Tag: French Sabbatical

First, I have to admit that we (read: I) didn’t eat the quail eggs yesterday. I’m having them tonight as part of a salad. Once we got everything rolling with dinner last night, especially when Melinda made herself some scrambled eggs of the chicken variety, quail eggs had less appeal. She didn’t want leftover duck-lentil stew, I guess, even though it’s just as good, if not better, the second time (like possum stew, right Scott?). Anyway, I just got back from a quick walk to our neighborhood store. It’s a glorious evening, in the upper 60’s. Our next door neighbor, who spends the weekend working on motorcycles, & I chatted for a few minutes (in French). He has a daughter in Montréal where, he said, it’s minus 10 degrees (celsius). We’re at 19 (celsius) in Nantes. We agreed that we like it here.

The baguette in my hands is warm from the oven. And I’m wearing a backpack full of groceries (remember, the stores are closed on Sundays so I picked up some produce and chicken for tomorrow). I also picked up a small can of coq au vin. I just can’t help myself. Coq au vin… in a can… It has such a nice ring to it.

Oh, one more thing. Chloe is trying to forbid me from bringing rabbit into the house for the purpose of consuming it. I may have to try it while she’s at school.

I realize that I quite often post about the crazy food items I find (pig brain, which I did NOT try, being the craziest I’ve seen, at least according to me). Yesterday at the store I spotted hard-boiled quail eggs in the “exotic foods” section, part of the meat department at Leclerc. While at the store I couldn’t remember the English translation for “cailles” (quail, I now know), but decided to buy them anyway. They will be offered as part of tonight’s dinner, along with the leftovers of the week and a caprese salad I am fixing. I may add the smoked duck I bought with the quail eggs, perhaps as part of tonight’s apéritif. It is Friday, after all, so I’m thinking we should up the food experimenting a notch.

Speaking of food experimenting, near the quail eggs and smoked duck, but not technically in with the exotic foods, was rabbit. I really want to try it but the rest of the family is against it. I spotted a small cut of rabbit meat, all vacuumed sealed and ready for me. It looked kind of like a chicken breast. But I didn’t buy it. The quail eggs and smoked duck were enough for this trip. Oh, and the steak tartare, of course.

Two things to note today. First, this self-portrait was taken a couple of days ago when Melinda and I were in the center of town. We spent some time at the Passage Pommeraye, another of the famous landmarks in Nantes. It’s referred to as a shopping mall, but I have to say that I find that to be a complete insult to its beauty and charm. I mean, can anything be called a shopping mall that was built in the 1840’s? For you US history buffs, that means it was around before the Civil War, before Lincoln was killed. That means it’s been around since before Chloe was born, too! Hard to imagine a shopping mall pre-dating Chloe… Okay, okay, most malls in the Seattle area pre-date Chloe. But Abraham Lincoln? None in Seattle, I dare say.

Okay, second, what do you think of the Polaroid effect on today’s photo? Melinda and I have been working on the launch of our Kind Living project (the first newsletter goes out on April 1 – sign up here) and she wants the images we use to have a vintage feel. She found this nifty little photo manipulation software called ToyCamera that fits the bill and I used it on today’s photo. Pretty cool!

Ella said she’s been wanting to “dine” at a lunch truck and today seemed like the perfect day. First, it’s Wednesday so she only has a half day of school. On top of that, it’s a beautiful day today, in the mid 60’s, making eating outside ideal. Third, well, I guess I don’t really have a third, unless you think hanging out with Melinda & me and meeting Chloe at the edge of the University of Nantes campus constitutes another reason that made today a perfect day for dining at the lunch truck. You’ll have to ask Ella.

So, yes, this particular lunch truck sets up right on the edge of the University of Nantes campus, just a few strides from the tram stop Chloe uses to get to school. Initially, it was just going to be Ella, Melinda and me but while we were on our way Chloe called and was able to join us. She recommended the “L’Americain Avec Frites,” saying it was excellent. Apparently, that was enough to convince all of us so I ordered four, not really knowing what to expect. It turns out to be a baguette filled with a hamburger patty cut into quarters and french fries. That’s right, the American sandwich is made up of hamburger AND fries on a baguette (are you getting this – the fries are ON the sandwich). I referred to it as the anti-Atkins sandwich.

