Enjoying France > Doing Homework

I woke up this morning with every intention of completing an outline for two of my essays and finishing my bibliography for my Montesquieu research paper. None of this has been accomplished.

I took a wonderful, relaxing shower and brought all of my study material downstairs because surrounding myself with onlookers keeps me motivated (lest they be judging me). Alas, breaking in the most recent album by The National and the sudoku in this week's TV guide seemed much more important.

Then I was distracted by wine-bottling and lunch-eating. Benoit made the best soup that I have ever eaten today. Oh, it was super delicious! and included fresh organic spinach from a local farmer. We also had a guest over for lunch. Diane is a german teacher at a local high school and her youngest son (who is my age) is currently in the hospital with a very mysterious intestinal complication. She's a bit akward, but very kind and fun to talk to.

After our delicious lunch, Anne, Diane, and I went and picked up Philippe (another friend) and went for a lovely walk along one of the canals. It was overcast and cool, but the springtime was still palpable and everything was so green and smelled so fresh.

The first irises of the season have begun to show their beautiful colors. This is a real fleur du lys:

Legend has it that the reason that the fleur du lys (an iris flower) is the symbol of France dates all the way back to the first french king, Roi Charlemagne. He managed to hide from enemy forces by crouching in a grove of irises. It was a miracle that they did not spot him, so he honored the flower that saved his life by making it the symbol of his kingdom.

The walk along these gentle country roads was fantastic and relaxing. It gave me time to think. And I made a new friend: Sisi, Philippe's dog. The whole 2 hour walk was sublime:

At the end of the path where we parked the car, there is a little corral with one beautiful chestnut stallion. The path runs along the back yards of people with homes in the country. And that was where I spotted this little guy:

He was less than a year old and was so beautiful. He doesn't like people much, as he stayed hidden behind that tree the whole time. French kittehs are the cutest and they're EVERYWHERE. There is one cat that is a friend of Poupousse's that belongs to the neighbors who sometimes mannages to sneak inside the house. He's adorable as well and rather small. It's good to know that Poupousse has friends aside from the chickens.

Upon returning from the walk, there was very little time before Pappi, Mammita, and Maxime came over for dinner. Pappi and Mammita tried to convince me to try some of the meat dish, but I was content with my stir fry and basmati rice. Dessert was fantastic. Mammita had made some coconut flan that was exquisite. And that tarte Anne and I had made was super scrumptious as well. Now, I'm sitting here attempting to find the motivation to at least complete one thing from my list before I go to sleep. Wether or not that turns out to be a successful venture has yet to be determined.