suniva.

...hosted family day yesterday and it was great to meet the people that work with marc, and see where he spends so much time! and I especially enjoyed the tour of the plant and seeing the solar cell production line - it is almost completely hands free and the robots are really cool.

naming my petals.

...thanks to ali for sharing the petal idea. and wow my photoshop skills were a little rusty!

taking my own advice.

(a very late) lunch at bistro vg
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...for once. a very late lunch (we got there after 4) with katie, made possible because I worked from home - and bistro vg is only 5 minutes from our house - and of course because katie was here, too. we shared a cheese plate and a spinach fontina pizza, and the bartender loved hearing about paris (where the wine is the cheapest beverage on the menu...man, I miss it!) and then we asked him to take our picture.

the commute.

148/365 - the commute. the end.
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...surfing my blogs this morning, I came across a very picturesque commute - country roads, red barns, wildflowers and fields, maybe even a few unpaved roads. so different from my commute in metro atlanta (and I'm so sorry I don't remember where I saw those pictures). so I thought about capturing my commute - it's been a photo for project 365 at least three times already - but this is the first time in full daylight...

backwards... my favorite part first - the two "kid" cars in the driveway and the garage open for me :-)



then my second favorite part - green light at mansell - I'm turning left today - by-passing the verizon ampitheater because there was a temporary sign on GA 400 about exits to use for the concert...and it seemed like a good idea to go the other way.



and finally a view of the inside. I'm not proud of it. but it is my reality. Love the podcasts. and the long lights that provide plenty of time for pictures!

hurray summer.

146/365 - two of us
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...today was the first "official" day of summer vacation, and sara and I took advantage to enjoy a late lunch at bistro vg. hard to believe how quickly the spring flew by - our last lunch out was on april 19. note to self - do this more often...and take pictures!

dillard.

...not as many photos as I'd wanted, but there is one of the sun (and I tried hard to get that - the sun wasn't out much) and a few of the eating, the games, the scenery and the knitters...which is what this weekend seems to be, right?! and no photo of my mom, but I'm thinking she's ok with that, but I'll still try for one when I see her tomorrow. on the drive home, sara and I were reviewing the weekend and agreed it was way quiet without karen et al. we did enjoy the texts and a phone call, but it wasn't the same... and I am in awe of her dishwashing prowess...to the point that this was the first year I really realized there are NO dishwashers (karen, you rock!) a huge thank you to my mom & dad for a wonderful, relaxing start to the summer!!

1. 144/365 - sunshine, 2. napping, 3. 142/365 - birthday (cheese)cake, 4. macro flowers, 5. appetizers, 6. appetizers, 7. appetizers, 8. 143/365 - happy birthday, 9. birthday boys, 10. morning mist, 11. knitters, 12. games, 13. 145/365 - blue ridge

dillard preparations.

141/365 - party prep
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...of course involves a trip to harry's and maybe to kroger, but sara, who finishes up tomorrow morning, can handle that trip while I'm at work (and honestly, if today's trip hadn't involved wine, she could've make this one too).

still have a bit more to do (packing?!) but really looking forward to being there and relaxing in one place for the weekend. and maybe getting a little bit of knitting done - that's really just multi-tasking during the marathon phase 10 games.

doubt there will be any more posts til I'm back home monday. but planning on lots of photos so those who aren't able to be there this year can at least enjoy the weekend vicariously.

home again.

