14 things to know about Bastille Day...

1. Bastille Day is the French National holiday.



2. It is commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison, which took place on 14 July 1789 and marked the beginning of the French Revolution. So the holiday is celebrated annually on July 14th...

3. ...but if the 15th is a business day, many cities set off their fireworks on the eve of the 14th - like the ones going off right now!

4. ...and if the 14th falls near a weekend, many businesses close for an extra day to give employees a nice, long weekend. (And at this point I'd like to thank Isa for suggesting our office follow this wonderful French tradition.) This day-off-to-form-a-long-weekend is called making le pont (literally, 'a bridge').


(c) JP Houel

5. The Bastille prison was a symbol of the absolute and somewhat moody power of King Louis the 16th. By overtaking this symbol, the French people signaled the end of the King's power - power would be based on the Nation and be limited by a separation of powers. (See? It is an independence day as well. Just not the same as ours.)

6. It is not, under any circumstances, to be called 'The French Fourth of July'. Unless, of course, you're okay with us calling July 4th 'The American July Fourteenth'.

7. Calling it 'Bastille Day' is actually more American than French. Here, we just call it le quatorze juillet. You guessed it. That means the 14th of July.

8. The blue, white, and red French flag that we know today actually came into use during the French Revolution. (Note: It is 'blue, white, and red' and not 'red, white and blue'.)

9. The three colors represent the Republic's three ideals: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.

10. Traditionally the president used to give an interview to members of the press, discussing the situation of the country, recent events and projects for the future. Nicolas Sarkozy, president since 2007, has chosen not to give it. What a rebel.

11. Bastille Day falls during the Tour de France. Of course, on this day French riders try to take a stage victory for France.

12. Contrary to the belief of some, the fireworks are not to celebrate Jesse's birthday. But we still want to wish him a joyeux anniversaire!



13. Three other countries hold official Bastille Day celebrations: the US, South Africa and Hungary. We attended the festivities in Hungary two years ago. What a nagy fél!

14. To wish someone a happy quatorze juillet, you can say, "Bonne fête !"

The weekend forecast...

... looks good.

Four very important words...

Four very important words:
Passe en Année Supérieure

You know what they mean? They mean that my husband is now officially a fifth (and final!) year osteopathic student!

Final, final, final. What beautiful words.

Exam grades were just posted online in the usual French fashion - anyone and everyone can see them. No matching up your Social Security number to your grade here. Nope. Just publish 'em on the internet for all to see. Here's the link if you want to explore the French education system. Good luck deciphering the site :)










Just as a reminder of how wonderful this news is, here is a list of his classes this year:

- Semiology and osteopathic diagnostics
- Applied neurology
- Medical synthesis and clinical routine
- Medical imagery (MRI, scans, sonograms, X-rays, etc...)
- Clinical boards
- Comprehensive central and peripheral nervous systems
- Applied clinic
- Thesis and stats
- Gynecology and obstetrics,
- Pediatrics
- Psychology
- Urology-Nephrology
- Endocrinology
- Infectious diseases
- Hematology



And one final thing I'd like to say on these subjects: Passe en Année Supérieure !

Type A garden...

Today's take

You may be familiar with the Type A and Type B personality theory. I'm not sure if it's the soil, the seeds or the climate, but the grandgarden certainly seems to exhibit some serious Type A-ness lately.

"... impatient, excessively time-conscious, insecure about their status, highly competitive, over-ambitious, business-like, hostile, aggressive, incapable of relaxation in taking the smallest issues too seriously..."

Recycled water

It's true. The grandgarden is very competitive and sometimes even hostile towards other gardens in the neighborhood. Day and night it tries to put out as many leaves, vines, flowers, stems and vegetables as its neighbors. Unfortunately, the grandgarden has a handicap: its inexperienced gardeners (both Type A, by the way).

Rather than patiently waiting for blossoms to turn into the fruit of its labor, the grandgarden keeps an eye on the calendar, noting that it's July and that means it's a little behind schedule. Must get down to business and push out some zucchini!


Zucchini blossoms

About a week ago, the grandgarden went into Type A overdrive in terms of production. Ka-BOOM! Zucchini or tomatoes, anyone? We have beau-coodles! (Recipes very welcome.)


I spy zucchini and mint!


Roma and Cobra tomatoes


We think these may be zucchini trees.


The first tomato...and then many followed.


The grandgarden from another angle


Blossoms


Click on the image to see a larger view of the Grandgarden, labelled for your Type A enjoyment.

The Maxi-minimalist...

This week and weekend we will be hosting a few get-togethers, including an end of the school year picnic for some of Jonathan's friends and a 4th of July cookout. I've had fun planning the menus and making oodles of lists (to do, to buy, to bake, to make, to pack...).

This morning before going to the market we made a stop at the grocery store to pick up a few things. That particular shopping list included paper napkins.



I decided to splurge a bit and get the pretty red ones - it is 4th of July weekend after all! I put them in my basket and went to find Jonathan in the frozen foods section. "I got napkins," I said. "Oh, me too," he replied.



Hmm... apparently he was not as moved by the 4th of July spirit!

In related news, this is the first time I've seen a jumbo size roll of paper towels in France. What's next? Milk by the gallon?