Hello September!

Note: I saw this item on a blog about a couple in Arizona who were in a plane crash.  The young couple just had received their pilot licenses and they were out flying with an instructor when they crashed.  The instructor died and the couple was severely burned on their entire bodies. The husband has 40% burns and the wife has 80% covering their bodies.  They have four children together; who the couples' sister is now taking care of.  How tragic; and things like this happen every day, every minute in the world.  But I guess when I heard about this it just reminded me to be thankful everyday for having a healthy body and that my family and friends are safe.  Don't forget to be thankful for that today!  The sister of the victim is doing fundraising and the craft/blog community has started doing benefit auctions.  I really appreciate how blogs can actually bring total strangers together.  In one way, it's kind of weird to look at a stranger's blog and have an intimate insight into their lives. But also, you can see that there are some really lovely people in the world with some very interesting things to say (or write).  This story really touched me today and I thought about it a lot so I wanted to put the link up to her blog.   She seemed like a great mom with beautiful kids; I hope she and her husband recover ok.  www.nieniedialogues.blogspot.com ---Have a look at the site and maybe donate something for the auction on etsy?

Ok, now on to something different......

One observation I've made since living in Europe is that the people here seem to live with and around animals more so than in the States.  What I mean by that is they seem to live in a closer harmony with animals, both pets and livestock.  On many occasions I've seen a shepherd walking down a village road with his flock of sheep; when do we really see that in the States anymore?

Another crazy animal thing I saw yesterday was a man taking his huge horse for a swim in the ocean.  We were on a dune beach and we saw a man pull up with a horse trailer, unload, and lead the horse to the water.  And that horse knew just what to do.  Soon the man was out treading water next to his horse and the horse was submerged in the ocean from the neck down.  They were almost frolicking in the water together, like two friends.  It was such a bizarre sight, but so beautiful and loving too.  You gotta really love your horse to take him to a nice beach in South France just for a swim!

They also eat a much wider variety of meats that we do in the States.  Browsing the meat section in France you see lapin, (rabbit) with the eyes still open and glossy, lait de agneau (lamb), which I roasted the other night and it was succulent, goat, (surprisingly amazing when cooked right) and cheval, one which I will stay away from.  Yes, people, horse meat and they do in fact sell it at every grocery store here.  

Another interesting tidbit about the grocery stores here: all eggs are stocked on normal shelves without refrigeration, as is milk.  Just think about how that would go over in the germaphobic U.S.  The milk must have been pasturized, because I don't know how it doesn't sour.  

Here is a pic I took in Spain as we were leaving the beach at sunset.  All the families heading home from a nice day spent at the beach.  Well, the sheep weren't spending their day at the beach, but they are taking the same road home as everybody else.  (The boy in yellow was acting as a herder too because if any of the sheep ran off the side of the road, he'd scoot up behind them with his little bike and ring his bell.  Immediately the stray sheep would fall back into place.)

Well, enjoy your first few days of September everyone! I know that I'm looking forward to feeling that first crisp, cool breeze hidden in the air of this hot Marseille summer.
 

Squeezing all the Juice out of Summer

So, it's been a while and I have to catch up on what I've been up to lately.  Lots of fun, summery things because summer doesn't last forever and we have to take advantage while we can, right?  After all it is almost September...

I put up lots of pics from some hiking, boating, and biking we've been doing.  But most importantly is our trip to Spain!  Yes, my hubby took me to Spain for our 4 month wedding anniversary.  Damn, he is spoiling me; I mean if every 4 months of marriage I get to go on an amazing trip like that, I'll be a happy camper!  Neither of us had been to Spain and since it's only a 5 hour drive from Marseille we had to go.  We didn't exactly know where to go, but looking at a map we saw the Coasta Brava coastline must be beautiful.  A quick Google image search confirmed this, so we bought a new tent packed up the car and headed out in the morning.  5 hours later we found ourselves checking into our grand hotel with an ocean view:  The Moby Dick Campgrounds.  Hey, for 20 Euros a night, you can't beat it.  Our site was nice and flat and did have amazing views.  You can't say we exactly had a lot of privacy, but the bathroom facilities were stunning; clean, bright, hot water, and open all night.

