Age is just a number

Clay often joked that I always claimed that our foster dogs were "about two years old." There's some truth to that. We usually didn't know a rescue dog's true age and rescue organizations and foster homes are prone to underestimating a dog's age simply because older dogs are more difficult to adopt. Old habits are hard to break, I guess, because I've been telling everyone that Bailey is about two years old for some time now.

A picture of Bailey from November 20, 2023.

Clay recently found a picture of Bailey shortly after we got her that was dated in October, 2023. She was probably six to nine months old at that time, giving her a birthdate sometime early in 2023. That makes her a solid three years old now, going on four. 

Once I had a date of when we got her, I went back through old blog posts and learned that I had picked up Bailey from my doggie dealer in southwest Virginia on September 16, 2023. The blog post I wrote that night had this to say about her:

 "She barked at me fearfully when she first saw me and had a lot of say but I told her that I had heard it all before, many times from many shepherds. She warmed up to me in a few minutes and rode home beautifully in a crate in the van."

A few days later, in another post: 

"She's cute, she's sweet, and she's probably too smart for her own good. Someone needs to adopt her quickly to get her away from me. [Before I fail as a foster and keep her myself.]"

This started a deep dive down the rabbit hole, reading old blog posts from that period. It was fun to see all the dogs we had back then and it made me realize how different that our life was then from the one we are living now. Not better or worse, but very different. It was also fun to see Bailey as she was then and realize that not much had changed about her basic personality from then to the present time. She wasn't a foster dog for very long. I knew she would have a slot to fill in my future.

Looking at posts in early December, 2023, during the time that I was home alone with Covid, I realized just how attached Bailey had become to me then, and that's still very true today. Like other females in my life at various times over the years (both human and canine), she may not approve of all of my choices and actions, but she sure sticks by me in spite of them.

Covid care at its finest.

Belgium with friends

We spent a few days in Belgium last week with our friends Jan and Paul, former neighbors from Virginia. They flew to Amsterdam and spent a few days there and then met us in Brussels. We spent one night there and then two in Bruges followed by two more in Ghent before returning with them to Lille for a couple more days. We had travelled with them in Belgium previously so it was fun to return to some of our favorite places there and it was nice to show them a bit of our new life in France. Bailey went to her camp for the time we were away and from the pictures we saw and the report when we returned, she had a good time.

This is Bailey's cottage. Note the air conditioner unit. I'm pretty sure they could have rented out these spaces to people during the recent heat wave. Note also the height and security of the fencing. That was why I felt comfortable leaving Bailey there the first time. The play yard fences aren't quite as tall, but there's a taller fence around the perimeter of the property. 

One of the big play yards at the boarding facility. 

Brussels

Jan and Paul at the Duveloreum, overlooking the grand place in Brussels. 

Studying the beer book in a bar.

Cantillon, in Brussels, is a place of pilgrimage for beer lovers.

The gayborhood in Brussels. 

Brussels at night.

Bruges

At The Trappist in Bruges.

This church/museum had the best signs. See that thing at the right? You can turn it to read the information in six different languages, including English.

They had opened up the floor in the church to display painted crypts.

In Bruges, the center sculpture is the only piece of Michelangelo's work to leave Italy during his lifetime.

The canals are gorgeous. 

Bruges at night

This was a video mapping show displayed on the bellfort in Bruges. It told the history of the city and was very interesting. You could call up an audio file on your phone that provided an English translation from the Dutch. It didn't start until 10:45 at night, after it got dark.

Ghent

The most impressive parts of most churches, for me, is not the altar but the lectern, like this one in the cathedral in Ghent.

This Ghent cathedral is now really more museum than church, and they charge admission to see the good stuff, like these medieval wall paintings.

A reliquary for the head of John the Baptist.

This is the tomb of Hubert van Eyck, the first painter of the Ghent altarpiece. It was finished by his younger brother Jan van Eyck. 

This is the Ghent altarpiece. It was featured in the movie The Monuments Men. It was undergoing restoration when I was last in Ghent so I had never seen it. 

Another picture of the lectern in Saint Bavo's cathedral in Ghent.

We did a morning boat ride on the canals in Ghent.

Going through a canal tunnel.

The lectern in another church in Ghent.

Back in Lille

The Napoleon bridge at night.

There are tango lessons followed by dancing in the center of the old bourse in Lille on Sunday evenings.

Jan and Paul accompanied Bailey and I on our morning walks when they were in town. She enjoyed showing them her woods. 

Eleven months and counting

Yesterday was my birthday and today is the 4th of July, but more significant than either of those events is the fact that we've now been in France for 11 months and will soon be hitting the one year mark. This is still the best decision we've made since getting together.  

Street scene in Lille, looking down the street from Le Capsule. 

Pictures of Bailey, just because she's pretty.

Our recent Le Creuset purchase.

My first dish cooked in it—poached salmon.

Followed by a simple chicken pot pie a couple of days later.

Our other recent purchase is this indoor air conditioner. It arrived just after the first heat wave ended but we are now better prepared for the next. France is reluctantly beginning to embrace air conditioning.

This is an open doorway we passed when just walking around town. The mail slots outside and the corresponding mail boxes inside were something I hadn't seen before. 

Bailey chilling at the dog park.

Resting in bed with me during the day.

It was getting dark so this is hard to see but those are two sheep or goats grazing on an elevated area at the Citadelle. They use them to cut the grass and control vegetation.

Bailey doing an "up" on a downed tree trunk.

Just hanging out at the dog park.