Camille's photo shoot

Camille likes to use the camera. Here is a little sampling of her work and the scenes she sets up.

Fa la la la la, la la la la!

Hello! Sorry for the lapse - this has been a roller coaster month. In a nutshell, Gilles' kidney disease caught up with us in a sense. Since starting his new job in October, he was extremely fatigued, and for the first time ever, physically unable to do that kind of work. He ran tests and found that the illness (Berger's disease - diagnosed in 2002) had evolved, leaving him with a low blood cell count... So he quit his job and is looking into other possibilities, while also getting new treatments to regain his energy. We see the specialist next Tuesday. He is thinking about turning to smaller-scale woodworking, wood-turning, etc. and selling directly at festivals, markets. I think the creative side of that kind of work, and the people side with the markets, really suits Gilles. He already has lined up a week of learning with a friend's woodworking company. His large-scale carpentry skills will serve him, but there are new techniques and tools to get to know for finer woodworking.

Aside from all of that, here are a few pics. Up top, Camille with the neighbors Lila and Plume who spent the night recently. The middle shot is a view of the trench for the pipes from the house to the basins - that's hooked up and working! Gilles is busy gathering reeds, papyrus, and other aquatic plants from various plant gurus in the community. A neighbor dug the trench for us with his digger tractor in about a half an hour! It took us three days to fill it back up.

Last but not least, our Christmas tree during the decorating. Gilles cut it in the woods with the girls and they said a little prayer of thanks. We are lucky to live in a place where the pine trees need thinning! Camille picked a little baby one which is decorated in her room. In the car on the way home, Camille swore she heard the big tree talk, and it said "I'm scared of that monster next to me." The monster, Camille later explained, was the saw.

stones and pebbles

Halloween has come and gone. People in France are aware of Halloween to varying degrees, but I must say most the folks in our village are very good sports, especially considering the use of firecrackers by the older kids and the adaptation of "Trick or Treat" as "Des bonbons ou la mort" ("Candy or Death!"). One unprepared household invited our whole throng of fifteen wild (and scary) kids and three out-of-breath parents inside for the only treat they could rummage out of the cupboards - glasses of coke and OJ. In the madness, I failed to get photos of the kids in costume. L made a very cute bat and C a short-lived ghost (her sheet proved too hard to run with and was soon wadded up in my pocket). Here is G's fab jack-o-lantern.

Below, there I am emptying buckets of pouzzolane (volcanic pumice stone) into the basins, covering the layer of river stones underneath. For those following the technical aspects of this project, the big top basin works as a vertical filter with the biggest stones on the bottom and smaller ones on top. The second and third basins are horizontal fliters, with the river stones at the fluid arrival and departure points, and smaller stones in between. There have been many fiascos with these stones, and it felt great to, at long last, get them to their final destination. Yeehah!

pizza dough

We love putting these kids to work... Here's C making pizza dough.

chestnut factory

It's chestnut season again, and G has been faithfully making chestnut cream evenings after work. This involves peeling the outer skin, then plunging them in boiling water and peeling the inner skin. The great discovery this year is that L and C both are both adept and willing peelers.
Also, an update on the blackwater basins - the stones on the basin itself are "glued" on with cement. The adjoining stone wall will allow us to build up the earth there to create a more level play area.

sunflowers

Our 1/8 violin came in the mail - how adorable is that. L and C both are interested in bowing. Maybe down the road I will introduce the finger positions, but so far getting a nice sound with a big arm is all we're aiming for. Below, a crepe lunch with the neighbors one no-school Wednesday, and part of our sunflower crop.

flash from the past

In honor of L's 3rd birthday this week, here's a flash back to May 2005 - C's 3rd birthday, when L was still just a rolly-polly little bundle. Sweet memories!

3 years old!!

Here's the birthday girl with her cake on the evening of her real birthday, and getting ready for her party the next day. We went all out with the decorations! Unfortunately, I do not have a single shot of the party itself - I sure had my hands full. Luckily one mom stayed helping avoid swing crashes, sugar-buzz toy fights and kids falling out of the tree, which both C and L can now climb thanks to the winter woodpile leaned up against it. Yikes!! L gave kisses to all her firends after opening presents, so cute - I loved the little boy who skeptically accepted the smooch before heartily rubbing if off with his sleeve. Thanks for the cards and presents sent. Jeanette and Mike - L opened your present on the morning of her birthday and wore it immediately, as you can see.

sillies

The lower shot is L holding is her "dinosaur egg". I think she knows it's not really true, but the idea is just so great. She actually curls up with this stone, totes it around in a little basket, wraps blankets around it... Who knows how long it takes a dinosaur egg to hatch?

summer days

Looking back through some pictures of this summer... L with a visiting friend - these two got along so well and she asks about him often...

prrrrrrrr!

Misty gray kitty

Here's L with the latest member of the family, a bundle of playful fluff named Mistigris, or Misty for short. She's a mouse-catching, tree-climbing, mosquito-net tackling, kid-loving kitten. L gave her a doll basket for a bed and both girls are very attentive to her. I am trying to teach L that Misty's still a baby, and babies need their sleep, but sometimes it's just irresistible to scoop her up out of a nap...

fizzy drink

Another fine piece from C's imagination. This high-style dame has served herself a fizzy drink. Her party guest is a miniature prince on stilt-legs.

blackwater treatment system

This is our major project lately. G has masterminded this whole affair, but I got to help this week with some earth moving and pipe rigging. The series of three basins will be filled with various stones and aquatic plants, filtering our house's used water from "black" to non-polluting and crystal clear!