Cooking Fun in France

On Thursday I got to enjoy a fun day of good food here in France. I met Janine Springall of l'Assiette de Paris (www.cookinparis.eu) during ASP's Living Skills Workshop - something the school puts on 2x a year to help people new to France and ASP. Janine does a great talk at the workshop about grocery shopping, food, etc. that really helps people get oriented to their new lives here in Paris. Things sure are different! She also teaches cooking classes at her home, and they can be really fun, informative and delicious.

I went with my friend Julie to Janine's house for a class based on fall flavors. There were 2 other women there - an Australian (who has lived in the US amongst many overseas assignments) and a South African. I always love meeting other people at Janine's classes from all over the world - we share good food, wine, and stories of times in France. The four of us sat at the horseshoe counter while Janine worked behind it - her classes aren't hands-on, but I really enjoy them partly for that reason. I'm a pretty decent cook on my own, and doing all the chopping and prep work are my least favorite part of cooking. I really enjoy sitting back, soaking up her expertise and getting answers to any questions we may ask. Janine's kitchen is quite amazing for France (where the kitchens are usually small), and we learned that she bought her kitchen first and then built her house around it. A woman after my own heart! I really loved each and every dish we made this day - it was one of my favorites so far.

Janine lives further out West in the country and the view is always beautiful on the long-ish drive to Janine's house.

Janine has all sorts of beautiful dishes and serving sets as she is also a caterer

Our first dish was a Root Vegetable Salad with Crème Fraiche Vinaigrette. I don't normally eat beets, but I actually enjoyed them in this dish!

Next was Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, Dried Cranberries, Toasted Hazelnuts and Brown Butter Sage Sauce. I think this was definitely a favorite of everyone's, it was so flavorful. This would be a great Thanksgiving dish as it contains many of our traditional Thanksgiving foods in one dish.

This Chestnut-Apple Soup was very rich, smooth and again, full of flavor. I had leftovers for lunch today and it was just as good the second time around - though I missed the pumpkin seed garnish.

The main dish was Seared Duck Breast, Pumpkin Purée, and Fennel Crisps with Madeira Jus. I haven't eaten duck very often - I think only once in the US, but I've been trying to eat more since I moved here. France knows how to do duck well! Fennel is another thing I'm not super fond of, but these fried crisps were yummy.

To finish it all off we enjoyed a Pumpkin Bread Pudding. I was so full I thought I would just have a bite and take the rest home, but once I started I just couldn't stop until it was all gone.

Of course you aren't meant to serve all of these things at the same time if you were cooking dinner, but it gave a great view of all the different ways you can use winter/root veggies. These were all so good, I wouldn't hesitate to cook them again. And lots of the prep work can be done ahead of time, so it isn't too overwhelming in terms of effort.

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Summer of Fun 2013 – Part 1

We had an amazing summer! After such a cold winter and no real Spring, we were desperate for sunshine – that became the focus of our summer. School ended on June 14^th, and the next day the girls and I hopped on a plane and headed to southern Spain. We stayed at a villa on the beach (Oasis Club) between Marbella and Puerto Banus. We had high hopes of mixing beach time with tourist time driving and visiting many other places (Granada, Ronda, Gibraltar, etc.), but the end-of-the-year exhaustion overwhelmed us and we ended up just sleeping and relaxing. Not a bad option – the sun was out, it was warm…perfect for us.

Beach along the "Golden Mile"

One of the most difficult parts of planning a vacation is finding the perfect spot and accommodations – it takes hours and hours. I found the villa on VRBO, but rented through an agency. It was a great place with 3 bedrooms, a private pool and a wonderful deck with views of the ocean. I spent most of my time reading on the deck. The girls and I would walk or drive into town for dinner most nights and enjoyed a meal or 2 at a local beach bar. Sean was working in the US, but was able to finally join us on the 20^th, though work still took up most of his time with international conference calls at all hours.

