This holiday season we went down to Texas to visit my family. Jun and I spent 7 days in Round Rock, Hutto and Austin Texas. We stayed at my brother and his husband's estate, my sister and her husband from Colorado came as well, along with my other sister and my dad. We had a… Continue reading Joyeuses fêtes

Saturday December 21st, 2019 is the Winter Solstice. It is the longest night of the year, also known as Midwinter. As someone who prefers the darkness, it is one of my most favorite days of the year. Winter Solstice has meant a lot to many different cultures around the globe, but now in these "modern"… Continue reading Winter Solstice

One of my favorite things about the holiday season are the Christmas Markets. Living in Paris at Christmas time can be a real treat. The festivities abound all across the city, and along with those are the legendary markets, the Marchés de Noël. These markets, anywhere from 15 to 25, pop up starting in mid… Continue reading Christmas Markets

Bessie Lee Adams Kruse, my grandmother on my mother's side, was born on Friday 7 December 1934 in Taylor, Texas, the daughter of Levi (Lee) Adams and Bessie Marie (Walker) Adams. Growing up in Hutto Texas, she was active in her school, including being the editor of the school paper and voted as the school's… Continue reading Bessie Lee Adams Kruse

Coming up this summer is the UEFA EURO 2020. This is an exciting time for football fans, as the european teams have some of the most outstanding players in the world. My personal favorite, the French National Team and current World Cup Champions will be participating as well. My entire family (dad, sisters, brother, husband… Continue reading UEFA EURO 2020

The 23rd day of November is National Espresso Day in the United States. I myself never cared for coffee or espresso while living in the US, but when I moved to Paris, my friend Curt and I would regularly meet up after lunch to sit and people watch while sipping a few espressos. I had… Continue reading National Espresso Day

The third Thursday of November is always a very exciting time. In restaurants, cafes and wine bars/shops across France a sign will be on full display exclaiming the famous slogan "Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive" on this day. Beaujolais Nouveau is a humble red wine from the Beaujolais region in Burgundy, France. This is the most… Continue reading Beaujolais Nouveau

This Thursday, and every year on November 14 is World Diabetes Day. Launched in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization in a response to the rapid rise of Diabetes globally. Type 2 Diabetes can be prevented, but because of Americans making portion sizes much larger than necessary, adding sugar and… Continue reading World Diabetes Day

Picture it, Hutto Texas, early 2000's. I was in high school at the time, please note in further re-tellings the date may change. Hutto Texas was a small farming town, population just over 600 with diversity consisting of four Latin families and two black families. The preppy white Baptist made up the majority of the… Continue reading My Coming Out Story

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. Getting to dress up and play a character is always a delight, probably why I liked theater in high school. Below are some photos of a few of my Halloween costumes from the past few years. I've been a Gypsy, a Gargoyle, Napoleon Bonaparte, a Fairy, Ginger Spice… Continue reading Costumes of Halloweens Past