137/365 - paris journal
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...and thinking that the quote I stamped onto the cover page of my paris journal (a few weeks ago - preparing for the trip) should be my new motto. it certainly sums up the way I felt about this trip, and the ones I've made with sara, and how I've tried, especially this year, to experience my life.

the last of the paris photos have finally been uploaded to flickr. wow. not sure if it was me, or a busy sunday, but it was slow and took 3 tries. if you've been reading the blog to keep up, the new ones are from friday and saturday. friday was l'arc de triomphe + shopping at bon marche (our new favorite store) and a last night at the eiffel tower for the light show + photos. francie left for the airport nearly dark early on saturday morning and after katie & I packed, we re-visited the marais, walked around a bit and took one last walk over the seine before we re-ate at les cocottes (that caesar salad :-) we took one last photo and the car picked us up at 1:30. the airport was hot and crowded and we ran to catch our 4:10 flight. the flight was long, but the landing in atlanta was a few minutes early and the re-entry (passport, customs, etc) was a breeze. and the happy surprise at the airport was a huge treat. we got home just after 10:00 and spent a few hours unwinding and unpacking.

today I finished up the friday and saturday pages in the journal, finished the photos (uploaded to flickr and to costco for my album - 409 prints total!), and am still doing the piles of laundry.

tomorrow I think about work, finishing up the tennis treasurer stuff for the season, katie moving home (just for a bit) and another fun weekend next weekend... whew! ...but doing it right!

what to do in paris when it rains.

the opera
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...visit the opera - this was one of the last views - the ceiling of the theater, painted by marc chagall. we loved everything we saw there (kind of like a very mini-versailles). and then we walked a quick short block to the galeries lafayettes, and au printemps and spent a few more hours shopping.

tonight we're going out - katie has scoped night spots and we're dressing up and making up.

down to three.

after dinner at the eiffel tower
Originally uploaded by mere2007

mindy flew back home yesterday, so now we're three. with two more days in paris. we have just a few things left on our list (the opera, l'arc de triomphe, bon marche and a bit more shopping), so we have time to re-do our favorite things and maybe time to sit for a few hours at a sidewalk cafe and watch the people. we did that for a bit yesterday at lunch and it was fun. also a few more metro rides - we've been averaging 10+ miles a day on foot and our legs and feet are tired! katie loves figuring out the best routes and we do get a good amount of people watching while we're on the train.

and definitely a lot more fun photos!

bonne journee, m.

bonjour.

dinner at les fables de la fountaine
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...and greetings from paris. we've mailed a few postcards home, but know there's no way the mail has delivered them yet. we are having a wonderful time - the sights (especially the art - musee d'orsay, orangerie with the water lilies and the pont alexandre with the beautiful gold), the food (oh my wow, seriously) and of course the company. truly a trip to remember!

also, for some unknown reason, the internet here is now a bit faster and I've been able to get all our photos uploaded (300+ so far!)

love to all, m.

sacre coeur.

city view
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...we saw it from inside the musee d'orsay yesterday. and we're planning to see it up close today. but first a stop at the post office, then figuring out the metro. and maybe a quick stop at the boulanger (baker) for a croissant.

day one. the end.

127/365 - first night
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...we are still a little unbelieving that the eiffel tower is just two blocks away and we can see it from our apartment windows!

everything has been lovely so far. the food is good and the sights - wow. internet is a bit slow, so only uploading the best few photos.

bonne journee.

jusqu'a bientot.

...me. august 15, 1979. (and I love that the writing on the back of the photo is my grandmother's - she wrote "eiffel tower" and I'm smiling right now that she figured everyone would know the person in the photo was me, but somehow we might not recognize the eiffel tower :-)

I think this was the last time I saw the eiffel tower (my grandparents took me on a fabulous whirlwind four cities in two weeks trip to celebrate my high school graduation). not sure I ever thought it would be nearly 30 years before I returned. and so looking forward to better photos ... honestly, I look much better now than I did then, and of course I have katie...

we're packed and ready. next post from paris.

p.s. I updated the link in the "upcoming" paris entry to be my paris flickr photoset. am really hoping I can keep up to date with that, even if the blog posts aren't so frequent.

so many photo opportunities.

...aka graduation weekend.

(see all the photos here).

deja vu all over again.

choosing
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...must be me, I guess, that lunches out end up with decisions to make over dessert cases!

lunch today was a welcome break from other errands like shopping, for bruch fixings for sunday, a big crossword to pass the waiting time at graduation, and a french-english dictionary.