Two years ago

It's already been two years since Tasha tore a knee ligament in one of her back legs. She had surgery to replace the ligament and needed to be confined (with short, leashed walks) for several months. Local friends lent us a corral and Tasha took to it right away. We ended up getting two corrals of our own; one for the living room and one for the loft upstairs. Tasha wasn't allowed to run, especially on slippery floors, until the leg healed.

Tasha in doggy jail wearing the cone of shame, January 2022.

Early on in her recovery, while she still had stitches, Tasha needed to wear the "cone of shame" to keep her from pulling out the stitches and licking her scar. She hated the cone and pulled it off a few times, but she got through it and didn't have to wear it for too long.

So now it's been two years and it's almost like nothing happened. She's been going leash-less on daily walks for a while now and enjoys chasing birds in the vineyard. We use a panel from one of the corrals to keep her from flying down the main stairs (and possibly slip) when cars and pedestrians go by, but that's pretty much the only remaining restriction she has. She goes up and down those stairs normally otherwise, with us both reminding her to "go slow." She won't climb the steep stairs to loft, though. I think that she thinks she's not allowed to since it was blocked off for months during her recovery. I still carry her up at bed time and down each morning.

A few steps back

To get an idea of how high above Paris the church of Sacré-Cœur sits, you have to put a little distance between you. One of the best places to do this is the top of the Arc de Triomphe, just under four kilometers to the west, as the crow flies. If you don't have wings, you'll have to walk. Or take the métro.

Sacré-Cœur in Montmartre seen from the top of the Arc de Triomphe, Paris, April 2009.

The landscape guys did come back yesterday and finished the hedge trimming. The hedges always look terrific when they're done. I'll get some photos soon. Morning low temperatures are getting lower, heading for negative territory by Monday. It's going to feel very different from the mild weather we've had up to now.

Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre

This church, built on the Butte Montmartre, is probably among the most recognized and most visited of Paris monuments. I've been inside (many moons ago) but I've never climbed up to the dome. But you don't have to for good views. The plaza and stairs out front offer pretty good, and free, views of the city below without the climb.

Sacré-Cœur in Montmartre, Paris, April 2009.

Our weather is cooling down again. If the forecasters are correct, we should see some negative temperatures next week. Oh! And the landscape guys showed up yesterday afternoon and started the hedge trimming. I assume (always dangerous) that they'll be back this morning to finish the job.

Rouen Cathedral

This Saturday is the Twelfth Day of Christmas. I'm sure we won't see (or hear) twelve drummers drumming, but we will see a galette des rois, a special kind of tart made with pâte feuilletée (puff pastry) and filled with frangipane (almond paste) that's customary this time of year. I've been making galettes nearly every year for a while. I got into making my own because the ones from the supermarket aren't very good and the ones from a bakery cost way too much.

From the archives: inside the cathedral at Rouen, Normandy. Digitized color slide; not sure of the date.

They're not difficult to make, but it does take time to roll and fold the dough into a good puff pastry. Buying ready-made puff pastry does make it all easier, but it's not as satisfying as doing the thing myself. So I do.

Musée d'Orsay

Here's an oldie but goodie from the archives. I took this way back in the early '90s during my one and only visit ever to the Orsay Museum in Paris. It had just opened in 1986. The impressionist art is fantastic, of course, but I was more interested in the building, originally built as a railroad station. I last posted this photo here in 2018.

Main hall, musée d'Orsay. Digitized color slide, 1992 (I think).

The wind has been wild all night and is expected to continue blowing through the morning. I'll be glad when this storm blows on through. I'll see how far out into the vineyard I can get with Tasha before turning back.

The other view

Here's the view of the dining area from the living area. Can you tell I have no new photos to post? Ken and I painted the walls in a sage green the year after we moved in. That was a big job and one that I can't fathom doing now. A few years later, we painted the beige kitchen in a bright mustard yellow. The hall and stairwell, which were originally covered in wallpaper, got painted white in 2010, the year we finished the attic/loft.

Home.

The holiday tree is gone now; it and the other decorations are packed away for another year. I still have lights on the outside of the house, but I won't get those in until the weather improves. We're having a little storm, it seems, with lots of wind and some rain.

Bonne Année !

Happy New Year!