First Visit To Paris!

For our first week of summer vacation, the boys and I went to Paris.  If you know the boys, you would know that they would prefer to stay home and play video games.  If they could do that all summer and never venture out of the house, they would be miserable, but they would think they were happy.  So, there were a few tactics that I took to help them enjoy their first experience traveling around.  The primary tactics were: let them use electronics on the train, rent an apartment with a pool, avoid standing in long lines, and set expectations ahead of time about what we were going to do and see.

Actually, this is our second trip within Europe as a whole.  In February we visited London.  I'll do another post about that trip soon.  But, to get them enjoying the pattern of traveling around us, the trip to Paris was important to set the mood.  Who knows, maybe some day one of them will suggest a trip.  That is, they might come up with an additional trip suggestion.  They have proposed one already.  They would like to go to Sorrento, Italy in search of the alleged hot pizza vending machine.  As Hillary has just visited Sorrento and tried to track it down (unsuccessfully), I feel that they boys need to branch out a bit in their trip planning.  In any case, back to the Paris trip.

Day 1: Travel by Train

PARIS!  It's the world's top tourist destination.  And we got to visit it.  To get from Toulouse to Paris, we took the train.  We signed up with the SNCF train child discount card for each kid.  This gave us half price tickets for the boys and a discount on my ticket as a person accompanying a minor.  It normally costs 75 euro for the discount card, but the day I got them there was a sale so they were only 60 euro each.  Completely worth it!  The trip duration was about the same as it would be to drive, about 6 hours.  Convincing the kids was easy, I told them that instead of staying inside at home to play with their electronics, they would have an outlet and a comfy seat on a train from which to engage in electronics use.

Will with iPad and Alex with DS

  

We didn't play with electronics for the entire journey.  We also used the nifty tables to play Star Fluxx.  And Will decided to rest his chin.

The table is for chin resting

Rest your chin.  I will photobomb!

The best part about riding the train for me was that I didn't have to drive for 6 straight hours, I got to sit on the train and relax.  This involved having some wine with lunch, taking a nap, and crushing Alex in foosball/babyfoote.  Yes, there was a table on board.  It was a little more challenging because when the train turned, the ball tended to go toward one of the goals.  Alex called it the "gravity advantage."

Considering crushing Alex in babyfoote

The train trip was really smooth and other than picking the wrong train car and therefore the wrong seats (oops). We made it without too much trouble.  The boys were not interested in the sandwiches on board, so we decided to bring our own for the return trip.

We managed to get to Paris, take the metro, find our Air B and B, and get the keys.  Upon entry to the apartment, the boys immediately found the computer and realized that they were able to play "English Games" on it such as slither.io.  Ah, the ubiquitous internet.  After our initial orientation, we headed out to get some food supplies.  We found a grocery store and a bakery, then returned to our apartment for dinner.

Day 2: Paris Overview

None of us had ever been to Paris.  We figured we would start by going to see the Eiffel Tower.  We grabbed the boys' scooters, hopped on the metro, and headed toward La Tour.  

Normally there is a long park that you can go to on one side of the tower.  You can get great shots of the entire height of the tower.  However, due to the football that was in progress, Euro 2016, it had been converted into a "fan zone" and was closed off until it was time to assemble for the game that evening.

Also, there is a giant football in the Tower during Euro 2016

We went over to that side where we saw the long line for day-of entry and the non-existent line for reservations.  We opted to return to Paris at a future date after booking tower reservations so that we could avoid the line.  

Crazy Line Behind Us

Next, we decided that it would be a good plan to find a restroom for a break.  However, due to the fan zone craziness and the general lack of public toilets in Paris, we were not very successful.  We ended up at Cafe Le Dome which is a little bit of a walk away from the Tower.  I ordered the breakfast which was a croissant, coffee, and orange juice for 9 euro.  I also ordered the boys orange juice which came in at over 5 euro each.  So check on experiencing tourist trap and paying more than 20 euro to use the restroom.  

As this was our first visit and I wanted the boys to get an idea of what Paris had to offer overall, we decided to extend our touristy experience and hopped on one of the double decker, open top, audio included tour buses.  It took quite a long time, but we got to see all sorts of stuff with interesting commentary.

