After an interminable winter of rain — and I say that as a native Oregonian who enjoys the rain! — the sun has finally begun to emerge from the clouds, and plants are finally growing. Ever since October we’ve had dark, windy, rainy, and evensnowyweather the likes of which no one has seen in living memory. It was so dark that my daffodils and irises never bloomed; so much colder than usual that seeds that typically sprout in March have only begun to grow just now. And yet we’re still getting rain every day, with very rare exceptions. (Every. Single. Day.)

This winter I bought a few pumpkins to make pumpkin soup. With the last two, I realized that since they were organic, I could try planting their seeds. I figured that only some of them would sprout… well, all of them have! And I planted four! What am I going to do with four full-size pumpkin plants? For now I’ve repotted two of theseedlings in a planter; the other two are already in pots that should k

By fraise

To be or not to be bigger
Private beach establishments in the Baie des Anges area which includes Nice are battling to have a law that could restrict their activities relaxed. In May 2006, the Loi Littoral (regulations governing the coastline) introduced a clause that reduced the area on which private beaches throughout France area allowed to operate.
Hotel room scam hits the Côte
Reed MIDEM, one of the biggest organisers of international professional conferences and exhibitions, has posted a warning on its website urging clients not to fall for crooked accommodation companies, many of which are operating from the Riviera.
Battle commences against palm weevil
As summer approaches, palm-tree filled towns in the Var are mounting their annual battle against a particularly destructive weevil. In the last week posters have appeared on the big palm trees to announce the campaign which will continue until October.

To be or not to be bigger
rivieratimes.com says: Private beach establishments in the Baie des Anges area which includes Nice are battling to have a law that could restrict their activities relaxed. In May 2006, the Loi Littoral (regulations governing the coastline) introduced a clause that reduced the area on which private beaches throughout France area allowed to operate.
Hotel room scam hits the Côte
rivieratimes.com says: Reed MIDEM, one of the biggest organisers of international professional conferences and exhibitions, has posted a warning on its website urging clients not to fall for crooked accommodation companies, many of which are operating from the Riviera.
Battle commences against palm weevil
rivieratimes.com says: As summer approaches, palm-tree filled towns in the Var are mounting their annual battle against a particularly destructive weevil. In the last week posters have appeared on the big palm trees to announce the campaign which will continue until October.

Building the Acropolis
rivieratimes.com says: After decades of loyal service to tourism and entertainment, the Nice Acropolis is to undergo a major makeover. The project is set to go into in full speed later this summer and should be completed by 2011.
Nice on the front line in war against traffic pollution
rivieratimes.com says: No need to worry about your petrol consumption or finding that elusive parking space anymore. In a few months, Nice will be the first city in France to get its own public shared-electric car service.
Baffled over wild boar rescue
rivieratimes.com says: It all started on Saturday morning when a yacht called in to say there was an animal swimming in the sea about two miles off the Baie des Anges and the marina at Villeneuve-Loubet in the Alpes-Maritimes. On arrival rescuers found a wild boar swimming gamely out to sea in the direction of Corsica.

Spring has finally begun here, with the arrival of cherry and wisteria blossoms. I took photos of the pink and purple flowers near my home just an hour ago.

In photo-related news, recently a picture I took of the reimbursement statements we get for health care here was linked in a Wired article, which was soon after taken up by The Guardian, in a writeup aptly titled “Stories of healthcare heartbreak hidden away on Flickr”. As a reminder, my photo was part of a post I wrote here on French health care basics.

By fraise

Looks really good – would be a great to visit Nice; if you need somewhere to stay check out Hotels in Nice. Enjoy!

Crazy but is it do-able in ten hours?
rivieratimes.com says: Her grandmother won enough money at the Monte-Carlo Casino in 1949 to buy a “bergerie” in Le Rouret. Sixty one years later, Suzannah Doyle and six “crazy” friends have left the Casino this morning to cycle the second stage of last year’s Tour de France. They hope to raise enough funds to help a terminally ill friend get the drugs she needs.
Building the Acropolis
rivieratimes.com says: After decades of loyal service to tourism and entertainment, the Nice Acropolis is to undergo a major makeover. The project is set to go into in full speed later this summer and should be completed by 2011.
Nice on the front line in war against traffic pollution
rivieratimes.com says: No need to worry about your petrol consumption or finding that elusive parking space anymore. In a few months, Nice will be the first city in France to get its own public shared-electric car service.

Crazy but is it do-able in ten hours?
rivieratimes.com says: Her grandmother won enough money at the Monte-Carlo Casino in 1949 to buy a “bergerie” in Le Rouret. Sixty one years later, Suzannah Doyle and six “crazy” friends have left the Casino this morning to cycle the second stage of last year’s Tour de France. They hope to raise enough funds to help a terminally ill friend get the drugs she needs.
Building the Acropolis
rivieratimes.com says: After decades of loyal service to tourism and entertainment, the Nice Acropolis is to undergo a major makeover. The project is set to go into in full speed later this summer and should be completed by 2011.
Nice on the front line in war against traffic pollution
rivieratimes.com says: No need to worry about your petrol consumption or finding that elusive parking space anymore. In a few months, Nice will be the first city in France to get its own public shared-electric car service.

Strong hints of blue on the Côte d’Azur
rivieratimes.com says: The map of France may be swathed in pink after the presidential UMP’s drubbing in the second round of the French regional elections at the weekend, but that is not the whole story. Like all but one (Alsace) of the 22 regions, PACA (Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur) voted in a socialist president but in the Alpes-Maritimes and Var departments the centre right UMP did better than in 2004.
Crazy but is it do-able in ten hours?
rivieratimes.com says: Her grandmother won enough money at the Monte-Carlo Casino in 1949 to buy a “bergerie” in Le Rouret. Sixty one years later, Suzannah Doyle and six “crazy” friends have left the Casino this morning to cycle the second stage of last year’s Tour de France. They hope to raise enough funds to help a terminally ill friend get the drugs she needs.
Provence in spring: four great ideas

says:

Building the Acropolis
rivieratimes.com says: After decades of loyal service to tourism and entertainment, the Nice Acropolis is to undergo a major makeover. The project is set to go into in full speed later this summer and should be completed by 2011.