Happy Halloween

Last night my family carved pumpkins to make ‘jack-o-lanterns.’ We make them every year and put candles inside to greet the children who come ‘trick or treating’ on Halloween.

Carving a pumpkin isn’t hard. First you need to sketch a face on the outside. Triangles for eyes and nose are the easiest. A jagged mouth is also easy for the beginner. Next you need to take a knife and cut off the top of the pumpkin. Then reach your hand inside and pull out the ‘pumpkin guts.’ This is slimy work! The seeds and pulp are moist and sticky. But don’t throw them away! Keep them in a bowl so you can roast the seeds later for a special treat! I’ll explain later.

Once you’ve removed the seeds, take a spoon and scrape the flesh inside so it’s clean and smooth. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but remember the candle will burn dangling bits of pumpkin guts and smell really awful! So get it clean and smooth! Now you are ready to carefully cut out your sketched eyes, nose and mouth. Use caution when using a knife so you don’t have to make a trip to the emergency room for stitches in your hand! This isn’t a job for little children!

Remove the cut out pieces of the face. Now you are ready to try out your newly carved Jack-O-Lantern. Place a candle inside and light it with a match. Turn out the lights and watch the face glow.

Now place it outside your door in the cool fall air. It will last for about two weeks before it starts to cave in and rot.

Now go back to the seeds. Separate them from the pulp and wash them in water. Pat them dry with paper towels. Spread them on a cookie sheet. I like to sprinkle the seeds with Worcestershire Sauce and salt. Now bake them at 325 degrees F for about 25 minutes or until toasted. Be sure to stir them every 5-10 minutes to prevent burning. After they’ve cooled, store them in an air tight container. I use my teeth to crack open the hull (remove the seeds covering) and pull out the tasty, crunchy centers. But my husband likes to just eat the whole seed, outside and all!

Happy Halloween everyone!

My Friend Muncie

This is Serge's response to my post about him.

I would like to tell you about Muncie, my first conversation partner. She is an American woman that I met on a website that helps people find partners online in order to practice a foreign language.

It has been two years since we began talking together. We are used to talking at least twice a week. To say the least, she is particularly talkative or if you prefer, she chats like a magpie!! Of course I am kidding! I do appreciate our conversations. Muncie is such a nice person who is always in a good mood. We are used to teasing each other but we never argue, whatever the issues are.

I still remember our first chat. In turn, we introduced ourselves and described our families, our houses, the cities we live in and so on. Thanks to her, I have learned a lot about American society and American culture.

Her husband Jon works in a company that builds planes, the kind of planes that rich American businessmen use to travel across the United States to sign contracts with other rich American businessmen in order to make a lot of money. American people like making money. American people also are extreme workaholics. In France, we are the best in the world for working less than thirty-five hours per week, being on vacation for two weeks every two months and for going on strike all the other days!

Muncie has got one son and three daughters. Her son married three months ago. I bet Muncie she will become a grandmother before I will. Of course she laughed, but she obviously knows I will win.

Muncie doesn’t like her name. She told me that it is a very weird and uncommon name for an American girl. To me it is a beautiful name. It is no stranger than Bob, Priscilla, John, Mary or George W… No… no… no! In fact, George W. is not a good example. Let’s forget it!

In Muncie’s personal website, you can read a lot of excellent essays about her city Albuquerque, her family and her daily life. She also wrote something that arguably could be the best article she has ever written! On one hand, it is because she wrote it in French and on the other, because she talked about an exceptional figure, a French man called Serge. Take what I say with a grain of salt, but I think he is her best friend.

Muncie’s writing style is quite unique! Her youngest daughter Holly probably got her talent from her mother. I recently read a story she wrote while she was on summer vacation. Her novel is as fascinating as Harry Potter’s adventures! Rebecca, who is nineteen years old, must be a very studious. Sometimes, when I ask Muncie about grammar rules, she requires help from Rebecca, who always knows the answer. Muncie’s elder daughter studies at a university in order to become a pharmacist. Once, Muncie sent me a photo of Maureen and her boyfriend. I didn’t dare tell Muncie that I found they did not match very well. In my opinion, Maureen looks very attractive, whereas her boyfriend looks a little bit overweight. I think they since have broken up, but after all, it is not my business.

