thanksgiving day 1

As tradition holds we celebrate Thanksgiving the day of (Thursday) with the Franco-American society of Caen and the sister-city programs. It is not a true Thanksgiving dinner in the when the menu is concerned but it is fun and the people who invite us are very nice. This year at my table was Natalie, Kristina and Charlie along with some other American study abroad students and a few Frenchies. Here are Natalie and I imitating Charlie and Kristina's pose :-)

After several glasses of that Beaujolais Nouveau... things started getting a little crazy... playing with the flags... etc :-)

There was a contest to see who could guess the number of buttons sewn onto a parachutest suit, alas none of us came close but lucky me I got a sausage! No, we're not dirty just crazy :-)

All clowning around aside it was a delightful evening, the people were so nice but what really touched my heart was a little old man giving a speech (in English!) about how thankful he was that the Americans came to Normandy. How he remembered the invasion as a child and how hurt he was when the US was attacked on September 11th. It was that day that he decided to learn English. He was so thoughtful and thankful and that in my mind is what Thanksgiving is all about.

Happy Thanksgiving! We celebrated the day itself tonight but we will continue the celebration with a real American menu tomorrow... I know I did some work today in the kitchen making my famous stuffing, cranberry sauce and more! Stay tuned for more stories to come!

happy thanksgiving!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

So many things to be thankful for, I would hardly know where to begin. So here's to good friends, family and of course turkey!

:-)

turkey time!

I just added a few recipes for Thanksgiving dishes in my recipe blog. These are the dishes that I'll be bringing to our Thanksgiving potluck on Friday night (cranberry sauce, stuffing and cornbread), I'll be adding some more recipes to the blog (pumpkin pie etc) in the next few days :-)

Happy almost Turkey Day!!!

twinkle twinkle

Well that's it, I knew Christmas was starting this year and my blog proves it! When I walked home last night they had turned on the lights in town! 5 days earlier than last year. I had been so excited because I had new lights up on my street but when they turned on I have to admit I was disappointed because they are blue :( I don't like colored Christmas lights, I like them white and simple.

Things are busy this week because of Thanksgiving but I'm really looking forward to this celebration. I placed an order with the butcher today to get a turkey and luckily enough got one! (After going to several butchers mind you, everyone kept looking so surprised - "but why would you want a turkey when it's not Christmas??" As if you weren't allowed to eat them any other time of the year...!)

I'll try to get some pictures of my new lights so you can tell me what you think ;-) and of course Thanksgiving - Mystery Guest's first! Now that's something to celebrate!

On a side note could anyone else log in yesterday? Ever since I switched to Blogger Beta things have been just dandy but I couldn't log in all day yesterday...

weekend news

Well I hope you all out there in bloggerland had a nice weekend. I had a wonderful time relaxing chez Mystery Guest's parents out in the sticks of Normandy.

It's so nice to feel so comfortable in someone else's home. Just to relax and enjoy the weekend and the time away from the city. Homecooked meals, vegging in front of the tv... honestly I'm not sure where the weekend went! But it flew by!

As it was a sunny November day we decided to leave early and make a detour near Coutances to see the countryside. As we had to go off the main road due to road construction we ended up driving by a sign that said "chateau this way" or something to that effect... Ended up wandering around the deserted grounds of a ruins of a castle. I was kicking myself as I had forgotten my camera at home and it was a stunning sight to see, the ruins framed by all the foliage changing color and a magnificant sunset in the background.

I tried to pinch myself but that just hurt.

So I'm making a note of this place because I've got to go back with my camera, but I'm not sure if that day could ever really be captured.

Tété

I just got home from a fantastic concert, Mystery Guest and I went to go see Tété here in Caen!!

I havn't been to that many concerts but it is so worth it to see such a wonderful preformance. He really is an entertainer in the literal sense of the word. A complete clown and goof on stage but with touching and catchy songs. I love his random dreads and funky glasses, great to see someone with a bit of spunk in their personality :-)

I'm too tired to write more and would be in bed but I think my upstairs neighbors are having a birthday party...

pop pop!

