up, even though we had gone well past lunch time. I think Eric kept expecting we'd be able to eat the summit or something...but it was so cold and windy and wet up there that we just turned right around. Inga hit a wall: she as so hungry and cold and crying and wanting to stop. But it was so cold that stopping wasn't a great idea.

We did find one place for a few minutes. But then all we could do was keep on going until we were low enough that we were out of the wind and clouds.

It took probably 45 minutes of hiking down before we found a reasonably sheltered place to stop and eat.

After that late lunch break, the rest was great. We were back in the sun, out of the wind, and going downhill. We kept a very quick pace--some of the group running, the rest of us keeping our feet light and fast as we descended from rock to rock. Layers came off until we were back in short sleeves again.

I was definitely not expecting such a dramatic change in weather and temperatures! If we were hiking on the coast near Nice, even in the winter, a similar elevation gain wouldn't make that much of a difference in temperatures.

When we were well over halfway down, the clouds lifted and we saw the peak for the first time! (See the blue arrow)

We were the last ones to start and the first ones back and we took the longest path. We sat in the sun at the Llanberis train station and enjoyed not moving. Some of us even put our heads down on a picnic table and napped.

It was dinnertime once everyone had reached the bottom and we were SOOOOO hungry. Our family hurried off to check into the youth hostel and then came back to order Indian takeout and eat it along the shores of the lake.

Ivy and Eric brought swimsuits and yes, they went swimming! I was very happy to stay warm and dry.

I think we all ate too much too quickly, but we were so hungry after that big hike. As soon as the sun reached the horizon, we all headed out. We were tired and needed to get settled and into bed. We had two rooms in the youth hostel, one with 4 bunkbeds for the kids and one with 2 bunkbeds for us. I took the top one because I don't tend to get disoriented at night. (Eric....well...let's just say there's a lot of sleeptalking and/or waking up and being convinced that something from his dream is actually real, etc. Best to keep him off of a top bunk!)

I read a bit once I was in bed, even though I was so tired. I'm reading the Murderbot series, which is quite fun. And then I got a good amount of sleep despite the not-super-comfortable bed and the other inconveniences of a youth hostel (noise of other guests, having to use a communal toilet in the middle of the night, etc).

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Cleaning, packing, more cleaning, some swimming

We're in full upheaval as departure day arrives (family reunion in Wales on the 25th). The house looks like a mess even though it's mostly clean and packed, because all the last things are out everywhere. Sleep is elusive for me--it happens during periods of stress like this.

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Tour de France videos

Saturday drone & fireworks show with 1,500 drones (really amazing and hard to describe the scale of the 3D drone show)



Sunday's final race...honestly we had just as much fun watching the pre-race parade as we did the race itself! We were next to a very enthusiastic group of Danes.

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I have lots of vides from today's Tour de France final...but my computer is tied up encoding a breech video so it will have to wait until tomorrow. I've never seen Nice so packed with people.

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Goodbye, wisdom teeth!

We had a brutally early start to our day at 5:30 am (and of course I had insomnia the night before! Of course!). We arrived promptly at 6:59 am, got checked in and settled into the room.

Zari dressed in the ridiculous ritualistic medical clothing: paper slippers, paper underwear, hospital gown that snaps up the back, and a hair net. And then...we waited...and waited. We had been told that the surgery would be at 8, but she didn't get taken back until close to 11:30 am!

After a rather long wait, some nurses came into the room and asked, "Do you have the x-rays?"

"No, I gave the x-rays to the surgeon a few days ago."

They asked who the surgeon was and then left. That didn't exactly inspire confidence on my part! And why would I have the x-rays on the day of her surgery? I'm not the one doing the surgery!

But I assume the x-rays were located because Zari eventually showed up again, smiling, with her cheeks nestled between ice packs. She was remarkably happy and even a bit energetic (was it the drugs?). I was expecting her to be tired and loopy. But this was the more confident, less inhibited, and more carefree Zari that got unleashed.

