Saturday, July 26, 2008

Maureen



Encore une fois, un mariage approche. Cette fois, c’est le mariage de ma fille Maureen. Elle est née il y a 24 ans. Ce jour là, j’étais très contente d’avoir une petite fille. Elle a toujours été une joie pour nous. Nous n’avons jamais eu de problèmes avec elle. C'est une jeune fille douée et intelligente. Sa capacité de travail est énorme. Rien ne lui est impossible. Il n’y a pas de montagne trop haute pour elle. Elle a cette qualité depuis sa plus tendre enfance.

Quand elle était petite elle avait des problèmes de lecture. Au début, elle s’est sentie stupide et son amour-propre en a souffert. C’était une expérience difficile pour une mère. Mais quelque part dans sa petite âme, elle a trouvé la force. Elle a décidé d'utiliser sa faiblesse comme une force. Elle a étudié plus dur. Elle a fait beaucoup d’efforts. Elle s’est attaquée à l’orthographe et à la grammaire anglaise avec enthousiasme et optimisme. Avec détermination, elle a cherché à obtenir de bons résultats. Il lui a fallu plus d’efforts pour avoir d'aussi bonnes notes que les autres enfants. Donc, elle a su développer l'amour du travail bien fait.

Je l’admire. J’ai beaucoup de confiance en elle. Elle va bientôt quitter la maison familiale mais jamais mon cœur.

Maureen, je t’aime et je suis fière de toi.


Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Only in Albuquerque!


At 7:45 am, my daughter rushed down stairs saying a hot air balloon was about to crash into the house next door. We threw open the door and ran outside to see if we could help. Fortunately, the pilot landed the balloon safely right in the middle of the street. Since no one could leave for work until the balloon chase vehicle arrived to pick up the pilot, passengers and the balloon, the neighbors gathered around the gondola to chat with the passengers. They were proud to show us the leaves they had picked from the tops of trees as they floated by. The chase car soon arrived and we helped guide the quickly deflating balloon onto a protective tarp and away from the mailbox and rooftops. As we did this, several other balloons floated just over us with the travelers calling down to saying, “Good Morning! We thought we’d drop by.”

Only in Albuquerque!

Monday, June 16, 2008

1958


1958 a été une année importante. Aux Etats-Unis, l’ouvrier moyen gagnait $4600 par an. Un professeur pouvait espérer $5,100 par l’an. Trois familles sur cinq possédaient une voiture. Deux familles sur trois avaient le téléphone. Pour les femmes, l'âge moyen pour se marier était de 20 ans et elles devenaient le plus souvent des femmes au foyer, en ce temps là, très peu poursuivaient une carrière professionnelle. Les voitures étaient de plus en plus grosses avec des ailerons de plus en plus pointus. L’essence coûtait 25 cents le gallon. L’Alaska est devenu le quarante-neuvième état. Le premier satellite a été lancé de Cap Canaveral. Cela a aussi été l'année où lntel a développé le microprocesseur. Une maison neuve coûtait $12,750.00. La NASA a été créée.

Dans le monde, il y a eu une catastrophe aérienne à Munich où sept joueurs de Manchester United ont été tués. Nikita Khrouchtchev est devenu le Numéro Un de l’Union Soviétique. Il y a eu une grande famine en Chine pendant laquelle 30 millions de personnes sont mortes de faim. Elvis Presley est parti à l’armée, et des milliers de jeunes filles en ont été navrées. Les films les plus populaires ont été Le Pont de la Rivière Kwai, Pacifique Sud, Gigi, Sueurs Froides et King Créole. Les chanteurs célèbres étaient Elvis Presley, Billie Holliday, Ricky Nelson, Frank Sinatra, et les Frères Everly. A la télévision, les gens regardaient les émissions Candid Camera, le Jack Benny Show et le Ed Sullivan Show.

Enfin, en 1958 à Dallas Texas, Tom et Ann Smith ont eu leur premier enfant, une petite fille. Ils lui ont donné les prénoms de Muncie comme une de leurs amies et d’Ann comme sa maman.

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Sick to Death of Politics


I know I need to finish my essays on my trip to France. But I must tell you, this eternal election has me absolutely exhausted. Personally, I think all three presidential candidates STINK. ( McCain, Obama and Madame Clinton) Come January '09, I will wish more than ever to live in France so I will not have to witness first hand what will take place in the US for the next 4 years. I make one prediction here... Whoever is elected president this fall will only serve one term. It's gonna be that bad. I comfort myself with the thought that Jimmy Carter allowed us to have Ronald Reagan. That fact gives me hope.



