Everybody loves pancakes.

Our most recent passion has been to make some really good pancakes. After being inspired by an America's Test Kitchen recipe, David and I have already enjoyed two mornings full of pancakes.

First time:

Here we tried the basic recipe - only because we couldn't find the blueberries that David wanted. The pancakes were delicious! I even added some chocolate chips to a few. But, the consensus was that they were better without.

Second Time:

The quest for blueberries was successful! They were very tasty, but we have decided that they were too large. How could this be a problem, you might ask? Well, on the ATK show they used previously frozen small blueberries...like the kind you would use for a dessert recipe. Not knowing that this would cause a problem, we used them anyway. The reason they weren't the best was because they held up the center of the pancake so that it was too far from the heat and there were many occasions that the pancakes weren't cooked all the way. So I finished the batch without blueberries and MY opinion is that the pancakes are best when they are just plain. The recipe is so tasty that you don't even have to use syrup!

Dinner:

And how could I be married to David Swafford without knowing how to make a chicken pot pie?? Not just any chicken pot pie, but his mom's recipe of course! So I tried it...in a foreign land with some substitute ingredients...and it wasn't that bad. The biggest problem is that the original recipe is for a larger thus shallower pan. So I mixed everything so the ratios were right, and then had to take some out. I think it was still a little too deep causing it to be too runny, but we're getting there. The crust was good though. Self rising flour is really cool.

The next bit of exciting news is that David and I are leaving for a vacation tomorrow. We are headed to the south of France in hopes of warm weather, lots of site seeing, and a good amount of time on the beach...in the heat! Hopefully the weather there will stay warm...last time we were at the beach it was a disaster. :o\

Until we return...

The children have arrived.

This past Monday David and I, along with our friend John, took a road trip to Frankfurt Germany to pick up some undergraduate students that will be spending their summer semester in Metz. We ended up seeing more of Frankfurt than we were expecting...

To start we got these cool t-shirts to identify us as the people that it is safe to go with.

Then, we got to ride on this cool bus all by ourselves. It seems like it would be a double-decker bus but that isn't the case. The driver and luggage space is below, and the passengers get to ride up high. As you can see, you took the really good seats. For most of the ride we all were reading our various Harry Potter books. (It's 3 hours both ways)This is the rest of the bus...and because it isn't that interesting I will take the time now to tell you about why we spent more time in Frankfurt than we were expecting. As we were leaving Metz we noticed that the driver was following the signs to Luxembourg rather than Strasbourg (which takes you to Frankfurt more easily). But we didn't question because he is the driver.

Before long we found ourselves driving down a very small road...then into a very small town...then back out again and towards a gas station. At this point there was some concern that we were lost. We then stopped at the gas station and the driver got out. He went inside to ask someone directions. At this point it was confirmed, we were lost.

About 30 minutes later we found ourselves approaching an airport. I had just flow into Frankfurt after receiving my VISA so David asked me if any of this looked familiar. "No," I said. Written on the much too small airport we saw the name Frankfurt Hahn. This, in fact, is the regional airport of Frankfurt. Airlines such as RyanAir (similar to SouthWest in the US). Once we had walked into the airport and realized this we knew that there was noway international flights would fly here...so we went back out to the bus, explained this to the driver, who then proceeded to call his boss. After a brief phone call he told us "There are supposed to be students arriving here...you should go check all the flights inside." Why the bus driver would know this is mystery to me...but for some reason both he and his boss thought we had people to pick up at this airport.

After David and John spent a while in the airport...waking up some Asian guys that looked like they could have been GT students (Stanford instead...) they came back out and told the driver that "No...this is the wrong airport." Again, the driver called his boss to confirm the travel changes and we were finally on our way again...120 some kilometers in the wrong direction. We had to drive another hour and a half to get to Frankfurt International airport where we found 35 students and 2 angry professors waiting in the rain for their ride back to Metz. The bus was already 3 hours late. Why they all couldn't just hop on the train back to Metz (the same 3 hour trip) is also a mystery to me...but this is how it works for the undergrads.

Finally, they were all safely on the bus...ready for their naps on the way back to the Technopole.

Scuba Swaffs.

...some of those pictures from the website...

Pretty neat huh!?

Scuba Diving.

David and I have been interested in scuba diving for a while now. It just so happens that our friend Denis Grandidier used to be a diving instructor at a pool very close to our apartment. So yesterday he told us about an informational gathering that they would be having...followed by a baptism into diving! (Baptism, meaning that we got the chance to try it out to see if it was something we would enjoy and may consider pursuing)

So this is where it all took place. After we went through a room with some pictures and videos all about scuba diving with this club we went to the pool!