Now, let’s talk about her son Tyler. Tyler is a courageous man. He spent two years in the Philippine Islands as a missionary for his church. He learned the native language there, and I understand he now speaks Tagalog fluently. During his stay, he could only talk by phone to his mother twice a year. I think it was at Christmas and on his mother’s birthday!

This family doesn’t look like the stereotype of the American family. Everybody knows that the stereotype of the American family resembles the Simpson family that lives in Springfield (I have absolutely no idea which state this town is in because there are forty cities in the United States called Springfield!)
Obviously Muncie’s family has nothing to do with the Simpsons. Although, Muncie reminds me a little bit of Marge Simpson, no once again I am kidding Muncie, but I know she will forgive me. We are such good friends that nothing could make us get angry!

Eventually, I hope that someday I will have the good fortune to see Muncie in person. I would be very disappointed if my dream never came true.

Serge

Ce mois-ci, j'ai un anniversaire. Il y a deux ans, j’ai rencontré mon deuxième partenaire de conversation, Serge. J’ai oublié qui a trouvé qui, mais nous nous sommes rencontrés l’un et l’autre sur le site web, « mylanguageexchange.com. »

A mon avis, Serge est un excellent partenaire de conversation. D’abord, il a beaucoup de patience avec moi et mon français rudimentaire. Sa voix est calme, claire et rassurante. Il est facile de parler avec lui. Il m’a donné beaucoup de confiance en moi et grâce à lui, j’ai amélioré mon français. (Maintenant, il doit avoir la grosse tête.)

Serge a le même âge que moi. Il est français. Il est marié à Françoise, qui doit être une femme tolérante. Ils ont 2 enfants et un chien qui s’appelle « Socrate. » Je vous en dirai plus au sujet de Socrate plus tard. Serge est militaire dans l’armée de l’air depuis l’âge de dix-sept ans.

Il a deux passions dans sa vie, l’apprentissage de l’anglais et le cyclisme.

Chaque jour pendant des heures, Serge étudie l’anglais. C’est un passe-temps qu’il aime bien. En fait, il ne laisse jamais son travail interférer dans l'apprentissage de l'anglais! Quand son chef n’est pas là, il écoute des podcasts ou il écrit des histoires excellentes. A mon avis, un récit de Serge est toujours intéressant. Il a écrit des histoires sur son premier saut en parachute, sur l’année qu’il a passée sur une petite île volcanique parmi les pingouins ou sur son chien Socrate qui parle. Sa volonté à perfectionner son anglais est une source de motivation pour moi-même.

Presque chaque jour, on peut aussi trouver Serge sur son vélo. Il parcourt des centaines de kilomètres chaque semaine pour s’entraîner. Il fait du sport pour rester en forme. Il fait du cyclisme mais en amateur. Au printemps et en été, il participe à des compétitions amateurs. L’entraînement pour la course est une chose sérieuse pour Serge. Il se prépare en suivant un régime très strict. Les résultats sont là. Il est en forme ! Je le déteste.

Je plaisante. J’ai beaucoup d’admiration pour Serge. (Voyez-vous ??) Je le considère comme un bon ami. Je le remercie de son aide et bien sûr de son amitié.

(Dans cette photo, il porte le maillot jaune et rouge du Nouveau Mexique)

Breakfast in America

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” We were taught this in school. But the meal on the breakfast table can be as varied as Americans themselves.

A traditional American breakfast would be eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice and coffee. The eggs are sometimes fried and sometimes scrambled. The bacon might be substituted by ham. Toast might be a biscuit in the southern states with butter, jam, honey or molasses. The second most favorite juice for breakfast is apple juice followed by grapefruit and grape juice. American coffee has a reputation around the world as being very weak. French people have commented that it’s like coffee flavored water. However, it is a beloved beverage here and starts off most mornings with milk, sugar substitute or straight out of the pot black.