So you know, I’d order something different next time we dine at the lunch truck, maybe the cheeseburger listed on the menu. I think when eating a hamburger/french fry sandwich I need me some cheese. ON the sandwich.

Please meet Aurélie, my French professor. Actually, she works in our favorite neighborhood bakery and is quick with a smile when packaging our pain au chocolat, pain au raisin, baguettes, croissants, and a myriad of other things that make up the RDA of pastry items in France. She has also been extremely friendly these many months to Melinda and me, always putting up with my broken French, helping set my straight when I refer to a baguette as a “he” instead of a “she.” I bet you didn’t know that a baguette is female, did you, while bread itself is male. (Oh, if you think assigning gender to objects is funny, you really should find the David Sedaris essay “Me Talk Pretty One Day” from the book of the same name. Melinda, Chloe, Ella & I listened to it at dinner not too long ago and not only practically choked on our food but nearly lost bladder control. It’s that funny, especially if you are an American in France.)

So, yes, Aurélie helps me with my French. Today’s lesson involved learning that if you want your loaf of bread sliced you ask for it to be “trancher.” You see, today I asked for it to be “couper,” which means cut, as in, “Can you cut my bread, please?” It got the point across, sure, and Aurélie was very nice about it and all. I mean she could have taken a knife and cut the bread in half, right? Instead, she even explained that the machine used to slice the bread is called a “trancheur,” hence asking for the bread to be “trancher.” Maybe Freddy Kruegger wants his bread “couper.” Me, I like mine “trancher.”

Being born in Nebraska in the 1960’s, the idea of “designer” anything may be beyond me. But living with Melinda, let alone living in France, I think I’m getting lots of opportunities to learn. This afternoon Melinda and I ventured out in order to experience the beautiful springtime sun. We ate a delicious sandwich in the center of town, next to the fountain at La Place Royale (go look at this link and you’ll see a photo of the fountain – we literally were sitting at the foot of it, what would be smack dab in the center at the bottom of the photo). Having soaked up some sun, and having watched a man next to her eat some fancy frozen treat, Melinda had a hankering to finally try what we’ve been told is the best fancy frozen treat in the world. Off we went to the shop.

Again, I’m from Nebraska. I was born in the 1960’s. My family ate something called “ice cream.” We bought it in the freezer section at a place called “Safeway.” It came in a “carton.” We took some out with an “ice cream scoop.” If I was lucky, I got an “ice cream cone” (otherwise I ate it from something called a “bowl”). Those are the terms I know.

The shop we entered looked more like a Starbuck’s than a Baskin-Robbins. It had maybe 10 flavors, all beautifully arranged, not 31 messy cardboard canisters packed in ice and served to you by an overworked teen. The workers in this shop were professionals. Both greeted Melinda and me with a “Bonjour, Monsieur-Dame” and were only too eager to serve us. Stymied by not finding “Orange Sherbert,” I passed but Melinda got a “petit” of two things I cannot pronounce, let alone spell, a tiny dish that cost 3,30 € (which based on today’s USD/Euro exchange rate is something like $1000, I think). I didn’t see the phrase “ice cream” anywhere in the store. They serve gelato al naturale.

Go on, learn more about it yourself. The shop is called Amorino and they even have a Facebook page (of course). Oh, and whatever you call what they serve, it IS really, really good. Melinda shared some.

As Melinda says, “Let’s get fired up! Let’s get fired up! Let’s get fired up! Hey!!” Fired up for what? Cleaning, of course. There is nothing more fun than cleaning, right?! I just finished scrubbing the third of three toilets, taking time out to post to the blog. Moving to the office, I caught Melinda mopping the kitchen floor. Of all the things to get caught at, I bet mopping the floor is not near the top of anyone’s list.

So why this blast of domesticity? Well, tomorrow morning our landlord, Madame Fieni, is dropping by. She and her husband (and teenage daughter) are on sabbatical in California this year, but Madame Fieni is back in Nantes for a week or so. She needs to swing by the house to pick up a few things. And we thought it would be nice if the house looked presentable for her. Hmm, come to think of it, “presentable” may be an optimistic word. “Recognizable” is probably more apt. You see, we think Madame Fieni is a better housekeeper than Melinda and me. Combined. With one hand tied behind her back.