I feel like I'm regressing to 14 years old... I've got a monster of a zit on my chin! I know I'm getting all personal here but I can't believe the size of this thing! I get my fair share of random zits but this beast is deep and it hurts!

Teaching with this thing hanging off my chin makes me feel like the Wicked Witch from the East... I know usually those things that you feel are huge don't look as big to other people but I swear I'm getting so self-conscience over this! I wish it would just go away already and I can go back to feeling the ripe old age of 25 again...

Beware zit: I'm going to get you my pretty!!!!

cackle cackle!

shakin' down the apples!

Today Mystery Guest and I went off on an adventure with Nature et Decouvertes (basically the French version of the Nature Company). They organize trips of all different sorts during the year. You join their club (cheaper than I had expected, only 6e a year) and then you can take trips with them for a very reasonable price.

We signed up a couple weeks ago to "discover apples". Meeting point, in front of the town hall in Livarot (about 45 minutes from Caen) in the middle of the pays d'auge, the heart of apple country.

After meeting we drove out to a little farm owned by a retired couple and the non-profit organization which runs it. They often hold "animations" for school children about how farms work, the bugs and critters in the little stream and how to respect the environment.

Today was all about the apples!












First was a walk in the rain out to the apple orchards where we took a long hooked stick and shook the trees to knock down the apples. The guide explained all the different techniques as well the local environment. I learned a whole bunch of new words but the only one I remember is woodpecker :-)












Then we gathered all the apples up and took them back to the house where we washed cut them up. First step was making apple jelly. The woman running the kitchen had already cooked up some apples so we put them in the hand-held press wrapped in a rag and squeezed the juice and pectin out. This juice was then combined with the same weight of sugar (2.4 kilos juice/2.4 kilos sugar) and boiled to make the jelly.

Then we made apple juice with the apples we had gathered. First the entire apple (stem, seeds, worms and all!) were grated and then everything squeezed in the same press. We had a basketfull of apples which gave us 1.5 liters of juice.

When all was said and done we had a little snack, apple pie and our juice of course! It was delish! I had never had freshly squeezed apple juice before and it is so good, nothing added, just pure juice. I was surprised at how dark and cloudy the juice was.

Just before leaving we got little jars of apple jelly to take home :-)

It was a wonderful afternoon! I had always wanted to go visit the apple farms during the fall to see the harvest and how things were done :-) And all that for only 5euros, not bad! Thanks Nature et Decouvertes and of course Mr. Mystery Guest!

flags

Last night Mystery Guest, myself and a friend went go to see Flags of our Fathers. After getting off to a rough start (the schedule was misprinted and it was showing an hour later than planned - but we got free tickets cause of the mistake!) I really enjoyed the film.

I feel like recently I've seen a lot of good war films that aren't just the shoot 'em up type. This one was really good because it showed the mental challenges facing a soldier returning home, the war propaganda done by the government as well as the camaraderie of the soldiers.

The film takes place in Japan - the battle of Iwo Jima and the famous raising of the flag photo that we've all seen before. I can't wait for the next film to come out, the Japanese side of the story, this spring - also by Clint Eastwood.

rub a dub dub!

I decided to test out my pride and joy of my appartment... my bath! There are some problems with the tub though... which is why I havn't used it up until now.

1. The bathroom is freezing! Let me tell you how badly insulated it is!!! I keep the door closed because otherwise it would let in that nasty cold air into my living space! No thank you! There is a little heater in there but as it is electric I just can't justify heating a room just to take a pee or brush my teeth.

2. My hot water tank holds enough water for about 2 medium-length showers. As I must have my morning shower to fully wake up this doesn't leave enough water to do that plus dishes etc and then a bath at night.

3. I get bored quickly in the tub, I need to have everybody part covered with nice hot water otherwise I'm cold and I don't like that. But I can't do anything if my hands are in the water so I get bored.