After one week in the Costa del Sol region of Spain, we boarded a train and headed to Seville. Seville is such a beautiful city. We explored, wandered, visited, ate and just generally soaked it all in. It was very hot there – over 100°F at 8:00 at night – so we embraced the whole siesta ideal and relaxed every afternoon either in the hotel pool (we stayed at the Hotel Dona Maria) or in our air conditioned rooms. We enjoyed delicious Spanish tapas and some of the best Italian food we’ve had in ages. We all fell in love with Spain and look forward to returning again. Next time I won’t plan any vacations until a week after school is out so we can be more rested and raring to go!

The girls and I had only 2 days back in France before we had to head off to our next vacation destination. We spent the time doing laundry, packing and saying goodbye to some friends who were moving away. Our first stop in the United States was Blue Springs, Missouri for a Way family reunion. It was so great to see our family – both immediate (my parents and sister were at the reunion) and extended. It’s always wonderful to be reminded of how fun the Way family is – fish frys, boating, parties, bbqs, and of course, lots of Budweiser! Sean was able to escape from work for the weekend and join us, which was great.

From Missouri we flew off to Los Angeles to start our vacation in California eager to visit friends & family and get in some good beach time.

To be continued…

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Summer of Fun 2013 – Part 1

We had an amazing summer! After such a cold winter and no real Spring, we were desperate for sunshine – that became the focus of our summer. School ended on June 14^th, and the next day the girls and I hopped on a plane and headed to southern Spain. We stayed at a villa on the beach (Oasis Club) between Marbella and Puerto Banus. We had high hopes of mixing beach time with tourist time driving and visiting many other places (Granada, Ronda, Gibraltar, etc.), but the end-of-the-year exhaustion overwhelmed us and we ended up just sleeping and relaxing. Not a bad option – the sun was out, it was warm…perfect for us.

In Old Town Marbella

Beach along the Golden Mile

One of the most difficult parts of planning a vacation is finding the perfect spot and accommodations – it takes hours and hours. I found the villa on VRBO, but rented through an agency. It was a great place with 3 bedrooms, a private pool and a wonderful deck with views of the ocean. I spent most of my time reading on the deck. The girls and I would walk or drive into town for dinner most nights and enjoyed a meal or 2 at a local beach bar. Sean was working in the US, but was able to finally join us on the 20^th, though work still took up most of his time with international conference calls at all hours.

Deck outside my bedroom where I spent many hours

R & C enjoying pool time at the villa

After one week in the Costa del Sol region of Spain, we boarded a train and headed to Seville. Seville is such a beautiful city. We explored, wandered, visited, ate and just generally soaked it all in. It was very hot there – over 100°F at 8:00 at night – so we embraced the whole siesta ideal and relaxed every afternoon either in the hotel pool (we stayed at the Hotel Dona Maria) or in our air conditioned rooms. We enjoyed delicious Spanish tapas and some of the best Italian food we’ve had in ages. We all fell in love with Spain and look forward to returning again. Next time I won’t plan any vacations until a week after school is out so we can be more rested and raring to go!

 Sevilla's cathedral (3rd largest in Europe) lit up at night

 Sean & girls in the Alcazar (oldest Royal Palace in use in Europe)

 Courtyard in the Alcazar

 View from the bell tower of the Cathedral

 Trying to cool off along the river in the heat

 Inside the Cathedral

The girls and I had only 2 days back in France before we had to head off to our next vacation destination. We spent the time doing laundry, packing and saying goodbye to some friends who were moving away. Our first stop in the United States was Blue Springs, Missouri for a Way family reunion. It was so great to see our family – both immediate (my parents and sister were at the reunion) and extended. It’s always wonderful to be reminded of how fun the Way family is – fish frys, boating, parties, bbqs, and of course, lots of Budweiser! Sean was able to escape from work for the weekend and join us, which was great.

 Having fun on a pontoon with my cousins

 My sister and I with Barbara & Andy in the background

R & C wearing their reunion t-shirts with pride

 

From Missouri we flew off to Los Angeles to start our vacation in California eager to visit friends & family and get in some good beach time.

To be continued…

 Grandpa Frank lookin' good in a mullet!

Feeling blue...