So anyway, we’ve been cleaning for several hours, well, since we got home from Manon’s volleyball tournament (they finished second). That would be for about 3 1/2 hours. That’s 7 hours of labor plus whatever time Chloe and Ella contributed before moving on to do homework. Funny, their homework became much more appealing once the cleaning supplies came out. I wonder if there is a parenting tip in there somewhere…

Yes, I know I’m posting late today and I apologize to anyone who has had her/his schedule thrown off because of it. Months ago my mother-in-law told me she became worried if I didn’t post to the blog by a certain hour. Since then I’ve tried to be timely, thinking others may worry, too. In truth, I’m sure she is the only one.

I am pleased to report that Laurent accompanied me to tonight’s hockey playoff game (today’s photo was taken between the second & third periods near the concession stand, where we had ventured to buy a beer). Melinda and Frédérique opted instead to go to Ikea, a decision that I think will be flagged at Canadian customs should either try to visit Canada any time in the future. I tried to warn them, but Ikea still won out. In terms of the game, it was a good one. Nantes scored 22 seconds in and was the better team throughout, but had to settle for a 5-5 tie. Now you North American hockey purists will be asking how a playoff hockey game can end in a tie, maybe even lamenting the fact that I was denied sudden death overtime (one of the greatest expressions in sports parlance). But in the Quarter Finals here in France it’s a two games series, with the team with the most goals after the two games moving on. So tonight it was Game One and a 5-5 tie, the old “kissing your sister” result.

Of great entertainment was the announcement of the Stars of the Game. Moments after the game ended, the teams each lined up on their respective bluelines and the *best* player from each team was announced. As it was made, a young woman walked out on the ice to present awards to each player for being chosen. What do you think the award was? Remember, we’re in France… A bottle of wine, of course.

Let’ see. There have been a lot of these, I think, and by that I mean a lot of really significant projects on which Melinda and I have collaborated over the years. I’ll start by mentioning the project known as Chloe. Unveiled in 1993, this project turned 18 recently (as you know) and will be attending Quest University in British Columbia, Canada this fall.

Soon after Chloe came the project known as Puget Sound Community School. Unveiled in 1994, PSCS is the most brilliant middle & high school on the planet, the school you wish you attended when you were a teen.

In 1996 we unveiled another of our projects, this one known as Ella. This project is extremely kind-hearted and has an affinity for fan fiction, as I mentioned yesterday, Glee, and Taylor Swift. Were these things in the project blueprints? No matter.

And in 2011 Melinda are about to unveil our latest project, No, no, she’s not pregnant! Geez. We are collaborating on expanding and hopefully monetizing all the online kindness class work I’ve done over the years. As she did with the projects mentioned above, Melinda named this new one, calling it Kind Living (with the tagline “Enhance Your Day”). Today’s photo is of her hard at work at one possible website design and template for an email that will be sent in the next day or so (sign up here to get the email). I write the content. Melinda makes it look pretty.

Was that the formula for Chloe and Ella, too?

That’s the first line Ella has to perform tomorrow in a very short school play in her French class (which is like an English class in the US, you know). Partners were chosen and each duo wrote their own script. Ella’s teacher both wisely and generously allowed her to be part of a three-person team, understanding that the exercise was a little over her head. So Ella’s two partners wrote the script and included three lines for her to memorize and recite. They were rehearsing today.

So just what is Ella saying? Well, if I understand it correctly, this first line means, “What’s going on here?” To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what’s happening in their play (making this line quite apt for me to say, perhaps). I think it may have something to do with a handbag or a wallet or a purse or something. Apparently Ella’s character doesn’t think much of this item as her second line is, “Cette pochette ridicule.” (This bag is ridiculous.) But her best line is the last one, which she is supposed to deliver with an angry tone. She says, “Il y a des choses inutiles et imbécile, comme vous!” (It is something useless and stupid, like you!).

In the foreground of today’s photo is the handwritten script tucked neatly in Ella’s school binder. She looked up from reading Harry Potter fan fiction (or something like it) on her iPad for me to snap this picture.