WWOOF and Triumph

The triumph first: I finished a New York Times Magazine crossword puzzle! Well, almost -- there are two squares that I couldn't figure out... but close enough. Only a handful of you out there know how momentous this occasion is for me. Now go watch the best documentary ever made, Wordplay.

And check out the theme of this puzzle, "Initial Offerings." Each themed clue is the name of someone famous, followed by some other name or thing that onomatopoetically spells out the initials of the famous person. Examples: Quentin Tarantino Cutie (Q.T.); Samuel Adams Essay (S.A.); Max Ernst Emmy (M.E.). Brilliant! I will never, ever get sick of this.

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I took some pictures of my Wednesday WWOOF farm today, an experience that is getting better by the week. My German is definitely improving (sehr gut!), I'm spending some quality time with the hosses, and learning some great French vocab (brouette: wheelbarrow; crottin: manure). There is another WWOOFeuse there at the moment, a trilingual Swiss girl named Julia who loves when I read aloud German children's books. As much as I regret the decision of not sleeping in almost regularly, my farm Wednesdays are always worth it. I'm going to miss the place a little.

The dogs! Scott and Connor

 The stable

 The Vosges...

 Julia and one of the babies

lookin gross in my old glasses... curious baby horse

 

Le Grand Parcours

So the epic alpine event did occur after all. The first day was fine, if a bit melty (snow-wise), and the second day was canceled due to terrible weather; we climbed at the indoor facility instead. (You can see me in my Elton John pants.) Some pictures taken by the club's resident journaliste:

HAPPY HEALTH INSURANCE DAY!

The Final Bill

Cheese for Nicole

No, this isn't a retake on "Flowers for Algernon"; Nicole had asked me awhile ago to find a cheese called "epoisses," an intense, tangy cheese that the village-based Murray's Cheese Shop describes as "puddle-like" with a "succulent ooze."

A perfect after-dinner cheese, paired with a not too-strong wine, like a pinot noir... listen to me, talking about cheese like I know anything. Just don't eat it for breakfast.

Open Forum

Do I really need to do my taxes?

Forgot it was St. Patty's Day

I can't wait for Electric Zoo 2010.

!!!!!

On another note, spring has somewhat begun to thaw the glacial landscape that is the Vosges, meaning two things: the Geromois are pissed (they want to keep skiing) and the dog feces are back on the sidewalks in full force.

I am a little disappointed too, actually, since I had Le Grand Parcours coming up this weekend: a massive national alpinisme event sponsored by the Club Alpin des Hautes-Vosges. Warm weather, however, takes the alpin out of the whole event, making the snow so heavy and wet that avalanches are a very real threat. So -- we'll see. But being "too warm" in the Vosges just means more frolicking in the woods for me, so I'm not too upset if it's canceled.

France also had its regional elections on Sunday, with somewhat striking results: a return from the right. Le Front National (FN) is one of France's most conservative parties (that gets anywhere in the polls, that is), and it's been gaining ground ever since Sarkozy took office. Check out this cool map from LeMonde.com:

My neighbor explained it to me this way: everyone just wants to be different from their parents. Our (my) generation of the French are more interested in specialized, private healthcare, for instance, as opposed to the (excellent) socialized system the French use today. There was a huge debate earlier in 2009 over whether to make the postal service privatized (which it will be); the autoroutes are already private. There are, of course, the already-conservative French who have, on top of their existing unfortunate political views, suffered greatly from la crise and are shying away from both the leftist Socialist Party (PS) and even Sarkozy's party (UMP).

But what's right for France (pun certainly not intended) is probably far-flung left for the United States, where school textbooks are written by Joel Osteen and a square meal means corn, beef, and BPA. The French can want more privatized health care, but at least they have it at all.

Da Home Stretch

Arrival at JFK International Airport: 7pm, May 12th.