doin the hippo

 Today we took a little trip right outside Toulouse and because IKEA is closed on Sunday in France (to me a disappointment equal to Disney World being closed forever) we decided to dine at a place called Hippopotamus. Here is what I learned from eating there: Except for our one stumble into McDonalds we have only experienced local French places. This was a chain no doubt about it. It had a Ruby Tuesday/Applebeeish feel to it the second you walk in. While the food wasn't horrible...it wasn't anything to write home about either. It cost almost €18 ($27) for a burger and frites (fries) That's more than we have paid for gourmet burgers in the local French restaurants. And you could tell it was pre made "chain" fare. The best part was the menu. It was written in English and was a nice reprieve from all the work it is for me to read and order in, what my French/American friend calls Franglish.
    There is something about French food done the French way...or American food done the French way. No matter what it is you can tell it's been done with care. Everything is done with expectations of perfection. As soon as you try French food done the American way or American food done the American way (by a French chef) something gets lost in the translation. I had ribs (which of course I ate with a fork and a knife) and they tasted like something that would happen if a McRib sandwich and a can of spam got married and had a baby.

But He had violet mashed potatoes (made with purple potatoes) that were creamier than white potatoes and they were the bomb.

And the café and desserts were typically French and thus delish.

yes I'll have a slice of cold quiche and a hot slice of pride please and thank you

 So last week I ate cold quiche. I have done this before with my own that I have made but while I was eating this one I cried. Thank God for my big 80's sunglasses.

 He and I had eaten there the day before...it's where I had the most delicious thing I have ever had on my tongue.

 

Him: How is the citron meringue tart?

Me: I can't talk about it right now.

 

 

Have you ever tasted anything so magnificent that it made you too emotional to speak?

 

 I planned my strategy...I looked at the map. I walked there. I passed the church where I had met Him the the day before. There were 100s of people gathered round the church...pouring out into the street even. A line down the street of mourners waiting to get thru the long receiving line of soldiers decked out in their dress uniforms...red feathers sticking up from their tall hats...swords drawn. Streets all a round were closed off and police were everywhere. I found out later it was the previous la maire. He dies w/in weeks of being voted out of office. :(

Anyway because it was a lovely day right around lunch hour...13:00...the cafe was packed inside and out. So I walked across the street to a park and watched the cafe and the police in the streets giving people direction to detour as to not pass the church. I checked my translator...how to say "dining here" [sur place]...practice it. Finally it looked like à l'extérieur dining was clearing out. I walk in...the very pleasant girl greets me. I say hello...I ask for 1 slice of this quiche {pointing to it} ask for it to dine here..."oui" she says. She cuts a slice and places it in a paper bag and I move down to the cash register with my Orangina...she is busy {putting it on a plate and warming it I hope} Another sweet Madame comes and says something in French. "This is all" I say by pointing to my soda and saying "formage quiche" while pointing to the girl at the other end of the case...who is still busy doing something. She quotes the total. I pay..."merci"...point outside..."oui" she says. I sit with my soda at a table that is still covered with dishes from some earlier diner. I move the dirty stuff to another table and get a clean glass and flatware from the clean table. She brings my quiche...cold...still in the  brown bag.

 I tear open the bag and begin to eat my cold cheese quiche. It is soft and gooey...not in a good way...more like a mouthful of cold lard. The crust is greasy and bland. I keep eating as my pride and disappointment create such a knot in my throat that I can barely swallow. I get out my postcards and address book (what I planned to do as I savored my lunch) and just let it lay there until I could eat no more. As I walked as fast as I could back to the hotel to hide and lick my wounds til my He got home, I realized a few things about myself in that moment. My pride kept me from seeing naive by asking in my best Franglish to please put it on a plate and warm it. I could have pointed at the microwave on the shelf behind the counter. Who knows maybe they spoke English. It's ok to be naive when you are trying something new. That's what I used to tell my teenagers. You look more stupid if you try and "look" cool...like you know what your doing than if you ask how to something you have no experience in. 2nd thing I learned is that I should have been trying more ardently to learn French before I came.

