Friday, December 14, 2012

Preparations are underway for the arrival of the kids next week. Ross and I have the bedrooms ready including a small crib for Liam.  We had beds and linens for the other rooms, but waited to get something for Liam until this month.  I went to my local Ikea and picked out what I wanted then realized it wouldn’t fit in my little car! So, I got the accessories and Ross went with me the next day in his car to get the bed part.

I love my little car and usually it is perfect for what I need, just didn’t think about a baby crib needing to fit!  I told Ross people always look at the car and I imagined they are wondering what type it is since it’s new and there are not many on the road. He burst my bubble when he said “are you kidding, they’re looking and thinking…wow…that really tall lady just got out of that really small car”.  We are looking forward to using the new Ferrari carseat we got for Liam; it’s the only Ferrari Ross will ever own so he better enjoy this one!

I have been shopping and making lists for things needed and foods to buy.  Due to the small size of my fridge and freezer, I needed to map it all out and pick days to shop and what is needed for each meal.  Fortunately, Lindsay and Katie are like me and enjoy seeing different grocery stores, so they’ve already said they’ll go along for fun. Also, due to the holiday, shops or bakeries are closed, so I’ve been trying to organize it all.  Yes, I made a spreadsheet for their visit; I do not know how I functioned before Excel!  The boys want to see Normandy, so we had to pre-book a hotel for that and also because I can buy tickets in advance for a cheaper price, it just made sense to plot out the time- well in my slightly OCD brain it made perfect sense!  It also lets me know what days we are all here for meals and what days we’ll get something while touring.  We are going to our friend’s hotel/restaurant in Luynes the first Saturday they are here because I want them to experience the French cuisine in a typical French way, with courses and presented beautifully.   Other than that I have the meals planned and we’re ready.  Of course, just like my kindergarten class, I love to have it all mapped out and planned,  but am flexible to be able to change those plans if needed.   

One of the bakeries in Luynes is closing from the 22^nd to the 28^th;

I about had a stroke, we buy bread every day! BUT….the other  bakery will be open but limited hours and you need to pre-order things now, so I can breathe a sigh of relief!  They’re even open Christmas morning for pickups of the orders.  I did my order yesterday which was an event in itself; trying to figure out what I want, what is special this time of year and then communicating with the proprietor who speaks only French!  So, first thing Christmas morning Ross will head into Luynes and pick up my bread for the day as well as a few special Christmas pastries for brunch. I also ordered three small “ Buche de Noel’s” in three flavors.  They are log shaped cakes with creams and fillings.  They do 8 types at my bakery so it was a trick to figure out exactly what I wanted.

We have a tree up too, I bought it last year the day after Christmas at target at 75% off. So, it’s a skinny tree and the ornaments are nothing fancy, but it fits our small space and I was able to find bells for the bottom of the tree.  Liam is fascinated with the bells that jingle and he is allowed to take them off his tree at home; so I did what any good Nana would do…..I hunted the town to find some for here.  Sure it took four shops, but we have jingle bells!!

On my way home the other day, along the Loire River Road, I had to do a double take as a man had pulled over along the banks of the river and was standing there taking a piddle break. Not behind a tree or near his car, just along the road….argh!!!

Ross and I had a date night to see Celtic Legends at the local theater.  It was a fun night out and we enjoyed the singing and dancing.  There was a flier that Mama Mia is coming to town in February, so we got tickets to see that as well.  Not Ross’ favorite, but it will be fun to see it in French!

I’ve learned a new grammar thing that has me wondering though…..you know my mind goes crazy places.  Anyway, at language school they had me sharing about my kids.  When I got to Katie, I have two choices….I can call her  “sa femme de mon fils” which means wife of my son or I can call her “bell-fille” which means daughter in law but actually translates as ‘pretty daughter”….SO…. here is where my mind goes, say I have only Lindsay and Katie with me and I have to “present” them (never “introduce”- that means something quite dirty-argh) ; so I say here is Lindsay, “ma fille” – my daughter and then Katie as  “ma belle-fille”- my pretty daughter!!!!!  Now, for mother in law I kind of like it, I’d be Katie’s “belle-mere” which means mother in law, but literally means my pretty mother.  So many little twists and crazy turns to this language thing.

