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The Kit-Kats and Tommy are doing well. Buster has mellowed out a lot starting about 6 weeks ago. He is so cuddly. I love holding him even if I do get slimed regularly. John doesn't mind being slimed. He's a dad. Charlie asks us for hugs a lot now and he's more flexible about when and where. Tommy is 12 years older than the kit-kats but he manages to keep up with them although the sudden intense kitten crazies sometimes is a bit much for all of us. But, as I said, they are mellowing. All 3 enjoy watching people come by to admire them. When Buster hears a child chattering outside the window he runs for the window bench and sometimes puts a paw on the glass. John told me that recently a family walked by with a screaming little boy in tow. The parents drew his attention to the Unemployed Philosopher dolls lined up in our window and the boy started ooooing and forgot all about his tantrum. Good job, Unemployed Philosopher's Guild! Making the world a better place.

John recently got two more dolls for our March birthdays (we opened the presents early). He gave me a Charlie Chaplin one and himself a Claude Monet doll. (John loves the water lilies paintings. It's difficult to get him to leave some museums.) With more holidays there will be more dolls making the world a better place.

Charlie and Buster playing his stretching game. Tommy proving that anything can be a kitty bed. Charlie and Buster with Claude Monet and
Charlie Chaplin in the background.





We had snow for a few days. It snowed twice since we moved here which we enjoyed. The pond at Parc Oberthür has been at least partially frozen both times. Two years ago the ducks were walking and slip- sliding on the ice. This year the ice was too thin to hold the weight of the ducks but the terns had fun walking on water. John took a bunch of photos of the beautiful landscape and buildings of the Parc Oberthür. We really love that park.

Nighttime snowfall outside our apartment. A bench in our apartment complex. Green leaves and white snow.
The entrance to Parc Oberthür. Century old trees covered with snow. The mansion at Parc Oberthür.
A few came out in the cold to
visit the ducks. 		The wooden footbridge was slippery. The ducks appreciated the birdseed
we brought them.
The pond did not freeze on snow day. On the slippery footbridge. Wooden cat sculpture in the playground.
Snow covered chalet at Parc Oberthür. There were many great paths for us
to enjoy the snow. 		Another view of the pond.
Passing the mansion on our way home. The next day the pond had frozen over except for a few spots that the ducks found. Only the terns were light enough to stand
on the thin ice without breaking it.





My doctor ordered another Covid test for me and it was again negative. The lab was in an old building in the historic centre and, as usual, John took many lovely and interesting photos. The buildings with the diagonal timbers are called "half-timbered houses". Notice that the diagonals cause an optical illusion that some of the buildings seem to tilt. That visual is why I refer to half-timbered houses as "Whacky Shacks". A few of the buildings we've seen look much more tilted than do the buildings shown in the images below. If you are prone to vertigo beware.

The second metro line in Rennes is being built now and a major stop is next to Saint-Germain church. Mass transit here is excellent. Infrastructure is constantly upgraded. Quality of life is good. Gotta love the Frenchies!

Ruth's Covid test was in the historical quarter. The building that Ruth had her test in
was repurposed for the pandemic. 		We found a pride flag in the window
of this 700 year old house.
The half-timbered houses in the historical quarter are all that remain from the fire of 1720. To me it's amazing that these 700 year-old buildings still host apartments and businesses. La Vilaine river becomes a canal as it flows through Rennes.
The church of Saint-Germain behind the construction for the new métro station. Sunset in Rennes.





Carnival

As I mentioned in the blog last month Carnival was cancelled everywhere but innovations allowed for some shared experiences. Here are a couple more:

1) In Fairhope Alabama nursery school kids entertained the next door senior center residents with a mini Mardi Gras parade. It's adorable.

2) Refer to the two Nice Covid float images below. Our friend, Doc, who lives in Nice sent this to us. He wrote, "Originally destined to participate in the Carnaval Parade, CovID-19 out-did himself, & the event was cancelled, due to the pandemic he caused. Here he is, perched on his pedestal at Messina, crowned & insisting on bragging rights. Notice his mask just hanging down on the right, & the syringe being pushed into his parenchyma on the left. Actually, there's a yellow pedal (not seen) below, that when stepped on the plunger on the syringe injects small, colorful pellets into this beast."

The second image is an enlargement of the "Good Book" on the carnival float. The English translation of it's inscription is "The Sinister Carnaval virus is trying to wrest the crown of its Carnaval Majesty.
Does he think we'll let him reign here?
Arm the syringe, Inoculate it, Weaken it!
To do this Press the pedal with your feet and order the injection!"

The last line, Mefi, sieu nissart, I think, is a signatory by Mefi, the Nice eagle soccer mascot. Sieu nissart means super Nice (or maybe Nicoise, the people) in the local dialect of Nice.

An irony is that Nice was the first city locked down this time around. There are now 26 mainland Departments (large counties) out of 94 under increased surveillance with possible lockdowns coming very soon. So far none in Brittany.

CovID-19 float "Good Book" on the CovID-19 float





CovID-19 in France

Our age group wasn't being vaccinated because Atrazenica hadn't sufficiently tested its vaccine for safety in 65-75 year-olds. That policy was changed and now John and I have an appointment for our first "jab" of the AstraZeneca CovID-19 vaccination on March 11. Our second one will be 3 months later.

John and I live in Brittany which is the only area of France with a mild CovID-19 impact. 90% of France is either moderately or severely compromised by the virus which is spreading at an increasingly rapid pace across the country due in large part to the more contagious new variants.

Dunkirk, Nice and Paris were recently placed on weekend lock downs. Many other cities and towns are being monitored and may also be placed in weekend lock downs very soon.

With 4 new and more contagious variants from UK, South Africa, Brazil. California/Denmark and now another dangerous variant homegrown in New York it's crucial that the world be vaccinated. Everyone who isn't vaccinated becomes a potential petri-dish for new more dangerous variants. The new variants - from the UK, South Africa, Brazil, California and now New York - have a higher contagion rate, they are more severe and deadly and they 'accelerate' the virus. The UK variant is now 50% of cases in France. Last month it was 10% of the cases in Paris. Don't be like Texas. Wear a mask, social distance and get vaccinated. You'll save lives.

A friend recently told me about the progressive online European community, We Move Europe, and one of their petitions "A People's Vaccine" is calling for "the European Union to make the COVID-19 vaccines and treatments accessible to everyone, everywhere. The EU should: Release all patents and licences of the anti-pandemic vaccines and treatments; Make public all contracts between public EU authorities and pharmaceutical companies; Ensure that vaccines and treatments are affordable and accessible for all."

REMINDER: American and European health organizations and ministries recommend that we wear double masks or N-95/KN95 or the European equivalent FFP2. And, of course, continue to keep your distance and wash your hands.

For many weeks the EU had difficulty getting supplies from AstraZeneca which delayed the vaccine rollout. Three regional health authorities had stopped vaccinations until March due to shortages. That's all turning around now. The English language French news site, France24, answers questions about vaccinations in France. The Prime Minister says that everyone in France who wants to be vaccinated will be vaccinated by "summer's end".

Vaccinations in France are now available from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca. Johnson and Johnson will be available this summer and the local French (Sanofi) vaccine in the fall. Meanwhile, Sanofi will produce 12 million doses a month of J&J vaccine beginning in mid-March, after J&J receives approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA).