So y'all may have noticed that I'm finally starting to get into French music, especially since we got the TNT box and I have access to music videos that I can leave on in the background while I'm doing other stuff, which is nice because I cannot get the radio to pick up a signal out here in Tiny Town for love nor money. Occasionally I'll link a song I like to my Myspace page (I've still got a fun song on there y'all should check out) and every once in a while I'll post a video here. But this time, I have fallen, but hard.
I'd like to introduce you to Renan Luce. He is what I guess you could call a folk pop singer. His songs are full of clever lyrics and melodies that stick in your head, and his videos are quirky and clever as well. Oh - and he's easy on the eyes, too. Very easy. Mmm!
This is his first video for "Les Voisines" (which means "The Neighbors"). The first person that can name the movie this video is based from wins a virtual cookie.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
state of the union 2008
You can read about why I do this instead of New Year's resolutions right here.
When I look back at where I was a year ago - and one of the miraculous things about writing a blog is that you can do just that! - it seems like I'm reading about the life of an entirely different person. This time last year I was heavily in mourning, having lost my Dad two months before, and since his death was hot on the heels of Mom's death I was simply stunned into inaction. But, at the same time, I could feel the change coming, and I knew instinctively that the worse would pass and I'd be able to get on with it.
But, it would take a few months to get there. In the meantime, I "consoled" myself with food, ballooning up to my heaviest weight ever. Thanks to an intervention from my doctor and the help of a dietitian, I lost twenty pounds last year and I intend to continue with the good habits we learned last year. And I'm here to tell y'all that losing weight will do wonders for your outlook on life. Seriously.
This time last year I was learning how to knit. Now knitting has become such an important outlet for me - not just creatively, but thanks to the internet I can connect with other knitters around the world to learn how to do it better, celebrate beautiful FOs and commiserate when it all goes wrong. I cannot believe that I went from not even knowing how to hold the needles to successfully knitting a sweater for my husband in one year! I've had a lot of friends and family ask me for advice on starting to knit, so I'm going to write about it, hopefully this week. I don't claim to be any kind of expert, but I have been a beginner and I know what it's like!
Of course, we had the ultimate good news in finding out I was pregnant and the worst disappointment when I miscarried in December. I certainly do have a way in making the holidays more challenging! Stéph and I have chosen to see this event in all the positive lights we can - we quit smoking, our healthier lifestyle is certainly helping, and most importantly, it's possible for us to get pregnant! We have high hopes that it's going to happen again soon.
As for 2008, well, Stéph and I have a lot of "maybes" and "if this happens then we can do this" sorts of things in the works. If nothing else, we've learned that life is full of surprises and we can't plan everything down to the last detail. Who knows what's in store for us this year, but like I do every January, I'm ready to turn the page and look towards the future with a positive attitude. Bring it on, 2008!
When I look back at where I was a year ago - and one of the miraculous things about writing a blog is that you can do just that! - it seems like I'm reading about the life of an entirely different person. This time last year I was heavily in mourning, having lost my Dad two months before, and since his death was hot on the heels of Mom's death I was simply stunned into inaction. But, at the same time, I could feel the change coming, and I knew instinctively that the worse would pass and I'd be able to get on with it.
But, it would take a few months to get there. In the meantime, I "consoled" myself with food, ballooning up to my heaviest weight ever. Thanks to an intervention from my doctor and the help of a dietitian, I lost twenty pounds last year and I intend to continue with the good habits we learned last year. And I'm here to tell y'all that losing weight will do wonders for your outlook on life. Seriously.
This time last year I was learning how to knit. Now knitting has become such an important outlet for me - not just creatively, but thanks to the internet I can connect with other knitters around the world to learn how to do it better, celebrate beautiful FOs and commiserate when it all goes wrong. I cannot believe that I went from not even knowing how to hold the needles to successfully knitting a sweater for my husband in one year! I've had a lot of friends and family ask me for advice on starting to knit, so I'm going to write about it, hopefully this week. I don't claim to be any kind of expert, but I have been a beginner and I know what it's like!
Of course, we had the ultimate good news in finding out I was pregnant and the worst disappointment when I miscarried in December. I certainly do have a way in making the holidays more challenging! Stéph and I have chosen to see this event in all the positive lights we can - we quit smoking, our healthier lifestyle is certainly helping, and most importantly, it's possible for us to get pregnant! We have high hopes that it's going to happen again soon.
As for 2008, well, Stéph and I have a lot of "maybes" and "if this happens then we can do this" sorts of things in the works. If nothing else, we've learned that life is full of surprises and we can't plan everything down to the last detail. Who knows what's in store for us this year, but like I do every January, I'm ready to turn the page and look towards the future with a positive attitude. Bring it on, 2008!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
greetings from fog central
The last few weeks the temperature has been slowly creeping up the dial, so much so that people were starting to talk about an early spring. That is, until the bottom dropped out Thursday night.
Yesterday was supposed to be a cold but sunny day, but thanks to a huge drop in temperatures and the ground being very warm, we had The Fog That Would Not Burn Off yesterday. At no point in the day did the fog clear and it was so bad that you could barely see ten feet in front of you.
It was under these conditions that I drove to Troyes yesterday to meet up with Doc and the rest of the American Citizens of Haute-Marne (of which there seems to be three, total). Thus I am very happy to report that Doc is both alive and well, albeit exhausted from caring for three very sick babies. There was a lot of "I'm just gonna run in here for a minute" up and down the main shopping drag in Troyes, and I actually went inside and bought yarn from Bergère de France for gifties, one of which is LONG overdue. Then we hung out and drank hot chocolate and had snacks of the sugary variety (we had to keep up our blood sugar levels, honestly!) and gossiped before heading our seperate ways back into the fog.
Today, the fog is still here, but as of this writing at 2:30pm it looks like it's finally starting to burn off a little and I can actually see a little blue when I look up. Here's hoping it clears up before the next batch of gray clouds descend on us!
Yesterday was supposed to be a cold but sunny day, but thanks to a huge drop in temperatures and the ground being very warm, we had The Fog That Would Not Burn Off yesterday. At no point in the day did the fog clear and it was so bad that you could barely see ten feet in front of you.
It was under these conditions that I drove to Troyes yesterday to meet up with Doc and the rest of the American Citizens of Haute-Marne (of which there seems to be three, total). Thus I am very happy to report that Doc is both alive and well, albeit exhausted from caring for three very sick babies. There was a lot of "I'm just gonna run in here for a minute" up and down the main shopping drag in Troyes, and I actually went inside and bought yarn from Bergère de France for gifties, one of which is LONG overdue. Then we hung out and drank hot chocolate and had snacks of the sugary variety (we had to keep up our blood sugar levels, honestly!) and gossiped before heading our seperate ways back into the fog.
Today, the fog is still here, but as of this writing at 2:30pm it looks like it's finally starting to burn off a little and I can actually see a little blue when I look up. Here's hoping it clears up before the next batch of gray clouds descend on us!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
it's still christmas around here
I don't usually post pictures of gifts before I give them to their recipients, but if you listen to the katia and kyliemac show and you listen to episode 112, I was knitting while we chatted and I said that I should be done before the show went live and that you could stop by and see the final product. Plus, my sister, who these socks are for, already knows about the gift, and she'll probably be happy to know that they're done and nearly on the way.
