Well, Summer Vacation, the 2017 Edition, is officially underway. There is the minor detail of about 20 student comments that still have to be written, but I have until Monday at 5:00 pm. Hours and hours. At the last minute, I decided to book myself into a writer's retreat. Remember, in the last post I …
The end is in sight
It is the eve of my exam. Wonder how much the kiddos have studied? Foreign language exams are last this year... the only thing standing between my students and 10 weeks of freedom is me. And pages of verbs, adjectives, object pronouns, etc. You get the picture. Hope you aren't having flashbacks. We still have …
Looking back, moving forward
This is Waterproof Mascara time. In my chosen profession, saying good-bye can be overwhelming. A time of joy and a time of sadness. All jumbled up. Moments of unbelievable fun fill up my days and years as a teacher. As I say jokingly (but not really) at this time of year, I get attached to …
Critters
I started looking through my photos from the January and March trips to France (yet once again) and found an theme: critters. I did not realize I had so many until I started looking for them. Of course, what would it be like in Paris without pigeons? Bertrand, our guide par excellence, said that you …
Baguettes et Beurre vs Biscuits and Bacon
It isn't a competition for me. Really, it isn't. I have been back from my annual spring break trip for almost two weeks and it has taken me this long to get to the blog. I go through a sort of grieving process and a bit of withdrawal every time I leave France. This year's …
Paris, je t’aime
I am back, with 22 students, two co-chaperones, and our tour manager, B. He is a Frenchie, originally from Basque Country, but a Parisian for the past 10 years. He owns his own tour company, was a political science major, speaks several languages, with English as the first language he studied in school. He spent …
This & That: March 2017 Edition
Dirty dishes? This is a great photo because this is all I had to dirty in order to make two loaves of banana bread this fine Sunday morning. I found a new recipe, located the overripe bananas that the Ex-Ex had stashed on top of the refrigerator (the man detests messy countertops), and stirred up …
Love at first sight
I can be a bit cynical. Oui, moi. But love at first sight does exist. It's the love you feel the first time you hold your child. Actually, this may be the purest form of love. I felt it twice. And I have now fallen totally in love with my beautiful granddaughter. Yes, I am …
Green with envy/Verte de jalousie
I know, I know. Red and pink are supposed to be the colors now. Valentine's Day approaches. And I love hearts, flowers, and good dark chocolate. Oh! And don't forget champagne. However, I am seeing green. First, an author sent me an email asking me to review his book about living in Provence. I jumped …
Hearts Part Deux
I was just going to go back and edit the last post. Really, I was. Why should I make you read a whole new post? Hearts Part Deux? Seriously? What's up with that? Well, here's what. What about all of the expressions that we use that have to do with hearts? A huge heartfelt thanks …
the sabbatical chef 