The slippery slope

It all started with a bit of cheese after dinner at a friend's house . . . and the next thing you know I'm spreading #2 on a list of the world's stinkiest cheeses on my toast for breakfast--and loving it. What's happening to me?!?!?! 

A sermon on a mount

I preached for the first time in French on September 22, at a "teens & twentysomethings" retreat in the Belledonnes Mountains near Le Collet d'Allevard, elevation ~ 6,000 feet.  Amazing!

Institut Suzuki de Lyon

Since our French school didn't reopen in September (the campus located in our town was shut down), we've been pursuing our French studies through different means.  For example, Sophia travels once a week to Lyon for a two-hour Suzuki violin lesson.  Lyon is a beautiful city, and the Suzuki Insitute is right on the Rhône!

That's why they call them bumpers

The 100th Tour de France

The 100th Tour de France passed through Albertville, where Sophia was taking an intensive oral French class in July, so we packed a picnic and and waited for the peloton to pass by.  We waited for about three hours and the cyclists passed us in about 30 seconds.  Next time we'll catch it on T.V.

 If you look carefully, and you don't blink, you might see Chris Froome, the fellow wearing the yellow jersey.

Mont Granier at sunset

At 6,342 feet, Mont Granier is the tallest mountain near our city.  This is the view from our apartment at sunset. 

Two men with strong opinions about pizza

Compromise is not always the best policy in the kitchen, but in this case the results were delicious.  We had a great time concocting a bacon, mushroom, chorizo, mozzarella and bleu cheese pizza for our friends' farewell party.

Sophia's Debut

A friend invited us to a concert given by her string ensemble, Ad Libitum, in May.  Shortly thereafter the same friend realized she was not going to be available for the next concert series, and she asked me to fill in for her!  I had less than a month to learn the first violin parts for Libertango, Oblivion, and Ave Maria, all by Astor Piazzolla, and Misa Tango, a "tango mass" by Martin Palmeri.  My debut with Ad Libitum was June 2 at the same church in which we saw my friend play.  The music was absolutely beautiful and a blast to play.  It was an amazing opportunity, something only the LORD could have orchestrated!  ; )

We played the same program at three more concerts in different cities throughout the summer.  The last one was on August 2 in Vaison-la-Romaine, known for its Roman ruins.

Jour de la Libération

OK, this post is super old, but we wanted to share it nonetheless.  The picture below is of a WWII monument near our apartment.  May 8 in France is celebrated as le Jour de la Liberation, i.e. liberation from Nazi Germany, or V-E Day as we know it in the U.S.

Kind of like Memorial Day in the States, it's a spring holiday where folks get together outdoors and do a fair amount of barbecuing.  We spent the day with friends from church at a big park near Lac du Bourget.

We do know how to speak English . . . really we do!

As our brains sort through this whole language acquisition thing, we have noticed that strange things come out of our mouths when we speak English . . . 

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S: What was it that you suggested him?

(Everyone laughs.)

A: We're not laughing at you, we're laughing with you--we're all in the same boot.  (Everyone laughs again.)  I mean boat!

Philippians 2:3

This sign is found at the entrance of roundabouts, or traffic circles.  It says, "You do not have the priority (right-of-way)."  Essentially it's a yield sign, but the language is so direct, as if to say,  "Hey, you . . . yes, you!  If you can read this sign, slow down, wait your turn!"  At least for this foreigner, it made an impression.  It always brings to mind this passage from Philippians 2:3

". . . in humility count others more significant than yourselves . . ."

Sunday afternoon concert

No fewer than three amateur choruses and a community orchestra gave a concert together a couple of Sunday afternoons ago.  This church is a 10 minute walk from our apartment.

Here's the program (sorry can't figure out how to rotate it):

Hiking in the Chartreuse Mountains