Limoncello

We made homemade limoncello for the first time. Surprisingly, it came out really good. We've got some arancello steeping and that should be ready in about a week. Next, we're going to try some flavored olive oils.

Who's a happy girl?

Rose Trémière

We got some seeds from France a couple of weeks ago and some are starting to sprout.

Spring Training

It's Spring Training time in AZ again and we went out to watch the A's and the Giants play. We didn't actually watch the game. We were there to promote greyhound adoption.

Before and After

Either we're really good dog owners or we're really bad dog owners. Simone was a professional athlete. Look what we've done to her (I think you have to click on the photo to see the transformation). When we got her she was 60lbs. Now she's 80lbs.

San Tan Mountain Park

We drove out to Queen Creek on Saturday to see Rachel and Tom and do a little desert hiking. Rachel couldn't go. She used that "I'm giving birth in 2 weeks" excuse.

Here we all are at the top of Goldmine Mountain.


This is the view of the valley from up there.


Simone had no trouble getting up to the top but froze on the really rocky part on the way down. I had to pick her up and pass her over some particularly jagged rocks to Tom who carried her the rest of the way to safety (really jagged rocks not shown).

January, 2008

The three of us on a cloudy day in Papago Park.


And this is the succulent garden Barry planted just before Christmas while he was waiting for Cécile to come home.

Christmas, 2007

We spent Christmas day hiking Spur Cross trail in Cave Creek.
Nice day.

Recap

Here's a few pictures that we should have posted a long time ago.


Here's Barry and Simone smiling for the camera.


Walking the dog on a November evening.

October in Santa Fe

Santa Fe is nice. Bandelier is beautiful.

September in Southern California

Here we are in La Jolla, enjoying the morning and the sea air.

The New Addition

It's almost 6 weeks now since Simone joined our family and neither Cécile nor I can imagine what it would be like without her.

Here we are at Woods Canyon Lake and Tonto Creek.

Our Friend Michelle

This is our friend Michelle.


Michelle really likes dirty vodka martinis.


She says "Olives are good for you."


"Oh, look! That boy is cute and chubby."

French

It's not just a nationality, it's a state of mind.

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Dec. 7th, American Embassy in Paris

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!VISA APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll get it next week in person at the Embassy.

The interview was scheduled at 1:00PM. I arrived there at 12:15APM to be early enough. The guards told me that it was too early and it would be best to come back at 1. I went into a café near the Embassy and went back at 12:45. Then 10 more people arrived. At 1:00PM, the guards checked our ID's and our letters of convocation.

I got into the main room where windows from 4 through 7 and 8 through 12 are. I sat down and waited. First, a lady asked us all to tell her our names. It was kind of chaotic but a line of 15 people was formed. Afterwards, the lady asked us to sit down again until our name was called. In the meanwhile, some more people came into the room, which was small. It filled up pretty quickly and became kind of loud.

The first interview was done by a lady who was in charge of getting the documents ready for the officers. She asked me if I had a departure date and told me that they were having some problems with the electronic devices for issuing visas. I suggested to them that I could come in person to fetch it next week instead of waiting to receive it by mail. Once all the papers were ready, she asked me to sit down again.

Then, an officer called me. He asked me 6 questions:

"When did you meet your fiancé?"
"Was your fiancé once married?"
"Does he have children?"
"What job does he do?"
"What do you do?"
"What job do you expect to do in the US?"

While I responded to the questions, he was looking through the paperwork.

That was it. The interview only took 10 minutes and it took 2 hours in all (mostly waiting to be called). He didn't ask me for any evidence of our relationship such as pictures, photocopies of e-mails, etc. When he was going through the files, I could see the pictures that Barry had sent last March with our original application. From Phoenix to the California Service Center, to the National Visa Center in New Hampshire, to the Embassy in Paris. It made me smile.

I am coming back to Phoenix at last!

Dec. 7th, 9:29AM - Brushing My Teeth

I hear the ding from my computer. There it goes again. And again.

I run out of the bathroom (I remembered to spit). It's Cécile.

VISA APPROVED!!!!

VISA APPROVED!!!!

VISA APPROVED!!!!

Dec. 7th, 9:02AM - Still No Word

There's an eight hour difference in time between Phoenix and Paris. That would mean that it's after 5:00PM in France. She can't still be at the consolate. She must be on her way home.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Dec. 7th, 4:17AM - Can't Sleep

Cécile is on the train to Paris. She's going to the American Consolate for the interview process, the last part, the worst part of this visa journey. We're not counting months or weeks or days. We're counting seconds.