We found a bakery in the next town of Fondette and had to take a photo.  It wasn’t anything spectacular except for the names of the proprietors…..last name Silly…love it.

I’m putting up photos of a few food items I’ve found that are interesting!  I’ve said we get seasonal things, but what happens when some of them are things you’ve never heard of or seen?  Take carrots for example, been buying them for years….but this week they had a display of yellow carrots, white carrots and violet carrots…so of course I bought some of each!  So far we’ve had yellow and they were nice, I used them in beef stew, so it was hard to get an exact flavor.   One exciting thing we can get is rhubarb yogurt…..oh yum….if you like rhubarb which we do!  Today there were fruits that were new and unusual to me; didn’t buy them, just took photos.  To me some of the fish look kind of nasty, I prefer mine in a boneless skinless way.  The “cerf” is stag or deer meat and the “sanglier” is wild boar. I’ll be cooking a few traditional French meals for the kids to try, but don’t want to get too crazy with things they won’t eat.  The boys really want to try horse, so I think I’ll find a small package for them to try.  That won’t be a big family meal!!!  I’m going more for Tartiflettte, Duck Confit, and Salmon pasta and Lardon pasta……We’ll be touring chateaus, Normandy and Paris so there will be several meals out as well, but mostly café’s and sandwich shops.

We’re excited that Ross’ cousin and her husband will join us Christmas Day so we’ll have a houseful…..in our small house! But, it will be tons of fun!!  I’m waiting to see people’s response to the boys; they already think I’m a giant here, wait until they see Tristan and Calum!!!

Lastly, I went to an English Tea Luncheon in Loches this week and had a great time. It’s a group of women from the US and Britain who like me have somehow ended up in France.   All learning or have had to learn the language, all learning cultural things, it’s been a nice group to meet with monthly.  I’m putting up a photo of the meal the tea room guy served, it was yummy.  Salad, fish stew, a mushroom and squash thing, a leek crumble, a fruit mousee with cranberries. Plus a homemade vegetable soup as a starter and three nice desserts on a slate plate to finish.  The group changes a bit monthly depending on who can come, but it’s been really nice for me to meet others who “get it”.  

This weekend we are going Loches on Saturday to the church that does an English service twice a month. They’re having an English Christmas Carol Sing.  I can’t wait, there is something so wonderful to me about singing in English at church.  You don’t realize what you have until it isn’t there.  I enjoy singing in French, but there is just something special about singing in your native tongue.  I’m looking  forward to Christmas Carols in English!!!  Last week at church, we did “O Peuple Fidele” or O Come all ye Faithful……but verse two had me wondering….it went “Dans une humble etable; froid et miserable”  which means in a humble stable, cold and miserable….hmmmm, don’t know that I’ve sung that version!!!

Anyway, I’m off….more after Christmas!!

 

November 26, 2012

I’m back!  After delays and weather related issues, I was finally able to fly out.  It was a long yucky flight where I literally was the last seat in the last row of the plane.  Just me and the toilets….what fun!  It was one of delta’s oldest planes which should be retired.  It’s so small and seats are tight with no individual screens for movies.  I cannot fit my knees straight in these seats so I spent the flight trying to sit kind of crooked without having my butt right up on the young guy next to me.  He was very sweet, a Muslim guy who is a policeman in Toronto who had been visiting his fiancé.  It’s an arranged marriage and he is looking forward to having her join him early next year.  We actually had a few very good chats about morals and beliefs and our core differences.  It helped a very long flight seem bearable.

I arrived in the US after being awake for 22 hours and was so glad to see Lindsay and Calum waiting for me.  They said as each crowd would come through they’d wonder if it was my plane when finally Calum said “Oh that’s it, they are so French looking”.  Sure enough it was my plane, but of course when you’re in the LAST seat, you don’t get off the plane quickly.  

