aaaaaaaaaand we're back

Yep, I'm back from my whirlwind four and a half day tour of Paris. Man, what a great visit that was! Usually when I get to go there to catch up with friends, it's for a day and a half or a maximum of two days, but this trip gave me the luxury of actually getting out and doing some touristy things, not to mention a little shopping and loads of fun hanging out. I really need to try to get the house in order (I was working an a huge project and didn't have the time to do it before I left, much to my chagrin - isn't it always nicer to come home to a clean house after a few days away?) before I go to pick up Stéph from the train station this afternoon.

Two things happened today that I have to share, though. First is quite an exciting development - I'm wearing my skinny jeans!!! Of course, skinny is a relative term in this case, but these are my favorite worn in jeans that I've been carrying around with me for years hoping that one day I'd be able to get back in them and that day has come. They're not yet perfect and still a little muffin-toppy, but they're comfortable enough to wear and with the right top no one will know. I am so happy!!

Second thing is just funny - I had to run down to the corner store this morning so I went directly after hopping out of the shower with my hair still wet (I never use a hair dryer). The woman behind the counter is very nice and we've chatted during transactions in the past, but this morning she floored me - she actually told me I was going to catch a cold going out like that! I can't believe people actually believe this still. I said, Oh, it's alright, it's just five minutes, and she said, But that's all it takes! I thanked her, because really something you'd expect to hear from someone who cares about your welfare, but I thought the whole thing was funny.

Anyway, off to run the vacuum and other housewifely pursuits. More about Paris to come!

weekend wrapup

It was a pretty quiet week here at Dispatches From France Headquarters. Did a bit of work, got in a couple of walks, and much knitting was done in front of the tv. We did make sure to watch France take on Georgia (not that Georgia!) in the Rugby World Cup, and it was fun to watch France win. Only problem is, their next match is Saturday against the All Blacks. I don't like to be a pessimist, but that has the potential to be ugly. Poor Stéph is gonna miss it, flouncing around Eastern Europe (or sitting in a boring conference, more like) but maybe I'll catch a little of it while I'm in Paris. If nothing else, I'd like to see the All Blacks do the Haka. Oh, you don't know the Haka? You can see it here at the beginning of a New Zealand at France match in June (which bonus shots of Sébastien Chabal, the long haired, heavily bearded French player that runs over the opposition like a runaway train, not that I'm partial or anything).

Other than that, I am just so looking forward to spending a few days in Paris visiting friends this weekend that this week feels like it will be never ending. Luckily I've got plenty to keep me busy and hopefully not staring at the clock wishing that time would go faster.

Ooh, I do have something fun to share with you - Doc sent me a picture of the bunny with MP3, and it's good to know that the bunny really wasn't bigger than the baby, but only by a hare (get it? get it? bwahahahaha ha heh... meh).

three exciting developments

1. We saw on the news yesterday that primary schools will no longer have classes on Saturday mornings starting in 2008. What they're going to do with these four hours is still sort of up in the air. They could either decrease the summer holidays by two weeks or have classes on Wednesday mornings (primary schools in France have traditionally been closed on Wednesdays, as this was the traditional day for learning the catechism and preparing for First Communion). I don't think Stéph really cares which way they go; I think he'll just be happy to have his weekends back.

2. I found cheddar cheese at the grande surface grocery store I go to a couple of times a month! This is excellent news, as I don't have to beg it off friends or go searching for it in the next département over. I first noticed it when Stéph and I ordered the cheese platters for my niece's baptism, and I bought some yesterday. I'm happy to report that someone is buying it besides me, as the amount had certainly decreased in the week since I'd been there!

3. I got my invitation to Ravelry this morning! I won't have a lot of time to play there for a little bit because I'm kind of stacked up with work, but you can find me under the name "vivienfrance."

french beauty secret revealed!

At last! I finally learned a trick that I can share! And it comes from a most unlikely source. Here, lemme 'splain:

As you may or may not already know, the water in France is notoriously hard. It is so hard that special products can be bought to fight calcium deposits on nearly every thing that water touches - the dishwasher, the clothes washer, the shower, the sink, everything!

You know what else the water touches? My freakin' hair! Shortly after I moved here, I realized that I was going to have to change my hair washing habits in order to make my hair act "normal." In the states, particularly in the South, I enjoyed soft water and enough humidity to keep my hair naturally curly. This is actually a relatively recent phenomenon for me, as most of my life I brushed out my naturally wavy hair and finally decided to let it act natural, to usually nice results. My biggest problem was that the hair on the top of my head doesn't curl as much as the rest (just like my Dad's was).

I tried everything I could think of - expensive shampoos, conditioners for curly hair, after-shower products and still my hair felt fried and dry. At last, a few weeks ago, I found my saving grace in a magazine - the same one that my sister-in-law gave me a subscription for for my birthday. As soon as I read the article, I literally smacked myself on the forehead, because it seemed so obvious.

What do all the calcium fighting products have in common? Vinegar! For generations, French women have been passing down homebrewed vinegar recipes for hair, but now several companies have come out with vinegar based hair products for keeping hair free of calcium deposits. So the next time I went to the big grande surface shopping center, I found one of the brands mentioned in the article and brought it home.

The hair vinegar I bought is applied after the shower, and has a funny top with only a little hole for shaking out the vinegar (like table vinegar, which was bizarre) but I got around that by putting the liquid in a spray bottle. The first time I used it, it took me forever to get out all the tangles, but it has been easier and easier every time I've used it. I've been using it for a couple of weeks now, and my hair has never looked better (and it smells nice, too)! In fact, it's actually too soft - I'm going to start using it after every other shampoo to try and get it balanced.

I've been letting my hair grow out for a couple of years now, and I had gotten so desperate that I was seriously considering chopping it all off again. Now that I've got my secret weapon, I am at all systems go for hair growth! Thank you French magazine for sharing this most excellent beauty secret!

a baptism of a different sort

On Saturday, we gathered with the family and celebrated the baptism of my niece, C, who just turned one year old. This baptism didn't take place in a church; in fact, it didn't involve religion at all. What we witnessed was a civil baptism, which is possibly unique in France.

Created during Napoleon's reign, civil baptisms are rather rare today, and not every town hall in France offers it, but it's an option for families of mixed or non-Christian background or those that aren't particularly religious. The ceremony takes place in the town hall, is presided over by the mayor, and the parents choose a godfather and godmother who act just like a Christian godparent, except that instead of teaching about religion, they teach how to be a good citizen.

The ceremony takes all of ten minutes, which for us was extended to at least fifteen because we had a professional musician in - another niece, C, who plays the violin beautifully. Afterwards, we all headed to a rented hall, where we ate a simple buffet, drank lots of lovely wine, and even got a little silly with a karaoke machine.

Of course, I forgot my camera, but that's probably because I was preoccupied with remembering our gift:



Yet another knitted gift. This one is a baby shrug from Debbie Bliss Simply Baby. I think they liked it, but it's probably still a little too big, as I made it in the biggest size.

Anyway, it was a great excuse for a party and hang out with the family, and we had a great time, and it was well after midnight by the time we made it home.

booty shakin music

First of all, I just want to get out there that I found out yesterday that quilts are being accepted as donations, so that means that quilters are also invited to participate over at Tricot du coeur! If you're a quilter and want to play, head over to the site to find the size requirements and all that jazz. (Clare, you're excused, since you've already got your charity quilting project!)

So your reward for reading through that is this song. If this doesn't make you want to shake your money maker than I don't even want to know ya!

(Since my new layout isn't exactly you tube size friendly, I'm going to just link it: Go shake yer booty!)

in which vivi becomes a couch potato

Well, I don't think it's going to be quite that dire. But we did buy a little box today that will hopefully make our television watching a little more pleasurable. Lemme 'splain:

Every television has the capability to have six channels for free. Well, technically seven, but one of them is subscription only and is only free for a few hours a day. If you want more channels, you have two options: buy a satellite or a TNT box.

Satellite is really lovely, with hundreds of channels, even some in English. But I think if we did get a satellite, I really would become a couch potato. Plus I know I'd end up watching English channels for the majority of the time, and since I'm home alone a lot, I've actually picked up a lot of French by watching French television. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I like to put on the subtitles in French, because I still read French a little better than I understand spoken French.

Anyway, a lot of our friends have a TNT box, which decodes a dozen or more channels. Once you've bought the box, you have nothing else to pay. There aren't any channels in English, but something like eighteen additional channels for free, plus a handful of subscription channels if you want to add that on.

So today we bought one, came home and plugged it in. Super easy installation, and fifteen minutes later we were scrolling through our new channels. There are a couple of 24 hour news channels, two music channels (yay!!), and a handful of other random stuff. And I just passed a very nice afternoon knitting on the couch and watching music videos. I am very content.

And if that doesn't float your boat, here's a lovely photo of a cabbage float:



Also, don't forget that today is Talk Like A Pirate Day. Yar.

another weekend in the country

We had such a great time this weekend! The weather was perfect, the friends were fantastic and the food was unreal. Of course we were all there to celebrate the baptism of Doc's youngest, "MP3," and I helped out a little bit in that area.

