Un couple a limoges

Limoger: 1. Relever de son commandement un officier général. - P. anal. [Avec une idée de disgrâce] Destituer un fonctionnaire de sa responsabilité. (Dic XXes.). Limoger un préfet, un haut fonctionnaire. 2. Se frotter les lobes d'oreilles avec le jaune d'un oeuf. [Avec une idée de cure](Dic. XIVes).: Il se limogea les oreilles pour combattre la peste. 3. Aller a Limoges. Déménagement ou action issue de l'amour. (Dic. XXIes).: Elle se limogea pour rejoindre son ami.

Monday, November 22, 2010

My Sunshine

Sunny Sunday afternoon

It may not look like it, but in this picture, I am suffering from a migrane left over from the day before (at work).
I had to walk behind Martin the whole time so he could block the sun from making things worse.

A walk through the forest

Martin and I take advantage of beautiful, sunny Sundays to go for long walks in the neighbouring forests. Sadly, we have not seen the sun in the past 3 weeks. The sky has been consistantly cloudy all this time.

This was probably one of the last days the sun made an appearance.

Grade A meat

One of our neighbours is a butcher's shop. The butcher is this nice, old man with an important black mustache, maybe a little smaller than Samity Sam's. His hair is short and grey and his eyes are a crystal-clear blue that really pop.
He sold us a steak from a "génisse". He told us to cook it "un aller-retour sur la poêle". It was really good. The Limousin region is known for its great meat.
This is a "limousine", a name the locals also go by.

Sacrifices

I am sorry I haven't posted anything new in a little while. Lately, I have been a little overwhelmed. I am not saying that my 30-hour/week job as a cashier has flooded my schedule. I have also been searching for a new job for January because I have not yet been promised a full-time contract at Toys'R'Us and in any case, I might want to find something with better wages. I would like to help Martin pay for rent and gas.
Martin is being a real champ about all my situation. I don't make as much money as he does even though I try to take on extra hours. He thinks it is only normal for me to pay what I can. I wish I could split everything down the middle but for now, it is a little difficult and I don't like it.
I am upset about a few things: money, education, prospective careers, dog, winter weather in France.
I feel like everything is on hold for the moment and I am a little confused.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Dans la forêt

Les chasseurs de champignons

I am not used to saying "bonjour" to perfect strangers while walking in the forest but it seems to be the custom here, as it was in Belgium. I remember the first time I went jogging in the woods of the Sart-Tilman (Liege), another jogger passed me and said "bonjour". I was, admittedly, a little weirded out. "Pfft! Why would a stranger say "hi" to me?", I thought. I need to relax and shed my urban skin. I don't know if I am right in making this association but I think it's because I come from the city that I feel weird about saying "hello" to people I don't know.
Here's a corny paradox, but it's true: It is in the city where you feel more alone. In the country, people are more sparse yet friendlier.

The people we met in the forest were ready to talk and one old man told us, as we were passing him, that he lost his wife in the woods and she had the car keys so he couldn't go home until he found her. We laughed and walked away.
A lot of people were hunting mushrooms, as was his wife when he lost her. It sounds weird to call them "chasseurs". It's not like the mushrooms uproot themselves and run away at their approach. And yet, that's what these people are called.

Sunday

I love our lazy Sundays. It's rugby season so sometimes, we stay home on Sundays to watch the game. I love listening to the southern-French accent of the rugby commentators. There seems to be a hint of québécois in it.
Martin and I both love this season. It's not hot and it's not too cold, and when we get back home after a nature walk, we prepare something hot to drink and sink into our camping chairs to watch the game.

Saturday walk

We walked through the botanical gardens and saw the cathedral of Limoges. The river you see is called the Vienne. We are near the northern part of the river so our department is called la Haute-Vienne.
I haven't seen any squirrels but when we went to the forest on Sunday, Martin assured me that he saw traces of squirrels.
So far, all I have seen are lizards. But now, they are hibernating as we will be soon enough.

La GREVE !!!