I did actually finish them Tuesday and caught a little ray of sunshine before the sun went down to take a picture:
And before you say "it's a little late for Christmas presents, isn't it?" let me just say "ha ha! you must not be a knitter!" and also mention that I didn't received my gift from my sister last year until February, so we reckon that this clears the slate (though I should note that it wasn't her fault and that she did ship the gift well before Christmas, that's just the way it goes around Christmas time).
I did actually finish them Tuesday and caught a little ray of sunshine before the sun went down to take a picture:
And before you say "it's a little late for Christmas presents, isn't it?" let me just say "ha ha! you must not be a knitter!" and also mention that I didn't received my gift from my sister last year until February, so we reckon that this clears the slate (though I should note that it wasn't her fault and that she did ship the gift well before Christmas, that's just the way it goes around Christmas time).
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
vivi goes to hell
I limped my way to Paris this past weekend and had a wonderful time, as always. I got to check in with Miss Flare (who brought me goodies from the US! Thanks Flare!), spent some quality time in the Coffee Table Studio, went to a bar and met interesting people and drank a beer and went home without smelling like an ashtray - and I didn't even crave a cigarette the whole time! - and relived my college days with Kyle Mac by indulging in real American-style pizza and beer.
But the real reason I was there was to go straight to hell. (Sorry, link's in French)
So - L'Enfer de la Bibliothèque, or The Hell of the Library, is an exhibit going on at the National Library of France. "Hell" is the section of the library that was created at the beginning of the 19th century for all documents that were considered indecent, whether political or sexual, and locked away from the eyes of the general public. The exhibit not only covers the history of Hell, but also shows an overview of documents that have been stored there for centuries. Absolutely fascinating exhibit, but only available through March and not open to those sixteen years and younger - there are, after all, loads of penises and vaginae on display.
So after all that excitement, Kylie Mac and I needed something of a palette cleanser, if you will, so we took advantage of one of the many (free!) museums just lying around Paris waiting for someone to come give them a visit, so we opted for the Petit Palais. Built for the 1900 World's Fair, this "little palace" now holds a permanent collection of art through the ages and is an absolutely stunning example of Art Nouveau architecture and style.
Be sure to click so you can appreciate how gorgeous this place is!
I enjoyed this visit very much and if you've got a couple of hours to spare, I think you will, too. Unlike some of the larger museums of Paris, this one is easily doable in an afternoon with time to sit and have a drink in the café and you can leave satisfied that you saw everything there is to see. You can't say that about many others.
But the real reason I was there was to go straight to hell. (Sorry, link's in French)
So - L'Enfer de la Bibliothèque, or The Hell of the Library, is an exhibit going on at the National Library of France. "Hell" is the section of the library that was created at the beginning of the 19th century for all documents that were considered indecent, whether political or sexual, and locked away from the eyes of the general public. The exhibit not only covers the history of Hell, but also shows an overview of documents that have been stored there for centuries. Absolutely fascinating exhibit, but only available through March and not open to those sixteen years and younger - there are, after all, loads of penises and vaginae on display.
So after all that excitement, Kylie Mac and I needed something of a palette cleanser, if you will, so we took advantage of one of the many (free!) museums just lying around Paris waiting for someone to come give them a visit, so we opted for the Petit Palais. Built for the 1900 World's Fair, this "little palace" now holds a permanent collection of art through the ages and is an absolutely stunning example of Art Nouveau architecture and style.
Be sure to click so you can appreciate how gorgeous this place is!
I enjoyed this visit very much and if you've got a couple of hours to spare, I think you will, too. Unlike some of the larger museums of Paris, this one is easily doable in an afternoon with time to sit and have a drink in the café and you can leave satisfied that you saw everything there is to see. You can't say that about many others.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
from fabulous to annoyed in six hours flat
Yesterday we were due for a whopper of a storm in the afternoon, so I took my foot out for a spin in the morning as I had a couple of errands to run. One of them was one I'd been putting off for nearly a year. I can't remember if I mentioned it here, but I broke my fancy-schmancy frameless eyeglasses, and in the stupidest way possible - I laid down for a nap and put my glasses next to me. Yep, you can imagine what happened next. I've been wearing glasses half my life and now I break them? Anyway, they weren't destroyed, just one of the arms came off where it connects to the glasses, so I'd been just sticking the arm back in its slot. But it's been getting worse and worse and I knew it was time to bite the bullet and just go.
Much to my surprise, not only did the woman remember me from two years ago, but she fixed my glasses for me right that minute for free (yes you read that right!) and told me that if this quick fix didn't do the trick, I'd have to drop them off for a couple of days. So far, the glasses are holding up just fine.
This, y'all, is why living in a small town is the best!
Unfortunately, things went downhill from there. I had a couple of twinges in my foot during my walk, but it got worse while I was making lunch and right when I was finishing up my foot actually spasmed. So, off I went to the doctor.
One of the peculiar things about our doctor is that he takes appointments in the morning and the afternoons are first come first serve. I called to see if I could get an appointment for Wednesday morning but he wasn't going to be there, so I didn't have much of a choice. I arrived a half an hour before his scheduled afternoon time and there were already seven people ahead of me. Then he was half an hour late. Then he took an extraordinarily long time between patients (to the point that we were kind of looking at each other in the waiting room saying "what the hell is he doing in there?"). Finally, my turn came two and a half hours after I walked in the door.
This is why living in a small town can suck.
And the most frustrating part is that he's a really good doctor and both Stéph and I like him. Though I have to say, yesterday he did seem way more rushed than usual. However, he did poke and prod my foot a few times, prescribed me some anti-inflammatory pills and cream, and told me I could go on my urban adventure this weekend as long as I wear shoes with very thick soles.
Why is it that sitting in a doctor's waiting room for so long can drain the will to live?
Anyway, all systems are go for my urban adventure this weekend and I'm hoping to catch up with a few friends along the way. I'll be the one wearing hiking boots in the middle of a very cosmopolitan city. Be sure to say hi.
Much to my surprise, not only did the woman remember me from two years ago, but she fixed my glasses for me right that minute for free (yes you read that right!) and told me that if this quick fix didn't do the trick, I'd have to drop them off for a couple of days. So far, the glasses are holding up just fine.
This, y'all, is why living in a small town is the best!
Unfortunately, things went downhill from there. I had a couple of twinges in my foot during my walk, but it got worse while I was making lunch and right when I was finishing up my foot actually spasmed. So, off I went to the doctor.
One of the peculiar things about our doctor is that he takes appointments in the morning and the afternoons are first come first serve. I called to see if I could get an appointment for Wednesday morning but he wasn't going to be there, so I didn't have much of a choice. I arrived a half an hour before his scheduled afternoon time and there were already seven people ahead of me. Then he was half an hour late. Then he took an extraordinarily long time between patients (to the point that we were kind of looking at each other in the waiting room saying "what the hell is he doing in there?"). Finally, my turn came two and a half hours after I walked in the door.
This is why living in a small town can suck.
