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Enjoy John's photos of the kitties, our neighborhood and the baby duckies in the pond of our local park. Just look at those duckies - aren't they the cutest you've ever seen?

Charlie and Buster taking a well deserved nap. Tommy is feeling a lot better these days. As Buster gets older he's getting more brown fur.
A new billboard sign that the local government changes once a month to spruce up the neighborhood. Most of the buildings in the city center were
built in the 19th Century. 		This combined chimney was incorportated into the older masonry.
Walking around town we often find these little architectural gems next to more modern buildings. A gallinule with her new chicks
at Oberthur Park. 		Oberthur Park is always peaceful, restful.
The new little ducklings join the larger duck community. A golden carp investigates the little ducklings. These brave little ducklings were swimming without their mom.
At this point they are mostly little fuzzballs. The neighborhood cats are also interested
in the little ducklings. 		Out of the water the mother duck is
never far away from her ducklings.
It was fun watching the duck parents herd
their little ducklings on land
to keep them fed and safe. 		Toward the end of May the ducklings growth was noticeable.





French News

Not much new for us in Frenchie-land this month except for there being no mustard here because of droughts and war. That shortage is showing up in many other parts of the world too. Canada had a huge heat wave/drought starting with last summer's heat dome as did Burgundy France. Canada provides most of the mustard seed in the world and Burgundy processes most of the seed into packaged mustard - especially Dijon. Ukraine and Russia are not able to provide the large amount they usually provide because of the war devastation and sanctions. I've been trying to find mild mustard for months. Then starting less than a month ago the mustard shelves have been bare almost everywhere.

If you want to know more about Dijon mustard here's a link for you.

The Shooting in Texas

Here are a few resources that may be useful to you or a friend:
NY Times FREE LINK, An Age-by-Age Guide to Talking to Children About Mass Shootings

Another useful link (starting at 4:32) - this one about immediate first aid to AR-15 survivors.

As horrendous as the recent school mass murders are, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau reminds us that handguns kill many more people than do semi automatic rifles in the US and elsewhere.

Good news

Did you know that nearly three-quarters of Biden's 98 federal judicial nominees have been women?

On May 9 Biden announced free internet for millions of low-income Americans President Biden announced Monday that his administration has reached an agreement with 20 internet providers - including AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon - to provide discounted high-speed internet service to low-income Americans. Tell your friends.

Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium have made faster permitting for renewables a priority with the North Sea being an ideal candidate to become the EU's first "go-to" zone for renewables. Permitting times are now between six and nine years. Those would be shortened to one year.

The House passed a bill allowing congressional workers to unionize. Because the resolution applies only to the operations of the House, it does not need to be approved by the Senate or signed by the president.

We finally saw Coda. The best supporting actor Academy Award presentation was given to the actor who played the dad in Coda. His character was sooooooooooooo funny! It's an English-language remake of the 2014 French-Belgian film La Famille Bélier . One of my good friends in San Diego was a immigrant from Mexico who had to translate for his parents who couldn't speak English. Coda reminded me a bit of him and his siblings.

How Europeans can help Ukraine

You can support people in Ukraine. Find out more about how to donate via the official Ukrainian government humanitarian aid website (right-click to translate). More info.

Our Dolls

The kids and parents still come by to see our dolls and visit the kitties. We used to have a person come by about once every day or two. A few days ago I put a sign in the window which reads, "Hello. We and our cats appreciate your visits. Take your time to "look at the dolls and our cats. If you see us inside, ignore us. When we want privacy we will lower our blinds."

So far today nine groups have visited the dolls and kitties and 3 times parents were teaching their kids who the dolls are. We love that. John's going to get me another doll soon. I don't yet know which one but we'll probably have a photo in our next blog.

French Culture

If you'd like to virtually see the inside and grounds of the Élysée Palace you can do so using this link You can visit the Élysée Palace in person during European Heritage Days in September. This year that will be September 17 and 18.