Spring break is winding down. We have no soccer games this weekend--a rare event.

Dio's friends got a true American/Canadian experience this morning with a pancake breakfast. Toppings included maple syrup, whipped cream, peanut butter, various jams, and Nutella.

We finished The Queen's Gambit this evening--quite a fun series. What can we watch next?

Also here's a funny picture of me at the Philadelphia breech conference. I volunteered myself as the "mom" so Betty-Anne Daviss could demonstrate fundal pressure on me. I climbed up on the "delivery table" to make it real 🙂

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Early birthday sleepover

Dio's birthday is in a few days, and he's celebrating with his best friends by having a sleepover in Le Chateau. They went out with Inga and Ivy to the park and to the beach this evening. I love having a horde of teenagers who go do things together.

I'm making them a pancake breakfast for the hungry hordes tomorrow. It may be the first time the boys have had American pancakes.

Zari will be here next week! She is waiting for one more final exam. She's got her housing set for next year--living in the same place. She's going to take a STCW Basic Safety Training course soon after she arrives and then apply for yachting jobs.

Here's a picture of me selling books at the recent breech conference in Philadelphia.

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Four days in Philly

I'm back from a whirlwind trip to the USA for a breech conference in Philadelphia. I was so busy that I didn't take a single picture--aside from pictures of the presenter's slides. But fortunately other people took pictures and sent them to me!

Eric and Inga came back from Senegal this evening. Inga is happy but exhausted and says it was an emotional experience to visit a lower resource country.

Time to get my jet-lagged body to bed!!

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Laid-back Easter

We didn't cook anything fancy but it was still a great day with delicious food. I made pancakes for a very late breakfast--10:30 am! Most of us slept in, me included. I hate wasting half the morning but I have to admit that it felt great to sleep.

I took Inga to get her Hep A injection for her trip to Senegal...ironically it was easier to get an appointment today than tomorrow.

We all went to the new coulée verte in the afternoon. The kids and Eric did juggles back and forth over a low wall. I read and basked in the sun.

I made chicken in mustard sauce--classic French recipe, often made with rabbit--with roasted potatoes and a tomato, cucumber, olive, and feta salad. Eric cooked up a huge stack of crepes for dessert with all sorts of toppings: whipped cream, creme de marrons, Nutella, bananas, strawberries, blueberries...

We decorated easter eggs with markers this time, instead of paint. It worked well. It's harder to see the pale colors since the eggs here are all brown. We haven't done Egg Wars yet and it's already 10:15.

We have a free day tomorrow and I really really want to go hiking. We have a bit of a teenage munity, though. They don't want to go hiking and would rather just sit around the house. I might have to do a "too bad--we're going" move and just make it happen. I am such a mean mom.

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Quick update because it's past midnight...

Inga had a game and they won 7-0, with Inga scoring 3 goals!

I had some time to read at the beach and get Vitamin D therapy

We watched "Project Hail Mary" this evening...super fun

Eric's youngest brother and his family was featured in the news. Due to Trump immigration policies, he suddenly found himself barred from re-entering the US after a brief ski trip to Canada, despite having a work visa, and now is trying to figure out how to support his family of 5.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/canadian-family-stranded-in-ottawa-after-being-denied-re-entry-to-us/

This administration's policies don't just affect other people in faraway places. We could have the same thing happen to us if, for some reason, a border agent decided to deny Eric entry into the US.

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France went on Daylight Saving last night...and I woke up EARLY (not on purpose). Ugh. Why??? I feel like I'm constantly sleep deprived, which is not what I would have expected at this age and stage of life.

Ivy's sleepover went really well. Not surprisingly, she was really tired the next day! We now have a guest in Le Chateau for a few weeks, then it's mostly open again starting mid-April through mid-May. Anyone want to come visit?

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Happy birthday (again)!

Ivy is celebrating her birthday with a "soirée pyjama" (sleepover) with her 4 closest friends. She helped me make a cake that has outdone her previous cakes. How can we top this next year??

It's 4 layers of red velvet cake with chocolate buttercream. Mushrooms made of marzipan, ivy leaves made from white chocolate dyed green, moss made from coconut and petit beurre cookies blended with food coloring, and bark made from dark chocolate.

Here's to hoping the girls get some sleep tonight!

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Happy 13th birthday Ivy!

From now until Halloween, we will have 4 teenagers. It was like yesterday when they were little teeny kids ages 1-7.

Once Zari was awake and on a WhatsApp call, we read her birth story and opened presents. Then Ivy, Inga, and Eric headed off to soccer.

The kids' high school back in the US had a trip to Europe over spring break, and they were in Nice today! Inga and Dio connected with some groups of students during their free time. Such a fun blending of 2 worlds that usually don't touch each other.

We had a potluck dinner to celebrate Ivy's birthday with 4 other families. It was incredibly fun and incredibly loud. Good times. This pictures shows a part (but not all) of the kids, plus all of the adults.

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The boys go spearfishing, the girls go for coffee

Eric and two of his Canadian friends went spearfishing today, the first time for the other two. They caught two fish and one cuttlefish. It was a gorgeous day for the first time.

While the boys were out hunting and gathering, the girls had their own gathering at a cafe overlooking the beach. It's debatable who had more fun :) We had Argentina, Taiwan, Canada, Colombia, and the USA represented at the table.

I filmed a new breech module this afternoon. It took about 1.5 hours to set everything up, test the microphone and adjust the sound at least 10 times, get the lighting just right...then I filmed the whole course. Then I got on the computer and discovered that the autofocus kept going in and out of focus. I have to refilm the whole thing!