Dome des Invalides, Tomb of Napoleon

The Rodin Museum was on the tour.  We didn't stop or go in, but were treated to what the boys thought was a very funny view of The Thinker.

I think I see his butt!

As Le Tour de France was occurring and the end of it still coming up, the Champs Elysees was nearly prepared for the finish.  There were bleachers setup and the large bulletin board with cyclist and expensive watch advertisement.

Dan wants to go to here

One of the interesting features of France is that there are guidelines issued about what is acceptable in the language and what is to be rejected.  For example, you shouldn't use the phrase, "Bon Week-end!" to wish someone a good weekend.  Not that people avoid this phrase.  But, the Academie Francaise issues the guidelines anyway from their beautiful building in Paris.

Academie Francaise

Paris is a city of monumental buildings.  We also saw the Cathedral of Notre Dame which took over a century to build.  

It's on an island

We opted to end our bus tour at the Arc de Triomphe.  Primarily because we were meeting friends from California there.  After arriving, we realized that it was in the center of a roundabout. With no crosswalks.  We called our friends and they told us the secret that you cross underneath the roundabout by going down some stairs.  

How do we get to the center of the traffic circle?

We met up for lunch, then headed over to the Luxembourg gardens which was beautiful and relaxing.  They have playgrounds, a puppet show, and a beautiful fountain.

After the adventures of the day, we returned to our apartment where the boys took advantage of the available pool.  They had to wear swim caps for the first time.  Pool attire rules are different here in France.  Because, hygiene.

Not tired from wandering around Paris?  Pool!

We grabbed sushi for dinner at a nearby restaurant and watched a bit of football on TV.  Every time France would score, you could tell by the cheering from around the neighborhood.  This meant that I could mute the match on TV and let the kids sleep without extra noise.  Fortunately they slept through the external ambient cheering.  

Day 3: Notre Dame and Modern Art

Day 3 started out a little unsuccessfully.  We tried to go to the Jardin D'Acclimatation. However, when we got there, they told us that the kids couldn't bring in their scooters.  They also didn't have the ability to check the scooters.  The previous day I had carried the bike lock around with me all day and never needed it.  This day, I forgot to bring it.  So, we walked and scooter-ed in the lovely wooded area outside the park.  Then we headed to meet-up for lunch with California friends again.  This time, the meeting place was Notre Dame.  

Amazing Architecture

That's a lot of stone sculptures

While waiting to meetup, I inquired of the boys, "How many stone sculptures do you think are on the front of the Cathedral?  I went to a nearby vendor to get some sandwiches.  Upon my return, Will informed me that there were 432.  

We went to the park behind the cathedral to eat our sandwiches.

Park Behind the Cathedral

Ever on the lookout for spinning disks, the boys spent quite a bit of time playing on the spinning disk nearby and also doing some climbing on the other thing.

Spinning Disk

The other thing

Filled with food and fun, we split ways with our friends and walked over to the Pompidou Center. It is a place that I have always wanted to go.  There was a picture of it on the front of my high school french book.


Getting kids involved in museums makes the trip better for the adults on the trip too.  It's a tricky thing to do, but there is a great book that gives practical advice called "The Gallery and Museum Survival Guide for Parents."  The boys and I had talked about going to see some art before our trip and during the trip.  They were interested to see some art of artists who they knew and also those they had recently studied.  Prior to coming to France, they were familiar with Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, and Renee Magritte.  Since arriving in France they had studied some more about Matisse and Magritte.  So, we knew we would see some works by these artists.

We started out at the infamous fountain, and then walked by a Calder sculpture on our way in.

Will contemplating:  If I could just go INTO the fountain, that would be great!

American Art!

We were able to successfully check the scooters at the coat check.  And we only needed to buy a ticket for me since kids 18 and under are free.  To get started, we rode up all of the escalators to the 5th floor of the Center.

View from the top

The kids really seemed to like this fountain, coming back to it multiple times.  It has a Max Ernst sculpture in the middle of it of what looks like a mermaid bull family.

Capricorne

We found the Matisse cutouts room that Alex's teacher this year told him about.