This is a hard time of year for me in general, and this year it has been especially so. My brother and mother both celebrated birthdays in May so I always think of them and how much I miss them and wonder about all the things we missed out on. My brother would have been 50! He probably would have a wife and kids… So a funk is not unexpected, but still not appreciated. I especially worry about the blues when I think about my mom. I know it’s not possible that I inherited her manic-depression since I was adopted, but I’m always hyper aware of my emotions and worry about them. Growing up around someone experiencing those horrible depressions and crazy manic stages heightens awareness of any mood swings. So even though I know I do not have her disease, I worry. I am generally a happy-go-lucky, easy-going person, so it freaks me out when I get so down and it lasts longer than a day. I know it will pass, I just have to be patient and accepting.

Being alone here in France makes it just that much more difficult. In some ways I think we should have waited until September to move to Paris. That way the girls could have finished out the whole school year, we could have spent more time with family & friends and enjoying our newly-remodeled house. We could have had more time to prepare (as if you can ever fully prepare!), and would have come in at the beginning of the school year with all the other new families. But I tend to forget how rough it was to have Sean living in another country and only able to come home for 1 week each month, and how my social life had already dwindled. When you are on your own, the invitations don’t flow your way as much, and you don’t feel like entertaining at your house on your own. I had a view of what life would be like as a single parent, and it’s not too bright when everyone around you is all coupled up. Note to self – divorce will not be fun! :-)

Moving to Paris in the middle of the school year has proven tougher than I imagined – for me. The girls have had no problem sliding right into life here! I have met so many wonderful and fun people here, but all the groups have already been established since the beginning of school and sometimes it feels like I’m intruding. I know that’s probably just me feeling that way, as everyone has been very welcoming, but there it is. The friends I spent time with at home have been my friends for many years, and I forgot how hard it can be to make new, close ones. And here, we don’t have the luxury of time as people move in and out due to work all the time. My friends at home know me so well, I always feel comfortable being exactly who I am. Here sometimes I feel like I am on a job interview – worrying that I’m on my best behavior, saying the right things, trying to get people to understand who I am, hoping not to feel like the odd woman out. Again, I know it’s just me as everyone here is very nice and wonderful. Most of the time I am fine and having a blast, but sometimes it just feels hard and I feel alone - especially with Sean gone so much.

At home we had plans most weekends with friends. Either going out to dinner, a bar, a movie, over to someone’s house for burritos & dominoes, or having people to our house. Here we are much more insular on the weekends and I miss hanging with friends. Howard House made it so easy to have people over any time we wanted. The nice, open kitchen, large family room, pool in the backyard, separate space for the kids – plenty of room for people to come eat, play and hang out. Chez Way here in France is not as amenable to having people over – the main living space is much smaller, and the kitchen is tiny and removed from the family room. All this makes it harder to hang with and cook for friends. We need to get better about dealing with it and figuring out a way around. Things here are similar to home – not very many people invite others to their houses for dinner (or whatever), and since there are no real “bars” in the ‘burbs, if we want to hang with friends, we will have to invite them over here.

I also miss our parties. Man I used to love throwing parties. Not sure I’ll ever get to that here (due to space and missing ingredients), so just another thing to miss.

Sean keeps asking me why I’m so bummed out right now and I don’t have a straight answer. If I did, I could figure out how to deal with it and move on. Part of it is the family situation I mentioned above, but I know that’s not the whole story as I did most of my grieving at the beginning of the month. Part of it is the fact that I’m annoyed with myself for being such a sensitive wuss about making friends here, I’m disappointed in myself that I have not done the language learning I had promised myself I would & my French sucks, and I’m tired of being injured and not being able to figure out a way to workout and not get hurt. The possible future I’m facing is freaking me out as well. R&C have informed me that they do not want to go back to the US for high school. They would like to move to another country after 6^th grade (so many of their friends here have lived all over the world), and then maybe come back to ASP for high school. On the one hand I am so happy to hear this. I am so proud of how flexible and quick to adjust they are, and that they can see the benefits of their current life. The school here is great and the opportunities they will have are just amazing. On the other hand I am freaked to think I might not return home to my family, friends & beloved house any time soon. Sean’s work is going well, the kids are happy - I think I’m the only one who misses home so much. I know I can’t think that far into the future as who knows how things will change each year, but it’s wild to think we could be living in Europe for the next 7 years!

