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We had a couple of very beautiful sunrises this week. I took this picture two or three days ago as the sun was casting some beautiful colors from the southeast. If you’re interested in knowing, this is a view we have from an upstairs window. That’s our neighbor’s house, and just to the right of it (and behind it) is Ravenna Park. And, yes, it was a chilly morning as you can see from the frost on the roof.

At PSCS we begin each day with a school-wide meeting called “Check-in” (fancy name, eh?). It’s usually no more than 15 minutes long and often quite less, and it’s facilitated by one of the students. Each meeting ends with time for what we call “appreciations,” a few minutes for people to focus on things they feel good about. On the morning I took this picture, several people, including a couple of students, appreciated that day’s sunrise.

If only my picture could do it justice…

So yesterday I wrote a post for Laurent. Today I’m writing one for Christine. I’m not saying why today. I trust Christine knows.

First, let me just say that not far from our house is an entire street of people that goes all out with decorating their houses for the holiday season. They even have a nickname for their street, Candy Cane Lane. How cute is that? People travel from all over the area to drive through the street in order to gawk at the holiday lights. Learn more here.

But my vote for best holiday house decorating goes to the house in today’s photo. Tastefully understated, doesn’t this martini glass holiday light motif get you feeling all festive? I mean, there are no over-the-top reindeer on the roof, no gaudy blinking lights, no electric Santas pulling presents from a sack. What gets you thinking more about Christmas than a good martini?

Shoot, drink enough martinis and you just might see reindeer on the roof, blinking lights, and a Santa, electric or otherwise, pulling presents from a sack! Candy Cane Lane, you bet!

Laurent, this post is for you.

On my Sunday morning running route I pass by an intersection with this fire hydrant near the corner. Each time I run past it I smile, as it reminds me of one of my great France stories. Finally, I grabbed a camera a couple of days ago and went out to take a picture of it, knowing I’d post it here.

Why this interest in fire hydrants and why would this one make me think of France?

Well, early on during our year in France, back on 27 July 2010 in Pornichet, I blogged about how sexy I thought the French fire hydrants were. This created quite a joke among Laurent, Frédérique and some of their friends. So later, in September, when there was an entire exhibit of French fire hydrants in Nantes I had to write a post about it.

What might happen if this American fire hydrant met a French fire hydrant?

A year ago tomorrow I wrote about the annual flurry of activity that takes place when Chloe and Ella start making paper snowflakes for decorating our house.

Say, did you get that one – “flurry” of activity??

Yesterday I mentioned this, too. So today I present a photo of the front of our house taken from just outside. Specifically, I’m suggesting you note the doors. (BTW, here in the United States, we refer to these as “French doors.” In France, we referred to ALL of our doors as “French doors.”) On the doors are snowflakes, Ella’s work this year.

In terms of real snowflakes, the kind that are cold and wet and cause drivers all kinds of headaches and the city of Seattle to come to a grinding halt, we haven’t seen any of them this year. Me, I’m hoping for some. For now, I’m settling for these very nice looking paper variety, none of which are identical.

Ella took this picture about an hour ago, soon after she finished decorating our Christmas tree. The photo is among several we took, prompted by an email request from Chloe to send her photos of the tree. Knowing how much Chloe always enjoys the decorating of the house, I can imagine she feels she’s missing out a bit up at Quest.

That being said, Ella also took on Chloe’s traditional role of making snowflakes and decorating the windows. Look for a photo in the next day or two to represent that part of our family’s holiday traditions. Speaking of Chloe and paper snowflakes, when she was home for Thanksgiving she showed us photos of those she made to decorate her dorm room.

As I write, Melinda and Ella are enjoying the living room, chatting quietly in front of the fire. More moments of what the holidays are all about.

