La Fête des Voisins... I could not be more excited!

May crept up on us and is almost over. I think this was because it was filled with bank holidays each week. These didn't really make a difference to the Lancelots, as Sir L still had to work on those days since America did not have the same bank holidays. For me, it just meant more stores were shut. Anyways, you don't care about that. What you should care about is what else May is going to bring...

La Fête des Voisins! (Neighbor Day!)

I knew it would be here eventually. I learned about this exciting Day of Neighbors in French class. This was back in November when I had not met anyone in our building yet. The next door neighbors and their infamous Christmas tea had not yet happened and I had not yet met Frank, the man from upstairs with six wives. At that time, I could not imagine attending a little party with people from our building - in fact I could not imagine anything worse. 

But what a difference six months make! While I still won't be able to really communicate with anyone, I will not miss this courtyard party. The more people I meet in our building, the more I laugh and the more I can tell all of you! 

As you an see the party is May 29 (I guess they wanted to have it on May 28 at first but made a typo?) in our courtyard and is hosted by our guardian couple. That's Amelia on the right and her husband on the left (I still don't know his name, but nine months in I'm too embarrassed to ask). I do know that one day he let himself into our apartment with the electric company when I was in the loo. That's even more embarrassing than not remembering his name. 

As for the woman in the middle, I have no idea who she is but clearly she was at the party last year. Perhaps it's their daughter or maybe another neighbor - I do want to know what she did or does that makes her special enough to be front and center with the guardians for the 2012 Neighbor Day announcement. I think that should be my goal: charm everyone enough this year to be the neighbor included for 2013!

I've mentioned the guardians a few times before. Overall they are lovely people and take their guardian responsibilities very seriously, but I never told you what happened when we first moved in... 

As most of you know, Sir Lancelot's mother passed away the day before we moved into our apartment and our NYC shipment and her Barcelona shipment arrived. We didn't even have 24 hours to process everything that had just happened but had no choice but to go through all of her belongings including knick-knacks, statues, furniture and clothes. We kept most things but there was a lot we gave away. Amelia kindly offered to let us put our charity pile in the corridor of the building as the French version of the Salvation Army would be by within a week to pick everything up. She did mention that she sometimes takes a few things for herself if she fancies. We thought this was a great situation and didn't care at all if she took anything. 

Within two days, we had filled the corridor with small foot stools, clothes, vases and statues knowing the charity truck would arrive soon. And within three hours everything was gone. Not one item was left. And guess where it all went? With the guardians, into their apartment. 

To this day I see Amelia wearing my clothes or my mother-in-law's clothes (c'est vrai). When I first retrieved a package from their front room, I saw placed on the buffet Sir L's mom's two blue vases. On the table is her collection of wooden horses and Egyptian sphinx. To the left of the room on the chair are her purple Zara Home pillows... they literally took and kept everything! 

Just last week, I came home to find this in the main hallway. Yes. You guessed it... after nine months,  this foot stool made an appearance as decor for our building. And just last week while walking in the door, I saw Mr. Mascot (the man who told us to have a baby) giving the other foot stool away to someone that lives in the building! I totally caught them in the act as they looked at me and mumbled French. I proceeded to laugh and call the chair my mother-in-law. C'est ma belle-mere.  Don't laugh... I just learned possessives and clearly haven't gotten the hang of them... 

So now you can see why I am excited for the 2012 La Fête des Voisins. Everyone in the building has their own piece of Lancelot in their apartment - they might as well meet us!