And the most frustrating part is that he's a really good doctor and both Stéph and I like him. Though I have to say, yesterday he did seem way more rushed than usual. However, he did poke and prod my foot a few times, prescribed me some anti-inflammatory pills and cream, and told me I could go on my urban adventure this weekend as long as I wear shoes with very thick soles.
Why is it that sitting in a doctor's waiting room for so long can drain the will to live?
Anyway, all systems are go for my urban adventure this weekend and I'm hoping to catch up with a few friends along the way. I'll be the one wearing hiking boots in the middle of a very cosmopolitan city. Be sure to say hi.
Monday, January 14, 2008
moaning is the best medicine
Of course you know that the day after I bitched about my foot it started getting better the next day. And here I thought my drama queen days were over! It's not quite perfect but I'm not getting stabbing pains anymore when I stand on it for two minutes, so it's definitely improving. Today I'm going to the grocery and tomorrow I'll try my usual walking route and we'll see where we are after all that.
I sincerely hope tomorrow's walk is good because I've been invited on a very interesting urban adventure this weekend and I really want to go. More to come on that as soon as I know if my foot will be up to the task.
Also, I just have to say that one of the pleasures of living here in winter is walking back home from the boulangerie with a warm baguette in your cold hands. It's the little things, you know.
I sincerely hope tomorrow's walk is good because I've been invited on a very interesting urban adventure this weekend and I really want to go. More to come on that as soon as I know if my foot will be up to the task.
Also, I just have to say that one of the pleasures of living here in winter is walking back home from the boulangerie with a warm baguette in your cold hands. It's the little things, you know.
Friday, January 11, 2008
my stupid foot
Why is it that when I get one thing sorted out, something else has to go all wonky, and why does this always have to happen to something in my body? For about a week now, my right foot has been giving me problems, and believe me, with my pantheon of former foot problems, this is a new one on me.
Basically, if I stand on it for more that five minutes or try to walk more than ten paces, I start getting stabbing pains in the outside of my foot. If I don't have any pressure on it (ie sitting down) it doesn't hurt at all. This means that something as simple as whipping a meal together has me howling by the time I sit down. It's gotten so bad that I've been limping around the house trying not to stay on my feet too long but it isn't lessening up. Going to the grocery yesterday was an adventure, let me tell you.
The only thing I can think of that is causing this is a)I started wearing my old clogs again that I haven't worn in ages, but the pain is coming whether I'm wearing shoes or slippers or socks; or b) all that walking I did last Wednesday in Troyes, but I felt totally fine all day and I didn't notice the pain until two days after. I don't remember tripping or twisting my ankle or anything.
So I'm pretty well annoyed because this is stopping me from taking my afternoon walks (when the weather is nice, which is rare but still!) and some other stuff I'd like to do, like go back to Troyes with my camera and take some photos of some things that tickled my fancy last week. I'm hoping it will sort itself out but I guess if it's the same next week I'll have to go to the doctor... again. I swear we should have a discount.
In other news, I found out that yesterday was dulurking day (thank you to Jaynee for delurking to say hello and also giving me a heads up!). Of course I'm a day late and a dollar short, as usual, but if you'd like to drop a line and say hello in Ye Olde Comments Boxe, I promise to return the favor!
Basically, if I stand on it for more that five minutes or try to walk more than ten paces, I start getting stabbing pains in the outside of my foot. If I don't have any pressure on it (ie sitting down) it doesn't hurt at all. This means that something as simple as whipping a meal together has me howling by the time I sit down. It's gotten so bad that I've been limping around the house trying not to stay on my feet too long but it isn't lessening up. Going to the grocery yesterday was an adventure, let me tell you.
The only thing I can think of that is causing this is a)I started wearing my old clogs again that I haven't worn in ages, but the pain is coming whether I'm wearing shoes or slippers or socks; or b) all that walking I did last Wednesday in Troyes, but I felt totally fine all day and I didn't notice the pain until two days after. I don't remember tripping or twisting my ankle or anything.
So I'm pretty well annoyed because this is stopping me from taking my afternoon walks (when the weather is nice, which is rare but still!) and some other stuff I'd like to do, like go back to Troyes with my camera and take some photos of some things that tickled my fancy last week. I'm hoping it will sort itself out but I guess if it's the same next week I'll have to go to the doctor... again. I swear we should have a discount.
In other news, I found out that yesterday was dulurking day (thank you to Jaynee for delurking to say hello and also giving me a heads up!). Of course I'm a day late and a dollar short, as usual, but if you'd like to drop a line and say hello in Ye Olde Comments Boxe, I promise to return the favor!
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
meanwhile, back in france
I know it's been all about me here for a while (and honestly, isn't it supposed to be like that on my own blog? but I digress...) but there have been some interesting developments here in France recently. For example:
France goes non smoking Last year smoking was banned from public places such as malls, businesses, grocery stores (!) and hospitals (!!!), but last Wednesday the new non-smoking rules went into affect, targeting bars, cafés, restaurants and nightclubs. Actually, for Stéph and I, this couldn't have come at a better time. Before we quit smoking, we actually fretted about the ban - "where are we going to go for a coffee and a smoke? how we will enjoy our dining experience?" but since we quit we've been avoiding our local café so as to resist the temptation of buying a pack of smokes and lighting them up right there. Now we feel like we can go wherever we want, and it's lovely. Plus, a lot of people predicted that the cafés would curl up and die with their smoking patrons gone, but I'm glad to report that last Wednesday, strolling around Troyes, they looked pretty busy to me.
Sarkozy gets a girlfriend So if you're not up on French current events, a few months ago, Sarkozy and his wife split up, making him the first President to be divorced in office since... well Napoleon, actually. Never mind the fact that the separation was announced right at the beginning of a massive transport strike in a very "no! look over here at the shiny toy!" kind of way. But now the President is dating Carla Bruni, an Italian model and singer, and the French media has gone absolutely apeshit. Not only has the "legitimate" press been following them on excursions to Disneyland Paris and Egypt, but at Sarkozy's first press conference, the second question was about his relationship with the model. I'm pretty sure we can expect a wedding announcement at the next financial or strike crisis.
It's the soldes! Today marks the beginning of the bi-annual shopping sales, which will last about three weeks or a month or so. Today is kind of like Black Friday in the States, where crazy shopping freaks actually staked out what they wanted to buy yesterday so they would be able to swoop in today and grab what they want without the time consuming hassle of trying it on. Typically we like to wait until at least the first week is over before we go see what's left - it's not that we couldn't use some new things but the crowds are so ridiculous, especially here where we have two major outlet shopping centers, that it just isn't worth the bother.
France goes non smoking Last year smoking was banned from public places such as malls, businesses, grocery stores (!) and hospitals (!!!), but last Wednesday the new non-smoking rules went into affect, targeting bars, cafés, restaurants and nightclubs. Actually, for Stéph and I, this couldn't have come at a better time. Before we quit smoking, we actually fretted about the ban - "where are we going to go for a coffee and a smoke? how we will enjoy our dining experience?" but since we quit we've been avoiding our local café so as to resist the temptation of buying a pack of smokes and lighting them up right there. Now we feel like we can go wherever we want, and it's lovely. Plus, a lot of people predicted that the cafés would curl up and die with their smoking patrons gone, but I'm glad to report that last Wednesday, strolling around Troyes, they looked pretty busy to me.
