Then I see this and want to cry...

Missing fantastic Mexican food already..!

Blue skies in Orange County

Where citrus trees abound!

Finally 1 day of sunshine!!!!

Sushi heaven!!!

California

Hello from California! I'm here for a quick 10 day trip to see family (dad, grandparents and a couple cousins.)
I got in to the San Francisco area Wednesday night and am up again at 5:30am today thanks to jet lag...
Yesterday we did a bunch of shopping, the weather was terrible with torrential rain allllllll day (apparently I brought it, it had been beautiful and warm up until now... Or so they say!)
I got to go to Target to get some jeans for MG and some adorable onesies for some new baby presents. Then with a quick trip to the Gap (trousers on sale for me!) and REI most of my shopping is done :-) lucky me I'm catching the winter sales all over!
Hopefully the weather is supposed to get a bit better over the next few days, which is good because it would be nice to take some walks around here. But some fantastic Tom Kha Kai soup & green curry chicken at the Thai place last night sure was a great way to warm me up!

Sent from my iPhone

At the airport...

Getting ready for my little trip to California!

I knew it was a bad idea...

My gut told me never never to go with Orange - but over Christmas they had the best iPhone 4 deal and I decided maybe things have changed...

Nope. Gah they are still a PAIN to deal with!!! Brief background: it all started when I switched to Orange just before Christmas to get the new iPhone. Because I moved my old number to the new SIM card there was about a 10 day delay when I had 2 phones, my old one and the temporary number with Orange in the new phone. Up until that point everything was working fine - both numbers worked and I just had to wait for my number to be transferred to the new SIM.

With my Orange plan I have 3 free numbers that I can add to have unlimited calls, otherwise I only have 1 hour talk time per month (which is fine, I never talk on the phone). But one of my good friends had some serious problems and I wanted to call her. So I added her number through the automated service in the afternoon while I was at work and then called her (hands free of course!) on my way home that evening.

The next morning my phone wouldn't connect, I couldn't get online, no SMS or phone access. I called Orange - they said that because I was still on a temporary number I couldn't add my free phone numbers but they would fix things, unblock my line that afternoon.

That never happened, nor did it happen the next day or the following day. Because of New Years Day I was without a phone for 5 days because while this was going on my number was transferred to my new SIM so I had nothing. No phone to respond to the Happy New Years SMS that I got, nothing.

The next week it all got sorted out, one simple phone call with someone who KNEW what they were talking about for a change. The confirmed that my "hors forfait" that I had racked up from this call that I had thought was free would be reduced from my monthly bill + 10 euros as a commercial guesture.

January's bill came, no reduction! Plus my 3 free numbers were still cocked up, I kept getting an SMS confirmation "your numbers have been added, thank you" followed by another SMS "we have received your confirmation to cancel your free numbers, thank you."

So I called AGAIN and got someone who said it was all sorted and that I would get a new SMS confirmation with all 3 numbers. I asked about my reduction I was supposed to get. He said that it had been too late to go on the January bill but it would be sorted for February. So.... in February I will see 22 euros deduction my bill? Yes. Loud and clear.

Today I get my February bill.

FULL PRICE!

I could scream, I knew I never should have gone with them!!!! Why oh why did I???? Guess who will spend the morning with them on customer service reminding them that their conversations are taped and I want my money?!? ME. Gah.

a few tips on French banking...

In the last couple of days I have read a few experiences on other people's blogs in regards to French banking and specifically direct debits.

My most recent job gave me a lot of insight into the way things work. I won't go into too much detail simply because the only words to describe things would bring my blog straight up in a Google search with those keywords and I would prefer to avoid that at the moment..

Anyway just a quick word of advice re French direct debits and bill paying.

For those of you who do not know there are several ways to pay a French bill:

1. cheque - FYI it is illegal in France to post date a cheque and if there is a discrepancy between the letters and numbers the spelled out amount always takes precedent.

2. TIP (the tear off bit at the bottom your bill can be sent in along with a cheque so the company has your reference number. Alternativly it can be signed, dated and returned to the company with a copy of your RIB details allowing the company to take a 1-off direct debit for the amount on the TIP.)