It's Ivy's birthday tomorrow. I will officially have 4 teenagers as of tomorrow. I can't believe it!

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In hot water

My aunt and uncle left early this morning--too soon! They will need to come back next year.

My dad and mom took a trip to Ikea to find picture frames for the sketches. Now I need to find a place to hang them up.

We're planning Ivy's birthday party sleepover. The theme is mushrooms and forests. We'll make a cake that looks like a stump covered in mushrooms.

Oh, the day started with a surprise, and not the fun kind! The power abruptly went out in the apartment, so I first went to the circuit breaker and flipped the one switch that had tripped. No good, no power. I finally isolated the problematic circuit and it was the water heater. then I walked to the water heater and quickly saw why...it was actively leaking hot water all over the electronics! This wasn't a leak at the plumbing connections; it was from inside the heater itself and signaled that the heater was totally kaput.

So we spent a good while draining the tank...without water because there was no shutoff valve going to the water heater. Then we made 3 trips to the plumbing supply store to be able to install shutoff valves. Then we ordered a new hot water heater, set to arrive tomorrow. So for now at least we have cold water in the apartment, and we can shower downstairs at my parent's.

Always something to keep us on our toes! Thank goodness we were home, because if we'd been gone all day, we would have come back to a completely flooded apartment and likely damage downstairs in Le Chateau.

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Rainy hike, delicious lunch, sketches

I went on an early-morning hike to Mont Boron with my parents and uncle. My aunt opted to stay home and explore Old Nice since she had a knee that was hurting. It drizzled on us the whole time. I felt ok during the hike, but afterwards I got chilled and couldn't get warm the rest of the day!

I had lunch at our favorite restaurant (l'Eau de Vie) with my parents and aunt and uncle. It's fun to catch up and get to know them better as peers. Most of the times I visited them, I was a child. I saw them once soon after I got married...and then 26 years went by! I'm having so much fun getting to know them as people.

At one point the conversation turned to childbirth. She had her first by C-section due to a lethal fetal abnormality incompatible with vaginal birth. She never got to see or hold her baby--such a shame. It's what was done at the time, but imagine how many mothers still grieve from never having seen their child. She had her 2nd as a hospital VBAC and her last 3 at home.

After dinner, my uncle (an artist) did quick sketches of the 3 kids. I grew up wandering around his art studio in Idaho, looking at his landscape paintings, lifescapes, buffalo hides, and antlers.

You can check out his artwork and support him at https://steve-spencer.pixels.com/

We have some Canadian friends over to play cards. They're here for 3 weeks over spring break. They rented from us last year and want to come back to Nice as soon as life/work/kids allow!

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Marathon meeting day

Phew! I finished my last round of meetings just a few minutes ago! Too many meetings for one day.

I started my first meeting at 9 am. This one was for a friend--supervising some finishing work on her apartment renovation while she is out of the country.

11 am: work meeting to go over workshop scheduling

1 pm: interviewing a candidate for a job

3 pm: Meeting to talk about finding a meeting space for a training event

3:30 pm: interviewing another candidate for a job

4 pm: meeting with our accountant (waited for 45 mins, he ultimately was stuck driving so we rescheduled)

7:30 pm: rescheduled meeting with our accountant

8 pm: Team meeting for work

9-9:30 pm: Meeting with one of our instructors

Eric and Dio are off at his late night soccer practice. Ivy had practice this evening, and Inga was at a friend's house all afternoon and evening. My parents and aunt and uncle visited Eze and Monaco today and were blessed with gorgeous weather.

ps--we made it into the Irish Times!

https://www.irishtimes.com/abroad/2026/03/13/st-patricks-day-irish-abroad-how-are-you-celebrating-send-us-your-photos
 

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St Patrick's Day Mass in a French cathedral? Why not?

I had lots of fun playing in the special St. Patrick's Day Mass in Beaulieu-sur-mer. Dio, Inga, and my mom came along. After mass, there was a picnic lunch plus music and dancing in the crypt (which was not creepy like it sounds--it was a lovely huge basement area, newly renovated).

My aunt and uncle from Idaho are visiting for several days. My uncle is a painter and they are both avid outsdoors people. We enjoyed catching up; I hadn't seem them since over 26 years ago!

Inga had a home game this evening and her team won. She still doesn't feel that she's playing as well as she'd like.

I had some time this afternoon to bask in the sun on the beach, stripping down to a tank top and pulling my pants as high up as they'd go. It felt amazing.

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Inga is celebrating her birthday (again) with a few friends, one of whom is back from Vancouver, Canada for a few weeks. I hear lots of giggling and thumping around from downstairs. Since my parents are gone for a few days, they are using Le Chateau for a sleepover.

They have 6 pizzas from Pizza Pili and lots of snacks. Let's hope they go to sleep at some point!

Tomorrow's plan:
- Ivy has a morning soccer game
- I have a rehearsal for the St. Patrick's Day Mass
- After Ivy's game, Eric will take Inga's friends plus Dio and Ivy to a trampoline park

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I took a "sleep-cation" downstairs in Le Chateau while my parents are in Paris with my aunt and uncle. I love being able to go to bed when I want and having no one wake me up at night due to snoring/wiggling/taking the covers. Ahhhh. Maybe it would be lonely after a while, but on occasion it's lovely to sleep solo. Eric's getting over jetlag so his sleep has been disrupted.

What else? I've had lots of intellectually fun stuff going on at work--creating new videos, working on publications, coming up with new research projects, securing translators for our textbook.

If anyone is local, please come to the St. Patrick's Day Mass at the Beaulieu cathedral this Sunday! I'll be playing violin.