Sorry that this post is not full of fun, happy news. We are off to a bbq tonight and going to a private party on a boat on the Seine tomorrow night (I know – what he h*** am I so down about!), so I’m sure I will snap out of my funk, become re-energized and ready to embrace this experience. Allow me this moment of weakness – I’ll write about the wonders of living in France soon enough!

The Louvre and BBQ

Last Saturday (May 5^th, 2012) we enjoyed a very fun and special day in Paris. My friend L had contacted a woman who arranges scavenger hunts at the Louvre (thatLOU.com) and asked if she could do one for a group of families. We all met at the museum, divided into teams of adults and kids (separating some family members to mix things up), were given maps of the museum, rules, and our package of items to find. Each item was worth a certain number of points, information/history about each piece of art was also given to educate, and sometimes teams could get extra points by doing something special (ie getting all 4 corners of a very large painting in the photo). We agreed on a finish time and place, and we were off. This was our first visit to the Louvre since moving to France (though we have been other times we’ve visited), and it was an interesting way to see it. Trying to find where the items were was challenging, as was keeping the kids interested. It was fun, though tiring racing around, looking for items and viewing amazing art on the way. I forgot how hot the Louvre always is! I probably saw different art than I would have on my own as I got to parts of the museum I may have never visited. It was a great experience and a lot of fun.

 Since we were in Paris, why not go to dinner? It was Cinco de Mayo and I had planned on dinner at Fajitas – a good Mexican restaurant in the 6e. But when we checked on adding more people, we soon realized there was not going to be room for all who wanted to join. So we went to a Texas BBQ joint instead where we proceeded to take over the entire restaurant. Luckily we were on the earlier side, so we weren’t inconveniencing any French people (they would arrive for dinner at the normal late hour after we had already left).

We all took the metro together from the museum to the restaurant. On the way we were treated to a metro station performance by an entire orchestra - they music was wonderful and the kids loved it!

 The restaurant is called Blues Bar-B-Q (www.bluesbarbq.fr) and is located in the 11e. We were happily surprised with the taste and quality of the food, and loved that there were pitchers of beer and even margaritas available. We squeezed in around all the tables and managed to squeeze (& I mean squeeze!) most of the adults (13 total) around a bunch of tables that we lined up, and left the kids (21 total) to the booths & other tables. The 5^th grade girls quickly decided they were too cool and went to sit outside at the sidewalk tables on their own. 5^th grade boys soon followed (separate table of course!). They didn’t seem to mind that it was raining out. The gal running the restaurant wisely brought the kids their food first, though we worried what would happen when they were done & we were still eating!

As the noise level grew louder in the restaurant (as more beer was consumed by the adults), more & more kids starting heading out to the sidewalk when they were done eating. At this point the rain was coming down harder and all the kids were having a blast playing in it. The adults were having a blast staying warm, drinking beer and enjoying ribs, sausage, brisket, cornbread, Mac & cheese, Texas beans, etc. The food tasted delicious and the company was great. Add in the fact that there were no French people around to be appalled at the way our crazy American children (& dads) were acting, and we were in foreigner heaven…

On our way to catch the metro home, we all had a blast running in the rain, searching for shelter. I have to say that was one of the best times in the rain I’ve had as an adult. It was just so much fun to see everyone laughing & enjoying themselves. A truly successful day/night. Thank you for organizing L!

To Eat or Not to Eat – that is definitely NOT the question!

Just where or what!

We often use eating to start the planning of our trips and excursions. "Where is there a good place to eat? OK, what can we see that is around that?" I know it’s not the normal way to be a tourist, but it serves us well. We often get to other parts of cities that we wouldn’t have seen if we had just stuck to the typical tourist destinations. When we are planning our jaunts into Paris, I always consult my Excel file of places to eat to find us a place to have lunch or dinner. There are times where we do wander around and stumble upon a restaurant, and there are times we are desperately hungry and all plans fly out the window. Flexibility is good, but I also find that having some key destination helps guide us. We love the search for a new, good restaurant.

