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Escape From LPV Mountain
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. That’s a fact you know.Last week when the going was really tough (due to the life hiccup we experienced) The Husband and I decided that we needed to get going… right out of town. We wanted to relax, just the two of us, no Gatz. That was my number one requirement. (Not that I don’t love The Husband’s brother from another mother, but heaven knows, sometimes a girl needs a break, and by girl, I mean me.)We decided on Sète because The Husband used to work next to Sète and loves it and I’ve never been. Plus he has been telling me all about some ‘meat restaurant‘ that’s there for ages (apparently all The Husband needs is the beach and a big slab of meat). I found a hotel with a rooftop pool that overlooks the Mediterranean. Heaven. And then The Husband exclaimed, “I’m going to lie by that pool all day” and I said, “me too” and then I thought to myself, “Wait a second, why are we going to drive three hours, just to lie by a pool, surely we could have a relaxing time, just the two of us, lying by a pool closer?“
And that my friends, is how we decided to go to Avignon instead.
After dropping Fifty off at camp, we arrived in Avignon at 11a.m. and in an attempt to distract me from Zara, The Husband took me to a wine bar for a glass of Rosé (vin blanc for him) and the sweetest little man came over and asked if he had heard correctly; were we indeed speaking English. We told him that yes, we were indeed speaking English. He was surprised because the wine bar is tucked away in a small side street and not many tourists find it. I explained that I wasn’t a tourist, I lived there, well not too far from there anyway and then we transitioned back into French and he told us all about how he was from India but had lived in France since he was eighteen (so I’m guessing for at least fifty years) but now he has prostate cancer and he inquired how old The Husband was, and then told him that as soon as he turns forty, he is to go straight to the hospital for a full body scan to make sure that he is completely healthy.
The point of all of this information about the conversation is this…. I understood everything that this little old man said perfectly. His accent was crystal clear to my non-French ears. So obviously, Indians in France are my people and I need to find an Indian expat group to hang with immediately.
A short while later we were exiting the walls of Avignon and checking into the hotel, and by 2p.m., I was lying poolside with a stack of magazines. It was perfect, it was exactly what we needed.
Later that night, when I was getting ready for dinner and thinking that I had reached the pinnacle point of relaxation (thanks in part to a ridiculously long bubble bath which for me, who hasn’t had a bathtub for almost three years, is the bees knees) and feeling almost delirious with happiness, I made the terrible mistake of saying it. I actually said; “I don’t think I could possibly be any happier at this moment, today has been perfect.”
And that’s when the universe decided that this all was poppycock, no one has the right to be that happy. So my hair got sucked up by the hairdryer motor and I had to cut a big ol’ chunk of it off.
True story.bisou
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let the sunshine in
Everyone loves sunshine, especially me. To this day I have no idea how I managed to live in Dublin for six years (in six years I think we got like, maybe thirty days of sunshine) without developing a serious vitamin D deficiency and a penchant for Emo-ness. And since sunshine is the cat’s meow, I was stoked when Jacqui at French Village Diaries, Lee I at Traveling Sardine Class, and Michel at Our House in Provence passed on this sunshine award to me within days of each other (how lucky am I?). I’ll take a little sunshine any which way I can get it.This particular sunshine comes with a set of questions to answer and it’s to be passed along to ten bloggers. Well you know me, I never follow the rules, except today, I’m going to break my own rule of breaking rules, by following the rules (see what I did there… I outsmarted myself).
Favourite Color? That depends on for what. For instance if we’re talking cars, I like black, for clothing, I tend to like neutrals because I’m boring, and in the home, I’ve been obsessed with pops of chartreuse. That said I’m going to say blue. I like the color blue.
Favorite Animal? I feel like if I answered anything other than, dog, Fifty would be cross and spend the weekend pouting and trust me, nobody wants a pouting doggy so, dog (but I really really love horses and zebras and elephants)Favorite Number? I want to say seven, but that’s such a cliché isn’t it? And here’s a question, what’s the deal with seven? Why do we like it? Since I don’t want to be a cliché, and I don’t really have a favorite number, I’m going to go with 14, The Husband’s old rugby number.
Favorite Drink? W I N E (but I am partial to a Grey Goose martini)
Facebook or Twitter? Facebook for the simple fact that I like to see photos of my friends and their children. I swear Facebook and Skype are an expat’s best friends. But, I do like to tweet (oh and Fifty wanted me to tell you that he likes Facebook the best and he really wants to be friends with all of you and if you want to be friends with him too, click here).
Your Passion? – Food and wine… learning about it, reading about it, enjoying it. Am I in the right country or what?
Giving or getting presents? Giving because seeing someone you love open a present that you just know will surprise them and that they’ll love gives me the warm and fuzzies.