Different than the ones at LACMA

Escaping from the Cutouts

We found a Picasso exhibit that was inspired by Mrs. Picasso.

We found some cool Magritte paintings.

Le double secret

The Red Model

Will contemplated many pieces of art.

Hmmm...  Shadows.

Hmmm... Optical Illusion

Alex also contemplates

Is it moving?

Hmm... Impossible Object?

After lots of interesting and sometimes bazarre art, we headed back to our apartment to meet friends for dinner.  We took takeout back to the apartment from a restaurant that they boys saw as we got off the metro upon our initial arrival in Paris.... PFC.  Paris Fried Chicken.  


Day 4: Another Park and Departure

On day 4, we found a really awesome park called Parc de Villette.  We visited two playgrounds.  One was the Jardin du Dragon which had a sculpture/play structure shaped like a dragon with an 80 foot tongue slide.
  

Alex trapped in the dragon's throat

Tongue Slide descending 

The other park was called the "Jardin des vents et des dunes" which means the garden of wind and dunes.  It had turf covered hills which the boys raced up and down.  It also had nifty kid sized hamster wheels.

Run Children!  Run!

Also included were some fun zip lines.

Zip!

After some fun at the park, we headed over to the store and boulangerie to get sandwich meat and bread for the return trip.  Then we went to the train station, found the correct train-car-and-seats, then headed home.

We had a fun time and will return to Paris sometime in the future.  Maybe we will take Dan the next time.  

Infinity Birthday!

Today will henceforth be known as my infinity birthday.

This isn't the top of the hill. I haven't peaked.  It's not just downhill from here.  To infinity and beyond!

Last year I quit my job and went with Dan to live in France for a few years.  We are organized, the kids are settled, and I'm in French classes.  I am at another point where I can make some decisions and do some awesome stuff.  But I need your help in putting together my infinity list!

So what should it be?  Should I travel?  Should I pursue more education?  Should I work?  Should I volunteer?  Should I visit cafes to drink coffee and wine?  Should I exercise?  Should I take more selfies?  Should I found a book club?

It would help if you also told me why you recommended the course of action you are suggesting.  Is it because you enjoy it?  Did it change your life?  Do you see it as something that I would pursue because of what you already know about my personality, interests, and motivation?

You may provide comments here or on Facebook.  But whatever you do, don't be prompted by Facebook to only post the text, "Happy Birthday!" because the computers told you to wish me a happy birthday.  Be interesting if you must post a birthday message and provide infinite advice.

Guest Room Ready!

We are prepared, we think, for guests at our apartment in France.  It has been a long project, but we think we are ready to host multiple people.  So, if you are ready to be a considerate guest, we welcome you!

We have two spaces for appx 4 sleeping adults and an additional place for a child.  The "spaces" are a guest room and the living room couch. Alex has a lower space under his bed with a fold out cushion. This can also be moved out to the living room for more soft floor sleeping space.  

Guest Room - We have a private room that we setup for guests. It has two beds that are 90x200cm.

Guest Room Bed 1

Guest Room - Hidden Bed 2 from underneath

 We also have a couch in the middle of everything. It is about 130x220cm. 

Sleep on the Couch!

Or the even bigger expanded couch!

And, to cover some useful information, we present our list of demands!  Well, demander means "ask" in French, so really they are just some things we are asking of and presenting to our guests.

* Emergency - If there is an emergency, you can call 112 from any European phone.  Our landline is located on a charging stand near our TV.  If it is not on the stand, it's in the remote box which is likely on one of the arms of the couch.  If you get an European sim card, you can also call from your mobile phone. (To do this, you need an unlocked phone, talk to Dan for details. I just know he loves explaining all of the sticky technical details.)

* Museums and Stuff - We are collecting memberships and residence passes so that we can accompany you to cool places.  We are preparing a list of activities and expected costs for these.

* We may not join you at the Stuff - Basically we are providing our apartment as a free sleep location for you.  While it is likely that because you are staying with us, we probably know you and want to spend time with you, there are other things going on while you are visiting.  The kids have school, Dan has work, Angela does #stuff.

