Saying Goodbye to May

And an overnight trip to Paris.

Betty plays clarinet in her neighborhood orchestra, and they had two concerts this weekend to celebrate the orchestra’s 100 year anniversary, so we went to Paris to see her play, and to meet up with our niece Petrea, and bring them both back with us to Normandy.

Since today is Mother’s Day in France, we decided to turn it into a celebratory overnight trip. Betty planned out an itinerary that included two Paris landmarks she knew I hadn’t been to yet: the modern art museum at Palais de Tokyo, and the Pantheon — where French luminaries and heroes are entombed in the underground crypt. Loved visiting both!

Seeing the Pantheon made me wonder: Who decides who will be buried there?

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One of the most striking parts of our overnight visit to Paris was the weather. On Saturday is was 93 degrees (34 celsius), and today (Sunday), it was 73 degrees (23 celsius). That’s right, the heatwave has finally broken with a 20-degree drop overnight.

And I learned this little rhyme that helps people who aren’t familiar with celsius:

0 is freezing
10 is not
20 is warm
30 is hot

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We got home from Paris this afternoon, and took a walk with our friend Mark, along the River Orne. In our town, Argentan, rain is on the schedule all week. I’m so glad! The river looked low and it will nice to see it fill up again.

We’ve been doing No Mow May, and I know it’s been helpful during the hot weather. Now that June is arriving, and the heatwave has passed, we’ll mow the lawn tomorrow and watch it bounce back after a week of rain.

Have you ever heard of No Mow May? It’s a campaign (now in its sixth year) to encourages people to do less grass cutting, and allow wild flowers and grasses to bloom.

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I started watching Widow’s Bay (it’s on Apple TV) because I knew that the wonderful Nancy Lenahan is in it — she’s the museum guide and historian. The show is so good! Very funny. Beautiful. Strange. Perfectly cast. And scary too. Maybe it’s just my personal algorithm, but I keep seeing post after post of people raving about the series.

I usually steer clear of anything in the horror category, and I admit, I do prefer watching episodes of Widow’s Bay in the daytime. But I’m so glad I made an exception for this show. It’s really good. There’s nothing out there quite like it. Someone tweeted that it’s like if Stephen King made Parks & Rec.

Let me know if you’re watching it too.

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These side-by-side images of the Whitehouse are breaking my brain. I don’t even know what to say. How is this real?

In related, but funnier news, I have been loving all the silly social media posts about obscure/fictional musical groups pulling out of the Freedom 250 concert.

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We are California overseas voters. Ben Blair, me, Oscar, and Betty all sent in our votes. If you’re a California voter, don’t forget to drop off your vote asap!

If you’re still making your decisions, I used Blue Voter Guide as one helpful resource. It shows which groups have endorsed which candidates.

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I gave a little report about our month on Instagram if you’d like to see — the highlight is called May Report. And here’s a sweet little video to kick off Pride month.

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That’s all for now. I hope June will bring us all good news.

kisses,
Gabrielle