Antipo and her son were there, along with the rest of the Frenchie gang, and Saturday night we dined on unbelievable chicken columbo, Doc and Antipo's very special karma sutra eggplant, and Doc's super evil tiramisu, which smacked me around and call me its bitch and then lodged directly on my hips.

Sunday morning we all got gussied up and headed to church. Since I would be indisposed, I gave Stéph the camera but forgot to tell him about my special anti-blur technique, so you can guess how the majority of the photos came out. It's too bad too, because he's got an excellent eye and there were a bunch of photos that would have been very cool, if only they weren't blurry. Ah well. Thanks to Doc and Stéph's coaching, I was prepared when the Deacon asked the Godfather and I what our duties were (I mean, I know, but they saved me from getting stuck on the spot), and I got the hold the receiver when MP3 was getting her little head doused. And good gracious, what a cutie she is!

Then we all went to Doc and Marc's "other house," and I think if you read her blog you'll know what I'm talking about, for a nice big fat French lunch which lasted four hours. Now, I personally think the French celebrate in the best way - plenty of good food, nice long chats with friends, taking a pause outside between courses, and of course, eating all those delicious things you're not otherwise allowed to eat, or drink for that matter. It was glorious.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to stay until the presents were opened, but I can exlusively reveal what I made for little MP3:



I think it's bigger that she is!

Anyway, thank you as always, Doc and Marc, for a great weekend and for the big honor. We enjoyed it!

color me jealous

Stéph got confirmation this week that he's going to a teacher's conference at the beginning of October. It sounds like there will be teachers from several European countries there, and he'll be gone for five days. The kicker is that this conference will take place in Romania.

Yeah, you heard me: ROMANIA. I'm so jealous I could spit.

At least while the cat's away, this mouse can go play in Paris. So I guess it's not all bad.

This afternoon we'll be heading over to Doc's for the baptism festivities. Y'all have a great weekend!

a very big, special and exciting announcement!

Oh my god, y'all, I'm so excited!

*ahem*

So a few weeks ago, I was Skyping (that's a real word now, isn't it?) with my sister and she asked me if I would be interested in knitting a blanket for charity. At first, she only told me it was for a children's camp in North Carolina and I'd have until next Spring to finish it. Hell, I figured even I could finish a blanket in seven months, so I said yes.

Well, then I learned more about Victory Junction Gang and the good work they're doing and I thought to myself, "Self, I should mention this on the blog and then maybe some of my knitting friends will make blankets, too!" I told my sister that, and she laughed and said that she had hoped I would. What can I tell you, I'm totally predictable.

But then I got ambitious. What if I made a big website about it, and had a big prize drawing, and then we could make a whole bunch of blankets for these kids? So I contacted some of my favorite artists, and they agreed to donate some really cool prizes, and Tricot du coeur was born.

So! That's the rilly, rilly big news! Even if you're not a knitter or a crocheter, please take a sec and check out the new site and see what we're all about (because you can win a prize, too!). I think we're gonna have a good time, and it's for a really fantastic cause.

Ta-da!

shopping for clothes still sucks

Ben, oui. In Pursuits I Try To Avoid, clothes shopping still ranks up there with cleaning the toilet and ironing. Despite the fact that I've lost nearly twenty pounds, I'm still having trouble finding clothes that look decent on my frame. Yesterday was a major reality check - if I think I'm fluffy now, I must have been a monstrous cow four months ago. Luckily, instead of consoling myself in a tub of ice cream (you may laugh but I damn near did it), it only spurred me on to continue getting in better shape. Hooray for encouragement!

To be honest, it isn't just my body that is impeding the search for a new set of clothes. All the latest styles are charming and cute, but they're just not right for me. This is for two reasons: over sized tops and leggings only make me look eight months pregnant (and I'd much rather BE eight months pregnant than LOOK eight months pregnant), and didn't I already do over sized tops and leggings once? Oh yeah! Back in EIGHTH GRADE. Pfft. I'm all for recycling styles but this one hitting a little too close to home!

So the reason for all this clothes drama is that I'm going to a baptism this weekend. And it's not just any baptism, oh no! Not only is it for MP3, Doc's youngest, but Doc has asked me to be Godmother. I don't know what Doc was smoking the day she decided to ask me, but I'm touched beyond words that she did and I'm really looking forward to it.

So after striking out in five different shops, I've decided to just work with what I've got and maybe run back out tomorrow to add to what I've got. I'll need comfy (yet dressy!) clothes anyway, since it's impossible to leave Doc's table without unbuckling your belt because she cooks so damn well.

current projects

Well, it looks like the school year is off to a good start. Stéph is enjoying being back in elementary school and it looks like he's going to have a much less stressful year this year. It's kind of early to tell, but so far it seems like changing from special education to elementary school was a good move, regardless of our future plans.

As for me, I've got a few irons in the fire. I've got plenty of assignments to keep me busy for the moment, plus I'm gearing up for some new knitting projects, not to mention finishing a few off that have been sitting around for a while. Of course, they're all gifts, so I can't show them to you until they've been received (someday I might get to make something for myself!) but I'll be taking pictures before they go off to their new homes. One is all done and just had a bath, so as soon as that one is dry, it's heading off to the States, another one is all done but the seaming, and I've got another little project that I'll get finished up this week.

Looking ahead to new projects, I've been kind of floundering around trying to decide what to do when my yarn options are so bland and predictable here. I don't know why I never took to it before, but I finally dug in and took a look at yarn on eBay. Not only did I find some really interesting stuff, I've bid on a few things and I've already won something! Hopefully it will be here in the next couple of weeks. I'm still not working on anything for me - I've got one Christmas present I'm going to start on, plus I'm making the switch from baby sweaters to adult sweaters. Stéph has asked for a cardigan, of all things, and you would not believe how hard it is to find patterns for decent men's cardigans. Maybe there's a good reason for that. Hm.

Anyway, I've been working on another huge project that I can't wait to tell you all about. It's in the final stages now, hopefully I'll be making a great big huge exciting announcement by the end of the week. I know, my great big huge announcements aren't usually very big or exciting, but this one is a doozy. And there are prizes involved. Really nice ones, too. So keep a lookout for that.

warm fuzzies

It's one thing when someone sings your praises and you don't acknowledge it (especially when it was back in April, quelle honte!), but when someone else does it as well, you'd be a fool not to follow it up.

Clare and Kinga have presented me with an Inspirational Blogger Award and a Courageous Blogger Award, respectively. And now, according to the rules of Ye Olde Meme, I've got to pass the honor along to five more bloggers. (You can find out more about this meme here.



I have a feeling that she's already been awarded a similar award, but I still want to draw your attention to bleeding espresso. Sognatrice writes beautiful posts about her life in Calabria and has created a wonderful interactive community on her blog. She makes me want to be a better blogger and also remember to savor this experience of living in a new country.





I'm awarding two awards to one blogger (because it's my blog and I can) to Jennifer at No Place Like It. Not only is she a wonderful artist and illustrator, but she is going through some real earth shattering stuff right now and is blogging about it, which in my book is way beyond courageous. I know what it feels like to put that personal stuff out there - it can be terrifying and liberating at the same time. Plus, she's doing it with class.



I know, I know, I'm doing it wrong, but I'm awarding one of my awarders! Clare has another blog called Quilts 4 Leukaemia. She has already been given this award, but if nothing else I want to help promote the good work she is doing. If you're a sewer or a quilter, check out her blog to find out how you can help create a quilt for a child suffering from Leukemia.



Finally, for the Thoughtful Blogger Award, I want to give a shoutout to Lisanne at Bathtub Junkie. Lisanne is a Mom, a scrapbooker, a graphic designer and all around crafty gal who always takes the time to respond to comments and leaves lovely comments on the blogs she visits. I wish I could be more like her in my responses as well (although I try, really!).

And as for me, I just want to thank Clare and Kinga for thinking of me! I don't feel especially inspirational or courageous, but I'll take an award wherever I can get it! No, seriously, thank you both very much, I was really very touched.

C'est la rentrée !

Well, technically "the re-entry" is tomorrow, when children head back to school, but teachers report today for a full day of meetings in preparation for the kids, so in our house, la rentrée is today!

La rentrée isn't just Back to School time, but because so many companies close for several weeks in August, it's the time for everyone to get back to work. It's the signal that summer is over, and everyone is back from vacation and focusing again on their jobs.

In the past, the first week of school has been a little difficult for me, because after two months of spending every day with Stéph, suddenly he's gone and I'm left to my own devices again for a large part of the day. It can get a little lonely, and on more than one occasion I've found myself bored out of my mind. This time, however, I've got plenty to keep me busy, thank goodness. Just like Stéph, I'm ready to focus and get down to work.