Favourite Day? Before I moved to France I would have said Saturday, but here it’s definitely Sunday. There are no errands to run since everything is closed and we usually have lunch at Papa’s house that stretches about four hours (this directly corresponds with my passion above).
Favourite Flowers? Hydrangeas, peonies, and whatever wildflowers The Husband picks for me.
And now it’s my turn to spread a little sunshine:
bisou -
birthday blowout
It’s been almost two weeks already since The Husband turned thirty and we celebrated in the most obvious fashion… with a barbecue (of course we did) at Papa’s house.
{La Petite and her Papi}But it wasn’t just any old normal LPV barbecue… Aidan brought bacon wrapped jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese and some Ranch dip so the French people can find out what Texas tastes like.
And you know what? They loved the taste of Texas. Loved it. Especially the Ranch, which really shocked us. I mean, who would have thought the French would fall in love with the Hidden Valley? Next thing you know, they’ll be looking for sweet tea and corn bread.
The birthday boy was a wee bit tired. The night before, he and Honey Jr drove through the night transporting bees. The Husband only had two hours of sleep and somewhere between 15 and 20 bee stings. But at least he hadn’t been stung on the tenders like Honey Jr. had. That’s right; the tenders.
The eyes say it all. Look at how tired he is.(Sidenote: When The Husband says, ‘tired’ it sounds like ‘tiwed’. Aidan and I recently discovered that The Husband and her littlest pronounce their ‘R’s exactly the same. For example, they both pronounce my name like, ‘Sawa’. Bless.)And do you see those cupcakes? I made them. Papa’s Wife volunteered to buy the dessert but I said, no way Jose, birthdays need homemade treats. Even if they weren’t particularly pretty, they were delicious. And oh my heavens, making butter cream frosting without a mixer is dang hard.But they were indeed delicious. See, here’s Honey’s Honey and Honey Jr. enjoying the chocolaty, butter creamy deliciousness:
Notice how she is sitting on his lap? They are A L W A Y S on each other like that. Blech.After cupcakes we played Pétanque (well everyone else played, Aidan and I took that as our opportunity to sneak away for a glass of Rosé à deux).
There’s Brother-in-Law and Papa inspecting the boules before the game (it was hot, hence the reason Papa and La Petite ditched the shirts … they like to be twinkies).And after Pétanque it was time to hit up The LPV fête which of course, featured cool carnie rides for the kids. There’s The Husband’s mini-me (Aidan’s Littlest) and La Petite cruising around.
Good friends, BBQ, cupcakes, Pétanque, and a fête… it was close to perfect. The only thing that could have possibly made it anymore perfect, would have been if The Husband hadn’t been told he was too big for the rides.He’s all grown up now.bisou -
Diane says, “Baby you ain't missing no-thing"
{alternative post title: ‘If The LPV had a Dairy Queen, I’d swear I was in Texas‘}So maybe you’ve heard of cow tipping…
…but have you ever heard of hay rolling?bisouP.S. Disclaimer: no hay bales were injured in the writing of this post.P.P.S. Ten points if you can tell me what song the post title is from (disclaimer: the ten points don’t actually mean anything) -
ninety nine
Coucou mes amies. Things are settling down here a bit and a sense of normalcy feels like it might be around the corner. I’m a bit drained though, but I miss you and I miss being here. Since writing an actual blog post is completely out of the question, I thought I’d answer the ninety nine questions that were floating around the blogosphere awhile back. Seems easy enough for my drained brain.
{Rules: bold what you’ve done}
1. Started your own blog Really?
2. Slept under the stars I’m guessing that camping falls under this one, and since I’ve camped about a whole three times in my life, yes, I’ve slept under the stars (Me and camping are not friends, if God had wanted us to sleep outdoors, he wouldn’t have invented houses)
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii Here’s a fun fact: I ate my very first chicken mcnugget ever in Hawaii back in the 80’s
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain Since The LPV is located atop a mountain, I kinda climb one everyday.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris But oddly enough, not once since I’ve lived in France
13. Watched a lightening storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child Does Gatz count?
16. Had food poisoning I had food poisoning on the first night of my first trip to Paris. There was nothing romantic about it.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty I lived in New York yet I don’t think I ever did this, I can’t remember. Mom, help me out on this one? Update: confirmation from Mother – I have.
18. Grown your own vegetables I grew tomatoes for a brief second in Texas. I’d love to grow something now but with Papa’s garden and Brother-in-Law’s garden, we’ve already got courgettes, tomatoes and such coming out of our ears.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France Here’s another fun fact about me: I’m not a fan of the Louvre, now the grounds of the Palace I love, but the museum itself didn’t really do it for me.
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight I have pillow fights with Fifty. I usually win.