We had to wait another 2.5 hours to be released. Zari napped on and off--lots of drugs to work out of her system, I suppose, plus a lack of sleep the night before.

By 2 pm, I was super hungry. I hadn't eaten anything all day, and the day before was my fasting day so I had very little. I took a quick walk down the street until I came across a small grocery store. When I came back, the nurse came in to release us back into the wild.

We picked up a prescription for antibiotoics after we got off the tram and were home by 3 pm. I didn't get to eat, though! Eric had an interview with a newspaper reporter and I joined them down in Le Chateau. Finally at 4, I was able to grab a bite to eat. Phew!

I'm glad it all went well. Zari is in some pain, as to be expected, managed with ice packs and Tylenol (or "Saint Doliprane," as my friend calls it!).

Ivy is still in pain from her blisters. Eating and brushing teeth are particularly difficult.

I made country tomato bisque, along with baguettes and cheese, for dinner. We cooled Zari's soup in the freezer until it was just barely warm. They recommended staying away from hot food for the first day or two. She should be cleared for swimming by Monday, as long as she's not in too much pain.

And it's after 11 pm and I am soooo tired.

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Hand, foot, mouth...and butt disease? Really?

Last weekend we had a beach picnic with some friends. Her 4-year-old was recovering from hand, foot, & mouth disease. My friend said, "And he even got it on his ass!"

Well, I'm 99% certain that Ivy now has the same aflliction. Last night she noticed a few small red bumps on her hands and one on her butt, thinking they were just zits. But this morning: they were on her hands, feet, mouth...and butt! Lots on her butt. They are painful to the touch and it hurts to walk and to eat. Yep, I'd say that's 99% certain.

The rest of the kids keep freaking out when she comes near or touches something. I keep telling them, "It's just a mild virus and not a big deal at all. You probably already have it, too, but just don't have any symptoms."

We spent all morning and much of the afternoon packing and organizing. We made good progress, but at this stage it means that the house is in total upheaval. The kids also worked on filming a stop-motion animation up in the attic, which now has one completed scene that is quite charming. I supervised, helped out quite a bit at certain moments, all between hopping back on the computer to do my "real" work.

We headed to the beach for late afternoon. Eric had already left to do treasure hunting. Inga and Zari set off as a team and came back loaded with "treasures." Eric found a Samsung phone and children's snorkel mask. Zari and Inga found 2 pairs of swim googles, another swim mask, a beer bottle, a water bottle, a fluorescent green wig, a hair bow, an underwear gift card, a Carrefour card, several bits of random trash, and half of a crab shell.

Zari and Inga were out for 2 1/2 hours! I finally had to swim out to them (they were way out near the point) and tell them it was time for dinner. I hadn't eaten all day and it was close to 7 pm by then. I was ready to go home and eat.

I had a live session late this evening. Zari and I have an early start for her wisdom teeth extraction. We have to be at the clinic by 7 am, which means leaving her by 6:15 am!

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Prefecture

We had an early wakeup to get to the Prefecture, otherwise known as "The Place Where Hopes and Dreams Go To Die," by 9 am. We were picking up the kids' DCEM paperwork. While we were there, we inquired about the status of our own application, which we had done in May and never heard anything back from, despite two inquiries from our immigration attorney.

The woman looked up our files and said, "Hmmm, your applications haven't even been opened yet. Go to desk 1 and they will help you."

So we went to desk 1, took our number, waited in line, and got to another clerk behind another glass window. We explained our situation and she looked it up in her computer. "I'm sorry, I can't even access your files from my computer. Go to desk 2."

So we went to desk 2, took a number, waited in line, and arrived to the clerk. We explained our situation, and she said, "I'm sorry, this is the Ukriane desk; we cannot help anyone else. Come back in the afternoon and see if someone can help you then. But we warned--there will be tons of peope in line."

So we got into line--yes, in line at 10 am waiting for the Prefecture to open back up at 1 pm! We were not the first ones in line. We were outside, no water, no shade except a pexiglass cover that probably heated as much as it protected.

