Signing Off Until Spring 2011

We are now back in Vancouver, slowly returning to 'normal' life, so the next postcards we send from St Maurice will be in the Spring of 2011.

Evan and Janice

Garden at the CMP

The back yard of the Centre Mennonite de Paris could be described as "leafy". Trees and bushes near the terrace keep it quite private, and the rose bush (with the few last roses of the season) shade the south-facing terrace.


Geraniums on the window sills and in an ancient metal container from a fireplace (??) provide a colorful accent.


In early June, love-in-a-mist plants (nigella) flower in profusion from seeds from the previous year.

The gooseberries are beginning to ripen.

A volunteer is busy mowing the lawn.

Another volunteer has trimmed this tree on the west side of the house, in a way typical in urban areas in France.


The metal slide sits in the back of the garden near the compost pile and a pile of trimmings from the tree and other bushes. Perhaps this is not the most beautiful part of the back yard, but there is a swords-to-plow-shares story here. A former Mennonite worker from North America purchased the slide at a bargain price from the US/NATO forces in the mid 50's when they were requested to leave France by Charles de Gaulle. This sturdy slide has been used for over 50 years in this backyard and appears to be good for another 50!

Grocery Quiz

This first photo shows a small paper bag, the type that the vendors at the markets use for fresh produce.
Now the quiz-- see answers at the end. Groceries in France look a little different. What are these items?

Answers: coffee, ice cream, (bio=organic) yogurt, butter, bread, & Pringles!

June 4--Place de Vosges

Dear Mother,

I should add a bit more to what I already wrote about Friday.  After leaving Rue St Denis, we headed somewhat south.  When we came close to the Hotel de Ville (City Hall), Janice spotted the enormous TV screen that was set up on the plaza.  This is quite possibly the one I read about which will show all 60 World Cup games, starting on the 11th.  But right now, they are showing some tennis match.  Since I'm not paying attention to the news and have not had access to a TV for a month, I am clueless as to which match is being featured.  But when Janice noticed that Fed Ex was one of the sponsors, she wanted a picture, so here it is:  tennis on the screen, tennis also being played live in the middle of Paris (the court built and set up just for this week), and the Cathedral of Notre Dame in the background.  Frankly, I am amazed that they would build a temporary clay tennis court on the plaza, but Parisians like to enjoy city life in Paris.

We concluded our 7-hour stroll Friday with a visit to the Place de Vosges, which we had not seen since 1989. After consulting my compass and map, we found this square, even though it is off the beaten track. This was an old area, once obviously very wealthy, and I believe it was also close to one of the the Jewish quarters. The place (town square) is a large rectangle with a good sized park inside. All around the rectangle is a covered walkway with lots of little shops. Now art dealers tend to dominate, and I sometimes wonder if anyone would ever buy the stuff they show, but just because one has money does mean one also has good taste. The covered walkways are reasonably extensive and offer a number of cafés for coffee and dining, and the uniform archways offer good views of the inner square's roads and park.

It would seem to be a wonderful place to live, though having money would be rather helpful. 

All for now, with love from us both, Evan.

June 4th--Passage du Grand Cerf

Dear Mother,

The past week has been a bit hectic with library work.  Janice has been working most days during our stay(while I frittered away time taking photos).  She and Yves built up quite a pile of newly-catalogued books needing numbers to the spines, pockets for borrowing cards, borrowing cards, tape, etc., so I essentially spent all day M, T, Th on that project and possibly processed several hundred books.  Janice's primary goal for this visit was to recatalogue all of the Amish materials.  They had been spread all over the collection, but a newly released cataloguing system makes it possible to bring those materials together.  Since the Amish and Hutterite portions of this library are unique to collections in France, the Centre thought this project would be very helpful.  In a year or two, it is hoped that the software will be finished so that the Centre's catalogue can be dovetailed into the national catalogue at the BNF (French National Library).  This will then let scholars all over France (and beyond) know about the Centre's holdings.

On Wednesday I went with Neal to the Protestant Seminary at Vaux and took another some 400 pictures.  The pictures will have to await my return to Vancouver so I can process them correctly on the calibrated monitor (dark skin against bright background is very tricky and requires many adjustments in postproduction).  The seminary was very gracious about last year's photos, showing me several instances in which they used them in publications.  The IT volunteer looking after their website had to leave school during the economic downturn in order to devote more time to his young business enterprise, so they are looking for another volunteer, who they they hope will mount quite a few of my photos.  The Dean also told me that he wanted to use my shots in powerpoint presentations faculty and students can take around to the various churches, promoting the work of the seminary.  Marie-Claude had quite a list of specific types of shots she wanted, but I only got partway through.  They were very pleased to hear me talk about returning for several more years; that sort of takes the pressure off and allows them to rethink photo ops for me.