We ended up in a small coastal town called Calella de Parafrugell, which turned out to be very charming.  We used that as our base camp, if you will, and we explored the towns along the coast north and south of Calella.  Some of the ones we loved were: Tamariu, Cap Roig, and Begur.  We tried to seek out the quietest beaches, which are always the ones that are more difficult to get to.  So, we would pack up all our snorkeling gear, beach stuff, and lunch and hike to small beaches.  The first day we managed to find a little cove beach that we were all alone at for most of the day, until the afternoon when 2 guys came.  We were snorkeling in crystal clear water, between two cliffs that plunged into the water and formed little passageways we swam through.  Although there wasn't the bright coral you see in the Carribean, there was lots of fish and other life in the water.  We could see this was the case as we got lunch that day at a restaurant in Tamariu: everything on the menu was fresh seafood caught locally.  Yum, yum, Spanish food is totally amazing.  We ate some kind of seafood everyday for lunch and dinner.  The highlight was coming back to the camp site in the early evening after a full day of fun and sun and showering, getting all dressed up and going to dinner.  It was my perfect vacation; mixing 'roughing it' with 'wining and dining'.  

We ate at some incredible restaurants for surprisingly little, as compared to what dining out in France costs.  We ate at Mas Olives and shared a real spanish Paella, loaded with prawns, mussels, squid, and tiny lamb ribs.  It is accompanied with rice cooked with roasted veggies and saffron.  This all eaten with a great Spanish red, gaspacho, crispy hot bread, and clams.  Our last night was spent at an unforgettable restaurant, which was called El Cau, located in Esclanya.  Here is the description from the restaurant guide: " The Costa Brava's best kept secret.  A perfect village square, chilled Spainish wine, fresh fish and seafood and seasonal cooking.  A friendly welcome and informal atmosphere to relax in.  Dine under the stars in a medieval village below the church towers. "

It was truly an amazing meal from start to finish: I had an avocado and shrimp salad to start and Yann had Spanish style escargo.  My main was Turbot roasted in the oven with onions, tomatoes, and potatoes, and Yann had mixed grilled fish, which was incredible.  They served it with house made chips and two sauces, and garden peas with onions.  It was such simple, straightforward food, that was done so well.  For dessert, Yann had a Catalan Custard, a local dessert, and I had a roulade of light cake filled with an espresso chocolate mousse and drizzeled with a carmel sauce.  Just writing this, I am reliving this meal, which is such a great memory.  (If you haven't noticed yet, I'm a total dorky foodie)  All that with a very unique Spanish white, which was gone completely at the end of the meal.  No doubt, I will be back at this restaurant someday.  

On our way out of Spain, heading back to France we stopped in Figures, Spain to see the Salvador Dali Museum, which was definitely worth the stop.  Luckily, we arrived early before most of the crowds.  As, we were leaving the museum we saw the line had tripled in size since our arrival.  Dali, who was a freak and a genius, is buried in a crypt under the museum.  The museum is an old theater that was partly destroyed and Dali moved in to rehab it and make it his for showing his art and instillations.  This was after his wife, Gala died, and he was crushed emotionally.  (He had an obsession with Gala.  She is the subject of many of his works.)  He was living alone in their 'castle' elsewhere in Spain and after a fire there, he moved to Figures to work on the theatre.  He ended up living right next to it for the rest of his life. The theatre is an amazing structure in itself.  The work inside ranges to famous Dali masterpieces to lesser known works and bizarre art instillations/optical illusions.  It kind of felt like being in a fun- house at a weird carnival.  Yann had never heard of Dali, so he was quite impressed seeing all this man's art.  

We are back in France and we decided to stay put in Marseille for the next few months to give our bank account a rest.  Just going to enjoy the rest of the summer and wait for my work visa to come through. We've sent in all the papers and they said in Mid-September it should come through.  We are buying plane tickets to go back to Sarasota for Christmas; does anyone want to come and meet my husband?? 

Pictures:

Inside the Salvador Dali Museum, Figures, Spain

Dali's Self-Portrait

Yann is thoroughly enjoying his Spanish Red...

My favorite salad from El Cau Restaurant: avocado, squid, shrimp, salad, olive oil.

Snorkel Dorks

Loungin' at our private beach.

The background is actually fake; it's really not that beautiful in Spain.

We stuffed our faces the entire trip.  I had a dulce de leche gelato for dessert at this cafe that was unforgettable.  I almost want to drive the 5 hour trip again just to have a giant bowl of it.

After Biking in Marseille

We went out on the boat with Matthew & Bert., we anchored off the cliffs in this little cove and went snorkeling.  OMG, the water was so cold even with full wetsuits.  Our only company was a naked French cliff dweller.  Not kidding people; I took a picture to prove it.  Not only did this dude not mind sunning his naked self on a rock in plain view, but he also proceeded to swim in the freezing water naked.  (shrinkage factor,hello!??) And have you ever see a naked rock climber?  Because unfortunately now I can say I have.  Welcome to the South of France.  (Pic of naked man below; luckily from a distance so he is very small.)

