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First, before explaining today’s title and photo, let me just throw out a question. What is it about people visiting us who think they must sneak out of town before the crack of dawn? Last month my parents left Nantes at around 5am, and today Brenda, Greg & Perrin did about the same. Are we so embarrassing that people need to depart under the cover of darkness? On top of that, Greg had to leave with some kind of stomach ailment. So not only are our guests making a break for it before the sun rises, some are getting sick in the process.

Fair warning to the rest of you who have thought about a visit…

Okay. So last week Chloe went to significant effort to prepare a way for Perrin to make a “gingerbread” house. She bought large cookies to act as the gingerbread, as well as a variety of candies and sugars for decoration purposes. Along with Ella and a series of adults, they spent an afternoon building their city which they aptly titled, in honor of Seattle’s “Candy Cane Lane, “ “La Ville de Sucre d’Orge.” The translation of this, assuming we got it right, is “Candy Cane City.”

Yes, I know, there are not any candy canes in the city. Stop being so picky. I haven’t seen a candy cane in any of the stores. Chocolate of all holiday kinds, yes. Candy canes, no.

Frédérique and Laurent invited us over for a wonderful French lunch today. Trying to express in words the gourmet meal served by Frédérique, complemented by the incredible wines chosen and served by Laurent, would not begin to give the meal its just due. Let me just say that we were treated like royalty, down to the Boudeaus sharing with us some of their most special wines that are served only on the most significant of occasions.

So instead of telling you about the meal, let me say that it was tremendous fun watching Perrin play with some of Manon’s old toys. Manon had packed away a couple of Barbies and related accessories, and Perrin lit up with delight at the opportunity to play with them. Before long, Chloe, Manon, Ella and Perrin were all playing. I suggested to Romain that he join in (I mean there was even a Ken available if gender concern was what was stopping him), but he really wasn’t having it. Then I learned that he wasn’t feeling too well. That certainly explained things.

After lunch Greg set up his camera’s timer to take this group photo. We missed out including Annabelle as she had to leave by then. Take a close look at Chloe. That’s her new haircut, done just today at the place where Manon gets her hair done. I won’t say anything about which hair she had cut or my offer to cut her hair, any of them, for less than what she (read: we) paid. No, I won’t mention that.

And now for the sports news…

American Perrin Somers set a new record in the luge today, putting clear distance on her rivals in the third of her four runs on the Nant’ arctique 2010 course, open only for a short time in Nantes, France. For only 1 Euro, Perrin and others in her age bracket were offered four opportunities, referred to here in France as “descents,” to sled down this manmade, outdoor ice/sledding hill located in the shadow of the city’s impressive cathedral. There were three different tracks to try and Perrin had her record-breaking run on the one in the middle. To this reporter’s eye, there did seem to be a speed bias favoring those luge performers who chose this middle lane.

Asked afterwards about her experience on the luge course, Perrin responded that she is more accustomed to sledding on snow than ice. That did not seem to slow the American who overcame a rough start to her day, necessitating a trip to the pharmacy for medicine to combat a winter cough that has developed over the last few days, to complete today’s impressive run. Afterwards, Perrin accompanied members of her family on a shopping excursion on the Ile de Nantes.

If today’s experience is any indication, the international luge community has not heard the last from this young athlete.

I’m posting late tonight because we just finished hosting our wonderfully fun dinner party with the Boudeau/Barron family. The patriarch of the Barron family is Joël (second from the right), father of Frédérique and Annabelle. Joël is fast friends with Dwight and Michele and it is basically that relationship that has fueled the connection between our families. It’s safe to say that if Dwight & Michele had not developed the depth of relationship they did with Joël and his late wife Monique we would not be living in Nantes. This kind of thing often gets me wondering about the small seeds we are planting all the time. What might their blooms look like a month from now, a year from now or, like in the case with this relationship, more than a couple of decades from now? This one certainly has created some lovely and significant friendships.

So today was an important day in that Joël was present along with the Boudeaus and Annabelle’s family. Of course all of the Shaws were present, making the grand total of people at tonight’s dinner 17. Michele made one of my favorite dishes, a longtime family favorite she calls Alpental Lamb Stew (I call it Disco Stew because, as I say, “It makes me want to dance.”). Greg & I contributed 3 dozen oysters that we bought at the neighborhood oyster truck. We also had roasted vegetables, salad and a collection of desserts.

As good as the food was, the company was better. To make an understatement, it was a memorable night.

It’s been very quiet in our neighborhood today. Well, quiet is a relative term. A group of us went for a walk around 3pm and saw very few people out. Very few cars, too, and the couple of buses and trams we saw were virtually empty. There was the family in a car that asked me for directions (to McDonalds of all things!), but they were quite quiet, even the two kids in carseats in the backseat.

On the other hand, Perrin was quite animated this morning, coming down the stairs to see what Santa had brought her. She learned that in France Santa leaves presents in your shoes which are set by the fireplace. To be safe, though, she brought along her Christmas stocking from home. Lo and behold, both her shoes and her stocking had presents in them, perhaps in deference to the 4 year-old American girl in France on Christmas morning. Santa is very wise, you know. So, yes, Perrin was animated but that’s not to say she was loud. I had the privilege of seeing her open her gifts from Santa while Chloe and Ella, and everyone else other than her parents, was still “snug in their beds.”