Yesterday (Friday), Janice and I worked again all morning.  She did some more library stuff and I mowed the lawn (not a big deal, 15 minutes max).  She also did two loads of laundry while I finished adding numbers etc. to the remaining books and processed some photos for Neal and Janie to use.

Then Janice and I set off for République for lunch.  We didn't see anything we particularly liked, so we kept walking until by 1:30 hunger truly took over.  I commented that we were likely the only people in the universe who could not find a place to have lunch in Paris, but we were fussy and apparently kept making bad decisions on which streets to take.  We wanted something better than a fancy bar and yet not a full-fledged restaurant, wanted to sit outside but not in the sun, wanted a street with interesting activities and lots of pedestrians but not on a sidewalk so tight that people would almost brush our table while walking by.  We finally settled on a restaurant which met our requirements and was also very busy (good sign). Although this picture was taken well after people returned to work at 2 p.m., we were lucky to get the next-to-last table on the left, front row.  We shared a tiny round table, making it even smaller by sitting on the same side of the table, so we could both see the street activities, which is what people do.  This made me realize the our dining room table is perhaps 10 times as large, quite possibly a waste of space, and that we hadn't sat that close together to eat since our courtship years, when food was hardly my primary interest.

We watched men pushing carts of carpets, carts with bolts of cloth, racks of clothing, etc.  This looked just like the garment district in the old New York City, at least the one we so often enjoyed seeing in the 1960s. 

After lunch, we walked further along the Rue St Denis, the patron saint of Paris and the road which used to lead pilgrims to the famous basilica, St Denis.  I had forgotten that this was also a kind of red light district, and there were some truly sad looking women plying the ancient trade that Friday afternoon (payday?)  None of them said anything to me because they could tell I had a wife keeping close tabs on things!

We then happened upon a church I had not entered before, the Eglise-St-Leu-St-Gilles.  I had wanted to see the interior in earlier years but it had always been closed, so I was pleased to get a peek and take just a few photos.  I want to return and get more next time.  I was intrigued by the interplay of light and shadows, and look forward to developing these shots (I'm just giving these to you 'as is').

As we walked further, we came across the Passage du Grand Cerf, one of the largest and best of the Parisian passageways, 111 meters long and some 10 meters high.  These are like narrow walkways between buildings, which were covered with a glass roof in the 1800s (?) to protect the passageway year around.  The shops looking onto the passageway used to be small workshops which produced various kinds of goods, especially clothing.  This passageway was renovated perhaps a decade ago and is absolutely delightful with the lighting from above, the reflections on the windows, the tunnel effect, and the variety of merchandise.

Looking straight up, you see (through the glass ceiling/roof) that people live several stories higher.

Today (Saturday) we will be at the Centre all morning, doing a few more books and possibly looking at the packing situation.  We bought some books and things which are going to require an additional box I fear, but we need to find out now rather than Monday.  We will head downtown at noon for a light lunch, then likely go our separate ways for the afternoon.  Janice is very gracious about letting me stop unexpectedly to take a shot, or to be quietly asked to "stand back, I want to shoot" (when I have to shoot immediately or lose the composition), but she wants to go to a garden show alone, unencumbered, at her own pace, and I spotted another church or two requiring my attention.  Then we will have a light dinner at home.

Hoping you are well and the weather is conducive to your getting out and about on your powerchair,

With love from us both, Evan

June 2nd--recalling our meal in Port Dorée

Dear Mother,

Sunday was Mothers Day in France, so in the evening, Neal and Janie invited us out for a multiple celebration:  (1) Mothers Day, (2) their wedding anniversary, which will come up in about a week and (3) to thank us for our work at the Centre.

The four of us set off a 45-minute walk through the Bois de Vincennes, similar to the route our family used to take 21 years ago when returning from the Centre to our home Sunday after church.  Porte Dorée is one of many former 'gates' into the formerly walled city.  We used to live very close to Porte de Vincennes, which was one or so gates to the north.  The Bistrot de la Porte Dorée is likely our favourite restaurant in Paris, mostly because it is both affordable and celebratory, and has been our destination restaurant with the Bloughs every time we have come to Paris, starting back 1988-9.  They have a fixed-price menu that provides absolutely everything associated with a good meal in France, three courses, café at the end, the works. The owner knows the Bloughs well by now, and has been there for as long as I can remember.  He now even adds that he looks forward to seeing us again next year, which is nice. 