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Ivy has spent so much time working on this book report project for her French class! If she doesn't get 20/20, something is seriously wrong with her teacher!

Dio is very despondent because he got 5/20 in a recent French exam, a 3-hour essay in which they analyzed a text. He thought he did well until he saw his grade today...the worst in the class! His teacher has been really strange, sometimes giving him top marks and other times giving him terrible grades and telling him he's doing it all wrong. He just doesn't know what she wants. He's a smart and hard-working kid and this just seems all over the place.

I do sometimes get frustrated with the French system because it can be so punitive and non-transparent. At least in the US system, the expectations are generally clear and if you work hard, it almost always is reflected in the grades.

My day was interesting. It started with a podcast interview with someone in Australia. I then moved on to several hours of video editing for a few new courses we're developing (a special short course for L&D nurses and an update of a module on essential breech maneuvers). I had a meeting with several heads of OB for the Kaiser system in northern CA. They're looking to develop 2 or 3 breech centers in San Francisco and northern CA. Really exciting!

Eric didn't sleep much last night despite being jet-lagged. I hope it's better tonight.

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Concert!

My mom is always someone who makes things happen. This doesn't change despite living in another country. She went to a concert about 6 weeks ago and was chatting with the soprano afterward. She said, "Why don't we put together some music and have a concert?" So that's exactly what they did! The pianist was incredible and had just turned 19.

My mom was impressed because not only was the soprano a fantastic singer, she also sews her performing outfits! (We grew up in a household that sewed...especially for Halloween or Christmas outfits or formal dances).

The kids liked the concert, which took place last night in a small art gallery, because it was short (30 minutes) and each piece was just a few minutes long. We had sparkly drinks beforehand and a reception at my mom's apartment afterwards. That also sweetened the deal.

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Soccer Saturday

I drove Ivy to a soccer game in Mougins, with my parents coming along. It was cool, overcast, and windy and I was very chilled by the end! Then just over an hour after coming home, I left again for Inga's game at Cavigal.

Ivy's team won 2-1, and Inga's team tied 2-2. Inga was very frustrated with how she played; she felt like she kept missing her shots and couldn't get the ball to go where she wanted it to.

Eric flies home tonight from a brief visit to the US for a writing conference.

Dio went to the gym with a few friends this morning.

That's the latest news. My mom is playing in a concert tomorrow evening with a soprano and pianist. We've been hearing her practice the last several weeks. Should be fun!

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Back home!

I'm home, finally! No travels until mid-April (conference) and then I stay put.

Ivy and Inga went to a practice for A.S. Monaco, which has been trying super hard to recruit them. It's looking likely they will go there next year. Nothing is decided yet, though. They had a great time, loved the other girls and the coach.

Closing arguments on the breech case I testified for are supposed to start tomorrow (Wed) at 9 am Pacific US time. Tune in for a very interesting time if you're into birth-related things!

https://oregonjudicial.webex.com/oregonjudicial/j.php?MTID=md8dda5575a7a99f4e54bb72b7cfd82bb

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Hello from Ghent!

I spent the day observing one of our new instructors teach his first vaginal breech training. It's been fun to listen to the Flemish. I can pick out certain words that are familiar from having taken Afrikaans back at university.

I didn't realize how heavily Flemish-speaking this part of Belgium would be. I was talking to people today and there's a sort of horizontal line running across Belgium, through Brussels. North of the line is Flemish and south of the line is French. I thought that everyone would be fully bilingual but that's not the case.

Ghent is such a pretty city. I was super busy today but even our short walk to lunch and to/from the hospital was lovely. I love the steep stepped roofs, the dormer windows, how the houses line up right to the canals, the cobblestone streets.

I'm going home tomorrow first thing in the morning. I had to miss Inga's birthday today, so I'm making it up by baking her a cake tomorrow. (Yes, they had a cake today...but you can never have too much cake!).

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Portland - Nice - Belgium

It's been a crazy 48 hours. I flew from Portland, OR to Nice, France, slept 1 night, then flew to Belgium. I'm here to observe a breech training with a new instructor. Fortunately this one is a quick trip.

I'm staying in Ghent, which is a lovely city that reminds me a lot of Amsterdam, only with fewer bicycles. I'm right in the Old Town and had a nice walk before it got dark.

I found a sew-on patch to add to my BWB apron collection, and I also visited a chocolate store and came back with some goodies to share with the family.

I had a lovely day and a half with my brother in Portland after the trial. We ate lots of delicious food, went on walks and hikes with his dog, saw various sites around town, and enjoyed his sauna every night. He built it himself, converting an old garden shed into paradise.

I have to miss Inga's birthday tomorrow. I told her we'd celebrate the next day, since I'll be back by then. I'm ready to be done traveling for a while!

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Arrived & testified!

My 2nd attempt to fly to Portland was successful. Phew. I didn't appreciate having to wake up at 4 am again. But on the up side, I was able to sleep for an hour or two on the flight, which is highly unusual for me. I think that helped me make a quick adjustment to the 9-hour time difference.

I arrived Monday mid-day and drove to the city where I was testifying and got settled in. I watched the last few hours of the trial to get a feel for what it would be like.

I went over to the attorney's place in the evening to finalize what I would be testifying on. Almost everything got cut due to time restraints.

I was in court all day Tuesday as an observer, but ironically there wasn't time for me to present that day. My turn came this morning, the 2nd to last witness for the plaintiff.

I never knew that being in a courtroom is like playing sports: there's strategy, counter-strategy, shifting around of the players (witnesses), good sportsmanship and bad sportsmanship, people calling foul (objections), the referee (judge) occasionally reprimanding people for focusing more on showmanship than on justice.