I’ve decided that there are far too many rude people who travel.  They push and shove to try and be first without a care for anyone else.  It amazes me to see so many people putting themselves first and doing anything to get there.  I have found that politeness and kindness go over so much better.  Yes, it had been a crazy week of delays and every seat on every plane was full; but that’s no excuse for rudeness.  One flight attendant who was not in my section recognized me and he kept coming to the “way back” to check on me and chat.  He remembered that I lived here and traveled back and forth; so it was nice to have someone recognize me.  The center seats next to me ha the rudest, most selfish family in them.  They even brought their duty free booze and during the flight kept sneaking drinks from the bottle.  They yelled at the flight attendants and demanded things, it was just awful to watch them.  They got on the plane last and then threw a fit because the overhead bins were full.  They were an eastern European family who didn’t speak French or English so they just kept yelling in their own language.  Then I could see the flight attendants getting frustrated and finally they just kept getting slower and slower to help this family.  After politely asking the woman to get her legs out of the aisle five or six times while they were trying to serve dinner, finally the one flight attendant had enough and she just rammed the cart along smacking the woman’s leg. I That was ugly!!  Fortunately they fell asleep and only woke up to swig their booze for the rest of the flight!

I had a great visit with family and friends.  I felt like the time flew by and it was a whirlwind of a trip.  I was able to pack and mail myself two boxes of things I wanted here including several simple children’s books to use at school.  It was fun to celebrate Liam’s first birthday and get to spend some time in Alabama with him.  I so enjoy these visits with my adult children too, our conversations can be serious, silly or filled with memories!  I was sad that Ross didn’t get to come and he missed out on all the family time; but it did give him time to start his new job.  I don’t think I’ve mentioned Ross’ new job before, if I have sorry……..Ross worked in Georgia as one part of a 12 person team in business development.  He was brought to France to continue this and have most of the team based here.  Anyway, his boss was given a new position and Ross was asked to head up the team.  It means at least an extra year on our contract so as we are finishing our first year here, we look forward to at least two more.  He may be asked to be as many as five years but that will only happen yearly adding one year at a time.  He feels this could be a job he does from anywhere so we will see what the future holds for us. For now, this is home and we enjoy it.  

Okay, the first picture I call “What on earth?” and it looks like an odd swirly pile of dog doo.  It actually is freshly dug dirt and we have hundreds of them all over our yard. We thought at first we had moles or some burrowing animal.  Well, it turns out the mounds are made from the earthworms digging.  They burrow and dig and provide themselves with pathways for the winter.  I’ve been told that seeing these mounds in the grass during the fall is a sign that our soil is fantastic and rich.  What a difference from the Georgia clay we are used to.   

Then there are some random photos of Tours as they decorate for Christmas.  Downtown there are 75 booths that will be open daily selling all kinds of items and treats. Some are in our yard as the fall weather has set in and things change.  One set is of trees here with a problem disease on them.  It only shows up as the leaves fall away and leave these puffs of what look like leaves on them.  I call them Dr. Seuss trees because they look like they are from Who-ville. I keep trying to pull over and get a photo but the best shots are of course not available as I drive along.  I know it’s bad, but I like how they lookJ  Of course, there are a few food photos too…..one of the chickens at my little Luynes market on Saturdays where the farmers come and sell their wares.  I’m just not keen on head, feet and feathers!!  The pother food photo is in the grocery store….yes it’s the hooves of the cow….okay, seriously who eats that and how would you cook them? Also, I think the funniest road sign in France so far!!

Yesterday several area evangelical churches did their once a year get together at a local school gym.  So we had church with about 500 others; it was nice to know people from several places and feel like we had friends.  I enjoyed it and loved the group singing. It was not Ross’ kind of fun, but he was a good sport.  He tells me next year I can go alone! 

