Party preparations begin

Rio and assistant Helena, very busy preparing birthday party invitations, while having an in depth discussion on whether or not mermaids exist (in French, of course). Quick consensus was reached rather quickly - obviously they must and do.

This year's birthday party theme is pirates and mermaids! Goes with the scenary.

Sunny day at Cap Ferrat

We finally managed to make the "big" journey to the neighboring Cap Ferrat. The goal was to go to Plage de la Paloma, which is close to the Cap Ferrat port. However, we accidently stumbled unto an unnamed beach on the other side of the trail (Sentier du Bord de Mer), which was much less crowded and overall a better ambiance.

After the beach we took the trail around the point, which is quite breathtaking and offering lots of scenic picnic and swimming opportunities. Along the trail we've learned from the informational posts that there are 350,000 blue and white dolphins in the area (not counting the giant dolphins), as well as orkas, love birds (which we've seen in town), and that a plastic bottle thrown into water can last up to 1000 years. Quite an educational walk.

Now this is what I call a good forecast - especially for a long weekend!

Tonight		Mostly Clear	Low: 15°C (59°F)	Calm	10% chance of rain	69% humidity	Sunset: 8:56 pm
Tomorrow		Sunny	High: 22°C (71°F)	Calm	0% chance of rain	64% humidity	Sunrise: 5:59 am
Tomorrow night		Clear	Low: 16°C (60°F)	Calm	0% chance of rain	76% humidity	Sunset: 8:57 pm
Sunday May 23		Sunny	High: 21°C (69°F)	Calm	0% chance of rain	67% humidity	Sunrise: 5:58 am
Sunday night		Clear	Low: 16°C (60°F)	Calm	0% chance of rain	61% humidity	Sunset: 8:58 pm
Monday May 24		Sunny	High: 21°C (69°F)	Calm	0% chance of rain	58% humidity	Sunrise: 5:58 am
Monday night		Clear	Low: 16°C (60°F)	Calm	0% chance of rain	62% humidity	Sunset: 8:59 pm
Tuesday May 25		Sunny	High: 21°C (69°F)	Calm	0% chance of rain	61% humidity	Sunrise: 5:57 am
Tuesday night		Mostly Clear	Low: 16°C (60°F)	Calm	10% chance of rain	66% humidity	Sunset: 8:59 pm

YumBox: Small Adventure in Good Nutrition

I'm having lots of fun playing with our YumBox prototype. It's amazing how easy it is to create colorful meals in roughly 10 minutes. And it's a great way to use up leftovers. I've tested the box with all types of food - shook it, put it upside down, carried it in a backpack sideways. No leaks, spills and the food actually looks just as good as when I put it in - it helps to have little containers, so everything is snug.

I, for one, am a YumBox fan!

Ila the Fashionista

Ila was very quick to disrobe once she realized there are new clothes in the Opa/Meemee package. She then very carefully selected her playground outfit. And then selected another one. Finally deciding on this. Never took her for a little fashionista - but she definitely likes to dress up.

Making 3 year old's wishes come true

Ila and Rio got a package today from Opa and Meemee. They quickly disappeared into their room, barricaded the doors and called me after 20 minutes of squeels and laughter to a room filled with tinker bells, princesses and very happy girls.

The goal for tonight is to sleep in Rio's bed together so they can play with the stickers (as in Ila's stickers that were moved over to Rio's side this evening). Rio really knows how to sell her decorating strategy.

Espadrilles Weather

Finally after two weeks of persistant rain and cold temperatures our weather forecast is looking more encouraging. I was starting to worry about the lemon tree, as its blossoms were starting to fall off with the heavy rains.

Did final garden plantings today - strawberries Anais (which are supposed to resemble wild strawberries in their flavour), two types of tomatoes, spanish peppers, basil, dill, parsley, asian greens, and lots of flowers to attract butterflies and scent the air.

Our orange trees are also in peak bloom. At night it smells really good, especially since we also have lots of jasmine growing nearby.

And the terrace is slowly getting more furniture...so any day now we'll really be ready for visitors.