Picture of:

a) subway station worksite

b) panda cage

c) set for a horror movie

d) our future bathroom

A long overdue update: After the past few months of "medical adventures" for Gilles, he has adjusted to dialysis and resumed work on the house. He assures me that what we see in the picture here will be a bathroom by the end of the month. The doctors have okayed his heart for a kidney transplant, so we hope to have his name on the kidney waiting list very soon. Then, it will just be a matter of time (probably 2 to 3 years) until he can have the transplant and hopefully be free of dialysis and resume a more "normal" life. I have to say that I am pretty impressed with his progress - I've seen Gilles transform from totally allergic to doctors, hospitals, medicines, and sick people, to someone who navigates the system with ease, heads off uncomplainingly for hospital stays with books, flute and radio in tote, enjoys the interaction in the operating room (by persuasive negotiation, he has talked his way out of general anesthesia for both minor operations he's had of late) and generally finds hospitals and the people in them to be interesting. I guess we've both learned a lot through these experiences! In other news, the girls had two weeks off school in February. We chilled at home, did the swimming pool day, spent a nice couple days at Gilles' mom's getting fed lots of yummy meals, celebrated Gilles' 36th b-day and hit all our favorite restaurants in Toulouse (the girls' faves are Japanese and Thai - Mia is crazy about seaweed and Lou is getting good with chopsticks). We're counting down the days to March 20, getting our garden beds in order, rationing our fire wood... winter's on the way out!!