It's been so long since we've been to a pool, just being there was exciting. Anyway, below is a picture of my instructor (the one with the blue swim cap on). After they give you a brief orientation of the equipment and what you'll be doing, you get an instructor who takes you around the pool to make sure you don't have any problems. His name is Reggie (probably spelled "Regis" but I'll call him Reggie).

Although we weren't able to take pictures of ourselves we were able to take some of our friend John doing it, because he showed up later. (He had Reggie too)

For some reason they require you to wear swim caps...even when you're just coming to swim at this pool for fun. So they gave them out for free to anyone who wanted to get baptized. David's was black and mine was blue - of course. In the pool they also put some pictures of fish and had a tube releasing bubbles to create a more realistic atmosphere. (hahaha) I told Reggie that they needed to add some of those mechanical fish that swim on their own. He said that he had some at home...but he couldn't find them. Oh well!

For the pictures that they took of everyone, with a waterproof camera, go here. (There aren't very many of us...but you can see, in general, what we did.)

http://nautilus.asso.fr/

Then to "Photos"

Then to "Baptêmes 12/5"

So, by the end of the day it was official! We were baptized!

And we have certificates to prove it :o)

Because of all this we plan to join the club when they start certifying people again in October. It's going to be a lot of fun. We will be doing it with our friends John and Katherine and whoever else we can recruit from now until then. Woohoo - scuba diving trips to come!

In the most recent past...

It has been a while since I have done a food update for everyone, so here goes.

I made stuffed peppers! We prefer the yellow ones over the green ones. But they were pretty tasty. I do have some tweaking I'd like to do on them though.
Salsa! There is nothing like some homemade salsa. The only problem is finding cilantro over here. They don't sell it in clusters like they do in the US, so we borrowed some from a friend who bought it in the form of a potted plant.

Apple Nut Squares. Yummy! But when they are warm they taste best without the nuts. I think this recipe can also be used to make banana bread :o) ...bet you can guess what I'll be trying next.

A Quiche! Although very common, this quiche wasn't made by following a recipe. I did my own improvising and was thoroughly pleased with the results. (important...precook the crust a little before you add everything)

Chicken Cordon Bleu! Yum Yum, next time I will use crunchier bread crumbs, but we were very happy with the tenderness of the chicken and the delicious melting cheese...yum! Homemade Chocolate Chips cookies! Lacking some of the recommended ingredients I was able to make some successful substitutions and they turned out fabulously. :o)

And lastly...although not edible...we made dinner for our friend Vinod and he brought us a cactus! We named him Fluffy.

Politics, a universal similarity.

It's a hazy day here in Metz the day after the French Presidential election. The sun is not shining and it's about to rain. Some may say that this is because of the results of the Presidential election.

Similar to the last Presidential Election in the United States, France experienced a very close race yesterday before announcing their new President, Nicolas Sarkozy. The country was divided nearly in half as 53.1% of the people wanted Sarkozy and 46.9% of the people wanted Segolene Royal.

We went to one of the French PhD student's apartments to watch the results. There was a countdown clock set so that the most recent estimates could be posted all at the same time. (Unlike the map we usually get in the US where states are either colored red or blue as results come in)

Experiencing politics in another country is very interesting. But, it's all the same. The campaigning battles, candidate bashing, and extreme dislike of one party or another.

Sarkozy will take office in June, but the rioting has already begun (most the burning of cars).

Below is a video that was made (not by me) for Nicolas Sarkozy. Just like I had Segolene Royal's theme song in my video, here you will hear the one for Sarkozy. I still think this is the most interesting part of Frence politics. Every candidate needs a theme song...

Spider-Man Trois!

This past Wednesday we went to Luxembourg to see Spider-Man 3. We went all the way to Luxembourg (1 hour) because they show the movie in VO (version originale aka English). It was a very good movie, we were all very impressed. On the way to the theater David was trying to decide what to do with his sweatshirt. So we decided to try the French guy look...

It didn't last very long...he hated it. It was funny though.

We got to the theater and bought tickets. Each one had one of those scratch off prize things on the back of it. I got the best prize...buy one get one free BigMacs - but only in Luxembourg. Oh well. I've never really had success with these things before.
We were the first ones to the theater. At first we thought that we'd be the only ones there. (Surprizing because it was only the second day the movie had been out...but it was in the afternoon) Here we (minus me) are! Sitting waiting for the movie to start. It's nice to have prime seating.
And the movie began...

