Deborah Mends/Atelier Mends - Art

Yes, that’s right, this is a hijack. Everyone please just remain calm and stay in your seats – that is, stay in front of your computer screens.

If you’re reading this, that probably means that like me, you’re one of those people who have this page either bookmarked, or in his “favoris,” and you check on it every couple of days. And after something like weeks of Jib-Jab – however much you may like Jib-Jab, and I, for one, think it’s wonderful – you’re looking forward to another article more along the lines of Babou the Donkey. And you open the page, and, Damn! There it is again – Jib-Jab! And you might be wondering, what’s going on?

Well, as someone privileged to be – or at least to have been before his hijacking – a friend of Deborah’s, and having talked to her as late as last week, here’s what’s going on.

First of all, it’s the rentrée, which is often translated along the lines of “back-to-school.” So there have been books to buy, new clothes to get, medical certificates, meetings with new teachers. And there’s been the not insignificant task after a two month vacation of re-training Philippe and Helene to get to bed on time at night, and then to get up in the morning, and to do homework again! But we did homework LAST year!

And besides, “rentrée” is more than just back-to school – it’s the return in general after the vacation. Since in France we all have a whole month of vacation, if you take July, for example, when you return to work in August, everyone else is gone! So if you need a document from a co-worker, you have to wait till he gets back in September! Therefore there is a general readjustment to post-vacation life.

Then there’s Deborah’s personal “rentrée” of her new job. With the new hours, a new routine, new people to know and work with.

Plus, since the first of September, Deborah’s been making (not always successful efforts) to get to her studio every day to work on her art.

Then there are the social engagements and obligations. Because believe me, after all I’ve just mentioned, she needs a break!

So just be patient. Deborah will be back soon. And at least this is a change from Jib-Jab.


(Deborah a l’habitude de traduire ce qu’elle a écrit paragraphe pas paragraphe. Mais Deborah est une traductrice. Pas moi. Tant pis !)


A Friend