Spring Flowers (in the Summer!)

Way back in March I got excited for Spring. Really excited. When you live in cold, rainy Belgium in the Winter you have to look forward to the birth of Spring. So I had this idea to decorate our apartment with bright, happy tissue paper flowers. I don't know why I felt so compelled - our apartment already looks like an elementary art teacher took over interior design, but whatever. So I found these big fat pipe cleaners at the store and we started our project. Connor LOVED the fuzzy pipe cleaners and even practiced saying her colors with them. But mostly she liked just stuffing them into her hand and waving them around. Well as you can tell 3 months passed before we completed the tissue paper flower project. I wanted to do three flowers for each side of every window in our living room. We have a lot of windows! It is funny to look at these photos of Connor from 3 months back to tell how much she has changed in just those 3 months while I was crafting the flowers! I like the looks of our tissue paper flowers now that they are finally done. And Connor does too. She sometimes points up at them and says, "flowers! flowers! flowers!" And it makes the project very worthwhile.

Do Over

It has been an unusual and tragic couple of days. We found out that one of our friends here lost her husband on the Air France Flight from Rio to Paris. Brad was a top executive for Coca-Cola and his wife, Anne, is a part of my Ladies Dinner Group of 6 from the Women's Club. In fact just a few weeks ago we went to dinner at Chez Leon for mussels and frites (a Belgian specialty, you know - "mussels in Brussels"). Mom joined us and was taken with Anne and her family's incredible story. They had been European expats for 14 years and just moved to their latest assignment in Brussels this past January. They also lived in South Africa, Istanbul, Vienna and London. Anne and Brad have two college-age sons and they are (were?) probably one of the kindest, happiest, most engaging couples I have known.

Brad was a Canadian in charge of the Global Coca-Cola division, specifically overseeing all of the 'water' operations. My friendship with Anne is a particularly ironic one since Kirk audits Coke. Just a few months ago I was at their gorgeous home where Brad made it a point to be there to pour wine for the ladies and to take our photos. He was interesting, interested, and just easy to be around.

We are just heartsick. I mean what do you do, what do you say, and how can anything make this any better? Someone told me last night this was the first plane to go down in the Atlantic since the 1940s. The scant details and abundant questions about what happened just confound the entire tragedy. Brad was a good man who clearly adored his wife and family as well as the job that helped them see the world.

It is so strange because Anne was just telling us about a particularly special weekend they spent in Champagne, France and of their upcoming adventure to Hong Kong. I think the only drop of peace in the flood of hurt and grief must be that they spent so much time together and experienced the world. It makes me all the more grateful for Kirk and that we too said 'yes' to this opportunity to be here together, strengthening our marriage and our family unit. Life is just too short.

So in the midst of all of this and trying to find a way to provide comfort and love to Anne and her family the following has happened at our house:
1) I downloaded a computer virus by mistake and it is requiring a total "clean" of our computer.
2) Kirk accidentally deleted all the camera photos from the past weekend in Paris.
3) I burned the pumpkin bread I made this morning to take to Anne. I burned it black.And the updates on the 3 items above are:
1) Kirk is using the virus as an excuse to work on backing up all on the computer and to tighten virus software. We don't think anything terrible happened - just annoying.
2) Kirk found a program that allows you to put in the "blank" camera memory card and it retrieves your photos for $40. A big pain to have to pay to get photos back, but MAN what can't technology do these days?!?! We are happy to have our photo memories returned.
3) I had just enough extra ingredients and time to whip up another batch of pumpkin bread before taking it over. I had to half the recipe, but who cares?

And so here is the moral to this long story... My favorite lesson my mother-in-law has taught me is that things that can be fixed with money and time are not worth fretting too much about. Not to say money isn't important - or time even. She is frugal, as are we. Just to say that life is too short to worry too much about the things you can't control but can be fixed. I was able to have a "do over" with the computer virus, the deleted photos, and the pumpkin bread. The real tragedies are those that cannot be fixed with a do over.

It certainly makes me hold and hug my loved ones tighter than ever.
Click here for an article on Brad, the only Canadian aboard the Air France flight.

Kirk's Latest Craft

In Europe - and especially in Belgium - the daylight savings time is so wacky. It doesn't START to get dark here now until around 9:30 PM. And the darkness doesn't really set in til around 10:00 PM. I am not complaining - it is wonderful. Except when you are trying to put a child to sleep by 7:30 PM. Then the rays are quite confusing.

And they were especially baffling to Connor...."But MOM, why can't I stay up and play with you and my toys?!?!""I mean it is bright as can be outside!!!""And you know how dark it gets in the wintertime. Can't I just stay up and sing, dance and play? Puh-lease!!??!!!"This face makes it so hard for us to stay firm and stick to our guns with a consistent bedtime.I mean wouldn't you give in too?

Well my brilliant husband had a solution. I had been on the lookout for a blackout shade for Connor's room, but measuring the window in centimeters (not inches) and then finding it at the Brico store had taken a backseat to everything else. Finally Kirk decided to jump on my crafting bandwagon. I was delighted when he came up with the idea and made his very own blackout shade for Connor!Although can you really still call it a "Black Out" when it instead is a rainbow of colors? We LOVE it and Connor is indeed sleeping better thanks to her Dad's handiwork!Look out Martha Stewart! Here comes Kirk!!!! Everyone who comes over loves the black out rainbow. Last week we hosted our BCT Playgroup and all of the kids wanted nothing to do with the toys in the living room. Instead they wanted to play in Connor's room. Can't say I blame them!

So Tired

Being a parent is tiring. Being a parent while touring Europe is utterly exhausting. When we were in Provence we were putting Connor down to sleep. We stay with her now while falling asleep in hotel rooms. It still takes her a while to get used to a new spot and after she got out of her crib in Greece we don't want to take any chances. Anyway, it is more of an ordeal. Kirk's tactic is to lie right parallel to her crib and sing to her. This usually works and promptly puts BOTH of them to sleep. Afterwards I have a hard time getting Kirk off the hard floor!

In Provence we both fell fast asleep one night fully dressed while lulling our angel to sleep. I mean Kirk still had his belt on and I had my contacts still in. We were OUT! And there was no waking us! Mom said she tried, but we were firmly in dreamland. We woke the next morning unsure of what time it was and what had happened. A strange feeling to have slept through the night fully clothed. Oh well. One of the casualties of toddler parenting! At least we got a full night's sleep!

The Marbles in Arles!

While in Arles we stayed at a fabulous place - Hotel le Calendal. It was literally steps from the Arles Roman Arena - right in the middle of everything - and the staff anticipated all needs. There were plenty of free laptops to check email and a cafe on site to sell croissants, coffee, and Cokes. You know all those essentials! The rooms were even pretty spacious; ours had an enormous bathroom!

But by far the best part about Hotel le Calendal was all they had to entertain children. Connor was instantly mesmerized with the marble sculpture in the lobby where marbles are pulled up a bike chain levy and dropped down like in a pinball machine.She watched the "marbles go down" forever. It was a terrific break for us and to this day (2 weeks later) Connor still spontaneously talks about how the "MARBLES GO DOWN" (complete with hand motions mimicing the marble motions) several times a day. What a hit!

I have decided that any hotel with toys and crayons - and especially with kid friendly sculptures like these - are worth their price in gold! This was our last night before we took the train back to Paris and put Mom back on the plane to USA. Our train from Marseille to Paris was delayed stretching it to a 6 hour ride, but luckily Connor made a friend in Mael. They played and played and sang "Bateau, Sur L'Eau" (Connor's favorite French song) together. The two of them with their matching blond hair were so sweet!

Mom headed out the next morning. We joined her for breakfast at the airport and had a tearful curbside goodbye. It was a magnificent visit. We saw and did so much. But we also had time to play and laugh and take in all things Connor! Farewell Lin Lin! We love you!!!!

