I love LA! (key music here!)

Bonjour tout le monde!
This morning, my husband and I took our dog for a walk.  We left rather late, well, in my mind we did.  As we walked up the hill, we encountered others who were out walking also, we exchanged "Morning"s, and even had a conversation with a neighbor who was taking a friend to the airport.  It was a good thing we were there, those suitcases were rather large and heavy!  Michael was a big help to the ladies.
When we got to the top of the hill, we decided to cross La Brea and go up into Kenneth Hahn Park.  As you can see from the cheesy selfie that we took that we have an awesome vantage point from which to see almost all of LA.  If we had turned the other way, you would have seen the ocean.
I love where I live.  When I look out of the window, I see not only the house across the street, but trees, hillside, and tons of birds.  We even have a pair of hawks who fly in circles over the palm trees with their piercing cries.  We are so blessed to have caring neighbors, gorgeous views (well, OK, just so so views from the top of our backyard), and we are 20 minutes away from many places in Los Angeles.
And I know that it looks very nice, but we could use some rain and snow in the mountains.  That said, stay warm my Eastern friends and family.

Sunset in Marina del Rey

See downtown in the background?

The Hollywood sign on the left - Griffith Park Observatory on the right

Cheesy selfie - Coffee was not happy

she is only mildly happier here

Steps into the Park; now there is an exercise track!

Happy Saint Nicolas Day!

Bonjour tout le monde!
Today is the 6th December, in France that is Saint Nicolas Day.  Primarily celebrated in the eastern part of France, the day is for the children. Often they will put a shoe out by the fireplace, where it will either be filled with candies for the good children, or coal for the bad ones.  In Alsace and Lorraine, Saint Nicolas is often accompanied by the Père Fouettard, who has a whip for the bad kiddies.
I loved to celebrate this day when I was in the classroom, although I must admit that it would often sneak up on me.  I usually reserved the tradition for my upper division classes, in the vain hope that the students would take French 4 just for the food, but of course that wasn't it.  One year, I had a small Christmas tree thanks to my good math teacher friend, Mr. Hagopian.  I told my AP class to make sure to bring a shoe to put by the tree.  Naturally a couple of them forgot a shoe, so I had my "emergency car tennis shoes" on hand and that made it just perfect!  While they took a test (hey, Saint Nicolas day only goes so far on the test calendar), I filled the shoes with a bag of candy that I had put together the night before.  It was pretty fun.
The Christmas holidays last a long time in France, and the 6th of December is just the start.  The different dates include Christmas Eve, celebrated with a midnight mass followed by a meal (Reveillon or Gros Souper) and the adults exchange small presents.  The 25th is a quiet day, after all, there is no Christmas Day football on the television!
December 31 is the Saint Sylvestre, a time to thank those who perform services for you.  Little envelopes containing a small cash gift are given to the butcher, baker, even sometimes the firemen!  Of course there is a party with champagne to bring in the New Year.
Last year, my husband and I were fortunate enough to spend time in Paris between Christmas and New Years.  We had a great time wandering around the city, which was decorated with lights and even Christmas trees in seemingly random spots.  It was crisp, cool, and wonderful.  Down the Champs-Elysées there was a Christmas Fair selling all sorts of cool things that couldn't fit into my suitcase, plus lots and lots of fun stuff to eat, including "barbe a papa", or cotton candy. The streets were filled with families out to see the sights; it was so very nice.  On New Year's Eve, our group went to Bouillon-Chartier, a traditional restaurant, for a fun and very delicious meal.  You should try this place (http://www.bouillon-chartier.com) but if you're a vegetarian, it is not the place for you.
So, enjoy the start to the holiday season!  There is still time to put your shoes next to the fireplace for Saint Nicolas; fill them with candy and enjoy the small pleasures.  Make gingerbread houses, or perhaps just eat the cookies and pretend that you made the house.  Have friends over to help you decorate the tree, or maybe just have them over for some wine while you admire the tree.  Whatever you do for this holiday, have a great time with friends and family.  And don't forget football :)
Joyeux Noel.

The streets at night

Ringing in 2013

In front of the Arc de Triomphe

gift baskets of cheese and goodies

The Champs-Elysees all light up

Baba au rhum - emphasis on the rum...

Thanksgiving

Bonjour tout le monde,
My October was pretty special; the Band's 50th Anniversary during Reunion Homecoming Weekend was full of fun and family.  Being a part of an historical panel was awesome, and you would think that nothing could surpass that honor.  Wrong!
In my November, there was a lot happening.  Our daughter Charisse got married to a wonderful young man. So, as soon as we got back from Stanford, I was plunged into final wedding planning and a lot of driving around the Los Angeles area.  Since the bridal couple and his family live outside the area, we had lots to do! Pick up stuff here, last minute runs there, making welcome bags for the hotel guests, dinner with the soon to be in-laws, getting the dress after it was delivered to my dad's house!  Our living room was awash in wine bottles (yum), delivery boxes, one very cute chalkboard, and lots of stuff from Costco. The ladies got together for mani-pedis and had lunch in Venice. It was a wonderful time.
The wedding morning was great.  I got up and showered before heading out to the hotel, where all the ladies got their hair and makeup done.  We then piled into cars to head out to the wedding venue.  Charisse's dress took up its own seat in my SUV, as well as part of the back deck area, and I made my way out to the Pacific Palisades with it, Charisse, plus Dave's mother, sister and nephew.  The day was beautiful and sunny, just as we had predicted and hoped.
A couple of glitches, which included a stuck passenger coach on a speed bump, made for a bit of stress, but all turned out well.  The most fun?  The flower girl.  She and the ring bearer managed to look adorable coming down the stairs, and then she just took off running.  But isn't that the job of the flower girl?
It has taken a few weeks to come down from the wedding high.  My office is full of wedding left overs, and even my dad is housing a few of the decorations that were at the reception.  The kids had a wonderful honeymoon and are now back in NYC trying to fit all the new stuff into a small space.  Yep, the wedding was perfect.

