Greetings from Bures-France! One of my favorite activity is, each morning, to make a tour of my garden. It is a way to “discover” new flowers with fantastic colors and shapes!

Although the weather has not been too friendly, this year is a year for columbines:

We have also a few roses, iris and rhododendrons… it is also a great year for forget-me-not and syringa

I would like to offer this wealth of flowers to the people at Saint Antoine Hospital Hematology Department and in particular to my fantastic graft doctor. They seved my life! I miss them all… It is also for my family and my stem cells donor…

With love.

This time of the year is the right time to plant vegetables… Last year I did it earlier, but late freezing killed everything! So this year, I waited for better weather! Becoming older makes me more patient :-)!

Tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, squashs, pumpkin, red kuri squash!

I planted new strawberries too. Together with the ones planted last year, plus the raspberries. It might offer during the summer some healthy fruits!

We might also have cherries from the two cherry trees, apricots and apples!

All this “hard work” I performed in the garden (;-)!) is possible because of the “hard work” people at Saint Antoine Hospital did, and in particular my great graft doctor (;-)!). Love them all!

Recently, I started slowly to remove myself from the lab. I am still an “emeritus researcher”, but I don’t go so often to the lab, maybe once a week in average. To help me in this detox process, I am focusing on artistic work: modeling, stained glass, fusing…

Using the fusing glass approach, I made several night lights:

I am so happy with the results that I am thinking of making mass production and selling of night lights :-)!

I had also the oportunity to continue working on stained glass, both lead and Tiffany. Some of my productions are now in remote places over the World, Toronto and Boulder. 🙂

My last hobby is modeling. One of my last project was to make a Saint Antoine statue by myself: I am happy with the results :-)!

Thank’s to Arielle, Tatiana and Edouard, my teachers!

Beside, those fantastic teachers, there are also other “students”: I really enjoy being part of these new communities!

I would like to thank the great team of doctors and nurses from the Saint Antoine Hospital Hematology, and in particular my wonderful graft doctor: I dedicate my “artistic work” to them (I don’t forget my family, friend s and my stem cells donor!).

With love!

Coming back from “the winter” in Toronto and Boulder, I find out that the Spring was definitively there in my garden!It was good to see the green and colors everywhere!

Here are some photos taken around my garden:

A small cherry tree coming from my parents garden, which travelled a lot before reaching its place now in my garden… (montmorency cherry tree).

I have pretty sick since a few days high fever, running noze,…), so I could not work in the garden… I made cookies instead!

I would like to share those colorful photos with my family, my friends, and also with the people at Saint Antoine Hospital Hematology Department and in particular my great graft doctor: everywhere I go, they are traveling with me! With love…

Greetings from Bures-France! March was the time for a visit to our family in Toronto, as well as meeting our friends in Boulder. We spent around 3 weeks in North America. We went from a spring-like weather in France to a winter-like weather in Toronto and Boulder (below zero temperatures and snow!).

Here are some photos taken during our trip.

First Toronto:

Then Boulder-Colorado:

Going back to Boulder remembers me how lucky I have been when I came back home in December 2015. A few months later I had to have the stem cells transplant at Saint Antoine hospital. People there saved my life! Thank you all and in particular my great graft doctor! I love you all!

During our visit to our family in Toronto, I had the chance to participate with my daughter to a “science presentation” at the daycare my grand-son is attending: bubbles and colors!

I am looking forward to our next visit to Toronto: I miss them so much…

Greetings from Bures-France!

We are now almost at the end of February, and I am looking forward for the arrival of the Spring! Although we have had some sunny days lately, I miss the good weather and the beautiful flowers: it is grey, both in the sky and in the garden!

I try to pay a visit to my garden everyday…. I even started to work in the garden, mainly increasing the surface of vegetable garden. My goal is to become self-sufficient soon :-)!

The first flowers to show up were the crocus, first the yellows then the blues, to finish with the whites…

Then came the japanese quinces, which are just at the begining of the bloming…

Soon, it will the turn for the primroses, the forsythia, the daffodils…

First camellia and violets!

I am now living my sixth spring since my stem cells transplant! Yes almost seven years! I would like to offer those flowers to the team at Saint Antoine Hospital, and in particular to my wonderful graft doctor, to my family and friends, and to my anonymous stem cells donor: I love you all!