22. Hitch hiked During summers in Wexford, Ireland a long time ago I did. Everybody did. It was the only way to get from the town back to the caravan park.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill Everyone needs a Ferris Bueller day every once in awhile. Life would be dull without them.
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping You know what’s embarrassing? Going skinny dipping with a bunch of friends but when you all jump in the creek, you find out that it’s run pretty dry thanks to a hot Texas summer and the water only comes up to your knees and you all stand there awkwardly for a second before racing back to your clothes.
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse I feel like a might have when I was little. Mom, can I get a ruling? Update: confirmation from Mother – I have
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise I’m a cruise girl. Love a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community And I’ve seen the movie, Witness, so I feel like I get two points for this one.
36. Taught yourself a new language every. freaking. day.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke I hate karaoke, like loathe it, but I have done it once, and that was enough
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing Does it count if I was on the boat while others around me did the deep sea fishing? I was there, I just didn’t hold the pole.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person I wrote a little bit about it here.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain Probably, because it’s like always raining in Dublin so kissing someone in the rain is bound to happen at some point. But, if we’re talking about Nicolas Sparks style kissing in the rain, then the answer is no. That’s just dumb.
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason The Husband picks me flowers almost everyday, but he always tells me that Fifty does it. I don’t really believe him, due to Fifty’s lack of thumbs and all.
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt I never have but I’d like to learn. You know who can piece the hell out of a quilt? Kirsty.
73. Stood in Times Square And I did a New Year’s Eve there too. That should be on everyone’s bucket list.
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone knock on wood.
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life Does Fifty count?
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone When were these questions put together???
99. Been stung by a bee And I didn’t like it. Not one bit.The Husband and I are headed out of town this weekend.It’s time to get the hell out of dodge.à bientôt et bisou -
MIA
We’ve had a minor family emergency here in The LPV; not enough that anyone needs to be worried about me, but enough of one for me to be absent for a bit. So with that my friends, passez une bonne semaine et à bientôt.
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like sands through the hourglass
++ This is how Papa’s father’s day present was wrapped (Rio Bravo and The Dirty Dozen DVDs if you’d like to know). Try not to be jealous of my superior artistic talents, I’m like Basquiat, Harding, and Warhol all rolled into one.
++ Every morning around 4:00, there is a cat outside my bedroom window that judging by the noises it makes, is either dying or in heat. 4am EVERY MORNING.
++ And besides the cat dying/ in heat, there also seems to be some sort of cat gang war being waged on my terrace. I don’t know what they’re fighting about but they sure seem angry. As you can only imagine, a cat gang war being waged on his terrace is driving Fifty a little batty, so in turn, I’m going a little batty #timetobreakouttheBBgun
++ Last Saturday evening, two of Papa’s dogs got out and did a runner, Leo, the Jack Russell, and Rita, the Border Terrier. Leo came back, Rita didn’t, and she still hasn’t. Papa’s Wife thinks that with the heat and Rita’s chubby little body, she went off and had a heart attack somewhere. Papa and The Husband have gone out looking for her with no luck. Rita was a seasoned hunter, she knows the village and she knows where she lives, If she hasn’t come back, then it doesn’t look like she’s coming back. I hate to think of her dying alone so I’m going to pretend that she ran away and joined the circus instead.
++ The village fête is this weekend! I saw the bumper cars being set up when I went to the boulangerie yesterday. I was so happy, I did a little skip, and then was totally embarrassed because all the people sitting outside the bar having their coffee saw me, but then I didn’t care. (I want to get a bell, and run around the village ringing it while I shout, “THE BUMPER CARS ARE HERE, THE BUMPER CARS ARE HERE”… that’s normal, isn’t it?)
++ Pretty Little Liars… let’s discuss… does nobody care that Ariana is like 17 and Mr. Fitz is like 27? And what about the young doctor and Spencer in the first season? HELLO! I’m pretty sure this is illegal (although it does remind me of a certain relationship in my family that I won’t mention...)
++ Brother-in-Law and Child Bride went to Corsica last week and sent us a postcard which was super nice (I heart postcards) but they spelled The Husband’s name wrong. Did they just meet???++ Aidan & Co. are coming tomorrow and I couldn’t be more excited. Besides seeing Aidan who I haven’t seen for two months, I’m happy for Fifty to see Clementine. He’s been having a hard time adjusting to the new village, and the dogs here have been having a hard time adjusting to him (he was attacked twice last Saturday!) and I can tell he’s depressed. I think he misses his friends back in the old LPV so I’m excited that he’s going to get some playtime in with lil’ Miss Clementine, even if she is a kleptomaniac.