Now I’m going to say something that I know is going to upset a lot of people. Some of you may have guessed by now, but I’m not a big French food eater. I know, I know. When I cook for myself (& kids by default) I tend to focus on quick, lowfat meals, and many French recipes do not lend themselves to those 2 descriptors. When eating out, we want to enjoy something tasty, enjoyable, and something we can recognize. I’m a slightly picky eater, and S is much worse than me, so our palates are a little limited. Add in my shellfish allergy, and it can cause trouble when trying to find some French food to eat. We don’t do much pork or veal, we like our beef cooked (French like it bloody & no matter how many times you send it back, you are bound to still have red/pink meat), we don’t do organs…the list goes on and on. So you see the limitations in going to eat at French restaurants. I love the yummy sauces, it's the protein items they put in them...

No, that's not chicken, that's sweetbreads

On top of our pickiness, there is another problem with heading out to eat French food. I hate to say this also, but many places to eat are not up to par with their food. Even the French will admit that the quality of many restaurants/cafes/brasseries have gone downhill. Yes, sometimes you will still get lucky just trying a random place, but often you do need to rely on the recommendations of others. And many of the good places can be hard to get into – you need to plan ahead and make reservations. We haven’t been good at that thus far, but will be making an effort to improve soon. One person made a comment that we liked – something to the effect of “French food is very deep but not very wide”. We have found this to be pretty true. While the quality of the dishes can vary greatly place by place, the actual selection of dishes offered can be very narrow. It’s amazing how so many French eating establishments offer the exact same dishes. How can every café in St. Germain have the house specialty of slow-cooked lamb shank in prunes? Now I know part of this depends on what type of restaurant you are in: Cafes offer certain foods, brasseries offer certain foods, etc., but I still would expect SOME variety on the menus. At least it gives you a sense of comfort knowing what to expect - if you find a dish you love, you can try it at many different places. And all those places just look so darn cute and French - how can you resist?

 OK, one thing we would like to know: what’s with the pig? The French loooooove the pig! They put jambon (ham) or lardon (bacon – but basically barely cooked so pieces of fat) on or in everything. We don’t eat ham, and like our bacon crispy, so that’s a challenge. There have been times when one of us has accidentally ordered the wrong item, and sure enough, the lardon is pretty tasty, but it’s a little too smoky and rich so a little goes a long way. And where the heck is the turkey? I know it’s not a native bird here, but surely they could introduce it! We miss turkey – especially R. Ham is just not the same. They do have Subway sandwich shops here & I’ve seen R’s eyes light up when we see one, but we have yet to stop in. I wonder if they will have a turkey sandwich for her? I know they offer Indian chicken sandwiches…

We have had some great meals and some ok meals. I don't think we've had a bad one since we moved here. I'm very thankful for all the blogs I read written by expats in France as that is where we get so many of our recommendations. If any of you have any as well, please send them our way. We have promised our friend to try and write some restaurant reviews, and we will definitely try. I just don’t want anyone to be disappointed by the number of non-French restaurants that we visit! And don’t worry, we will be adding traditional French ones to our repertoire – as long as they offer chicken and fish in addition to their sweetbreads and snails!

Road Warrior

With S heading back to the Netherlands, I needed to bite the bullet and start driving in France. S had been doing all the driving for the past week, but it was my turn. We usually never drive when on vacation in different places – we like to rely on planes, trains, subways, taxis and mostly walking. But that won’t work here in the French suburbs living a normal life, so it was time for me to step up. I’m a bit of a back-seat driver, so I had been paying lots of attention to everything around me so it wasn’t totally unknown. My first trips were just to school and back – a pretty easy drive. The key differences that I have to constantly remind myself of are that there is no turn on a red light, and that cars on the right have the right-of-way – even when you are in the middle of a roundabout! Sometimes you have to stop in the middle of the roundabout to let the cars on the right enter. (There are exceptions to his of course, I’m slowly learning) Drivers here love to tailgate, pile up next to each other when waiting to turn – it reminds me how people don’t like to queue  - same thing with cars. I’m constantly hearing in my head “thees ees a race, I hope I ween” when driving as you have to be pretty aggressive to survive.