Click here for more photos of Uzes, Arles and our delayed train ride! (Full Album)

Another Great Day or Two in Provence

I know my poor Mom was growing weary of our "See-It-All-As-Fast-As-You-Can" travel style. But she was a trooper and signed on for another day with us out and about in Provence! This next day we declared as a "Cotes du Rhone Day" (a day to discover the vineyards, wineries and magnificent scenes along the sunny Cotes du Rhone wine road). Kirk let Connor practice her driving skills (with the car parked of course)...and somehow flash forwards of age 16 sent my heart racing!But before I get ahead of myself - the very first sight we took in was a true highlight. We explored the remarkable town of Les-Baux-de-Provence. It was a hop, skip and a jump from our hotel (literally just a block or so) and we were fortunate we got there just as the town was stretching, yawning and opening up for the day. The picturesque place really does "crown the rugged Alpilles Mountains with a rock-capping castle" just as Rick Steves describes it. It is hard to explain the unusual architectural feat that is Les Baux, but maybe the pictures will help....But beware. I read and indeed it was true - that to really enjoy Les Baux you must arrive ahead of the tourists. It is a tiny town with narrow streets and when it fills up it is overflowing. We beat the cruise ship mobs and shopped around and skipped in the streets. Yet as we were leaving we saw the masses arriving and breathed a sigh of thanksgiving we were on our way out. It was the perfect little French town though that beckoned us to shop and be girlie!Kirk - in an effort NOT to "shop and be girlie" - took Connor and they discovered the open spaces in Les Baux. Connor loved to run! They found a chapel where of course they had to locate "Baby Jesus" and all the sheep and donkeys in the frescoes. It is one of Connor's favorite things to do. And an instant pacifier when she gets antsy. THANK YOU Baby Jesus!We ventured from Les Baux to the Cotes du Rhone and started with a stop in the small town of Vaison la Romaine. It was full of stone streets and walls popping with color from red geraniums and green vines. There were a few quaint galleries and stores to make us happy and the views overlooking the vineyards were particularly intriguing.We drove Rick Steves' recommended Cotes du Rhone loop through the Provence countryside and all around the Dentelles de Montmirail mountain range. We were spoiled with the views - I tried to concentrate hard so I wouldn't take for granted the immense beauty. We stopped in Puymeras for lunch in the enchanting courtyard of La Girocedre. Then off to the town of Suzette where we sampled the famous rose wines of the region and even took a walk in the vineyards. On our way back to our hotel we saw the Roman theatre in the town of Orange........and then to St. Remy to pick up a pick up pizza for dinner and of course to let Connor take a couple of spins on the merry-go-round! She was so hilarious as each time she spun around and saw Kirk with the camera she would call out and flash her million dollar smile shrieking with glee!Mom took care of Connor while Kirk and I went out for a rare date night out in the town of Arles. We ate at a place called "A Cote" near the Roman arena. The night was sunny and chilly. It was romantic to let go of the high speed travel and always anticipating Connor to enjoy each other. We sat outside and took in all the streets of Arles could give us! The next day Mom and I sent Kirk back home to work while we continued on our Provence adventure. On the way to the airport we stopped again in the pretty town of St. Remy. This place is where Van Gogh was institutionalized after cutting off his ear. It was Mom's very favorite and she relished wandering the streets. I wonder what is was like when Van Gogh was there so many "starry nights" ago!

After dropping Kirk off we drove to the town of Uzes. This sun-dappled town of maze like streets and squares proved to be my favorite. We ate lunch, Connor laughed, Mom and I connected and the sun beat down on us. Doesn't get much better than that, right?
And at long last we finished the day in Arles where we spent our last night. Kirk and I dined here the night before so I had the lay of the land and we set out to discover Van Gogh's old tromping grounds. We found where Van Gogh painted "The Yellow House".......you know, this one....Van Gogh is one of the greats. I am so happy we were able to discover the inspiration and landscape for many of his masterpieces in the bustling town of Arles. It certainly puts new perspective on the movement and color of his paintings.

In France the old men love to "boul" or bowl. There are wide courtyards set for this very sport. They bring their own balls and polishing cloths and it appears to be as much social as strategic. We found eavesdropping on it all pretty amusing!

After a long day we had drinks and food from the market for dinner. We felt very FRENCH!