While we're getting down to work, I hope everyone in the States is enjoying their last day of summer! Have a great Labor Day!

two three-year anniversaries

Yesterday marked three years since I arrived in France. Three years already! I have to tell you , I'm not quite where I want to be yet - still not 100% comfortable with the language (but I'm getting there!) and still haven't found a job here (though hopefully we're moving in the right direction to make that happen). Still, France feels like home now. We celebrated yesterday by turning in all the necessary documents for my new carte de sejour, or my residence card. If everything goes well, I should be holding a card that will be good for ten years in my hot little hands in a few months.

Tomorrow, Sunday, marks the three year anniversary of Dispatches From France. I continue to marvel at how much having a blog has enriched my life - it gives me an outlet to describe what living here is like, while I've literally made friends from around the world. I want to sincerely thank all of you who stop by to take a peek into my world, whether it's your first time here or you've been visiting since the beginning. I feel like every comment left is a connection, whether you're down the street or on another continent. Thank goodness for the internet - the world would be a much lonelier place without it. Thanks for coming along on my journey, and I can't wait to see where the next three years take us!

this one's for kyliemac

I guess it's fair to say that when you're learning a new language in a new country, it's natural to try to add some phrases to your vocabulary. I think the first French phrase I clung to was "n'importe quoi," which can be thrown out there like "Whatever!" Probably the the one I use the most frequently is adding on the word "quoi" (literally means "what") at the end of the sentence, which is the equivalent of the American overuse of the word "like," but like its American counterpart, should, like, be used, like, totally like sparingly.

My friend kyliemac often says that her favorite French phrase is "ferme ta boîte à camembert," which literally means "close your camembert box" (camembert being a tasty kind of French cheese), but really means "shut yer piehole" in kidspeak. Kylie hears this a lot because she is regularly in the presence of French kids, but as I am not, I had never heard this phrase in use before.

Well, before last night, that is. I was all comfy on the couch with Shrek (dubbed in French) playing on the tv but mostly paying attention to my knitting, when I heard it, and it happened so fast I nearly missed it, but no, there was L'âne (Donkey) telling Shrek to "ferme ta boîte à camembert et écoute-moi!" (Shut up and listen to me!) I got so excited because a) this normally would have gone right over my head and b) I finally heard kylie's favorite phrase! Yay!

a recipe

Wow, I'm feeling 50% better than I was yesterday, and I'm quite surprised! I went to the pharmacy yesterday and said that I was afraid that I had le sinusite, or sinusitis, thanks to the mounting pressure in my face. He thought maybe I'd be better off seeing a doctor, but he gave me some over-the-counter allergy medicine and told me to see the doctor the next day if I didn't feel better. By 4:00 I asked Stéph to make an appointment for me because I was still feeling so lousy.

And then, miracle of miracles, I woke up this morning with both the cough and the sinus pressure gone! I'm still sniffly and stuffy, but well enough that I canceled the appointment and have officially downgraded myself to "cold" status. I'll be sticking to allergy medicine and rest today.

I'm also working on a new project that hopefully I'll be sharing with you in the next week or so. I'm still trying to get all my eggs in the same basket, but I can tell you that it will involve knitting and prizes!

And now, a very special recipe given to me by the ever gracious Frog with a Blog:

Salade italienne à la frog

Ingredients

5 slices of pain de mie (sandwich bread)
30 g butter
4 slices of bacon or lardons
1 roman lettuce (romaine)
100g gorgonzola
1 paquet de noix

dressing ingredients:

1 egg
1 dl olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 or 3 anchovies
1 tbsp moutarde de Dijon

1) Make the croûtons:

Take the slices of pain de mie, cut the edges to keep the white part only. Cut the white part into small squares. Put in pan with butter and olive oil until golden. Keep on the side on piece of sopalin (paper towel) to absorb the fat. Let them become a bit crusty and delicious.

2) Prepare the salad

Fry the bacon cut in small pieces or use lardons, when crispy and delicious put on sopalin to get rid of the fat. Cut the Roman lettuce roughly in pieces that are not too big. Mix, the bacon, lettuce, pieces of gorgonzola, walnuts and mix. Only add the croùtons right before serving otherwise they become all smooshy.

3) Magic dressing

Boil water, throw your egg in it. Let that egg boil for one minute. Not more! Then break the egg into a food processor and mix with the other ingredients until it becomes smooth and delicious. Taste and see if salt and pepper are needed, usually not as the anchovies are already salted.

My advice would be to prepare the croûtons and the bacon right before serving to make sure they are crispy and delicious. You may have understood that the crispiness and deliciousness of this salad are essential to the success of this recipe. ;-)

You can always warm your bacon and croûtons in the oven before serving in case they become all smooshy. 5 minutes, 175 degrees.

all becomes clear

I understand why I've been so tired. I'm as sick as a dog.

Dammit.

exhausted

Thanks for your kind wishes in regards to my last post. I confess I'm thinking more about my poor grandmother, who has lost her sister.

As for me, I am utterly exhausted. The last few days have found us entertaining and being entertained day after day and I am just drained. Thursday we had guests not just for lunch, but for dinner as well. My sister-in-law had an interview at the high school here in our town, but as she doesn't drive, her mother brought her, as well as her daughter and our niece, who has been spending a week or two with her grandparents. Since her interview was at 11:00, they invited themselves over for lunch - actually, that sounds worse than it is, as we were happy to have them and it's been ages since we had any family over for lunch. "Oh, just do something simple," my belle mère said, but unfortunately, chips and a sandwich just won't do here in France. So our "simple" lunch consisted of deviled eggs and carrot salad, stuffed tomatoes and rice and a small ice cream cake for dessert.

As soon as they left, I was back in the kitchen preparing dinner for our next guests. By 6:30 I was in the car on the way to the train station to pick up kyliemac and her friend visiting from the States. Once back at home, we all dug into Frog's Very Special and Impressive Italian Salad (thank you so much for that, Frog dear!), a tartiflette (because the weather still felt like deepest autumn, so we might as well eat like it), and a pear clafoutis, made by yours truly. We ate and drank into the wee hours and rolled ourselves into bed.

In the morning, kylie, her friend and I piled in the car, picked up my niece in Troyes, and drove down to see Guédelon. This was my second time there (my flickr set is here) and it would have been Stéph's third if he hadn't begged off, but it was everyone else's first time there so I was happy to play bus conductor for them. Plus it really is in the middle of nowhere, and still two and half hours by car from Troyes. The weather was clear enough, still a bit cloudy but no rain, and it was unbelievably muddy, but a good time was had by all. We got back to Troyes in just enough time to have a quick walk around the old downtown before kylie and her friend got back on the train for Paris.

After all that driving I would have been happy to be a couch potato this weekend, but we were invited to YET ANOTHER barbecue today. Today the sun finally came out after nearly a month's absence, and it came back with a vengeance - it must have been in the mid-80s today. (For those of you sneering, "Oh poor you!" I hope you are enjoying your air conditioning!) After six hours of hiding from the sun and eating sausages, my friends, I do declare that I am DONE. Just stick a fork in me. I love entertaining, I love hanging out with my friends, but I feel like I could sleep for a week.

sad news

I received the very sad news today that my Great Aunt Betty passed away this morning. I will always remember her for her cheerful disposition, her sense of humor and her outgoing personality. She had been fighting cancer for five years and she fought her battle with rare grace, never complaining, and she often said she knew she was living on borrowed time. Even after she was diagnosed, she kept as active as possible. Her favorite pastime was bridge, and she was a member of two clubs!

She will leave behind a legion of friends, for she was loved wherever she went, and of course her family. Wednesday night suppers at church won't be the same without her.

in awe

Yesterday, I met up with Doc and her three kids.

The mission: find a baptism dress for her youngest.

The place: various outlet shopping centers in and around Troyes.

The outcome: positive! After circling one whole outlet center, lunch at MacDo, a drive across town to another outlet center and a quick stop for a feeding and a last minute look around, a dress was found.

How I felt after spending an afternoon with three children under the age of four: Utterly exhausted.

Seriously y'all, I don't know how she does it, nor why she isn't bat shit crazy. Those children are among the most beautiful I have ever seen, but they are a handful. (Please don't misunderstand me - they're not bad at all, just... all under the age of four.) Granted, I did do a sprint through the grocery before I came home, and since school starts in a couple of weeks, you can imagine how packed it was, but by the time I got home I felt like I'd just run a marathon twice. Backwards. Up a very large mountain.

Doc and I have a running joke that whenever one of the kids has a "moment," she turns to me and says, "Are you sure you want to go through this?" But she knows I do, and she's right. The rewards obviously outweigh the difficulties, but there are no two ways about it - raising kids is a tiring business. My hat's off to you, Ms. Doc!

Back to reality

Obviously we've been back for a while. So what have we been up to? Well, for my part, I jumped right back into work and tried to catch up on some sleep. Stéph's been glued to his computer, playing his latest acquisition, Medieval Total War II, for hours on end.