3. Direct debit - prélevement automatique. This is the most common means of payment and the most traditional way to set one up is to provide the company with a copy of your RIB details requesting a direct debit be set up on your account by the company. By doing so you authorize the company to call for the funds each month and the bank releases the funds accordingly. This can also be set up on your debit card but for the following reasons this is to be avoided at all costs!

The direct debit system works great - until you have a problem! You authorize the payment to leave and each month it does so. You do need to make sure there are sufficiant funds in the account to cover direct debits as your authorization permits them to take any amount which can put your account overdrawn and rack up fees. The reason being is that you have authorized the company to collect the funds and they do so as they see fit. Again, most of the time this works out fine, the company calls for the given amount each month and you do not need to do anything, no bills or cheques to deal with.

The problem occurs when you have a problem with the company. The bank does not pay out unless the company calls for the funds. When set up with RIB details the bank is able to put a block on the direct debit if need be - faire opposition de prélevement - which simply blocks the company from accessing your account. This does not cancel services or contracts you hold with the company and it is the only thing the bank can do to stop any outgoing direct debits. There used to be a charge for doing so but I think a law was passed to prevent banks from charging you. If you have problems with a company not respecting a contract you have with them and direct debiting your account for the wrong amounts or after a contract has been cancelled the first step is to send a registered letter and the second step is to ask your bank to put a block on the direct debit. In the meantime nothing prevents you from paying the company by cheque/cash etc until things are sorted. If a disagreement is settled and you want the direct debit to continue you need to ask your bank to lift the stop - demander une main levée de prélevement.

It is important to know that while you can have several contracts with a single company (2 different cell phones, internet vs. landline, different taxes set up for the tax office, 2 homes both through EDF etc...) if you put a stop on the direct debit the bank cannot differentiate the contracts you may have with a company and will stop all direct debits to that company (this includes TIP payments as they fall under the direct debit catagory even if they are not ongoing).

**However if the direct debit is set up on your card there is nothing the bank can do. Even if you stop your card, block it, lose it, declare it stolen and it is officially cancelled by the bank the company can still have an ongoing direct debit on the card that will continue to debit your account.

If a direct debit has already gone through your account there is a small window (usually 2-3 business days) that your bank has to pull back the direct debit. This will be done automatically due to insufficiant funds in your account but can also be done at your request (written or in person) but you will likely incur bank charges for the privilage. If your account is overdrawn the direct debit will eventually be rejected and recredited to your account. In this case the company will obviously notice that they have not been paid and will try to represent in a few weeks time, again incurring you with more bank charges. This will not make you interdit bancaire.

Interdit bancaire is only if you bounce a cheque. The reason being is that that cheque is a debt you owe the person you wrote it to (think an IOU). Until that debt is paid and officially confirmed to the bank you will be blacklisted for all of your French accounts at your bank or any other accounts you hold at other French banks (via the Banque de France) for up to five years. Again, this is only due to a bounced cheque, going overdrawn by other means (debit card payments, direct debits etc) have no effect other than racking up charges (FYI if you go to the main page of your bank's website I can pretty much guarantee that all of their charges will be listed in a pdf document under "tarifs principals" or "frais bancaires / nos tarifs" etc).

I hope this little "tutorial" wasn't too confusing or long but I thought it might help some newbies out there or even some of us that have been around for a while! :-)

ps. I hope there are not too many spelling mistakes, always a shortcoming of mine and spellcheck via blogger is on the blink...

culinary adventure

A couple of weeks ago I attempted this to make a salt-crusted chicken after reading the recipe on Chocolate & Zucchini. It turned out fabulous! So easy to make and the chicken was to die for, the breast was really juicy (I won't use the "m" word here but it was!) and it really was tender with lots of flavor.

So today I took it a step further, I defrosted a pheasant that our neighbor shot a few months ago and gave to us. I decided that after reading online game birds can dry out quite easily so I thought this is probably the easiest way to do things.

Here is the bird just after coming out of the oven still in it's salty crust (which you discard once cooked).