So today I decided that in reference to problem #2 I had gone to the pool this morning for a swim and therefore took my shower there. I also had very few dishes that needed washing up today. Concerning #1, I broke down and heated just my bathroom for 10 minutes while running the hot water so I wouldn't turn into a popsicle. And #3, I discovered the joys of a cordless phone! Did all my phone catching up while relaxing in the tub! Brilliant! Sadly the only downside was the big cut I gave myself while shaving, dangerous zones those ankles are!

Ahh time to crawl into bed and get a good night's rest :-)

lights out!

I decided to have a quiet night in, watching 24... knitting... studying?!? Yes, ahem, well I stayed in tonight :-)

I was in the middle of chatting on MSN and working on some transcripts of BBC headlines for work when the power flickered and then cut! Luckly I was not completely in the dark as I had just lit my new candle a few hours earlier... Was it just my apartment? The building? The block?

I poked my head outside my door and tried the hall light. Nada. I looked out through the main door and there was light in the street. Ok so just my building. At that moment I heard keys turn upstairs and someone opening their door to check. I called out and asked if they had power. Nope. Niet.

So I just went home and lit some more candles and decided to see how much work I could get done in the 38 minutes that my laptop battery has (yes, I know its old... poor baby).

Then all of a sudden there was a thunk and the power came back, just like that!

Random...

But was very happy this was not while I was hungry! Everything is electric here! The stove, oven, microwave....

And my new candle? Very cheery! :-)

UPDATE: was looking at the news and saw this (and then this) on the front page of the USA Today... Could that be it? My electricity was only cut about 20 minutes and there were streetlights on outside... hummm weiiiiiird.... Thank god I wasn't stuck in an elevator! :-)

hooked!

I am an addict... a junkie... totally hooked...

My weekly fix is comprised of Tuesday evening Prison Break and Thursday evening Lost. I'm getting better though, if there is a scheduling conflict on Tuesday, I can usually hold out until Wednesday or even Thursday for Prison Break... Progress people, progress...

I've already spoken about this problem that I have, and since I am no longer in denial I was sure that I was on my way to a cure...

Until, that is, when Mystery Guest supplied me with Season 2 of 24... Its just there, one episode after another! Its just too easy to press play once more... Help! I can't stop! Someone help!

ride 'em cowboy!

Yesterday was a national holiday so no one had to work and the town was all closed up. We decided to take advantage of the free time and the beautiful fall weather to go to and take a horseback ride on the beach!

I haven't ridden very much, just a few times as a kid and about 10 minutes at a friend's house when I was 18. I never felt very comfortable, like I would lose my balance easily, and that was just when the horse was standing still or at walk. I thought that trying again might help me conquor some old fears.

I had a blast! We trotted (yes I trotted and have a sore bum to prove it!) down to the beach and then slowly meandered along... It was a beautiful clear day with of course lots of wind at the beach, but lots of people out for the holiday with their families and flying huge kites.

happy halloween!!!

Here's a little fun reminder of Halloween 2006!! I brought my lady friend, Mrs. Mystery Guest and I went as a Magic 8 Ball.

Ask a question and shake!





She's one hot chickie don't you think???

visitor

I've been really busy recently, the day after my birthday extravaganza a Japanese friend of mine who I met in the States came to visit!

I havn't seen her since 2001 when she was studying in the States so it was so natsukashii to see her again!

I had Sunday free so we went to the local market, picked up lots of fresh fruits and veggies as well as some local oysters! Then we did a walking tour of Caen, luckily the weather was ok and not too cold! That evening we had Japanese food (miso soup and rice) for dinner and Emi had her fresh oysters. She shucked them like a pro!

Otherwise I've had to work so I sent her off on trips around the region, Honfleur and Mont Saint Michel. She is staying to celebrate Halloween and then of to Paris and more adventures!

I'm so glad she came to visit, its been fun to see someone who I havn't seen in so long! But at the same time I'm exhausted from playing host :-) I need a guest room!

time to fall!

Don't forget to change your clocks folks! Its the end of daylight savings, so at least in Europe and America its time to fall back one hour...

Yeah baby last night we got an extra hour of sleep, I love it!

birthday celebration part 2

To continue my birthday celebration we all went out to dinner and had a fabulous time and excellent food. The restaurant is really small and cozy with bright colors painted all around and even the silverware has little pictures fruits and veggies inside the handle.