The cars here are very small for the most part. Which is a necessity as the parking spots are tiny, some of the streets are very narrow, and you have to squeeze yourself around other vehicles! 

This is a tiny street we drive down to get to our house

Our rental car is a Renault Clio with 4 doors and a hatchback. We have to find a car to buy, and I want to make sure it is another small one. Problem is trying to find one to buy with our limited French skills. I would like a used one that isn’t too old and in pretty good condition so I don’t have to worry about it breaking down. The gas mileage the cars get is incredible – which is good with the price of gas here (about 1.50 euros per liter = 6.8 euros per gallon = $8.70 per gallon).

 Notice how narrow our driveway is - rocks on one side, shrubs on the other.

Getting around in France REQUIRES a good GPS – and I mean a good one. One that gives you all the details on the roundabouts, freeway exits, etc. I would be lost without the one in our car. This week we are letting Ken from Australia guide us around – we like to change up the accent (& guide) often. Being an American, I am a true idiot when it comes to the metric system, but it sure feels fun when I’m driving 110 on the expressway! Never mind that that’s kilometers per hour, let me have my fun…

It’s also fun trying to learn all the street signs – some of them are easy to understand (why does a Stop sign in France say “Stop”?), while others are more difficult.

This doesn't mean no Ouilly le Vicomte - it means you are leaving the village of Ouilly le Vicomte

What does this one mean?

I’m looking forward to showing off my aggressive, tight-squeeze driving skills when the first visitor comes. Hopefully I've learned what all the signs mean by then!

D

Nous sommes arrivés en France!

We made it!

Happy Holidays mes amis. We are now officially living in France! We still can’t believe that we aren’t just here on vacation. We also finally got Internet so I can start putting some posts up.

We were busy up until departure with the preparations to leave and trying to fit in as much social time with friends and family as we could. After the packing/moving was done, we could focus on getting all our documentation in order, getting the dogs & cat ready, trying to clean out the house, packing our suitcases and trying to slip in some fun.

The animals needed to visit their vet for an exam & for paperwork, and then visit the USDA vet for sign-off that they were good to go for international travel. It was tough to figure out exactly what was required for bringing them to France with us, but S was able to find some good websites full of information that we followed. You would think the airlines would have information on shipping pets to France, but no. And every time we called Air France to check, they wouldn’t have the information correct – that we were taking 2 dogs & 1 cat with us on the plane in the special cargo area. So we had to keep calling & trying to get them to update their records. We were up late the night before departure getting their crates all assembled, labeled, making sure the documentation required was attached, etc.

We went down to Southern California to spend some time with my family over Christmas. We went out with friends every night beforehand trying to see as many people as we could. Even though it took away from packing and cleaning, it was good to see everyone. Being down at my parents was especially nice as it forced us to take a break. We could still work on emails and documents, but we enjoyed some downtime just hanging with my family, seeing some friends in So Cal, and even doing some Christmas shopping.

We drove back up to Bgame on 12/26, leaving really early. We got home around noon, and started gathering all our suitcases and clothing, etc. to put in the empty dining room as our staging area. We also worked on getting the house set up for our annual Dice Game. Yup, I’m still crazy. We hosted 10 people at our house for dinner and our Christmas Dice Game. Everyone brought food so we didn’t have to cook, but we did need to get set up & find seating for that many people. Thank goodness for neighbors with extra chairs! We had a great time with everyone and continued with our packing after everyone left. S was up all night getting the house in order, packing, etc. There was a pile of stuff we couldn’t fit in our luggage – even after borrowing a suitcase from our neighbor G! So that stuff will be mailed to us. I don’t even want to know what that’s going to cost! Some of the Christmas presents the girls got were heavy and in big boxes. Oh well…It took ages, but luckily we were out the door right on time at 1:00 to head to the airport on the 27^th.

