Pardon My French

We're In

And have internet! But no TV, which could be a good thing except I'll probably only waste more time in front of the computer. Should probably make a vow to dramatically scale back, seeing as how I had about a billion unread posts on Bloglines after my little hiatus. Crap. The good news is that I'm still celebrity gossip free, so that gives me hope I can kick this habit.

I feel like I've got more roots here in France, anyway, so will try to get on with "real life," whatever that turns out to be. Apparently it involves finding new homes for some of the charming insect/arachnid life currently inhabiting our house. One memorable moment involved carrying a spider outside in an empty baby food jar and trying to shake him into the grass, only to find that he had somehow anchored himself to the glass and instead came back at me like a yo-yo. Haven't seen him back in the house yet, but not convinced he's outside. Spent the next 15 minutes feeling creepy crawly legs on my torso and jumping around and vowing to find a new method of transport for spiders.

I finished Dracula for the RIP challenge but haven't been able to post a review about it yet. Perhaps I'll manage to do a belated one...

My parents are still here and helping out in so many ways. Ella's English is progressing nicely as a result of their visit, which is also great to see. We stayed in Vincennes for a couple of days at the beginning of their visit and had a great time at the playground at the Parc Floral, though I think she'll really profit most when she gets just a little bit older and can climb on some of the bigger (and quite amazing) structures. Today we made a quick trip to Reims to see the cathedral and car museum, and will probably go back again when it's less rainy and cold.

It's good to have a bedroom. And closet space. And be able to see walls again, although that only means we'll have to paint them. Our veranda is colder than our refrigerator at this point, so my dreams of making a cool play area for Ella will have to wait, at least until we figure out how to get it insulated and heated. Wait, there's an unintended pun in that sentence, but you know what I mean.

Oh, and there were a few trick-or-treaters who stopped by yesterday! I was so excited. Next year I'll be ready for them. When I said, "Happy Halloween" to the last group, one of the girls asked me where I was from and then said, "Oh" rather dejectedly when I told her I was American. Tant pis, as they say...maybe I'll win her over next year. Wish me luck in charming the neighbors!