I sent an email to the immigration attorney because without the paperwork that they had requested (twice), we wouldn't be able to return to France after our family reunion next week in Wales. I let her know that we were waiting at the prefecture and that, almost 2 months in, no one had even begun to look at our application.

And then...mysteriously...we got an email notification from the visa & immigration website at 10:51 am. After some crazy rigamarole to access the website--involving walking Ivy through the process over the phone--we learned that the temporary travel authorizations that we had been waiting for had arrived! I think this was not coincidence. We quit the line and headed home (we had sent the kids home long ago--no sense in making them wait, too). We are good for a few months, at least!

I had intentions to go for a swim this afternoon but I got caught up in work. Then I had to bring Zari to her anesthesia consult in advance of her wisdom teeth extraction in 2 days. She came down with a fever today and was miserable...but we decided to go and we'll reassess tomorrow afternoon.

We watched Zoolander with the cousins tonight. I haven't seen it since it first came out. Quite fun.

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I had to run errands twice to Zari's oral surgeon who is going to take her wisdom teeth out, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. It's a 35-minute walk each way. I walked in the morning and took the tram in the afternoon--it was hot!

The family went snorkeling and diving while I was gone. They enjoyed visiting La Vierge, a submerged statue of the Virgin Mary off the point of Nice. Here is what they found during the excursion:

Inga: hairpin, hairclip Zari: 3 masks, a jacket, underwear, towel, hotel card

Dio went with his cousins to 3 perfume stores because one of his cousins likes cologne. They also looked at fancy watches at a fancy store. They were getting hungry by my SIL said, "I bet Rixa is making something good for dinner, so let's wait!" And indeed, it was a delicious dinner. I made spanikopita, this time in little triangles, which the kids loved. We also had Toulouse sausages, broccoli, and a delicious walnut-pear-raspberry-gorgonzola salad that my SIL made.

We adults went on a lovely post-sunset walk. I love living here surrounded by so much beauty.

We have an upcoming family reunion in Wales, and the forecast is 15-16C and rainy! That is winter weather for us! Eric bought rain jackets because we don't have any and will probably need them. Inga's is bright yellow and she loves it so much she's been wearing it all day.

I just heard Dio say, "He is an egotestical dude" and I think it was meant as a joke but if not, it was still really funny.

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Haircut, swim scare, and more

Inga wanted a hair cut, so I took about 3" off. It now falls right below her shoulders. She took lots of before and after pictures (but not on my phone).

Dio and the cousins went on a bike ride this evening. He also went along with his cousins and aunt and uncle as they went suit shopping.

Zari, Ivy, and Inga worked on a stop motion animation this afternoon, but they only got as far as designing one of the set pieces! It's very elaborate.

Zari, Inga, Ivy, and I went to the beach in the late afternoon. Now that Zari has disocvered how to dive deep and equalize her ears, she is obsessed with diving. She was out for at least 2 hours...and for the last hour, we didn't know where she was because she had apparently swum around the point and out of sight. I finally started freaking out--quietly--because she is still fairly new at diving. I finally sent Ivy to run along the coast to see if she could spot Zari, and I also callled Eric to come look for her.

Ivy arrived running several minutes later, saying she had just found Zari (she was way around the point and quite far out, looking at the statue of La Vierge, which is about 45 feet / 15 meters down. Eric arrived at the same time and we could see her coming around the point. I think I'm going to insist that if she swims out of sight, she needs to have a partner with her. Fortunately Eric is just as obsessed with diving so she won't lack for a dive partner.

Eric cooked up four fish for dinner that he caught this past week. It was my fasting day so I had to defer until tomorrow (my meal today was a green vegetable puree, 2 squares of dark chocolate, and scrambled eggs with onions and bell peppers).

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Bastille Day, picnic, Euro Cup, improvised ping pong

It's Bastille Day but all focus is on the Tour de France arrival this coming weekend. The normal fireworks were cancelled because there's a fireworks/drone show on Saturday night as part of the Tour de France celebrations.