It also reminds me of parenting young children. If you have a problem, you can never address the person directly. You have to go to the judge to settle your differences. "Mom, Dio pushed me!" "Dio, is that true? Did you push Inga?" "No, Inga ran into me and then she fell over." "Okay, I'm going to ask both of you to take a minute and give each other some space."

I'll talk more about it once the case is done, but in short I think it went great. Once I realized the attorneys had no idea what they were talking about, and that I was very comfortably in my home domain, it was fun to field their cross-examination questions.

I stayed to listen to the final witness, who finished at noon. Then I drove to Portland to see my brother. We had a beautiful sunny day--unusual for this time of year--and we went out for a walk at a nearby off-leash dog park. My brother has a lovely dog, Sasha. We ate dinner at a Thai restaurant (driving in his convertible, which was super fun) and then did 3 rounds in my brother's sauna, which he built himself a few years ago. Ahhh...

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Foiled plans!

We had an uneventful drive home yesterday from Orelle to Nice, arriving around 2 pm. It was gorgeous and sunny and warm when we arrived. I had some errands to run to get ready for my trip to the US today.

I woke up at 4 am for a 6:30 am departure. I'm flying to Portland, OR to testify in a big breech trial. I got on the plane...and then we waited on the runway for a few hours.

Apparently the tow bar broke. Finally they heard back: no one at this airport could fix the plane, so they would have to cancel the entire flight as they waited for someone to fly in from Amsterdam.

All of our flights were rebooked for the next day or the day after. There were lots of unhappy people on the plane. The plane taxied back to the airport as close as it could get without its tow bar working, and we all caught buses back to the terminal. We had to pick up our luggage and then figure out what was going on.

I was supposed to testify in court tomorrow morning! But there was no way that would be happening--my flight was rebooked for 24 hours later.

So...I headed home. Very tired. I have to get up at 4 am again tomorrow and hope that tomorrow's flight actually happens.

ps, a funny picture of Ivy and Inga before we left for our ski week

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Freeze Family Ski Week at Les 3 Vallées, Day 6: From whiteout to wipeout to clear skies

Well, we had a fantastic last day of skiing. With our side of the mountain still closed off from the rest of the resort, we had just 2 chairlifts open. Still, they were both long, high runs with plenty of off-piste skiing.

The morning was whiteout conditions, even windier than the day before. It was super windy--it felt like our chairlift would get blown off the cable!



We ate lunch on a mountain peak (normally where you can ski down the other side of the mountain to the main resort area...just not today). They had an indoor picnic area that was great for warming up and taking a break from the insane weather.

The cloud cover lifted in the afternoon, ending in a lovely sunny day (if still super windy).

The best part of the day was definitely Inga's spectacular fall that landed her lying down as if she were in a hot tub, skis crossed in a V. With almost 2 meters of fresh powder, she wasn't hurt at all and said it was very comfortable. Getting her out of that position took a lot of effort, though!

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Freeze Family Ski Week at Les 3 Vallées, Day 5: Whiteout!

Our side of the mountain only had 1 chairlift open (plus a long gondola to get up there). We decided to try it out. Even though it was the "little" chairlift, it still went from 2350 m to 2786 m, which is a really decent run!

It was raining down in the valley, which turned into a snowstorm as we ascended. As we continued skiing, the wind picked up and the snow got heavier. Each time we came down the hill, the snow was several inches deeper! We skied off-piste right off the edges of the runs in fresh powder that was several feet deep from the last few days.

Visibility was terrible--you couldn't see when you were hitting a bump or a snowdrift or anything!



We skied for a few hours and then came home for a late lunch. It was actually a really fun day, despite the crazy conditions and lack of visibility.

My ski goggles broke in half yesterday. Ivy lent me hers, but it was impossible for her to ski today. So after one run, I went inside the gondola building and asked one of the operators if they had a lost & found with extra goggles. They didn't, but one of the workers lent me her pair! Wow, so generous! I offered to give her my phone number but she said it was ok. Thank you Pascal!

After we got home and ate lunch, Eric and I made a quick trip into the neighboring town to buy a few more groceries and a new pair of goggles.

Tomorrow many/most of the lifts should open up so we hope to have a final glorious and long day of skiing to end our vacation.

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Freeze Family Ski Week at Les 3 Vallées, Day 4: Long drive for a short ski day

With our side of the mountain still being closed, except for 1 small chairlift, we decided to drive all the way to the other parts of the resort that were still open. It took 1 hr 45 minutes to drive there! Even though we're at the edge of the resort, it's on the other side of the mountain so you have to drive all the way around.

It was a disappointing day because all of the highest runs were still closed, the ones we really wanted to ski. And the lines were INSANE.



But the views were gorgeous, at least.

We decided that we're not going to drive any more. Either Orelle opens up or we stay at home. It wasn't worth the time, given the long lines and lack of good runs open.

We've had several people who work at the resort tell us we should write and request a refund for the days where our side of the mountain has been closed.

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Freeze Family Ski Week at Les 3 Vallées, Day 3: Another snow day!!!

Yet again, the resort was closed--at least this whole side of the mountain, which meant the rest of the resort was inaccessible short of doing a 1.5-2 hour drive. Even then many of the top runs remained closed today.

In 24 hours, the top of the resort got 140 cm of snow!!

We really really hope we can ski tomorrow. I've never ever gone skiing and been unable to ski due to too much snow!

We got everyone out except Zari (she was doing homework) and played in the snow. Down here in the valley, it was the perfect consistency for making a snowman: wet and sticky.

