I Turn 41

Quelle horreur! I am now older than 40. Crap – how did that happen anyway? I feel more like 25 . . . at least most of the time.

It was a blissfully peaceful day. Honestly, I sat around knitting for hours. Ahhhhh! The kids let me sleep ‘til about 8:00, too. They woke me up with sweet (Iiterally) gifts: a beautiful purple orchid, candy from the little store up the street, and great bath soap (from Lush right here in Montpellier and soap from Provence).

The kids frolicked around outside for about 6 hours in the afternoon, literally. It’s great. There were four of them yesterday, and on Saturday, there were 8 children running around! In and out of the house ‘til I finally threw ‘em all outside. Then, they play in the church yard. They come home periodically, thirsty or hungry or needing to use the bathroom, then they are off again.

Who remembers life being like that when we were children?! I sure do! I love that it is safe enough in our tiny village for the kids to play outside. It’s so wonderful to have them run into the house yelling, “Can we please stay outside until the next time the church bell rings? Please?!”

The only drawback is that Max doesn’t eat enough now. He rushes through each meal as fast as possible so he can get back outside. We put an end to that today. No eating, no playing!

So, back to my birthday! Sophie brought us another delicious meal – homemade by her and her mom. The menu?

• Entrée: Salad with toast with slightly melted fromage de cheval (goat cheese) and smoked duck (very finely sliced). This is one of my favorite salads in the world now, much like the one Sandra made us for Christmas Eve with the sautéed figs and les geziers.

• Plat Principal: Beef bourguignon severed over fresh pasta. Utterly spectacular.

• Le Dessert: Chocolate soufflé. Ohmigosh! We got to watch them rise and turn perfect in the oven, then we had the indescribably joy of eating them. Max said, “Sa c’est le meilleur dessert dans tout ma vie!” Translation? This is the best dessert of my whole life. He was not over exaggerating!

Sophie also gave me a great gift – a box of bath goodies from Sephora! I now have pineapple grenadine body lotion and bath bombs, almond musk bubble bath, and a sponge – all in the greatest pink packaging. They smell divine. I already have to guard the lotion from the kids because they love the smell, too.

Merci mille fois, Sophie! You are the greatest.

Thank you to everyone else who sent me birthday wishes, too. I appreciate it!

Love to all!!