What a week. Some time ago, I had busted the bicycle that I went to all the effort to have shipped out here from the States. A screw had come out on the stem on the way to work, and I was riding the bike home looking for it along the way when suddenly the metal of the stem gave way - that's right, the torque I was putting on the stem sheared right through the metal!
That was probably back in May or so. I didn't have the bike's services for the whole summer. (To get exercise I had decided to walk the 30-40 minutes each way to CERN instead.) Then after a while K decided she wanted to use the bike to get some aerobic exercise, so a couple weeks ago I purchased a cheap stem to put on the bike (the one that busted was a Girvin flexstem - not flex enough, I guess)...except when I went to put the stem on the bike, guess what I found? Thieves had gotten into the common room, which is normally locked, and stole parts off of my bike! They even sawed through the bike frame to get the back wheel, which was locked to it with a U-lock! Agh!
So, ever on the lookout for new experiences in a foreign country, I went this morning to the Gendarmerie in Thoiry (not to be confused with the local police station, the Gendarmerie services the entire Pays de Gex). Fortunately the interviewing officer spoke decent enough English. He took a picture, filled out a report for me to take to my "assurance d'habitation", and said that the bike was really only good for the dechetterie at this point - that's the place people go to toss items that the garbage truck won't take.
What a week. If you're a faithful and devoted reader of this blog, as I know you all are, then Shirley you remember this entry (and stop calling me, surely!). Well this week was the last straw. I found out that 5 claims I submitted to my health insurance one day last June, and kept asking and asking about since then, never even got entered into their system! Dealing with these jokers has been nothing but a comi-tragedy of errors. I have providers threatening legal action for not paying while thousands of dollars worth of claims are tied up back in the states, or falling down the black hole (and you thought that was out here...), and I had to figure this out myself.
One bright spot has been, as ever, our kids. G has gotten her first ever haircut, at the local stylist in Ferney called Coiffure Amazone. She's The Girl with the Golden Hair.
She's also The Girl With the Golden Brain. She was dubbed that by one of the African women that attend our church and watched her playing. No arguments from us... It's scary sometimes how quickly she picks things up that she hears. She says things sometimes that are eerily grown-up. She's taken lately to proudly and loudly proclaiming "I kiss a boy!" She's also said to me "Money. I want money!" She's not even 2 yet and already she wants an allowance. She picked up that around here you say "Bonjour" to greet people. So even when she's in the kitchen and hears people outside the apartment speaking French she says "Bonjour". K says she was saying it loudly and repeatedly to passers-by at the grocery store.
Two things she wants immediately whenever she first sees me after some period of time: if I happen to vacate the desk chair she makes a beeline for it, climbs up into it and then says "Do it again! Oh-kaaayy. Ready? Here we go!" - meaning she wants to be spun around in the chair, over and over again, and she's already anticipated my ritual responses. That or else she wants me to help her "jump!", which is to pick her up as she jumps and lift her high up and back down again. Only a few of those and Daddy gets quite blown...Come bedtime she wants practically her whole library of bookies in the crib with her - only one or two will she actually "read" - which she does by pointing at the objects and saying what they are, or quoting from memory what Mommy read to her.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing
She's picked up a lot from the Signing Times videos ("Hi, hi, so nice to meet you", "Hi, friend, let's play!") that we purchased for B, and her new favorite is the Wiggles (I love the picture at the top).
Words she's been heard to say (for the record):
Foods: bana, 'cado (avocado), pear, apple, grapefruit, strawberry, mango, nectadee, more bread, toast, cracker, wawa, peas, purple (sauerkraut), cheese, more aya! (olive), tabor (potato), goat (yogurt)
Songs: Itsy bitsy spider, "woah, woah, woah, boat!", "She's a bunny girl and she's okay, she sleeps at night and she plays in the day", the alphabet song ("nenenene-p. QRS! TUV!"), are you sleeping, I'm proud of you (what K sings to B when he's tinkled in the potty), "Peter and John went to pray" (the chorus)
Hymns: Behold I stand at the door and knock knock knock ("Be bold, be bold..."), "Deep and wiiide", Your life will change ("Cow-ward!")
Animals: doggie ruff ruff, kittie meow meow, piggy, cow, chicky, sheepie baa baa, bird, puppy, monkey, donkey hee haw, horse, goldfish, fly, elephant, lionie, tiger, caterpillar, bug,
Objects: "lid!!" (she collects them), bottle, ball-ball, bubbles, car, motorcycle, airplane, boat, bah-looon! (which she was scared of initially but has since made peace with), lotion, day, night, sun, moon, rain, snow, tree, mountain, see-saw, makeup (K let her play with hers), "party hat!" (basically anything you can put on your head)
Activities: Battu-battu-music (they both love this), "more music," "*different* music" (even when there's nothing playing), dance, jump, walk, ruunn!, eat, ri-deedee, "brush the teeties/toodles", "wash hair", "put on shoe/sock/shirt/pants/sweater/coat/dress"(she's been practicing),
Phrases: "Diaper chaangge!", "Go see dada!", "Go see B-!", "God is great!", "read a bookie", "Baby B-", "Baby Dada", "Baby G-", "Baby you" (whenever she sees a picture of person X it's "baby X"), "Let's go, baby!" (the bongo says that), "Mmmmm, tasty!", "Down, down, down", "All done. All done. All done. aaalllll DONE." K: "How about some more veggies?" G: "How about all done!"
But for as smart as she is, her exceedingly young age still rules her: what did I catch her doing on Thursday this last week in the living room as I was getting ready to walk to work? She put her hand down her diaper and pulled it back out covered with...what you might expect to find down there. And then started clapping her hands. You can imagine the rest of the story from there.
(sigh) What a week.
Take care,
-PKBGD
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