He is just home from a week in Malaysia with hot temperatures and apparently the worst traffic ever.  His driver would dart in and out and there were endless delays.  In February he’ll head to China for a week as well.  I have no desire to go with him to either place but will tag along when it’s somewhere I want to go.  Somehow for me the week flew by, I was so dreading being alone but I had something to do every day but one so it kept me busy and thankfully it wasn’t nearly as lonely as I had anticipated.

The weather had been kind of cold and dreary with a good bit of rain.  Seems like now it’s headed to colder but drier, so I think that might be better than the rain.  It’s just over three weeks until the kids arrive and I am getting excited about that.  I’ve been setting our schedule so I could purchase tickets from the visitor center in advance.  It’s about 1 euro cheaper per person to buy them there so as I purchased several last week the savings added up.  We’re headed to Normandy for two days as the boys are all about the war and Band of Brothers stuff.  It should be a sobering, historic visit and I’m sure we’ll all enjoy it.  We will cram in as many things as we can in this visit but then as they come separately in the future, we can take time and do more. 

We’re planning on Calum will be here for 8 weeks in May/June.  He will do an internship at SKF which hopefully will help him as he looks form a job in the future.  It will be fun to have him here and see him each night at dinner.  During that time our nephew Craig will visit as well which should be fun.   At the weekends we can tour and travel together which will be great!

Friday, I had coffee and tea with two ladies and we did our conversations completely in French for the first hour and then in English for the second.  Two of us are learning French and the other wants to refresh her English.  We had a nice time and will meet together again.  BUT….while there I made one of those “wrong word’ mistakes.  The guy next to us started smoking and would turn to blow the smoke not realizing it was right into my face; the seats are pretty close in restaurants.  We were in the outside café which has a tent like structure over it for all weather.  There is a heater in the center which keeps it toasty.  Anyway, the second time the smoke came blowing at me I made a noise and the guy turned and apologized.  I told him in French that it was “en ma face” and FORTUNATELY I used my hands to frame my face….because the word for face is “visage”…what I actually told him was that he was blowing the smoke “in my A**”.  Oh my…..,I did not know……and you can believe I will remember!  Well, the ladies with me busted out laughing and fortunately so did the two guys……..ah the joys!    Oh well, it just happens!  Too many words are similar and then some are similar but mean such different things!

I am surprised by the way teachers handle kids in class.  The public ridicule or screaming at one student is something we would never do in the US.  They really take them to task when misbehaving and not sweetly at all.  I mean they’re super nice and they treat the kids fine, it’s just the way they handle discipline; just not at all what I am used to.  This past week I was  at school on Thanksgiving and was able to explain our holiday both historically and current day.  Then I showed them my picture in my turkey suit; I’m just different than what they know here, even the teachers were laughing….but they would never dress up like a turkey!

Anyway, that’s all for now…..I’ll keep looking for the funny, quirky and unusual….

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Halloween and as I write I think how I should be in Georgia right now catching up with family and friends and working on filling boxes of things to ship back here that I need; things like children’s books for each holiday that I can use in English classes or a few of my warmer sweaters and clothing……and then meeting my neighbors as they ring the bell tonight with their kiddos……..but instead here I am in France sitting at the table writing.

Monday I took Sophie to the kennel and Ross and I took a taxi to the train station.  We were taking the train to Paris, spending the night in the hotel and flying out Tuesday morning.  We’d both fly into Philadelphia where he would work for three days while I took another flight to Atlanta.  He was to join me for the weekend to celebrate Liam’s first birthday. On our way, he got an email saying our flights had been cancelled due to hurricane Sandy.  He immediately got on the phone to try and re-book flights.  For him, the soonest they had an open flight into Philly was next Monday  and for me they could get me as direct flight into Atlanta but not until Thursday. So, we took another taxi home after switching my train ticket ( for a fee of course).  I called yesterday and picked Sophie up after 24 hours at the kennel.  So, it’s been an expensive week of going nowhere!

