Chef Susan

What is this beautiful assortment of meals before you, you ask? This is a sample of some of the things that I have made since I've been here. David has helped with a few...so let me explain them to you...

top left: This is a picture of the first "real meal" that we made after arriving here in Metz. Fajita Tacos! We had just been eating pasta for a few days because David had not yet received his scholarship money, so we were very excited to have, the first of many, taco dinners.

top middle: Here you will see my vegetable soup. It is inspired from the weight watchers 'pointless soup' recipe that my Dad used to make, but is this one pointless? I couldn't tell you. It was yummy though.
top right: This, my friends, is the most yummy dessert made in our apartment yet. Thanks to John's girlfriend Alex, we had a recipe for a cake. The amazing part of this cake recipe is that it is used for whatever kind of cake you want. Everything is the same (3 ingredients) until the very end, when you usually add some kind of fruit for a flavor. Here we used apples and cinnamon, and served it with vanilla ice cream. Aside from a slight baking issue, it ended up being delicious! I will be making this again, in numerous flavors (especially chocolate).
middle left: Our Asian dish! A concoction of rice, onions, peppers, egg, peas, and sweet and sour sauce, and you have this very colorful and tasty Asian delight.
middle middle: Haha. If this picture makes you want to gag, just a little even, please, feel free. This is what we now refer to as Shrek Swamp Soup...with eyeballs. Why? Cause that is what it looks like, and probably an accurate description of what it tasted like. It was a soup mix (supposed to be a potato flavored soup) that tasted pretty bad, so we added mushrooms...they helped, but still...tasted bad and then looked like it was full of eyeballs.
middle right: Here we have lemon pepper chicken, broccoli, and potatoes. Very tasty...and David's favorite part was the steamed broccoli. Interesting, huh?
bottom left: I think we can call this our second best meal so far. Here we have a very french style salad (on the left) that includes corn, tomatoes, and carrots (usually eaten with balsamic vinaigrette dressing). Then, the most successfully baked chicken we've had so far, with broccoli and baguette. MMmm.
bottom middle: You all have seem this one before, but I had to include it again. My very first apple tart. Since this one I've made them with cinnamon because the taste is far superior. I'm really looking forward to strawberry season though. I think a strawberry tart will be the best :o)
bottom right: This, by far, has been our best meal yet. You guessed it lasagna! My very first, ever, homemade lasagna. I was incredibly surprised by how successful this one was since it was the first time I've ever made one, but it has definitely been added to the list of meals to have again, and again...

David has also made a few meals with fish we have bought from the covered market. They have been wonderful also. So, like I said before, this is just a sample.

Rue de la Paix

So, by request, I am going to give you a closer look at our apartment and the surrounding area.

We live on:

Our building looks like this:

(remember, we live on the 4th floor...but everyone else's windows look like that)

The front door to our building is blue! It's a pretty big door.

Once inside your can see our mailbox. Somehow, the shortest people in the building, got the highest mailbox. This is where all our lovely mail goes. If you send us something, this is where we find it. (Unless it is a box, then they leave us a note and we have to go pick it up at the post office)

Then after that, to your right, you see our stairs...and begin the long hike up them.

And now...please, enjoy the tour!



sorry...the second video wouldn't load onto YouTube correctly...I'll be working on it so you can see the guest room, our bedroom, and bathroom. The second video is shorter that this one so it doesn't make any sense....argh!

Shopping!

Today I went shopping...grocery shopping. Yeah, it isn't that big of a deal, except that this is the first time I have gone alone. David and I have been going because he is the only one with a 'debit' card and it usually takes two of us to carry what we buy. UNTIL now! The Pounds have been nice enough to give us their old shopping cart. No not the typical shopping cart (aka "buggy") that you use while you are in the store. A personal one, for people who walk to and from the grocery store...because they don't have a car, or because they live in the city. Since we fit into both categories, this makes a lot of sense for us. So, as you can see, our shopping cart has a lot of character.