We put the dog crates in G’s El Camino, had the dogs get in the crates, & added some luggage.. We packed the back of our LandCruiser full of suitcases, and put the cat crate in with R&C in the middle seats. I rode with G, and we had our friend C come with us to drive the LandCruiser back from the airport. When we arrived at SFO, we got 5 luggage carts, and managed to load everything onto those, which meant we only had 1 extra cart. That was totally manageable. We got to the airport check in counter without any major mishaps. But then we realized one big one – with all the craziness of trying to get packed up and out the door on time, we forgot one critical traveling task. We forgot to check on the flight schedule! Turns out our flight was canceled and the next one was in 3 hours! Poor dogs! So we found out where the closest area was where we could let them out of their crates to go to the bathroom and hang out a bit. (Thank goodness for that area at the airport!) We had bought a harness for SC the cat, and we even let him out to walk around a bit. We all hung out there for awhile, then the girls & I went back into the terminal to get some lunch. When we got back it was time to get the animals to the oversize luggage drop-off and for us to head through security. It was so hard to say goodbye to them and watch them be wheeled away, hoping someone would take good care of them. After going through security, S stopped and had something to eat & then we were off to our gate.

When we were on the plane taxiing away from the gate, words kept flashing in my head: “I can’t believe we’re doing this. I can’t believe we’re doing this”. It still seemed so crazy that we were moving to France. I felt the same as when I’m heading up the hill at the beginning of a very large rollercoaster wondering why the heck I said yes to the ride. Let the craziness begin!

The Party is Over and Movin’ On Out

Crazy us had our annual Holiday Party on Saturday the 10^th. Yeah, I know, more work we didn’t need to take on, but I wanted a last big shindig, and it was a chance for us to see and say good-bye to many of our friends. I made appetizers that I could freeze during the month prior to the party, and we tried to get the house as decorated and together as we could before S left to fly back to the Netherlands on Sunday the 4^th. He flew back into San Francisco on the 9^th, and we jumped into packing and getting the house ready for a party. Luckily we have our party set-up down to a science, so we were ready all set up around 12:00pm on the 10^th. We were then able to spend the afternoon before the party doing a bunch of packing upstairs – getting through our bathroom and more clothing stuff. Girls were still totally fighting us on the packing but after I offered them $$ for every box they packed (double for the discard bags they filled), things moved along a little more quickly. J

We moved furniture out, ordered bar tables & tablecloths, put out wine, beer, a specialty cocktail (Pomegranate-Lime Fizz), music on the Sonos and food, and we were ready to go. 78 people were expected, I’d say about 70 or so came – all spread out, so it didn’t feel too crazy. It was so nice to see everyone – S and I both had a blast. It was a lot of work (& time that we probably should have been packing) but a lot of fun. And I’m really glad we got a chance to see so many friends to say goodbye.

Here’s the menu of appetizers I served at the party (I only do apps as it’s a 7:00 cocktail party):

• Frank’s Meatballs
• Asparagus Rolls
• Chicken Pesto Bites (these I bought at Safeway)
• Sweet Potato Dumplings with Honey, Goat Cheese and Thyme
• Mediterranean Rolls
• Three-Cheese Pastry Puffs
• Tapenade Palmiers (I bought the tapenade)
• Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sliders
• Sushi (ordered from Mollie Stone’s)
• Spinach Dip, cheese and crackers

All in all, as “not fun” as Sunday, Monday & Tuesday were, I’m glad we had the party and I’m glad it seemed to be a successful one.

Packer/Movers (Crown Relocation Company) for shipping our stuff to France came around 9:30am Monday morning. Sunday was busy with cleaning up from the party, and then packing – I did the kitchen, dining room & living room, and S did the garage. We still weren’t as ready as we could have been for the movers when they showed up, but we got a lot done. Monday night we were up late after the movers left doing more packing, we pulled the girls out of school on Tuesday around lunch time to help pack up their rooms & bathrooms and packed until after 11pm. S had to leave Wednesday morning for a quick trip to Japan, but at least we were mostly packed by then & it was just me sticking around to watch over the movers. It was a very stressful time, but at least it only lasted 3 days. The movers were all loaded and gone by a little after 3pm. Farewell household items – see you in 6 weeks! They estimate that the items will be delivered around the end of January. We also air-shipped around 5 or 6 boxes that will get to the house on the 30^th – mostly just more clothes and some toys for R&C.