We were among the first to arrive, going at the very early hours of 7:30, so we got a lovely table by the front window.  I keep forgetting that the French and Italians prefer to arrive at 8:00, which is not quite your typical Greencroft meal schedule, but the Swiss and I like to eat a bit sooner.

The meal here always begins with freshly toasted slices of whole wheat bread (with crunchy grains), on which you spread a textured pork pâté.

Our entrées were selected from a full page of offerings.  Since it is a fixed-price establishment, you don't worry about one item costing a bit more than others.  After much changing of mind, we settled on things like smoked salmon and avacado salad,

or the restaurant's composed salad which changes regularly.  This time it featured chicken rolled around foie gras, a slice of their duck terrine, artichokes (alas, not the kind diners in Rome will soon be consuming) and cold veggies.

Then the plats, again selected after much musing aloud, a bit of whistful negotiating, and finally whittling it down to three choices, hoping the gods would decide for us by the time we had to order.  This year I finally remembered that waiters will not come to take your order until each of us has closed the menu, signalling that you no longer need to study the offerings and are ready; never mind that I need multiple fingers as bookmarks to help me remember what I decided upon.  Neal decided with the most ease of the us all, settling on the duck confit with what I would call rostis (new potatoes boiled and then sliced and finished in butter and oil, quite likely in the oven).

Janie ordered the scallops St-Jacques, I think they're called; anyway, scallops done just right in butter, with a fruit sauce, some prawns and veggies.

Janice and I both opted for duck breast with peach, roasted stuffed tomato, and a nice peach sauce.  I was so pleased that nothing was over-salted.

Desserts were next, after an appropriate pause.  I liked Janice's colourful plate which offered a selection of goodies, fruit (for the conscience), two kinds of chocolate (for comfort), and a rich creme anglaise (oh, why not).

I got what I always get here, their crepes flambées au grand Marnier and sugar, drenched with melted butter.  My back was turned, so I did not get the camera in time to catch the flambée bit, but the flames I saw went about four feet high--impressive.

I'll spare you a picture of our four tiny espressos, served with little chocolates.

Well, all of this reminds me of Dad's letters telling in some detail about yet another of your delicious meals, course by course.  He enjoyed eating, as do you and your descendants.  I was actually anticipating this meal even before purchasing our plane tickets, and I'm already looking forward to the one next year.

With love from us both, Evan

June 1st--Recalling a Sunday in Paris

Dear Mother,

Yesterday, Sunday, May 30th, we decided to be true to our pre-Anabaptist ancestors and attend Mass. Perhaps two months ago, I had heard an organ recital in Vancouver performed by an organist from Paris and I wanted to hear him play on ‘his’ own organ in his church. So we headed downtown to the 5th Arrondissement, south of the River Seine and basically across the square from the Panthéon, toward the southern edge of the Latin Quarter and near the Sorbonne. We left a bit later than was wise, forgetting that the métros do not run quite as frequently on a Sunday. However, we never had to wait more than five minutes and found the church, rather high on a little hill that once surprised me in the 1970s when I first encountered it, since the rest of the area is so flat.

Saint-Étienne-du-Mont (St Stephen on the Mount/hill) had more attendees than expected, but we got seats toward the front, just outside the roped off area (meant to keep visitors away from people wishing to pray during the week). We could see just about everything, and the speaker system was pretty good for my working ear. People sang when appropriate, so it seemed that the people were Parisian and not tourists. The young woman leading singing was able to conduct from the front, and worked well with the organist, who was playing from the far back of the church up in the balcony, watching her by mirror.

I also noticed that some people knelt at certain times (others remained standing), kneeling on the cold stone floor, whether in dress pants, dress/skirt, or nylons (with skirt above the knees). The other thing that really impressed me was that the Mass was finished at 11:00 sharp—none of this meandering all over the place with lengthy warmup remarks or endless singing. Wish our church would take note. My students would occasionally grant me an additional 30 seconds for my lectures, but we had to vacate the room on schedule. If only my church would be like that . . . .

The organist is a great improviser, so I enjoyed hearing him take one of the chants sung during the Trinity Sunday service and improvise all sorts of accompaniment around it. At the end of the service, he improvised for an extended period of time. We stayed to listen, as did a couple ahead of us to the left. Afterwards, I took a few photos but was soon asked to leave so that the church could close for a few hours, except for the family which had requested baptism for their newborn.