 Oh well too late for any of that but I am following Edna Modes advice..."Never look back, darling! It distracts from the now!"


 It took me a coupla days before I got back on the horse and left the hotel by myself but I have did it everyday until Rachel got here on Saturday...oh did I tell you...RACHEL'S HERE! [that's different blog post]...and since Rachel got here I am even more courageous! Sometimes shop keepers and such don't speak any English and I speak so very very little French but we muttle though somehow. And I pledge never to eat cold quiche again!

lease signing + tapas + lost bag + 11pm nap = the perfect night........TAKE DEUX

Ok so a few minutes ago I got sidetracked and rabbit trailed on the wonders of Beatrice. Back to the main road...

WE SIGNED OUR LEASE LAST NIGHT!

 

 

He is wowing them with his ability to write HUGE numbers in French for the check.

 [our 1st French check btw]

[That is "The" Beatrice btw]

 

So as I stated in an earlier post Beatrice rode her bike to the real estate agents office [in a dress] [this can not be stated enough for my liking] And we signed 100's of papers....at least that's what it felt like. At one point David assured me were not buying the flat. Anyway after standing in the street with the map (after) with Beatrice telling us where to eat for the best supper close to the office. We headed off to the flat to meet with the current tenant, Madame Roche. She speaks a little English and He speaks a little French so we set off to discuss the purchase of the stove and several ceiling light fixtures and to talk about when and where to drop the trash which is called dechets [pronounce: day-shay] and such. When you rent an unfurnished flat in France [and other European countries I am told] the old tenants bring or purchase and then take with them ALL the appliances...range, dish washer, fridge, washing/drying machine and all ceiling light fixtures. Unless the previous tenet is like The Roche family and moving to a smaller flat with lower ceilings and already has a range. Its an odd system but never the less the system that has been working here since the dawn of time. After chatting with this very lovely sweet Madame Roche about where to shop and leave the trash and seeing the garage and cave [cellar] and meeting by chance one if the neighbors she walked us to the gate. I thanked her for her time and she told us that there are many times she wished she had someone help her with a new situation and she pointed out something that we are coming to realize, that the French are not big sharers of information...they are very private and play their cards close to the vest. We walked around the corner to our neighborhood restaurant...a Tapas place with, as is common here, lovely  outside dining. We worked our way thru 4 waiters trying to decipher the menu and ordered a sampling of their most popular tapas.

 

 

 

We got there at 7:30...it was almost completely empty...the kitchen didn't start serving until 8...the staff was still finishing up their supper inside. By the time we left there were people waiting in the street for a table.

 

 

a. calamari

b. Toulousian sausage

c. tomatoes

d. mushrooms with eggplant and garlic paste

e. fried cheese

f. fried chicken

g. the ever present duck [hearts i think]

h. bread with sauce and sardines

j. bread with sauce and ham

k. bread

l. fried  potatoes

m. garlic butter for the bread

n. sauce for the chicken [but I used it for everything]

 

 

 

oh yeah...and there was straight up octopus too

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway it was a lovely place with the best Sangria I have ever had [tho I haven't been to Spain as a legal adult so I'm leaving the vote open until we visit Spain] And we made friends with several of the staff especially the girl who spoke English very well. When we first got there the kitchen had not started serving yet so we just ordered drinks. When He went inside to use the toilet he said the whole staff was sitting at a long table together having supper. This is the custom here and we have walked in on this scene more than once. Since most places here have a "menu de jour" that changes daily, depending on what was available at the fresh market that day, it is important that the staff eat what is being served that day so they can tell you to the finest details what is in it and what it taste like. 

 

Anyway, because this is going to be a regular place and because we are this way anyway and because I am not sure enough of myself in this strange land to be anything but, we went out of our way to super friendly. And thank goodness we did....

