Dear Mrs. Brink, Mrs. Tomlin and Class:
Well it's that time of year again. For those of you that don't know, our family makes wine every year. Yes that's true; right from our back yard. We planted the grapes in 2001 and every year we invite our friends to help pick them. It is called the Vendange (harvest) and it is something we do every year. I really don't like wine very much but our friends in France say "le vin est sensationnel." And even though I don't like wine much, I love to cut the grapes off the vines. This year we had the biggest harvest ever, nearly 1.3 tons of grapes! I guess you will just have to come here and try it as we can't bring much home due to the French tax laws. But we make about 800 bottles a year so there is plenty for all of you.
Here are some pictures for you. I especially like the one of me when I was 2 years old helping mom and dad plant the vines. And, thanks for all the comments. Remember if you like to see your name in print all you have to do is comment and I will for sure write you back the next week. And it is super easy to make a comment. All you have to do is click on the word comment at the end of this week's blog and it will take you to the comment screen. You don't even have to be a Google member to leave one.
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| Peeking Through The Vines |
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| I always cut the best bunch |
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| Our Rosenberg 2009 Rose` |
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| Me planting the grapes in 2001 |
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| The Vineyard Now in 2010 |
Mrs. Tomlin: Hi Mrs. Tomlin! Well to answer your question about my animals, my dogs do travel back and forth with us from Florida but Kookie the rabbit and Lillian the guinea pig stay here in France. Thanks so much for my VERY first comment!
Chris and Don Esposito: Thanks so much for writing. I can't wait for you both to come and see us next week and maybe we can do my next blog together?
Katie: I miss you so much. I really can't wait to come home :-( I was thinking about what it would be like for you to come here with me. That's how I manage to get through some of my bad days so I don't scream like an idiot. I miss you bunches.
Cousin Krissy and Family: Wow, I didn't know you could use the North Star to help find latitudes. Amazing. Thanks for reading my blog Cuz.
Peyton: Hi Peyton. Thanks for reading my blog as it reminds me of all of you at home.To answer your question, our weather here is really quite perfect right now. It is usually in the high 70's during the day and 60's at night but that could change really quickly in October.
Mrs. Santello:0) As always, thanks so much for writing. And two times! I know you remember but if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have started my blog. Thanks again so much for writing. And I'll bet that all the fifth grade classes at Willis will be learning about latitide and longitude this week. Pretty cool.
Mrs. Brink: Thank-you for all the emails. I love it when my mom reads me your letters. To answer your question the latitude and longitude of Paris is 48.48 North and 2.20 East. And, I am so excited to meet your son next week here in France!
Arial: Hey Sissy. I miss you sooooo much! I really hope you like Kookie as I know how much you loved Sugar. I hope school is going well for you too. I wish you were here but I know that next year you will be here helping with the Vendange.
OK, that's all for this week. Stay tune next week when I write about how HORRIBLE the food is at my French school. It is disgusting!! You won't believe what they make us eat.
Maddy....signing off for now.
7 comments:
Hello again Maddy. I really enjoy reading your blog and learning about France. I am fascinated by your wine making business. I'm curious about the grapes? Can you eat them like grapes we buy at the store or are they quite different? They look rather large in your picture. Do you rotate crops for grapes as farmers might for other foods to help the soil?
My aunt from Switzerland has a summer home in the south of France in a place called Port Grimaud. I was there some years ago, and remember it was very beautiful. Can you find that on a map and tell me where you are located in comparison? I have also been to Paris. How far are you from there?
It may be interesting for you (and us when you get back) to chart the temperature where you are and back in Bradenton and then make a comparison line graph to go along with our math. I know you have LOTS of work to do, it was just a thought. Don't feel obligated.
Talk to you again soon!
Mrs. Tomlin
Hi. I really you too. I can't wait to hear next week about the Horrible food. I would starve to death without steak. Maybe some day I will get to see your house in France. Love ya bunches.
Katie
Dear,Maddy
It is me Peyton and i just want to ask you some qustions Why do you have to go to french school? Why do you have to go to french? We really miss you here how do the grapes taste? do you live by the goulf stream? I just got a new phone so i can ride to school on my bike so when you get back i could probly see you on the street
your friend
peyton
Hi Maddy,it's Cara. Our class really misses you. You must have a lot of work,because of work from Willis and from your French school.Is the Eiffel Tower cool?Are you having fun in France?I think that France would be cool,except for if i had to go to school there.Is school fun?I feel bad for you because of the school lunches.Do you ever like the school lunches?How is France?I think that it would be cool to have a family that makes wine.Is it fun making wine?What's the name of your school?I think that it might be fun learning French and going to a french school,but i could probably only last 1 week before i wouldn't really like it any more.I think i would throw up every day because the lunches are so gross,and it would also be a bit hard to understand what people are saying.
Dear Maddy,
Greetings from Florida! Its me, Nicholas. The whole class misses you so much! How is it in France? Whats the weather like there? Down here we have the usual temp of 97 degrees, its deathly hot, and of course we have had the hottest summer in the record book, but its probably cooler where you are.
We heard you make wine. Can you explain to us how you do it? Is the food there really that bad? Do the people at your school really force you to eat your food?
Well, see you soon!
Your Friend,
Nicholas
Dear Maddy,
Hi it's me Sarah in your class. I hope you are having fun. If you think no one knows how you feel about learning a new language. Well I know how you feel and it's tough and I'm not talking about spanish since I'm jewish i have to learn hebrew. Every wednesday and sunday. the worst part is that it is like symbols and you have to read right to left. I help get your laptop up to speed with everyone else. So when you get back less work to do.i read some of your post by the way i love grapes.I really can't wait till you come back. I want to get to know you better now that i know we have some things in common. I have 5 questions for you. 1 What type of food do you like there? 2 Do you like being in the sun picking grapes? 3 Do you miss Fl? 4 How did you get your blog? 5 How different if FL compared to France? Well bye for now I will try posting more comments problem i like to type as you can see.
Your friend,
Sarah
Hi I am vince you have been gone for a really long time. I bet the schools are different than this school. Can you understand the peoples language? I know I would not be able to understand most of the people and on top of it you have 8 hours I cant even take 6. I feel bad for you having to eat that food. I bet france isent that bad though. Do you have a lot of home work? Do you like the weather in france better than in Florida? I like the weather in florida I think it is just a little to hot. I like driving my atv and I like working on sports cars. I am always out side. I also like the beach. your friend, vince.
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