Roar

Does anybody have a guess about what we did this evening?

Did you guess, “watched a man use a chainsaw to turn a block of wood into a sculpture of a lion?” Wow, that was oddly specific.

But you nailed it.

One of the other parents from Lilian’s school sent us the event info, and I’m so glad that we went! It was oddly satisfying to watch the lion emerge from a block of wood. Plus, it was great people watching.

The whole process took about an hour, and it included a musical soundtrack that ranged from theatrical classical music to… the White Stripes version of Jolene.

The artist is Jürgen Lingl and he’s a sculptor who works primarily with a chain saw. I made a few jokes about American-style wooden bears, but his work is the real deal. My photos don’t do it justice, the lion had so much character.

Lilian and I were trying to guess what animal he’d create, and we were pretty sure it would be a lion (the symbol of Lyon). We were pretty pleased with ourselves for guessing.

Chainsaws aside, today was a pretty calm day. We tidied up our apartment as a family. It didn’t take too long, but made a big difference. A girl could really get used to having everything on one floor, with no yard or exterior maintenance. This apartment is pretty big by French standards, but it’s still a lot less work to maintain than an American-sized house. Especially since we’ve pared down our possessions.

Lilian took some photos today, I’ll let her post them to show you all what our common area is like. (Lilian is using all pronouns now).

Lilian and I walked all the way back to our original neighborhood today. It’s a straight shot from our permanent apartment, and there’s an avenue that we can take that’s closed to motor vehicles. It was probably about 45-60 minutes worth of walking each way, but we took our time. We grabbed poke bowls at the beginning and boba at the end. Mostly, “nous sommes allées faire du lèche-vitrines” aka “went window shopping” aka “went window licking” (the literal translation).

It’s amazing how many things my old french teacher, M. Richardson, talked about still live rent-free in my head. He loved telling us about clever idioms. He also loved joking about how the verb for “to fish” (pêcher) sounds just like the verb for “to sin” (pécher).

We didn’t fish or sin today, but we did find me some decent looking dress pants (I goofed and left all my nicer pants back in the US) and a really cute jacket. I’ve got a summit to attend next week, so hopefully I look très chic, and not like an American who’s trying too hard.

Speaking of sins, last night I went to a special Halloween choreography event at the aerial studio near us. The teacher made us all up like freaky clowns and then we learned a routine to go with the vibe.

I love Debora’s choreography. It somehow manages to be simultaneously accessible, fun and completely exhausting. I think because there are so many dance elements. I’ve been taking classes in “Cerceau Aerien” (aerial hoop/lyra) as well as in “souplesse” (flexibility). The flexibility class is just what I need, some stretching and a whole lot of strength and conditioning. It’s only been a couple of weeks, but I feel like I’m getting stronger.

Between the class last night and all of the walking today, I’m going to sleep well tonight!