I know, I know....

I'm a retard blogger. You may or may not be aware that the word 'retard' can be, and is frequently, used interchangeably with the word 'delayed.' This is typical (and not offensive/non-"pc") lingo here in Europe where a sign might read 'retard 15 min' (re: delay of flight), etc. This always makes me chuckle...and now I have the blessed oppurtunity to share it with you, my long lost blog followers! I will confess, have been procrastinating the update on the blog BUT I have a good excuse: My computer has died. It is very sad. But there's hope! It can be brought back to life but my wall charger seems to have been fried by the French electricity system rendering the computer non-functional for the time being. So I've settled for a verbal update...however, this blog entry will be void of photos as no pictures can be uploaded to the house computer which I am currently using, but is not my property...and its owner would likely not appreciate my personal photos being uploaded and taking up his personal memory space. Anyhow, I am LONG overdue for an update on the Hotchie's here! Let's see if I can remember where we left off...
First, Ma and Pa Hotchkiss came to visit!! It was so nice to see their sweet faces! They came bearing amazing gifts such as NyQuil, People Magazine, and extra sleep/sound machines (our previous sound machine was another fatality of the french electrical system)! We had such a wonderful time with Lee and Kathy exploring the French Riviera for a few days then taking the party on up to Paris. Sadly, our adventures cannot be documented via photo at this time. Boo. A busy itinerary kept us moving all week through the coastal and alpine villages along the riviera and beyond. Autumn crept in bringing cold and dreary weather but left some beautiful fall foliage in its wake. Paris... I can't say enough about this magical city!!! The energy of New York, the culture of Chicago, the laid-back-ness of Austin and the charm of New Orleans rolled together into one massive ball of beautiful architecture and rich history...Lee, Kathy, John and I strolled through the city (in spite of the obnoxious weather system moving through Europe completely out of the ordinary...thank you, Lord, for rainboots :) hitting all the major attractions from our home-base of the 6th arrondisment with which John and I fell in LOVE! So many unique shops, cafes, bars, etc. in the 6th district!! We highly recommend it to any future parisian travelers. John and I were so thankful the Hotchkisses were able to get away for a week and thoroughly enjoyed their conversation and company! In continuation of the shared good times, my college roomate, Emily, came to town!!! What a sweet treat to have one of my very best, lifelong friends come to visit and share this experience with John and I! Emily returned to Villefranche from Paris with John and I and will be here until Sunday, Nov. 9th. Again, there will unfortunately be no photo documentation at this time. Patience, my friends...they will come. And they will be hilarious, of that you can be sure :) I'll save all the more detailed comments, stories, etc for picture footnotes. It will be better that way, trust me.
In summary, our experience living in France continues to be wonderful and enriching and wonderful and fabulous. And really wonderful. Everyday is full of new adventures and suprises and fun french interactions. Thank you all for your love and support! I forgot to mention that we got a new president since our last update...I would comment on that situation but I feel it's better to leave this blog as "pc"as we began. Peace.