Andy Smallman

Melinda, Chloe, Ella and I were running errands together on Monday afternoon and stopped to get gas at Costco. We had to wait in line and found ourselves talking about some of the differences we’ve noticed about how men look in France compared to men in the US. In France, men tend to dress better and are better groomed (shocking, I know). This became especially noticeable while waiting in line at the Costco gas station.

There in front of us, pumping gas at adjacent pumps, were two men dressed nearly identically: Large orange shirts under hooded sweatshirts. Baggy light blue jeans. White tennis shoes. And, wait for it, baseball caps.

For years I regularly wore a baseball cap. Melinda has gently suggested that the daily use of a baseball cap is not my best look. Waiting in line at the Costco gas station, I think her point may have hit home.

That’s right, last I mentioned that we celebrate Christmas with the Shaws, Melinda’s side of the family, on the 24th. And on the 25th we celebrate with my side of the family, the Smallmans. So we had 11 over for gift-opening and dinner today, including my parents (see today’s photo) and my brother Scott’s contingent of 5 – partner Sally and daughters Stephanie, Tammy & Olivia.

As it was last night, it’s always a good situation when family comes over. I made the main course tonight, a lemon-basil baked chicken breast recipe that was decent but not great. I chose it because it was simple to make.

I took the photo moments before Scott and family arrived. My parents, Ella and I were playing a horse racing game I picked up for some late afternoon entertainment. If you study the photo carefully you’ll see my dad, a glass of beer, something to do with horse racing, a Christmas tree, and my mom. That’s not a bad combination for him, you know. The rest of us, too.

Merry Christmas!

Melinda’s family has long celebrated Christmas on the 24th, having a wonderful dinner followed by gift opening. When Melinda & I got married this worked out perfectly since my family has always celebrated Christmas on the 25th. As a result and since both of our families are nearby, Chloe, Ella, Melinda & I always get two big family Christmas celebrations each year. It’s a pretty good deal.

For many years (including the year we lived in France when the Shaws came to visit for the holidays), the Shaw family celebration has taken place at our house. I think this started because it was convenient for everyone to be at our house when Chloe and Ella would need to go to bed. And maybe because we got into that groove we’ve continued to have the event at our place. This is a great thing.

As you might expect, the most excited for Christmas in the Shaw family is 6 year-old Perrin. She hoped for and got an American Girl doll, as you can see in today’s photo.

You know about the Kindle, right? It’s the electronic book reader created by Amazon. Many people, like me, love them. They make it very easy to read books and are absolutely great for traveling. But others hate them, saying they are contributing to not only the death of independent bookstores but to the concept of books as we know them.

In response, all I can say is that times change.

I bought my Kindle used on Craigslist just before we left for France in late June. I wish I had it with all the Kurt Vonnegut books loaded before we went on sabbatical two years ago! Now, because Amazon had a special on almost all the Vonnegut novels a few weeks ago, I have them all loaded and in one light-weight place.

Say, mom, if you are still looking to get someone, anyone, a last minute Christmas gift, here’s my Kindle Wish List.

As I mentioned before, it was Ella’s birthday on Tuesday, her 16th, no less. And as I said on her birthday, Melinda & I got her an iPhone 4 for her present. More on that in a second.

Also, as is our family tradition, we went out to dinner and Ella chose the restaurant. She picked the new pizza place at the U Village shopping center not far from our house, a place called Elemental (notice those first two syllables in the restaurant name – clever, eh?). It was decent enough. Melinda & I split a gluten-free pizza, curious how that might be. For those keeping score at home, the crust was a bit thick for my ideal liking.

Now about that iPhone. I’m mentioning it here because today’s photo was taken by Ella on her iPhone at Elemental.

Dear Linda,

Do you recall that when my family was in France back in July the weather was pretty crummy? For the first week of our month-long stay in France, we rented a place right on the water in Pornichet, the city where two years earlier our sabbatical had started. In 2010, the July weather was great. This year, it rained. So to compensate, we rented a car and on July 5 drove to the town of Guérnande. I blogged about it that night, telling about Ella getting a hot chocolate.

In Guérnande we found a cute little store that specializes in what we Americans might refer to as a stereotypical French sweater, one with stripes. For 10 Euros we found one in my size and bought it. I proceeded to wear it almost every day thereafter. That is, until it warmed up.

I was wearing it last Friday when Ella plopped her hat on my head and snapped my picture (see yesterday’s post). There’s your explanation. 🙂

Your friend,

-Andy