Francophile in the West

I am STOKED because 1) I get to go home for the weekend, and 2) this sweet baby is going to be sitting in a box on my bed waiting for me. AMAZING. Other updates! MOVE-IN DAY IS IN 4 DAYS! Part of my adventure at home this weekend will be buying more goods for the house and arranging the delivery of my bed and furniture next weekend. I am getting into major "nesting mode", that's for sure. This week, my folks solidified plans to visit here while we're in China!! I am beyond ecstatic. I don't want to gush too much because you never know how closely those people are scrutinizing the people coming into their country (haha), but we got very lucky and I think I could not travel anywhere again for a long time and still be totally happy. I can't believe this trip is really going to happen. On the flip side, complications have arisen with regard to how many credits I'm going to take in the fall and my being able to work for the UW. Boo! Where there's a will, t...

« O mon amour o mon amour toi seule existes A cette heure pour moi du crépuscule triste Où je perds à la fois le fil de mon poème Et celui de ma vie et la joie et la voix Parce que j’ai voulu te redire Je t’aime Et que ce mot fait mal quand il est dit sans toi » - from Vingt Ans Apres , Louis Aragon This poem says all it needs to. Don't even try Google Translate because it's crap and only in French does this poem have such power. Thank heavens for Aragon's inspired love for Elsa.

This weekend was GREAT! One of my good friends from high school came up to Seattle to visit, so not only did I have three nights off of work, but I was able to get more than two miles away from the house and do some adventuring! Friday night we went out with some of my friends up here in the U-District, and last night we went out to some of my favorite spots on Eastlake, the Eastlake Zoo and the Mars Bar. Saturday was the best. We hit up Hempfest down at the Olympic Sculpture Park/Myrtle Edwards Park/Elliot Bay Park right along the water. Holy crap, how amazing. Literally tens of thousands of people from all walks of life, all in one place and loving life. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time walking around (the event spanned all three parks, it was a LONG walk) and people watching. We even got in on Rick Steves (the travel guy) giving a speech in support of the festivities. Sweet. :) By the time we left in the late afternoon, the line to get into the festival was 3+ hours lo...

I found a bike! Wahoo! Recycled Cycles came through with a great deal on a used Raleigh. Shocks on the front fork, 24-speed, disk breaks, and lots of room for fenders and a rack. Sa-WEET! Just what I needed, and way under my original budget to boot! I'm excited. I went joyriding up the Burke-Gilman Trail all the way to Golden Gardens and back yesterday evening after I got it. :) I also finally had a chance to see the inside of the house I'm moving into! Oh gosh, the four of us girls are going to make it so cute and homey and wonderful! I can't wait to start buying artwork and small furniture items and decorations and whatnot so we can NEST!! COUNTDOWNS: Days left of my summer class: 3! Time until move-in day: 2 weeks, 3 days!! Time until the epic China adventure: 6 weeks, 4 days! This ridiculous summer is almost over! I'm officially declaring that Senior Year starts on September 1st. It's gonna be awesome . :)

... and she'll only make it worse! Never ask me to fix your bike, because disaster will ensue. Best part of my day today (literally, I laughed quite a bit): Over the weekend, one of the wires on my bike (I thought it was the front break wire. Side note: the front breaks are already busted, so I don't care about their well being) got caught in the gears, and the pedals wouldn't go forward more than 1/4 of a rotation before I had to back-pedal and push forward 1/4 of the way, back-pedal, etc. I figured, hey, it's an old bike, I can just cut the wire, untangle the wire from the gears, and forget about fixing the front breaks, and the problem will be solved, right? Not quite right. I cut the wire this afternoon (with scissors, I don't have actual wire cutters), and it turns out it was the GEAR SHIFT WIRE, not the front break wire. So, while you can again pedal the bike all around the world, it's now stuck in 10th gear... This all has perfect karmic timing, however, ...

The folks and I had a great time this weekend. Highlights included wandering around downtown Seattle, re-discovering Carkeek Park in north Seattle (my mom and dad's favorite park from when Dad was at the UW in the early 80s), and dinner at La Boucherie on Vashon Island. Oh my gosh, dinner at La Boucherie... A gastronomic review... To begin with, La Boucherie is a wonderful fine-dining restaurant (we're talking white table cloths and white napkins) located in an adorable and quaint converted house right off the main strip on Vashon Island. Dinner options included a seasonal 3-course or 6-course Prix Fixe menu, or your choice of individual menu items. All of the food on the menu is local, most of it coming from the owners' sustainable farm located not too far away on the island, which boasts of all organic veggies and grass-fed meat. The beautifully diverse menu is complimented by an extensive list of house-made wines and other Northwest wines, ciders, and beers. My folks and...