It is very European looking, no? That is green and blue leather :o) hehe. But I can't complain, it was free. So when you have a shopping cart, this is what it looks like with groceries in it: Ok, so to go along with my first time solo-shopping there is also a good story. How could there not be? I'm in another country where I don't speak the language. Here goes...

So I had finished shopping and was going to stand in line when this little old man started walking toward where I was standing. He got closer and closer to the point where it was obvious that he wanted to get in front of me. He looked at me and started to say something to me (quickly, and in french) so I just assumed that he wanted to get in front of me, and eventually let him. Then, while he was unloading his basket on to the conveyor belt he continued talking to me. I, of course, didn't understand what in the world he was saying, so I just looked at him with a face that must me "I don't understand a word you're saying." Eventually he asked me if I spoke french (in french! I understood that!). And I said "a little" (in french) :o) Then, and I still have no idea why, he started saying "football, football..." while kicking with his foot (because he is talking about european football - soccer) So I was like "ahhh", like ' I understand.' So, I'm guessing that he might have been in a hurry to get to a soccer game? Or else he must have thought that I really like soccer??? I have NO idea. Oh well.

Other than that, I was successfully able to pay for the groceries, put the food in my cart, and go back home. Fwew. I'm sure it could have been worse. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad - it was funny/interesting.

As a result of my shopping trip I will soon be making lasagna! Yum! And tonight we successfully had properly cooked chicken, steamed broccoli, and a very french style salad (tomatoes, carrots, and corn with balsamic vinegarette dressing). There will be pictures coming soon of many of the meals and things I have made.

We hope you all are doing very well, and we hope to hear from many of you - and hopefully see many of you, soon!

At the Technopole...

At the Technopole there is a lake...
In the lake there is an island...
On the island there are some birds...

When it starts to get dark the birds like to fly around...as if they were fish in the lake. I thought you might like to watch them.



They fly like this for a really long time.

There are also a lot of crows that live there. They are huge and they walk around everywhere. Even on top of GTL. I use the 4th floor for my English lessons and while we are there the crows will land on part of the 3rd floor roof and peck at the wall of the room we are in. It is terribly annoying. Supposedly they don't do this year round. BUT, I have a better understanding now of why people used to be afraid of the Hitchcock movie, "The Birds."

Joy.

There are certain things that bring joy to your life. Even the simplest things can. Today we got our first piece of enjoyable snail mail! It wasn't a bill, is was a Valentine's Day card from Jennifer! Jennifer is the most consistent holiday-card-sender I've ever met. It's the kind of thing that will just make you smile...until you open it :o) She always fills the cards with that confetti stuff that goes everywhere! But once you know it's coming...you don't mind as much. Seriously though, we were definitely excited. Thanks Jennifer! (I really liked the picture of Daisy too - she's going to go on my wall of pictures)

Video Test

This is a TEST. I'm tryingt o figure out how to post videos on my blog because, as you can see, we occasionally get pretty interesting videos...

This one is from Valentine's Day...before we made it back downtown to eat our Chinese dinner. We road a bus back with John and his girlfriend Alex. David and John decided to sing to us to make Valentine's Day more special...and because it was rainy and cold. So, let's see if this works! Sorry it is so dark...but here is a picture of them singing so that you can visualize them in the video.




ah, it works!

Valentine's Day

This Valentine's Day David and I did not give each other gifts, instead, we went out to eat together at a restaurant. Since we haven't eaten out since we have moved to France we thought it was appropriate to "splurge" at least this once. Fortunately, we didn't even splurge. Since most restaurants were booked already for V-day we decided that we would try a restaurant close to our apartment. We went to a Chinese one. It was neat. Of course it was run by Chinese people...only this time they were speaking French (which was really neat to hear; Meeeerci! , Boooon Appetite! The little chinese ladies were all very nice.) In most restaurants the tables are all very close together...usually set for only two people. So, when we got there we were seated between two couples that had been there for a while already. But, it's weird sitting down between people, that are already pretty close together, and now they are even closer to more people...and on Valentine's Day. I was kind of glad that I don't understand much french, because if I had I would have been forced to eavesdrop on their conversations just because of how close we were.