Inside the church, I was fascinated by two elaborate stone staircases which wound their way up two pillars, apparently leading to some sort of walkway around the choir screen and walls.  I tried to imagine what it would be like to have singers and/or instrumentalists stationed on the stairways and on the narrow walkways around the choir, performing from high in the air, sending music out into the open spaces.  I certainly wished I could get permission to go up there to look around and photograph, but it will never happen.

I knew there would not be much time before the church would be closed for noon, so I quickly looked at the choir area, which is close to the old altar.  In the good old days, this would have been more or less closed off for the monks and priests (and it was closed to me since someone was praying there).  In earlier eras, the laity could basically listen in on the service, through the screen.  Today, a temporary altar has been moved out into the nave proper, where everybody can see what is happening, ordinary people can now sit in the choir stalls or on the benches between the facing choir stalls (all of which were filled), and the priest is now out with the people, in front of the choir area.  Laity helped to serve communion bread, reminding me of how Vatican II has changed things during my lifetime.  Of course many Catholics now await a Vatican III.

Once they closed the church, we walked around in the district. Janice was delighted to find a restaurant recommended by Veronica. Since it is never open for lunch, we had to settle with a photo, but it did look intriguing, very small, possibly with additional rooms below or in the back.

We soon settled on a small restaurant, sitting inside because of the threat of rain and the cold wind which was chilling Janice to the bone.  Even inside also proved to be rather airy because all of the front windows were wide open, floor to ceiling.  There was plenty of light from the front, but by comparison, the inside was rather darker than were the tables outside.  Some students were having intense student-like conversations over their meal, which was nice to see.

After a salad lunch, we embarked on a leisurely lengthy walk over to the west end of the Jardin des Tuileries (west end of the grounds at the Louvre) to find Janice’s favourite gardening bookstore. On the way, we came upon a book market featuring many book dealers under tents. My favourite part was the stretch of boxes where books were sold by weight, 5 Euros/kilogram. Those books were hopelessly unorganized but it would likely be well worth spending a few hours of rummaging time, which we felt we didn't really have.

Shortly after that, we saw in the distance quite a few in-line skaters go through an intersection.  After a while I realized they were still going through and that there may have been several hundred roller skaters going as a group through the streets of Paris, complete with police escorts. I wasn't close enough to get a good picture (wrong lens on the camera) but it looked nice to see the informality of the happy skaters against the very form background of elegant stone buildings and stately trees.

I was interested in a kiosk advertising Radio Classique, FM 101, my favourite station.  I think it may also be available on the internet so I will have to look for it when we get home.

We soon resumed our walk towards the afternoon's goal, the Librairie des Jardins (garden bookstore). This bookstore is located under an elevated formal park which was designed and constructed by one of the Louis kings during the 1600s. The bookstore is Janice's favourite, so this is becoming an annual pilgrimage for her.

While Janice perused the many books, I mostly stayed outside, observing the many visitors and locals, and watching birds deal with the very strong winds. There was some sort of project underway that afternoon, something like “Lire et faire lire” (we might say something like 'read and encourage reading'). They had all sorts of people stationed around, here and there, identified by white helium-filled balloons. Small groups of people would then gather, or even just a single person, and listen intently to the person give a very dramatic and expressive reading of some excerpt. Children would sit and hear stories, one guy read and then sang some song associated with the story, all in a very folks manner. To me, it was yet another illustration of how the French take their cultural life seriously and attempt to keep it alive, and one thing they still treasure is reading books.

There was even a reader in front of Janice's book store.

As the rain clouds continued to gather, we decided to head home. Janice bought perhaps six gardening books and started reading as soon as we sat down on the métro. We got back, took a short rest, went out with Neal and Janie for a celebratory dinner (tomorrow's blog).  After the meal, we were most willing to have another 45-minute walk back to let things settle a bit. The gals then turned in but Neal and I watched France play Tunisia for another pre-World Cup warm up game (1-1), which was hardly the result France wanted.  The way France played, they won't make it to the second round.  I've seen more imaginative soccer played in Parisian parks by young energetic teenagers, steroid-free. 

Today (Monday)  may not produce anything blogable. Janice has 10 stacks of books waiting for me to apply tape, cards, card pockets and call numbers.  It is hard to imagine that we will be flying back home a week from now. I have no idea where the time went, but I do seem to have an impressive pile of photographs needing attention this winter.

With love from us both, Evan.