The radio wakes us up in the morning and the television lights up the living room in the evening. Both scream "manifestation" and "greve". It's becoming more and more serious. Last night on the news, reporters shoved mics up peoples' faces on the street so they could scream out very aggressive messages to the so-called "bozos" (their words, not mine) who are leading their country: "Vous voyez ce qu'on peut faire?! Vous ne devez pas nous ignorer!"
I was indifferent to the noise last week but now I am becoming worried about not being able to get to work on time because the buses will not be running or will be stalled, all in the effort to fight the new reform. Now I don't mean to sound unfeeling. I understand that this reform is somewhat unfair. I don't find the French attitude toward reforms to be all that bad; it can be seen as virtuous sometimes. If you're not happy, you make an effort to make things better.

Already, fuel suppliers have stopped supplying gaz stations so motorists have become involved. Trains are no longer running, or very seldom, and high-school students whose "guerilla" and warrior-like instincts can be depended on to spice up demonstrations (i.e. they light cars on fire or tip them over like hockey "fans" in Montreal), have stopped going to school and are now in the streets complaining that the government has blocked their way into the work force. In other words, as less people will be leaving the work force in the next couple of years, there will necessarily be less work for the 20-year-olds. However, politicians argue, this reform should be a good thing for their generation. Indeed, there are more and more old farts in France, so making them leave later will lighten the burden of having to pay for all their retirement pensions. "You will be saving 2 years-worth on retirement pensions!", politicians say. D'ailleurs, many many politicians, union-leaders, and lycéens are invited onto television talk-shows to share their opinions. However, all I see are people yelling at each-other trying to make their voices heard. But the other party naturally doesn't listen.
Like it or not, it's most likely going to pass in the next fifteen days or so and then the not-so stereotyped French mania toward any reform will also subside in the coming weeks.

A la cuisine!

Maybe it's because I am bored and have nothing to do for the moment ( and because I forgot my yoga mat), but I have been cooking a lot lately. I start working tomorrow but I will not be working full time until the Christmas mania is in full swing ... so in about 2 weeks. I am lucky to have gotten a job at an internationally-known toy store. It will be busy.
In the meantime, I have fallen head-over-heals for this cook book that Martin's mother owns. I finally bought it off the internet for a few pennies. It's called "La cuisine bio : cinquante recettes gourmandes au naturel". That plus the book Martin owns that contains many different recipes for madeleines, led me to go a little crazy in the kitchen. On Friday, I made 27 madeleines and yesterday, at Monsieur's request, I spent 3 hours making carrot halva.

A little taste of Limoges

Here are some pictures taken early morning. It was a fresh, autumn day and I decided to walk around the city a bit after walking Martin to uni.
Il y a des feuilles jaunies qui parsement les rues et on peut voir sur les feuilles vertes des reflets de la rosée matinale.
I especially like the abandonned buildings. They pop up here and there and seem to be left alone altogether.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Vacation's over

Our little vacation in the Alps was a lot of fun. The landscape took my breath away practically every day. The air was healthy and fresh, and there are a lot of fun activities to do there.
Quitterie didn't seem to share my opinion. I think she's more blazé than I am at this point, having lived in the Alps all her life. Understandable. But still, in the Alps, you can go skiing and snowboarding, hiking, rock climbing, do a via ferrata, swimming in the lake, hydrospeed in the rapids, building your own house (what the family did from 2003-2005), etc.
The mountains completely dwarf all of the buildings around and on some summer days, there is indeed a bit of snow on their tips, exactly how I depicted them in my childhood drawings.

As we drove into Limoges, our new home, my heart tightened at the prospect of what was to come, namely finding a job and making new friends.

The Apartment - settled in

Our apartment, complete with living room/kitchen/office, a bathroom (only one) and a master bedroom. I chose the bedspread. I had to convince Martin it was not too girly.
The coffee table (highway sign), was made by Martin's mother's colleagues. The camping chairs are borrowed from the parents and the office is all "IKEA".
I like our little nest. It's ample for us.