Show time!

Excitement is rising! The first of the girls three skating shows take place tonight. It promises to be an ice extravaganza as usual. Here are some of the artists awaiting their more formal photographs in their "little red riding hood' costumes.

Between

Anne-Françoise and Éric Glon made the trip from Lile to Brussells to see our show and have a visit. How nice to see them! Here is a picture of 'Behind' that they took live and from the front!

Behind the scenes in Behind

I don't often have pictures of what we are actually on tour for... the performances. This time Ester, who is part of the band in 'behind' took some pictures of us in action. For those who don't know... 'Behind' is a piece where the audience doesn't see us - we are hidden behind panels and all the audience has to go on is the reflection on the floor and sound and shadow. So what you are seeing here is top secret information... for your eyes only.

Hugo (drummer) and Carl-Éric (guitar and voice) - The band, which includes Ester on plastic cups and shakers - plays for the last 3 minutes of the piece. The rest of the time they have to sit quietly and watch what no one else sees. In some theatres they have to sit with a black towel over their heads so that the audience can't see their reflection. Que ça peut être ingrat la vie d'artiste!

Yes,  we really do the splits in this one. Proof!

A sunny Sunday in Paris

I had quite a delegation at my show on saturday night in Vanves - Louis, Louise, Charlotte, Raphaël and his friend Harry, Alysha and Eva. It was great to have them all there and I think that they even enjoyed the show! We  were very happy with our world première of 'Between'.

Sunday morning I set of with my suit-case for two nights at Louis + Louise's appartement. They had prepared a great feast for our sunday morning brunch and we were a very jolly table full with all the same gang as was at the show the night before.

After brunch we set out. Louis had a short walk with us before heading off for a week working in Toulouse. Alysha, Louise, Eva and I had the rest of the day to walk in the gorgeous sun (it was almost too hot at 20 degrees, I was wishing for sandals and shorts!). We walked through the Jardins du Luxembourg and then along the Seine along with just about everyone in Paris, all out enjoying one of the first very warm day of spring.

Eva waiting her turn for the zip line in the Jardins du Luxembourg...

...while the Mamas chat outside

...while the Mamas chat outside

La Seine

La Seine

Alysha and Eva in front of their Parisian appartement in the 6ième. They are there for a month brushing up on their medieval history.

Alysha and Eva in front of their Parisian appartement in the 6ième. They are there for a month brushing up on their medieval history.

Les trois belles soeurs en train de fêter la journée de la femme sur une terrasse parisienne!

from Sutton to Paris... in a day

Wednesday the 4th of March I woke up in our tree house in Sutton (pictures to follow when I can figure out how to get them off my phone) surrounded by snow and forest and field. That night I got on a plane and the morning of the 5th this is what I found out my hotel window in Vanves. As the wicked witch of the west would say - "oh, what a world, what a world."

Au diable Vert 2015

Before France and Belgium there were three magnificent days in the eastern townships au 'Diable Vert'. Beautiful winter days, lots of fresh snow. Cold but not too cold to keep us from enjoying the outdoors. Hard to imagine a nicer family time. It was hard also to tear ourselves away to get mummy back to Montreal and her plane for Paris!

Two explorers with map in hand.

This was our home for three nights - the Eagel's Nest. This is a tiny refuge perched up in a tree. Very basic but nice and snuggy warm (too warm in fact for the girls who had their bed up under the roof and who roasted when the fier was on which it needed to be to keep us warm and make our meals.

Mummy off to get water.

Back up the hill with re-filled water tank and rented back-country skis for the girls.

Skying on the trails at Diable Vert is a challenge to say the least in classic skis as the trails are really for walkers and snoeshoers but the short back-country skies were ideal allowing for much more control on the ups and downs.

They call these skies seal skins. I don't think that it is made with real seal skins now but the idea is there - one slides with the grain of the fur on the way down and that same grain prevents one from slipping backward while going up. A great invention.

Our little stove

'Tire d'érable' - a bit of a cheat as the maple water is no where near running yet but we discovered that last year's syrup works very well too for a yummy, sticky, sweet treat.

Snow cave

I have been wanting to make one of these for years! And here it is. Our 'ancien temps' theme seems to extend to playing in the snow. I doubt the ladies at Downton did this but they might have in Laura Wilder's world of the 1850's as they might in Montreal of the 2015's.

No snow drops here!

This is by way of reassuring Doco... There are definitely no signs of snow-drops here. Since a christmas that couldn't decide if it was thawing of freezing and ended up being mostly ice, we have had quite consistently below-10 with some below-20. Lots of snow - plenty of winter! We begin to dream of spring!!

La Fête de L'ancien Temps

For Lily's 11th birthday she chose to invite her two bet friends (Annaelle and Marylou) over for a week-end of 'ancien temps'. A great deal of planning has gone in to figuring out whether it would be more fun to be servants or Ladies or both. In the end it was decided that Alice would be the servant (along with Mummy and daddy) and that Lily and her friends would be princess and duchesses respectively. It was never clearly determined which country we were in nor quite which era but we have the England of Downton Abby as a reference.

Maid Alice awaits the arrival of our guests - Duchesses Annaelle de Gilford, et Marylou de Marquette.

Princesse Lily de Fabre attends aussi!

The damsels had to put on their outer attire to head off to catch the train (metro) en route for Old Montréal at -12.

Awaiting our carriage!

This is Anastasia and her driver who showed us around Old Montreal. Such a nice way to move around though we could have used another blanket or two!

Back home for dinner. Maid Alice (after being a great help in getting the table ready) disappeared and a new guest arrived - a distant cousin of Princess Lily.

Roast beef and yorkshire pudding!

After supper - the bal.

Only one prince.

Quite a bevy of ladies

Arrivederci Bassano

Two sides of the gates to the city

When I was taking this picture a man stopped to tell me that it was nicer from the other side... I think he found it strange to see me photographing it's 'backside'. 

Our breakfast spot at alnumero 14

Fresh snow on the mountains... time to go!

More on the Garage Nardini

A final bit of sunlight before heading into the chilly studio.

Obviously someone else has been having trouble with the lock! 

The Italians seem often to do without seats!

The front gates to the garage area - feels a bit as if we are in a world separate from the one on the other side.