mardi 25 décembre 2007
A trip to Rome!
A few months ago, we had talked about going to Rome for Christmas. He has always really wanted to go. We let the subject drop, but when I found out I didn't have to work over Christmas break, I secretly bought the tickets, found a place to stay (harder than I thought it would be, since almost everything was booked for the New Year). I was hoping and hoping that I would be able to keep it a secret, and miraculously did. I told Alain last week that I would have to work this week, as I didn't want him to plan anything. His whole family was in on it. I bought this Rome travel guide, printed out the tickets and put them inside, wrapped it up and gave it to him today in front of his family. He opened it and then was shocked that we are going to Rome TOMORROW! We will be back on the 31st. I can't wait! Hope everyone had a great Christmas.
lundi 24 décembre 2007
Every year, around December or January, we invite friends over for a traditional "Raclette" meal. This is similar to fondue, and comes from the France/Switzerland border area. What you do is buy a certain type of raclette cheese, that is usually pre-cut into square or round slices. These slices are then placed on little pots, which are then placed into a heater, which melts them. Then you scrape the cheese onto various high-calorie items, like potatos, bread, ham, or sausage. Sometimes you can be really healthy and have it on apples or carrots, but let's not get carried away. In the picture, you can see the raclette machine where you heat up the cheese slices, which are placed on the utensil just to the right of the knives. The wooden thing is to scrape the cheese off.Why do we do raclette every year? Well, besides it being a very good winter dish, there is also no actual cooking involved. (besides cooking the potatos, which I can actually manage).
So this year we invited most of our friends here in Provence one couple couldn't come because the woman was about 39 weeks pregnant (and has since had her baby), another couple was out of town. I was pretty tired as I had spent the entire week working hard with a visiting US engineer but Alain and I managed to get the apartment cleaned and the groceries bought in record time. It was also a good occasion to use various wedding gifts that don't get used as much as they should.
The raclette should be eaten with a salad and white wine is supposed to be served. For dessert we had ice cream and a coconut pie that Veronica, a lovely Argentinian, brought. Her husband, Sebastian (Argentinian as well), works with me.
It was a very nice night.
The night wen
dimanche 23 décembre 2007
As far as doing my own laundry is concerned, I have had some memorable moments. The first was when I realized (in graduate school, the first time I had to do my own laundry on a regular basis) that for the past six months I had been using just fabric softener in the washing machine. Yep, no detergent. Well, my clothes were soft at least. Hey- I thought Snuggle did both.
Haven't severly discolored anything, but my latest mishap came yesterday afternoon. I was drying some colored items, when the classic "What's that smell?" question was asked. Something was smelling not good, and coming from the kitchen. Went in the kitchen and it smelled like it was coming from the washer/dryer, but not particularly. We pulled everything out and started to fold. I thought perhaps the rubber lining the door was a bit burnt or something, until I came across my long underwear/winter pjs. The top had hardened and shrunk to a size that not even Manon, our 4 year old neice could wear. It smelled horrid, like burnt wool. The entire apartment quite quickly picked up this smell, and we had company coming over in an hour. We opened all the windows (in winter, but not TOO cold) and tried to air it out as best as we could. Yikes. Learned that lesson. I was sure I had washed it before, but perhaps I didn't dry it in the dryer last time.
Here it is, hanging next to a normal sized ankle sock for comparison.
vendredi 21 décembre 2007
One of my new French Christmas traditions is to go every December and buy one (or more) small Santon figurines for our nativity scene or "creche". In Marseille, every year from the end of November to the beginning of January, there is a Santon market, where all the local artisans come and display their creations- large, small, clothed, painted, unpainted, (the Santons, not the sellers) small buildings, etc. are available. This year, I went at the beginning of December to the usual spot near the ice skating rink and there was no one! I was quite confused, but then found out that they had moved it to the Canebiere. Alain and I went together last Sunday, and together we decided on what to get. After considering some camels and a fe
w angels, we finally decided on a donkey. We got the lying down donkey because Alain said of the standing-up donkeys "Oh poor donkey, he has to stand up the whole time." So we bought the donkey and brought him home. Next year, I am holding out for a camel.According to French tradition, you aren't supposed to put the baby Jesus in the scene until December 25th (well, midnight exactly). And the wise men aren't supposed to be there until the 6th of January. Some French will put them far away and then each day move them a little closer. Anyway, I don't care. I am having a gosh darn American nativity with the baby Jesus AND the three wise men. Otherwise, everyone else is just left standing around (or lying, in the case of the donkey) looking silly for a couple of weeks.
jeudi 20 décembre 2007
A few Sundays ago, Alain and I decided to put up the rolls of sound insulation that had been sitting in our living room for weeks. I bought eight rolls of 5 meters each, for about 22€ each, and two pots of glue, which the guy at the hardware store assured me was definitely enough. (lesson for next time: ask the guy if he has actually done this himself. No? Okay, get twice what he just said.)
We slowly shoved all of our furniture away from the Infernal Wall (no, not that infernal wall, the infernal wall separating us and our elderly neighbor's blasting tv). We cleaned off the wall, then got prepared to put the glue on the wall, then place the rolls of thick foam. Except the glue was really goopy and it was impossible to cover well the wall. After one miserable attempt, we quickly realized that the best was to lay the roll on the floor, cover it in goop, and then place it against the wall. (hey, we don't have advanced engineering degrees for nothing!)
That worked much better. Except that we got about halfway through the project and ran out of glue (which would SURELY be enough). One frantic call to his parents later, and they were able to stop by the store and bring over not one, not two, but three pots of glue. Except that the new glue wasn't the same. Sigh. It was actually much gluyier, and I had sever
al painful "ripping my skin off the handle of the spatula" moments. We finally finished, cleaned up, put the furniture back, and waited for 7pm (the time of normal tv-blasting). And we heard--- almost nothing. I was so pleased- it was beyond my expectations. I told Alain we should put up another layer on her side, but he said no way.
al painful "ripping my skin off the handle of the spatula" moments. We finally finished, cleaned up, put the furniture back, and waited for 7pm (the time of normal tv-blasting). And we heard--- almost nothing. I was so pleased- it was beyond my expectations. I told Alain we should put up another layer on her side, but he said no way.Eventually, we will have to do something to cover up the grey squishy strips on our wall. But maybe after the holidays.
Unfortunately, after several days it is now less effective. Bummer!!!!! On to plan two- offer her TV headphones for Christmas. Plan C is to pay someone to break in and steal her TV....
And I am only slightly joking....
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