Yesterday, Dwight & Michele picked up Ella and together they met Greg & Perrin at the Seattle Yacht Club for brunch. Now this wasn’t just any ordinary brunch, this was the annual Christmas brunch. When Chloe and Ella were younger, Melinda and I would attend, too. It became one of my favorite events of the holiday season. Today’s picture of Michele with Ella and Perrin comes from yesterday’s event.

Of the many things I enjoyed about the SYC Christmas brunch, getting dressed up and having a sit down meal with dozens of other families with young kids ranks near the top. Okay, I admit it, I always looked forward to the bacon, too. Lots of it. Ask Dwight. But on top of there being bacon, each year Santa Claus pays a visit and delivers presents to all of the kids. Among my cherished memories of this event include Ella getting scared over seeing Santa, and the year Chloe, excited to be opening her gift, got a set of holiday dishes. Her reaction, “I got … dishes?” was priceless and he remains one of Michele’s and my favorite stories to remind each other.

I’m pleased Ella was invited along and I hear Perrin loved having her cousin be present. Fun times, just what the holidays are all about.

I received an email today from Bernard in Nantes under the subject line I’ve used as the title of this entry (translation: Hairstyling Aesthetics). Today’s photo was attached to the email which reads in full:

Hi Andy,
Could you fix my hair please? Meet me at ligne 1, arrêt Halvêque.
Andy, ligne 1, U Express and blue sky. What else?

The email and photo made me laugh out loud. I called Melinda to take a look and she laughed out loud even longer than I did. You see, I read her the email and then slowly scrolled down to reveal the photo, Bernard’s follicle-impaired dome being the last part of it to emerge.

To Bernard I say this. Bernie, I can think of few things I’d like more than you, Ligne 1, a U Express and blue sky. Toss in Chrissie and Melinda and you’ve got a double-date. Deal?

Those Bertails in Nantes, we love them.

A year ago today Chloe slipped down the icy stairs in front of our house in Nantes and bruised her backside. Later in the day, she was relating the experience to her cousin Stephanie, seen in this photo from a year ago, who was in the midst of her visit.

Really, though, why I included this photo today was because of that patch of sunlight at the top of it and the person in it. That’s Melinda! Upon exiting the house and noticing the sun patch, Melinda darted across the street to soak it up, ice on the stairs be damned! This is her regular modus operandi when it comes to spotting sunlight. She’ll zigzag across streets to be in the sunlight.

Melinda’s got one of those sun simulator lamps that she basks in each morning. I think a better plan each year would be for her to fly south for the winter.

The house in which we lived in Nantes was well insulated and solid, and therefore was much warmer in the winter than our Seattle house. As we get deeper in December and the darkness stays around longer in the morning and arrives earlier in the afternoon, we are really feeling it, “it” being chilly. Add in the typical damp Seattle fall and it can feel downright cold. When one is inside and it feels cold, it can be kind of frustrating. I mean my nose is even running!

I decided to warm myself up by looking through some photos from this past summer of us sitting by the pool in Nantes or playing in it. Not wanting to embarrass other members of my family by including photos of them, I chose this one of me. Look, I’m smiling and obviously comfortable. I’m not only warm, I’m even tan!

Ah, a good way to warm up. Looking at these photos.

It’s just past 10pm and we’re just home from school. Today is one of those L O N G days that sometimes happen when you work for a school. Not only did we have a regular school day in length, but Wednesdays also include our weekly 2 hour staff meeting, so we had that today, too. But then from 7-9pm was a community-wide event, a dessert potluck. It’s a great event, one that allows the parents and others to absorb more of the school culture. But for those of us on staff, it makes for a tiring day.

To illustrate that my focus today was all on PSCS, I’ve chosen a photo I found yesterday on the school camera. It comes from a couple of weeks ago when I was facilitating a game at school. It was a pretty crazy game, one that involves waste paper baskets, throwing crumpled pieces of paper over your head, and some silly competition. In other words, it’s supposed to fun.

Speaking of fun, that’s an important word at PSCS. Even on these long days.