Merry Christmas!

What a wonderful Christmas Day! I got the best gift ever - a 50 year old train for under our Christmas tree! I always loved the trains that my grandparents had when I was a kid. I particularly loved the smoking engine that belonged to my Grandmother. The cats were quite happy and both played with their new toys during the days. They actually opened their own gifts - Now that's talent! Merry Christmas!

Santa Clause is coming to town.

Christmas eve was a great time. We had a fantastic meal and our own entertainment: Tucker. He was really involved in opening presents this year and knew just what to do with all of his gifts. He hopped right now his new fire engine and tricycle and took off through the house. He even put his feet on the bike pedals. We were so happy to have the whole family in attendance this year.



After dinner and a secret Santa exchange, we competed in a Gingerbread house decorating contest. Ryan/Christine vs Greg/Heather vs Matt(who didn't want an official partner, but did need Claudette to assist at times).



Christine/Ryan's house was completed first and was quite pretty. They were the most determined team and completed the task the quickest. They certainly had the icing with the best consistency. They also earned extra points by only using ingredients which were included in the original packaging of the kit.



Greg and I were the comic relief of the bunch with a house that crumbled multiple times until the roof finally broke into 3 pieces. We were unable to salvage it, but are happy to report that Santa visited our "Katrina-style" house first.



Matt assembled and reassembled the structure of his house 2 or 3 times before he was satisfied with its stability and alignment. He opted to use several ingredients which were not included in the package, but deemd by Judge Charles to be admissible. Matt did not complete his house until the very early hours of the morning when the other contestants were already tucked away in bed.





Tucker winded down the evening in his monster PJs and a nap on the couch.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

We're brothers!

The cats were in full cuddle mode tonight. They spent at least about an hour and half snuggling together under the Christmas tree. They are behaving to the fullest in the hopes that Santa Paws will be good to them this year.

Day Off

Today we enjoyed a day off from work to visit with friends from Colorado. We had a great time catching up and watching little Amelia make friends with the cats. It is so nice to have a random day off to relax.

Nor'easter

This weekend we had our first chance this winter to clear snow out of the driveway. Greg and I found ourselves thanking Dannie again for selling us the snow blower. We imagined Greg's co-workers in New Jersey shoveling their driveway. (The same people who were laughing at Greg on Friday for owning a snow blower).

The cats wanted to go outside on Sunday, so we threw them out the door. Pocket was the least thrilled, but even Scratch made a path directly back to the door.

Rennovation Update

The work is on-going at the homestead. We have many holes in the ceiling, some with the first layer of drywall and putty. New wiring and lighting fixtures have been installed in the powder room and living room. The office is now fully equipped with lots of receptacles. We are hoping to start controlling our heating costs now that insulation has been reapplied/applied to the exterior walls of the office! We are psyched about the lighting in the family room. Soon, it will be time to paint the bathroom and drywall the office. Things are moving right along!!

Wouldn't this room look better if...

the panels were only the height of wainscoting? And we have our next (concurrent) house project. While Greg was away I removed the crown molding to the office and now less than a week later, we are looking at bare studs. The external stone wall has no insulation, but we were relieved to find blown-in insulation in the sided exterior wall sided. Greg is now planning to use this situtation to his advantage to rewire some of the rooms in the house. "Two weeks"....

Walk of Fame

This morning we were fortunate to take a few somewhat decent photos of this red fox. He frequently travels through our yard to get back to the den after a long night of hunting. He looks to be a full and happy predator. He's the reason the kittens are not permitted in the yard early in the morning.

Big Candy Bars!

In an effort to entice the neighborhood kiddies to walk to the end of our street, Greg constructed a large 3' by 4' lighted sign to sit on a sawhorse and direct the kids down the street. "Big candy bars" it proclaimed. The kids were convinced! One said, "We saw your billboard." This year we saw 25 kids, up from the 4 that wandered down last year. The rain really started to pour around 8 pm, so that didn't help our endeavor. Next year we're shooting for 50.

Halloween is near!!

So, I have been working on a costume for my friend Brandi. I made a hat, apron, and pantaloons for a Strawberry shortcake costume. Pocket frequently lent me his paws, but in the end this sewing project took longer than I expected. I am quite pleased with the results and am wondering what my next sewing project will be.

Happy, tired, and ready to come home.

You all know the saying, "there's no place like home." Well, we've officially made it there. We spent today touring another chateau (the best one we've seen yet). We had more great French food and today we finally did some shopping. Then at 7PM, we took the train, then metro, then RER, and finally the shuttle bus to arrive at our airport hotel. The last 2 hours of the trip were trying, and when we finally arrived at the Marriot, the restaurant was closed.

We went to the bar and ordered a cold sandwich and pizza in addition to several drinks. This was not a wise decision given our pre-existing level of dehydration and lack of calories. As you can imagine, we have been walking our butts off, and it has been impossible to eat or drink enough during this trip. We are both excited to go home and replenish.

We met the most rambunctious crew of men at the hotel bar. They work for an international company that sells/maintains gas pumps. The men were from Switzerland, Belgium, Scotland, and Italy (and two others who threw the towel in earlier). They were quite drunk and were having "swimming races". They were practicing the butterfuly vs the backstroke on the concrete floor and racing to an invisible line. We got to be the judges. What a strange ending to a long day.

We come home tomorrow. We are excited to be back in the states. Will post more pictures upon our return.

Amboise

We left Paris early this morning and took a train to the quaint town of Amboise in the center of the Lorie valley. It is a beautiful town with narrow streets filled with shops and lots of friendly (yes, friendly Frenchies). Despite what you may have heard, the French people are very nice and patient, considering droves of non-french speaking tourist invade their towns on a daily basis. Amboise has a population of 12,000 and 1,000,000 tourist annually!

All day we toured the town, saw a church built in 1000 AD and still standing proud, tried to find the remains of a Roman wall and got skunked, climbed ancient stone stairs and ramparts, and shot lots and lots of photos. Everything here is worth taking a picture of but no picture seems to quite do it justice. Amboise is a must visit if you are in the Loire. Tomorrow we tour Chenonceaux ("the" chateau of chateaus per Rick Steve's France 2009 Guide) and do some shopping.

Quasi Moto and the Moai

We started the day out exploring Notre Dame, lighting a offering candle, and reading up on the statues of saints and martyrs. After that we strolled up through the Latin Quarter to the Louvre where we saw Winged Victory and the Mona Lisa before touring the African/Oceanian art where we found a Moai (one of the status you find on Easter Island). I was super-excited since I've read all about these things.

The Louvre is huge with lots of diversity but all in all Heather and I preferred the Van Goghs and Renoirs of the Orsay. We finished off the day doing what we like best about Paris, eating hors-d'oeuvre and drinking a nice glass of vin in one of the hundreds of roadside cafes. Bonsoir until the next post when we explore the Loire valley.