Time For The Background

Almost all of the design is stitched!  I only have beads and background to go.

Airport Lunch

There's not much else to do at an airport when you've dropped off your rental car and can't check your bags, so we took the obvious option.  We ate.  It turns out that in the bottom of terminal A of Charles de Gaulle, there are a lot of restaurants.  We chose the fancy sit down one instead of the McDonald's and Brioche Doree.  Andreas had (surprise!) the hamburger platter and I had a prix fixe lunch.  The first course of carpaccio was excellent.  The chicken was very definitely meh, but the green beans were fresh-ish.  Andreas' drink was interesting, in that it was a kind of lemonade and pineapple thing.  I had cappucino for dessert.  It was a good way to waste a couple of hours, and we were able to check our bags after finishing.

Putting Down The Wall

Since I'm all done with the houses, it's time to put up the wall.  I'll be so happy to get this corner completed, and I might do it soon.

One Big Spray

I've gotten a bit more of this Crazy January project done over my vacation.  it gets put back in the cabinet for now, though.  Time to buckle down on other things.

Still Filling

This is the first time in a while I can -see- progress on this.  It was more filling in, but the child looks a bit more solid now.

It Got Us Through

This Skoda Yeti was the car we rented in France.  It was a free upgrade from the compact car we were supposed to get.  We drove approximately four thousand kilometers in eighteen days.  The Yeti went through this, including back country roads, with little fuss.  It was small, but roomy enough for the two of us.  We did not feel crowded in the front seats.  One thing we were annoyed with was the Yeti's extreme reluctance to go in reverse.  It was always a fight when we had to back up.  This was consistent the whole time, and seemed to be a "feature" of the car.  It also had a very large turning radius. 

This was the first Skoda we've driven.  We felt it was solidly built, but will not be looking to drive one again.  The reverse is definitely a problem for us.

Bordered

I've got all the red border done.  Yay, major progress!  I started on the arbor supports, too.  Feels good to get so much done!

On A (Needle) Roll

I erred and started something else in France.  At least I had brought it with me and not started a brand new project!  This is the Forget Me Not Needle Roll from Sweetheart Tree.  I've got the beginning of the letters done.

Got Lost, Great Food

 Sometimes the GPS is imperfect.  Sometimes that imperfection results in serendipity.  Such was the case on our last night in Normandy.  We were looking for Deux Tonneaux, but found Prieure instead.  It was a very good find.  Unfortunately, the place doesn't take credit cards, and we were a bit low on cash, leaving the next day.   There was also no cash machine in the village. Because of that, we didn't order all we would have.  I got the prix fixe meal and Andreas got a main course of rabbit.  We shared the salad, which was fresh and wonderful.

 Here's a picture of the front area with a plate and the outdoor dining area below.  This place is also a hotel and has a playground for children and a wonderful canal running through the property.

 Here is Andreas' rabbit.  He said it tasted good, and he loved the fries too.  He also said that he could get rabbit at least as good for half the price at home in Moldova.

 My beef  was tender and flavorful.  I didn't eat the potatoes, of course.  It was traditional and not very spicy, though.

 Cheese for palate cleansing.  I could get Andreas to only eat the brie.  Cheese is good!

Dessert was creme brulee, which was perfectly made - crispy crust and smooth, creamy pudding.  I definitely recommend this place, but bring cash!  It's a couple of miles outside of Pont l"Eveque in St. Hymer.  Go. Enjoy.  And pet the dog for me!

In The Middle

Yay!  I'm on the last spot to fill!  All the backgrounds are done, and all that's left is the center iris.

Back To The Pizza Place

 On our last day in Normandy, we took it easy and went back to Pont Audemer.  There, we found a gaming store, a fabric shop, and a thread/sewing shop.  So we shopped and had lunch at Tour de la Pis, which we'd eaten at a couple of weeks earlier.  It was still wonderful.  I had a salad and the same pizza I'd had before, minus the egg.  My salad was fresh with wonderful greens, and the pizza was even better without the egg on top!  Andreas had the pizza of the day, which had tomatoes, salami, goat cheese, and an egg.  He asked for no egg, but they forgot.  It was still good. 

On The Corner Motif

I'm on the last motif of this part now.  It's been a long slog, but I''m almost to the end.

Buffalo Grill One Last Time

 Since aurochs are long dead in Europe, their imagination must be taken with the North American buffalo.  It's the only reason I can think of for so many restaurants being named after them.  We had one last dinner at the Buffalo Grill near our place.  Surprisingly, Andreas had a hamburger yet again.  I had green beans with my steak, and they were good, if a bit overladen with butter.  The steak was fair to middling, but cooked just right.  On top of that, the waitress was a lot nicer than the one we'd had on the previous visit.

Moroccan In Normandy

 Le Berbere has two locations - one in Deauville and one in Pont l'Eveque.  We went to the one in Pont l'Eveque for lunch during our trip.  They didn't let us share, so we had a lot of extra food.  It was good, though, albeit not as spicy as we had hoped.

Plugging Along

Just little bits of progress on the house.  

Winging It

A butterfly wing is coming along.  This will get put somewhat aside now, as I'm back from holiday.  Have to get it into the rotation at some point.

Lunch At The Zoo

 We went to the CERZA zoo just outside of Lisieux on a gorgeous Sunday.  We had lunch there, too, between loops.  It's a huuuuge zoo!  I had a glass of a middling rose and the daily special of lasagne.  The lasagne was okay, but could have used more spice.  Surprisingly, Andreas had a hamburger.

Working On The A

Yay, the A is showing up now!

Chinese Food In Trouville

 It's pretty hard to find non-seafood restaurants in Trouville/Deauville.  We did, however, find Le Phenix, a Chinese restaurant!  Since Chinese is hard to find in Chisinau, we decided to try it.  Chinese food in France is bland!  Andreas had egg rolls and I had egg drop soup as our starters.  The soup was good and the un-spicyness didn't show because egg drop soup isn't normally spicy.

 I also had tea as my drink.  It took a bit to steep, and Andreas took the picture before it was done.  Below is a photo of the entrance.  They do the Chinese dragon motif throughout, and the wait staff, at least, is ethnically Chinese.

 The main course revealed its blandness.  We had a beef in oyster sauce and a chicken with cashew one.  We each at both, and it was just okay.  I think I'll make Chinese at home to get it spicy.  As dessert, Andreas got canned pineapple slices and I got orange confit.  The confit was definitely weird.  Oh, did I mention that it still cost us twenty euros each?

Three Fingers

Yay, the third leaf is coming along and so is the bamboo.  I made some progress on this while in France.  Now that I'm home, I hope to make more.

Passionflowers

 We went to a gaming shop in Rouen, and right where we parked was a beautiful fence twined with passionflowers!  I snapped some pictures with my phone because they're so beautiful and unusual.