* "Free Sleep Location" - Well, mostly free.  We expect that you might pick up the bill at a restaurant when we go out for dinner once during your stay.  We also will definitely ditch you at our apartment during an evening while we go out without the kids.  Yes, we are trading "free sleep location" for "free babysitting."

* Supplies and Amenities - Lots of USB chargers and American/European/British plug adapters.  We have a washer and dryer.  We invite you to do laundry while you visit.  Hopefully this will allow you to pack a little lighter.  We will have laundry detergent on hand, of course.  We have a shower room and a bath room, along with two toilet rooms.  It should be pretty easy to coordinate schedules.  We will make toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel available.  If you need any other liquids, we can acquire them. The goal for your packing should be to only bring one carry-on  suitcase and maybe a backpack. You will have a much easier time and a more enjoyable vacation if you do this. And we can pick you up from the airport because you and your luggage will fit in our car. 

* Towels and Robes - We are also providing towels and robes for you during your stay. For those of you in the guest room, this means you will have something to wear from the shower to the guest room. Because it is not very possible to get dressed in the small shower room. Plus, someone else will probably want to use it. For those of you who are staying in the living room, you can change in the kids room, coordinate with the people lucky enough to land the guest room, or use our bedroom. 

* Not Included - We don't have air conditioning.  We don't know how that will affect our summer visitors.  We seem to have various weather here.  Wind, rain, sun, heat, humidity.  I'm sure the internet can elaborate during your specific visit time about the weather. 

* Food - We will initially stock the following at our house:  assorted fruits, charcuterie, cheese, bread, wine, salmon/trout, rice, sandwich meat, cheese, sandwich bread, chips, chicken wrapped prosciutto, eggs, breakfast bread, nutella, various jams/confiture, coffee, tea, cereal, milk, pasta, bolognaise sauce, burrito/fajita ingredients if you are here on a Taco Tuesday, hamburgers and hotdogs, chicken curry, rice, packaged crepes, pizza ingredients and pre-made crust, wine, cereal bars.

* Food Shopping - We will take you to the super giant supermarket to acquire foods to your liking and perhaps help us restock some of ours.  Dan will also train you in the legendary French art of baguette retrieval.

* Help out - After dinner, help with the dishes or clearing the table or sweeping the floor.  After showering, our drain is weird, wipe it down.  After being here a week, see if you can help out with some cleaning tasks.  The kids take care of a lot of basics, like trash and putting dishes away, but there are always ways to help out.

* Travel around Toulouse and further - Unfortunately, due to our car insurance arrangement, we are unable to lend our car out.  However, getting around Toulouse is super easy.  You can walk most places.  You can use a share bike for a low cost.  You can metro and bus everywhere.  For further out adventures, we recommend getting a rental car.  Check your credit card to see if they cover supplemental rental car insurance in Europe.  Also brush up on your manual transmission driving.

* Jet Lag - Jet lag can be terrible.  Fortunately we have some awesome black out shutters in all of our rooms.  If you absolutely need to sleep during the day, you can black out all light.  Usually the trick is to stay up as late as you can the first day, maybe go out for some delicious food.  But, if you can't, we will have snacks available and let you go to sleep as early as you need to.  Our schedule is to put the kids in bed at 8:30pm and they wake up around 6:00am.  Dan wakes up early to ride his bike on the trainer on the balcony some mornings.  If you would like to go for an early morning bike ride or a run, I'm sure he can help you satisfy that aspiration. I can't guarantee he won't try to leave you in the dust though. 

We grab some breakfast and get out the door for school around 7:30am.  We will try to be quiet if you are still sleeping.  And, if you happen to wake up in the middle of the night, please try to be quiet for us.  We can also give you a list of bakeries that open early (early means 7am) if you want to go for a walk after you wake in the early morning.  Many places are open in the evening if you want to go somewhere after the kids get into bed. I also recommend an evening walk or bike ride around the downtown of Toulouse. 

Relaxing evening walk to the Capitole

* Potential Departure - We will have a handy list of reasonable, nearby hotels available for you in case you are not happy with the accommodations.  We have a medium-sized apartment.  In the close quarters, someone may get cranky (it will probably be Will, but we can't send him to a hotel).  You might not like our strange square pillows.  It might be unbearably hot in our apartment during the summer. You might decide that you can't live without a hairdryer and need the one available at most hotels.  Weird stuff happens.  It's no one's fault.  We just want to be prepared if it happens.  I'm sure we can all just get along.