The picture is an early spring shot of the Sandia Mountain range from the banks of the muddy and shallow Rio Grande.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Room Make Over




For my daughter Rebecca’s 20th birthday we planned a special surprise. Because she loves television shows on remodeling and decorating homes, we thought we’d make over her bedroom. It was really tough planning and keeping this idea secret. The whole family was in on the idea. My daughter in law Stephanie called Rebecca and told her that she wanted to have a girl’s night out to celebrate Rebecca’s birthday. So she arranged for Rebecca to come directly after work to spend the night at her house and then she’d leave for work the next morning without coming home. Tyler excused himself and came over to help us paint furniture and install a ceiling fan. The next morning when Rebecca left for work Stephanie came over and helped us paint walls and install new blinds and curtains. With only minutes to finish we put on new sheets and a bed spread and hid in her room.




Rebecca was totally surprised. For three months we planned this and she had absolutely no idea what we were doing. She kept saying, “You guys got me soooo good!”

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Two Days in Paris




The last two days in France were spent in Paris. This was my third stay in Paris. I enjoyed the first two, but I really liked this trip because this time I was with my husband Jon. He is a bold, non French speaking adventurer. This attitude has helped him visit famous cities all over the world. This time I did the more traditional tourist things that I had avoided previously. We stood in line for 45 minutes to take an elevator up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It is cliché, but who cares? It is such an amazing structure, it has to be experienced! Next, we took a boat tour on the Seine, also a typical tourist thing to do. I loved it. The British English recording that explained what we were seeing was so over the top with enthusiasm it made us laugh. The young female French tour guide barked out instructions in an impressive four languages. When we finished the tour, we pulled to the dock at 7:00 pm just in time for the Eiffel Tower light show. The 75 or so Japanese tourists on the boat gasped and then, “ewwwwed and ahhhhhhhed” over the sight. It was stunning. We walked across the bridge to get a better view of the Eiffel Tower. This was challenging because tourists are bombarded by young 'foreign' people trying to sell Eiffel Tower key chains or beg for money. The females are the beggars. They first ask you if you speak English, if so, they shove a typed card with a sob story on it and ask for money. Feeling like heartless Republicans,we say non merci. We had lots of practice saying no because we were constantly approached. It’s so well organized I’m sure it’s a big money making venture for someone. Vive entrepreneurism! However, I wonder if the young women are doing this freely. I wonder if they are penalized for not making a certain quota of money each day. I wonder about the nature of whoever collects the money from the young women. Are they cruel?

Despite my wonderings, we didn’t give them any money just the same.

We ended our first Paris evening having dinner at a Chinese restaurant. We did this just because I thought it was totally ridiculous to eat Chinese food in Paris. I like being ridiculous.





The next day was Sunday so we went to church at a little place called Notre Dame. Actually, we were there as tourists and I felt like I was intruding because they were having a Sunday morning service and taking communion while folks like me were walking around gawking. So we sat down on the dusty rush seated chairs they use instead of pews and waited for the service to finish. It is a glorious cathedral. Its treasures museum was amazing. The Virgin Mary has a lot of jeweled crowns waiting for her there. How will she decide which one to wear?

We saw where Marie Antoinette spent her last couple of months before she was guillotined. There were huge lists of names, ages and professions of people who were beheaded during the revolution, including some of the very people who began passing judgment on others.








We spent an unusually warm February afternoon walking along the Seine with all the other Parisians. We looked at the ancient magazines and books of some of the ‘green box’ vendors that line the Seine.








We had a nice lunch at a Bistro across the street from Notre Dame and a late dinner at a bistro near a subway entrance where I took this photo. I had a salmon crepe. It made me miss the yummy seafood I’d had in the South West a few days before.








I like Paris. There is an endless list of things to do. I’ve just scratched the surface. I will go back and do some more scratching, hopefully soon.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Andernos Les Bains, France


The next few days were spent in Andernos Les Bains with my conversation partner Serge and his wife Françoise. I’ve told you about Serge in an earlier post (in French.) When Serge was stationed with the military in this area, they searched for a place to live. When he and Françoise toured Andernos, they fell in love with the little village and decided to make it their home. With some luck, they found the perfect house and have been there for 6 years and hope to never leave!

Now that their daughter Anne is attending medical school in Bordeaux, they have to focus their attentions on their beloved dog, Socrates. Socrates is as intelligent as his namesake. Several mornings we took him for a walk to do his business. He knows the route by heart. He’s so well trained, Serge doesn’t need a leash because Socrates obeys voice commands. But in reality, this golden retriever is so well behaved he doesn’t need much discipline.










