Bon Anniversaire !

The birthday girl.

On Sunday, Ken and I were invited to a birthday lunch given by our friend Josette. She is the woman from whom we bought our house back in 2003 and she was celebrating her eightieth birthday !

Our neighbor Bernard looks on while Josette opens birthday gifts. That one's from us.

She invited friends from her old neighborhood (most of whom we know) as well as her daughter, son-in-law, and grand-daughter. All together we were fourteen people at a local restaurant called Le Mange-Grenouille.

Son-in-law Gérard, daughter Sophie, Josette, and grand-daughter Elodie gather around an album of photos from Josette's 60th birthday party 20 years ago. That party was held at the house we now live in so we really enjoyed seeing the photos.

You can read about our lunch at Ken's blog, so I won't go into any of the details. I took along the camera and got these few shots of the festivities.

Ken, our neighbor Annick and another neighbor Bernard.

It was very thoughtful and generous of Josette to include us at her party. Even though we are foreigners and a bit of a curiosity, this little group of French people welcomed us into their neighborhood from the start and frequently include us in their celebrations.

When I hear other expats in France complain or despair about "the French," I can't help but wonder. The people we've met in and around our little hamlet are the most friendly, warm, and generous neighbors that I've ever known.