A break in the frenzied storm of productivity

Don’t worry, we’re not dead, just busy. This week has been insane. We’ve been working on job applications, planning our summer trip, rescuing/watching kittens in a nearby yard, and teaching. Last weekend we made a spread sheet of web links to the employment information for all the school districts in Washington, since there isn’t a specific place where schools post job openings. In Oregon, the districts use a website called EdZapp, but there isn’t a standard system for Washington. So every few days we go through the list of two hundred and ninety-seven districts to see if any have posted jobs. Needless to say, it’s a time-consuming process. 


We’ve also been planning our post-China summer trip. Here’s the plan so far: we’ll leave Shanghai on June 19, fly to London and spend five days there; take a train from London to Nantes, spend two nights, pick up a car; drive to Vannes, spend two nights; drive to Quimper, stay three nights; drive to Normandy and enjoy three weeks in our rental; and end the trip by taking a couple of days to see Paris before flying back to Seattle. It’ll be a packed vacation and we’re really excited about it since there will be distinct portions of the trip and we’ll enjoy getting to know the northwestern part of France well.  It took a painfully long time to decide our itinerary, and there were many versions before our final draft, but we’re thrilled to be spending so much time in Brittany and Normandy. At first we were thinking about going to Provence, but if we stay in the northwest, there won’t be as many tourists as there are in the south of France, the weather will be cooler, and we won’t have to spend so much time on the road. Plus, we’ll have plenty to see to keep us busy.


A litter of kittens inhabits a yard of a nearby apartment complex that we can see from our window. There is a wall that keeps most of the kittens from exploring the outside world, but a few days ago one of the kitties escaped from the safety of the enclosure. We were worried about it, so I tried to rescue it two times before Jean-Jacques successfully returned the little feline to its home. (We can easily see the yard, but there are walls that prevent us from getting to it easily, so it takes about a five minute walk to get there.) However, not many hours passed before the little one escaped again. We’ve gave up worrying about it; the mama cat went to it frequently, so we knew it was getting food and would probably be OK until it grew a little more and could jump the wall back to home. And guess what? Today I saw it safely back with its brothers and sisters. 


I think we get a three-day weekend. No one from the school has officially said anything about it, but some students have assured me that we get Monday off to celebrate May 1, which is May Day or Communist Day. We don’t currently have any special plans, but something exciting might pop up.


Here are some photos I recently took of some roses at No. 1. Enjoy!

Yes, it"s a bit cliché, but I had fun working on the editing