Ross ended up having to cancel his meetings so for him, there was no reason he could pop over to Atlanta for the weekend now.  That is a bummer especially when Thursday and Friday here are work holidays so he won’t even be able to go into the office. So, while we are disappointed, we are very thankful for those we know and love who had to deal with the storms.  You know at the end of the day, if your family is okay, the rest really isn’t as important. Now I am trying to re-arrange things and cram my visit into less days.  It’s a bit of a mess, but I am really pleased I still get to go.

So, since I last write, nothing much new except that it is mushroom season here and we have been enjoying trying the different varieties.  The black ones in the photo don’t look very nice, but they sure were tasty.  They were also 19 euro a kilo which everyone tells me is super cheap! Around Christmas they will be up nearer 30 euro a kilo.  I just got a small sampling so it was worth 2 euro to try them. We eat so seasonally here that it is fun to see what comes out next. 

Over the weekend  we took a field trip to my school to show Ross the crazy back roads I take and we went back to the hotel de chateau in Chaumont.  We had been thinking about the lovely meal we’d had there this summer and wanted another try to see if the food was as good or just the memory of it. Silly I know, but it had been a gorgeous day and we ate out on the terrace, etc.  Now, it’s much colder and we ate in the dining room.  The food didn’t disappoint, the chef there really has a way with flavors.  The only thing I couldn’t do was the pre-starter liver pate mousse.  I had one spoonful and had to pass it on to Ross.  Nice restaurants here give you something pureed or mousse like in these tiny glasses before your meals and it’s fun to try them.  This one however for me was too much.  It was cold, but nice and clear, so we enjoyed the drive and seeing the sights along the river.  Seems all our outings here revolve around exploring good food…..hmmmm.

There was this silly cat though that kept following Ross. If he slowed down and stopped, so would the cat.  It would run along next to him and try and rub his leg, too funny.  any of you that know Ross, you know how much he LOVES cats!!!

Food here is such a part of the culture and dining is more of an experience, so we’ve had fun adapting to that cultural difference.  So, here are some random food photos of our mushrooms and meals Saturday.  Hopefully, if all goes well tomorrow, I will write again when I return in mid-November!

Friday, October 26, 2012

Well, it’s time to recap the last week…..things have been busy for me lately with less time to write….I think that’s a good thing though because it means I’m more settled with friends in town and things to do.

Saturday Ross and I went downtown Tours to walk around and have lunch.  Ross picked a new restaurant La Famille and we went to celebrate my birthday.  As we entered the restaurant, the owner’s bulldog, George greeted us at the door.  He decided to lay next to us and several times during the meal he would grunt and moan bulldog style; everyone in the restaurant just would burst into laughter.  I asked the owner if it was a problem having him there and she said he is allowed to be anywhere in the restaurant except the kitchen (thank goodness).  Our meal was very tasty and we enjoyed the three courses. 

After lunch we walked around “Les Halles” which is an indoor market with fresh cheeses, produce, breads and meats.  I’m not sure of exactly what each item is, but it’s fun to look around and see the different offerings.   The butcher had some interesting offerings, the funniest being the rabbits with the fur still on and the blood which was obviously fresh.  All the birds still had heads and feet….now I understand the theory behind it and the obvious freshness of them all, but I still prefer buying my meats already skinned and de-headed!

Sunday Ross went to church while I went downtown Luynes to help with the bike event.  I had various jobs like folding brochures and making sandwiches for the riders after the event.  We had over 120 riders so it was a busy morning getting them all checked in, numbered and off.  Each of the workers except for Jean-Pierre speak French only so it was a good day to work on my French conversational skills.  I spent a lot of time talking with the people doing sandwiches with me.  We did ham and also rillettes on fresh baked baguette rolls.   I copied this quote about rillettes  “ For those that aren’t too familiar, rillettes are a meat that has been cooked down in fat until it becomes meltingly tender and spreadable. Spiked with herbs and spices, it’s like a meaty paste”.  Basically we had pork rillettes as well as wild boar ones.  At first I was pretty skeptical, but after tasting it, I realized it was pretty good.  BUT……when unwrapped from the butcher, it kind of resembles a big plop of cow manure!!!! J

The event went well and I felt like I did okay with my French.  It was good to meet some more people in the town and introduce myself.  At one point I met two couples who live here and the husbands work together. Both wives are of Columbian descent and have been learning French since moving to France.  One has been here several years but the other just about the same amount of time I have so we had common feelings.  Both spoke English too, so that was nice.

