J+L

We went back to the UK/ Neil's family for a lovely Christmas. One afternoon, we met John and Lula at the wintry beach. Lula was settling in to her new life as a Spanish girl in a British climate. Lucius adores her, and knows her well from the times she stayed at ours in France, whilst John + Papa went off on adventures.
DOGS DOGS DOGS BEACH BEACH BEACH

Murakami at Versailles

In early December, we headed to Paris to see the Takashi Murakami exhibition at the Versailles Palace. It was a once in a lifetime chance to see such flamboyant art in such
lavish surroundings. Incroyable!
Lucius was as thrilled as we'd hoped she'd be.

We arrived at the crack of dawn, greeted by the giant Buddha and a rare moment of quiet at this popular spot

Wait a second....

A mother and daughter Ladurée moment

Panorama

The ski-lifts kick into gear tomorrow and the mountains have a good base of fresh snow to start the season in earnest- with more forecast for the coming week. I'll be heading up on Monday (hopefully) to avoid the crowds

Winter Garb

Lucius is now fully kitted out for all that winter can throw at her
And she can now officially partake in puddle splashing

And she wouldn't look out of place on a Nantucket Sloop, should she decide to go a'Whalin'

Yeti Photos

As the title suggests the quality of the pictures might seem questionable... but we can assure you that these are indeed 3 wild boar piglets(!) caught frolicking in our field just behind
the house

Our neighbors said we would be lucky to ever catch sight of them- even once in a lifetime glimpse is thoroughly rare. Though abundant, they are incredibly shy, and stick to the undergrowth due to the lively hunting community here

We're stoked to have seen them, and maybe we will catch them again with better lighting and a faster shutter...

Ohio

After Boston, Neil made his first venture to Ohio! The Heart of it All. We stayed with Cindy, Mat, Caleb + Bui in Toledo. Anette flew in from Portland! (we are still in awe) and Mom + Dad came up to visit for a few days too. We had a brilliant time and did loads of goodness.
We also met up with Neil's Uncle Bob and Aunt Iris Baker, residents of nearby Michigan,and not seen for over 10 years


The lovely Aunt Cindy

Matt scored 8th row tickets to a Detroit Red Wings game for himself + Neil. A proper fight on the ice included

We visited a pumpkin farm for some Halloween PYO action complete with chickens, rabbits, cows, and little piglets to spank.
Neil was disappointed that cider meant something entirely different in the US



Mat, Anette, + Bui help Lucius choose a baby pumpkin to carve in her sweet likeness. Late nights thereafter of pumpkin carving, wine and good chat


Poised

Heather hooded hugs

The Toledo Art Museum is just beyond. Truly one of Elaine's favorite places ever. Plus the Glass Pavilion by SANAA, and a surprise exhibition of netsuke, a Neil favorite

The world famous Toledo Zoo

Caleb the Bee with Lucius in the hive at the Zoo's interactive Nature's Neighborhood.

Boston

We recently traveled to Boston for the wedding of Tony and Kate.
Tony is a dear old friend and former roommate of Elaine's from college (University of Cincinnati)

We were greeted by ideal, crisp fall weather for a weekend scoot around town

with impressive seats of learning (we were thinking of you Cait + Casey as we stayed in the Kendall Hotel in Cambridge, right next door to the MIT Media Lab)

Lucius played astronaut, boldly exploring new retail venues. She needs this backpack!!!
(or does Papa?)

South End Buttery: of course it was delicious and neighborhoody and cozy with a name like that

Lucius on 'Date Night' with Papa (how sweet) when Elaine went out to The Beehive for jazz and eats with Missi + Brian. The pasta obviously wasn't creamy enough

Missi and Brian (another dear college friend/ roommate of Elaine's and her fine fellow) at The Friendly Toast. Kindly note Missi's necklace made from vintage piano ivory. Dope.

And Anita, Kacy, and Maya. (And yes, former roommates too. There were 22 in total! from quarterly internships in cramped NYC apartments to lovely old houses in Cincinnati)

Tony and Kate wed outside at the glamorous
Lars Anderson Auto Museum

Lucius gets schooled on some wedding dance moves by Maya

Coloring with the delightful Leonardo

Lucius is fascinated by a fascinator, and compelled to dance

Brunch at Tony and Kates amazing, renovated firehouse the following day. Kate, Ben and L'

Ping-pong in the garage anyone? Missi showed Lucius the ropes as they went 2 on 1 against Mama

Part of their collection

Pending completion

One day, my dear

Atmospherics

We actually filmed this a couple of months ago. No rain nor thunder, just constant flashing across the sky for about an hour. A very nice example of our often beautiful + turbulent weather