Sarkozy gets a girlfriend So if you're not up on French current events, a few months ago, Sarkozy and his wife split up, making him the first President to be divorced in office since... well Napoleon, actually. Never mind the fact that the separation was announced right at the beginning of a massive transport strike in a very "no! look over here at the shiny toy!" kind of way. But now the President is dating Carla Bruni, an Italian model and singer, and the French media has gone absolutely apeshit. Not only has the "legitimate" press been following them on excursions to Disneyland Paris and Egypt, but at Sarkozy's first press conference, the second question was about his relationship with the model. I'm pretty sure we can expect a wedding announcement at the next financial or strike crisis.
It's the soldes! Today marks the beginning of the bi-annual shopping sales, which will last about three weeks or a month or so. Today is kind of like Black Friday in the States, where crazy shopping freaks actually staked out what they wanted to buy yesterday so they would be able to swoop in today and grab what they want without the time consuming hassle of trying it on. Typically we like to wait until at least the first week is over before we go see what's left - it's not that we couldn't use some new things but the crowds are so ridiculous, especially here where we have two major outlet shopping centers, that it just isn't worth the bother.
Monday, January 07, 2008
watch out 2008
Well, hi there! Sorry it's been so long. I was feeling so much better last week that I didn't even dare stop to blog about it, lest it all disappear and sends me back to my icky, crabby self. But no! The first week of 2008 was pretty nice, all things considered! 2007 was crap all the way until the end, as the special shrimp Stéph and I bought to eat for NYE tasted like they had been packed in salt, and we could only get a few down before we had to throw the rest away. Poor little shrimps died in vain.
But the very next day I finally started feeling better! Wednesday I spent the day wandering around Troyes with a friend that came into town. We were so lucky with the weather - finally blue skies after weeks of shotgun gray. It was cold but we warmed up with frequent café stops and shopping expeditions. I came away with a new book and I also rescued one of my all time favorite movies from the bargain bin. Incidentally, we watched it last night and I was so pleased that the movie still holds up and even Stéph liked it!
Friday night we had Stéph's friend JP over for a big dinner of moules frites. We hadn't seen him since summer and it was great to catch up. Then Saturday night we had dinner with Stéph's brother, wife, their three kids and a couple of other guests for a nice big tartiflette (gotta get those calories in while it can still be considered "the holidays"!).
Today Stéph went back to work and so did I, getting some articles written up and making a grocery run. Of course, not everything is running smoothly and I forgot my list, which automatically means I forgot something, but this will give me an excuse to get out of the house tomorrow. For now, the house is (relatively) clean, the sky is blue and the sun is shining through my window, and I'm going to enjoy the rest of this afternoon. All I can say right now is bring it 2008, I'm ready for ya!
But the very next day I finally started feeling better! Wednesday I spent the day wandering around Troyes with a friend that came into town. We were so lucky with the weather - finally blue skies after weeks of shotgun gray. It was cold but we warmed up with frequent café stops and shopping expeditions. I came away with a new book and I also rescued one of my all time favorite movies from the bargain bin. Incidentally, we watched it last night and I was so pleased that the movie still holds up and even Stéph liked it!
Friday night we had Stéph's friend JP over for a big dinner of moules frites. We hadn't seen him since summer and it was great to catch up. Then Saturday night we had dinner with Stéph's brother, wife, their three kids and a couple of other guests for a nice big tartiflette (gotta get those calories in while it can still be considered "the holidays"!).
Today Stéph went back to work and so did I, getting some articles written up and making a grocery run. Of course, not everything is running smoothly and I forgot my list, which automatically means I forgot something, but this will give me an excuse to get out of the house tomorrow. For now, the house is (relatively) clean, the sky is blue and the sun is shining through my window, and I'm going to enjoy the rest of this afternoon. All I can say right now is bring it 2008, I'm ready for ya!
Monday, December 31, 2007
2007 ends with a whimper
Oh dear, what an "interesting" week we've had around here! Unfortunately, it was one medical blunder after another and happily I'm finally feeling a bit better and ready to ring in the new year, but it has been a very rough few days.
It all actually started last weekend when I was sort of feeling out of sorts but couldn't explain why. My back hurt, my knees hurt - I was all around feeling funky. It wasn't until Christmas day, when I took an aspirin for a headache and broke out into a sweat that I realized I had a fever! What's so sad is that I didn't even recognize a fever without stuffed up sinuses or a hacking cough. But the thing is, when you've had a miscarriage, they tell you to be on the watch for fevers, as this could be a sign of a uterus infection - not good news!
So we managed to get into a doctor here in Tiny Town on Wednesday, who told me that it probably was an infection, put me on the strongest non-penicillin antibiotic he could think of, and told me that if I still had a fever on Friday that I'd have to get in touch with my icky doctor. Well, don't you know, Friday rolls around and the fever is still there, but my icky doctor is on vacation! (Of course he is, because that's my luck in a nutshell.)
So we call the urgent care of the clinic where my icky doctor practices, and they set me up with the icky doctor on call at the clinic. She doesn't quite know what's going on, as now not only do I have a fever and random back and tummy pain, but a massive headache to boot. She sends me off for an ultrasound, where the ultrasound doctor tells me that there is no infection in my uterus. Hooray! No, he said, it's probably just a virus in my kidneys or liver or something. Do what?
So we go back to the icky doctor on call, who tells me that since it's probably just a virus, it should clear up in a week or less and that I should stay on the antibiotic through today so I don't become immune to it. Of course, my headache only gets worse and we finally realize that it's the antibiotic that's giving me enormous pulsating migranes and we make the decision amongst ourselves to cut the dosage down in half, and the migranes have very nearly disappeared.
Today I'm feeling the best I've felt in weeks and to be honest it's just a relief. But just because I was feeling bad doesn't mean I wasn't productive:
I wanted desperately to get it done in time for Christmas Eve, but I just couldn't do it. At least I got it done for the end of the year! My very last FO for 2007 is certainly my most difficult to date, but it looks great and IT FITS! Hallelujah!
As for New Year's Eve, we had been invited out but I've been so sick for so long that we just decided to stay home this year and have a quiet celebration. We went to the grocery store a little while ago and picked up some New Year's goodies and we'll likely celebrate in front of the tv with a glass of wine and plenty of good food to ring in the New Year.
Wherever you are in the world and however you're celebrating, I wish you a very Happy New Year! Roll on, 2008!!
It all actually started last weekend when I was sort of feeling out of sorts but couldn't explain why. My back hurt, my knees hurt - I was all around feeling funky. It wasn't until Christmas day, when I took an aspirin for a headache and broke out into a sweat that I realized I had a fever! What's so sad is that I didn't even recognize a fever without stuffed up sinuses or a hacking cough. But the thing is, when you've had a miscarriage, they tell you to be on the watch for fevers, as this could be a sign of a uterus infection - not good news!
So we managed to get into a doctor here in Tiny Town on Wednesday, who told me that it probably was an infection, put me on the strongest non-penicillin antibiotic he could think of, and told me that if I still had a fever on Friday that I'd have to get in touch with my icky doctor. Well, don't you know, Friday rolls around and the fever is still there, but my icky doctor is on vacation! (Of course he is, because that's my luck in a nutshell.)