This week while grocery shopping, I watched a guy looking at the Clementines which have just come into season.  He was squeezing them and then proceeded to peel one and eat it before deciding to make a purchase.  He filled a bag full so I trusted that they were good.  So, I got myself a few but did not sample them first!

This week was my first time running into someone I knew at the grocery store, so we did the kiss-kiss thing and chatted. I told Ross I felt very French as I see people do this a lot here!  At church now we do a lot of the kiss-kiss thing…it’s become habitual now and doesn’t seem like such an invasion of personal space.   At first it was hard to get used to, but now we don’t even think about it.

Wednesday I went again to the school in Saint Paterne; this time to meet with the teachers and go over the schedule for Thursday and what I’d be doing with the classes.  Thursday I arrived during recess and immediately was surrounded by children asking if I was the lady who speaks English.  Hamish is the one who introduced me to the school and his kids were excited to meet me and we conversed in English together.  They’re fluent in both French and English, so the English classes are funny for them hearing English words in a French accent.   

I spent 45 minutes in each class during their English lessons.  I had to introduce myself and explain why I was there; some classes were able to ask me questions and it was good for my French as we interacted.  I am looking forward to doing more with the kids as the year progresses.    They seemed to enjoy me being there and I’m looking forward to getting to know them better.  The French names are a new thing for me, so I am hoping to be able to learn their names.  Not every child has a French name, but most do and they’re different, so I’m learning to hear them properly and pronounce them.  In France there is a different saint for each day of the year and at one point, you had to choose your child’s name form the list.  Now, that is no longer the law, but many still use the very traditional names.

There was one boy named Liam(obviously not a French name), but he was quite pleased when I told him it was my grandson’s name. One boy named Enzo which I know is Italian and the first name of the Ferrari guy, so that boy liked that I knew about Ferraris!  I told him I just bought a Ferrari carseat for Liam when he comes at Christmas ( I’ll be able to bring it back to the US to use with all my grandkids at some point). I’ve been looking at that carseat for a while and it went on sale this week 30% off, so it was my time to buy.

Anyway, it felt good to be in a school again and around the kids. I told Ross  the kids don’t make me nervous at all, but having to perform or be new in front of the other teachers is a bit nerve wracking.  They were nice and welcomed me, and I appreciate them getting to know me before just letting me do much and I think in time I’ll do more and more.  The classroom style is different here and everything is pretty much lecture style, even for younger students.  They do very simple English so it will be interesting to see how far they can go.  The teachers are kind to the kids and smile, but also are very tough when disciplining.  There is less worry about the kids “feelings” but rather more emphasis on them obeying and behaving. In a way, I think it’s better as in America people tend to soft coat things and treat kids as fragile and worry so much about their feelings.  But after observing the kids in the school setting, I’ve decided that kids are the same all over the world and each class seems to have the same issues……the kid who isn’t on the same page and the teacher tells them to do something, every kid does it but that one who kind of looks around thinking “oh did you mean now?” Or the boy who cannot sit still and fidgits or wiggles; it was fun to observe.

The schools here are on holiday for the next two weeks so that worked perfectly with the time I’m away.  When I return I’m going to teach them about American thanksgiving since that is something they hear about but don’t understand.   

This weekend is for packing and getting ready for the trip home.  I feel like the time will fly by as there are so many things I have planned.  So, it will be a quick trip ; I’m excited to go but also will be ready to come home again afterwards and get back into my routine here.  The time between now and Christmas when the kids arrive will go quickly. So, I’m off again!