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Search RuthAndJohn.com NOTE: click on the link then put your search words inside the quotes on Google
NOTE: Some of the links are to articles which are in French. Just right-click on the linked web page
and select "translate". If you have any trouble with that please let me know and I will send you a translation.
Kitties
The kitties are asleep most of the time. Sometimes even Buster goes to sleep. Wanna know something about Buster?
He'll NEVER grow up! Maybe I should name him Peter Pan? Tommy's doing very well. He seeks cuddles a lot, so
he may be feeling a little uneasy but he plays a lot now. Funny how different kitties gravitate to different toys.
Tommy has a vet appointment soon so we'll know more accurately what his health situation is then.
Charlie Chaplin is a weird cat. He stares into space a lot and seems to react to invisible companions.
I think he has eye floaters. Or maybe he is communing with the ghost of our Danny cat? It doesn't matter. He is cute,
affectionate and cuddly. Who could ask for more? Well, maybe that he stays out of my desk.
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| Buster in a box. | Charlie on a bed. | Kitty apartments. |
Around Rennes
When John walks around the neighborhood he takes photos of interesting sites - the nearby canal,
for example This time he took a photo of a dummy some prankster placed in an alcove of the canal wall.
He took several photos along the canal and each is a lovely scene. Including water lilies! There's a
small boat moored on the canal that has a flag of the local women's rugby team. We still haven't been to a
game but hope to do so soon. The boat has solar panels -- renewable energy is a big deal in France. It's becoming more common worldwide.
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Some prankster place this dummy in the canal wall. |
The Saint-Georges swimming pool is housed in an Art Deco building constructed in 1925. |
The trees in the Place de la Mairie are finally planted. |
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| They were held up when the diggers found 5000 year old skeletons where they were excavating. |
A window display of a mineral and fossil shop in Rennes. |
And another window from the same shop. |
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A nice early morning walk along a canal of Rennes. |
Same spot, other direction. | A small canal boat with the flag of the local women's rugby team. |
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| A pair of moorehens along the canal. | Because of the lower water levels throughout Europe, this weir is no longer a little waterfall. | Water lillies. |
Thabor Park Aviary
We enjoy hanging out at Thabor Park - especially the aviary. The wide variety of exotic and local birds is mesmerizing.
The doves have a dove cote instead of being in a cage (albeit a rather large cage) which adds to the ambiance.
Thabor is a beautiful park. If you visit us we will definitely take you there. It's only 6 blocks away from our home.
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| A long row of New Zealand finches. They're tiny. | Poule Hollandaise Huppées | African parrots |
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| Not sure what this pretty bird is. | This hen was taking care of her eight chicks and one duckling. |
Kathleen's visit
Our good friend Kathleen, from Nice, came to visit us this month. I love her humor and her
knowledge. She's in Croatia now as she does one of her country-hopping routines. She'll be traveling in
France next summer - maybe even to Brittany. That would be nice that we could more easily visit her.
I've mentioned before that she is a very good photographer, You can see some of her work in her blog.
After Kathleen arrived we met her at the Musée des beaux-arts de Rennes (Fine Arts Museum of Rennes).
Its collections range from ancient Egypt antiquities to the Modern art period and make the museum one
of the most important in France outside Paris. Kathleen has a Fine Arts degree and truly enjoys
new and previously experienced visits to great works of art. When we visit the Beaux Arts with her she always
wants to see Georges de La Tour "The Newborn Child" and she becomes intensely engaged with it.
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| 19th Century Iranian sculpture | Peacock sculpture from the same era. | 19th Century Iranian painting |
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| 15th Century Egyptian helmet | 19th Century Iranian metal basin | 19th Century Iranian dagger |
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| 19th Century Iranian pottery | More 19th Century Iranian pottery | A piece of 16th Century Egyptian armor |
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Kathleen and Georges de La Tour "The Newborn Child" |
Pierre Paul Rubens - "The Tiger Hunt" | Paublo Picasso - "Bust of a Man in a Hat" |
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| Francis Renaud - "The Pain" | Charles Cotter - "The Women of Plougastel" | Charles Nitsch - "Portrait of Max Meldrum" |
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| Eugene Boudin - "Trouville" |
Good News! And A Brief Rant
We had to wait an extra 2 years because of Covid but John and I finally applied for our 10 year residency
in France. We'll get our cards in 3-6 months. I think it will all be straight-forward from here but John
is a Murphy's law kinda guy so he's fretting. He's the fretter on our team but his being that way keeps
us safe and happy. So - in 3-6 months we'll have the ability to do an uninterrupted 10 year stint in France
(with a few more privileges than we have now). Currently the French Parliament is trying to make fluent French
a requirement for the 10 year residency but that won't happen this year so we got in under the wire. Now we have
10 years to become French fluent to whatever level will be required in 10 years. Our friend Alley has offered
to visit every now and then and chat with us and provide some instruction in French.
MY RANT: With the insanity in the US (and the continued poor treatment of citizens who aren't wealthy
re: worker rights, healthcare, education and more), the increase in crime, and the attack on
Democracy we are happy not to be there. Not to say there aren't anti-Democratic activists in Europe
- there are, including in France. We hope Trump goes to prison but the various prosecutors need to move quickly.
If Republicans take control of Congress they will throw everything they can in the path of justice. That's my rant for the day.
Light show at the Parliament building
On Aug 28 John and I went to the projection mapping light show at the Parliament Building here in Rennes.