So we call the urgent care of the clinic where my icky doctor practices, and they set me up with the icky doctor on call at the clinic. She doesn't quite know what's going on, as now not only do I have a fever and random back and tummy pain, but a massive headache to boot. She sends me off for an ultrasound, where the ultrasound doctor tells me that there is no infection in my uterus. Hooray! No, he said, it's probably just a virus in my kidneys or liver or something. Do what?
So we go back to the icky doctor on call, who tells me that since it's probably just a virus, it should clear up in a week or less and that I should stay on the antibiotic through today so I don't become immune to it. Of course, my headache only gets worse and we finally realize that it's the antibiotic that's giving me enormous pulsating migranes and we make the decision amongst ourselves to cut the dosage down in half, and the migranes have very nearly disappeared.
Today I'm feeling the best I've felt in weeks and to be honest it's just a relief. But just because I was feeling bad doesn't mean I wasn't productive:
I wanted desperately to get it done in time for Christmas Eve, but I just couldn't do it. At least I got it done for the end of the year! My very last FO for 2007 is certainly my most difficult to date, but it looks great and IT FITS! Hallelujah!
As for New Year's Eve, we had been invited out but I've been so sick for so long that we just decided to stay home this year and have a quiet celebration. We went to the grocery store a little while ago and picked up some New Year's goodies and we'll likely celebrate in front of the tv with a glass of wine and plenty of good food to ring in the New Year.
Wherever you are in the world and however you're celebrating, I wish you a very Happy New Year! Roll on, 2008!!
Monday, December 24, 2007
merry merry!
The bad news is the sweater didn't get done. Having to redo the sleeves put me too far behind and I still have about four inches of the yoke to go. Hopefully I'll still get that done in the next couple of days.
The good news is that we got our butts in gear and got the Christmas cookies baked and packed! Because our EZ bake oven is so small, we can only bake about 10 cookies at a time, we decided to do one double batch on Saturday and one on Sunday. I had cracked and crushed enough walnuts for the first batch over the last week, so while the first batch was baking, we worked together to crack and crush another four kilos (nearly nine pounds!) of walnuts. Then it was just a matter of time to let them cool...
about 1/5 of all the cookies!
and then packed them in these fancy tins (which are commonly used for holding sugar cubes for coffee and tea, so they're practical, too!)...
and I just finished wrapping them all up:
check my mad wrapping skillz!
We'll be off in about an hour and a half to pick up the cheese and wine for the big dinner tonight and we'll probably get home around 2am, since we open our gifts to each other after dinner. Christmas is definitely an exercise in endurance in this family!
Other than that, I'm doing ok. During the last few days I've been unbelievably tired and suffering from freaky flash mood swings, going literally from laughing to crying within seconds (poor Stéph!!). I sincerely hope this is just my hormones being out of whack because I feel like I've been walking through water these last few days.
Well, nevermind, Christmas is my favorite holiday and I plan to enjoy it! Whether you're celebrating tonight or tomorrow, I hope all of you that are celebrating have a wonderful time!
The good news is that we got our butts in gear and got the Christmas cookies baked and packed! Because our EZ bake oven is so small, we can only bake about 10 cookies at a time, we decided to do one double batch on Saturday and one on Sunday. I had cracked and crushed enough walnuts for the first batch over the last week, so while the first batch was baking, we worked together to crack and crush another four kilos (nearly nine pounds!) of walnuts. Then it was just a matter of time to let them cool...
about 1/5 of all the cookies!
and then packed them in these fancy tins (which are commonly used for holding sugar cubes for coffee and tea, so they're practical, too!)...
and I just finished wrapping them all up:
check my mad wrapping skillz!
We'll be off in about an hour and a half to pick up the cheese and wine for the big dinner tonight and we'll probably get home around 2am, since we open our gifts to each other after dinner. Christmas is definitely an exercise in endurance in this family!
Other than that, I'm doing ok. During the last few days I've been unbelievably tired and suffering from freaky flash mood swings, going literally from laughing to crying within seconds (poor Stéph!!). I sincerely hope this is just my hormones being out of whack because I feel like I've been walking through water these last few days.
Well, nevermind, Christmas is my favorite holiday and I plan to enjoy it! Whether you're celebrating tonight or tomorrow, I hope all of you that are celebrating have a wonderful time!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
healing
First of all, I have to thank you all very much for the kind comments and emails I've received over the last week or so. It's frankly shocking how many people have been touched by miscarriage, personally or otherwise. I wouldn't wish it on anybody but it's comforting in a way to know how common it is.
So how am I doing? Now that's an interesting question, one which I thought I had the answer to. Yesterday morning I replied to most of the emails I'd received, saying that I was surprised at just how well I was doing - freakishly well, in fact. I somehow managed to schedule a fully packed week this week and that is doing a great deal of good. Of course, just hours after I sent those emails out, I had a full-on breakdown and was useless for the rest of the day.
Perhaps we should just say that I'm getting there, and leave it at that. We're choosing to say that yesterday afternoon I had a "hormonal day." I guess they're still out of whack, those crazy hormones.
And what have I been doing this wacky busy week? Well, I've been writing - twelve articles so far and three more to go, on an assignment that took much, much longer than it should have. Plus I attended a very interesting seminar in Troyes Tuesday morning (more on that to come) and then took the car in for its two year inspection in the afternoon. Plus we'd decided that we were going to make cookies for all the in-laws for Christmas (that's still five families, including Stéph's parents!) and I really wanted to make my Dad's famous Christmas Crescent Cookies, which we road tested last week and Stéph took the results to work. The only problem is that they require 2 cups of crushed to nearly powder pecans for each batch. Pecans in France are brutally expensive, and if I bought enough for five batches it would have cost me 32€ for the pecans alone! So we're going with walnuts. But this means I've been cracking open walnuts and crushing them in my handy nut crusher (tee hee!) every day and I still have plenty of nuts to crush (ha!). The real shame is that my grandmother has more pecans than she can handle thanks to three or four pecan trees at the farm and there are literally buckets of the things lying around. If only we'd thought of it in advance! Oh - I'm also determined to finish Stéph's sweater before Monday evening, even though I only discovered this weekend that I'd knitted the wrong size sleeves and had to start them over.
See? Totally busy.
Tomorrow I'm going to Stéph's work Christmas lunch at one of the few nice restaurants here in Tiny Town. I'm really touched that Stéph insists on including me in these outings, especially since it's at lunchtime I'm sure to be the only spouse there. The best part is that the menu is done in advance, and Stéph forgot to bring me the menu to choose, so he chose for me based on what I don't like. For example, he chose the meat meal because he knows I don't like fish, and the foie gras entrée because I can't stand salade de gesiers. That made me smile today.
Ooh but this didn't - at lunch Stéph came home and told me that we were invited out to a colleague's home for dinner tomorrow night. The invitation was actually made last week, and he does this all the freaking time, but I'm so thrilled to be going out that I really don't care. The only problem is that he volunteered an apple pie, and guess who gets to do that tomorrow? Well, at least we know I'm not having a hormonal day, since I took the news in stride.