We played more board games (Mito & Monopoly), watched more episodes of Humans, and generally took it easy.

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Freeze Family Ski Week at Les 3 Vallées: Days 1-2

We're on our annual ski week adventure. For the past several years we've gone to Chamonix, mainly skiing Les Grands Montets. But this year we tried something new: Les 3 Vallées.

It is mind-blowingly amazing. We're staying far off to the back side of one of the mountains in Orelle, which means we have to take 2 gondolas up to the 3300 m peak in order to access the rest of the resort.

We had our first glorious day yesterday. The snow was better than I've ever skied anywhere. Fresh powder everywhere; light, fluffy snow on the groomed runs. No ice or slush anywhere (we stayed on the top runs only so I don't know what the lower parts are like).

We skied hard and hardly made a dent on the runs just in our area, which is a small part of the entire resort. Les 3 Vallées is the largest ski resort in the world, with 600 km of runs.



It started snowing last night and was supposed to snow for a few days. We woke up to some snow down here in the valley (900 m) but the roads were clear. We suited up, drove 3 minutes to the gondola...and found it entirely deserted. What?!?

Turns out there was such extreme weather up at the resort with 150 km/hr winds at the top that much of it was shut down entirely!

So with no way of getting to the slopes, we had to stay home. It was actually really fun. We played card games, watched several episodes of Humans, ate lots of snacks, teased each other, took naps, read books...Our legs are sore today, and I hope our rest day helps out tomorrow.

I hope we can ski tomorrow!

The funniest thing that has happened so far: when we were skiing down deep powder, Zari took a lovely tumble and her skis fell off. One of them went skiing down the mountain....way down! Eric was a bit above her and rescued her other ski and then sent it down to her. It missed her entirely and it, too, went skiing at high speeds down the mountain. Now Zari was down 2 skis and had to scooch all the way down. It was too deep to walk in. At one point she started rolling down the slope until she got too dizzy.

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Carnaval!

Carnaval officially starts on the 14th, but Ivy's school got started early and had a dress-up contest. Ivy won a prize and got lots of compliments...wearing one of my costumes!

Inga finally got an appointment to look at her MRI results with a sports medicine doctor. He thinks she'll be good to resume normal sports in a week and he said ok for skiing as long as she took it easy.

More Zoom meetings for me today...and some renovating advice at a friend's apartment. She's on the tail-end of a top-to-bottom renovation and it's been fun to follow the progress. Although she's not doing the work herself, she's been overseeing everything as a sort of de-facto general contractor. That's a whole job in itself!

More rain today...it's been the rainiest winter I can remember! But that's good for skiing so we will stay happy if somewhat wet.

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Another busy day filled with 5-6 hours of Zoom meetings! Whew!

It's 3 minutes to midnight and Eric and Dio just got back from their weekly soccer game. It's about 45 minutes away so they always get home quite late.

Guess what I have going on tomorrow? More Zoom meetings! At least they're enjoyable meetings with people I enjoy.

Ivy is dressing up for Carnaval tomorrow in one of my Halloween costumes that I sewed. She has to tuck a lot of things in but it looks good!

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Big swells in Nice. I was high up above the water and got splashed head to toe! Eric went to the beach to read and sunbathe...only to discover that a) the beach was closed and b) there was no beach--the waves went all the way to the rock wall.

What else? Lots of computer work and meetings today for me. Inga got an MRI done yesterday (50 Euros!) and we'll see a doctor on Monday to look over results. Eric has been trying to diagnose her via googling the images but honestly I'm not convinced it would be very accurate. Wrong kind of doctor for the job. I just hope it's something minor that will heal quickly.

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Inga has done 2 days of her brevet blanc and has one day left. I helped her study for her history and geography test that she had today. Now we're working on science, technology, physics, and chemistry.

Dio is busy memorizing a 10-minute oral presentation analyzing an excerpt from the 1834 play "On ne badine pas avec l'amour."

Inga's knee still really hurts 10 days after her injury. We've been trying (in vain) to schedule the échographie (ultrasound) and MRI but so far either every place is booked and, even worse, they don't do échographies on anyone under 16! No matter that Inga is taller than almost all French men.

We got a call from a MRI place in Monaco, saying they'd had a last-minute cancellation so we are going to bring her in tomorrow.

Eric and I are both coming down with something. Ugh. I just got well!

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Cactus tuna?

My mom said the prickly pear cactus fruit is called a "tuna." Can anyone verify this? It sounds so weird!

We gathered a big sack full of fruit (or tunas!!) yesterday on our hike to Mont Boron. I couldn't convince any of the kids to come. Teenagers. Sigh. So it was me, my parents, and a young couple they had met recently. He's from Mauritius doing a MBA here and she's a therapist.

Today they came over for lunch, or rather my parents--social butterflies--invited them over :)

The rest of the day was relaxed for me and Dio. Eric took the girls to an OGC Nice game in the late afternoon.

My mom had already finished making a big batch of cactus fruit syrup. We're well stocked with that and marmalade.

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Spéculoos spectaculaire

My mom has been making bitter orange marmalade and tomorrow we're going to gather prickly pear cactus fruit. She has a marmalade recipe that doesn't use any pith, just the zest, and it's like eating a bite of sunshine.

Eric has to attend a Cavigal game tomorrow as a coach, but none of the kids are playing. Inga got injured this week so she can't play for another 10 days or so.

I heard Dio say the other day, while eating a spéculoos cookie (similar to a gingersnap), "Ce spéculoos est spectaculaire!"