* You may bring us something from the US - If you feel like it, we sometimes need a thing from the US.  The boys miss bagels.  Tricky to pack, but if you can acquire some yummy bagels, feel free to bring them.  The boys prefer Costco bagels in raisin and plain flavors.  Dan really needs some Kind Strong bars.  Most of the exercise food here is high-carb cereal based, not enough protein.  We also would not mind having some Starbucks coffee, espresso ground (beans do us no good, we don't have a grinder, espresso ground is required for our dosette brewer, we can go french press ground for our "piston brewer").  However, there is good coffee here, so probably don't bring Starbucks.  Also, don't ever bring us chocolates.  Seriously.  We are not far from Belgium.  Even French chocolates are better than See's.  Don't do it.  Also don't bring us wine.  Really.  That would be weird.  We are now wine snobs (not super fancy wine snobs, more like value wine snobs).  When we were in the United States last month, I sent back a glass of wine for the first time ever.  It was terrible.  Don't bring wine.

* We can host up to 10 total people for dinner since we have 6 inside chairs in our dining room and another 4 outside spaces on our balcony.  However, we highly recommend many different restaurants within walking distance.  If you did not come to Toulouse to experience the food, you should reconsider experiencing the food.

* Be a polite person, not a rude American.  There are two simple tricks for this.  First, for any direct encounter with someone, greet them properly, Bonjour!  Bonsoir!  Then, after interaction, say goodbye and thank you.  Merci! Au Revoir!  This includes any shops you go into.  Bonjour! on entry and Merci! Au Revoir! on exit, even if you didn't buy anything.  This includes when you go up to a cashier at a store.  After they have finished their interaction with the customer in front of you, Bonjour!  And after you have completed your transaction, Merci! Au Revoir! Bonne Journee!

The second trick is to speak to people who are next to you as if they were next to you.  That is, your voice should only travel about a meter.  If you need to yell at someone you should refrain unless it is Alex and he is trying to hurt himself.  

* Other Phrases - You should probably learn how to say (accent marks are not correct, you will have to look these up):

• I'm Sorry or Excuse Me. - Desole.  Or Je suis desole.  Pardon.  Pardon Moi.  Excusez-Moi.
• I do not understand.  - Je ne comprende pas.
• I don't speak French.  - Je ne parle pas francais.
• I speak English. - Je parle anglais.
• Do you speak English?  - Parlez-vous anglais?

* French Cramming - If you want to cram a little and learn some useful French words that will stick with you, I recommend "French by Association."  It uses mnemonics to help you remember things.  We did this with "Italian by Association" before we went to Italy the first time and it was helpful.  Otherwise, load google translate on your phone.  

* Bikes - It seems that some of you would like to do some serious cycling here.  Or maybe just watch some serious cycling.  We are in the process of getting a bike rack arranged for our car.  And we can find somewhere in our apartment to keep your bike if you happen to travel with one.  I hear there is much better cycling vacation advice listed here:  https://pvcycling.wordpress.com/2016/05/16/ready-freddie/

Despite all of these "demands," it would also be fine if you came to hang out with us, ate all of our food, and left without any performing any cleaning tasks. Seriously. We are happy to host without conditions. Ok, except for the babysitting one. You must stay at home once while we go somewhere without the children.  Non negotiable. 

Let us know if you would like to visit.  We already have about 9 weeks of guests scheduled.  France is pretty awesome, come check it out!

My One American Demand!

I hope to not come off as one of those annoying Americans who think that their existence in France must be exactly the same as their existence in the United States.

In spite of this, I have One American Demand!

Giant Bed.

When Dan and I got married, we got a queen-sized bed, 152cm x 203cm.  When we moved to California four years later, we got a king-sized bed, 192cm x 203cm.  This is the most amazing thing.  Space to sleep is quite important.  Especially since Dan's muscles seem to think that he is running-biking-swimming when he goes to sleep.