I think I mentioned it before, but last Saturday we went to a barbecue in a village on the southwest side of Paris. The last time we had to drive to the southwest side of Paris (although that time we were actually going to the suburbs so much, much closer) we tried to take the major highways that circle Paris, got caught in Friday evening traffic and ended up being nearly two hours late. This time, we looked at the map and found a route going to the south and then the west, avoiding Paris traffic altogether. We probably added a half hour to the drive but there was absolutely no traffic and you would never know that our destination was only a half hour outside of Paris!

While we were driving, as we got closer to Paris I couldn't help window shopping for a town we could move to next year. Obviously, we will have very little choice as all will depend on where Stéph is assigned, but we enjoyed weighing the pros and cons of certain villages as we passed through. This one has a train station, that one is really beautiful, this one is not, etc. The truth is, Stéph could be placed anywhere in the region of Ile de France, and it's still so far away that it doesn't seem anywhere near real yet.

In addition to keeping on top of work, next week is going to be nice and busy, just how I like it. Monday I'm hopefully going to be meeting up with a friend for a bit of shopping, then we need to get the house in tip top shape as we're having some very special guests in at the end of the week. I'll be taking our guests on a very special adventure, but one I've been to before. Can you guess where? In between all that we're hoping to visit some friends and family. Only two weeks left before school starts back up again so the last minute get-togethers are starting to be planned. And it's at this time of year that I'm just about ready for Stéph to go back to work. I love him dearly but I'm just about ready for some me time!

The Loire Valley

(I'm sorry these posts are so ridiculously long, but I can't figure out how to do extended posts with this new template. We'll be back to more reasonably sized posts after this.)

Day 7: le 4 août, samedi

Ouch.

We reckon that we spent upwards of 15 hours at Puy du Fou, so no wonder we slept in late. We decided to skip breakfast and hit the road.

Just before noon, we decided to stop in the town of Saumur to grab a bite to eat. Saumur is a great town I'd love to spend more time in. Plus, we happened to get there while an open air market was in progress and we randomly passed a British couple selling books in English. I picked up two novels for 10€ before we stumbled into a bar offering sandwiches. Pretty good sandwiches, too, and you can't beat the price.

The temperature was rising as we drove a couple more hours to the town of Amboise. Thanks to its proximity to the famous Châteaux de la Loire, Amboise is pretty crowded with tourists. We arrived at 3:00 and made finding a hotel our first priority. The first hotel we stopped at featured a large terrace and we waited several minutes at the counter for someone to wait on us, until a waiter told us that we'd have to wait until after 4:00 if we were interested in a room. Fine with us, we decided to take our business elsewhere. The next place we tried was a winner. I'm sorry I don't remember the name; it was either Hôtel de la France or Hôtel Français. In either case, we scooped up the last room, complete with a full bathroom, at only 45€. We paid in advance and added in breakfast for the next morning as well. The owner even was kind enough to warn us that the bar below our room was having a rock n roll band that night, but said they should be finished at 11:00. We were so happy to find a room so easily that we didn't mind.

Once the room was taken care of, we paused for a cool drink on a terrace right in front of the Office of Tourism (carefully avoiding the one with bad customer service). Thinking that it might not be a bad idea to check out the hours of the châteaux we were interested in seeing, we popped in to the Office of Tourism, where we learned that we could buy tickets to the three closest attractions, all of which we wanted to visit, at a discounted price. Plus, we wouldn't have to wait in line to buy tickets when we arrived. Bonus! This is a great tip for tourists - always check out the Office of Tourism when you arrive in town - any town!

Since it was only 4:00 by now, we decided to check out the first attraction, the Château Royal d'Amboise.



This 15th/16th century castle was the first French castle built in the Renaissance style. Inside the castle, there is a short tour of some of the rooms, including some interesting furniture and paintings. But what really drew me to this château is the fact that it is Leonardo Da Vinci's final resting place.

I had read Letters to Leonardo: A Novel, which is centered on the last three years of Leonardo's life, which he spent here in Amboise, only a few months before, so the stories of his friendship with King François I and his last inventions were fresh in my mind. The following day we would visit his house, Clos Lucé.

After our visit, we parked the car closer to the hotel and brought up our bags and had a rest. Stéph had a nap while I watched the Daily Show Global Edition (yay Jon Stewart!). We roused ourselves when the weather seemed to cool down a bit and we had a little stroll through Amboise. Like I said, it's crowded with tourists and filled with souvenir shops and restaurants, so we settled on a little pizzeria just in front of the Château. Afterwards, we grabbed a couple of ice cream cones and walked along the Loire as the sun went down.



As we crashed in our room, we were lulled to sleep by the rock n roll band below us playing such classic French tunes as Mustang Sally, I Feel Good and Sweet Home Alabama. Actually they weren't half bad, and they did stop at the reasonable hour of 11:30.

Day 8: le 5 août, dimanche

Breakfast in the hotel consisted of one croissant and one half of a small baguette each, with jam and butter, plus yogurt and all the juice, coffee and tea you could drink. We were stuffed afterwards.

Our first stop for the day was the Clos Lucé, where Leonardo spent his last three years as the guest of King François I.



Inside, you can see Leonardo's bedroom and study, the chapel that (if I remember well) Leonardo's apprentices painted, and the kitchen. What I didn't know is that the house was used by the royal family through the 18th century, and features some rooms decorated from that period. The basement also has a really cool exhibit of some of Leonardo's inventions, many of which are very surprising and before their time.

Outside is the huge Parc Leonardo da Vinci, a wonderful walk, mostly shaded by trees, with exhibits scattered throughout where you can pause and hear the words of Leonardo spoken in four or five different languages, plus interactive exhibits to understand better Leonardo's inventions. It would be very easy to spend a good chunk of the day here, with loads of things to see and picnic areas and playgrounds for kids. I don't think we saw half of them. But, we still had other places to visit so we decided to move on.

Our next visit was the famous château of Chenonceau, where we were delighted to pass the long line for buying tickets and marched right through the gate. We thought that arriving at noon would save us from the crowds, but boy were we wrong. After a quick run through the small labyrinth (I won, woo!), we made our way up to the castle.



Chenonceau is probably the most popular château in the Loire Valley for good reason - the place is gorgeous! Unfortunately, the château was SO crowded that it really sucked the joy out of being there. Every room, beautifully decorated with interesting objects, was so full of people that you could barely see anything, and my first instinct was to run the hell away. We took a breather in the long gallery where we discovered that we could escape the crowds and sneak out on the other side of the river, where I caught this:


Click on the photo to go to the flickr page, and check it out in large. Seriously, I surprised myself with this one!

Another happy surprise was the art exhibit on the second level gallery, featuring the Alice in Wonderland series of paintings by Pat Andrea. We both enjoyed that very much, and if you're interested in contemporary art, it's worth the visit.

Disappointed by the crowds, we left sort of quickly. Chenonceau is absolutely gorgeous and well worth the visit, but I hope someday I'll be able to return in the off-season when it's not so crowded so I can really give the place a good once-over.

Continuing east, we stopped in the town of Blois a couple of hours later. By now the heat was really getting to us. We ate some really bad pasta - at least it was super cheap - and contemplated looking for a hotel, but after walking around for a while looking for the Office of Tourism, our brains kind of melted and we decided to continue on. It seemed there were several interesting sights in Blois, including another château and an interesting pedestrian area, so that might be a place I'd be interested in visiting in the future.

We ended up in Orléans. Just as we exited the autoroute, we were surrounded by large chain hotels, so we decided to try here instead of marching around downtown in search of a hotel. We randomly chose the B&B hotel, where we were able to take a room at the automated kiosk outside. The kiosk spits out a code for opening the door, where we were overjoyed to find an air conditioning unit. We spent a couple of hours just enjoying the cool.

In the evening, we headed into Orléans proper, with the aim of walking around a little and finding a place to eat. We stopped at a little Cuban themed bar where we had a mojito (not the best I've ever had), and continued on in the pedestrian area of town, stuffed with bars and restaurants. Most of the places seemed to have an international feel - I remember a Spanish place, a Florida bar, loads of Indian and Pakistani places. We finally chose an Indian restaurant called the Taj Mahal where we had, hands down, the best meal of the whole vacation. Since neither of us are familiar with Indian food, we took the menu "dégustation," which is a tasting menu with lots of different dishes. For only 26€ plus drinks, we gorged ourselves on curry, tandoori chicken, fried eggplant, naan and other delights. Seriously, we waddled away from there. The service was wonderful and I highly recommend it if you ever find yourself in Orléans.

By now, we were suffering from full on vacation fatigue. I managed to snap one photo to prove that we were actually in Orléans before we went back to the air conditioned comfort of our room.



Day 9: le 6 août, lundi

We woke up to rain. It's time to go home.

We stopped in the town of Montargis, which was DEAD. Seriously, it seemed like the whole town was gone on vacation. It was kind of creepy. We finally found a crèperie that was open and enjoyed a final restaurant meal before heading home, which we reached by early afternoon.