Ivy wasn't feeling well (again) so I stayed home with her in the morning. I don't doubt that she is unwell, since many of us have been feeling under the weather, but letting her stay up late the last few nights hasn't helped either. I told her she had to be in bed by 9 pm tonight, period.

Because we knew we'd be swimming later one, we decided to watch a movie in the afternoon with everyone. Well, not Eric--he went spearfishing and caught a mulet! (currently in our kitchen sink waiting to be cleaned).

We had a picnic & swim at the beach this evening with Eric's sister and her familiy and some friends of ours. Now that Zari has figured out how to equalize her ears, she is super gung-ho to learn how how to dive. Eric took her out and said she could go almost as deep as him, albeit her breath holding is much shorter. She even found a very nice Mares dive mask that is now hers!

We headed back in time to watch the Euro Cup match, England vs. Spain. The kids and cousins have rigged up an improvised ping pong table with painting tape and barbeque skewers.

The game was quite exciting to watch. We have crowds of (now very disappointed) English people at the Irish pub at the corner. It's an Anglo ex-pat hangout.

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Change of plans, Monaco, miroir d'eau

I hardly slept last night--a combination of stress and not feeling well. So between that and Ivy still feeling icky in the morning, we abandoned plans to go to the Pont de la Cerise. Instead, Eric took Dio, Inga, and his sister's family to Monaco. Zari, Ivy, and I had a relaxing day at home and then went to the miroir d'eau in the late afternoon to meet up with friends.

All of us took a late night walk. It's almost 11 pm and the kids are still out--they got treated to ice cream. Eric and I passed because we're tired and not hungry. They are under instructions to come home and go to bed as soon as they have finished the ice cream.

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Return from Camping, Inside Out 2

The campers came back at dinnertime! We have loads of laundry and lots of camping gear to pack away.

Ivy and I took her friend to see Inside Out 2 this afternoon. They spent so long dressing up in colors that represented the various characters. Ivy found me a Joie ensemble (yellow and blue!) so I got to join in the fun. Ivy was Dégoût and her friend was maybe l'Ennuie?

We have plans to go hiking and wild swimming tomorrow, but Ivy was feeling feverish this evening. So we may have to be flexible...plus all the other kids are totally exhuasted. We'll see in the morning.

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Another pretty chill day...Ivy hung out with her aunt, went out exploring, and bought fun treats. I did lots of video editing again.

Ivy and I went to the beach after dinner. Another gorgeous, calm day with clear water. When we were drying off, there was a man nearby who got stung by a jellyfish. We hadn't seen any until then.

I talked to Eric briefly this morning but he was so busy he didn't have much time. Kids are having fun and I wish I could be there. In retrospect Ivy and I could have rented a little cabin to stay in but we didn't know that beforehand.

We made vegan dark chocolate cupcakes in the afternoon, not because I am ideologically vegan but because I had all the ingredients on hand. I had leftover frosting from Ivy's birthday party stored in the freezer, so it was a good excuse to use it up. Our fridge is so packed because I did a huge grocery shopping trip but hardly anyone is eating the food! That will change tomorrow evening once everyone is back.

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I talked to Eric this morning to see how the camping was going. He was a bit grumpy because he was asked to be a night guard (to ensure the youth didn't get into trouble, I guess?) and he finally called it quits at 1:30 am because he was so tired. He's volunteering as a chaperone and I think it's crazy that they're asking the adult volunteers not only to help out during the day, but to stay up all night in shifts. He was also too cold at night, despite bringing an extra blanket.

Ivy and I exercised together in the morning, then she went with my SIL to buy pastries and walk around. I did video caption editing all day today, with a short break to run an errand. Ivy got treated out to ice cream wrapped in a bubble waffle, topped with oreos and whipped cream and strawberries. Wow! Having aunts and uncles around is amazing!

We made spicy crab sushi for dinner and had 12 rolls left over after we finished eating! I cannot cook for a small group. (And I made a big batch on purpose, because I know that the teenagers are coming back on Friday and they will demolish it all in about 5 seconds.)