So how am I doing? Now that's an interesting question, one which I thought I had the answer to. Yesterday morning I replied to most of the emails I'd received, saying that I was surprised at just how well I was doing - freakishly well, in fact. I somehow managed to schedule a fully packed week this week and that is doing a great deal of good. Of course, just hours after I sent those emails out, I had a full-on breakdown and was useless for the rest of the day.
Perhaps we should just say that I'm getting there, and leave it at that. We're choosing to say that yesterday afternoon I had a "hormonal day." I guess they're still out of whack, those crazy hormones.
And what have I been doing this wacky busy week? Well, I've been writing - twelve articles so far and three more to go, on an assignment that took much, much longer than it should have. Plus I attended a very interesting seminar in Troyes Tuesday morning (more on that to come) and then took the car in for its two year inspection in the afternoon. Plus we'd decided that we were going to make cookies for all the in-laws for Christmas (that's still five families, including Stéph's parents!) and I really wanted to make my Dad's famous Christmas Crescent Cookies, which we road tested last week and Stéph took the results to work. The only problem is that they require 2 cups of crushed to nearly powder pecans for each batch. Pecans in France are brutally expensive, and if I bought enough for five batches it would have cost me 32€ for the pecans alone! So we're going with walnuts. But this means I've been cracking open walnuts and crushing them in my handy nut crusher (tee hee!) every day and I still have plenty of nuts to crush (ha!). The real shame is that my grandmother has more pecans than she can handle thanks to three or four pecan trees at the farm and there are literally buckets of the things lying around. If only we'd thought of it in advance! Oh - I'm also determined to finish Stéph's sweater before Monday evening, even though I only discovered this weekend that I'd knitted the wrong size sleeves and had to start them over.
See? Totally busy.
Tomorrow I'm going to Stéph's work Christmas lunch at one of the few nice restaurants here in Tiny Town. I'm really touched that Stéph insists on including me in these outings, especially since it's at lunchtime I'm sure to be the only spouse there. The best part is that the menu is done in advance, and Stéph forgot to bring me the menu to choose, so he chose for me based on what I don't like. For example, he chose the meat meal because he knows I don't like fish, and the foie gras entrée because I can't stand salade de gesiers. That made me smile today.
Ooh but this didn't - at lunch Stéph came home and told me that we were invited out to a colleague's home for dinner tomorrow night. The invitation was actually made last week, and he does this all the freaking time, but I'm so thrilled to be going out that I really don't care. The only problem is that he volunteered an apple pie, and guess who gets to do that tomorrow? Well, at least we know I'm not having a hormonal day, since I took the news in stride.
Friday, December 14, 2007
loss
This past month has been one of the happiest cluster of weeks in my whole life. It's been a dream come true; something both Stéph and I have been working towards for years. Plus, because of the timing of the thing, we both felt like this was literally heaven sent.
But it wasn't meant to be.
Wednesday night I miscarried at ten weeks, five days. Since that time, I have been experiencing the worst pain I have ever felt in my life, both physically and emotionally. In an unprecedented move, I am letting my family take care of me, for a change.
I know that we are going to get past this, and we are going to try again, and to tell you the truth, I was starting to worry that we couldn't even get this far, so it is a relief on some level to know that there can be an "again." But my heart, well, that's a different story. For now, it's back to the drugs, and oblivion.
But it wasn't meant to be.
Wednesday night I miscarried at ten weeks, five days. Since that time, I have been experiencing the worst pain I have ever felt in my life, both physically and emotionally. In an unprecedented move, I am letting my family take care of me, for a change.
I know that we are going to get past this, and we are going to try again, and to tell you the truth, I was starting to worry that we couldn't even get this far, so it is a relief on some level to know that there can be an "again." But my heart, well, that's a different story. For now, it's back to the drugs, and oblivion.
Friday, December 07, 2007
seven more things
I know.... I know. I'm exasperated with myself! I promise you, I have a really, really good reason for not posting very much right now. You're just gonna have to be patient with me until about Christmas day. Really.
So Miz JChavais over at No Place Like It tagged me a little while ago for the seven things meme. I honestly thought that I'd done this one before, but I was thinking of this instead, so here are seven random things about me.
1. I really do not handle confrontation well, but that doesn't mean I don't have rip roaring, neck rotating, snap inducing arguments... in my mind. Even if I can't work up the courage to confront someone about something that really bothers me, I'll imagine the showdown down to the last detail, and I'll get so worked up about it that my heart will race and I'll break out in a sweat. I have lost nights of sleep over this.
2. I have been knitting for less than a year and I wish I could spend every waking hour doing something related to it. My goal for next year is to create a knitting blog (from scratch if I'm really ambitious) and my long term goal is to learn how to spin and dye. How I'm going to learn to spin out here in the boonies, I have not yet figured out.
3. I haven't had a cigarette since November 9. I think I have finally flung this monkey off my back!!!
4. For the second year in a row, I have absolutely no desire to put up a Christmas tree. I know that last year it was because Dad was here the year before and the thought of getting through Christmas having just lost him was too difficult to bear. This year I can't be bothered because we're not expecting any guests, we'll be celebrating Christmas Eve with the family at Stéph's parents' home, and I don't want to clean up the huge mess. I still love Christmas, though!!
5. I have been wanting to get a cat since I got here. I got my first cat when I was a freshman in high school (I think) who of course became mom's cat when I went to college, but she would give me preferential treatment when I came home to visit. (The cat, not my mother.) I adopted an older cat the year before I moved here, and he was a great big furball. I even thought about bringing him with me, but I was moving from a small apartment to a small apartment with two people, and I thought that wasn't fair (because he was a big beastie and needed plenty of room to run!). Anyway, there are loads and loads of feral cats here in our neighborhood, and they fight, scream in the middle of the night, and rip open our garbage bags on garbage pick up nights. I'm not so sure I want a cat anymore.
6. I'm not too desperately homesick anymore (except for family and friends, obviously), but I do really miss my Sunday morning routine of picking up my favorite breakfast - toasted bagel with crispy bacon, cream cheese on the side, large coffee, (omg drool) - and the Sunday paper and going home and listening to NPR (I loved "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" and "Prairie Home Companion") and reading the paper from front to back all morning. *sigh*
7. I can't really think of a seven so... as much as I miss my American goodies, I don't know how I could live in a world where there aren't three boulangeries within a five minute's walk. Yay, France!
Now, normally I'm suppose to tag five people, but everytime I tag, I get yelled at, so if you wanna steal it, please do and let me know so I can link you here.
So Miz JChavais over at No Place Like It tagged me a little while ago for the seven things meme. I honestly thought that I'd done this one before, but I was thinking of this instead, so here are seven random things about me.
1. I really do not handle confrontation well, but that doesn't mean I don't have rip roaring, neck rotating, snap inducing arguments... in my mind. Even if I can't work up the courage to confront someone about something that really bothers me, I'll imagine the showdown down to the last detail, and I'll get so worked up about it that my heart will race and I'll break out in a sweat. I have lost nights of sleep over this.
2. I have been knitting for less than a year and I wish I could spend every waking hour doing something related to it. My goal for next year is to create a knitting blog (from scratch if I'm really ambitious) and my long term goal is to learn how to spin and dye. How I'm going to learn to spin out here in the boonies, I have not yet figured out.