Lions and tigers and horses - oh my!

Whoops! Sorry about the interruption. I got a little carried away with work and then yesterday we drove to the south side of Paris for a barbecue with some of our DAoC friends (nerds unite!). I can tell that it's getting to be the end of summer, because I'll be happy if I don't see a grilled piece of meat for a long, long time. Anyway, back to the big vacation...

Day 5: le 2 août, jeudi

Everything about our stay in Etretat was great except one thing - being woken at the ungodly vacation hour of 6 am by seagulls. Ugh.

After a quick breakfast in the café on the square of the Mairie, we hit the road going south, over the enormous bridge at Port de Normandie (I wish we had stopped to take a photo - that bridge is insane! And there is a lane where psycho crazy people can walk or bike over it. I was nauseous just riding in the car over that thing!) for a 5 1/2 hour drive, stopping at a grande surface grocery store to pick up a few lunchy things and then at a rest stop to eat them along the way. Our ultimate destination was Puy du Fou, and we were spending the night in the town of Cholet, about a half hour's drive away.

When I booked the tickets for Puy du Fou online a couple of weeks before we left, I tried to book us a room at one of the super cheap hotels in the area, but because we would be there on a Friday (more about why we timed our visit for a Friday later), the super cheapies were already booked, so we ended up taking a room for two nights at the Grande Hôtel de la Poste for more money than we would usually spend for a hotel. For a two star hotel, it has a few good things going for it, including a private parking garage (which is not free but worth the convenience), an elevator and an enclosed patio. On the other hand, the restaurant was closed for renovations and the hotel itself was pretty banged up and worse for wear, but I didn't count this against them since I learned that the hotel itself would be closing for renovations in the middle of September. When we arrived in the middle of the afternoon, we rested for a few hours with Stéph taking a nap and me resting my ears with a good dose of BBC World.

Cholet itself doesn't have much to recommend it. Apparently this town is known for the production of enormous handkerchiefs, but you wouldn't know it unless you visited the Office of Tourism. After walking around the town a bit, we settled on dining at the Brasserie Grand Café, resigning ourselves to a simple dinner but finding ourselves pleasantly surprised that the "little" brasserie was an enormous restaurant with dining on two levels and two private rooms. We stuffed ourselves silly on Tartiflette for him (not exactly the season for Tartiflette but it's his favorite and if it's not too hot he'll eat it all the same) and an amazing array of pasta dishes for me, with local wine and dessert. If you're ever passing through, you won't go wrong to check this place out. It's a little touristy, but the food is worth it.

Day 6: le 3 août, vendredi

Up early and out the door - this is the day we've been waiting for! Puy du Fou!

Once we get there at opening time, it seems everyone in the region has chosen today to arrive and we have to park very far away, with the caravans. In truth, it's only a ten minute walk from the gate, but it felt like we were being sent to the other side of the world.

Puy du Fou is a theme park, but not with rides or games. The attraction of Puy du Fou is the amazing shows it puts on around a number of different themes. The production values of the shows are really very high - I was absolutely blown away by the size alone of the stage of the "Musketeers" show - prancing horses! acrobatics! special effects! There are five main shows and eight smaller scaled shows and it really takes two days if you want to see everything. Since we had one day, we concentrated on seeing the five major shows and caught one or two little ones in passing. The main shows can hold an incredible number of people - witness the seating for the Gladiator show:


yep, it's like that all the way around

so the real trick is not getting bogged down by following the crowds around all day. The schedule for each day is different and available just as you walk in the gate, so once we realized that crowd was sucking the fun out of the day, we looked at the schedule again, ate lunch a little early and pretty much did our own thing, which went a long way in making the day a nice one. In addition to the Gladiator and Musketeer shows, there are Vikings,



horses,



and a really cool bird show that I didn't take pictures of because I couldn't pick my jaw up off the floor after dodging falcons, eagles, and larger birds of prey flying just over our heads.

As if that wasn't enough, Puy du Fou also puts on a huge nighttime show on Friday and Saturday evenings through the summer called Cinéscénie. It claims to be the biggest nighttime show in the world, and I can believe it. With over 1100 volunteers, laser-light effects and huge fireworks on a stage that could easily be as big as four or five football fields put together, the show is worth the extra money. Don't bother trying to follow the thread of the story, as it's all allegory and simply a thin disguise to link together some of the major events of French history that are represented, whether in simple vignettes or with tightly organized choreography. Just enjoy the impressive scenery and the costumes and the "actors" - from grandparents to toddlers - and don't forget to look around, for there's action taking place as far as the eye can see.

Overall, we enjoyed our (very, very long) day at Puy du Fou, but it's not a place either of us are in a hurry to go back to, as once you've seen it, you're good for a nice, long while. That being said, new areas are being added on to the park every year and I think it will be a great place to visit with our own family maybe ten years down the road.

Next post: the Loire Valley

luck be a lady tonight

Day 4: le premier août, mercredi

After our traditional French breakfast of toasted baguettes and jam with coffee and juice, Stéph and I set out to put together our shish kebabs. This is something we started doing on a visit to the States when Stéph wanted to make brochettes for a family barbecue. The beef here isn't as good as what you'd find in the States - even Stéph will attest to that - but they're still better than the ones already assembled that you find in the grocery store here. Afterwards, I jumped in the car with my SIL and BIL for a quick trip to Montreuil-sur-Mer.

Although Montreuil-sur-Mer is no longer connected to the sea, it is a popular tourist stop for two reasons. First, it's built on a huge hill, and you can still walk around the whole city and enjoy the great views of the surrounding countryside. But this walk is not for the feint of heart (or small children or dogs not on a leash). That's because there are no guard rails and no walls to keep you from tumbling down a few hundred feet.


Watch your step!

The second reason is that Victor Hugo once stayed here for a short visit and liked it so much, he made it an important part of his novel, Les Misérables. It was in Montreuil that Jean Valjean became Mayor, so of course I couldn't resist taking a photo of the Mairie:


Jean Valjean's house

Montreuil is so well known as the setting of Les Misérables that the town puts on a big show on summer evenings about the novel, incorporating lights and fireworks. We didn't get to see it but I'm hoping that next year we will.

After our short walk through and around the town, we headed back to our third barbecue in as many days. This was the biggest, with just about all the family, including an aunt and a couple of cousins and their kids. The temperature was steadily increasing but we had a wonderful time nonetheless.

As soon as lunch was over, Stéph and I packed up the car and as the rest of the family was headed back to the beach, we waved goodbye and headed out on our own. Our destination was Etretat, on the Normandy coast.

It was a four hour drive, in which we only got slightly turned around once, and it seemed the minute we arrived in the town we enjoyed an incredible streak of luck. First, we tried to find a space to park in the very tiny parking lot in front of the Mairie, and just as we entered, someone signaled that they were leaving, and then they gave us their parking meter ticket which was good until the next morning! Our first priority was to find a hotel for the night, and we got a room in the first hotel we tried, the Hôtel des Falaises, only two blocks away from the beach. We had the option of taking a room with a shower but either with or without a bathroom, but the 20€ difference made us think that maybe the bathroom in the hallway wasn't such a bad idea. And it really wasn't - it was perfectly clean and I never had to wait during our stay.

Once the hotel was settled, we walked to the beach to take a look at the reason everyone comes to Etretat - the amazing cliffs:



They really were quite stunning.



As we walked back to grab something to eat (in what turned out to be a pretty mediocre touristy restaurant - you can't win 'em all), we passed by a casino, and I suggested we could go blow 20 bucks if we couldn't find anything else to do. Although the idea of slot machines didn't turn him on, he eventually agreed.

Y'all, I have created a monster.

We had a great time at the casino, and thanks to the fact that I wasn't wearing my watch, we lost track of time and didn't leave until nearly midnight. However, we did set our limit at 20€ and walked out with 20€, and I'm sure that at some point we doubled our money but we were having so much fun that we kept playing our winnings anyway.

And then, for the rest of the trip, Stéph kept an eye out for a casino. As much as I enjoyed it, I'm sort of grateful that we didn't cross paths with another casino during our trip - I'm afraid that's all we would have done! Maybe it's a good thing that there isn't a casino within a 200 km radius of us...

Next post: Puy du Fou

And we're off

Day 1: 29 juillet, dimanche

We left right on time, at 10:00. The weather was a little rainy and still cool, perfect driving weather. Our destination was Pas de Calais, in Northern France, where Stéph's parents rent a gite every year to visit the area where they grew up, as well and family and friends. We stopped at the usual stopping place, and thanks to the bad weather, ate our packed lunch in the car. Since the bar we usually go to for a coffee and to stretch our legs was closed, we drove on to the next village, where we stopped into a bar/fishing shop. The people were nice, although it was kind of a surreal experience, with the woman running the bar carrying on a loud conversation with her regulars and some guy that literally ran in and asked for a glass of water with a beer chaser, "to replenish his electrolytes." He had either lost or was born without hands, and had a curious contraption strapped onto one wrist, which helped him to pick things up. They were all quite friendly but a little odd, and we left before we could catch any crazy.