Chinese food in France is a little different from Chinese food in the US. Of course, everything is bigger in the US; ovens, refrigerators, cars, homes, as well as meals. So, instead of the meal being served with rice and vegetables along with the main course 'meat,' we just got meat and sauce with some mushrooms...white rice (riz blanc) would have been extra...I didn't even see fried rice. Therefore, David ordered an extra "side" of noodles with vegetables. It was all pretty good, I had chicken with some kind of sauce and David had sweet and sour pork. They also served those dehydrated rice "crackers" while we waited for our meal, as an appetizer. Those things are so neat! As soon as they touch any liquid, they suck it up like a sponge! This also means, that as soon as it touches your tongue it tries to suck it up as well! Very interesting feeling. They were great to use with the extra sauce after our meal was finished.

Being that we are Americans we still aren't used to spending 2 hours at the restaurant to finish our meal. So we finished before both couples beside us...even though they had both been there longer. Although, they ordered desserts and we didn't. BUT, somehow we managed to stick around until one couple left...so it wasn't too bad. Anyway - at the end of the meal they brought us warm wash cloths to wipe off our hands and a box with an after-meal surprise in it. No, not fortune cookies...but this:

Kissing Pigs! Were they implying something? Had we really eaten that fast?? The couples next to us both got some kind of key chain...but we got the kissing pigs... I don't care, they are cute! Their lips are magnetic, so they are always kissing! And they even have little piggy tails. :o) We have hung them up on one of the large railroad ties in our living room. We've decided that they will serve as our year round mistletoe. So keep a look out, or you never know who you might have to pucker-up to!

After our dinner we came home and watched 2 episodes of 24! It was our Valentine's Day surprise! When we went to get them off the server we thought there was only going to be one new one...but there were two! They were pretty good. We aren't very romantic huh?

As you can see, our Valentine's Day was a success. David would say this is the first time this has ever happened...but that is not entirely true. I think we have also decided, that for the rest of our lives we will not give each other gifts on Valentine's Day, but that we will just do something together. It is much better this way. Less stress and worrying, and definitely more enjoyable. We will save jewelry, diamonds, and chocolates for anniversaries - now that we have one! :oD

We hope you all enjoyed your Valentine's Day as much as we did...even if you didn't do anything romantic. So I guess I should just say I hope everyone had a good February 14th! And I hope that you all can find, or have found, your very own kissy pig.

English Lessons

I have been teaching english lessons for a French professor (have I mentioned that?) We have had three "lessons" so far. For the first one I just spoke with him to see how much he knew, and how good his grammar was...and then we played Scrabble. Not just for fun. It helped me see what kind of vocabulary he had...even though he was restricted with only a few letters. But this was the result of our game:

(the "w" in 'web' and 'war' wouldn't stay on the board)

It was a fun way to "break the ice" and start our lessons. Since then I have been trying to figure out the best ways to work with him to help him meet his goals. He wants to improve his presentation skills, and be able to have the confidence to go to conferences and use his English. (speaking as well as understanding it more)

I have been bringing in new articles and having him read them out loud to me. This gives him the chance to practice reading out loud and understanding what he reads, as he reads it instead of having to read it 2 or 3 times first. Then he can also ask me questions about vocabulary to help him further understand. One time I also asked him questions about the articles (like a quiz) another time I had him write a summary about an article to see if he could find the most important parts (since he has to write abstracts for research a lot). Our next class, he is going to give me a mini presentation. This is difficult for him because in presentations you have powerpoint slides with bullet points that you have to expand upon...but in another language it is difficult. So othe first time he will use some additional notes, but after that he will do it without them. I think that I will also have him watch some video clips, so he can hear english from someone other than me, and make sure that he understands what is going on.

It should be interesting as the lessons continue. I just hope I can create interesting lesson plans!

Daily David

Below you will see some pictures of David. He is in the PhD office at his desk. Out those windows you can see the lake. They have tons of crows and little sparrow sized birds that fly around like those shiney fish do in the ocean...all together in a group. I'm still baffled at how they know which way to go, all at the same time...

