Marie Antoinette's part of Versailles

I had such a fabulous day at Versailles yesterday. Sadly, Tom had to go to church meetings. He gets a double good mark for that of course. I went to the Chateau but had the most fun taking pictures of the garden area. And the sky was so co-operative as well. Beautiful colors! I had never been over to Marie Antoinette's housing area, the Trianon. Relatively few tourists over there. Rented a bike and was able to get places fast. Took a spin around the entire Grand Canal as well. The first few pictures were of Marie's hamlet. LOVED these houses and their settings. At times I felt like I was on the movie set of Pride and Prejudice. Thatched roofs, old stone and lots of farm animals.

Freya's apples

Whew! I finally finished putting up nearly 20 quarts of applesauce. All thanks to Freya. She has a prolific tree and she shares with everyone. Freya is the one sitting down and wearing the red fleece jacket. She is part of the tennis group that I play with on Tuesdays. I ran into her on my photo shoot of Tervuren. She and her friend Titsianna were biking that day.

I have the fondest memories of going to the farm and eating Gram's applesauce. It takes a certain apple to give a certain flavor (duh!). But anyway, Freya's apples give the same flavor as the ones that Gram used to put up. And you can't buy them in the stores. So it's extra special. A gift from a good friend that conjures up sweet memories.

So thanks Freya!

For Tervuren Park Fans

10-10-10

Ten.Ten.Ten.

What can you do on a cool date like today? Somebody is going to have this cool date for a birthday, or an wedding anniversary or who knows what.

So for me. Today on Ten.Ten.Ten.....

Ten gratitudes: Gospel, Family, Health, Freedom, Sunshine, Water, Nature, Humor, Books and Travel....

Ten wishes: Stop aging, lose weight that never comes back, summer days that never end, another family reunion, free airline passes, money to pay off everybody's debt, a beach house....and as long as I'm wishing: violence free world, no more hunger...and I wish I was perfect! (Ha!)

Ten cool words: Strength, fun, why, begin, positive, interaction, opportunities, good, give, honor.

With Girlfriends this time

Beth and Isabel

Stopping for a lunch break

Fall colors

Yipee, finally a downhill!

Look 'ma', no hands..

And it was the Mosel River again! I can't get enough!

It's Harvest Season

I thought wine grapes were sour, but they are sweet. All harvested by hand. It was quite fun to watch.

See the bottom yellow sign? It's leftover from the war. It's the speed limit for tanks!

Cute little churches along the river. Lots of wild sunflowers too.

We were trying to beat the sunset. We sure didn't want to get stuck on the trail in the dark. We made it to our car with about 10 minutes before pitch black!

Loved this church in the middle of the vineyard.

They had wagons filled with people partying. They had lots of wine and food, and were either pulled by tractor or horses.

Tom's favorite....barges. Reminds him of his childhood on the Rhine.

Uncanny

So my life is rather routine, and I have nothing to report. I warned you all. The action is 'over'...now that all my family have come and gone and we went and came home.
But, since Nicole won't tell you I will. She is stinkin' lucky.
She gets a cell phone coverage..unlimited minutes, unlimited texting....for $10/month. And a free phone to boot. That's the first bit.
Second bit. She was talking to a guy at church and was telling him about getting lost in SD and how her first purchase the next day was going to be a GPS. He says he has an extra she can have. "Oh, I'll pay you for it!" "No, please take it off my hands!" Are you kidding me???
Third bit. Thanks to the reforms of Pres. Obama, effective Jan 1st, 2011, she will be covered on our health insurance till she is 26! Even if she gets married! Everyone else was booted off at age 22, and had to carry insurance through school, or get their own! But oh no. As soon as she is finishing BYU....and on the horizon of having to get her own health insurance, Pres Obama steps in to change things so she doesn't have to do that. Amazing. Really. Amazing.
I'm on the edge of my seat to see what Bit #4 will be!