We really chowed down on that soup and other goodies as you can see ;-)











Then Oscar came out with a birthday surprise, chocolate soup with a floating candle! (Glad there weren't 25 of them...!)












Then we moved along to the tropical paradise that is the Che, a Cuban bar that from the outside looks like a hole but inside is full of palm trees, tropical sunshine, mojitos and musica!


















So there's the recap of last night with a few pictures for your viewing pleasure. I had one of the best birthdays yet, good thing since I'm officially now old... anti-wrinkle cream anyone??

birthday celebration part 1

Yes folks in just a few minutes (according to my mom at 19h00 on the dot) I will be 25 and to help me ring in my quarter of a century Mystery Guest took me on a lovely drive.

The weather was perfect this afternoon as we headed down to the Suisse Normande, a beautiful region of Normandy just south of Caen. We had a fantastic drive as we watched golden leaves float across little country roads and admire the rivers that cut through forested valleys.













It was the perfect way to spend my birthday afternoon, out in the sunshine enjoying a stunning fall day with excellent company. I'm home for an hour to primp before going out for dinner with friends at Mange ta Soupe and to get some drinks.

an inconvenient truth

Just got back from the movies tonight with Mystery Guest. We went to go see AnInconvenientTruth which is only playing for a few nights at the cinema. After seeing Al Gore in Deauville, we couldn't pass up an opportunity to see the film that he was promoting.

He is such a well-spoken, intelligent politian, someone who you feel is actually doing the right thing and is not a sleezeball with skeletons in his closet, nor a war-hungry mongrel. I would love it if he ran for President again (and won fair and square again) but somehow I feel that no matter how much Bush destroys America the people still will not vote in someone liberal enough to make a positive difference... I would love to be proven wrong however!

I highly recommend this film on many levels, the situation is neither dumbed down nor made into a cheezy political drama. It is straight forward, to the point with clear articulate thought and years and years of research. It actually makes you feel that as a single human being on this planet there is something you can do to help preserve life as we know it.

Bravo Mr. Gore for saying what needed to be said and for trying to make a difference.

dirty laundry...

No, I'm not talking in symbolic terms but rather about the huge pile of laundry sitting in the corner of my appartment! Isn't it a sad day when you realize that you don't have the time to do your laundry? Mine has been sitting there since Sunday, a quiet reminder that I'm slowly running low on the "essentials"...

I hope I can get it done soon otherwise there might be a Bridget Jones moment coming up soon!

indigenes

After a long day of work, grocery shopping, struggling to get said groceries home on the tram, tram driver slamming on the brakes and me falling into the pole I went off to a movie with Mystery Guest. Ahhhh a bit of fresh air in a busy day :-) Hat's off to Mystery Guest!

We finally got a chance to see Indigenes, a fantastic French film about the soldiers recruted from Northern Africa to fight for France in World War II. The movie is very well done with a great cast and a touching true story. It is always interesting to see a movie on a part of history that is often left untouched in the textbooks.

The movie really moved me during many scenes and but oddly left me feeling a bit homesick, not sure why, but I really connected with these characters. Its funny, homesickness, its not something that hits me often, I could count on one hand how many times I've really felt homesick. But when it does hit you know it! I love living here, don't get me wrong, but I think it's been too long since my last visit home. My next New Year's Resolution, go home at least once every 12 months :-)

d-day beaches

On Saturday I went on another road trip adventure with Aurore, Peter, CJ and Larissa. This time we went west to check out the D-Day beaches. I've visited the sights before but they are no less impressive a second, third or fourth time.

We started our trip at the American Cemetery because it was the only sight closing at a certain time. For about an hour I was back on American territory which was strange to think about. It blows your mind to see row after row after row of solitary white crosses, the number of lives lost. After a few minutes you get used to seeing them there and then you start to look again, this time at the names written and all of a sudden it becomes real again. It is beyond powerful.



















Then we continued along the road to la Pointe du Hoc where the Rangers scaled cliffs to attack the German bunkers. They have left the site completely preserved and the bomb craters are still there along with the ruins of German bunkers.










