The Xmas Bunny

An account of our Easter Bonanza Weekend in the Vosges was begun ages ago, but I've had so little time for anything that's not work/projects and family over the past few weeks, that I've decided to give you these and let it go at that. More pics from the days since Easter should be in short order, though these days... you never do know. Oy-yoy.

The hovel & the boys with their toys

Going up-up-up-up-down-up-up-up-up-up

Good eats and drinks way up thar in the snow-capped mountains

The skies had radically changed for the taxi ride back down
(another story, altogether)

Mémé & Pépé arrive for a long Easter lunch

Noon, evening (see below), next morning

Let it be said that depite a raging stomach flu on my part, and despite our getting little rest at all, we managed to come home the better for it all. The weather was spectacularly romantic, which certainly had something to do with it. And the bug didn't keep me from hiking, either. The air was clean; the Xmas Bunny was generous; and the ceramic-tiled oven kept us warmer than I'd ever have imagined, once we got the hang of it. We're already planning our next long, spring-in-France* weekend...

see above: In the evening, as we were winding down, cleaning up after a light supper, the boys settled down at the table, mostly just to be near us in this strange place. The only radio station we could get in the mountains was a classical station that was playing an operatic version of Genesis, which was really magnificent to listen to. We parents were truly and pleasantly surprised, though, when we realised that the boys were really into it. They'd never really listened to the radio in this manner, and the wonderful orchestral sound effects and booming voices had the boys riveted to their seats. And get this: when the music would change, they would tell us what that was supposed to mean. For instance, when the orchestra sounded the approach of the serpent, the boys told us that things were getting dangerous, and that, "the serpent is bad! He is a devil! ...Mommy, what is a devil?" They know all about demons, thanks to Mononoke, so then there was a chorus of, "He is a DEMON! A DEMON! Daddy! Mommy! The serpent! He is a DEMON!" Though there was some confusion: "He has wormies coming out all over him? He has wormies, too?" "No, this is a different version of things..." Then they hunched down and got to listening hard again. It was really beautiful to witness. I just saw a version of Peter and the Wolf among our CDs that wasn't there before, so methinks their daddy was at least as impressed as I was...

* Spring, in France, is one long series of weeks for which it is advisable to keep an eye on the calendar, because at any given moment there may be yet another holiday. We always hope for the holidays to fall on a Friday or a Monday, for obvious reasons.