*tap* *tap* anyone there?

I know, I'm a bad blogger, poor orphaned blog was getting lonely! But things have been insane around here. We're working on the house all the time and last weekend we moved all of our crap from V-town out to the house. It was a big game of tetris, not helped by the fact that the tile guy hadn't finished all of the grouting or the tiles along the walls. So we had to find spots to put all of our stuff, and we've got tons!

But that's done, we haven't moved in yet because again we are waiting on other people. The electrician and plumber show up when they feel like it but at least it is all tiled now. So this week we're staying with the in-laws but hopefully (fingers crossed!) it should be liveable by Monday at the latest when the electricity company comes by to hook us up to our permanent contract.

In other big news I retook my driving test again and passed! Avec un "petit oui" as the lady said. She wasn't impressed with my driving but apparently saw no major problems so she gave it to me, thank god. I was so sick of paying for more and more lessons and tried not to let the stress get to me. She did that oh-so-French thing of huffing and puffing with a big Gaelic sigh, "ohhhhhh bahhhh voyons, il faut regarder derriere vous quand meme... siiiiiighhhhhh". Whatever, I just told myself, like water off a duck's back, like water off a duck's back... it became my mantra.

So that deal's sealed, hopefully my big pink drivers license will come in the mail soon!

Work is busy and staying with the in-laws has added an extra part to the commute, it's a nice drive during the day but with these short days I'm leaving at night and coming back at night so I can't enjoy the view. That should be changing soon! I'm still enjoying my job but wondering a bit what will happen when my contract ends the end of February - those 6 months sure went by fast!

I'm starting to get my application in order for my citizenship request... once we're in the house I'll take a look to see exactly what I need and what documents need to be requested from the States and then find a certified translator.

So like I said, busy busy!! I'm looking forward to a bit of calm when we move in... and taking a long hot soak in this:

Happy New Year!!!

As we are about to ring in 2010 (if I manage to stay awake...!) I thought I'd post a quickie for my ever dwindling readers - not that I blame you!
Between no Internet at home* and of course no blogging at work, a list a mile long of things to blog about but no time it's been a busy end to 2009!
I'm looking forward to 2010 & all it brings, the new house, new adventures and experiences.... I'm sure it will be great!
So have a safe and happy new year and see you all next year!!!

* we were planning on moving the last week of December but there were of couse delays so luckily our landlord is letting us stay until the end of January! But of course for once the Internet gods moved our line on time! So no Internet at home, thank god for the iPhone!!! More house pictures to come, it's looking SO great!

Sent from my iPhone

A few appt pics!

Well you asked for 'em (or did you?) either way here you go! Here are just a few pictures of the main rooms, the living room. (it is not as dark as it looks in this picture, it was just the setting on my camera.)
The other side of the living room (aka the dining room yeah!)
The kitchen.
And our bedroom (its like living in butttahh!)

There are a few rooms I didn't put in, office, laundry room, bathroom etc, they're pretty much your average rooms (and hey didn't wanna go airing my dirty laundry on the web... har har har!)

Its really big, about 80m2 and I just love it! Central location and still so quiet! :-)

moooovin' in!

Well things are finally getting calmed down and organized around here! It was complicated in the beginning because we didn't have any electricity, gas (for the hot water heater) or internet (tee hee) in the first few days that we "moved in" so we stayed with the beaux-parents.

That meant doing the 20 minute drive in and out of town early each morning so Mystery Guest could get to work and so I could get to unpacking. I was totally physically and mentally exhausted the first few days - not used to physical labor like that! I scrubbed this place down from top to bottom (the building had been sold in between tenants thats why the electricity and gas were actually cut and why it was so dirty, we have no idea just how long it sat empty) and put together all the furniture and moved stuff around the place.

By Thursday we had power and internet (yea Neuf!) but still no hot water so we spent 1 last night at the parents. Then Friday morning the same guy came to turn on the gas (don't get me started on why the same technician can't turn both the electricity and gas on at the same time but hey go figure...). So Friday night was our first night in our new home. It's great! It is so big and full of light and quiiiiet! Well mostly, we live above an automated lavomatique which is open from 8am to 8pm and when you're in the living room you can hear people's conversations down below. Most of the time it just cracks me up :-) And honstly doesn't bother me that much knowing that it will be nice and peaceful come 8pm. Our bedroom is totally quiet and the last two nights I've slept like a log!

Since Mystery Guest works in a local shop he has his weekend Sunday/Monday so today we slept in and made some gluten free pancakes for breakfast - yum! Then his mom came and we made our way down to Bayeux for the Medieval Festival. This is my third time going and Mystery Guest enjoyed it so much last year that we ventured out of the house to go back :-) The weather wasn't that great so we didn't stay all day but we did stick out the wind for a few hours to check out some of the stands. It's so much fun to see all of the different things being sold, people dressed up etc :-)

It was still raining when we got home so we just vegged on the couch sunday-style with a little X-Files and a nap, can things get any better?

Everything is pretty much up and running around here, there are just a few more boxes to unpack and then some decorations to put up ... pictures to come!

V-town

Welcome to V-town! I wanted to show you some pictures of town since apartment pictures are still in the works (want to get rid of all the boxes before snapping away...)