The house is empty, but not too much as we are putting a fair amount of stuff in storage. Those packer/movers come on Monday and Tuesday to get the rest in storage. Then the house will be super empty. Our friend Amanda is a saint and dropped off 3 Queen blow-up beds and lots of bedding Tuesday night so we don’t have to sleep on the floor. We will need 1 more when S gets home on Friday (12/16) as I don’t see how you can sleep 2 adults in one of those beds – even though they are Queens. I want my own!

We are facing another one of those frustrating French Catch-22s as I like to call them. Of course the relocation company (Crown) waited until now, after our stuff has been all packed and gone, to tell us that we might have to pay taxes and duties on our household goods coming into France. What? They keep saying that S needs to provide proof from his employer that he is being relocated to France for a number of years, and that he hasn’t been living in an EU country during the last 12 months. It has taken us several attempts to make it clear that those requirements can NOT be met as S is NOT working in France, and he HAS been living in an EU country since September 1^st. They seem to have finally gotten the message, but now are saying we face fees as I have no employment reason for moving to France. There’s the classic French run-around as the French government wouldn’t give me my Visa if I DO work in France. But now I can’t bring my items into France unless I work in France. What really chaps my hide about all this is that both Crown and Ernst & Young (who are also our advisers on this whole thing) have known the unusual circumstance around our situation the whole time. Why is this just now being addressed as a problem? Different decisions may have been made based on that knowledge if it was made clear to us. And there has to be a work-around – it’s all just so ridiculous. No, I’m not bringing all these goods into France to re-sell them. Give me a break. We’ve already decided not to risk shipping our new Prius over as they may make us pay all sorts of fees on it, now our house hold goods? Ridiculous.

We’ve also been busy dealing with Crown Relocation on what all their services entail. We asked them for some help in buying a washer and dryer (I want something better than the all-in-one tiny machine that is at the house and the website they directed me to is in French), renting a car (we will need one until we find something to buy), renting temporary furniture, and getting to the hotel from the airport. Seems like normal requests to me. All of a sudden we get an email from the head contact at Crown who states that these items are above and beyond the scope of their agreement with S’s company and that we would have to pay for them ourselves. What? Crown said that their agreement with S’s company entails:

1-day preview trip

2-day home viewing trip

1.5 days settling in

I immediately wrote back asking what exactly the “1.5 days settling in” entails since it seems like some of the above items I was requesting would be part of that. In addition, I pointed out that we never had our 1-day preview trip, so we are owed time for that. Now they are saying they will use the 1-day preview trip for buying the washer & dryer, and coordinating the rental car. The settling in will consist of check-in inspection of the house, opening utilities, airport pick-up and furniture rental coordination. I would love to know how some of these things take that much time. I am having my friend who speaks French get the washer & dryer for me (there’s a website in French where you just order them & then they deliver & install), and another friend of mine has contacts at Hertz in France so they are helping us with the rental car. So what else are you going to do for us Crown? Eh?

Good news is that we have our flights all booked and ready to go, room for the 3 animals down in Cargo, hotel in Versailles for 2 nights, and rental furniture being delivered on the 30^th. We are looking good for when we get there. Just need to sort out this fee issue with our household items being shipped over - I have to have faith that we will be able to fix that. Someone pointed out to me at a holiday lunch today that in 2 weeks I will be there! Yikes! Time is flying by now & it’s just crazy. Oh, more good news – the gal from ASP that I’ve been emailing invited us to her house for a casual New Year’s Eve dinner. So maybe my social life won’t be in the dumps with the move! J

Speaking of social life, we are trying to get a chance to see all our friends, etc. before we leave – not enough time! We are going to miss everyone so much…and we look forward to many visitors…off now to B Street & Vine to have some dinner and wine with girlfriends…

D