 

We were exhausted when we got back to the room @ 11pm and flopped down on the bed and napped for 2 hours! When He got up to do some work that needed to be done He realized His bag [containing a very important little book with all sorts of personal sensitive info and his visa and Embassy badge and French work badge and phone charger and a bunch of other less important things] had been left on the patio of the tapas place!! He tried to call from the front desk with no answer. Now it is close to 2am! He ran, like really ran...with His feet across town with a dead phone and gets past the 2 big bouncers at the door to find a wild party going on...on a Thursday night...at 2am. I digress... He tells them why he has come and they hand him his bag from behind the counter.

Them: "You are very lucky we found it first."

Him: "You are my new best friends!"

 

He runs back across town to me and our room and takes a long hot bath while I work on my French flash cards!

 

 

Fini

 

 

lease signing + tapas + lost bag + 11pm nap = the perfect night........SCRATCH THAT this ones aaaaallllll about Beatrice.

So we finally signed a lease last night!!

 

 We walked across town to the real estate agents office where our personal angel aka our relocation expert aka Beatrice met us.

She rode her bike there. In a dress.

 

I need to take a moment to tell you about Beatrice [pronounced: Bay-eh-trees]. We hired her from the states (sight unseen) because we were told landlords won't even talk to you without a middle manager. We had no idea what a blessing she would be!! She is beautiful in a   sturdy way. She is tall and strong with large hands and feet but flows thru the streets, with us jogging to keep up with her, like a silk ribbon. The 1st day I met her it was pouring down rain and she came rushing into our hotel lobby in a trench coat and a floppy rain hat jammed down on her head. When she gripped my hand firmly with her right hand and introduced herself she used her left hand to sweep the rain hat off her head. Her shortish hair was pulled in a tight knot on the back of her head with unruly wisps framing her beautiful fierce brown eyes. I loved her instantly! She has made it possible for us to get our cell phones hooked up...find a flat that works with our American safety regs...our bank accounts set up and has made arrangements for our cable and Internet to be hooked up the day we get the keys. After looking at 6 flats on that rainy afternoon, walking miles thru the city streets my head was spinning. I was so lost and thought even if we found an apartment I would never be able to find my way back there. She must have noticed the lost look in my eyes because she kept smilimg at me from across the room as we waited for the English speaking banker, a friend of hers of course, to help us set up our new French account. The banker comes in to get us, Beatrice rises to say aurevoir...she shakes hands with Him, then comes to me, kiss's me on both cheeks and looks into my eyes and says in her thick French accent "Don't worry. Everything will be alright." She has reached hero status for me!


  Before she left us at our bank appointment she took us to a bakery that was filled with beautiful little cakes and candies and cookies and big lovely decorated wedding and birthday cakes. She knew just what to order because she had been coming there since she was a little girl with her grand mother. She ordered 3 little pastries and cafe for 3.

 

 

 

This was her favorite little cake when she was a little girl

and we of course had to order a violet Macaron since Toulouse is famous for it's violets.

 

 

I don't take sugar in my cafe but you better believe I dropped that little piece of chocolate in it!

 

 

 

 

 Until you are an American expat in a European country on Uncle Sams dime you can't understand how difficult it is to do such everyday things. You can't get a phone account set up without a bank account and you can't get a bank account until you have an address and you can't get an address without a bank account and you can't make any calls for these chores if you don't have a phone account. When needed she gave her own address. She called in favors and wooed her friends to give us deals or set up appointments in a timely manner. Beatrice is a dream and a tangible proof that God loves us and was already here making a way for us before we even got our visas!

it's funny the things that snag me...

