I'm Back!

Well, Britt and I had a VERY busy, eventful and fun few days together. Poor girl. I think I sent her back to the school more tired than she was upon arrival, if that's possible! But we did get to see and do some great things!

On the night of her arrival, we went to bed about one in the morning.
Thursday morning, it was up at 7 am to get started on my workday. She, bravely and loyally :), got up at the same time to see my life and to help out. She was a great help too! Elliott took to her like a fish to water and I was able to get a lot done without having to constantly worry what he was getting into. :) And she found Capucine absolutely ADORABLE (which, I admit, she is ;)). Thursday afternoon, during a couple of hours I had free, we walked around St. Germain-en-Laye, touring the church and admiring the château. We unintentionally stumbled across the tomb of James II of England (who was also James VII of Scotland) while we were at it! :)

Friday, we set out about mid-morning for Paris. And proceeded to tour three churches in a matter of hours. NOT recommendable!! :D By the end, we were exceedingly "detailed out" and could not absorb one more bit of artwork! Which was a pity because we finished in the Sainte Chapelle (having started with Rue du Bac and gone on to Notre Dame) which is GORGEOUS. But we simply couldn't take in any more. So we took pity on ourselves :) and just wandered along the Seine for awhile, ate our goûter in the beautiful outdoors, took a peek inside BHV (a huge department store in Paris) where I got Rose a little something for her birthday, got ourselves a couple of cappucinos, did some shoe shopping (the sales were excellent, but to no avail :( ), and headed back. Since the Arc de Triomphe is directly on the route back, I couldn't resist stopping for a few minutes to see it at night and snap a few photos. :) Britt was a good sport (even about having to follow me at top speed into the middle of the Champs-Elysées, lol!) and it was fun! Finally, we did make it back to the house.

Saturday, we arrived back in Paris (remember, it's about a 90-minute commute... one way; it can be quite wearing) about 10:45 am. She had never been to St. Nicolas du Chardonnet before, so I led her on a brief tour of the place and we said some prayers. We headed next door for the 30th Anniversary celebration that was being held there, starting at 11:30 am. There was a nice banquet... and lots of speeches. Tired as we were, we didn't stay 'tuned in' to the French for all of them but did catch some of them (there being about 12 total)! :) One of the speakers was a priest of the Society who had been an adult baptism at St. Nicolas, nine years before his Ordination! WOW!! An hour-and-a-half video/documentary followed. We had to be out of the rented hall by 5 pm, so everyone scrambled to leave at 4:58. :) Britt couldn't believe I actually did this, but after kissing Bishop Fellay's ring, I asked him if we could have a picture with him. Of course he said yes. So we got one!! I'm so glad I did have the "guts" (bravery... foolishness... whatever you'd like to call it ;)) to ask him. (It's not like he bites. LOL!)
We met up briefly with a fellow American and then attended Benediction at St. Nicolas. We decided not to tax ourselves further and headed straight back to the house.

On Sunday, we hitched a ride into Paris with the family (since it only takes 30 minutes by car). They were going to the 9 am Mass and we were aiming for the 10:30, so we did have to kill some time and wandered around in the area just a bit. But I was worried about getting seats (since it was to be a Pontifical High Mass), so we went into the church about halfway through the 9 am Mass. Just after Communion, we walked up the aisle and basically staked our claims - lol! - nor were we the only ones doing that!! Even for all our efforts, we didn't get seats together. Still, we were fortunate to get seats fairly near the front. Needless to say, the Mass was absolutely beautiful and His Excellency's sermon excellent.
After Mass, we met up with several other Americans and Sister Mary Ambrose! We talked with them for awhile, before we finally had to leave if we wanted any time in the Louvre at all. Yep, after that, we went to the Louvre. We had to rush right through the place, but we saw our main 'priorities' within three-and-a-half hours. We were shooed out when the place closed. Once again, we took it a little bit easy and just went back to the house for dinner.

Monday morning, I saw her to the train station and we said our farewells.

....
Tuesday morning, I left with the family for their grandparents' place near Anjou, France. We were there until yesterday. That is why you have not received this update sooner! :)

More another time! Ciao.

A Little Scarce These Days

Ma meilleur amie is coming to town! Ma meilleur amie is coming to town! Ma meilleur amie is coming to town!

Can you tell I'm excited?? :D

Her train will pull into the Montparnasse station tomorrow night at 9:29 pm! And then we will spend four solid days babbling at each other. LOL! We're both excited. (That will be at least a finalist in the runnings for "Understatement of the Year.") It's been nearly six months since we came over to France together and we haven't seen each other since then!
...Lots of ideas and a handful plans for this weekend!

Pictures will follow! :)

All that to say, I've been a little scarce lately (à cause de work) and will be maintaining a holding pattern (à cause de aforementioned, upcoming event) until further notice.
But you never know when I might check back in, so Stay Tuned! :D

Montmartre

Sacré Coeur

Daily Bread

You know, it strikes me that the French have more real-life opportunity to relate to the "Our Father" than others might have.
It just seems to me that in the United States the words, "give us this day our daily bread," have less import than here in a country where the bread is literally bought fresh every day. And if a day is missed, the day-old bread is hardly delectable, but hard and dry; the fresh bread is certainly missed. And when le pain is hot and fresh, the children clamor for a morsel of it, in its very tastiest state.
Assuredly this phrase in the Our Father refers to more than a fresh baguette. It refers not only to all our food and all our material blessings (the roof over our head, the clothes we wear, everything), but also to the Blessed Sacrament, our spiritual food and strength. Our daily bread.

Nonetheless, does it not seem to you that the reality of acquiring bread daily would bring home in a special way this part of Our Lord's own prayer?

Thanks So Much for Visiting!!

A Couple of Anecdotes

There's no way these will come across in print as humorous as I found them in person, but maybe you'll get a chuckle... or a smile... out of them nonetheless...

Yesterday, after lunch, I was putting a child down for a nap and the boys (Cyprien - 15; Jacques - 9; Alban - 7) were creating their usual ruckus in the kitchen. They have a routine of nagging each other non-stop, verbally as well as PHYSICALLY. (Naturally. They're boys.) They're constantly swatting at each other, punching, pinching, tugging, knuckling... anything that will cause pain. So they've developed these reflexes that send them ducking when they see a brother (and his fisted hand) coming. They were in the middle of a very loud and active bout of this kind of "brotherly love" when I came downstairs from putting their sibling to sleep. I entered the kitchen. Jacques was momentarily in absentia, but approaching from the living room. Alban was facing me and Cyprien had his back turned to me. Out of the corner of his eye, this might-makes-right, cocky 15-year-old boy saw me coming and cringed. LOL! He thought I was Jacques, swinging at him. He was pretty chagrined when he realized it was the nanny. :D He did laugh though and said, "Excuse me." But you can be sure his brothers didn't let him forget too soon that he had been afraid of a girl. ;)

The other anecdote I thought I'd share took place yesterday evening. I was holding 9-month-old Capucine, standing in the little ones' bedroom. I asked Mrs. Smith if I should put her to bed for her evening nap... at least I thought that's what I asked! She hesitated for a moment and looked puzzled (normally she's a PRO at figuring out my awkwardly-worded sentences and never hesitates). Then a look of comprehension passed over her face and she said yes. It was only sometime later that I realized I had said, "Est-ce que la couche?" (i.e. Is it that the diaper?), instead of saying, "Est-ce que je la couche?" (i.e. Do I put her to bed?) I missed a two-letter word and that made all the difference. LOL! No wonder she looked puzzled!