Dreaming of France -- Fall in France

Please join this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.
The autumn is really kicking in here. Some of our best trips to France have been in the fall, so the weather makes me long for France.

Look, some empty chairs are waiting there for us in the Jardins des Tuileries.
What are you dreaming of today?

Saturday Snapshot -- Lone, Bare Tree

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post on Alyce's blog At Home With Books. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

My husband went hiking again and he sent me this great shot. Can't remember if he said it's an oak or an elm.

Saturday Snapshot

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books. If you are interested in participating, just post a photo (new or old), but make sure it's not one that you found online. Add your link to Alyce's Saturday post for all to enjoy.
I'm a little late posting, but my day started at 5 a.m. and just recently ended with a ferocious storm. I captured a picture of the wind and rain from our front porch.

The storm knocked down tree limbs and flooded the streets with sheets of water before it cleared up.

Finals Week

Here it is, the final week day of finals week. That means that I've been grading papers all week.
I've just finished grading the last essay that students turned in Sunday night. Now I can begin grading their final exams -- which are also essays.
Essay grading can be truly tedious. I have a list of comments that I insert, reminding students how to use MLA format, where to put commas, etc. Still, it takes a long time.
This is the farthest behind I've ever been in finals week. By this time, I've usually added up the grades and turned them in. Graduation this week and a visit from my parents put me behind.
So when I got up at 6 this morning, I gathered my computer and my coffee cup and headed to the front porch, my portable office.
And here is my view as I grade papers, looking up from my laptop:
And when I look to my left, the direction where I can see the downtown skyline in the winter, here is what I see:
So, although I am stuck grading papers. I can't complain about my little house in the treetops.
And, I'd better get back to work because I am expected for a family get together in Dayton this afternoon.