So it's funny and very irritating the things that snag me up so badly that my progress on this blog comes to one of those eardrum piercing s l o w screechy halts like a train on 100 year old tracks! Uggg I have been trying for 2 hours to down load dozens n dozens of picks (10 @ a time) 0n a computer that won't except the memory card out of my phone, I was gonna bombard and most likely swamp this boat with afore mentioned dozens n dozens of pic or our almost 3 full weeks here...starting with our 1st day in Paris. But noooooo it has only down loaded about 5, seemingly random pics of every 10 I have sent. So I stopped and almost closed up shop. But I quickly came to my senses...and decided to do the best I can with what I got. Once again renewing my vow to start where I am and not keep getting further and further behind just because I can not do things in the order I desire...you know start from  the beginning. Life lesson of the day: Sometimes you gotta start where you are!

 

I have to say this because I have been dying to tell you this since I put the 1st mouthful of French yogurt in my mouth....THE FRENCH KNOW HOW TO DO CREAM!!  I don't like milk or really anything creamy in the US but here I can not get enough! Maybe because they take such great time to do everything revolving around food...from fattening the animals up without GMOs or hormones to separating and whisking every ingredient into submission. I have had tiramisu 50 times at home but I can honestly say I had tiramisu for the first time at the restaurant above the Victor Hugo market. I let Him pick the dessert because I was full. Since I don't like tiramisu He probably thought He'd have the whole thing to Himself. Poor thing  He insisted I taste it and ended up fighting me for the rest!

 

 This was our view and our food from L'imperiale above the Victor Hugo Market.

 

 

yesterday...le walmart français

There are 2 huge "open air" type of markets in downtown Toulouse that remind me of our beloved Seattle Pike Place market or Reading Terminal Market in Philly and of course there is the farmers market at Place du Capitole and a little "fresh market" every few blocks or so. But I know there will be items (household and grocery types) that I will not be able to get at any of those places...so yesterday after we scoured the local flea market here in downtown Toulouse, DQ and I took the metro (the one he takes everyday to work) to a suburb called Balma, outside the city. This is where he works so he was helping me get comfortable with the trip so I can meet him after work once a week to do big time grocery shopping. The first thing we did after getting off the metro was eat at KFC. There was no coleslaw or biscuits or ice for drinks or lids for cups (because as I have mentioned before no one walks around with drinks to go...hot or cold) but it was still finger licking good! Better even than the states.

Then we walked across the highway to a big mall that had a super store (Auchan.fr) that ran the whole length of the mall! Imagine super Walmart meets Costco. It was very Walmartish...people pushing and shoving (I got run over twice by other peoples carts) ...not an excusez-moi or merci or s'il vous plaît in the place (except by DQ and I)...screaming children...frazzled Mamas...cheap offerings etc. But right in the center of the mayhem is a long aisle of fresh, raw, stinky seafood and a long stinkier formage aisle and a HUGE wine selection.

 

 

I believe this white pile is dried fish.

 

There is also 2 aisles of yogurt! We have tried so many!! It is the best I have ever had!!

 

While this is the place I will be buying appliances and food and household goods I have never been so happy to leave a place. Altho, I need to add, the cashier was VERY kind and helpful and when she saw the deer in the headlights look on our faces as we were frantically trying to decide which H U G E line to get in to check out with our 8 items she came and got us and checked us out saving us about 40 minutes in line!


Anyway it was a side of France and French I have yet to have seen so it was a great learning experience. And after I get some more French under my belt I am sure I will be able to navigate these waters with more ease. Also there seemed to be some kind of system where you scan your items as you put them in the cart and give the cashier the scanner when you are ready to check out and it seemed to cut down on time and unloading and reloading the cart. That will take a lot more French to understand how that works. I have assigned DQ with the job of finding out about this system rom his French work gang. I'll keep ya posted.

One habit I hope to "take home" with me...

