Wasn't it yesterday ...?

 December 1998                                                                                                                                                          

He was our first precious grandchild.

For his second birthday, I made him a little "book" - laminated photo pages on colored paper, and held together with a ring.

"I like to open and close doors", "I like to eat spaghetti", "I like to read", "I like to play the piano", "I like to talk on the phone," etc.

"But most of all, I like to smile".  Aber am liebsten tu ich lächeln.

Today is his birthday, and now he is eighteen years old. EIGHTEEN!  A bright, kind, already well-traveled young man, and a loving brother, son and grandson. We are so pleased and grateful for how well he has grown up. He has great parents and siblings.

                      HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NICKY!  WITH MUCH LOVE.


P.S. When he was little, he loved Winnie the Poo. So we're sending him this book - a good little gift for the boy who is currently the #1 Latin champion of all the high schools in Canton Zurich.

************

       

For all of you who love the French language, including moi

French Words to the World

      The linguistic bequest to the world has been indispensable. What sort of romance could be conducted without a tête-a-tête, a rendezvous with the right ambiance, a frisson or two, some badinage, the odd nuance and some risqué repartee?
      What sort of war could anyone conduct without sabotage, maneuvers, many and frequent mêlées, bags of esprit de corps, a little espionage, liaison and ultimately détente?
      What sort of poise could anyone achieve without being suave and soigné? What sort of political excitement could there be without coups d'état, laisser-faire, fait accompli, volte-face and carte blanche?
      How could we show we were out of our milieu if we couldn't make gaffes and faux pas to show that we were thoroughly gauche?
      What would we eat in a restaurant, buffet or café without casseroles, fricassées, hors-d'oeuvres, soufflés, vols-au-vents, escalopes, consommés, pâtés, terrines, éclairs, croissants, omelettes, gâteaux, mousses, sauces ....?
      And wouldn't everything be passé were it not for the avant-garde?

 From "The Xenophobe's Guide to the French" by N. Yapp and M. Syrett