And here is the bird all cooked, there was tons of juice inside and it smells really good but to be honest there is something about eating a game bird... I mean it looks kind of human and well, you can see the bullet hole when you turn it over. In all logic this bird lived a much better life than caged birds raised for meat but this is the first time I've ever cooked something caught in the wild (aside from fish) and I will eat it when I get the courage but just look at it!

I'll let you know how it tastes and if its good maybe one day I'll atempt the hunk of wild boar we also have in the freezer (gifted by one of Mystery Guest's customers)... recipe ideas??

evening conversation

MilkJam: "hey, Starbucks introduced a new size, as big as a Big Gulp, the 'Trenta'."

Mystery Guest: "humm".

MilkJam: "Do you know how big that is??? You can fit a bottle of wine in it!"

Mystery Guest: *rolls eyes*

MilkJam: "Who would make something so big??".

Mystery Guest: "Someone who can't advertise with sex..."

MilkJam: "true...."

foggy morning

But the birds are chirping :) If I really had the motivation I'd get out of my pjs and go down the road where the sun is rising and my shot isn't blocked by the telephone poles... but I'll save that for another day!

relaxation

It hasn't been quite a week since I finished work last Thursday and I'm loving it!! Slowly getting caught up on my sleep, admin stuff and joining a gym. It's not a New Year's resolution but an unemployment resolution. After 18 months of sitting in the car, sitting at a desk and sitting on the couch in the evening it's time to get a move on! More than anything it helps me have a purpose to my day. It is such a hard thing, changing schedules from go-go-go non-stop to ... um, well I could do that today or tomorrow, or the day after...

It's all about balance and trying to find that balance.

I had been contacted last Fall about a teaching job that I couldn't accept as I was under contract and so I called him back and have a job interview on Friday. I have no idea if they even have any hours for me but I want to get as many interviews as possible, always good experience! Need to update my CV and if this doesn't work out I'll contact the school district to get back into subbing.

Anyway it sure is nice to just rest and do all the things I had been wishing I had the time for before! Oh and reminder for my future self, when you decide to play with the hair straightener just for fun to see if you can get some Farrah Fawcett wings going remember that those parts are hot and scorching off your fingerprints is not a good idea... besides those wings look a little ridiculous on me!

ch-ch-changes!

Well that's it folks, I've finished work! My time filling in for Bridget Jones comes to an end February 28th but I put my paid holidays at the end of my contract so I could stop work early and not drive that long drive everyday (118km each way for 18 months, I'm a little tired!). So as of Thursday I am on holiday until my contract comes up, then it's time to get another job! The HR does not want to give me a full time job in a local branch because I do not have branch exprience but cannot give me another CDD because I have already maxed out my CDD options. They said they will call me if a maternity leave contract comes up... I'm not holding my breath.

Looks like in March I'll go back to teaching at least for a while but I'm hoping to find something else more long term. At least I've got the teaching to fall back on as well as the unemployment payments. I also planned in a quick 10 day trip to California to visit my grandparents and my dad. Can't wait to see some sun instead of February drizzle!

New development in my quest to become a Frenchie:



The Prefecture called me Thursday afternoon and said that he was very sorry but there was a paper he forgot to have me fill out when I dropped off my application last July... Could I come by to do it? So I gave up my relaxing Friday to drive down to the Prefecture... an hour each way for a 15 minute meeting. Oh well. He was really nice and said that things should be moving along! He thinks its a matter of a mere 2 to 3 months before I get the official decision but he said he thinks there's no reason for me to worry - I hope he's right!

Here's to job hunting and a positive reply from the French government!

Driving into the sunset :-)

Coming to an end..

Wow the job I started back in Sep '09 is finishing up! It's a CDD contract and instead of getting my congès paid at the end of my contract (which would then be counted as income & taxable) I chose to use them at the end to finish early. Finally got the last calculation of my days off and will have my last day January 27th instead of February 28th.

Given that technically I'll be on vacation in February instead of on unemployment I've decided to take advantage of the low fares and go to California for 10 days to visit my dad & grandparents. Something to look forward to in dreary February is always nice :-)

So the new job hunt is officially on!! I'm looking for: something closer to home (current job is 118km away!!) and something a bit more challenging/involving.