This time I found another new seafood treat, les huîtres, or oysters. Serge and Françoise took me to a nice restaurant called l’Esquirey located right on the bay. I had a dish of « les fruits de mer farcis » stuffed fruits of the sea, namely oysters, muscles and clams. They were filled with herbs and very tasty. My mouth waters just thinking about it! How fortunate they are to live so close to great, fresh treats from the sea.






Andernos is located more or less in the middle of the bay of Arcachon. During the day the tide is out, leaving lots of pinasses (old wooden fishing boats) stranded on mucky land. When the tide is in, it’s a perfect beach for families with small children as the water is shallow and they can play without fear of it becoming too deep.




Serge and Socrates took me to the northern tip of Arcachon Bay, Cap Ferret. Again, I was so impressed with lovely beaches of France on the Atlantic. Dotted all along the coast of France are the remains of German gun turrets that were meant to protect from ally invasion during WWII. Now they serve as canvas for graffiti artists.










I climbed the Cap Ferret lighthouse with “Mr. Bicycle” himself who is in such good shape he could have run up the stairs four times to my one! All the huffing and puffing was worth it! The view of the bay was spectacular. From here I could look across to Arcachon and see the steeple of the Chapelle very close to Fabienne’s house. Coucou Fabienne! Also I could see the Dune du Pyla and just how long and high it stretches along the coast.














In Bordeaux, I saw Anne’s apartment where she stays while attending school. We walked to her favorite Salon de Thé for a treat and then to a giant bookstore, Mollat. This is where Serge likes to spend time browsing the English language novel section. The students also buy their text books here. It was a busy place! I bought myself an Adventures of Tin Tin book. It’s a comic strip that was written in the 1920s by Hergé ( RG in French, Remi Georges) from Belgium.

Serge and I also visited a Carrefour which is like our Super Walmart only with appliances and electronics. Here we walked up and down the aisles comparing items and prices to what we have and don’t have in the US. For the most part, things were the same or slightly more expensive. But many things were unique to France with no comparison. I also learned that the French call tall size refrigerators "frigo americain" American fridge. Their refrigerators are smaller and don't have a freezer compartment.

I got up early Saturday to catch the train back to Paris where I was meeting my husband for a few days before we went back to the States. Serge made sure I was on the right platform and he even put me in the right seat on the train where we said good bye. Then he stood outside the window until the train left acting like he was crying! I think he’s watched too many old movies! I would have been sad to say goodbye, but I just know I will see him again! Hopefully in New Mexico.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Arcachon, France






My second week in France started with a train ride to southwestern city of Bordeaux. I was met at the station by Fabienne. Up until this moment, we had only spoken together via the internet. So it was wonderful to meet her in person. She took me to a few of her favorite shops in Bordeaux and then introduced me to a colorful treat, macaroons (macarons in French.) It is a cookie that consists mainly of almond paste according to my dictionary. But to me they were just plain yummy!




I stayed with Fabienne and her family for 3 days in Arcachon. Arcachon is a city located on the southern tip of le Bassin d’Arcachon, Arcachon Bay in English. She and her husband are pharmacists and live above there pharmacy. It’s an ideal location only two blocks from the water! We also climbed the Dune of Pyla. It’s a huge, naturally created mountain of sand next to the sea. Going up was really hard work, but going down was a joy as you could run fast with no fear of falling because the sand acted as a shock absorber, keeping your feet steady! We also climbed the Belvedere Tower that was made by a fellow named Gustave Eiffel. From this observation tower you can see the city of Arcachon as well as the bay.



While I was visiting Fabienne, I fell in love with coquille Saint Jacques. We call them scallops in English. I’ve had scallops before, but not fresh off the boat and bought in the shell! They are simply delicious. I’ve always admired the way the French go grocery shopping. They have little markets with vendors selling fruit and vegetables, flowers, meats, fish, cheeses and pastries. There are even people selling prepared Moroccan and Asian dishes. I guess it’s the French version of ‘fast food.’ It’s neighborhood centered and friendly. I wish we had something similar in the U.S.








One night we went out for dinner at a nice restaurant called l’Encoche. Since I was in love with coquille St. Jacques, I ordered them again. I had really wonderful food in France. The second picture is Fabienne and her husband Laurent. They are really wonderful and lots of fun!




Monday, March 17, 2008

Rouen France


Dreams really do come true. I went to France last month for two weeks. I spent the first week in Rouen, France. It’s located in Normandy and is famous for several things, mainly the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. There is a chapel dedicated to Jeanne d’Arc near the place were she was killed.