Other breakfast variations are usually some type of bread served with maple syrup. Pancakes are a favored choice with a pat of butter. Next would be French Toast: bread dipped in egg and fried up in a pan until the egg is cooked. Then it’s topped with nutmeg, cinnamon or powdered sugar. An omelet is a breakfast food in the states. There are many combinations but my favorite is a Spanish Omelet with tomato, bell pepper, onion, mushrooms and salsa! Hot cereals are great on cold mornings. Oatmeal and Cream of Wheat are filling and good for you, but a bit tricky to get kids to eat.

Then there is the busy parent and almost-late-for-the-school-bus kid breakfast: cold cereal. I’m sorry to say most of what is on the grocery shelf is a box full of pricey nothing! In fact, it is almost child abuse in a box. Many cereals have little more than flour and sugar as substance. But kids are seduced by cute TV commercials and tend to nag Mom until she gives in and buys a box of “Sugar Doodles” with a prize inside! I’m guilty of this myself!

Today at our house we usually have lighter breakfasts of yogurt, fruit or bagels. We save the traditional foods for holidays and special occasions. However, some of my happiest memories are the Saturday mornings my husband would make banana-pecan pancakes for me and my infant son. It was a family breakfast tradition this American family started 25 years ago.

Voting For Dollars

One thing that really bothers me about Albuquerque is that the citizens never met a tax they didn’t love. It amazes me that they vote for anything that sounds good or noble, but never stop to think where the money comes from. Politicians are so clever. They have new taxes on the voting ballots described as ‘bonds.’ To the average, uninformed voter a bond sounds like a good thing so they press YES on the ballot. Or maybe they think, “Let’s stick it to the rich guys and vote this in” never realizing that even though they don’t own a home and pay property taxes, the landlord that owns the apartment they live in, does. They just raised their own rent to pay for the ‘bond.’

Tomorrow we have at least 7 bonds on the ballot. Among the more outrageous tax increases are $45 million to beautify the medians in between the streets of ABQ (it means putting cactus, decorative rocks and art where simple painted lines would suffice), $37.5 million for public parks and recreation ( sounds so nice, more green parks in brown ABQ) $14.5 million for Senior and Family Community Centers (why don’t they just stay home and play cards?) and $10.1 million for “affordable housing bonds.” This means the city will buy prime real estate to build houses that poor people can afford because real estate in ABQ is very expensive. Why should we pay for poor people to live here? Shouldn’t we hope they leave? Why don’t they move some place they can afford? They WILL have a heart attack when they become home owners and see how much property tax they have to pay.

Merci Beaucoup Monsieur

Recently, I had the unexpected opportunity to spend four days in Montréal, Quebec. My husband was going there on business and I tagged along as a tourist. We stayed in Laval, which is quite a ways from the tourist destination of Vieux Montréal. Like Paris, Montréal has a great, user friendly metro system. Each morning I’d walk about a mile to the station, ride into downtown Montréal and explore on foot.

One morning at the station, I was fishing in my purse for a $2 Canadian coin and 3 Canadian quarters for the metro fare. I noticed a slightly older than middle aged man in the booth making huge arm movements in my direction. He was trying to get my attention, so still fishing in my purse, I went to the booth and greeted him with, “Bonjour Monsieur .” I put my money through the window and he passed me a ticket, greeting me with, “Bonjour Madame. Comment allez-vous?” I think I surprised him with, “ Je vais bien merci et vous?” Then HE surprised me with, “Madame, vous êtes une jolie femme.” I was so surprised and embarrassed, but managed to say, “Oh! Merci beaucoup Monsieur. Vous êtes très gentil!” And then he told me, “De rien. Vous êtes belle!”

I am quite sure I am not the first woman with whom he’s flirted. But for me it was flattering and especially nice to hear in French. He doesn’t know it, but he made my day!

Mormon Battalion 5k 10k Fun Run

Saturday, bright and early, we were on the Bosque Rio Grande Trail getting ready for the first annual Mormon Battalion Fun Run. Our Boy Scout Troop sponsored this event which meant the family of the Troop Leader (my husband) had to get involved.

The Mormon Battalion was composed of 500 men who enlisted to help in the US war with Mexico. They marched from Council Bluffs, Iowa to San Diego, California. October 24th, 1846 or so they passed through the Albuquerque area and crossed the Rio Grande near the present day I-40 bridge. They never saw a real battle, but they introduced brick making for home building in the west. Examples of their handy work still stand in San Diego.

