Massive Conifer, `Tasty' Lights Help T's Gear Up for Pere Noel

Christmas tree, Schmitzmas Tree: Gaston couldn't be stirred...

Going for a chilly Jeep ride. P insisted on sporting his military tank cap for the occasion

Dateline Normandy -- The Christmas spirit has seeped down the drafty chimneys of Chateau Blanc and P is getting excited for a possible visit of Pere Noel, as Santa is known here, for the first time. The T's installed probably the biggest tree in France and had a merry time decorating with the little one before realizing that their old garland barely made one loop around the Sapin de Noel behemoth. Le petit is enjoying singing "Jingle Bells," or a fairly close resemblance to it, and is mesmerized by the tree lights even after taking a bite out of one of the bulbs to see if it was candy -- giving pere and mere another cardiac moment. Luckily P came through scolded but unscathed. Here's to hoping for a white, not wet, Normandy Christmas. ~30~

T's Get Bombarded With French Southern Hospitality and a T-Bird Feast

P cuddles with his best friends, S and A

Our hosts, M and L

The crowd gobbled up S's key lime pie

Dateline Argilliers,France -- The T's followed up their spring visit to friends in southern France with another stay to celebrate Thanksgiving with M, L and Co. While the feast was a bit early, a feast it was with mounds of T-bird and the usual and unusual trimmings cooked up by a lively mix of French, Americans, Brits and New Zealanders and a veritable stable of kids. P had the time of his life staying with his best buds and tossing the pigskin and baseball around with the other tykes and their dads in a pre-meal warmup at the local park. It was a humdinger of a chowdown and a fine visit with fine friends. Hopefully a new autumn tradition for the T's. ~30~

T's Add a Little Spice to Evening Fete to Keep Things Chili

After a few champagne margaritas, le groupe modeled S's helmet collection

chattin' in the library...

the next day, an eggs, grits and toast brunch was enough spice for P

Dateline Normandy -- Summer may have bid adieu but the T's are trying to keep things hot in Normandy for as long as possible. This particular soiree featured a Tex-Mex menu centered around S's champagne margaritas that heated things up for the Norman crowd even as the cold rain soaked the chateau grounds outside. Chili today, hot tamale! ~30~

Taking a Bite Out of Autumn: T's Make Most of Days Before the Wet Season Pours In

Sun sets over almost-finished cleaning of tennis court

Sunset also on the greenhouse

Dateline Normandy -- A dry Limesy is a good Limesy and P and are taking advantage of the few sunny hours that remain before l'arrivee of less interesting climes. Daily sorties to the orchard for sweet, ripe apples are on the menu while Gaston continues to gorge on the pears that P picks for him. A few chateau flowers continue to blossom even amid the chilly temps while leaves turn golden and start to fall. And the cycle continues. Thank goodness for big fireplaces and Saint-Emilion. ~30~

As Winds of Fall Blow In, P Reflects on Successful Summer

A slew of horses grazing this summer at the chateau

P and mom on a chilly and windy Fall Sunday afternoon at the beaches of St. Aubin-Sur-Mer near Chateau Blanc

Dateline Normandy -- Cooler, shorter days have arrived chez les T, spurring memories deja of a rapid yet successful 2009 summer campaign. Hot, dry days (a far cry from the year-earlier monsoon period) that spurred numerous late evenings on the terrace, the most impressive vegetable and fruit output to date and adventurous trips to Spain, southern France and the southern U.S. all combined for a winner season. That's all helped prepare the T's for the cool and wet months to come. The fireplace is already a roarin' and the wine cave is overflowin'. Bring it, Old Man Winter. ~30~

Going Old School: P Starts First Year With a Shrug

With his pal Victoire

the teacher, Miss Valerie

Le School

Dateline Normandy -- With his batteries recharged from his U.S. vacation, P-Man joined other village tykes this week for his first French school experience -- the ecole maternelle -- otherwise known as nursery school. As the church bells struck at 9 a.m., P showed no hesitation in taking on his brave new world. A couple of obligatory whimpers at first soon gave way to ``ok, it's fine, go away now'' to mom and dad. ~30~

Chateau Blanc Tries Its Hand at Southern Hospitality

N, left, and J (along with loyal mascot Gaston) on the terrace at Chateau Blanc. No mint juleps or sweet tea were served

N at a bunker on Omaha Beach

Dateline Normandy -- Le White Castle recently played host to N, the son of high school friends, and his buddy J, from Charleston, SC, and Toccoa, GA, respectively. The two were gallivanting throughout the U.K. and France and their short stay in Normandy included a visit to the D-Day beaches as well as some sampling of Chateau Blanc's famous farm-fresh omelettes. From there, the guys went on to get a taste of the bohemian life in Paris and N continues on with working on a farm in Scotland. The Chateau staff is still waiting for a report on how Haggis measures up to Steak Frites. ~30~

T's Finish August Tour du Sud in Fine Form; P Mulls Adoption by Grandparents

hiking in GA mountains...

toy hunting

at the Atlanta aquarium...

With SC grandparents

Cuddling with cuz Mary

Deer come out for daily feeding at GA grandparents' home

Setting out their chow

in the cockpit with Papa L

in the hangar

Dateline Normandy -- C and P's August vacation in GA and SC went just swimmingly, especially for le petit who was more than spoiled by airplane, sidecar and boat rides; dips in pools and visits to a fire station and aquarium. Most importantly he also got tons of quality time with both sets of grandparents as well as with some aunts, uncles and cousins. With summer vacation over, the little one now begins his first school year this week and will have plenty of adventures to tell his new pals - en francais, bien sur. ~30~

Summer 2009: Skipper P Is Digging It

Dateline Atlanta - Gaston and all the other critters back at Chateau Blanc are a bit worried that P may not want to make it back across the pond after his reading about his adventures so far in the U.S. of A. Piloting a Kingair, hanging in the motorcycle sidecar and now skippering the Queen Mary with Papa L will be hard to beat back in Normandyville. ~30~

Earning His Wings: P Flying High After Airborne Jaunt With Papa L

Dateline Normandy -- Less than a day after crossing the Atlantic pond on a Boeing 767, P was at the helm of the Beechcraft King Air thanks to Captain Papa L, who took le petite and C on a trip in the Georgia skies. Turns out the P-Man is a natural in the cockpit, as long as his dou-dou is at his side. ~30~

An Ocean Dip Before Crossing the Big Pond

Dateline Normandy -- Before C and le petit crossed the Atlantic for three weeks of fun and sun with family, the T's figured it would be a good time to take advantage of the beaches only 25 minutes from Chateau Blanc. While the water at the nearly deserted plage was chilly and the sky mostly cloudy, P-Man didn't hesitate to dive in -- up to his ankles, that is. ~30~

All's Fair at the Local Fair for P-Man

Dateline Normandy -- After testing out the area amusement park recently, P got a second dose of joy-riding at the village's annual fair. Armed with his trusty sidekick Victoire, le petit rode and slid until he could go no more. Vive l'ete. ~30~

Garden Monsters: T's Veggies Go Large

P has trouble carrying a mastodonic zucchini

Dateline Normandy -- Habitants of Chateau Blanc are ecstatic with how this year's veggie and fruit garden has progressed -- so far. The crop of colossal zucchinis appear to be on some type of performance-enhancing drugs even though the plot is 100% organic. That has the T's wondering if maybe a secret nuclear fuel dump is located under the estate. Massive heads of lettuce have provided fresh salad each evening, while the tomatoes are coming into their own -- disease-free at this point. P has been gulping down fresh-picked raspberries for dessert and the rhubarb has filled many a pie. Still to come: hoardes of plums, apples, blackberries and maybe even kiwis this year. On verra. ~30~

