The Elegance of Paris (posted by Ann)

Need I say more? Don't Mario and I look fabulous?

Here are a few things I learned on my last European trip.

• When you rent an unfurnished apartment in Paris, you have to provide your own refrigerator, stove, washing machine, etc.
• When you rent an apartment in Paris, you are responsible for the real estate taxes above and beyond the rent.
• Typical apartments that hold a family of four are around 1,000 square feet, with two bedrooms and one bathroom.
• Gas stations in Paris are - brace yourself for this one - underground. They are typically on the first floor of an underground parking garage. I know, I know, I couldn't believe it.
• I went to the grocery store in Paris with Mario and I only want to buy groceries in Paris. Everything is fresh and very high quality, and I was ready to move in. I could put my bed in the aisle full of mustard. Yes, an entire aisle.
• You can't buy brown sugar in Paris.
• You can't buy molasses in Paris.
• You can't buy whole dried bay leaves (?) but you can buy fresh ones!
• If you are going to leave your iPod on the Chunnel train do it coming into London, not Paris. The lost and found in London is very efficient and you can call them 24 hours a day. Paris? Well, you write a letter and wait four weeks for a reply.
• Guess which station I have to deal with to find my iPod. I think you already know.
• In London pubs, when you order a beer it comes in its' own specific glass. They must have 20 beers on tap, plus more in the bottle. Just think about the glass inventory!
• There are no snapdragons in Paris. I tried to buy them for Mario's window boxes, and there weren't any. When I drew a picture they told me they'd never seen them, which may have been my art skills but I didn't think it was THAT bad.
• The Christmas lights in the US are very boring in comparison to Madrid or even London. Fabulous!! and of course the thing I forgot on this trip was my camera, so no pictures.

Other than that we are counting down to Christmas, and I'm ready for a break and excited to see everyone in Florida.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas (posted by Lani)

Yes, it certainly is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. I've been purely giddy with relief and happiness having Onyx back, so (crazy cat lady alert!) I made Christmas stockings for all of the cats. They're empty in this picture, but in reality they're now stuffed full of cat toys and catnip and laser pointers and treats and everything you can imagine that I'd want to shower on a cat who was missing for five months -- times five, since we now have five cats. I've also decorated everything including our bird feeders, which doesn't bother the birds at all and the cats don't seem to mind either.

Speaking of Onyx, he really is doing incredibly well. He's put on weight, and he's calmed down a lot with the other cats. They all play together now and while he isn't cuddly affectionate with them like he used to be, he isn't afraid of them anymore, he isn't hostile towards them, and he actively seeks out their company. He still wants to have me in his sight every waking hour, but I don't mind that at all.














There's someone else who seems to be glad that Onyx is back, too, judging from yearning glances and all that. They sit and stare at each other through the picture window in the hallway, and I'm not quite sure how to interpret it!

And finally, my Christmas gift from Annie arrived unexpectedly and from a source from which I had ordered something myself, and I opened it by accident. Whoops! It's a kit for the Nonna's Garden Shawl, a gorgeous intarsia design, and once that genie was out of the bottle it wasn't going back in. I'm not sure whether Ann really loves me or is trying to drive me insane, but I've started it and this is just the first of many many updates to look forward to since I'm sure this will take me months if not years to finish. Look at all those bobbins, and this is only the beginning! Knitting this is a huge challenge not only because of all the colorwork but because of all the cats; as you can see, the feline consensus of opinion is that long circs with lots of bobbins attached is a GREAT idea.