Honoring their memory, the 10k was named after them. The run was a big success. My daughter Holly and I manned the water table, handing cups of water to thirsty runners. My daughter Rebecca was at the 5k turn around point and some other friends were at the 10k turn-around. My daughter Maureen designed the T-shirt and ran the 5k race.

Tailgate Party

Football season is in full swing. On Saturday, American College football games are on television all day long. My husband is a ‘fair weather’ football fan. This means he likes a team when they are playing well and winning. If they aren’t, he won’t watch their game. But there is no mistake, to him, Autumn is the most wonderful time of the year because of football!

There is a uniquely American event that takes place before each College Football game. It’s called a Tailgate Party. The word comes from the gate at the tail or the back of a pick-up truck. People meet in the stadium parking lot with BBQ grills, charcoal and coolers of beer and soda in the back of the truck. People throw out their lawn chairs, sit on the tailgate and share food with their parking lot neighbors. The thing they have in common is their LOVE for the home team. This enthusiasm seems to create instant friendship.

Des souhaits pour mon anniversaire

Aux Etats-Unis, nous avons une tradition concernant les bougies sur le gâteau d’anniversaire. Quand on souffle les bougies, tous ses voeux se réalisent! Samedi, c’est mon anniversaire et j’ai déjà des souhaits.

Je veux améliorer mon français. Je veux venir en France avant mon prochain anniversaire (peut-être une fois ou deux!) Je veux rencontrer aussi mes bons amis français. C’est mon souhait le plus cher! Je veux aussi arrêter le vieillissement de mon corps ! Je voudrais que mes poches sous les yeux disparaissent et que la peau de mon visage redevienne souple (sans les rougeurs comme les Rosbifs.) J’espère que je pourrai participer au tournage d’un documentaire important. Je veux que ma famille soit heureuse, saine et sauve. Je désire que chacun de mes enfants connaisse une grande réussite cette année. Je voudrais que le monde entier ait le bon sens d’arrêter l’extrémisme.

C'est tout pour cette année.

Geocaching

I've got a new hobby. It's called Geocaching. It's like a modern day scavenger hunt using a GPS unit (Global Positioning System) My husband bought one two months ago. Last week we discovered that people all over the world have been playing a treasure hunt game with each other since 2000. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should leave something for the cache.

We've found caches in many different places in New Mexico. Some are tiny with just a small notebook and pencil to record your name and date. Others have been very large, like in ammo boxes filled with lots of little 'treasures' inside. Each time we remove one item and replace it with something that represents us. Some of the treasures have been little stuffed toy animals, calculators, matchbox cars, polly pocket dolls, band-aids, coins, pins, pencils and always a notebook to record a message. We bring along refrigerator magnets to add as our contribution.

If you are interested in this activity check out the official web site at www.geocaching.com

Marriage

My son was married today. He was my first born child as well as my only son. This was the first wedding in our family and was my first and last experience as the “Mother of the Groom.” I am very pleased with my son’s new wife. I couldn’t have hand selected anyone more perfect for him or for me. I hope I will be a good mother in law.

The weather was perfect. It was a hot, sunny June day with very little wind. After the wedding, my husband and I hosted a wedding luncheon for 51 family members and friends at Seasons in Old Town Albuquerque. The wedding reception was held in the evening at the home of the bride’s parents. There was wonderful food to eat and lots of dancing. The highlight of the evening for me was when all of my family, the bride, the groom, my parents and my husband’s parents danced together in a big circle on the dance floor. We each took turns doing a little jig in the center of the circle while everyone clapped and cheered. I’ve never laughed so hard or had more fun!

The bride and groom cut the wedding cake together. Then the bride threw her bouquet. My oldest daughter caught the bouquet. You know what that means?! She will be married next!

Nostalgique

Je suis nostalgique aujourd'hui. Le mariage de mon fils approche. Je regarde les vieilles photos et touche ses trophées de baseball. Le temps est passé si vite!

We Are Not Alone.