We went swimming after dinner in the sea that was lake calm and perfectly clear. Ivy swam for at least an hour and a half. She is part fish. She and a group of kids found an octopus near shore, so they were looking at it for about 30 minutes. It turned spiky at one point and at another time, it released its ink.

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Camping & semifinals

We got everyone off and the car packed (barely--Eric had to work to shut the back hatch). Now it's just me, Ivy, and Eric's sister.

Ivy and I went grocery shopping in the morning to stock up. I really tried to buy for two people...and failed! I just can't do it! It was way too hot hauling all the groceries home in the unrelenting sun. Summer weather is definitely here.

Ivy spent some time with my sister-in-law while I did video editing (Breech Pro will soon be available in Italian!!). Then we all took a walk, equipped with a spray bottle to stay cool, to the local furniture consignment store.

I made a huge batch of masaman curry (adding sweet potatoes, zucchini, and bell peppers) and red rice. Ivy crafted a delicious fruit salad. We have enough curry lefovers for another meal, so that's now tucked away in the freezer.

We're watching the Euro Cup semi-finals, France vs. Spain. France scored right away, but then Spain scored twice, all fairly early on. We're now into the second half with Spain still ahead 2-1. I hear the campers are watching it, too (because campgrounds in France are way more luxurious than in the US! theirs even has a heated pool).

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Too much sun

After lunch we took cousins and Eric's sister to the rocky beach area right after La Reserve, which we call Coco Beach. I was already sunned out just walking there. I was done. Unfortuately the kids weren't! I much prefer going out in the late afternoon or early evening.

Everyone but Ivy and I are going camping for 4 days (big youth camping trip for ages 12+). I think we have all the gear out of the attic.

I felt well enough to do sprints this morning. It's getting HOT!

Eric's sister bought pizza for dinner tonight. Eric caught 3 fish and decided to put them in the freezer after cleaning them.

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Goodbye friends, hello cousins!

Well, the sadness of saying goodbye to our friend was offset by the arrival of Eric's sister, one of her kids, and one of her nephews. They are both right around Dio's age or 1 year old. It's her nephew's first time in Europe and definitely different from the small town in southern Alberta that he has grown up in!

They arrived mid-afternoon, so of course we went to the beach. It's so gorgeous right now--warm air but not too hot, water that is just slightly cool.

I ended up cooking all sorts of things: sausages roasted with fennel, mustard, thyme, and red wine; a big vegetable and flageolet bean salad with balsamic dressing; plum tart; dark chocolate almond cookies.

My day started suuuuper early due to a conference presentation in Australia. My 7 am session was afternoon for them. I was still feeling just a bit off, so I stayed home to watch the rest of the conference.

We were surprised by a huge and VERY NOISY street parade with drummers and dancers. It seemed to have lots of people from Brazil but also other places like Madagascar. I'm not sure what it was, but it was the loudest street parade I've ever heard in my life. When I edited the video, I had to turn it down by many decibels and it's still plenty loud on my computer.

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Water park, movie, dinner with friends

Dio was gone all day at a birthday party, and everyone else headed to a water park with giant inflatable structures floating on the sea. (I went there 2 years ago. It was fun but I think once is enough for me!)

I had a quiet morning at home. I'm feeling better than yesterday but still not great. I did get Zari's new door latch and handle installed. For the first time in 10 years, she can actually close her bedroom door!

We watched the second movie in the Musketeers series--Milady. It was filled with one plot twist and intrique after another and frankly it was hard to keep track of who was doing what for which side. But you just have to set that aside and not take it too seriously.

As if the 3 hours in the water wasn't enough for Eric, he went swimming again right before dinner to treasure hunt and came home with a snorkel mask.

We had another potluck in Le Chateau with our friends. She made a zucchini tart and green beans, I made socca (regular and rosemary), and we also had bread, cheese, saussicon sec, madeleines, cherries, and cardamom-infused hot chocolate.

Ivy is at a sleepover and the house seems way too quiet.

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