Joyeux anniversaire, Canada!

Happy Canada Day 

allllll the way from zee French Alps!

in Stanley Park with my friend Julie, Vancouver, Easter 2006

I'm thinking of & missing all my family & friends in Canada today.

I wish I could be there to celebrate with you!

But... check this out!  

I have somehow managed to get myself invited

to a Canada Day picnic in the park 

here in Annecy tonight, 

with real live Canadians present! 

How exciting, eh?

Why I Haven't Been Blogging, Part 6: Blue sky

Those of you who are familiar with the west wet coast of Canada

will have a hard time believing me when I tell you 

this photo was taken last month 

{yes, I mean February!}

during an afternoon walk at the dykes in Pitt Meadows.

I mean, just look at that sky!

{OK, the mountains aren't too shabby either...}

We met up with my mom's friend Bev for a walk

in the amazing afternoon sunshine.

I couldn't get over how great the weather was.

Umbrellas, non!

Sunglasses, oui!

Why I Haven't Been Blogging, Part 5: Ben

OK, so here I am back on-track

& continuing with my West Coast Wrap-Up

{or what I got up to on my trip to Canada last month.}

During my visit,
I wanted to spend as much time as possible with
my nephew Ben.

He's nearly a year-and-a-half old now & so much fun.

Not to mention darn cute.

Take a look for yourself & then answer me this:
How on earth did you expect me to blog 

when I could be hanging out with Ben instead?

I love how he's got his little hand part-way up FQ's sweater sleeve! 

Anna, Ben, moi & Liz.

{Wondering about the secret of our healthy glow?
I believe this photo was taken shortly after our
Sisters' Dance Party!}

My sister Anna & her handsome boys.
I miss you!!

Why I Haven't Been Blogging, Part 4: Brunch!

Let's get something straight:

I love brunch.

The French aren't so keen on brunch.

Although there are lots of lovely sweet breakfast foods here

{mmm, pain au chocolat},

sometimes you just want a big plate of eggs & hashbrowns, 

n'est-ce pas?

So having brunch was definitely on my "to-do" list 

during my time in Vancouver last month.

On one of my last days in town, we went to brunch

with our friends Dawn & Joel

& Erin at Sophie's Cosmic Café.

Sophie's is a very popular brunch location

& it was prime brunching time on a Saturday morning.

We had to make a decision:

wait inside for a table

{which meant risk fainting from hunger 

& having Erin miss her ferry back to Victoria}

or

brave the patio, 

which {the waitress assured us} was "actually quite cosy".

Well, as you can tell from all the mittens & scarves,

it was pretty chilly on the patio.

It was actually snowing on the other side of those

flimsy plastic "walls"!

But you know what?

Who cares about frozen feet 

when you've got smoked-salmon Eggs Benny {the special!},

a pot of warm tea

& a group of lovely friends to brunch with?

Why I haven't been blogging, Part 3: Sister Dance Parties

Because, really,

blogging is fun, 

but not nearly as much of a good time
as cranking up the Black Eyed Peas 

& rocking out with my sisters.

{That French dude is a pretty funny dancer too.}

Why I haven't been blogging, Part 2: Birthdays

First off, I can't believe I forgot to list

peanut butter & Craisins in my post yesterday. 

I blame jetlag.

Really, though!

Those were the two heaviest items in my suitcase. 

How could I forget them?

{Shout-out to the nice lady at the KLM check-in at Vancouver 

for not hassling me about my a-few-kilos-over-the-limit luggage!}

***

Secondly, here I am continuing my series of posts on 

why I haven't been blogging,

which, now that I'm back in France,

could also be referred to as "West Coast Wrap-Up"

if you prefer.

Ready for reason number 2?

I was lucky enough to be back in Vancouver for
two special birthdays.

The first weekend I was back, my youngest sister Liz
celebrated her birthday.

We had family dinner at my parents' house, 

complete with my mom's famous home-made ice cream cake.

Liz seemed to like the crazy legwarmers

(buttons & sequins, really?)

that I brought her from France.

Also, can you believe how well her hair matches her new frying pan?

It's really quite incredible.

***

A week or so later, we got to have birthday sushi with Stacey.

Hey there, dynamite roll!

FQ loves Black Forest cake just as much as somebody else I know...

See what I mean?

The Suitcase Game

So...

it's March.