New Mexico is famous for an alleged UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) crash in July 1947 near Roswell. Materials were found on a ranch just outside of the city that the government claimed was a crashed weather balloon. There has been much speculation that the government was trying to cover up the fact that a spacecraft from another solar system had crashed on earth. Roswell fortunately or unfortunately has to deal with it’s reputation as a UFO crash site. It hosts a UFO festival every summer for all the alien lovers and believers. At least they have a good sense of humor. Even the McDonalds is in the shape of a spaceship. It’s a lovely little town despite of it’s out of this world reputation. I got the feeling that the alien thing was getting a bit old for the residents.

Mon Jardin

Chez nous à Albuquerque, nous avons un petit jardin. En fait, c’est le plus petit jardin que nous ayons eu. Aussi, ce jardin est très différent parce que nous habitons dans le désert. Le gazon a une forme ovale et est situé au milieu du jardin. Il est entouré par un cercle de briques. C’est très facile de tondre la pelouse parce qu’il est minuscule. Mais j’aime bien faire un petit tour les pieds nus dans ce petit gazon vert.

A droite, il y a quatre arbres fruitiers. Maintenant, les cerises sont mûres. Cette année, il y a moins de cerises que l’année dernière. C’est dommage, toutefois, j’ai déjà fait un clafoutis. Les français préfèrent manger le clafoutis avec les cerises entières. C’est un peu bizarre pour les Américains, donc je préviens tout le monde au sujet du noyau dans les fruits. Les autres arbres fruitiers ; le pêcher, le pommier et le grenadier donneront des fruits plus tard dans l’été.

Mon jardin fait face à l’ouest et donc il y a du soleil. Il y fait chaud pendant l’après-midi. J’aimerais bien installer un store automatique pour créer plus d’ombre sur la terrasse. La terrasse est meublée de fauteuils de jardin en plus de trois tables. Nous aimons bien manger dehors quand le temps est doux. J’ai beaucoup de pots remplis de jolies fleurs. J’arrose les fleurs avec un grand arrosoir en étain. A mon avis, c’est une tâche agréable tard dans l’après-midi.

La lavande pousse bien au Nouveau Mexique, donc j’en ai planté. Les abeilles sont ravies grâce à elle. Le propriétaire précédent avait planté une douzaine de rosiers. Les rosiers se développent aussi très bien ici. J’adore profiter de ces rosiers et de tous les autres plantes et arbres de notre jardin. Merci beaucoup M. Propriétaire Précédent.

A suivre…

Memorial Day 2007

One of the great ways to see the state of New Mexico is by motorcycle. This past Memorial Day weekend, my husband and I drove up to Angel Fire, New Mexico. Along our route, we passed group after group of people traveling together on motorcycles. Each group had at least 6 to 8 people clad in black leather riding along in total bliss.

In the old days, we used to think of motorcycle gangs as mean, nasty, scary thugs who dealt drugs, drank and knifed anyone who crossed them. But times have changed! Today most motorcycle riders are men and women, many of whom are retired couples, who love to tour the great outdoors with the wind in their hair.

Jury Duty

Today I must report to the Bernalillo County Courthouse in downtown Albuquerque. I have been selected to serve as a potential juror in a murder trial. On May 11th, I met with 144 other citizens of our county and filled out a 15 page questionnaire. The questions were designed to give the lawyers for the Defense and Prosecution a good understand of an individual’s values and beliefs. Many of the questions were about opinions on minorities, drug use, selling drugs, and the death penalty.

Almost exactly 20 years ago, I served as a juror on another murder trial. It was one of the most chilling and disturbing things I have ever done. Hearing awful details on how this man executed 4 people as well as viewing the autopsy photos was not an easy thing. It was even harder to realize this man’s fate was our hands.

I consider myself a responsible citizen of the state as well as our country. It is a right to all citizens to have a trial and be judged by a jury of their peers. Although this isn’t an easy thing to do, I feel an obligation to this individual on trial. He deserves a fair trial. I believe in our court system. If chosen, I would do my very best as a juror.

But, I really hope they don’t pick me!

Mariachi

This morning at 5:00 am, my husband and I were awakened to the sound of music. No, it wasn’t our alarm clock radio. It was a Mariachi band, complete with guitars, trumpets and violin. The six piece band was playing in the front yard of my neighbor’s house. This was a surprise for my neighbor’s birthday. It was a surprise for us too.

