Bonjour – So Much More Than Hello


Last week Tricia and I were walking near the lake in the park at Ceaucé. We turned a corner and just ahead there was a group of four or five kids, between six and twelve years old. They were doing what kids do, calling out to the small black sheep behind the fence. As we…

La Baguette and Family Secrets


We have been hiding a family secret since July of 2007 – 16 years. Now, living in France, it is time to come clean. We – Alexis, Tricia, et moi – visited Paris, along with my dad and stepmother in 2007. Tricia had a great idea for a Christmas card photo for that year. My…

Seize Jours de Pluie


That is, “Sixteen Days of Rain.” The summer of 2022 was hot and dry, but this year it has been quite different. Getting out to sketch has been a bit difficult, so indoor sketching was in order. I learned a new phrase today while getting my hair cut – temps de grenouille. It means frog…

I like Europe – A Lot


I like Europe. I particularly like France. Since moving to France over sixteen months ago, we have had the opportunity to visit twelve European countries, a few of them we had already visited at least once before we moved here – that is more than I ever dreamed I would get to see. If you…

Basel & Luzern – Loved Switzerland


Last Thursday we left Alsace and headed to Basel, Switzerland, with a lunch stop at Titisee-Neustadt in the Black Forest of Germany. Our first impression of Basel was the crazy pedestrians and bicyclists, they cross and cut in and out with seeming little concern for cars. As a driver it was up to me, with…