I'm back in zee Alpes 
after three weeks on the West Coast of Canada.

Since arriving in France on Wednesday night,

I've been battling jetlag {ugh},

trying to get back into a routine {double ugh},

tidying up {triple ugh}

& - oh joy! - unpacking.

***

Did you ever play the "suitcase game" when you were a kid?

My siblings & I used to play it in the car during long drives.

Even now, I break it out in my ESL classes once in a while
{when I feel like being "the fun teacher".}

Basically, it's a memory game that involves 

making an alphabetical list 

of things in a suitcase:

Person 1: I'm packing my suitcase and I'm taking an ALARM CLOCK.

Person 2: I'm packing my suitcase and I'm taking 

an ALARM CLOCK & a BEACH TOWEL.

Person 3: I'm packing my suitcase and I'm taking 

an ALARM CLOCK, a BEACH TOWEL & a CD.

{You get the idea, n'est-ce pas?}

***
While unpacking, I thought it would be fun to play "the suitcase game"
& show you what I brought back from Canada.

Red Rose tea 

While France has lots of tea, there's nothing here 

nearly strong enough for my morning cuppa.

Echinaecea 

France is the land of pharmacies-on-every-corner, 

yet they don't know about popping a few of these to ward off colds.

Acetaminophen

This exists in France {it's called "Paracetamol" here}

but good luck finding such a huge package.  

{Merci, Costco!}

Molasses

I've been looking for this in French supermarkets 

& health food stores for a while now, to no avail.  

I see some gingersnap cookies in my near future!

Earl Grey tea

Will go well with those gingersnaps, non?

Canned pumpkin

Because you just never know 

when you might have a sudden craving for pumpkin pie.

Nice big container of baking powder

It's available in France, of course, 

but sold in teeny individual-dose envelopes.  

Call me picky, but that's just annoying.

Syrups 

Blueberry & maple.  

I'm all set for Pancake Day next week!

Chocolate chips & cinnamon 

I can buy both those things in France, 

but chocolate chips are super expensive here (why??!) 

& spices come in puny NON-Costco-sized containers.  

{That big thing of cinnamon = a heck of a lot of gingersnaps!}

***

So it looks like me & my Canadian goodies

have a lot of baking & drinking tea to do.

{Hopefully no headaches or sniffles, though...}

***

Now quick!

Close this window & 

tell me what I packed in my suitcase.

Extra points if you can list everything in alphabetical order!

Ready?  Set?  Go!

Why I haven't been blogging, Part 1: Walks

So as you & I both know,

I haven't really been blogging

since I've been back for my West Coast visit.

But I have been taking lots of walks 

near my parents' house,

accompanied by FQ & Koda:

My mom & dad:

And my adorable nephew Ben:

What I love about

"going for a walk around the block" 

in my parents' neighbourhood

 is that it takes at least an hour.

Well, it's rural, right?

That means one big block!

Plus there are all sorts of interesting things to look at.

For example, the neighbours' creative mailbox:

The view across the fields towards the Fraser River:

 

And the local horses (particularily photogenic on this occasion!)

We usually walk through Thornhill Park,

where I used to teeter-totter & gossip with girlfriends

back when I was a teenager.

And where the dog likes to splash around in the creek.

On the home stretch down the hill back towards my parents' house, 

I always admire the view.

This is what "home" looks like to me.

Dear Emily,

Do you realize you've gone for 
more than a week without blogging?

More than a week?
Really?!!

Don't you feel guilty?

Sincerely yours,

Your Blog

***

Dear Poor Neglected Blog,

Not really,

because the truth is 

I'm just having way too much fun 

visiting with family & friends

to update you.

(Sorry to tell it like it is, but c'est la vie, non?)

love,

Emily

P.S.  I have taken a million photos
which I will share with you soon, promis!

Bonjour, Valentine!

This florist in Annecy's old town always has beautiful flowers out front,

but they really went all out with their Valentine's display, non?

This February 14th, I'm in Victoria visiting Erin.

We have plans to drink Starbucks' Cinnamon Dolce lattes

& get pedicures.

Because nothing says Valentine's Day like red toenails, right?

Happy Trails

I went for a walk with Koda & my mom & dad
in the trails above their house this afternoon.

Hooray for big trees, ferns, fresh air, happy dogs & parents!

Oh & no bear sightings.   That's good too.