In January, when the sun is missing in Paris, it is good to try to find a place where the sun is showing up most of the time! This year, we went to Tenerife, an island of The Canaries.

We spent a few days in La Laguna: at first rainy days, then clearing up! Anyway, the temperatures were much higher than at home!

We then climbed up in the mountains to see Teide volcano (the highest summit in Spain). We did some hikes in the park, but not up to summit (above 3000 m high)!

In Puerta de la Cruz, we visited the botanic garden…

We hiked around la Punta de Teno. The following day, we went to see the Gigantes

It was great to feel the sun ….

After a week, it was time to go back home, facing the cold weather…

We had a great time in Tenerife! When traveling, I always keep in mind that if I am lucky enough to be able to do so, it is because I had the chance to be saved by the fantastic team of doctors at Saint Antoine Hospital, and in particular my wonderful graft doctor! Of course, I don’t forget my donor and my family and friends! I love you all…

Greetings from Bures-France! We are already in the first week of the New Year! Time is flying! The older I get, the shorter the weeks last ;-)!

This Christmas, we had the chance to have our Canadians visiting us! It was short, but we really enjoyed it! Great memories…

We spent the New Year’s Eve visiting Versailles Castel. It was a special event (Le parcours du Roi). We visited mainly la galerie des glaces, les chambres du roi et de la reine, la galerie des batailles… Several “spectacles ” were presented at various spots during the visit: ballets, musicians, singers… All ended up by a “feu d’artifice” in front of the palace….

To start well this new year, we visited “la fondation Vuitton” where was organized an exhibit called “Claude Monet-Joan Mitchell”. Always a great experience to visit this wonderful piece of architecture!

I had also the chance to continue/resume my artistic work, modeling and stained glass. Some of the projects are still in progress…

It is the time of the year, when I want to whish all my friends and family an Happy New Year! My special thoughts are going to the people at Saint Antoine Hospital Department of Hematology and in particular to my wonderful graft doctor: after 6 years I am still around :-)!

I love you!

Greetings from Bures-France! Last monday, we came back home after two weeks in Toronto, visiting our daughter and her family there. We enjoyed our time there with the family! We also expected to be able to watch the vivid colors of the trees in the fall there…

On arrival, we immediatly noticed that it was too late, and that most of the leaves had already falled down…Anyway, we were able to take some photos:

The weather at first was very nice, then , suddenly, winter made its entry, with snow! At first a small amount, then a good 10 cm! Welcome to Canada!

Soon, it was time for us to leave, going back home… rainy, grey days but “warm” weather! During our trip, leaves had fallen in my garden, but not completly, so more work is waiting for me in the near future :-)!

It was also time for me to start again my artistic activities, fusing glass and modeling:

As an old guy, if I can still enjoy traveling and work with my hands, it is due to the fantastic job doctors, nurses and in particular my wonderful graft doctor at saint Antoine Hospital did to save me! Seven years ago I was coming back from Boulder-Colorado to discover that my MDS disease had worsened, and that the only way to save me was by a stem cells graft. I will never forget those days! I had the chance to have a great team of doctors taking care of me, an anonymous stem cells donor, and a wonderful family: I love them all! Where ever I am and whatever I do, this fantastic group of people are within me, in my heart forever!

Greetings from Bures-France! We are almost in November, but the temperatures are still “spring-like! However, daytimes are shorter and shorter, and the Fall colors are there!

It is the time of the year I dislike the most, although I love the colors around me… It had always been the same since I was a child. Why: I don’t know!

Anyway, here are some photos taken in my garden. Because of the weather, we still have vegetables and some flowers, but less and less each day:

Last week end, we visited the “Château de Courson” not fare from home (https://www.domaine-de-courson.fr/). We like this domain very much, as it has something to offer during all the seasons… Here are some photos:

Georgous photos of the sky:

My thoughts are going to the team at St Antoine Hospital and in particular my fantastic graft doctor: if I can “enjoy” life those days it is because they saved me!( I don’t meet them very often and I miss them so much). Of course, I don’t forget my family and my donor! I love them all!