By the time we reached the gite, the weather had cleared up and it was suddenly sunny and gorgeous. The gite was pretty small, and we were sharing a really small space with Stéph's parents and his younger sister, her partner and their gorgeous little girl, our niece C. C is only 10 months old and this was her first overnight stay away from home, so it was kind of a rough night. I did manage to finish Harry Potter before going to bed.

Day 2: 30 juillet, lundi

Stéph slept on the couch, so he wouldn't wake the rest of us up when he and his father left early to go fishing. He still came upstairs and woke me up anyway. With the menfolk gone, I took my MIL to the local grocery, which was actually the nicest grocery I've ever seen. Not the biggest, but really nice. Anyway, we picked up a few things and drove back to the gite. Then my SIL, BIL, baby C and I went to see how the menfolk were doing. The fishing camp is really huge and thanks to the good weather, it was pretty packed. We found them at the very last pond. Stéph hadn't caught very many but he was enjoying himself. They had another hour to fish so we came back and had lunch. Once the guys came back with 14 trout, pretty much everyone except me and my MIL had a nap. She cleaned the fish while I started a new knitting project.

We had hoped to go to a local craft store but C was catching up on some much needed sleep so we let her rest. Instead, we went to say hello to Stéph's aunt and uncle, who live two villages over. They have a beautiful home with a nice big yard and lots of space for Uncle to indulge in his hobbies. He is a master woodscraftsman and his latest passion is restoring old cars from the frame all the way up to restitching the interior. Once we said our goodbyes, Stéph and I packed up our things and most of the fish and headed to our next destination - Stéph's older sister and family were renting a gite only half an hour away. We arrived just in time for dinner - barbecued trout. We enjoyed a great dinner outdoors and watched an old movie on tv while Stéph worked on the inflatable mattress.

And that is how we spent our third wedding anniversary.

Day 3: 31 juillet, mardi

After the cramped space with the MIL and all, we slept very well on the inflatable mattress. We had to keep our staying there kind of hush hush, since the place was only rated for four people, but we managed. In the morning, Stéph and I took our two nieces to check out the museum at Azincourt. (Yes, Squishy, THAT Azincourt!!) For those of you that are not quite up on your French/English/Shakespeare history, this is the place where Henry V and his army beat the snot out of the French in 1415. There is a very small interactive museum which covers the history leading up to and including the battle, the weapons and armor of the period and a short show in both French and English. Then we got in the car and rode around the battlefield, pausing at a memorial before heading back for lunch.


click on the picture to go to the flickr site, where you can read the board in the large size.


the battlefield

For lunch, we had MIL, C and her parents over to join us for a barbecue. After fattening ourselves up on some sausages and pork chops, Stéph and I and the four we were staying with went to the beach to walk it all off.



Berck-sur-Mer is only about half an hour away from where we were staying. It's a wonderful beach but it can be really crowded. Last time we were here, the weather was lousy and the beach was nearly deserted, but this time the sun was shining and the weather was perfect, so I wouldn't say it was packed, like I imagine beaches in the South of France are right now, but there was a good crowd. The six of us headed directly to the water and walked along the beach for a good hour before heading back up to the boardwalk, where we reversed all the good we did walking by enjoying some nice big ice cream sundaes. On the way back, we stopped at the big shopping center to pick up supplies for yet another barbecue for the next day. Another movie and a few more rows of knitting finished up the day.

Next time: Stéph and I head out on our own.

i need a vacation from my vacation

We're back and we're exhausted! We had a great time and over the next week or so I'll be posting about our adventures. For now, nearly everything's been unpacked (because seriously, if I don't do it first thing, the suitcases will sit around for days), Stéph's had a nap (I would love a nap but if I nap I won't sleep tonight - I'm very weird about my sleep), I've read my emails and next I'll be catching up on your blogs. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have time to download the photos and start writing. It was lovely to be out and about and to discover parts of France I hadn't been to before, but it's also great to be home!

preperations for a real, honest-to-god vacation

To Do Today

* go to the grocery store
* finish up laundry
* finish and send last assignment
* gather and put together: camera, camera charger, books, knitting, bedding, fishing equipment, pétanque balls, other games
* pack clothes
* prep toiletries
* check and double check and re-check list
* tidy up the kitchen and the rest of the house
* put out the garbage in the morning

O Benevolent Vacation Gods, Please Do Not Let Us Forget:

* the cooler with food for a picnic tomorrow
* the Puy du Fou tickets
* Harry Potter
* the camera or the battery charger
* my wallet (yeah, I am that nutty)
* my toothbrush

We're taking off tomorrow morning and I cannot wait! While we're gone, we'll be celebrating our third wedding anniversary. Yay, us! See you all in August!

eight annoying things about me

When Aimee at PutYourFlareOn tagged me for this meme, I thought, "Only eight? Ha!"

1. I'm a procrastinator. Proof: I told Aimee I'd do this two days ago. Hm. Curiously, I'm not a procrastinator when it comes to work. Somehow, I'm able to seperate that from the rest of my life.

2. I don't keep the house as clean as I should. I know that if I just clean a little every day, I wouldn't have to do the big marathon cleaning sessions, but... meh, see number 1.

3. It takes me forever to fall asleep, and I usually flop around like a fish out of water until I do. This drives Stéph crazy, but we've worked out a routine where if he reads for a while until I fall asleep, everyone is happy.

4. I'm very sensitive to noise and light when I'm trying to fall asleep. We've worked out the light issue by getting Stéph a little book light, but I'm super sensitive to noise, and sometimes I have to close the bedroom door because I can hear the clock ticking downstairs. As a guest in other people's homes, I've been known to remove the battery from clocks. I always replace them and fix the time first thing in the morning.

5. I'm still smoking. A lot of people are annoyed by this.

6. Sometimes, I don't finish things that I start.

7.

8.

OK, that was mostly done to be funny, but this meme is harder than I thought! If you'd like to try this practice in humility, please steal this meme and let me know in the comments that you've done it. If you don't have a blog, faites comme chez vous, or make yourself at home and type up your list in the comments.

the one you've all been waiting for

As I was setting up the new blog template a few weeks ago, I was skimming through the archives, looking for examples of posts I'd written in my first year here, because I noticed that I was getting a lot of hits from search engines from people interested in specific details of living in France, so I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to put them on the main page. Reading back through my posts from that time, I thought, "Now, this is a blog I would read!" The posts I write now? Not so much.

I don't know what happened. It was either because after living here for two or three years, the newness sort of wore off or because I forgot to be on the lookout for interesting things that happen that I could share with you. Or I just got lazy. That's the most likely. I didn't used to be so afraid to share my thoughts here. That was the whole point of having an "anonymous" blog, so why wasn't I taking advantage of it? Granted, I do have a lot of friends and family who read all this, but I probably wouldn't be interested in posting something here that I couldn't tell them anyway.

I'm not really sure why I didn't want to write about what our big upcoming plans are. I suppose I was afraid of laying out all my cards. Also, there's the feeling that if I write about what I want to happen in the future, if it doesn't come to pass, then everyone knows of my failure. But I realized that this isn't true for two reasons - this is supposed to be a journal, right? Albeit, one that I let the whole world thousands hundreds tens of people read. But isn't that what a journal is for? To document what I want and what I'm feeling right now, so I can come back later and see what's changed? The other reason is, I don't really feel like "failure" is applicable in this case. Needs change, wants change, and if this plan we're hatching doesn't work out, then I'm sure whatever does happen will turn out to be for the best.

Therefore, I'm ready to lay it all out on the line. Are you ready? *deep breath*

I don't think it's a secret that not working for the past three years has been very difficult for me. I very foolishly believed that I would arrive in France and be gainfully employed within six months. (Yes, I know, I can hear you all laughing from here.) Once I realized that teaching English wasn't for me, I set out to find work that I actually have experience in, but after a year of being sent on interviews by Assedic (the French unemployment office) with no luck, I was at an absolute loss for what to do. My French was slowly improving, Stéph and I are speaking French more and more at home, but sitting at home and wringing my hands has taken a real toll on me. Luckily, we've been ok living on Stéph's salary, but not in the manner that either of us are accustomed to. We both enjoy going out and indulging in our reading habits and going on vacation, but we haven't been able to do this as much as we'd like. Plus, I need to get out of the house! I need to be social, both for improving my French and for my mental health.

I think you may remember that we seriously considered moving back to the States last year, but we both agreed that it would be too great of a risk for us. And I don't want to give the impression that I'm unhappy living in France - I'm certainly not. I very much enjoy the lifestyle, I love my in-laws, and I've made wonderful friends here, not to mention that I love Stéph's friends as well. It's not the country that needs changing, but maybe our way of thinking. And maybe the location.