He also got a 20/20 on a recent French assignment, an oral presentation relating a 16th century political essay to the Trump regime. His teacher kept complimenting him in class after his presentation. It's so weird how teachers are here. 95% of the time they tell the kids that they're completely horrible and single them out in front of the class for incompetence. And then occasionally they single kids out for doing well. Either way it's probably quite uncomfortable!

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I had a Zoom meeting marathon today from 4-9 pm. Phew!

It poured most of yesterday and rained most of today. I'm hoping tomorrow is dry so I can go running.

Now I'm going to get off the computer!

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Let it snow!

We are enjoying sunny Nice while back in North America, our house is getting buried in snow. Canada hasn't escaped it either, with Toronto receiving big snowfalls.

Zari's back yard has almost 3' of snow. You can see it piled on the back door and burying the bikes along the fence. University was cancelled this morning...due to too much snow!

I've got heaps of Zoom meetings this week. Wednesday is the most intense--5 straight hours of meetings! I hope I'll have time to get a drink of water and run to the bathroom in between :)

Inga got a knee injury during a soccer game yesterday, due to the other team being super aggressive and taking her down whenever they could. She has to get a MRI and ultrasound and can't play for at least 2 weeks. Eric is super upset right now and second-guessing his choice to keep her and Ivy at Cavigal. (It's not Cavigal's fault--it was the other team--but he's thinking if they had gone with AS Monaco, the teams they play might not be quite so rough.) Second-guessing is the worst!

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I did a teacher training today in Le Chateau. We're doing a "micro" training tomorrow with a small group of students. Thank you to my parents for absenting themselves from the apartment!

We watched a ridiculous end-of-the-world movie called Greenland. Good times. Maybe Trump watched it and that's why he's convinced the US needs to take over Greenland!

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Not a whole lot of exciting news, although I did get through most of my day's goals, except for going on a walk with Eric. My mom tells me that my dad is bored and needs some projects to work on. I'm going to hunt around in the basement and bring up some tools and supplies for redoing the walls in the staircase common areas. The last several years they've visited, we had almost nonstop work. This is the first year where we're pretty relaxed.

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A big day video editing for me, working on our updated Abnormal Breech Birth module. This type of work is so rewarding because it's creative (if nit-picky) and pedagogically interesting.

I do need to get out more on days like these. It's too easy to sit down and get caught up in the project and surface 12 hrs later!

Dio is working on a French essay that he has memorize and present in front of his class. It combines reflections on an essay from the 16th century with his observations on the current US political climate. He says he feels caught up with all of this classes except French and Spanish (which he didn't have in his US high school last semester).

Ivy got new ice skates yesterday--she grew out of her ones from last year. Her gym class is going ice skating at the moment, so it works out great! She also goes regularly with her friends.

Zari is learning how to bundle up and ride a bike in a Toronto winter. It's -13 C today and is supposed to get colder throughout the week.

Inga hung out with friends after school, walking around the coulee verte and then going to one of her friend's houses.

Goals for tomorrow: go running in the morning, work on a paper that is close to submitting for publication, work on preparing translations of some of our online courses, go on a walk with Eric.

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I got my 10,000+ steps in despite overcast weather, wind, and spitting rain. We took it easy in the afternoon. It was one of those days when you want to stay indoors, read a book, and drink hot chocolate.

Eric made poke bowls tonight, adding kiwi to the other usual ingredients (marinated raw salmon, shrimp, avocados, mangos, & edamame). Yum.

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Despite a light drizzle, my parents and I hiked Mont Boron today. It was still fairly warm and the rain was light enough that I wasn't wet, except for the toes of my shoes, at the end of the hike.

I couldn't convince the kids to come along. Teenagers.

Eric went spearfishing while we hiked. He had a few shots but missed the fish and was really disappointed.

Ivy had a game this evening, winning 4-1. She scored one goal and assisted another. Eric was very pleased with how well she played.

Inga went to a big regional activity/dance in Cannes. She couldn't convince Dio to go because he thought his friends wouldn't be there. but it turns out they were...so he missed out.

I talked with Zari for a while, as usual. Having no roommates this semester, she is particularly eager to talk and talk and talk every day.

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Winter has arrived in Toronto! School was even cancelled on Thursday, which says a lot for a city used to snow and ice. Zari went ice skating yesterday with a Swiss friend who is a running partner and in her Quebecois literature class.

Ivy has a game tomorrow evening. The other kids may go to a family dance event in Cannes at the same time...which means I have to drive. Kill me now! Well, actually I don't mind driving that much now that I'm used to navigating how to get in and out of the city.

I did tons of video editing today...went to the doctor for this persistent cough...came home with 5 prescriptions (mostly syrups and throat sprays)...

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Sorry for the silence, I've had so much going on and am feeling unwell still.

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I slept okay, a bit over 7 hours! In other exciting news, I also went running first thing in the morning. My lung capacity feels improved compared to a few days ago, although I'm slower than usual.

What else? I helped Inga study for a biology test on the immune system, and for a physics test about conservation of matter during reactions (specifically O2 + iron = iron oxide and methane + O2 = CO2 + H2O). She also has a Spanish test tomorrow.

I had Zoom meetings to work on two publications, one about an initiative to increase the vaginal birth rate of twins at two Italian hospitals, the other about clinical signs of fetal wellbeing during a vaginal breech birth. One is officially submitted (specifically, re-submitted after the requested edits) and the other is getting close to the final draft! I'm so excited.

I also worked on planning new video modules for our online breech course. I wrote an outline for what to film and the next step is to run the ideas by the instructor who will be filming it.

This is the part of my job that I LOVE. Researching, writing, creating, dreaming up ideas, finding ways to teach so that people learn it well. Sigh...