This is David at his desk. Currently this is what he usually looks like when he sits at his desk. Reading some article or book or something. His research is slow so far because he really doesn't have all the tools he needs yet. But now you know what it looks like where he works.

The Weekend

Let's begin with views from our windows:

Yes, the last two are repeated...but that is the skyline we see. We can also see the Moselle River...but that wasn't part of the skyline, so I didn't include it here.

Next, Friday night we had a birthday party for John! He turned 24 (also the number of our favorite tv show). Here is a run down of our evening.

We had originally planned to have pizza and go ice skating. So, here is everyone (people are still inside) ordering their pizzas. This is a pretty good pizza place we have found. We are beginning to discover which pizzas are the best. If you come visit and want pizza, we'll be able to make great recommendations.

We brought the pizza back to our apartment to eat them. That is Shaya with the nice smile.This is the Birthday-Boy, John. Little does he know, but he is about to be pleasantly surprised.This is John with his girlfriend Alex (Alexandrine). She was supposed to come visit him on Saturday, but has been secretly planning (with me and David) her early arrival to surprise him on his actual birthday. It worked! He had no idea. I love it.Alex brought a cake! ...and candles. So we hung around for dessert.John made a wish.......and opened a few presents (atomic fireballs and other assorted candies, and a "coupon" to ride Brittney's ripstick for 2 hours!)...Then plans changed. John was so happy that Alex came that he didn't even want to go ice skating anymore, so we decided to watch a movie. That is our bed...we moved it into the living room for extra seating. We had 9 people over! We watched Robin Hood...the Disney cartoon one. It was great.David and I were really tired when everyone left so we decided to just leave our bed in the living room. We fell asleep to the movie Armageddon...In the morning we were talking about the movie...so David got our his calculator and wanted to do math! He determined how much energy the asteroid have as it was coming toward Earth...to determine how much energy it would take to stop it. And he got out the white board to try to explain it to me. What? You don't do that Saturday mornings? (he didn't want me to take his picture though...but I just wanted to make sure that everyone believed me)
Well, that's all folks!

...if something interesting happens on Sunday maybe I'll add it. But I think 12 pictures is a good amount of excitement for one blog. :o)

Le Patisserie du Swafford

Yum! Check out what I made today!

First the crust...

...then some apples...

...then more apples and sugar egg and sour cream...

...210 C for 30 minutes...


...almost ready!

ah, viola! My first pastry!

Closemonies

So, I didn't have too much I was going to talk about today, but then I decided, hey, why not write something. David is talking to his Dad, so I have some free time. I thought I'd share a little about food. But, just little...

So first - This is a picture of Brioche. Chocolate Brioche...because it has little chocolate pieces in it. Yummy. We usually eat this for breakfast. It goes very well with a banana (banane) too. They also do something similar with croissants, and this pastry bread stuff called pain au chocolate. We ate that a bunch over the summer during our vacation. Yummy, I love how they put chocolate into ...everything! I really like this cereal called Chocolate Museli. It is basically those hard Nature Valley granola bars (like, all the grains) with chocolate pieces. And with milk, it's delicious. MMmmm.. and we also like these cookies. They are BN cookies...basically graham cracker like cookies on each side of a chocolate filling, decorated with a big smiley face...sometimes winking, sometimes just smiling. I should just show you a picture. Ok, there you go. It is also pretty funny. On a lot of things that they sell in the snack food aisle...they write on it that you can get the same energy from it that you'd get from cereal! So i guess that means it is supposed to be good for you. ? Oh well, I'm just glad that I can't read all the nutritional labels here. It's so much better that way. =o)

Ok, so the last thing I'll tell you about it my peanut butter craze. For some reason tonight, after dinner, I ate some peanut butter...just on a spoon...and afterwards I was like "wow, that was good, I'll have another one." I think I had about 4 spoon fulls. They were yummy. I've never done that with peanut butter before. ...David just went and got some too...copycat =o)

So, for us, go eat a spoon full of peanut butter...it helps the medicine go down.