At the beginning of this year, Stéph and I had a real heart to heart. We really needed to start thinking outside the box (I hate this phrase but in this case, it fits) about changing our situation so that both of us could be satisfied. We decided that moving to a larger city would probably give me a better opportunity of finding work, not to mention a wider range of things to do for getting out of the house (because seriously? In our town? We have two bars and a few brasseries and That Is All). But where to go? So we let the question settle for a little while until we finally came up with the answer: Paris.

Paris is the closest large town to us (and I should clarify - we were always talking about moving to a major city, or else we could have just moved back to Troyes), so we would only be a couple of hours away from our family. Plus, there are a lot of international businesses there, and hopefully I can find some work in one of them. So, it was decided. but Stéph has to request a region change, and we'd missed the deadline by the time we had decided, so we'll need to wait another year before we can move. For now, the plan is for Stéph to make the request this year, and we'll know next June where he's been assigned. Talk about a gamble - but it's one that we're willing to take.

Two things I should clarify, however. First - yes, I already have a job. I am thrilled to be working, even if it is from home. I realize that this is the dream job of a whole lot of people. But I still need to get out of the damn house. If nothing else, this job will tide me over, and may even save us if I don't find a job. We've decided that the move is still a good one for us, even if I continue to work from home.

The other thing is - we're moving closer to Paris, not to Paris. We're just not city people, Stéph and I. Not to mention that we simply couldn't afford it! Anything close enough that we can comfortably consider "commuting range" will work for us, and I actually love the idea of commuting into Paris and having a quiet home to return to. As we won't know where Stéph will be assigned until this time next year, there's no point in shopping for a new home just yet. That'll certainly make things interesting.

So there it is, the big secret. The funny thing is, we both know that a lot of people would love to get out of Paris, and here we go trying to move in! In any case, we feel like we're doing the right thing for us, and a huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders. Now we'll just have to wait a year and see if it actually comes to pass.

PS: I don't know why my expandable posts don't work anymore. Sorry for the massively long post.

what might have been

I was flipping around Craigslist this morning and saw an ad looking for a "chubby" Anglophone actress in her 30's for a short film shoot in Paris. Too bad my most recent headshots were done in 1996. I might have thrown my hat in the ring.

It's going to be a quiet week here in the country, gearing up for our vacation at the end of the week, which I'm very excited about. My in-laws rent a gite, or furnished apartment in a country setting, every year in the département of Pas-de-Calais, where they grew up. We'll go spend a few quiet days with them, visiting family, walking on the beach and Stéph will probably get some fishing in with his Dad while we wimmins go shopping. Then we're going to work our way down to Puy du Fou, a huge French theme park with a ginormous night show. Then we'll work our way home, probably stopping to look at a castle or two. There will be loads of photos taken, tons of yummy food eaten and plenty of miles walked to work off the yummy food. I cannot wait.

In between working and knitting up gifties, I want to give our apartment a thorough going-over, either this week or the week after we get back. You know, those backbreaking cleaning sessions were you get behind the stove and the washing machine. We haven't done it since we moved here and frankly, I don't know what we'll find. But I definitely want to take advantage of having Stéph here to do the heavy moving before he heads back to work in the beginning of September.

Good gracious, it's the end of July, which means summer is nearly half over. Where does the time go? Have y'all finalized your summer plans? Where are you going? What are you doing?

a curious conversation

Scene: Our Office, approximately 10pm last night

Stéph: I can't remember how to spell "garlic" in French.
Me: ... a-i-l?
Stéph: Oh yeah!

End scene.

That was like a Twilight Zone episode for me.

Am currently tearing my hair out over my latest assignment. I only have one word of warning - if I accidentally stumble upon the spoiler to the end of the last Harry Potter book, which should be winging its way to me even as we speak, there will be hell to pay. Ooooooooh, yes.

a three hour tour

Don't worry, we didn't get shipwrecked on a tiny island with a millionaire and his wife or anything.

So a few months ago, Stéph came back from his formation in Châlons and declared that there was a bar and a store I just had to see and one day he was going to take me there. I reminded him of this promise on Monday and we decided that the next day would be perfect for visiting for a few hours.

Châlons-en-Champagne is the capital of the Marne département, which is surprising when larger and better known Reims is also in the same département. Châlons has kind of a small but charming downtown area and the rest seems to be just residential areas. We had a really great lunch in front of the Mairie, eating outside on the terrace in the shade. I can't speak for Stéph but my simple salad of lettuce, lardons, tomatoes with loads of chèvre on toast and buttery garlic toast was wonderful! Possibly not the healthiest thing on earth, but it's the closest I've come to a BLT on this side of the ocean and I enjoyed every bite!

From there we went to Stéph's first "you gotta go" destination - The Red Bar & Lounge. This was something of a shock in a town that is not known for having any kind of a hip, young demographic. In fact, the only higher institute of learning there is a teacher's college, and most students commute, like Stéph did. This bar was a dream - very fun and hip interior, a very wide array of hot and cold drinks as well as many cocktails I recognized from my bar hopping days back in the States. In fact, Stéph mentioned that he often heard Americans hanging out and chatting there when he and his colleagues came in for a coffee before heading back to class. The atmosphere and the drinks list reminded me so much of some coffee houses I loved in Orlando and Greenville and I wouldn't be surprised to learn if the place was owned by Americans. We sat on a backless sofa surrounded by pillows with our cappuccinos (it must be years since I enjoyed a cappuccino!) and just hung out and watched the world go by. What a great hangout that place would be!

The next place I had to see was actually a little crafts shop that Stéph's colleague had told him about. It seemed to be the proprietor's house, with a car parked in the garage and we imagined that she probably lived on the first (second for Americans) floor. It seemed that most of her business was in patchwork (I know one person in particular who would have very much enjoyed their fabric selection!) but as for yarn, there wasn't much more than a few skeins of fantasy yarn and some uninspiring solid colored yarn. Too bad - Stéph had let me loose in the shop and there was nothing really that interested me! It was a cute little shop and the proprietor did say that she sometimes had some customers that came and worked on their projects at the large dining room table and enjoy a cup of tea from time to time. I was touched beyond words that Stéph even thought I'd be interested in it, and then followed me around while I inspected the crafty things! Yeah, he's a keeper.

So then we went on our last errand - Stéph said I absolutely had to see the Carrefour, which is freakin' ginormous! It's got to be one of the biggest - not to mention nicest, since I think it's only been recently built - shopping complexes I've seen here. It's basically a huge grocery inside a decent sized mall! We ended up buying a new car battery in case our zombie battery ever kicks it - seriously, that thing has been working for like, ten years! - and I was even very pleased to find that they had Cheddar! in their cheese section! In my excitement I nearly ordered 500 grams of the stuff (that's a pretty hefty block, more than a pound!) but Stéph talked me back down to a sensible 250 grams. We've already devoured half of it, on a very tasty steak salad I whipped up for dinner tonight. I think the rest of it will be destined for a new cold taco salad recipe I've found.

It looks like the next week or so will be just work, work, work but it looks like the end of next week will see us heading back out on the road for a real, honest to God vacation! Can you believe it? More to come on that soon...

how to enjoy a pleasant Bastille Day weekend in Paris

• Do not, under any circumstances, take your driving directions from mappy.fr, which will either direct you to take a heavily congested road on a Friday evening, rendering you capable of only gaining ten kilometers in one hour, or will give you insufficient directions, leaving you to wander around the wrong town for another hour, or both, which will make you two hours late and leave you only the time for a quick glass of water before running out the door again.
  
• Do catch a movie in version originale, or VO, such as the latest Harry Potter movie, with good friends who even think to purchase tickets five hours before the movie starts.
• Do not attempt to join the holiday crowds at the Champs de Mars, just under the Eiffel Tower, which will be completely packed without the space to move even one iota. Instead, retreat to the much more accessible Esplanade des Invalides, where there is much more space to lay out a few picnic blankets.
• Do make sure you are well equipped with stinky cheese, a bit of cold cuts, fresh fruit and veggies, delicious bread, lovely wine and, most importantly, plenty of sunscreen, as there is little respite from the sun beating down on your delicate head.
• Do not forget to bring plenty of water, or some of your lovely companions will be forced to take their scooter all the way home in search of more.
• Do bring plenty of games, although the sight of great big helicopters and plenty of men in uniform will provide plenty of eye candy.
• Do not forget your sense of fun and wander, and be sure to have on hand plenty of American sparklers and bubbles.
• Do enjoy the fireworks over near the Eiffel Tower, even if you can only see the tops of them over the trees.
  
• Do not panic when it comes to finding your way home in the overcrowded subway. Instead, make sure you have some handy Paris natives who can navigate the crowded streets and find alternative routes at the drop of a hat, getting you home in record time.
• Do heartily enjoy a few games on the Wii and vow that one day, you shall have one all your own.
• Do not be afraid that you have made a fool of yourself on an internationally renown podcast, even though you know it in your heart to be true.
  