The flower girl photobombs the picture - thanks to Jeff Newsom (www.voltronofawesomness.com) for this awesome scene

Help me fill out my tutoring schedule!

All Right Now!

Bonjour tout le monde,
January 1, 1972, I went to the Rose Parade with my boyfriend and another couple. We sat and watched the floats, bands and various other rolling stock pass by; then came the Stanford Band. They were sporting red blazers, black pants, white shoes, white hats with red bands, and some very ugly ties.  It was awesome! When decision time came around, I chose Stanford because of the Band and the Rose Bowl (and who knew it would be awhile before we got back there?).
That September, I walked onto Stanford University's campus as a awestruck freshman.   I made my way over to the Band Shak (Mother Shak), determined to join. After all, this was the year that women were allowed access to all programs that had been exclusively male; that included all Division 1 marching bands.  My best friend Ruth had already done so at UCLA, so why not?
That year there were eight women, plus about 148 men.  Some of the existing bandsmen were insistent that women were not going to change the mindset and traditions of the Band.  I spent time looking at the ceiling while guys tried on uniform pants, stood by while guys threw chairs, plus other things (but what happens in Mother Shak stays in MS).  Most guys were fun, thoughtful, and I was invited to many events; pretty soon I had a ton of big brothers!
I tried out for Dollie at the encouragement of many of the same bandsmen.  As a bandsperson, I never considered the young women who wore short skirts and danced while the band played.  However, I thought, "why not?", went to the orientation, all the practices, and tried out.  I made it!  And it was amazing; a year of hard work, short outfits (one of wool...), boots, poms and some great experiences.
This past weekend was Stanford's Homecoming Reunion weekend, and the Band celebrated its 50th anniversary.  There was a panel sponsored by the Historical Society, and I was a part of it describing what it was like being one of the first women, and then the first bandsperson to become a Dollie.  The rest of the weekend was spent with fellow former Dollies getting ready for the game.
The whole experience was amazing - Dollies from 1963 to the present, some in old outfits, some entire units, others "orphaned".  We worked together to create new routines, remembered old ones, and just generally had a great time.
We won the game, and I had a fantastic time afterwards with my Stanford Band family at the Gate 11 tailgate.  I mingled with band brothers, their wives and kids, and just marveled at all the ties that bound us together like those really ugly ties.
I made a wonderful choice  in 1972.

J'aime!

Bonjour tout le monde!
Even though I am a baby boomer (at the tail end, bien sur!), I have embraced most things technological.  I have this blog, plus I am on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.  While on Facebook this afternoon, I came across another blog that has the Top 100+ Must Know French Words for Facebook.  Most of them are pretty straightforward, but it is still good to be "branche", or plugged in (minus the accent, which I can't do on my laptop).
So, for you Facebookoholiques, here you go!  Just think, you can now switch your Facebook page to French and be the envy of all your friends.  Bonne chance!
http://blogs.transparent.com/french/top-100-must-know-french-words-for-the-facebookoholique/

Learning another langugage

Bonjour tout le monde!
I had another blog post in mind, but found this on my Facebook this morning.  I went to the site, and loved what I read.  It doesn't matter which language you're interested in, check this out.  What I found the most interesting is the idea that once you're an adult, you can't learn like a child anymore.  Of course we can't, because we usually need more information, and how to sound literate in a shorter amount of time.  I also loved the idea of learning as much vocabulary as possible, because the more you have to work with, the more you can say.  Here is the original post: http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/27/learn-second-language-lifestyle-travel-study_slide.html
So, what to do if you want to start or continue another language?  Look online; there are podcasts (if you like to listen), plus all sorts of things to watch, and you can even listen in "easy French" on www.rfi.fr
And after all that, you're ready to have conversation classes with me, and then go with me to France!

Helpful websites:
www.france24.fr Think CNN in French.  There is also an English version website.
www.france2.fr  This website has all sorts of things to watch and do; the news from France, Belgium and Switzerland (at different times) plus you can watch various shows which are shown on French television.  France 2 is a television station, and you can go from there to other things and sites.
www.nrj.fr A popular French radio station.  Although the music is pretty much international, it's fun to listen to what they are talking about. And you can keep up with what's happening!
www.1jour1actu.com  This is a website for younger French kids, but I always find it useful in a cultural way, especially when they talk about French stuff, like politics.  I found out an awful lot that way.  Now you have to register, but it's free, and fun.
www.lemonde.fr and www.lefigaro.fr Two French newspapers - the level of vocabulary is higher, but often fun to read.

Not interested in French?  Google your language, and see what is out there for you!