Afterwards we drove along the coast to Arromanches where the artifical port was created so the Allied forces would have a landing point for the troops and supplies. As you can see we were very lucky with the weather, leaving Caen we were hit with showers but it all cleared and we had blue skies for the rest of the day :-)










Here's a little shot of Aurore and Peter looking very pensive... :-)

quick trip

Well as my karma caught up with me I went off in the traina to Paris for a quick trip to get my medical exam done. I swear it is such a joke to make us go all the way to Paris for it!

Here's what happened.

I trek out to the suburbs of Paris to arrive at 10am (yes, that means I was up at 5:30am to catch my 7am train) and was told to sit and wait.

Then my name was called to go sit and wait somewhere else.

Then my height and weight was taken and my eyesight was tested.

I was told to wait.

Then my chest was x-rayed.

Then I was told to wait.

Then wait some more. (see a pattern here??)

Then the doctor saw me in the office.

"Your vaccinations are up to date?"

"Yes."

"Ok, go and have a seat over there."

So I wait.

Then I get my paper saying I'm healthy go give the the prefecture and I walk out.

Yes, of course, that medical exam must be done in la capitale, country folk out here wouldn't be able to handle it all... :-) But hey I'll be legal soon! And as a souvenir I got to keep my x-ray!!! Yippeee!!! :-)

to open or not to open?

Buzz!! As I was enjoying my morning coffee the postlady buzzed at my front door... never a disturbing moment however when the postlady comes to deliver a package!

Yesterday I got a package from my sister in my mailbox and today it was a big box from my mom. Yes folks, this girl's birthday's coming up soon! If you really want to know, its next Friday...

So yup, you've figured it out, I have 8 days until my birthday. So now the really important question comes into play, to open them early or to wait?? I'm always telling myself to wait so that that way I'll have something to open the day of and not regret opening them early... but at the same time the surprise is a little spoiled as my sister and mom had to write the contents of the packages on the customs form... now I know sometime they, um, stretch the truth on whats inside but still... humm... a real dilemma!

happy little trees...

During a random conversation on Monday the subject of PBS and Bob Ross came up and his happy little trees and rocks :-) Difficult to really describe all that encompasses Bob Ross...

So in order to share this childhood memory with everyone - especially the frenchies, here is a little video! Enjoy!

pet?

I went to a friend's house for a visit and her kitty came up and gave my foot a good cuddle.

I miss having pets... having beautiful new housewarming plants on my windowsill is nice but not the same as having something cuddly around :-)

She had actually offered me a kitty at Christmas but my place is just too small, plus I'm more of a dog-person. One day I'll have a big yard, until then I've got some nice plants that don't ever get mad at you or pee in your shoes!

deja?!?!

It is too soon to be Christmas!!! Its not Thanksgiving yet, nor Halloween, nor my birthday and that people means no Christmas decorations yet!

But yet as I walk down my street earlier today I see that it is the first in the downtown to be decked out with Christmas lights... Puhhleez people! Its even earlier than last year!

*But there are new lights on my street this year and I do have to admit they are prettier than last years :-) And I do live on the first street to put them up... that makes it special right?

darkness

Thats it, it officially sucks getting up for work in the morning, it is still dark out!!! I thought I'd have a bit longer before I woke up to dark skies but alas :-(

We havn't even fallen back yet! I hate to imagine that its only going to get worse... and worse... Oh well, paying summer dues I guess! :-)

Happy Monday to everyone going to work today!

mush

I got a translation job this week, a four-page text to have done for Sunday! Needless to say it is not a lot of time to do a translation! I'm half-way done and staying home this evening (as a busy weekend is ahead!) to get some work done on it.

I swear it pushes my poor brain as far as it can go! I get about a paragraph done in an hour or so and I just feel like I can't think anymore.... I've got noodles for brains!

So this is my little mini-break :) reading up on blogs and letting the noodles rest for a bit :) Then it is back to the grindstone... wish me luck!