3. I haven't had a cigarette since November 9. I think I have finally flung this monkey off my back!!!
4. For the second year in a row, I have absolutely no desire to put up a Christmas tree. I know that last year it was because Dad was here the year before and the thought of getting through Christmas having just lost him was too difficult to bear. This year I can't be bothered because we're not expecting any guests, we'll be celebrating Christmas Eve with the family at Stéph's parents' home, and I don't want to clean up the huge mess. I still love Christmas, though!!
5. I have been wanting to get a cat since I got here. I got my first cat when I was a freshman in high school (I think) who of course became mom's cat when I went to college, but she would give me preferential treatment when I came home to visit. (The cat, not my mother.) I adopted an older cat the year before I moved here, and he was a great big furball. I even thought about bringing him with me, but I was moving from a small apartment to a small apartment with two people, and I thought that wasn't fair (because he was a big beastie and needed plenty of room to run!). Anyway, there are loads and loads of feral cats here in our neighborhood, and they fight, scream in the middle of the night, and rip open our garbage bags on garbage pick up nights. I'm not so sure I want a cat anymore.
6. I'm not too desperately homesick anymore (except for family and friends, obviously), but I do really miss my Sunday morning routine of picking up my favorite breakfast - toasted bagel with crispy bacon, cream cheese on the side, large coffee, (omg drool) - and the Sunday paper and going home and listening to NPR (I loved "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" and "Prairie Home Companion") and reading the paper from front to back all morning. *sigh*
7. I can't really think of a seven so... as much as I miss my American goodies, I don't know how I could live in a world where there aren't three boulangeries within a five minute's walk. Yay, France!
Now, normally I'm suppose to tag five people, but everytime I tag, I get yelled at, so if you wanna steal it, please do and let me know so I can link you here.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
This is the cold that never ends
...it just goes on and on my friend...
Ugh. Ok, it's nearly over, with some residual sniffling and coughing still going on, but this past week has been awful and I'm SO GLAD it's nearly done. Let me see what else has been happening around here...
Stéph found out Friday that he's coming up for inspection on the 10th. Teachers are inspected around every four years or so (depending on how backed up the inspectors are, although Stéph's seems to be right on schedule) and they're required to be up to date with all that fun paperwork stuff that teachers JUST LOVE (oh sorry, did I drip some sarcasm on you?). So you can imagine that Stéph has been working double over time to get everything in order. That's not to say that he paperwork isn't in order, but it maybe wasn't as organized and pretty to look at as it could have been. For example, he spent most of the weekend redoing his daily planning so that it could be legible. Yes, it seems the details do count.
I've come to terms with the fact that no, none of my knitting projects are going to make it under any Christmas or other types of trees this year. The socks I was making for my sister are a complete bust - first done on needles to large, then on needles to small, I'd have to do them AGAIN on needles just right and I just can't be bothered. So I gave sis the option to choose another colorway if she didn't like the one I was using and apparently she didn't because she chose a new one. Well, it's just as well since I'd rather make her something that she'll actually wear.
We have not even started any type of Christmas shopping, thanks to me being ill and now this inspection thing. Coupled with the fact that we are freaking POOR and I don't know what we're going to do this year. It sucks because our inlaws always give us really nice, thoughtful gifts and I feel like we're pulling Christmas gifts out of our collective butts every year. (good gracious, what a mental image!) I've enjoyed making gifts for the nieces and nephew but this year I have neither the inspiration nor the time, so I don't know what we'll do there, either. Panicking shall start imminently...
Oh - I've been tagged (thank god!)! I've been asked to write about Seven Things, which I've done before and will happily do again as soon as I can think of more than one thing (I swear, my brain is leaking slowly out my ear) and also to show you the contents of my handbag, which should be both sad and short, since I don't think there's much in there. Exciting things to come!
Ugh. Ok, it's nearly over, with some residual sniffling and coughing still going on, but this past week has been awful and I'm SO GLAD it's nearly done. Let me see what else has been happening around here...
Stéph found out Friday that he's coming up for inspection on the 10th. Teachers are inspected around every four years or so (depending on how backed up the inspectors are, although Stéph's seems to be right on schedule) and they're required to be up to date with all that fun paperwork stuff that teachers JUST LOVE (oh sorry, did I drip some sarcasm on you?). So you can imagine that Stéph has been working double over time to get everything in order. That's not to say that he paperwork isn't in order, but it maybe wasn't as organized and pretty to look at as it could have been. For example, he spent most of the weekend redoing his daily planning so that it could be legible. Yes, it seems the details do count.
I've come to terms with the fact that no, none of my knitting projects are going to make it under any Christmas or other types of trees this year. The socks I was making for my sister are a complete bust - first done on needles to large, then on needles to small, I'd have to do them AGAIN on needles just right and I just can't be bothered. So I gave sis the option to choose another colorway if she didn't like the one I was using and apparently she didn't because she chose a new one. Well, it's just as well since I'd rather make her something that she'll actually wear.
We have not even started any type of Christmas shopping, thanks to me being ill and now this inspection thing. Coupled with the fact that we are freaking POOR and I don't know what we're going to do this year. It sucks because our inlaws always give us really nice, thoughtful gifts and I feel like we're pulling Christmas gifts out of our collective butts every year. (good gracious, what a mental image!) I've enjoyed making gifts for the nieces and nephew but this year I have neither the inspiration nor the time, so I don't know what we'll do there, either. Panicking shall start imminently...
Oh - I've been tagged (thank god!)! I've been asked to write about Seven Things, which I've done before and will happily do again as soon as I can think of more than one thing (I swear, my brain is leaking slowly out my ear) and also to show you the contents of my handbag, which should be both sad and short, since I don't think there's much in there. Exciting things to come!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
down for the count
Yes, that very same evening of my last post I was officially sick. And I've been sick ever since. No/low fever, thank goodness, but stuffed nose, running nose and everything in between, plus some coughing and hacking and general moaning. I hate being sick and this has come at the absolute worst time possible.
I still have to tell you this funny story that Stéph told me before I go faint on the couch again. I really thought I was leaving Precious Little Snowflake Syndrome behind me when I moved here, but it turns out that this isn't so. It seems that Stéph received more than one complaint that the curtains in his second floor classroom are always shut and shouldn't he open them to allow the students to get some sunlight? These complaints came not from other teachers but from mothers. Yes, that means that these women have nothing better to do than wander around the school and stare at their children's classroom. That's the exciting life here in Tiny Town.
So Stéph capitulates and opens the curtains on one of the few sunny days we've had here in recent weeks. Of course, the heat of the sunlight in combination with the radiators that Stéph has no control over sends the temperature of the room to well over 30°C (over 85°F) which means they then have to open the windows, plus the glare of the sunlight means that no one could read the board. Stéph kindly asked the kids to tell their mommies what happens when the curtains are open and came home and told me about it and we had a good laugh.
I still have to tell you this funny story that Stéph told me before I go faint on the couch again. I really thought I was leaving Precious Little Snowflake Syndrome behind me when I moved here, but it turns out that this isn't so. It seems that Stéph received more than one complaint that the curtains in his second floor classroom are always shut and shouldn't he open them to allow the students to get some sunlight? These complaints came not from other teachers but from mothers. Yes, that means that these women have nothing better to do than wander around the school and stare at their children's classroom. That's the exciting life here in Tiny Town.