His photos of the show are displayed below. Also, here's a very short video of snippets of the show.
These shows always seem very strange to me. This one less so. It consisted primarily of depictions of
holiday traditions from around the world. Similar programs are displayed in parts of Europe, Asia and North America.
I think projection mapping displays are always very cool. We missed both summer and winter ones here in Rennes over the
last 2 years. Lyon has a Festival of Lights in December that has projection mapping and physical light displays.
Several US cities have the physical lights displays in the summer and in the winter.
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| The crowd gathers at the Place du Parlement-de-Bretagne | The show starts.... | The Grand Ball |
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| Masquerade | Venice | Winter |
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| Mexico - Day of the Dead | Japan | India |
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| France | Finale |
Autumn wear in France
The weather is getting cooler and the French have started wearing their trademark scarves.
Even in Nice many of them wore scarves as soon as the last heat wave passed and quit wearing them in mid-May.
Of course they look very stylish with their lightweight yet very thick neckwear. I'm not a fashion person at all
but many French people are and it is enjoyable to see them in their fashionable clothing.
Currency in France and the US
Relative to the US dollar the Euro has been dropping in value for several months.
When John and I moved to France 1 euro = $1.12. Then it went up and down in value
a few times and now, for the first time in 20 years, a Euro equals less than a dollar.
August 24 is Ukraine Independence Day
Ukraine Independence Day is observed annually ever since the country declared independence from Russia in
1991 and is celebrated on 24 August in commemoration of the Act of Declaration of Independence set out
by the Ukrainian Parliament in 1991. A referendum on the Act was held in Ukraine on December 1, with 84%
of eligible voters turning up at the polls. Just over 92% of people voted 'yes' to leaving the Soviet Union.
The very next day, on December 2, Ukraine was recognized around the world as an independent nation and Ukraine
officially became an independent country just over 30 years ago, in December 1991.
Russia divestment promises by US states largely unfulfilled
Six months into a war that has killed thousands of Ukrainians and displaced over 12 million more,
most of the US pledges to drop Russian investments - some made with great fanfare during news conferences -
have gone unfulfilled, according to an Associated Press review, state retirement administrators and firms that invest state funds.
Energy costs and cuts in France
"The cuts, they do not concern households (...) we are not going to cut the gas in French households, but it is on our
companies, the large consumers, that there could be cuts" , has affirmed the Prime Minister. To avoid these cuts,
she again invited the French, individuals and businesses, to reduce their consumption of gas or electricity, while
certain nuclear reactors producing electricity are stopped. "Anything we can do to lower our consumption will prevent
us from getting into situations where we should have cuts ," she said. On the other hand, the Prime Minister was not as
reassuring about the increase in energy prices by 2023. "There will certainly be increases in the price of electricity and
gas at the start of the year 2023", adding that the government "is not going to freeze prices forever".
Heat Waves
Heat waves are probably over for this year in Brittany. Temps should be max mid-80s F (high 20s C) for a few weeks and
then dropping a lot. We had a couple of very high temperature periods but things have cooled down and it looks like
normal autumn weather is upon us. France had a record 33 days of heat wave this summer.
The summer of 2022 is the second hottest on record. Only that of 2003 was worse.
the maximum temperatures were beaten in 87 Météo France stations. There are also 86 minimum temperature records
broken: we speak of "tropical nights" when the mercury does not drop below 20 degrees. This is still the case in Nice
where it has been 61 days in a row that the mercury has not gone down.
New US program for low income families and individuals
US Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) provides cheap or free high speed internet for low income people.
The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides eligible households $30 per month off their internet
bills. ACP-eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop
computer, or tablet from participating providers. The 20 leading internet providers now offer ACP-eligible
households a high-speed internet plan for no more than $30 per month. Eligible families who pair their ACP
benefit with one of these plans can receive high-speed internet at no cost.
Iowa Education Program
The Alternative Learning Center (ALC) in Dubuque, Iowa, USA, allows students to receive physical education
credit by helping do yard work for senior citizens and people with disabilities. You might want to send the
information to a school board or education department near you. I checked first to see if France had a
similar program and I didn't find that they did so I sent an email to the Education Ministry in Paris
(Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports and Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation)
about this innovative US program. Of course I also share information about innovative French programs with
organizations and individuals in the US.
Covid
France has the most cumulative cases of Covid (33.6M) (million) of any European country. Germany is close with 32.3M. Since
December last year the number of active Covid cases in France has been high, especially in January when new cases
peaked at 6.9M a day (with a 7 day rolling average). Another peak in April was 2.7M and the most recent
peak was 2.3M in July. And yet, due to the new national Parliament, mask requirements have been lifted everywhere
but medical facilities (including the vet). When John and I venture out we see that NO ONE is wearing a mask. Covid in
France is far from over. Although the current reproduction rate is 0.99 that number has changed often and quickly over time.
Ille-et-Vilaine department has about 150 current hospitalizations due to COVID-19, including more than 12 in intensive care.
Click on the link above this paragraph to see a graph of the active cases in Rennes. You'll need to right-click to translate
to English then select Region = Bretagne, Department = Ille et Villane and city = Rennes (Reindeer in English). Our Department
and city are doing much better than France in general. That's been the case through most of the pandemic. Although case numbers
are very high in France deaths are less than they were in the beginning. However, in January of this year the peak number of deaths
was only half the number in March 2020.
| Active cases in France from the beginning of the pandemic to now |
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