I can't wait for the day where I'm excited to get out if bed and go to work... Please tell me this isn't a dream!

So anyone have any job leads??? :-)

Happy New Year 2011!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas full of gingerbread men, apple pies and twinkling lights.

Prepping for Christmas

Getting ready for Christmas MG and I went into Cherbourg yesterday. We stopped by the little Christmas market for some vin chaud and then walked around the stores. I love shopping in Cherbourg, it is a small town but all the main chain stores are there plus some fun boutiques. Because it is small even on a crowded Saturday it is never too crowded :)
We stopped in a coffee store that does fantastic coffees and teas and I discovered that they also do flavored coffees! I haven't hardly seen any stores in France that sell flavored coffee beans! They had hazelnut, vanilla, mint-chocolate and brownie! I bought some hazelnut and having been sipping that goodness this morning.
We also stopped by But and picked out a new mattress (you know yours has bit the dust when you wake up in the morning with a sore back, a butt print and realize staying at friend's houses that their fold out sofa is more comfortable then your bed at home...)
We found a great one on sale in a Queen size 160cm (ours is a double, standard 140cm French bed) so we got that as well as the new bed to put it on! Only sad part was that they didn't have any more delivery trucks so we have to wait until Tuesday to pick it up... I can't wait!!!
Otherwise most of the Christmas shopping is done, just a few more gifts to pick out... :)

Rain, rain, SO happy to see you!

The rain has come and with it the snow has gone! Woooo!!! Managed to leave the house for the first time since Tuesday. It's pouring buckets but I've never been so happy to see it rain :)

Morning sunrise

I had a dream last night that it rained and all the snow melted away - alas it snowed more! My car is buried in 45cm of snow and MG was able to catch a ride to work. It is amazingly beautiful so I'll go outside this afternoon for more pictures but I am so ready for it to melt! At least these last few days have given me all the time in the world to surf and get my Christmas presents ready :)

snow day

I called in yesterday, the main road into Caen wasn't even clear or advisable according to the radio. I sure am glad I stayed home! It snowed alllll day, with a bit of sun mid-afternoon and then MORE snow! MG could barely get home, he left his car at the end of the driveway. Then last night even MORE snow again and we are totally stuck. MG is getting a shovel to try and dig his car out and put our 1 pair of chains on it to get to work. I'm going to call in again, it's just not worth it to fight my way to work (118km each way) only to turn around and fight it home again.
I had asked my manager and she said that if we are snowed in and out of days off for this year we can take them from next year which is good, I would hate to think I'm not only stuck here but loosing money from my paycheck!
Snowdays are fun but not being able to go out and enjoy a day off cause the car is stuck in the driveway isn't as fun. Oh well, lots to do around the house that I had been putting off... !

winter wonderland

Winter has come early to Normandy! (and the rest of France according to Facebook) On Thursday there was heavy hail and then it snowed all afternoon, about 3inches. You can imagine the panic and people all jumped in their cars to try and get home. It took me 45 minutes to drive 1.8km because there was bumper to bumper traffic and then the snow and the ice had people slipping all over the place. Made it home because the snow was totally aimed at Caen and as soon as I got out of the city it was dry and perfect road conditions t he rest of the way home.
Friday the sun came out and melted some of the snow so I was able to drive into Caen after work to partake in our annual Thanksgiving dinner!

The lovely Sarah came in from Paris and then came home with me afterwards for a relaxing weekend in Normandy. Little did she know snow was on the menu!

Yesterday it snowed all morning but fortunatly melted away in the afternoon so we were able to escape and drive up to get some groceries - 25km away by Cherbourg they had over 6 inches of snow!!!

And this morning we woke up to a lovely hard frost that you see in the picture, the cows munching away and their breath steaming. Hopefully we won't have any more snow! It is beautiful but when you live out in the middle of nowhere like we do it makes life really difficult!

Provence

Just a little snapshot from our time in Provence... After many adventures (including the recent strikes...) I've got 500 pictures to sort through from 4 days down in the South last week! You can almost smell and taste those pictures...