 

Speaking of tables full of chatter and laughter...I must say I love the "way" the French dine. I have yet to see a cell phone at any table in any restaurant fancy or plain, inside or out! Not even sitting on the table. Not even teenagers. I have seen dozens of people on the metro or walking the street or sitting on park benches blabbing away but when it comes time to sit down at the table with friends and family...NO phones! It's wonderful! David and I have been in the middle of this hum of voices and laughter several times now and have noticed that when the French family and friends sit down at the table it is as if there is no one else in the place...they are lost in each other! I have yet to see anyone at any table NOT talking or looking around the room bored or tired or waiting for the check (which you almost always have to ask for because the wait staff is not rushing you out to fill the table again) The people come alive at the table and take h o u r s to eat! They have drinks and foods that are only consumed before the meal  called...apéritifs. An apéritif is an alcoholic beverage and a snack like, crackers, cheese, pate or olives served before a meal to stimulate the appetite. Then there is the main course and then there is dessert and then there is coffee (cafe) but never a creamy coffee like cafe au lait which is reserved for breakfast or before lunch. THEN there is something called a "digestif" Which are alcoholic beverages served after a meal, to aid digestion. So as you can see this all takes a long time and the French revel in it and it is a glorious thing! I don't know if it is necessary to have all those courses but I love the idea and habit of putting the world on pause and just lolling in the luxury of family food and love. We sat next to a mother and her middle aged daughter tonight and they hardly broke eye contact as tho they hadn't see each other for days but I could tell from the packages at their feet the had probably been together the whole afternoon!

horseburgers or hamburgers

Toulouse is full of "Places" which are pronounced plahzes and really mean squares. They usually have some sort of park or fountain or such and usually have at least one restaurant on them. So last night we went to Place Saint-Georges which is a big square containing a fountain, a playground and several restaurants.

Not sure when this picture was taken (I downloaded it from the web) because I have never seen it so empty.

The restaurants are so close together you can only tell them apart for outside dining by the different furniture. We have eaten at St George 3 times. And all 3 times, a Monday night, a Friday night and A Saturday night, the outside tables are packed with chattering laughing and eating. Twice we have eaten at the same Italian place that we might make a weekly Saturday night date and once at a burger "joint" That's where we ate last night. The hamburgers we wOOONDerful as is every bite of food I have had since I arrived in Toulouse! The beef taste so much better here as does every bite of food I have had since I arrived in Toulouse. (is there an echo in here) Anyway they were yummy, and as most French plates we have had, beautiful. The only 2 differences is that DQ had red wine with his (a first) and we ate them like everyone else in the courtyard....with our forks and knives. The French use their hands for very few foods I have noticed. We did eat the fries with our fingers (after seeing the locals do it)French fries are actually Belgian and they are called frites here (which also means fried) It was awkward at first but after a while it seemed quite natural.

I have even mastered the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right cutting and pushing food on the upside down fork. I am wondering how "weird" we will be when we return to our homeland. Anyway it was tres délicieux and we may make it a weekly Friday night date. But we will be sure to stay away from the last burger on the menu.

 

cheval=horse meat

Here's what else I know....

 

 

I have yet to see anyone carrying around a cafe (coffee) to go. I did see a Starbucks in Paris but everyone I saw there had real cafe cups and were seated in and outside the cafe. I have not seen any paper Starbucks cups in France. Not many people are in a hurry here. as a matter of fact here in Toulouse they have a saying "quart d'heure Toulousain" translation:the Toulousain 15, meaning if I say I will be there in 15 minutes I really mean 30...or something like that.

 

No one in Toulouse even rushes onto the metro...if you miss it there will be another right behind it. We have been the 1st one there to every meeting in Toulouse. Those of you who know me know that this is new feeling for me. Now I am the one waiting. Which to tell you the truth I haven't minded one bit. Maybe I was Toulousain all along. 

 

It is not uncommon for the same public bathroom to be for both men and women. It will have several stalls with doors that lock but a shared sink area. It still makes my heart skip a beat to leave the stall and see a man standing at the sink because I am thinking I am in the mens bathroom by mistake.