Update: I have found through a scientific study that chouquettes are the best way of fixing said noodle brain :) hehe

bouillotte

It is officially fall and you can really tell by the crispness in the air, especially at night when I freeze my little tooties off!

I decided to give in to the change of weather and break out my trusty bouillotte*, it was a bit of a mission finding the lid that went with... But when I did I crawled into bed and hugged my long-lost friend.

My tooties appreciated having her back too :-)

*hot water bottle, seems really old fashioned but fairly common here and I love love love them!

wedding bells!

Today I attended the civil service of Janine and Cedric's wedding! (In France you have to have a civil service before the church service - theirs will be held next August) It was the first time that I attended a wedding in Caen, in our beautiful hotel de ville.

So here are the bride and groom waiting for the mayor to come.


Here are all the brothers and their wives/girlfriends.









The toast chez Janine & Cedric - Congrats!










And a little picture of Janine & me.









We were so lucky that the weather cleared today and we had a beautiful sunny day to enjoy the celebration! Congrats you two!

food blog!

Maybe it is the change of weather, the golden leaves that fall onto wet pavement, the early sunsets and the crisp fall weather... Maybe it is because I'm procrastinating... :-) But in anycase like some other bloggers I decided to organize all my recipes into a new food blog... I am by no means a professional chef, but I love to cook!

Check out my new link, Milk Jam in the Kitchen, on the right-hand side of this blog!

I'm starting to put in tried and true recipes and then will move on to new ideas and fun stuff that I pull from my American roots and my French surroundings.

I'm copying in my old recipies in as they are... in French, in English, converted measurements or not... If there are any questions please feel free to leave a comment and I'll give you the translation or the conversions.

workin'

Its been a busy week but things have been going well. After my not-too-hot class on Monday afternoon I had 3 hours with medicine students on Tuesday morning.

It went really well, the students were in smaller groups (15 students) and although they aren't very good in English they are nice and fairly motivated. I think those groups are going to be my favorites.

I had my economy students yesterday and things went better than Monday. Its still hard because the groups are huge and the students are young (18 years old) and don't really like English.... I got a lot of "He have 18 years" when asking to present eachother... that needs to be fixed, it just plain hurts to hear!!

I don't work Thursdays which is wonderful! I got to sleep in and then I have some errands and classes to prepare before finishing up my work week with 2 hours of Econ tomorrow morning. So for all of you curious to hear how my classes are going they seem to be going pretty well :) I'm really tired all the time but I think its because its stressful to start of the year, I don't know the students or their level very well and have to put in a lot of time into the prep work. I think (based on past years) that after 2 or 3 weeks I'll get into the swing of things and it will be easier.

On a side note, I couldn't help using this picture for my blog... I did a google image search for "professor" and this came up! Brought back memories of those commercials! Remember??

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia!

Oh how I crack myself up... :)

long day

Whew its been a long day! I started off this morning waiting with the other immigrants in front of the prefecture at 8am (it doesn't open until 8:45 but if you don' t get there early and line up then all the tickets get taken and you have to come back another day!) only to be told that I will in fact have to go to Paris for my medical exam... shucks, I thought I could have gotten out of it for the third time but I guess my karma caught up with me... poo.

Afterwards I trucked up to Uni and finished my photocopies and lesson plans before meeting up with Benedicte for a chat. Then I had the lovely job of recording two articles for the English students to use in class... isn't it annoying listening to your voice on playback?? And how difficult it actually is to read articles, I kept stumbling over words and getting tongue-tied! But hopefully it will work out all right, they now have my beautiful accent digitalized!

From 4-5 I had my first class, it went alright, I guess as well as a 1st class can go... I ended up doing what I feared, running of out things to do and loosing steam but I just figured hey its college folks! Kids you can go 10 min early - enjoy! haha No, it wasn't horrible, in anycase I can see myself picking up steam and feeling more and more comfortable as time goes on. I feel bad for the Monday kids though! They will end up being my guinea pigs each week :-)

I'm off to get some chow and veg as all my classes are prepared for tomorrow and I'm beat!

This has been the recent addition to Milk Jam, signing off :-)