Surprise Birthday Party

Saturday was a surprise party for Flora June’s 16th birthday. Betty coordinated the whole thing, and arranged for everyone to meet at the Small House, and arrive at the Small House street entrance, so that no one came to our door. Betty came by train from Paris the night before, and slept over at the Small House and did all the decorating — balloons and banners — while Flora June had no idea Betty was even in town.

The excuse to get Flora June to the party was a bit convoluted, but worked very well. A few days before the party, we mentioned possibly needing to pick up a rug from a FB marketplace listing on Saturday. We vaguely mentioned it again the next day. Then on Saturday morning, we said it turned out the rug is nearby a cute café we had all seen on a recent drive, and asked Flora June if she wanted to go for lunch, plus the rug pickup. She was into it, so I suggested it would be fun to wear something cute and enjoy the warm weather. She thought that sounded fun and put on a new skirt (perfect for a party!).

As the party time neared, we told her we were just waiting to hear back from the FB seller to confirm the location before we left the house. Betty texted me when the guests had arrived at the Small House, and I pretended the text was from the FB seller, and that it was time to head out. The café is a bit of a drive, and while I was putting on my shoes, I asked Flora June if she would please run over to the Small House and grab me a soda for the drive (we keep the fridge at the Small House stocked with soda and drinks for guests). So Flora June ran over to the Small House to grab a drink—and that’s when her friends shouted SURPRISE, accompanied by confetti and noisemakers.

Flora June was VERY surprised!

The party happened over lunch, and for the meal, we had an American hotdog bar, with all the toppings (a novelty for our French friends), plus lots of potato chips. For dessert, we had a cheesecake with 16 candles.

It was a such a good time! I haven’t shared a report on IG yet, but I’m sure I will soon if you’d like to see more from the party.

Overnight Ferry to Ireland

Something fun: Ben Blair, Flora June, and I are headed to Ireland! France has a four-day weekend this week, and we are taking the overnight car ferry, spending a few days in and around Dublin, and then moving Oscar out of his student housing for the summer break.

I have only been to Ireland once before, and it was many years ago, back in 2013, and on that trip we didn’t get a chance to see Dublin, so I’m very excited. This is Oscar’s third year at university, and so far, for his school drop-offs and pickups, Ben Blair has done the shuttling. So Ben has already seen a bit of Dublin, but he’s usually only there for a few hours before returning on the next ferry. So this will be a longer trip for him as well, with more opportunity to explore.

We are very excited! We don’t have a lot of days, but we do have a car, so in addition to exploring Dublin, we’re thinking we’ll drive out of town for a hike at a nearby national park. Ben has been putting together an itinerary, but if you have any recommendations, we’d love to hear.

Conversation With Senator Shealy—Tonight!

Today (Monday) at 7pm EST, I’ll be in conversation with Senator Katrina Shealy from South Carolina. We’ll be talking about reproductive rights and responsibility. It’s a virtual event taking place on Zoom, and it’s FREE to attend. I hope you will join us! You can RSVP here to get the Zoom link.

You might remember that a couple of years ago, some volunteers organized to send copies of my book to politicians in South Carolina, and Senator Shealy quoted sections of my book in the legislature. It was very cool! Here’s a little reel about that if you missed it:

I’m really looking forward to our conversation tonight. And I’ll be up late for this, so pardon me in advance for any yawns that sneak in. Once again, it’s 7pm ET TONIGHT (that’s 4pm on the West Coast) — RSVP here.

Graduation for Paola

Woo hoo! Ralph’s wonderful girlfriend, Paola, graduated from college last week. Her major is music production, and she’s so good at it! Earning a degree is hard work, and we’re so proud of her. Hooray for Paola!

May Day Bike Event

On May 1st, Ben Blair, Flora June, Betty, and I participated in a local bike event. It was technically a race, but very casual, with breaks where teams competed in non-bike challenges. I hadn’t done much biking in a looong time, and though it was not intended to be a challenging course, I had to walk my bike on some of the hills, and my bum was so sore!

But still, it was such a gorgeous path through the Normandy countryside, and I loved feeling the wind on the downhills.

We had a terrific time, and I told Ben that if we do it next year, we should rent e-bikes. Hahaha. I reported on the whole event on IG, if you’d like to see our cute little team and what the team challenges were like.

That’s all for now. Feel free to comment on anything I mentioned above, or whatever is on your mind.

kisses,
Gabrielle

P.S. — I’m almost done listening to the audiobook of Lena Dunham’s memoir Famesick. I’m really enjoying it. It’s a compelling portrait of undiagnosed chronic illness and the pressures to work through pain. She’s such a great writer! Have you read it?