So Stéph capitulates and opens the curtains on one of the few sunny days we've had here in recent weeks. Of course, the heat of the sunlight in combination with the radiators that Stéph has no control over sends the temperature of the room to well over 30°C (over 85°F) which means they then have to open the windows, plus the glare of the sunlight means that no one could read the board. Stéph kindly asked the kids to tell their mommies what happens when the curtains are open and came home and told me about it and we had a good laugh.
Monday, November 26, 2007
weekend roundup
I finally got to celebrate Thanksgiving on Saturday. We had initially planned to do a little Thanksgiving dinner here at home with a few friends, but a few things popped up to make that not really a viable option, so we decided to crash Doc's Thanksgiving bash instead. There were the usual Frenchies plus the extra bonus of Antipo and the three of us Anglos often were seen sneaking off to the kitchen to snigger and tell rude jokes and general snark in English. It was lovely. Oh - and the food was good, too. (photos to come)
This morning, Stéph woke up with a fever, and he even took his temperature on my old Fahrenheit thermometer. When it popped up 101.2, I told him that he should stay home or go to the doctor, but no, he had to be all manly and trudge to school anyway. Well, first he told me that 101.2 couldn't be a very high temperature even after I converted it for him in Celsius (that's 38.5 for those of you playing at home), he still insisted on going to work. At lunchtime he declared he was too sick to go back and needed to see a doctor instead, but it's hard as hell to get in to see just about any doctor in the afternoons here. Our doctor has a "first come first served" policy in the afternoons, but those tend to take forever. Nevertheless, Stéph was desperate to be able to go back to school tomorrow, so off we went and sat in the waiting room for an hour and a half. Turns out he has strep. Also turns out that my throat is getting scratchy. I am none too pleased.
This morning, Stéph woke up with a fever, and he even took his temperature on my old Fahrenheit thermometer. When it popped up 101.2, I told him that he should stay home or go to the doctor, but no, he had to be all manly and trudge to school anyway. Well, first he told me that 101.2 couldn't be a very high temperature even after I converted it for him in Celsius (that's 38.5 for those of you playing at home), he still insisted on going to work. At lunchtime he declared he was too sick to go back and needed to see a doctor instead, but it's hard as hell to get in to see just about any doctor in the afternoons here. Our doctor has a "first come first served" policy in the afternoons, but those tend to take forever. Nevertheless, Stéph was desperate to be able to go back to school tomorrow, so off we went and sat in the waiting room for an hour and a half. Turns out he has strep. Also turns out that my throat is getting scratchy. I am none too pleased.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
happy thanksgiving!
It's that time of year again, when I have to explain to our French friends the concept of "giving thanks" for the good things in our lives. I get the feeling that most of them think it's a quaint puritan ritual framed around an enormous meal, but Thanksgiving has always been more than that for me. I love that there is a day in the calendar specifically set aside to take stock of the good things in our lives, like:
* my health, which I am constantly working towards improving
* my relationship with Stéph, which is always getting stronger
* my family, which is far away but thanks to modern technology, is only ever a computerized phone call away
* my friends, both here and in the States, who are a constant source of joy and support
* this blog, which has enriched my life here in France in so many ways
* my readers, who have managed to stick with me over the years even when I go through blogging droughts like I have in the last couple of weeks!
Today I invite all of you to take a moment and think about what you are thankful for in your lives, and if you feel like sharing, let us know what you're thankful for in the comments. And if you're in the States, have a great Thanksgiving and eat plenty of stuffing, corn bread and pecan pie for me!
PS: I seem to be having some RSS feed issues (thank you to Wendy for pointing it out). I think it's working for Bloglines but not for other readers like Google Reader. I've tried validating through Feedburner but apparently I have some issues and I might as well be reading that page in Greek, so if you are a computer-literate type person and can help me out, please shoot me an email, thanks!!
* my health, which I am constantly working towards improving
* my relationship with Stéph, which is always getting stronger
* my family, which is far away but thanks to modern technology, is only ever a computerized phone call away
* my friends, both here and in the States, who are a constant source of joy and support
* this blog, which has enriched my life here in France in so many ways
* my readers, who have managed to stick with me over the years even when I go through blogging droughts like I have in the last couple of weeks!
Today I invite all of you to take a moment and think about what you are thankful for in your lives, and if you feel like sharing, let us know what you're thankful for in the comments. And if you're in the States, have a great Thanksgiving and eat plenty of stuffing, corn bread and pecan pie for me!
PS: I seem to be having some RSS feed issues (thank you to Wendy for pointing it out). I think it's working for Bloglines but not for other readers like Google Reader. I've tried validating through Feedburner but apparently I have some issues and I might as well be reading that page in Greek, so if you are a computer-literate type person and can help me out, please shoot me an email, thanks!!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
the slackiest slacker that ever slacked
Oh, hello. *sheepish grin*
I wish I had a really excellent excuse for not updating, but I don't. The weather's getting me down? Actually, the weather has been pretty miserable - rainy, dark and getting colder every day. I can't seem to focus on anything. I'm starting and frogging knitting projects, which is not helping my Christmas present list at all, never mind the fact that Christmas is like six weeks away and we haven't even thought about making a list of things to buy... ugh. Plus I'm thinking about totally starting over on my charity blanket which means I need to get a move on if I'm going to get it done on time.
So, to make up for it, I'm gonna give you a little treat. This song does nothing but make me laugh and bounce around the room like a big old dork. It's in French, obviously, but I think y'all will get the gist of it. I'm not usually a big fan of the comedian Mickael Youn, but he finally got me to laugh with "Parle à ma main," which means talk to my hand!
My favorite bits are the initials written on the hand which totally remind me of "TMI":
PI - pas interessée - not interested
çc - ça craint - that sucks
FBI - fausse bonne idée - not a good idea
And of course, at the end, Christelle gives her number to the guy, and it's a number for information (118 218) like 411.
Anyway, enjoy!
I wish I had a really excellent excuse for not updating, but I don't. The weather's getting me down? Actually, the weather has been pretty miserable - rainy, dark and getting colder every day. I can't seem to focus on anything. I'm starting and frogging knitting projects, which is not helping my Christmas present list at all, never mind the fact that Christmas is like six weeks away and we haven't even thought about making a list of things to buy... ugh. Plus I'm thinking about totally starting over on my charity blanket which means I need to get a move on if I'm going to get it done on time.
So, to make up for it, I'm gonna give you a little treat. This song does nothing but make me laugh and bounce around the room like a big old dork. It's in French, obviously, but I think y'all will get the gist of it. I'm not usually a big fan of the comedian Mickael Youn, but he finally got me to laugh with "Parle à ma main," which means talk to my hand!
My favorite bits are the initials written on the hand which totally remind me of "TMI":
PI - pas interessée - not interested
çc - ça craint - that sucks
FBI - fausse bonne idée - not a good idea
And of course, at the end, Christelle gives her number to the guy, and it's a number for information (118 218) like 411.
Anyway, enjoy!
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