Giant beds aren't really a France thing.  The largest bed you can find in most stores is 180cm x 200cm.  The boys have beds that are 90cm x 200cm.  Even if you find a bed, there are no sheets sold in large sizes.  And there are no headboards in that size.  

I am happy to report that we found a 200cm x 200cm mattress.  It was available at Alinea.  They delivered!

It's taller than me!

Of couse, there were no sheets in that size and no bed frame or base or headboard either.  

Mattress!  Now what?

Fortunately the internet and amazon exist.  amazon.fr managed to carry some 200x200 sheets.  For a while, we enjoyed sleeping on our giant mattress on the floor.

Duvet... just... big enough... to cover the mattress

The next phase of the project was to find a suitable and large enough base and headboard.  Dan turned down my brilliant option to buy from this awesome custom bed design site:

Many Euros can provide you with this lovely set-up for your giant bed

So instead, we opted to build our own IKEA hack bed.  First, we started with two 90x200 FLAXA bed frames.  Cool thing about this option is that we get extra storage.  With two bed frames, we end up with a total of four large drawers, two on each side of our bed configuration.    

Single Person Bed or Base of Giant Bed?!

The hack?  We couldn't just put two of these beds together and put the mattress on top.  The actual mattress in the picture above is recessed somewhat.  If we put our mattress on the two beds, it would be elevated in the center and have an uncomfortable bump.  So, we needed to go to the Home Depot of France, one of which is called Castorama.  On one of the Wednesdays when the kids didn't have school, the three of us bravely drove our rental car to Castorama and entered into the zone of finding stuff in a giant home improvement store.  First stop... lumber.  Typically we go to the lumber aisle with a lumber cart and pick the inexpensive pine boards.  There were no pine boards.  Other stuff made out of pine, but the boards...  "La choix facile"  Alledgedly the choice was easy.  

5 types of boards listed and three alternate materials

Ultimately we determined that the boards were organized by quality/price and went with the cheap ones on the end.  Which were "sapin du nord" or fir of the north.  

Next issue?  In order to use our fir of the north, we needed to be able to cut them slightly shorter.  Ok, we can do this.  What is French for "hand saw?"  And no, google translate is not helpful.  It's kind of literal.  So I wasn't going to go up to a Castorama employee and ask for a saw of hands.  Instead, I got a Castorama employee, brought him over to my cart of sapin du nord, and made motions of cutting while saying, "hand saw."  He showed me to the right place.  The children looked at me like I was crazy.  

Finally, we needed screws to connect our sapin to the bed frame.  I google translated "wood" so that I could get the right kind and found some on my own. 

Screws for "bois"

We managed to get the boards in our small rental car without causing too much damage.  We brought them home and added them to our bedframes.  You can see them under the slats, perpendicular.  

No more raised center part

The mattress fits!

Nearly completed bed

So now the bed was only missing a headboard.  Why?  Because if you notice, the drawers go nearly all the way to the wall.  We couldn't put nightstands there without blocking the drawer.  So we needed a headboard to move the bed away from the wall to allow for nightstands.  That way, we could have somewhere to leave our charging phones during the night.

Much like the approach with the base of the bed, we opted to get two twin-sized headboards and put them together.  We were able to find these at the Alinea (the IKEA of France.  Oddly IKEA is not the IKEA of France.)  

One headboard

Then assembly of two of these...

Headboard Added!

Viola!  Short, but effective headboard added.  Places to leavwe our phones charging overnight and we even added clip on reading lights.  The giant summer-weight duvet is on its way and finally the bed will be complete.  Onward to preparing guest beds!

Happy Decade to Will!

The children are ancient.  And now I have proof.  Will turned 10 years old.

Last year when he was 9 years old, he was not really in the party mood.  He has a tendency to be introverted and just isn't into partying.  So we took him to the Lego Store at Downtown Disney and had him pick something.  He selected one of the most complex Lego Technic Sets that have been released.  The LEGO Technic 42009 Mobile Crane MKII.

