Wednesday, September 28, 2011

photo: morning

I have a surprise for you...




Somehow my city slicker boyfriend acquired a pheasant. 

He came home late from soccer on Monday night
and on Tuesday morning, with a big scary grin, told me he had a surprise for me. 

Let me just say,
I was not expecting a pheasant.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Facades



Facade:
1 : the front of a building; also : any face of a building given special architectural treatment
2 : a false, superficial, or artificial appearance or effect


Boyfriend absolutely refused to put on more comfortable shoes to go to a 22h (10 o'clock) movie last night after we had walked for 4 hours and his feet hurt.

His reasoning: they wouldn't look good.

Yes, how gauche of me for even thinking of it.   




Friday, September 23, 2011

Fall flowers




Here it comes.....
the sunset of the year.
The vibrant red, orange, yellows that feel like sunshine,
even on gray days.
And soup season: 
TACO SOUP! TACO SOUP! 
And squash and pumpkin
Spice: cinnamon, clove and nutmeg
and cayenne pepper.  
And Tea
Warm herbal tea for making people sleepy.
Like baths and hugs on the inside.


Thought of the Day


It's reaffirming to me that every French child I know has a lisp until they turn 6.  Like I'm not the only one that struggles with making those sounds. 

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Fall weekend outside Dijon


This past weekend we went to Dijon



We always buy mustard there, though we can get it anywhere in Paris.  Nerdy and true.
This time we got fine herbs (in green) and sundried tomato and spicy pepper (orange) and pesto roquette(white).  A girl's got to change up her salad dressing .


So we went to Dijon because b's family is from there and there was a surprise birthday party for his 85 year old Grandmother. These were some of the highlights:

  • Disguises:  PO's grandmother likes getting dressed up in disguises so we all put something on, from wigs to drawn on beards to surprise her.  I was Santa Clause and b was a Catholic cardinal.   
  • Staying at Auntie Paulette's house:  Adorning the walls - Poster sized nude portraits of b's cousins when they were 6 and 8 accompanied by their Collie, Riki (Reeekee). (I guess it was an "R" year).    
  • Also featured in Auntie Paulette's house: RED Ferrari tribute toilet room.
  • 4 hour birthday lunch in a tiny village outside of Dijon. Tiny village complete with church containing a fresco of the virgin Mary assending to heaven from a vineyard.
  • Lunch Menu:  


            Kir au Basilic  (yes, it’s 1p.m. why not have a drink? White wine and basil syrup)

Meurette d’Oeufs au Chardonnay de Marsannay (poached eggs in what appeared to be a creamy skim milk sauce.  But no, it was a white wine sauce with mushrooms and bacon at the bottom. Uh, I love you France.)

Noisette de Porc, Légumes étuvés à la Graine de Moutarde (slices of porc tenderloin with steamed new carrots –because the old ones are just unbearable- leeks and tiny yellow spaceship squash, with mustard sauce -of course)

           Fromage (small cheese plate -Camembert, Comté and Epoisse- with salad.)
 
Gateau (3 layer birthday cake: mango and raspberry cake with pineapple cream).

           Café/ Thé   (coffee/Tea served with handmade: blackcurrant macaroons, passion fruit marshmallows,
 small almond cakes with raisins and chocolate caramels)
  • Going to Grandma's after 4 hour lunch for more food she had prepared and Cremante (champagne).  Because 4 hours of eating just isn't enough.
  • Autumn sunset over the vineyards outside of Grandma's house.   


Thursday, September 15, 2011

Finding out by Facebook


This morning I awoke to a post with a picture of an old friend of mine on Facebook.  “He was the best friend a guy could have”

Hoping desperately that this was just a grammar fail, I went to his page and saw that my friend’s aunt was collecting photos.  

Never have I felt so alone.  So far away.  

I also found out while on vacation 4 months ago (again via Facebook) that my friend’s teenage daughter had taken her own life.  

This is the day and age of communication.  Yesterday, I was just thinking about the fact that it’s slightly creepy that I know things about friends and acquaintances that they never “told” me.  I simply happened to read it.  Sometimes I rant about things in a fit of some emotion and then wonder why, months later, someone asks me about a specific event. I think, I never told her about that.  Or when my boyfriend got caught not going to an event (of a girl I hate) because we were on vacation – well we were supposed to be, we actually left the next day - but silly me put our departure on Facebook.  

Today, I am in my small apartment, 5000 miles away.  Far from any of our friends, alone, and I get posting at 8 a.m. via Facebook. 
But I am glad, because it has been years and he was a good man. I would have been sad to not have mourned his passing. 

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

churches

A church we went through in Gaillac, France this last weekend, while in the south for another wedding. (We're 4/5 in the last 3 months).


Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Creeepy





If there was any question about what kind of spider I really HATE? It's this one. 
This one that I found in the corner of the balcony this morning. 

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Friday, September 2, 2011

Little things, like breakfast.

I love.

The 9h September sunrise in my apartment, through the full wall of windows,  

with this breakfast.  






...and all is right in the city.


False alarm about the mass drugging.  This morning at 10a.m. I got on the bus and I hear from behind me
   
                   "De toute façon tu va bientôt mourir, sale pute"


from the mouth of a 22 year old, said to a woman in her late 60's. 

And that little gem, you'll have to translate on your own.  Because we don't talk like that on my show.