I’m writing at the point between dinner and dessert. We had the same incredibly delicious duck dinner that Frédérique fixed for us in November when my parents were in town. I wanted to make sure Greg got a chance to taste it. And we’re about to have the last of the apple pies Melinda made with my mom during that visit. I can smell it as it finishes in the oven. Marking our places at the dinner table tonight are these cookies, made by Chloe and personalized by Brenda.

As Christmases go, this one ain’t bad.

Soon after we got all the plans solidified for the sabbatical, Melinda’s parents started working out the details that would make it possible for the entire Shaw family to spend Christmas in France. We have spent the last several Christmas Eves at Melinda’s and my house in Seattle, and tonight are more than thrilled to continue the tradition in Nantes.

I’m writing just past 9pm and the rest of the family is waiting for me to join them. We just finished dinner and are about to open presents, the Shaw family tradition being to open family gifts on Christmas Eve.

As such, tonight’s post is purposefully brief and filled with nothing but holiday cheer.

Merry Christmas from Nantes!!

Let me start out by saying there is not a shortage of topics I could choose to write and post a picture about right now. Not only are the opportunities for something fun and interesting increased by the presence of family (most significantly, a 4 year-old), we have the holiday season helping to create great memories. For instance, today Chloe created an opportunity for Perrin, Ella and herself to make “gingerbread” houses, a significant holiday tradition for us in Seattle. Greg and I took several photos of the decorating and, indeed, many of these are “blog-worthy.” But I was won over by the incredible snowstorm we had last night and decided to use this photo of the three girls making a snowman on our back patio in the midst of it.

Within a couple of hours we had 3 or 4 inches of snow on the ground. And it was those classic huge flakes that pile up fast and are perfect for snowballs and snowmen (and sledding and everything else). Greg and I came out and joined the girls in a little snowball “fight,” before the five of us ventured out for a walk in the snow and otherwise enjoy the quiet that comes during an evening snowfall. We walked over to the racetrack and wandered around there before heading home, a tad bit cold and wet.

Alas, the snow is all gone today, save the two snowmen made in our backyard. They are pretty funny (and a little bit sad) to look at, listing as they are in the wind and rain. Melinda glanced out at just the right time to see the carrot nose fall off one of them…

So we made it home to Nantes just a couple of hours ago and guess what? We took people out to Leclerc for a full Andy & Melinda grocery store experience, that’s what. This involved pulling our caddies through the rain to Line 2 of the tram. We boarded at our home stop just as the rain turned to snow. Chloe and Perrin sat across from each other and I turned around to snap this picture of 4 year-old Perrin looking out the window of the tram at the snow. Moments later we got off at Leclerc and had that crazy full-blown shopping experience that only Leclerc can provide. Brenda, Greg and Michele came along, too, of course, and were fairly impressed by the experience, I think. This involved the caddies, like I said, the shopping cart tokens, and the self-scanner. Oh, life’s little pleasures. I’ll tell you, if you can get joy from showing off a self-scanning device to visiting relatives you’ll never be unhappy. Life is full of these little treasures, right? Another is happening as I write. Chloe and Perrin just walked by, giddy because the snow is actually STICKING right now. It’s so pretty. We’re at least having a momentary white pre-Christmas in Nantes. And the presence of family is certainly a good present. Another one? Greg is making dinner.

Pictured in the upper right of this photo is King Louis XV of France. To his right is his wife, Queen Marie Leszczynska. Standing below the royal couple are their granddaughters, who for our purposes we will identify as Chloe, Perrin and Ella, as visible from left to right. Not pictured are the King & Queen’s adoring daughters and humble sons-in-law.

King Louis XV is proud of his staircase, hence today’s staged photo. The world may be familiar with his furniture, which according to this website is well-known for its ability to showcase beautiful women. It featured curves and was designed for the comfort of women. Given this photo, I’d say old Louis isn’t doing too bad with showing off beautiful women on his staircase, either.

That’s some life you lead, Louis.

Louis and the rest of his family will be leaving Paris tomorrow and heading to Nantes. We can only assume that further opportunities to photograph Louis in the presence of beautiful women will present themselves, so expect this site to be featuring those in the upcoming days.

You are looking at tonight’s dinner. Oh, sorry. The dinner is the one on the left, the pork roast. The one on the right is Greg and we will not be dining ON him, of course. We will be dining in fine style again tonight BECAUSE of Greg. In fact, he has made dinner for us each of the nights we’ve been in Paris. Let’s see if I can remember the different main courses. They include: tonight’s pork roast (the aroma of which has wafted into the hall and up the Louis XV staircase, smelling so good I wouldn’t be surprised to see it wake old Louis XV himself and have him come knocking on the door), risotto with ham, fine steaks & green beans (for Ella’s birthday, per her request), and roast chicken. In addition to the main course each night, we typically have both side dishes and a salad, and Greg has selected some excellent wines to match the meals.

I like living this way, with my own personal chef. I have not had to think of what to make, nor had to do the grocery shopping. On Wednesday we return to Nantes and we’re bringing Greg with us. The question is whether or not we’ll let him leave again…