• Do make sure one of your hosts is a wizard with cars and simultaneously fixes your car out of his own kindness and curiosity and saves you upwards of 200€.
• Do not forget to thank your gracious hostess for the best weekend you and your husband have had in a very, very long time!
  

time keeps getting away from me

This week has just been ridiculous. I had it all planned out - light work load, run around, see some friends, etc. etc. Getting sick on Monday threw all of that out of wack, doubling the time it took to write, difficulty sleeping, all that nastiness that comes with a massive head cold. I think I've just about shaken it out of my system, thank goodness. And I did get to run over to Troyes to see Doc and MP3 on Wednesday. But it also means I didn't get to do a lot of the things I wanted to before we go out of town. I wanted to make some goodies to bring with us and I also wanted to write about that big fancy decision that, after all this time, is going to be some kind of a letdown, really, once I get around to writing about it. But that's going to be a long post, and I want to really put some time into it. Sorry about that. I'll work on it when I get back.

So in about an hour, we're heading out the door to go to Paris for the weekend. If you're in Paris and you're looking for something to do on Bastille Day, well Stéph and I will be hanging out with them. And now I have to go pack!

it's the fever, I'm telling you

I nearly forgot to tell you! When I was in Paris last month, I had stars in my eyes the whole time I was at the blogger's picnic, because there were SOOOOOOOO many famous bloggers there. And then, Mickelino - you know, the Frog with a Blog? - interviewed me (ME!) for his Short and Shallow interview series!

I know I sound like an idiot. It's ok, you can say so, for I know it to be true. If nothing else, this documentary is a warning: Alcohol is Bad, mkay? You can see it here. I'll just be over here cringing.

But if you stick it out long enough, you can hear me warble Patsy Cline only slightly off-key.

what I wouldn't give for a shot of Nyquil

Aw, crap, I am so sick. And this week of all weeks! It really isn't fair.

Yesterday morning I had the very beginning of a cold, but it didn't seem too bad, just a light sniffle, so off we went to our friend N's house yesterday for lunch, and just like usual, we had apéros (before-lunch drinks and snacks) at 12:30 and didn't sit down to eat until 3:00. Then, Stéph and fellow guest JP went upstairs to work on N's daughter's computer, and when they were done with that, the four of us decided to walk to the center of N's little town, and Stéph got all excited because the (only) bar had Rapido, and we haven't played for ages, so we all trooped in and had a coffee and played a few rounds. Then we were going to walk to the grocery, but N remembered that the one in walking distance was closed on Mondays (and wow, I thought our little town is bad, at least our groceries are open on Mondays!) so we stopped at a boulangerie instead. By this time, it's apéro-before-dinner time (plain old juice for me, thanks) and next thing you know it's 9:00. At this point, I was feeling pretty worse for wear and I could feel myself getting sicker by the minute, but then Stéph and JP were in the kitchen whipping up a little dinner. Finally, we all sit down to eat again, and by the time the emergency extra frozen bread for the cheese course had been cooked and dessert was eaten, it was 11:30.

Last night was pretty rough. I didn't want to push my luck, so I had only had a couple of drinks during the day (yesterday was officially designated A Day Off From the Diet) but by the time my head met the pillow, it felt like it was stuffed with cotton. Then Stéph started his Snore Symphony in Three Movements (bless his heart, I know he doesn't do it on purpose, but all I can think of is bloody murder when he starts) so I moved to the spare bedroom.

And then, the weirdest thing ever happened.

I was actually getting a little sleep, when all of a sudden two cats started HOWLING, and they were so close they seemed to be on the balcony just outside my window, except WE HAVEN'T GOT A BALCONY. Ethereal cats floating outside my window? What the hell? I heard Stéph open the window in the bedroom, but he came in and told me that they weren't on the street. The only thing we could figure is that they were in our attic! The building just next to ours is a huge warehouse, and we figure they must have gotten through to our attic space from there. Luckily, we don't keep anything up there. And to tell you the truth, we're kind of relieved to know it's cats, because we've heard movement up there a couple of times before and we were thinking that we had some pretty damn big rats running around up there!

So after Cats In Heat: The Musical was over, I tried to sleep as late as I could, but no dice. Up early as usual. I guess it's my conscience screaming at me: "Get UP! You have work to do!!" Stupid conscience. I only managed one measly article all day, because this fever keeps making me stare off into space for what seems hours at a time. Ugh.

I am feeling much better now than I was this morning, but whether I'll be well enough to meet Doc in Troyes tomorrow remains to be seen. I sure hope so.

be careful what you wish for

Y'all, I am going crazy around here. Be careful what you wish for, 'cause I wished for a job and boy, I got one. All that free time I had for knitting, blogging, cleaning, cooking, living? Yep, *poof!* gone. I managed to get a lighter work load this week because I need some Going Out Of My House and Breathing Fresh Air time, so that means I can also catch you guys up, too.

So yeah, thanks for the lovely compliments on the new place! Like I said, I've been wanting to change it up a little bit for a while now, trying to decide if I wanted to pay for a make over, attempt something myself or even change blogging platforms. Finally, I stumbled onto this website, where you can just plug in your particulars and a template code pops up. It's really easy to use and I ended up spending all of Thursday evening plugging in links until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. I'm still at a loss for how to make the comments show up on the main page, so if there are any smart coding type people who want to have a crack at it, please let me know.

I also seem to have caught a cold, and at the worst possible moment, too. Today we're going to have lunch (where "lunch" = arrive at 12:30, eat at 3:00, end up chatting until dinnertime) at a friend's place, then later this week I'm meeting up with Doc in Troyes, and you know there's always mischief and mayhem when we get together, and then this weekend we're going to Paris to party down for Bastille Day! Yes! Both of us! It's a miracle!

I have also made a Decision. I think you're gonna like this. Those of you that have stuck with me through the last year's less than stellar posting are going to appreciate it. Stay tuned...

Update: Oooh! I just added a Frappr map! The link's on the left side! Go forth and frap!

The New and Improved Dispatches From France

Man, I am worn out!! I've been wanting to do this for ages, and I finally found a template I could play around with. I've been wanting a three column layout for a while now. Don't ask me why.

So yes! New digs! Some new features include some linky love for some excellent online comics I read everyday and some knitting sites I frequent. Plus, over on the right side, I dug up some older posts that you may find informative if you're a newcomer to France. Apparently, my expertise seems to be in going to the doctor.

It seems that the comments are only slightly wonky, in that they are, in fact, there, you just have to click on the comments link and go to another page to see them. If I have the energy and the inclination, I may look into that soon.

And so, ladies and gentlespoons, I'm going to go collapse somewhere near, if not directly on, my sweetly calling bed. Nighty night!

happy independence day!

Sweet! It's America's birthday! I hope all you crazy kids back home are celebrating with barbecues and ice cream and fireworks.

As for here, not only does it not feel like Independence Day (for obvious reasons), but it doesn't even feel like July! Not only is it yet again pouring down rain, but it's only 68°F! And that's in my house!

Stéph is celebrating his own sort of independence, as today is his first day of summer vacation. He seems to be celebrating by getting a nice, big cold. Poor thing, I can totally relate, as every year from high school straight on through college, I was always sick at the end of the school year. It's just the body's way of saying, "OK, that's ENOUGH already!" I hope this doesn't put a damper on our plans to go check out Les Soldes tomorrow, as we both are needing a few new things for summer.

Yeah, Stéph wants to go shopping! With me! Together! He must be sick!

an afternoon away

Have I told you lately that I love you? No, seriously, I mean it. Thanks for all your encouraging words in the comments of my last post! And as to the question if this is going to affect our mysterious future plans - nope, not at all. This may actually help us out. (Ooooooooooh the mystery!)

Yesterday, Stéph forced me against my will dragged me kicking and screaming encouraged me to step away from the computer for the afternoon. We went to the in-laws' for lunch (white string bean salad and a turkey breast rotisserie) and then strolled around their town's annual festival. Part vide grenier (literally "empty attic," families rent tables in an open space and try to sell their unwanted items) and part town fair, this one left something to be desired. While we can usually find something to at least get our attention, here it seemed to be little more than old shoes and children's games, and the rest were food booths and simple carnival games. Meh. At least they had a high-wire, but the guy crossing the wire was kind of a paunchy middle aged guy who simply rode back and forth on a couple of different bicycles, accompanied by screeching carnival music blasting out of the speakers.

At least I actually left the house.

Tomorrow is Stéph's last day of school, so we're about to switch roles - I'll be working and he'll be goofing off. It'll be interesting to see how that affects us. Actually, him being here is kind of good for me, because at the end of the day when I'm staring blankly at the computer screen with my fingers twitching over the keyboard, he's the one who says that maybe I should call it a day. If it weren't for him, I would either be putting off articles until the last minute, or on the other side of the spectrum, yanking my hair out between sobbing jags.

Meanwhile, it's July, but it feels like Spring still. Seriously, it's hovering around 70°F in my house right now. I shouldn't complain, heaven knows I'd rather have cool temps than hot ones, but I haven't seen the sun in weeks and I think it's starting to bring me down. Can't you tell?