 

I have not seen this myself...and I hope I never do...but DQ tells me that its not uncommon for urinals to be without a stalls or walls...meaning on your way to the ladies room or your own stall you may get more than eye full. Altho after a carafe d'eau (carafe of water)or a few glasses of wine your need for privacy goes down quite a bit!

 

 

 

 



The birds and water fowl being sold at the market (this picture is from the Victor Hugo market which we visited today) commonly have their heads still attached to their carcass so it can proved whether it is duck or turkey or chicken or rooster you are buying.

I also saw more than I ever wanted to see of whole skinned rabbits and HUGE beef tongues and many other internal animal organs that I think are INside the animal for a reason.

Ok thats all I know today...I'm sure I'll know more tomorrow.

À la prochaine.

 

also...

The dogs and children here are very well behaved! Of course I haven't been to a Walmart here yet (and hope I won't ever have to...blek)but I have yet to see any child being slapped yanked or yelled at...or seen any that need it. And I have seen tons of dogs walking right thru the city with their owners w/out leashes and have yet to see any crotch sniffing or jumping on people or barking!? Hmmmmm...

On the tip of my tongue...

 O my goodness when I think of all I have to blog to fill you in it rattles my brain and I shut down and don't blog or write anything.

Alors a new approach.(Alors means 'so' but when the French use it to begin a sentence it is more like the American...*ok* as in "ok this is what I want to say or oh yes I see") Whatever I want to write at the moment...in other words whatever is bubbling to the top and sloshing over...is what i will write that moment and go back with day to day details when I have more time. Ca va?

A smidge of what I have learned to date:

• Coffee is called cafe which is also the word for the small restaurant.
• Cafe au lait is only served at breakfast because it has milk but beaucoup of other cafes are served after a meal.
• Butter (beurre) is also only served at breakfast. We don't butter our bread any other time here.
• There are no bread plates at your table setting. You put your piece of bread directly on the table and crumbs are to be expected.
• And bread is not bitten off the slice (which is in fact torn from the loaf and seldom sliced) but torn and then put into the mouth.
• My Aunt Pat and Uncle Toby (who have scalding hot black coffee with every meal) will be very disappointed to learn that coffee is always enjoyed after the meal and not during. Except breakfast.
• My friend Susan will be pained to know that we do not keep our hands in our laps while we eat here as we have so painstakingly taught our children in America. Both hands are kept on the table.
• My friend Terri will be pleased (as I am) that I have seen beaucoup chipped nail polish. You were right I am chic(er) than I thought!

Whew that felt good! I have been carrying all that around on the tip of my tongue for a while!!

             À tout à l'heure

And So It Begins or Nothing To Be Nervous About...You Are Here.

We arrived at the Huntsville airport Saturday the 29th to and kissed many of our sweet loved ones au revoir. (Pictures to follow in later post)

Our flight was delayed which left us not more than 30 minutes to run across the Atlanta airport and catch our Airfrance flight. Of course our arriving gate and out departure gates were on the opposite ends of the airport in different terminals. Apparently they had been calling our names and had just made the last call when we arrived in a huff at the gate. And so we made it! David had a tangle with the bag coming down the isle but he arose (literally) triumphant and showed that bag who was boss by cramming it in the overhead compartment for 7 hours! 

We were the ;ast ones on the plane but we WERE ONthe plane!

 

 



I could not sleep as hard as I tried. So I watched 12 Years A Slave in English and several Friends episodes in French (I know them by heart anyway)

 Aaaaaaaaat last (#ettajameswannabe) we are in France. We arrived in Paris on Sunday March 3oth. I of course am worn to a frazzle because I have not slept in 2 days and just traveled half way across the earth. But we are here! We stop to use the bathroom before we meet the driver that has been sent for us.

 

 

What follows is my first conversation

 with a pretty French girl applying her

make up in the airport bathroom:

 

me: It's hot in here. (flapping my shirt open and closed in what I meant to be French sign language for I am boiling why do you have a sweater on?)

her: No I'm cold. (pulling her sweater tighter across her chest and making shivering motions)

me: Maybe I'm just nervous? (as I apply a fresh dose of deo)

her: Are you catching a connecting flight?

me: No.

her: Then there is nothing to be nervous about...you are here.