I went out to the market this morning and on the way home decided to take advantage of the beautiful skies to take a few pictures of my new home! Here is the apartment, it is the beige building above the lavomatique. There is a bar/brasserie to the left always full of people. The apartment is a duplex so we've got all 4 of those big windows :-) Even when its raining we get tons of sunlight - I love it!
Here is a view looking outside our window, I love all the flowers they've put in the round about, it makes the view really nice.
This is one of the side streets leading up to the round about, there are lots of little shops, butchers, clothes shops and restaurants that are starting to put their summer side walk terraces out.
Here is the church in the main square, Mystery Guest's work is juuuust behind it. I wonder if he likes hearing the church bells all day... :-)
Another view of the church...
And the main square. It's really cute to walk around in and I just adore the stones around here. In the summer the light off of that white stone is beautiful, especially when people grow rhodies and roses in the front of their houses... Voila voila, a little tour of my new little town. Pop. 8,000 - the same as my hometown in the Northwest! (they don't have a lot of creperies though... muhhh haha!)

4th of July?

Happy 4th of July!!!

I'm writing this holiday post from my new internet in my new apartment! We had some problems getting all the electricity and gas hooked up (fridge and hot showers being quite high on our liveable list...) but they are all finally up and running!

In the meantime we were crashing chez les parents but that meant extra driving time and well, we want to stay in OUR place! So yesterday the power was turned on and our beautiful new Neufbox arrived the same day! (1 week for an internet connection? Can we say speedy? Right now I *heart* Neuf!) Today the guy came back to turn on the gas (why he couldn't do both the same day? yeah, I asked him that and he said that il faut respecter les rendez-vous.. whatever.) But now we have hot water, power and internet! And with the 3 full days I've spent scrubbing the place and organizing boxes we're almost good to go!! Tonight is the first night we'll spend in the new place after getting the keys about 10 days ago...

Just wanted to step out of my MIA shadow to say that all's well and to wish all those Americans out there a very happy 4th of July!

EWWW!!

Yuck yuck!!

I haven't seen pothead for a couple days now, I've been busy packing and going up to V-town to sign the lease among other things. I don't know if he's been around or not... I think he's been in and out.

Today I was packing more stuff up in the kitchen and the old banana smell was really starting to get to me. I opened up the cupboard and the bananas were unrecognizable!!! I kid you not!!! One big black mass of juice-leaking bananas... YUCK! I couldn't handle it anymore, I chucked 'em* and sopped up the rotten banana juice left on the shelf.

I never wanted to do his dishes or clean up after him so he wouldn't get the idea that cause he lives with girls he wouldn't do anything, but this was too much! Plus the beau-parents are coming over for lunch and to take a few boxes since they're in town today and it was just too icky and stinky to leave there. I would have been so embarrassed even if it isn't my mess...

*actually I really did, my gag reflex kicked in and I couldn't even handle it so I threw it out the window... honestly I can't believe I just did that but YUCK! double YUCK!

packing things up!

Last Friday Mystery Guest and I went to the agency to start giving them the paperwork for our apartment. Agencies are crazy! They ask for all sorts of documentation that seems a bit above and beyond of what they would actually need to see that you can pay your rent...

Since Mystery Guest is starting his new job July 1st (the same day we officially rent the apartment) they need a letter from his boss saying that yes indeed he will be hired from July 1st. Apparently though, this letter was not enough because it didn't include his salary. It's just the little things like that, when they keep asking for different things all the time that tends to get you easily annoyed with them!

But anyway I'm here in my colocation trying to pack up my stuff before Thursday (we're actually moving me Sunday but between going to sign the lease and a birthday party I've got to get it all done by Thurs). I went through the kitchen yesterday and packed most of my stuff up. As I was going through the cupboards I realized that the guy (roomie #2 - or "pothead" as he will be referred to here on out) that roomie #1 picked last month doesn't really understand certain things... Dishes will sit in the sink for days upon days but that's not really the big thing... In the cupboard there was a certain oder wafting out... when I peeked in I saw rotting bananas and a jar of open jam with the spoon in it. The orange juice he buys also tends to be moved about the kitchen without ever making it to the fridge. EW!

Gross gross.

He is an odd guy but pretty nice, just a little slow. I think there's just a little something missing up there..

I'm missing some boxes so I'm going to ride my bike up to Picard today to see if I can't scavange a few. The ones I picked up a couple Wednesdays ago (when the shops get new shipments they leave all their boxes nicely folded up on the street for moving people like me to grab!) are really sturdy and HUGE, they work great but way too big to fill with heavy things like books/dishes etc.

movin' and shakin'!

There has been a lot going on around here but since I try not to post too much personal stuff on here I've been holding back.

But never fear dear readers things are happening around here! Mystery Guest and I went to the agence immobliere today to get the list of documents needed for our apartment rental. We'll be moving out of Caen to V-town at the end of June into a great duplex apartment! (hint, come visit! there's plenty of room!). If you take a look on the map V-town is on the Cotentin peninsula on the way to Cherbourg. Yes, it is tiny town but on the main train line and has everything you really need downtown. Plus Mystery Guest starts his full time job July 1st and can walk the 500m to work every day and I'll start my job probably in October. I found a job teaching English at a private school in Caen and am able to arrange my schedule to only work 4 days a week. I'll be taking the 45 minute train ride those days to go teach. The best thing is that my job will give me a CDD for the first year and then if all goes well I'll get my grubby little paws on a CDI! Yippee!

For you Caen peeps no worries, I'll be in town a lot, promise! This summer will consist of finishing my memoire, passing my drivers license and preparing lessons for next year, I won't be bored but I'm sure to get sick of sitting in front of a computer all day!

I am however preparing myself for the internet withdrawal I'm sure to have when we move until we can get a line set up. I said to a friend the other day that I think that blogs are the Soap Operas of our generation and I really feel it when I miss a post! But they are such a wonderful way of exchanging information - for example Mystery Guest might have an allergy to gluten and having already read GlutenFreeGirl I hopped over there to take a look at things to eat and different symptoms to understand more. He's giving a gluten-free diet a go this week to see if it helps. I made a yummy veggie dish last night, totally just my own creation but it wasn't half bad!