*Now you are thinking, why in the world is this post called the "closemonies?" It was in the Strongbad email this week, and I thought it was cool, ya know, instead of "closing ceremonies" ...and I couldn't think of something better. So the labels will help identify this post more than the title. But seriously, we should do that more often. If the meaning is basically the same why not! Like...ok I can't think of any.

Weekend at the Grandidiers

Before I tell you about our weekend with the Grandidiers there are a few things I forgot to tell you.


At our apartment you have to walk up 88 steps before you can get to us...because we are on the 4th floor.
So yeah...that is a part of our everyday life now...going up and down at least once - 176 step a day at the least. Then you get to our door and will see our doorbell. :o)

I will show you the view from our windows later. Now, I'll tell you about the Grandidiers.

Here is a picture of us with them from the summer - I know, David's beard will shock you at first if you have seem him without it recently.

Ok, so this is really a picture of us with Stephen and the Grandidier parents. Lucas and Thibaut aren't in this one. Therefore, left to right, Stephen, Denis, Patricia, David, and Me. You say "den-knee" for Denis, and Patricia is the same. For Lucas, you say "luca", and for Thibaut...the easiest..."T-bo" Ok...now we can continue.

They live in Remilly. That is like going from Conyers to McDonough (maybe a little further...25 minutes), but here you have the option of taking a train (13 minutes). Denis owns a cabinet business...well it's not just for cabinets, he orders everything else that would go well with the cabinets that he makes, so really it is for the entire kitchen, but he specializes in the cabinets. He does very good work. Here are pictures of the store (le magasin)

"Cuisines" means kitchens.

And this is what their house looks like. It is to the left of the store/shop......it's huge.

Most French homes are not this large, they are more like the size of decent apartments. This house is more like the typical home you'd find in the US. They also have a very large backyard with a big garden, a pool (above ground), and lots of room for the boys to play.

Thibaut's birthday party was this weekend. They played videogames (play station)...

The TV is often set up like a movie theater, with a huge screen and projector, and of course...surround sound :o) Nice.

...and ate LOTS of pizza. One kid ate about 10 pieces. He's 10...a piece for each year.

(Thibaut is the one in the orange, and Lucas is at the far side of the table in light blue putting something in his mouth...he's a little older...maybe by a year)

It was amazing to watch Patricia make pizzas for this many boys. They were frozen pizzas...but still, in a French oven that could take a while. She could fit four at one time.

I think the next most exciting thing was that we played Scrabble. Not just any Scrabble, but French Scrabble. This was our gameboard...The only letter that wasn't used was that "w" It's like the hardest letter to use with French words. But we did that so that I could learn more French words. And it did help. I think when I teach english I will use Scrabble too. We played again, in English, to help Lucas (because he started taking English in school this year) but we were too slow sometimes, talking about what words mean etc, so he didn't stay for the whole game. Oh well.

We talked a lot. Well, David talked with them a lot. I listened a lot, and tried to understand the conversation and pick out words that I know. I also sat down with Denis, because Patricia's english is better than his, and we went through some basic conjugations. He would say them in english (well, read them from this cool book he has) and I would read them in French. Although, I think he knows more english than I know French...so while I was just reading it, I think he actually knew what he was saying without looking at the words. He has already learned a lot just from when I saw them over the summer. I hope I can make decent progress like that.

Other than that I saw birds and cats this weekend. And I could have owned any or all of them. Denis parents have lots of birds that they have won prizes for, and somehow Denis ended up with some "extras" I guess. He doesn't want them, so they tried to give them to me...David said no. But at least they aren't annoying birds. They have a nice sounding, delicate chirp. And the cats have been living/mating in Denis piles of wood for his cabinets. There were two grey kittens (one with cute little white paws) and the mother, a solid black cat that was extremely friendly. Oh to have a cat...oh well. David said no to that too. :o( I still have Duncan...thousands of miles away though.

oook, that is all for now.