My parents took a trip to Ikea to buy themselves a better mattress. They've been using one that was an old hand-me-down when we moved here in 2014. It was time to upgrade to something more comfortable. It arrives in 2 days.

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I slept maybe 2 hours...it was a rough night. I decided to stay home this morning and take it easy. I had a nice walk around the port to La Reserve and back. I've managed to stay awake all day so I hope I'll be able to sleep tonight.

In the afternoon, Inga and Ivy went ice skating with friends, and Dio went running. My mom made fajitas, which made the kids super happy.

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I met up with a friend this morning; she bought a big apartment and is towards the end of having it renovated. Last I saw it, they had just started demolition. We went to a cafe afterwards, sat in the sun, and talked...and talked.

I feel like I've been in a bit of a "cave" the past 3 weeks, between jet lag, illness, stress, insomnia, and lingering malaise. It's nice to feel like I'm coming out of the cave just a bit.

Dio went to the gym with his friends this afternoon. He's able to go with his friend's buddy pass, but eventually he may need to buy his own membership. This makes us really appreciate the free gym and fieldhouse access at our university!

Inga had a home game today, and her team won 6-0. Inga scored 2 goals and did some other lovely assists. Eric filmed it so I'll see if I can find some videos soon...

I ran errands this afternoon and enjoyed the walk in the sun and nice weather (13C / 55F). Ah, winter in Nice is so difficult!

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I have a lingering malaise, for lack of a better word. It feels like when you're coming down with something and you're not quite feverish but your body feels off. Also a lingering cough that makes it hard to have online meetings!

Ah well...

My parents arrived yesterday late afternoon. They were delayed several hours in Zurich due to having to wait for the plane to be de-iced. They're quite happy to escape a Minnesota winter and spend 3 months with us!

Zari is rattling around in an empty apartment, missing her roommates (all 3 were exchange students and here for just a semester). So far her landlady hasn't found any new roommates that she feels suitable.

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I may see if I feel well enough to run tomorrow...it's been a long recovery with a lingering cough and weakness.

Zari got home with no problems and had her first day of class today.

I produced a new video today (about keeping the umbilical cord intact after birth, especially if there is resuscitation needed)--one of the really fun parts of my job. English captions are done and now I need to send it out to our translators!

Instead of an evening walk, Eric and I went out mid-afternoon. We had to drop off garbage and recycling anyway, so it was a good time to catch a bit of sun and fresh air. The sea was glassy calm, which is a bit rarer in the winter, and Eric was dying to go spearfishing.

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School starts tomorrow! A big change from the past 2 weeks of sleeping in.

Zari leaves early tomorrow morning, catching the very first tram at 5 am.

I've got a bunch of meetings tomorrow. Busy day for me, too!

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It's late...we watched a movie in a movie theater this evening (Anaconda) and we may go hiking tomorrow. Bonne nuit!

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Happy New Year!

Last night we heard rumor that there were fireworks on the beach. Technically yes--but they were all random citizens setting them off. You could see fireworks on the horizon, probably from St. Laurent du Var or Antibes.

There was a free shortened version of the Nutcracker today at the opera house. Getting the free tickets was a bit of a mess, but we managed to do so. We showed up right before it started and the place was totally packed--even the standing-room nosebleeds! But Eric spied an empty box and was determined. He asked the user if he'd open the box, which had been shut for some undetermined reason. He relented and we had great seats!

Some of our teenagers--cough cough--grumbled about going but sometimes it's good to make them get a bit of culture!

I've been super busy doing loads of video editing and translation captioning for a big deadline (today) and I actually made it! Phew.

 Zari and I went urban hiking yesterday up to Mont Boron. So lovely.

 We watched the last episode of Stranger Things today. So many drawn-out tearful scenes at the end...but it was still fun to wrap up. What shall we watch next?

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I think that The Plague is ceding defeat. While I'm not healed, I definitely don't feel as terrible. Sleep is still elusive...which I'm sure has prolonged the illness.

I brought Ivy to a doctor's appointment for ongoing back pain (2 years) that is constant low-grade and gets acute after she plays sports. She now has a prescription to visit a kiné. If it doesn't improve after treatment, then we could do an x-ray, but the doctor doesn't think it's necessary at the moment.

I spent most of my day video editing and organizing redundant files. When you have 2.3 TB of files to maintain, it's a necessary task.

Ivy came home from her sleepover and announced that she and her friend had stayed up until about 4 am (ironically, probably about the same time that I fell asleep!). Okay, I may have to rethink sleepovers because that's excessive.

We're watching the new season of Stranger Things. It's ok but there's just so much violence and nonstop adrenaline that it seems too much.

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Vitamin D therapy

I still felt terrible today, but I dragged myself to the beach after lunch for some sunbathing. It felt great. Eric, Zari, and I read books and rested.

I am feeling slightly less like I have The Plague late this evening, so I am hoping that this is a turning point.

Ivy is at a sleepover with her friend who likes a block away. I keep forgetting she's away and find myself looking for her!

The other kids decorated their gingerbread houses. "House" is a bit of a stretch this year, as Inga made a truck, Zari made Rapunzel's tower, and Ivy made the Eiffel Tower. Dio is the only one who has a traditional house, because he was too sick to choose his own design when we were rolling out the dough.

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Still super sick...can barely get off the couch. Also didn't sleep more than about 3 hours due to 1) fever 2) coughing 3) trying not to cough but it hurts my abs like I've pulled a muscle. Ugh.

I've either been so exhausted or so sick that I've only been outside (briefly) like 3 times since we arrived 11 days ago. This has definitely not been an easy reentry!