Everyone look for David's aunt's name in the credits! Vivian Baker - she does makeup.

The long wait.

Today I embarked on the final journey to obtaining my carte de sejour. Actually, over the last two days, but the story will be told in one.

First, from the Prefecture, you receive a piece of paper that has a date on it with two doctor's offices listed and times that you have been assigned an appointment. Then another piece of paper with a certain number of stamps on it and a dollar amount that you have to pay in order to get the stamps. In my case, 275 euros. Yeah, that's a lot.

The first medical visit was for an x-ray...an x-ray of my lungs. This is necessary to make sure that I don't have some illness (I forgot which one). Anyway, the process to accomplish this is quite interesting. You go to the doctor's office give your piece of paper to the lady at the front desk because it proves who you are and that you are there, then you sit in the waiting room and wait. They call your name and take you back into a room. There, the nurse tells you to "take off everything on top, and wait here" ... yep. So I stand there, with nothing on on top, and wait. Then another nurse comes in and grabs my arms and drags in into another room...very awkward. While speaking French she asks me if I'm pregnant (to which I say "no") and then tells me where to stand. As she smashes me up against the x-ray machine she tells me that I have to take a big breath and hold it whenever she tells me to. She then goes back to her "post" says big breath really loud takes the x-ray and says voila. I go back to my room, dress, and go back to the waiting room to wait for my x-ray. This is what it looked like by-the-way. Pretty cool huh...you can even see some of my intestines! Hehehe

Next, I had to take my x-ray to another doctor's office so he could evaluate it. But, I had 15 minutes to walk to an office that was a 30 minute walk away! Luckily, I stopped by the nearest bus stop to check what time the next bus might come and saw it would come in 2 minutes (it really came in 4, but it was ok) I was able to make it to the next office on time. At this office I had to wait much longer. First I was called back by a nurse who weighed me, checked my height, and then my vision, and then made me go back to the waiting room for the doctor. Then the doctor came and began calling patients. When he called me back he asked for my x-ray, took my blood pressure, and listened to my heart. Then he told me my x-ray looked good and that I should find a general practitioner near our house to check my vaccination records.

The next day I went back to the Prefecture, bought the 5 stamps that cost me 275 euros and waited for over two hours to turn in the stamps and doctor's form. When my number was finally called it took me 3 minutes, at the most, in the office, and I was done! Good thing I had my Harry Potter book with me so I wasn't bored and the time flew by. But now all I have to do is wait for the carte de sejour to come in the mail. This should take about a month or more. Why? No one knows. But finally! I'm finished! Now I can live in France with no worries.

On another note, David is in need of another hair cut. See:

Although he really did like this hair-do it needs to be cut again. I cut his hair now :o) And you can ask him, I do a pretty decent job. :o)

Addition.

If you look to the right side of your screen you will see where I have added a link under Links. It is called "More Swafford Photos and Videos." Here you will find more photos and videos from trips that we take or things that we do. Most of them have lots of captions too. Check them out! ...and keep a lookout because I will be updating it whenever we do something...and take lots of pictures. :o)

Just to give you some motivation...here are a few pictures from today

We went on a road trip to a chateau for a picnic, an American Cemetery, and to some other places along the way. You'll find some pretty neat pictures as well as a few videos. Enjoy!

Our Neighbor!

The other day we had a friend over for dinner and while looking out our window he noticed something we had never seen before. We have a furry neighbor!

As I'm sure you would have guessed, I have tried tirelessly to get her (I think) to walk across the roof to visit us...but she is still a little unsure of the crazy red head that keep popping out of the window next door. It's cool though, knowing that she is there. Not exactly like having our own pet but it's as close as I'm going to get for a few years!

Mail, Toe, Meds

Today David went to pick up the shipment from his Mom. Check it out... media mail.

They are the text books he ordered to help him study for PhD qualifying exam. This is actually one of two big bag packages he'll be getting. This was spray painted on the other side of the bag...

To me it looks like something that would be sent for the military. It was "tied" at the top with a big brown belt thing. When David carried it he looked like Santa Clause. I guess we get to keep the bag too...