*Not a bad 1st conversation. Altho I didn't need to speak at all. Just seemed like an intimate situation... applying deodorant and brushing our teeth together...after sleepover activities. Friendly conversation among friends no?

post script

 I don't have time right now to go into all the details of the past week and post all the pictures. But I wanted to let everyone know that we are having a splendid time. All the good far outweighs any bad and any unhappy feelings I've had are just common, I think, with relocating permanently or should I say semi permanently to a different culture and language. We are really hoping to be in a flat by the end of the month. I think when that happens all will be well but all is pretty darn good right now. Later tonight or perhaps by Monday I will be loading this thing with beuacoup pictures and funny stories of our time here so far.

Here's what happened...

To be completely honest (which I always plan to do on this blog...showing the good bad and the ugly of my wondrous experience) on Wednesday after having supper and walking around this new city (in a Chicago like wind blast) several hours looking unsuccessfully for an open grocery store I barely made it to the bathroom in our room to cry my eyes out. What have I done? I have no idea how to live in this strange land!

I know I just got here and I had not taken anytime to let my jet lag ease before throwing myself into Paris and I'm sure sheer exhaustion was fueling my emotions but by the time we arrived in Toulouse I had 6 blisters on my feet and all my best clothes were worn and dirty from our time in Paris. No matter what brought it on I felt swamped and scared and so disappointed in myself that I was already having second thoughts. I felt worn to a frazzle from having to think EVERY second about how to say the few French phrases I knew or what side of the street to walk on or whether it was polite to drink directly from the plastic water bottle (since I had not seen anyone else do this), or proper metro etiquette (was it proper to sit knee to knee with a stranger...do I hold the bar below their hand or above??) After not doing anything terribly offensive or "American" I was almost out of Paris unscathed when I let my guard down and forgot where I was for a split second. Here's what happened: While David was working with the concierge to arrange a taxi big enough for our 9 a fore mentioned bags I sat down to rest my poor sore feet and send a few messages before I was out of Internet for an undetermined amount of time. A hotel worker (not sure of title...tho I thought of a couple myself after the encounter) dressed like a traveling business man asked me "Do you speak English?" "Yes" I replied. He then asked "Then would you be pleased to not rest your feet on the table?" It was 1st truly embarrassing incident of the trip. I had to bite my tongue to keep from asking "Would you be pleased to not call a 3x3 box sitting no more than a foot off the ground a 'table'?"

This was then compounded by our harrowing experience trying to check 9 bags on a very small commuter plane from a very small airport a fete that has apparently yet to be tried by any Frenchmen in history, making us stick out like 2 GIANT sore thumbs wearing American flags as togas. Then when we checked into the hotel, the bellman, after carrying 9 50lb bags a quarter of a block tried to convince the hostess not to let us upgrade to a bigger room because he would have to carry our bags 2 stories up because there is no elevator for luggage...only a small one for people. To say the least I was tired of having to do math every time I wanted to know the time after 12 noon.

Guess where we are...

 After 65 long days in a slew of American hotels in our own hometown we FINALLY arrived in Paris last Sunday March 30th and flew into Toulouse (our new city) Wed the 2nd. So in 2 days we will celebrate 1 full week in France!!  

It has been very exciting for the most part...somewhat embarrassing at other times and frightening almost all the time. 

the view from here

We are stiiiiiillll here...in the states.
This is the view from my room at the Marriott in Alabama,
France feels like a dream to me now...

To whom it may concern...

Not sure what all awaits us in France/Europe but I know it doesn't involve breast cancer! Biopsy came back negative for cancer!  Thank You Jesus! That is all for now.

after...

Well the procedures done and it went off without a hitch.