Bert. shreddin' it

Captain Yann

Laila, Mark and I hiking to the Calanque in Cassis, right outside of Marseille.  Beautiful day with snorkeling, sunning, and hanging with my American/Canadian buddies.  Laila thought this hike was 'easy'; she is an IronWoman.  

It was a super hot and sunny day as you can see.  

Swimming at the calanques has to be the most refreshing thing I've done.  You feel so full of energy when you get out of the water.  Which is a good thing because you need it for the long hike straight up.  

Je arrive à Marseille!

Salut! I finally made it back here and now Yann is at work and I have a moment to update the old blog. I arrived back on August 4th, and Yann had 8 days off, which was a really cool thing to come home to. After unpacking my 300 pound suitcase we decided to go camping and kiting for a night in Beaduc, which is this beautiful natural beach with sand dunes. Its a really popular spot for kite boarding too, and there were lots of others camping with our same idea. We made up some food at home and brought a good bottle of wine and a few crucial bundles of firewood. We went snorkeling, kiting, and played frisbee until dusk and then went back to the campsite for some roasted sausages over the fire. yum, yum. seriously, why is food always better when roughing it?

We enjoyed the night stars and the crackling of the fire and headed off to the tent. Just as we are getting ready for bed, the wind kicks up something awful and all we can hear once in our beds is the ripping of our tent zippers. I am being serious when I say it felt like the world was ending out there. The tent was becomming unstaked from the sand, and sand is not the best kind of material to stick in your tent stakes, let me tell you! Yann is snoring away but come 3 am there is no way I can sleep because I feel like I may blow away and end up in the Phillipines. So, I wake him up and tell him Im going to sleep in the truck. He says ok, but someone has to stay with the tent.

So, I say, well, yeah, YOU have to stay with the tent. And he does. For about 10 minutes until he comes back to the truck and tells me there is no way he can sleep with all that damn flapping. So, he joins me in the tiny tiny blue truck, where we agree we will just pretend that we are flying in an airplane and we have to sleep sitting up. With our tray tables stowed and our seats in a VERY upright position. Morning comes and the sun shines in our car window and wakes us up. Its 5 am. I look out the truck window to see if the tent has flown away and I see that Yann has cleverly tied a giant rope around the tire to the tent poles...my smart baby. So, both the tent and ourselves survived; minus a few torn zippers and sore backs.

We enjoyed our next day. Lots of attempts on my part at kiteboarding. I got up and rode a couple times for a few seconds, but I really sucked overall. The main issue I had was with the other 480 kiters whizzing all around me at a million miles an hour. I was hard for me to feel like I could be free to practice, because I felt like I was going to throw my kite on someones head. But I definitly made some progress and that is what learning is all about, right?

Anyways, sad news on the computer front for me: my Mac has gone bananas and is no longer working for the moment. Im so frustrated by this because Yann and I just bought a new digital camera and also a digital camcorder. I was really wanting to try to do some photo editing on Photoshop Elements and also try to download the Camping Wind Nightmare episode on youtube so I could put a link to the blog. Anyways, Im sending her to a good American docctor and hopefully she will make a full recovery.

Anyways, until next time...a bientot!

An {Okra} Recipe for Disaster

Here is a new family favorite recipe for Mama's Cabin Burnin' Okra:

-First wash and cut stems off okra.  Cut into 1/2 inch pieces.  Coast lightly in flour, dip in 2 beaten egg whites, and then dredge in salted bread crumbs.  Heat 2 inches of canola oil up to 350 F and in batches fry okra pieces until they are golden brown.  Skim them from the oil, drain on paper towels, and salt.  Serve in a basket lined with a napkin and ketchup for dipping.  Leave your house to take okra to neighbor's house for dinner.  Don't turn off the gas burner under the giant pot of hot oil on the stove.  Leave all windows closed and leave your dog trapped in the house.  When you hear the neighbor's dog barking at sirens, ignore (even if they sound close).  When fire department calls and says they've just arrived to your house to check out a potential fire, freak out.  Speed back home and find that two firemen have saved your ass and your dog is fine.  Open all windows upstairs & down to rid the house of heavy black smoke.  Give your dog a treat for not attacking and killing the 2 nice firemen as they broke in your house to help when you wern't there.   Tell your daughter she was right; you shouldn't have rushed to make Fried Okra when you only had 10 minutes to get to the neighbor's house on time for dinner.  Moral of the recipe:  When makin' Fried Okra: don't rush through it, always be sure to turn that burner off, and ALWAYS listen to your daughter!

