Invasion of the Ladybugs!

They're everywhere, they're everywhere! In the bedroom, on the floor, on the walls, on our clothes. OK, not swarms of them. But enough that it requires getting out the vacuum to clean up the carcasses when they inevitably move on to ladybug heaven. They manage to come in through the closed French doors in our bedroom, which is apparently their favorite place, since when it's sunny, we get afternoon sun.

We kind of like having the little critters around. At least during the day. Not so crazy about it at night when things flutter or crawl past our faces ... It could be worse though: at least we're not talking some nasty Florida bug.

The Boucherie

This one is for Kirsten: today we drove past one of the butcher shops in Tertre and noticed this sign: "Cheval danois de premier choix." It made us laugh. No old nags for our butcher shop, no siree!

Wildlife

I saw an ermine last weekend. Rita and I were on our way to the commissary. The ermine ran across the road and into a field, so I suppose it may have been its way to the ermine commissary. Rita didn't see it because I was so flabbergasted I couldn't get a word out in time. I have seen ermine stoles in paintings but never a live ermine in its white winter coat. It's interesting that even around here, where it doesn't snow much, they turn white in the winter. And it was really white! I don't know how it stays that clean, because it had rained every day for 10 days and all the fields are either mud or muddy water.

The Wild West

West Luxembourg that is. Earlier this week the police in Luxembourg City surprised some thieves in the act at a jewelry store. The thieves fled, by car, into Belgium. The cops either did or did not ask permission to pursue them into Belgium, depending on which version of the story you hear, but pursue them into Belgium they did. Then the thieves either had a blowout or got a tire shot out, again depending on your version, jumped out of the car, and fled on foot. It's pretty well agreed that the police wounded one of the perpetrators, though they may not have had permission to discharge their weapons in Belgium, and first reports in the early morning used the marvelously ambiguous term "neutralized" for what the police did to the guy. It means he was taken out of action some way some how. An investigation has been started to clear up the confusion, hopefully before Albert II, King of the Belgians, is forced to declare war on the Grand Duke Henri, who happens to be his nephew. Film at 11.