I was reading some accounts of pain during the procedure yesterday and today when mine was done I was feeling so sad for those ladies who had the bad experiences because it must be that they didn't have the great staff I had. My doctor and the nurse and the tech (from the Huntsville Surgery Center) could not have done a better job! I experienced more pain plucking my eyebrows when I got back to the hotel.

All that to say now it's what should be the hard part ... waiting ... for results (which will come late afternoon tomorrow). But I got *the peace that passes understanding down in my heart...to stay.

before...

Today I will have a needle biopsy at the surgery center. And I will find out tomorrow (Thursday) what the findings are. Dr Scott is is confident this is not cancer (90% sure) and is very excited about our trip to France.

Like I said before I am uncharacteristically calm about it all. Mostly just feel like "ain't nobody got time fo this" And of course I will be glad when the procedure is over. But God is the boss of me and I will drink whatever He pours in my cup because I know He loves me so much and I have known nothing but His kindness all the days of my life. He has yet to let me down ... even when He has disappointed me. I do however desire your prayers. I'll keep ya posted.

just so's you know

My ultrasound came back clear and she said she'll see me next year when I get back from Europe! The "call back" mammogram not so good. SMALL cluster of what she is 90% sure is calcium deposits from nursing 20+ years ago. Soooo she is doing a biopsy on Wed and I will have results on Thursday. She promised to always tell me everything she knows! "Knowledge is power and information fights fear. The more you know the less likely you will be to imagine something much worse than reality."

And even if it is cancerous it is VERY tiny and VERY early...it looks like its all caught in a milk duct so it hasn't spread everywhere ... even if it is cancer ... which it's not ... she believes.

Whatever the case I have an unnatural calm about it all. I believe her and even if she's (my doc) wrong I know God and He hasn't let me down yet...even when He has disappointed me.

Today while I was waiting for the doc to come in and tell me what she saw I remembered I hadn't read my daily scripture that comes to me 3 times a day (mornin noon n night) so I pulled my Ipad out and flipped to the app...and this is what I saw...

 

How could I not trust Him when He sends me little love notes just when I need them!

 

...good ole US of A

We are still here and may be until the 17th of Feb. due to visa snafus.

It was disappointing news except we have a list of things that we have yet to get done before we leave ... like eye appointments and selling our car and getting me a new phone and cancelling our termite plan on the house we sold and such. And last but certainly not least...in my mind today anyway, is that I have 2 medical test today (lucky me). One is an ovarian ultrasound to check the size of some cyst that are there ... last check did show they had grown. And second is a call back for a second mammogram ... I know this is not uncommon but my mother had breast cancer so....

Her breast cancer was late in life 73 so that makes it a little better for me... but still.

 

I don't know if anyone is out there but if you are please keep me in your prayers today.

whew...

I have hardly been able to sleep feeling like my blog was in a lurch. But my sweet daughter L came and straightened me....I mean it out. I think I also added a way to allow people to follow me or what is now called "subscribe" to me. A lot has changed since I was actively, semi actively (who am I kidding) hardly ever posting on my old blog.

Still waiting to leave btw...I feel like a plane just circling the runway.

never-mind

ok i am defeated and going to bed

i accidentally erased my "about me" corner of my blog
and replaced it with some sort of google app...which i then deleted and made my own ghetto version of...

this happened due to the fact i was trying without success to allow people to follow or join or subscribe to me somehow??

never mind...i'll find some young whipper-snapper at starbucks tomorrow to help this feeble old lady...

goodnight sweet friends

waiting for visas

so here we are sleeping in an empty house livin outta suitcases....waiting.

there has been a delay...

it's hard to believe that we will ever leave but I am still making my French flashcards and looking for comfortable stylish walkin shoes and getting check ups and cleanings from stem to stern so I will be in tip top shape for a year.

heres to hoping the next post will say...
Nous sommes sur la bonne voie! France nous voilà!
(We are on our way! France here we come!!)