Mariachi is a type of musical group, originally from Mexico. Usually a mariachi consists of at least two violins, two trumpets, one Spanish guitar, one vihuela (a high-pitched, five-string guitar) and one guitarrón (a small-scaled acoustic bass). They dress in silver studded charro outfits with wide-brimmed hats. The original Mariachi were Mexican street musicians. Today you can hear them perform in Mexican restaurants, weddings, festivals and in my neighbor’s yard at 5 AM!

After 6 songs, they put their instruments away, jumped into a truck and headed off to their day jobs. To me Mariachi music always sounds happy. Maybe it’s because I don’t speak Spanish. But it was a very pleasant way to wake me up this morning.

Only in Albuquerque!

March Madness

Joakim Noah, University of Florida Gators

It’s the time of year in the US when everyone grabs a playoff charts and fills in the brackets with the names of college basketball teams. What two teams will make it to the final round to be crowned the NCAA champions this year? It’s the only game in town during this month. Basketball. Everyone talks about it at work. It’s on the radio. It’s on the news. People wear their team’s colors and logos until their team is eliminated. Then they go back into the closet until next year.

Right now the University of Florida is the defending champion. They won last year. Ohio State University is currently ranked number 1 in the US with the best record and best team. Both of these teams are picked to do well in the playoffs. I am mentioning the University of Florida for two reasons. First, my step brother graduated from this school. My parents live in Florida and they always cheer for this team in every sport! Second, whenever you see a picture of a player from the University of Florida, it is usually of Joakim Noah. Why do I mention him? Because he’s FRENCH! That’s right! One of the big basketball stars in the USA is French. Noah is the son of Yannick Noah, France's most prominent tennis hero who in 1983, became the first Frenchman in 37 years to win the French Open. Since then he has become a popular singer in France. Together with his then wife Cécilia Rhode (Miss Sweden 1978), they had Joakim.

Who will win the contest this year? As of today, no one knows. But as March Madness continues of the next few weeks the outcome will be known. I will tell you how my teams do!

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/mayhem/brackets/viewable_men
Printable Playoff Brackets Link

A Hawk in the Garden

This was the view from my kitchen window this morning. A Hawk had killed a Mourning Dove in our small garden on the side of the house. The Hawk was enjoying a hardy breakfast. But somewhere there is a sad widow or widower. Every morning and evening a couple of Mourning Doves would sit on the wall by our window and groom each other. Their ‘Coos’ to each other always reminded me of my childhood in Georgia, where singing birds of many varieties were plentiful. The birds here in Albuquerque aren’t as pretty. Unfortunately, there is one less cooing bird by my house. However, I am glad Madame Hawk is living nearby. Maybe she will keep those ugly little birds from eating our cherries, peaches and apples this spring and summer.

The Perfect Podcast (for me)

After months of searching, I’ve found the perfect pod cast for me. “One Thing in a French Day” by Laetitia. http://onethinginafrenchday.com

It’s ideal for me because it’s usually only 3 minutes long. She publishes a pod cast three times a week with a transcript. And she speaks clearly and sa voix est adorable! ( her voice is adorable!)

The best thing about her pod cast is that she writes about small, everyday things in her life. For example: Buying stamps over the internet, replacing a light bulb in the kitchen, how to make a Galette (a type of crêpes from Bretagne), using ‘La Carte Vitale’ at the pharmacy and the barges (péniches) that go under a bridge near her home near Paris. Each pod cast is full of everyday vocabulary. Her cheerful voice and the short length of the recording make it easy to listen over and over as I memorize the cadence of her sentences and the pronunciation of her words.

My greatest weakness in learning French has been understanding conversational French. Although I have made some progress, it’s still my biggest frustration. My friend Serge listens devoutly to English language pod casts and feels that has helped him understand native speakers of English better. Taking this tip from him, I too, have begun listening to recordings of French voices daily. Thanks to Laetitia, it’s just become a sweeter part of my day. Merci Beaucoup.


The picture is of a Brasserie that just opened here in Alubquerque. La Provence is run by Marc a real French guy from Marseille.