We brought our milk frother (that we bought from the states) with us. Our children like having their milk frothed. But we’ve made a little discovery: the milk doesn’t froth. I have been purchasing nearly every brand of milk, from whole fresh milk to UHT to see if any would froth. The best we could get was foam that lasted almost five seconds before the bubbles quickly disappeared. I know it’s not our milk frother because it worked fine for us back in the states. So I’m wondering if it’s the milk here (if they do something different to it besides make wonderful cheese and butter!). I ordered a milkshake last week and have ordered hot chocolates multiple times but the bubbles either went flat or there was very little foam.

Frothing Milk—Canon Powershot S410

While America is celebrating (or about to celebrate) Halloween, France and parts of Europe are preparing for Toussaints. The festival of All Saints. Toussaints, also known as All Hallows, or Hallowmas, is a Roman Catholic festival where all the saints of the church are honoured. This Festival is celebrated on the 1st of November. On the 2nd of November All Souls Day, or The Day of the Dead, is celebrated. On this day vigils are made to cemeteries for the lighting of candles which are then placed on the graves by family members and loved ones. These days however you will more likely see Chrysanthemums or potted mums placed on graves in place of candles.

Take a look at the shopping bags we use. They are a canvas type sort of bag and come in different colours and designs. They cost around two or three euros each and almost everyone here uses them rather than the plastic ones. As we have to pack our own shopping in the store we decided to purchase a couple too and I’m glad we did. They are very sturdy and although I don’t like the colour green, I think they’re not bad looking.

Shopping Bags—Canon Powershot S410

When Chase comes home from school I have him describe to me what he did in class, or I might browse in his work books. Then I might review certain concepts with him. On this particular day at school he worked on addition; adding numbers horizontally (he knows how to add vertically or add small numbers horizontally) but had got his place values mixed up. After I explained place values with him he was able to understand better. Then I had him write the alphabet and then copy a sentence from his reading book (when he started school he had a slight problem with his pen hold. His teacher picked this up immediately and showed him how to hold the pencil correctly reminding him daily by saying the word “stylo.” When he heard the word “stylo” he knew what it meant for him to do. His pen hold doesn’t look as awkward now and his writing is smoother and quicker). After that I dictated the French phonograms for him to transcribe and then had him read to me while remembering to incorporate the French sounds.

Chase insisted I take a photo of his drawing to put on the blog. I asked where he got the idea to draw the face proportions. He said the television!