Large Crane moved to France with us

This year, we looked into having an event at an indoor sky diving place as Will has oddly mentioned that he is interested in that activity.  We know they exist in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, but didn't get a chance to check them out in person before we moved out of the area.  Since we were going to be in Michigan for Will's birthday, we thought we would check Grand Rapids for something like this.  After searching for it though, we realized that people would rather do actual sky diving in Western Michigan than pretend indoor skydiving.  Will accepted our proposed alternative, going to the indoor trampoline place.

We (me, primarily) also needed cake, so we went to Meijer and picked up this cupcake dragon.

We didn't feel like renting out a party room at the trampoline place.  They tend to have a weird sweaty vibe.  Fortunately, we discovered a Dave and Buster's a block away from Sky Zone and made a reservation there for post-bouncing food and cupcake consumption.

Guests?  We could have celebrated with Will, Alex, Dan, myself, Dad and Lee.  But we sent out a note to our friends and ended up with 10 total kids at the event and a bunch of parents.  We got to connect and socialize with friends we haven't seen in a while, and we had some kids to eat the cupcakes.  (That's my cupcake story and I'm sticking to it.)

It was good we picked some indoor activities.  Because LATER THAT DAY...

Happy 10th birthday, Will!  Probably the snowiest birthday of your life.

How far has Will come in 10 years?  He has developed into a mature, risk-adverse, responsible child.  He enjoys analyzing information and how the world works.  He is talented in computer programming and debugging.  He enjoys spending time with Alex, even though Alex can sometimes be a little crazy.  He reads nearly all books.  While he isn't really into sports, he does enjoy playing ones where he can form a calculated strategy of winning.  We are looking forward to the pre-teen years as ones where he grows even more and learns to appreciate even more of the world.  

Awesome Things About France: Consistent Shower Temperature

Don't you hate it when you turn the shower on, then step in, only to have it burn or freeze your skin?  Or you take a long time to adjust the dial slightly, back and forth, until it is just the right temperature?

Back in 2005 when we were traveling in Austria, our hotel had an amazing shower feature.  You set the temperature on one side of the dial, then turn the water dial on the other side.  The water comes out at the predetermined temperature.  I thought that the technology behind this was instant hot water heaters.  However, the technology is much more simple.  There is a thermostat in the shower fixture.

Viola!

38 degrees Celsius is nice

Perfectly heated water, immediately!

Je Suis MacGyver

Putting an entirely new house together comes with some challenges.

First Challenge:  Shower

Our shower room has a shower and a sink.  The shower has a shower curtain and liner, but the way that the basin of the shower is shaped, the curtain doesn't really keep the water in on the sides.  It falls down on the outside of the basin and runs off onto the floor in front of the sink.  This is less than ideal.

Flat Sides Cause Run-Off

You would think that there might be some sort of solution for this poor design.  However, that would require me to go to a hardware store or the French equivalent of a Home Depot and try to explain this problem to someone in French.  As I don't yet know the words for flat, run-off, and "block the water!" I was required to innovate.

What supplies do I have that might help solve this problem?

Vinyl Shelf Paper

Staples

Some Super Glue to Prevent Leaks

Now the water is re-routed into the basin.  Seriously, who designed this shower basin?!


Second Challenge: Kitchen Cabinets

Our kitchen cabinets are not the highest quality.  They are quite wobbly and not quite aligned properly.  Sometimes this misalignment causes drawers and doors to bump into each other, causing loose connections.  In one specific case, the cabinet door hit the utensil drawer and the drawer front came loose from it's sides.  This was held together by dowels.  Additionally, the slide that the drawer goes on was not connected fully on the front side.  Every time it got opened, it put a little pressure on the slide and it broke.

Broken Drawer Removed along with Broken Left Slide

 What supplies do I have that might help solve this problem?

Sticky Pad in Place of Broken Drawer Slide

Look! an IKEA Bag Clip, My Favorite Kitchen Item

Pliers to Modify Clip Inside

Screwdriver to use as Smoothing Chisel

More Clip Moidifications

Stick Clip on Side and Secure with Screw 

After reinforcing the drawer with some wood glue on the separated dowels, the cabinet was back in working order.  I also added screws to all of the other drawer slides so that they are all more stable.

Still a little out of alignment, but functional

More Challenges?  Bring them on.  Or not.  Living with completely working household items is also quite nice.