Way back in July on what was our third day in France I wrote about my love of coq au vin. I first tasted it in high school and it became one of my favorite meals. Rarely have I had it since so three days on the ground in France and having found a canned version in a Nantes grocery store, I jumped at the chance to eat some.

A couple of nights ago Melinda got inspired to make it from scratch. I could hardly contain my excitement. Since I’m responsible for making most dinners, not only was I getting a night off but I was getting coq au vin! Today’s photo is of me getting in Melinda’s way while she made it, not that you can see me doing that but I’m confident you can create the scene. The dinner was wonderful. To add to its delight, Melinda made enough for leftovers which Chloe, Melinda and I gobbled up today. And that’s the thing about coq au vin, it’s just as good the second day.

One more thing. Watching Melinda spend two hours fixing dinner got me thinking about all the things I didn’t think about when first envisioning a sabbatical year, things like vacuuming, doing the dishes, washing clothes, and cleaning bathrooms. Funny, all those things need to get done here, too.