The Case of the Missing Pinwheel

 Anna enjoys planting flowering plants in baskets outside our living room windows each year.  Unfortunately, the neighborhood pigeons have in the past decided the planters were installed for their benefit.  The result was broken plants and a very displeased Anna.  What to do?  She tried adding bamboo skewers to the planters (pointy ends up). The pigeons were singularly unimpressed.

Then Anna and David were walking by a toy store and saw pinwheels.  PINWHEELS!  Why didn't we think of them sooner?  Soon each planter had its very own pinwheel.  Since our apartment is on the fourth floor (by French count - fifth floor US), there are ample winds and gentle breezes to keep the pinwheels merrily spinning, AND, to discourage pigeons.

Geraniums living happily with their merry little pinwheel.

Then one day one of the pinwheels was missing.  It had been windy, that's true, but where did the pinwheel go?  All that was left was part of its supporting stick.

The remains of the pinwheel.

Anna checked the sidewalk, the street, and the gutter below our apartment. But, there was no sign of the missing pinwheel.  Time passed, and she pretty much gave up on that pinwheel.  

Then, there it was! Its new employment was decorating a display for a restaurant below our apartment.  Since it seemed to have found a happy new home, Anna simply left it there and walked home.  Mystery solved!

Ah! Food in France (vol 1)

One of the joys of eating food in France (and there are MANY) is sharing it with wonderful people.  Here are some examples:

We first stayed in Lyon in a February.  It was really cold, and the wind was blowing.  We came out of a subway station, and David spotted a café where we could get hot cups of coffee.  We hurried into the café and were seated at a table just inside the door.  The lady who had seated us noticed us shivering and moved us to another table.  This one was next to a radiator and away from the door.  We have never forgotten her kindness and always return to the café she and her husband own and run.  

Here is a photo Anna took of this lovely lady with
David at our most recent meal at that cafe.

We are fortunate in that we have always had great landlords – first Dominique and Roger, and now Nathalie and Stéphane.  We have become friends and invite them over for lunch or dinner in "our" apartment and enjoy our meals at their homes.  Here are some examples:

Lunch chez Aubry with Roger and Dominique

No proper meal in France is complete with the cheese course.  And, it’s best enjoyed when a native is present to advise the order in which the cheeses should be enjoyed.

At this meal we served
 brie, comté, and camembert

Our current landlords, Nathalie and Stéphane, invited Roger, Dominique, and us to lunch at their lovely home in a rural area near Lyon.

Stéphane's selfie got us all in the picture. 
L-R Stéphane, Anna, Dominique,
Nathalie, David, and Roger.

We recently had lunch at Roger and Dominique’s with Lionel and Laila.  Anna was asked to prepare her potato salad and hamburgers for an American lunch.  David did the honors at the barbecue.

Roger was kind enough to take this photo.  
L-R Lionel, Dominique, Laila, Anna, and David

Ironically this very American lunch took place while King Charles was being crowned as you can see on the TV screen below.

We have more delicious meals coming up on our calendar, and we are definitely looking forward to them.  (This time without King Charles.)