The kids are assembling and decorating homemade gingerbread houses. Pictures will come once they're finished.

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Christmas Day

Despite me and Dio being sick--huddled on the couch with blankets and hot water bottles most of the day--it was a great Christmas. We opened presents with Eric writing down everything in his journal, as usual.

I directed the kids how to make pancakes from my perch on the couch. We had a pancake breakfast with blueberries, pomegranate seeds, whipped cream, and maple syrup.

Those who weren't sick went out in the sunny afternoon. Zari saw the new coulée verte for the first time. Then she and Eric went to the beach for some Vitamin D. She keeps saying, "I can't believe how warm it is here!"

When I went shopping yesterday morning, I suspected that I was getting sick. So I bought all sorts of amazing delicacies, already prepared, for Christmas dinner. Thank you Lidl for a delicious and easy dinner! We had an assortment of 4 different verrines de fruit de mer (fancy little cups of salmon, some sort of smoked first, or shrimp layered with fillings and toppings)...feuilletées aux noix de St. Jacques ou canard (puff pastry shells stuffed with a sea scallop or duck filling)....boneless chicken stuff with a pork & apricot filling...bûche de Noël (Yule log).

We watched a ridiculously entertaining movie tonight, "Heads of State." A great way to end the day. Now the kids are playing cards.

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Sick on Christmas Eve, Zari is here!!!

Well, the illness that made its way through Inga and then Ivy has hit me and Dio today--hard. I went to the grocery store this morning feeling a bit off (but I also only slept from 5-8 am...so I chalked it up to being tired). By time I got back, I was feeling it. I've been staying on the couch with a hot water bottle all day.

Zari arrived mid-afternoon from Toronto and it's so great to have her! The house is definitely a lot noisier with her added in 🙂

Oh and just for fun...a picture of our first "child" Zeke before we had kids. He died when Zari was 1 year old and it still hurts.

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I slept 8 hours last night--what a gift.

The ridiculously tiny Christmas tree has a litter of presents. It's been multiplying a lot today.

Zari leaves this evening to come visit us! She'll arrive around 3 pm tomorrow. Super excited! She wants to make gingerbread houses and work on the book nook and go hiking and sun herself on the beach. Great life goals.

We took a walk to see the Christmas Village downtown, but it was already closed. Eric did his best to embarrass the kids. We bought a doughnut and churros to share.

We baked the Freeze Family Funny Faces cookies and they turned out amazing! I was worried they'd lose all their details.

We watched "Last Christmas" tonight. It wasn't bad for a cheesy Christmas movie.

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Jetlag + insomnia = torture

We arrived in France on the 16th. The first night I slept maybe 5- hours and then every night after that it's been 2 or 3 hours. Night after night, so frustrating. It doesn't help that I'm dealing with an incredibly stressful situation at the moment.

I feel like I've hardly processed that we've moved overseas. I've been feeling so physically icky that running or brisk walking is not possible.

Oh, and on top of that we've had a bout of illness, first Inga and then Ivy!

It's not all bad, of course, but it's been challenging.

We hauled out the Christmas decorations today and made Lebkuchen. Inga made Funny Freeze Family Faces. So clever! She doesn't want to make them because it will mess up her hard work.

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We arrived yesterday afternoon without any travel problems! 3 flights as usual but at least they were all heading in the same direction this time. Some years our connections send us through airports that are further out of the way.

Jet lag has been rough--going east is hard. On top of that, Inga woke up with a fever and started puking. She's been flat on the couch all day, unable to keep anything down except juice and water.

Ivy was determined to go to school because there are 2 field trips tomorrow and the next day. She was too tired to go to soccer practice in the afternoon, though. I think Eric was relieved because he was tired, too!

I woke up at 3 am and spent a long time reading before I was able to get back to sleep.

Oh--and our water heater isn't working so no hot showers yesterday or today. It finally heated about halfway after over 24 hours. I did all sorts of troubleshooting and emailed our plumber. Whatever it is (something to do with resistance of a certain part) it's not something I can fix myself.

I had to get right back to work because I had meetings set up. Ah well, it's probably good to keep myself going.

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T-12

We'll be driving away in about 12 hours...goodbye USA, hello France for the next 7+ months! It's been a day of cleaning, packing, saying goodbye to friends, showing the house to the new tenants (things like water shutoffs, thermostats, etc.). We're in a massive cold snap with 6" of dry, fluffy snow and bright sun. A nice way to say goodbye to Indiana.

Zari's finals and final papers have gone well so far. She has one final left on Friday. She just got back her grades from her final project for her "What is Canada" class and she got 100%! The teacher was gushing with praise, so much that Zari was super embarrassed to read it. The professor offered to help her get research fellowships, write letters of recommendation, etc. Wow! She mapped the history of the Freeze family as they settled and migrated throughout Canada, all the way back to the 1700s, and tied it into regional and national trends and controversies.

She's been baking Lebkuchen. I love seeing my child carrying on a family tradition.

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Snow!

We had snow falling all day. The girls had their last indoor game this morning, which they won against the best team in Dio's age category. They stopped by a Mexican restaurant for lunch.

It's been a full day of cleaning and packing. I see the end in sight, although two certain teenagers have overpacked and can't get all their clothes into one carryon. We keep telling them they can leave some stuff here but they want to bring more than we have space for!

Tomorrow's to-do list:
- buy more AC/furnace filters
- house tour to our renters to show them where shutoffs are, how things work, etc
- meet with my repair guy to go over things to do while we're gone
- disconnect the car battery
- wash all of the sheets
- eat, toss, or freeze all of our food
- continue taking pictures of every room (good for documentation, insurance, etc)

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