Another catch up post

I can't believe we are almost to the end of March already. I need to share some pictures and events before they become too dated.

This is a pair of swans I saw swimming along the Deule canal last week. They were apparently a pair. The one in the picture above was looking left and right, scanning constantly but looking very relaxed and casual. The one in the picture below was looking straight ahead and plowing forward, looking very determined.

The arrival of the pallet

When we were back in Virginia in January we arranged a shipment of a small pallet containing the last of our personal possessions, things we had left there in storage when we moved. That pallet arrived and suddenly we had a lot more things. It was sort of a mixed blessing. Some of the things I was very glad to have, particularly some of my tools and the pictures and artwork we had saved so we now had something to hang on our walls. But some of the stuff had come along simply because I couldn't bear to part with it or because we couldn't figure out what to do with it, so tossing it in a box for the pallet was the easiest thing to do. When I unboxed those few things and put them on a shelf it was kind of depressing to see that that was all I had to show for 60+ years of living. I know that "things" aren't what a life is made of, but still . . .  

I perked up when we started hanging pictures. That had the effect of making the whole place feel more like home. 

These will all be mounted on this big wall.

The final day of filming

The pallet arrived on a Friday and the following Monday we had the final day of filming for the television documentary. (For anyone who doesn't know or forgot, they are creating a documentary about new immigrants to France, featuring four different couples/families. In addition to us, there are people being featured coming from Australia, Japan, and Cuba. Likely air date will be sometime this fall.) They have been here on four prior occasions and for this one they wanted to see how we were settling in. We hosted an apero (French happy hour) and invited a group of Clay's beer friends. They filmed us preparing for the event and filmed the event itself. It was a nice gathering. We are glad that the filming is over.

I didn't take pictures during the event, but here are a couple pictures of the cheese board and other food we served. Ten large bottles of beer were also consumed.

Another night at the opera

We went to a Philip Glass opera, "Les Enfants Terribles." It was weird, but the staging was very creative and we enjoyed going. 

Series Mania

Lille hosts an international event every year where new television shows are premiered. We got tickets and attended three of the English language shows. I liked one very much, another not so much, and I walked out of the third after the first fifteen minutes (too depressing). One of the shows (the second) includes one of the stars from Big Bang Theory (Simon Helberg - a/k/a Howard) and we also went to an interview with him. It's a good event for the city, bringing a good form of attention and I suspect a good amount of cash, and it was interesting to attend. All the events are free. 

Bailey's walks

Bailey and I continue our twice daily walks around the Citadel, but the focus has changed somewhat. We still go by the big field at least once on every walk and we frequently encounter a good number of dogs and people there. However, except for a good run with a whippet a couple weeks ago, Bailey hasn't played with anyone there in several weeks. Instead, she's really enjoying her off-leash time on the wooded trails and that's where we spend most of our time. If we encounter dogs while walking, she will frequently try to engage in play if it's a dog she deems worthy. Some dogs approach her to play and she isn't interested, but if it's the right dog at the right place in the woods, she loves to give it a run. I stopped trying to figure it out, especially since it may all change again next week. 

We have had some cooler weather and a couple of very foggy mornings this week.