Above are some bizarre-o pics of recent wasp nest finds under our house.  I think they are so beautiful; they show some serious architectural considerations on account of the wasp.  Unbelievable, right?!  I imagine the little wasp landing on the lightbulb and thinking, 'OK, I gotta make a nest by 5pm today and I still am fresh outa ideas for the design!'  Then he inspects the object he's landed on and thinks: ' I bet I could reproduce this!'   He did pretty good on the lightbulb; just a little off on scale.  

And the other one reminds me of a wedding cake.  A four layer cake topped with a honeycomb puff.  It's scary how smart they are...

we're (blackberry) jammin'

Our Bullpen Trail blackberry jam 

I've been working on my embroidery stitches...my first piece here; not too bad, eh?

Well, yesterday evening I was feeling so bummed about not being with Yann; It's kind of a form of torture to be separated from my new husband.  I really miss him sooo much and now I'm kind of kicking myself for not finding a way to head back to France earlier.  But it is what it is, ya know? So, we are counting down to days to our reunion. I think there are about 11 more days because I go back on August 3rd. I've been away from Marseille since June 2nd.  So, that is a total of about 65 days that I will have been gone from our home there.  However, Yann and I did get to meet up for the Honeymoon in Brazil, which is a whole-nutha' post in itself!  We got to spend 2 weeks together there, but still there is no place like home; home with the hubby.  

I was down, melancholy, and generally moody last night and for a good part of the morning today about all that.  But then I took Rascal hiking and seeing him let loose in the river chasing sticks made me feel joy.  I was totally living vicariously through him; a perfect dog day.  The only 'down' he felt all day was when he was stung on the top of his nose by a hornet.  It got all puffy and huge on the end of his snout.  He was terrified for about 10 minutes after that, because he had no idea what happened or where the pain originated from.  He stayed right by me, looking for protection.  It must be nice to be a dog, where you take each moment right as it comes at you.  Rascal never knows what is in store for him, where he may go for the day.  Maybe we'll take him hiking or maybe he lay around in the sun on the porch all day.  Either way though his day is great, as long as he stays away from wasp nests and rattle snakes.  And when he does experience pain, it's usually only physical, not emotional, and in five minutes after the initial pain subsides, all is forgotten and the day is full of beauty and bliss again. 

Well, unfortunately for us humans and it takes us a little longer to get over our blues.  And I finally got over mine after finding a giant stretch on the trail of sun-ripened blackberries.  We immediately went to town stuffing water bottles and hats full of the things.  We ended up with a gallon sized plastic bag of em' and each time we called it quits, we'd find another mother-load. As we called them, mother-loads. I like the sound of that for some reason.  Talk about getting over my 'blues', my hands are now completely stained dark blue/black in a weird spotty pattern that won't scrub off.  

Well, we came home and made wild blackberry jam and that definitely lifted my spirits, especially since the jam set up so firmly.  I hate nothing more than jam that don't never set up.  A beautiful black and chunky and seed-filled jam to make me a happy camper.  

Well, also I wanted to remind you that I'm going to be the big ol' 2-7 on July 29th! OMG!  Some people like to hide the fact that their birthdays are coming up; maybe they feel like they are too old or that they are embarassed with all the attention.  Me, I like to begin a nice birthday week of celebration before and after.  I also like to remind all my friends and tell lots of random store clerks and mail men that my birthday is coming soon.  I really can't explain why except that, as you read in a past post, my mom always threw killer b-day parties for us and we'd go around and promote the event to the kids in the neighborhood.  My birthday was in the summer and most of the kids were away on vacation with their families.  So, in order to reward those faithful friends who happened to be around in late July, we'd throw a real whopper of a party.  Clowns, pinatas, ice cream cake, ect...So, no biggie this year; just a small party at home and that's that! :) Hello, Year 27!

Also, we are in the process of putting my Asheville/Montford home on the market, so if you know anyone interested; it is a truly great house.  It was very well loved and taken care of.  You can see the description, pictures, and asking price of the house by going to:

www.ashevillebungalow.blogspot.com

pictures from the shower...