Taken for a Ride: P Leaves Local Amusement Park Well Amused

Dateline Normandy -- The T's were more than pleasantly surprised at a new find in their little corner of Normandy -- La Bocasse Amusement Park. Situated only 15 minutes from chez les T's and surrounded by nothing but farmland, the park resembles a mini Six Flags -- rollercoasters, carousels, waterpark, etc., while immaculately clean and best of all, no crowds or lines. P, of course had a blast, playing train conductor and diving in the cage of foam balls. By the time he got home, le petit was bien cuit. All in all, a nice recipe for a day out et on y reviendrai bientot. ~30~

Afternoon Dee-Lite at Chateau Tosse Puts P in the Driver's Seat

Laurent and P

Baptiste gives P some driving pointers

Dateline Normandy -- As the sun and warmer temps continue to play nice this summer, the T's are doing their best to take advantage -- recently piling into the Jeep for a BBQ at Laurent and Valerie's Chateau Tosse. P particularly enjoyed driving the John Deere quad while the rest of the group kept close to the heaps of food and chilled rose. ~30~

A Day in the Life of P: PhotoBlog

Winding down before bedtime

Last minutes of play before bed

Hunkering down with Dou-Dou

Inspecting the quality of dad's hedge-trimming

Ready to crank up the Kubota

And a final inspection of the garden

Flora and Fauna Finally Florish at CB - PhotoBlog

His Royal Majesty -- Norm

Four new ponies take over CB fields

A new chick is born

along with 2 baby peacocks

The geese are a grumpy lot

Le Rooster

A big raspberry crop looks promising - a couple more weeks to go

Plums too

Black currants are ready..

While the gooseberries aren't far behind

Everything is coming up roses right now at CB

Home Is Where the Chef Is: 3 Celebrations, 1 Soiree Chez Nous

Sante!

Le Chef

Dateline Normandy -- The problem: How to combine three celebrations (C's birthday, 5th wedding anniversary and French Mother's Day that all arrived in the same week.) The solution: A surprise candlelight dinner held in the Chateau Blanc library and all handled by a personal chef hired for the occasion - leaving the T's free to pretend they were in their own personal restaurant (and keeping with the French resto theme, Gaston was indeed allowed to sit at our feet). The chef whipped up some really delicious chow from the crème brulee de foie gras to the tender magret de canard, and the service was exceptionnel, bien sur. In any case, it was certainly a recipe for a successful celebration. ~30~

GardenMania II: Betting on a Better Bounty

P has Gaston eating from the palm of his hand...

After garden work - time for dinner on the terrace

Chef P hard at work at the BBQ

After such hard work, time for a break

Dateline Normandy -- After the decent vegetable harvest of last year, the T's are a bit more garden-wise this time around and are digging in deeper with an eye on more robust heads of lettuce, plumper tomatoes and some succulent melon. With the help of master gardener P-Man and hopefully warmer and sunnier days, expectations are high for a Chateau Blanc bumper crop. ~30~

T's Gone Wild: Sipping, Sunning and Splashing Around in Spain

Dateline Cumbre Del Sol, Spain -- If the T's were harboring any ills before departing for a week on the coast of Spain, they were quickly cured with daily doses of sunny, hot weather, spoonfuls of pool splashes and regular injections of jacuzzi bubbles. (for more photos, see http://picasaweb.google.com/coffee1sc/Spain2#slideshow ) While the villa overlooking the Mediterranean fit the T's to a T, tortillas and sangria on the beach, fresh melon and serrano ham on the terrace and dinners with friends from Limesy topped off a relaxing week of sun and fun. As for P-Man, there was no stopping the Kid From Atlantis. The tyke left Spain completely waterlogged after non-stop pool, beach and jacuzzi soakings. According to le petit, a hot tub for Chateau Blanc could be just what the doctor orders next. ~30~