Gift from John

Beautiful, delicious French wine. Thank you!

 

French Snacks

Nothing really spectacular in here. Will be going to France in October, though, so I will try real snacks.

 

Gifts from France

One of Andreas' employess is actually from France, even with his Polish last name. He brought back these bottles for us. Black currant wine and rum. Yay! Thank you John, it's great.

 

New Sampler Kit

It's berlinwork and not cross stitch, so this sampler should keep me busy. Plus bonus stuff!

French Flowers

Pretty flowers blooming last spring in the Strasbourg Consulate General's yard.

Strasbourg

We went to Strasbourg last April to visit Geneve and see Kerry, who was also visiting. This is the river through the middle of town. We missed going on the river boat tour because Andreas was late.

Great Finds

I found the Zubrowka in a grocery store in France and the Lillet in one in Germany.  Now to get time and inclination to drink a bit...

Thai Food In France

We went visiting in Strasbourg (about a two hour drive from Frankfurt) and had a good time catching up with old friends. While there, we found a wonderful Thai restaurant and had lunch.  There was a reason the restaurant was packed - the food was both delicious and authentic.

The Silk Mill Saga

I was given a gift certificate to The Silk Mill, a wonderful French/English thread company based in southern France.  When I went to spend some of it, the website had major troubles with the redemption.  I emailed back and forth and, while they were unable to fix it at the time, they managed to get everything to go through by hand and sent me a package in December, with a couple of things extra in it for my patience.  The package got lost.  Instead of being directed through US DPO mail, the DPO saw the word "Kosovo" on the bottom and resent it to Kosovo mail.  It sat in Ferizaj, the city with the NATO base in it, for a couple of months.  DPO has a history of misshipping things.  I have had some items sit on aircraft carriers for months.  Silk Mill was going to send me a replacement package, but I kept saying to wait.  Lucky I did.  In mid-March it was returned to them, completely intact.  

I gave Silk Mill my alternate address, the pouch one, and they repackaged and readdressed everything and sent it there.  Three weeks later, this is what I received.  They had put in even more things in it.  Wow!  I love their silk.  It's vibrant and beautiful to work with. There are also over 700 colors. Yay, and thank you!  It all arrived safe and sound finally.

Last Of France

This beautiful church is currently being rebuilt after extensive damage in the wars.  It's the church for the women's abby, and is closed to the public.

Around The Circle

These are the buildings around the circle with the St. Etienne.  They include city hall (St. Etienne), the court, and the old women's abbey, which is in ruins but being rebuilt.

More Stained Glass

 
These are all windows on the sides of St. Etienne.  They look much older than they are.

Down The Nave

 THese photos show the light down the main aisle of the church.  Plus some buttresses and a clock!

I Don't Trust The Cherubim

This is the choir stall of the abbey St. Etienne in Caen.  The cherubs look downright evil. some of  them!  I don't think I'd trust myself sitting by them for a long, boring mass.