Here are the pics from the shower...check the post below

for the story on the party...xo H

All photos credits go to Abby Liga, photog extraordinaire, at Liga Photography, Orlando, FL

it's been sooo long (sorry!)

Hello again in July.  It's been a while since I've posted so I really feel like there is tons to say.  Let's start with what's been going on since I last left you...well, I have been here in Sarasota and will be here until I go back to France on August 3rd.  I was going to head back on July 16th, but Yann had an awful lot of bad shifts for this month and he wasn't going to be able to be home in Marseille much at all.  So, we decided so that I wouldn't have to spend my 27th B-day all by my lonesome, that I should stay here in SRQ with fam & friends until August comes.  His schedule is much better then and we will be able to be together much more.  We were bummed when I changed my plane ticket to extend my stay here, but I know the time will pass fairly quickly and soon we'll finally be reunited!  I miss my guy so much!

And I had my bridal shower here at the house.  Abby took some beautiful pics that I will be posting as soon as they arrive.  It was truly a wonderful party.  Usually the bride is kept from knowing the planning details, such as the theme, games, food, ect.  Well, as you know, NOTHING about my marriage has been traditional, hence my mom and I planning and executing the whole thing ourselves. ( With some late night help on the eve of the shower from Steph & Abbs)  I felt first hand what it would be like to be a caterer/part planner.  First, we had to start with a theme; we decided to do a pink-y French, Eiffel Tower theme.  Sounds kinda trite but it really turned out cute as a button.  We wanted to have my dad's new espresso machine out on the counter for all to use, but we didn't want to buy 10 million cappucino cups that we can't fit in my mom's already full cupboards.  So, after a quick search on ETSY, we decided to buy customized latte mugs from an artist.  I thought it was better to support an artist and they did turn out so cute.  Each one was a little different.  Then after the guest used her mugs for coffee she could take it home as a favor.

We really went all out on the food.  The only things we ended up getting 'catered' was the cake and the fruit and veggie tray.  We made deviled eggs, creamy dill shrimp salad, mini sundried tomato and leek quiches, mixed olive plate, curried chicken salad on baby croissants, cheese board (with all French cheeses), home made hummus and toasted pitas, and tea sandwhiches.  We cracked open many-a-champagne bottles and had a great time overall.  I also ordered a cooper cookie cutter in the shape of the Eiffel Tower and made sugar cookies.  I iced them with Royal Icing in pink & black and put them in little bags as favors.  I made this fabric banner with said, "Congratulations, Heather & Yann" to hang on the walls.  It felt kinda funny doing all this extra work for my shower, but for parties, I go all out.  I really wanted to do an above average job so people would remember it.  

Instead of the stupid games, like, Pass the Greased Cucumber Between your Legs, we made up French Trivia games, where we tested everyone knowledge on French cusine & culture.  We also said some simple phrases in English and we gave a prize to the person who could translate it into French.  Good times, good times, maybe I should have made them play the Greased Cucumber game...

Anyways, all has been good since then.  I am headed up to North Carolina with the fam to do some summery hiking and camping.  Of course, my hound, Rascal is coming. We'll be celebrating my birthday on July 29th,  but it will feel weird to celebrate without my hubby there.  He will be there in spirit.  Katie R. is coming up from Atlanta and Rascal and her doggie are going to have a blast, I'm sure.  Her dog has never been hiking before so Rascal will have to show him the ropes on the trail.  

I've been doing this massive project for my family.  I ordered a machine from the internet where you can take all your old VHS and transfer them to DVDs.  So, I'm on DVD #61!! (OMG)  And it' been really nice to organize and catalog all the old family tapes.  I feel so nostalgic looking at us as kids; our parents really provided a great childhood for us.  So many adventures, birthday parties, presents at Christmas...I gleaned some good parenting tips from watching those tapes again.  I have to say old mom was the best birthday planner ever.  She would plan elaborate pool & patio games for us, and then we'd go inside to play Bozo Buckets and pin the tail on Minnie Mouse.  There was, without fail, always a pinata,  (this from their years living in Mexico in the 70's), which we would beat senseless until candy came pouring out. Then while we kids where shoving cake in our faces, there would be a knock at the door and a clown or a magician would come in to keep us entertained.  When I look back I feel like we've always had a lot of love and attention.  That's something so important to see on the videos, because many of the things on these tapes I was too young to remember.  But even though a toddler may not remember getting the ballon animal from the clown on her 5th birthday, she will remember the love surrounding the event.  I just hope I can give that same energy and excitement to my kids someday.  

Anyways, pics will be following soon...check back!