++ The reason Aidan & Co are coming is because of this… The Husband turns thirty tomorrow… T H I R T Y #itsaboutdamntime #youcanallstopthecougarjokesnow
bisou -
Welcome to The LPV B****
Up top if you got the OC reference. While we’re on the OC, lets take a moment to think about Ryan Atwood and his wife beaters… mmm… that’s nice. Unless you’re more of a Seth, in that case, insert sweater vest thought here… yes Mom, I’m looking at you.Today, I’d like to take you on a tour through The LPV version 2.0. Since the first thing you would see if you came to visit would be me (obviously), this is my front door. Please ignore the sad puppy in the window, he’s still looking for Honey Jr.
That there on the right is my back garden. It’s a bit of a wild mess, but we’ll get there.The new LPV has statues, pretty paths and interesting looking doors (the hay costs extra).
The church has an interesting looking door too…
Can’t you picture Robin Hood busting out of it, sword drawn?(If Robin Hood was French, actually existed and hadn’t been dead for like, six hundred years.)And how deliciously creepy is this building?
It’s been swallowed by a tree. That’s not normal at all.Just in case you think I’ve escaped the Nazi Ghost Zombies, I think I’ve found another one of their hideouts…
But I’m pretty sure kind and gentle faerieslive in this windmill, so it all evens out.bisou -
recipe for a bbq
How to have a successful BBQ in The LPV in eight easy steps:
Step 1: take one, shirtless Honey Jr. on a warm, sunny dayStep 2: grill an assortment of meats like; Merguez, Andouillette, Chipolata, and Toulouse sausagesStep 3: try not to gag when looking at or smelling the Andouillette
Step 4: add lots of friends
Step 5: and beer
Step 6: then have some cheese, because it’s France
Step 7: play Pétanque because it’s the south of France
Step 8: and make sure The Husband gets in plenty of quality time with his husband, Gatz.
et voila!bisou -
Sunday Lunch for Papa's Wife
I love dinner parties… going to them, throwing them. They’re like little projects and heaven knows, I love a project (implementation plans and all). Plus with the new house and proper kitchen I was dying to give one a whirl and Papa’s Wife was the perfect excuse for a whirl.Papa’s Wife works hard, she has a full time job then comes home and cooks for her husband and takes care of her ninety year old mother. She does the bookkeeping for Brother-in-Law’s business, watches La Petite every other weekend, and hosts the family every Sunday for lunch. Plus, she’s always been really nice to me so I thought it would be nice to serve her Sunday lunch for once.I’ve only cooked Sunday lunch for Papa’s Wife twice, the first time I had been living in Le Petit Village for a little over a month and was wracked with nerves, and then there was the time I made fajitas and everyone kept referring to the tortillas as crêpes (weirdos). This time, I wasn’t nearly as nervous and new exactly what I wanted…Like little nibbles for an appetizer, they’re so much more fun.See these cucumbers topped with herbed cream cheese…
source … fun!I stirred chopped basilic and ciboulette (basil and chives) into France’s answer to Philly Cream Cheese, St Môret, and topped cucumbers with it. C’est tout!And because they’re so damn good, I made the Mad Men deviled eggs that I had made for Gatz’s birthday again.
I think it’s the capers that make them so good. I love a caper.(And in case you couldn’t tell, the photos aren’t mine. I don’t take photos of my food because I’m terrible at it)Besides little nibbles, I knew that I wanted to make something that I could prepare a couple hours ahead and since Chicken Piccata can be prepared a couple hours ahead, and has capers in it, it seemed like a solid choice. Throw it on top of some linguine and voila (I can’t seem to find an appetizing photo of chicken piccata so please use your imagination for this one).Dessert was the best part though. On Friday night, Papa’s Wife had handed me a large, round, green, ripe fruit and told me to use it on Sunday before it went bad. I took the large, round, green fruit and decided that it was a very ripe mango and instead of just serving up slices of it (RE: boring) I googled, mango desserts, and came upon this bowl of heaven…
source Mangoes in Cinnamon Custard. Yes please. Saturday I went out and bought another mango (just in case, you know) and later that night made the custard.
The next morning, a few hours before lunch, I began to cut the mango and made the oddest discovery… that large, round, ball of fruit that Papa’s Wife had given me wasn’t a mango, it was a giant freaking avocado! An avocado the size of a softball! Now maybe mangoes don’t come in that size but neither do avocados. Color me shocked. Good thing I had my ‘just in case’ mango to save the day (ABP… always be prepared… take that freakish softball avocado).
But, if it wasn’t for that weird and freaky, softball sized avocado, I never would have made the most delicious dessert there ever was.
Thank you avocado.bisouP.S. all of the recipes can be found on my Pinterest boards; delish dish and sweets for my sweet.
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It's Me, Sara Louise 