Secondly, I jammed the little toe on my right foot this morning on my way to the shower. I've done this many times, and usually it just gets black and blue for a while, hurts, and goes away. But, this time, with the jam, I got a nice big slice across the top of my toe. It's pretty deep, and stings. Get what we don't have around our apartment...band aides. Time to go to the pharmacy... It's bad though because it is in a very inconvenient place. I don't want it to get infected...but you should see the door where I cut it...the wood isn't smooth, it's jagged - which is why I think I got a cut this time. Ew... (sorry no picture...that just wouldn't be right...)I still am a little stuffed up, but my nose isn't running away from me. And, I've actually been able to breath out of it a few times! It's wonderful. So let me tell you how it works over here with over the counter medicines. You know how in the US you can usually buy things like Advil or cough medicine right from the grocery store? Well here, the grocery stores don't even carry that stuff. You have to go to the pharmacy, and you usually have to ask for it...because they don't have many things sitting out on shelves for you to just pick up. It's kind of annoying because you have to wait in line behind people that are asking questions about certain ailments etc, but that is what it is like.

Lastly, David and I are getting pumped up about the new Harry Potter book and movie that will be coming out this summer. He's started reading the 6th book (Half Blood Prince) again but still wants to get all of the books to read before the last one comes out. There are now trailers available for the 5th movie (Order of the Phoenix)... I've been trying to finish the first Lord of the Rings book, and I'm getting there, but with all this talk about Harry Potter I have the urge to read those instead. I'm glad I got back into reading...it's a good thing.

My family in Paris.

This Sunday David and I went to Paris to meet up with my Aunt and Uncle who flew in from NY to begin their vacation between France, Italy, and Ireland.

(this is us at the top of the Eiffel Tower)

But, before we meet up with them we went to Sacre Coeur since David had never been there. It's pretty pretty - but they are obsessed with making sure you don't take any pictures on the inside, so this is all you get to see.

So then we went to the Eiffel Tower to meet them. We met directly underneath the tower...it's pretty easy to meet someone when you say "I'll meet you directly underneath the Eiffel Tower in the center." If you get lost with those instructions, you've got a problem. This is the picture I liked the most from our time at the Eiffel Tower. It is from the very top...see its shadow?

At the very top Anna called our cousin Ben (my Aunt and Uncle's son) to say "hello" from the top of the tower. But he wasn't there, so we left a message...but it was a nice thought. Anna will be their tour guide through France and will travel with them into Italy.

On June 10 it will be even more convenient for us to meet friends and family traveling through Paris because of the TGV! Only 1:25 minutes instead of 3 hours. But it still isn't cheap, so sorry if we can't meet you, but we'd like to!

l'escalier

This tissue box represents a couple of things.

The extremely runny nose I've had lately.


Hopefully the end of our allergy season - since it's almost May and I actually bought a box of tissues...so now that I'm prepared it will probably end. (fine with me!)


The box that fell down our four flights of stairs this afternoon because I was carrying too much - it was very cool and it still survived.

The Little Things.

There are a few new additions to our family here in Metz, France... You may have already heard about this one, but here she is...Constantine helped us move it in. He got one too. They are twins - just with two different homes. This is David and Constantine trying to figure out how everything needs to be connected.

This is a view of her insides...look quickly - she's shy. :o)

This is where she resides in the apartment (because of where all the connections are). Right next to the sink.

These are the controls I get to figure out how to use.

Not too complicated. Few words, lots of pictures.

These are the rest of the buttons. Pretty neat huh??

Well, we are really excited!

It's the little things in life people...the little things. (ok...it is pretty big)

Next, David and I took a trip to IKEA. Why? This is why...

Yep. Of free pans from the 50 piece set have reached their limits. I can't cook on these things anymore...they are terrible. They were good for starting out, and it definitely helped to have money to spend on other things, but the bottom of this thing is about to break through. So, with a promise to provide really good meals David bought me some new pans! They are really nice...some of the nicest ones you can get at IKEA - oooh, ahhh!

These are officially our new pots and pans since we didn't get any for our wedding. I'm really excited! We also got a coffee table which will help us out in a lot of ways. We now have more space for guests to sit and eat, and watching movies from this height is much better than what we were doing before. With people watching from the floor it was hard to see. This will work much better. So, technically all this stuff isn't just for us. :o)

We also bought a potato masher and a knife sharpener and some 'cutting boards' to protect the surface of our waching machine.

David also got some running shoes. They are SO hard to find here...these people need better shoes. I'm surprised their feet last so long. AND they were really on sale so we were super happy. So, now we will go running.