Fwd: Le Sud

That's odd, the rest of my text from yesterday didn't post... Imagine it between the pictures!
>
> The b&b guy trying to get his Nikon battery charger to work with my Canon... Système D at it's best folks... No, it's not a bomb! Didn't work too well however so I bought a travel charger.
>
>
> Today we went to Pont du Gard, St Rémy (where Van Gogh's mental hospital is) and les Baux - beautiful! All of the sights were just breathtaking!
>
>
> Oh, and did I mention the food???
>
> 2 more full days, I highly recommend Provence in October, warm weather, fall colors & no tourists!
>
> Sent from my iPhone

Le Sud

Mom & I are down in Provence for a long weekend. Managed to get down by train on Thursday with no major hiccoughs despite the strikes going on right now (we'll see about being able to get back on Monday!). Staying in an adorable b&b in the Luberon surrounded by olive groves.

Yesterday we visited Gordes and the area around.

les journee du patrimoine

This post has been a while coming! It's just been busy around here but the weekend of September 18/19 was so fantastic I didn't want this post to never see the light of day :)

My Dad and Anne came to visit the week before and sadly they left just before these "heritage days" as I guess you would call them, because I know they would have loved all of the activities as much as I did! Plus all the visits were free! We did a couple of tours last year.

First stop on Saturday was a guided tour of the stacks in Valognes. They only open once a year or for specially organized guided tours (but you have to be part of a school to get access to those ones). The librarian was really nice and very interesting. She explained the history of the library and it's collection (larger collection of medieval books than that of the Univeristy library in Caen!) Apparently one of the members of the bibilical school in the 17th century was an avid book collector and donated his collection to the church and should the school be closed to the city of Valognes. They have an extensive collection of pre-printpress books, all orginal maniscripts including quite a few illuminated ones.

It was unbelievable just to stand there, put on gloves and turn the pages! Fantastic!

Next, on Sunday Mystery Guest and I went to a few other locations. First stop was the castle in Bricquebec and had a guided tour of the castle.

We even got to go inside the tour and climb all the way to the top! That was fantastic especially since the inside of the tour is totally empty, the original flooring was wooden and has rotted away and not restored. You do really need to be on a specially guided tour to get the inside view. The guide told us some great tidbits on the history of the castle and live back then... for example, you know when you go to a museum and the beds are teeny tiny? "'Cause they were so small back then"? Actually people would sleep sitting up!! Only the dead lie down so the beds didn't need to be very long anyway!

The view from the top of the castle. Inside the castle in another building was a small museum with Norman life. One of the documents cracked me up... I don't know why but back in the day when using a printing press there was no difference between the printed letter "s" and the letter "f".... Case and point:

Je fouffigné.... LOL
Afterwards we trundled down to Saint Sauveur which has an equally cool castle as well as a museum for one of its well known writers (had never heard of him before moving here). I had wanted to see the museum but never wanted to pay the hefty entry fee. I'm glad I didn't pay! The museum is great, its really modern, lots to read and see and well organized. The only problem is that if you don't know who this guy is or the books he wrote it really isn't that interesting.

The bar across the street is named for one of his novels:

We finished up the day again with a guided tour of the castle in Saint Sauveur, again with a view from the top tour!

As well as a guided tour of the local abbey which had an amazing history of its own. There had stood an abbey in this city since the 10th century (when it was in the castle grounds) and on this location since the 11th or 12th century. When the abbey was abanndoned it fell into ruins and even was pillaged for the stones through the 18th century when a nun decided to restore the church to its former glory and add the adjoining building.

Again the guide was fabulous and really explained the history in amazing detail.

It was a long day but we go to see so much and it really makes you realize just how much history is within a 15km drive from the house... I love it!

seven years

Inspired by Ksam's post yesterday I had to go double check my own carte de sejour to see when I arrived... 1 day later! Today is my own 7 year Franciversary!

I don't think I ever denied the possiblity that I might stay longer than the initially expected 1 year but I guess I never thought I'd be here permanantly and on the road to citizenship (fingers crossed!)

