How many Americans does it take to change a French light bulb?

Really!  It's not a joke. Our apartment has 5 different type of light fixtures.  All requiring a different light bulb.  Some twist in, some plug in, some plug in and then twist.

We have a series of lights that run the length of our hallway.  They are on a motion sensor, so they are on a lot.  Finally, after 15 months of living here, two of them blew out.  I wasn't sure what kind of bulb they were, so we attempted to take one out so that I would know what type to buy.

Out came the trusty ladder.  Up went my knight in shining armor to remove the dead bulb.  He couldn't figure it out.  He could pivot the fixture, but couldn't get to the bulb.  I suggested he try to pull the entire fixture down front he ceiling….he tried that, but didn't think that was the answer.  I asked if I could try.

Up the ladder I went.  I was a little more forceful with the light fixture and managed to pull it out of the ceiling….getting both of my thumbs snapped by metal springs in the process.  OUCH!  Wouldn't you know it, just as that happened my Face Time ringer went off….hello G Connie, we are in the middle of a big project, but we'll take your call anyway because we love you.

Back to the light bulb.  It was one of the "plug in" kind.  David was freaked out that I was going to get electrocuted, so he made me wait until he turned off the breaker to unplug it.  Now, we had an entire light fixture at our kitchen table.  We still couldn't figure out how the heck to get the actual light bulb OUT!

Finally, we noticed that there was a black ring inside the fixture that looked like it was holding the bulb in place.  VOILA!  That was the ticket.  The ring, while difficult to remove, was the key to changing the light bulb.  Yes, my husband is an engineer and I am pretty handy around the house, but it was not an easy task.  As it happens, one of my American friends just stopped over for coffee….she and her husband went through the EXACT same thing last night.  She even had the bulb in her purse when she stopped by!

back together….finally

On Saturday, David and I decided to take the 2 hour drive to Veckring, France.  We were on a quest to visit the largest fortress of the Maginot line, The Hackenberg.  If you aren't a history buff, skip the next couple of paragraphs…

When David's brother and his family were here in June they had talked about visiting the "Maginot Line".  I had no idea what that was.  Why would they want to go see "a line"?  Well, it turns out that it isn't a line, per se, but a series of underground bunkers that were intended to protect France from German invasion.

Unfortunately, the Germans bypassed these military bunkers, traveled through Belguim (who remained neutral) and captured Paris.  The French soldiers spent less time in the fortress (December 1939 until July 1940) than the Germans. (July 1940 until November 1944…overtaken by the American forces on November 19th)

I have to admit it was an amazing tour.  It was like a huge underground city, more than 6.2 miles of structures.  We were able to see how the 135mm howitzer of Block 9 worked (from the inside) and then saw the Turret for the bomb-launchers (outside).  Our final piece of the tour was seeing the outside of Block 8 where the Americans used a 155m self-propelled gun against the rear to overthrow the German army.

135mm Howitzer of Block 9 (inside)

Twin Turrets for the bomb launchers of Block 9 (outside)

Block 8…damage from American troops

Definitely worth a visit if you come to visit us.  Michael, sorry that you didn't have time to visit it!! 

Last bit of excitement for our weekend happened as we were on our way to Church yesterday morning.   We are usually dashing out the door so that we aren't late. (That would make you laugh if you lived here…you aren't "late" unless you've missed more than half of the service) We both are always carrying our Bible, a drink and the often needed umbrella.  David opened the door and I was on his heels.  I heard him let out a shriek and nearly barreled into his back.

This is what was waiting for us….you can't see the enormous web that this spider had been working on overnight, but that's him in the middle of the photo.  Spiders CREEP me out!!  If I had run through his web and he was on my body, let me just say there would've been drinks, Bibles and umbrellas flying and this Kentucky girl would've been screeching down the sidewalk.

Thanks to my Prince Charming (who was also freaked out) for knocking down the web and allowing us to get to church on time.

That's all from our end for this week.  Wishing you all a "spider free" day.