But here I am, almost 29 and loving living out in the home we built with Mystery Guest. I'm still looking for the job that I'll wake up excited about but all things considered I'm sure that will work itself out, just need to keep an eye out! I guess that's where my "itch" is these days, could be worse though :)

So here's to all of us 7-year Franciversaries! I know there are a few more of you out there!

lawn tutorial

How to make a lawn tutorial.

Step one: rent a rototiller from the local hardware store, 25 euros for a half day.
Step two: rototill the dirt.

Step three: call on the willing father and girlfriend to rake the rototilled dirt taking out stones and big old weeds, allow for a whole day for both sides of the driveway.

Step four: give girlfriend a break since there are only 2 rainjackets when it starts raining buckets and so she can take pictures and nurse her blisters.

Step five: mix the grass seeds with fertilizer and sow the dirt.

Step six: take the roller that the grass store lent you and roll the seeds into the dirt.

Step seven: sit back and wait for the grass to grow... 1 week later we have a little green haze starting!

Summertime

It's the middle of August and the rain is coming down outside. Mystery Guest told me that you always get 1 good month in the summer - either July or August but not both. Well, unfortuantly he hit that on the nose! July was hot, sunny and beautiful and we were both stuck at work! MG has 3 weeks off in August (I got 10 days) and the weather has been iffy with some nice days but nothing amazing. Today the rain is really coming down so I thought I'd share some of my weekend shots from back when the weather was better!

I couldn't resist throwing in a ton of those hydrangea shots... they just explode like fireworks around here!

pasta

I made fresh pasta today. It's probably the third time that I've made it. The first time was kind of a bust... the second was pretty good and now I think I'm getting a hang of it. Plus the recipe couldn't be easier, for ever 100g of flour you'll need 1 egg. So easy to multiply! I used 100g of wheat flour and 100g of spelt flour, then of course 2 eggs.

I'd love to try and start adding different flavors to it, spinach etc. Maybe try different shapes etc too. I made the pasta for dinner tonight with sauteed eggplant and garlic shrimp. YUM.

14 juillet

Last night Mystery Guest and I drove down to check out the fireworks display in the nearest town (4km away). We got there as the sun was still going down, and it wasn't really dark until 11:30 or so. It was still warm out and they had a buvette, DJ and all the families were out and about with the kids playing on the grass and swingsets at the foot of the castle. It was nice and summery, better than some 4th of Julys I remember where we were huddled up under blankets for the tail end of the Pacific Northwest's "June gloom"... !

We ran into our neighbors and sat up on the rockwall with them to get ready for the fireworks. They were supposed to start around 11 but ended up starting around 11:30. The medieval castle is just the most amazing backdrop to the firework display!Here are a couple shots, I had fun testing out my tripod (a Christmas gift) and getting used to the manual setting on my camera. For a first attempt I thought they turned out pretty good :-)

Frenchified

Today I dropped off my file to ask to be naturalized a French citizen. I asked for several different reasons, many of them private but mostly because I really feel that France has become my home, its where I became a grown up.

The procedure itself has changed since July 1st. This basically gives the local government much more power over the decision rather than just processing the file. Now the local government gives a yes or no answer, passes along the file to the national government who validates it.

The main reason for this change is that in the past it used to take 12-18 months to hear back. Now because everything is done when you first drop off the file it is supposed to speed up the process and not have the national government re-do all the work that the local government had already done. They said it should cut things down to 8-9 months! If it's under a year I'll consider that progress!

So its all out of my hands now, the guy was really positive sounding and said that there shouldn't be any reason why things don't work out. The only thing I can think of is that I only have a CDD (temp contract) and not a "real" job with a CDI contract but we totalled up all my jobs and in the 6.5 years that I've been here I've worked a total of 5.5 years. Basically all those summers I was between jobs added up to around 1 year but that's not bad.

And now the wait begins... fingers crossed!

Happy cows

Driving to work I saw 3 cows with their backs to me side by side with their tails swinging back and forth in rhythm.. Totally made my day!

Sent from my iPhone