Rouen is a charming old city. There are many half timber buildings in the old part of the town. There is a university there so students keep the place youthful and lively. The Notre Dame Cathedral in Rouen is also very famous. Monet painted several famous paintings of the front façade, demonstrating the changes in the natural lighting at different parts of the day. I liked this old cathedral for several reasons. The first is inside there are the tombs of several Dukes of Normandy; Rollo and Richard the Lionhearted to name a few. My husband’s family traces their genealogy to Rollo and William the Conqueror . So it was a bit like visiting the grave of a relative. Also, they are restoring many of the statues of saints and prophets that were on the outside of the building. They brought the old ones into the cathedral so people could get a close up look at them. It was amazing to see what time and environment had done to the ancient carved stone ‘people.’ Lastly, on the outside of the building you can still see the effects of war. Rouen was a battle ground during the Second World War. The building is pocked and scarred by gun battles. Yet she still stands firm in the heart of the city, to eventually outlive us all.

Rouen is famous for its lovely ceramics. I was seduced by these shops myself. I have a lovely plate with a rooster for my collection. But, next time I visit and I hope it’s soon, I will buy a few more things I regret not getting while I was there!

Since we were there for Valentine’s Day, we celebrated with an 8 course French meal at the La Couronne ( the crown in French.) It is supposed to be the oldest restaurant in France. Who am I to judge? The food was superb. However, the meal lasted 4 hours. I’m afraid my husband and I have been married too long to have interesting conversation for 4 continuous hours! :-)


Next time... le Bassin d'Arcachon

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Frosted window panes, candles gleaming inside
Painted candy canes on the tree
Santa's on his way, he's filled his sleigh with things
Things for you and for me

It's that time of year when the world falls in love
Ev'ry song you hear seems to say
"Merry Christmas. May your New Year dreams come true"

And this song of mine in three-quarter time
Wishes you and yours the same thing, too.


Joyeux Noël à tous

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Black Friday


The day after Thanksgiving is called “Black Friday.” It is the official kick-off of the Christmas shopping season. Most people have the day after Thanksgiving off from work, so merchants lure these idle people to their stores by offering sales on desirable merchandise. The stores open extremely early at 5 am and offer incredible deals for only a few hours to get people in and spending money. Reporters with cameras show the stampede of humanity as some poor store employee unlocks the door and makes a dash for safety before being trampled by eager bargain hunters.

The local news channels have helicopters circling above the shopping malls, reporting on traffic tie-ups and over crowded parking lots. Usually, we sit back in the comfort of our family room and laugh at people who would line up in the cold and wait for a store to open just to buy things. But this year, the laugh is on us.

Today my husband was reading the advertisements in the newspaper. He saw an ad for a laptop computer at an extremely low price. It just so happens we are in the market for a laptop computer for one of our kids. “The store opens at 5 am and they only have 15 computers at this price” he called to me as I was preparing our Thanksgiving feast. “Only15?" I groan back to him. " That means we will have to be in line at 4 am at the latest!” Silently, we weigh the benefits of saved money for lost sleep.

So, tomorrow we’ll join the stampede of humanity in search of Christmas bargains in the land of Capitalism. Vive the USA!

Friday, November 16, 2007

Reality Thanksgiving



Thursday, November 22, we will celebrate Thanksgiving at our house. I thought I’d tell you what a typical Thanksgiving looks like at our house!

This year we are staying home. We aren’t traveling to a relative’s house and no one is going to come visit us over this holiday except my married son and his wife Stephanie. Three weeks ago, Stephanie volunteered to prepare some dishes for our Thanksgiving feast. She wanted to know what to make a few weeks early so she could practice preparing them. She’s a new bride and still finding her way around in the kitchen. She likes to make bread, so I told her she could make the bread of her choice and a dessert. I’m sure whatever she does will be wonderful.

Usually, I spend all Thanksgiving morning working like a crazy woman to prepare our family’s traditional Thanksgiving favorites. I was raised in the southern United States, so I tend to fix dishes in the southern tradition: Roasted turkey, cornbread dressing with giblet gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, fruit salad and rolls. For dessert we like pecan pie, pumpkin pie and maybe a cake, usually chocolate. The nice thing about cooking all these foods is that I don’t have to cook anything else for 2 days. We just eat re-heated leftovers until they are gone.

My children are very attached to these traditional dishes. If I leave one out or prepared one differently, I hear moaning, groaning and suggestions that Thanksgiving is not Thanksgiving without these specific foods! So I keep this holiday’s food exactly the same so they will be happy. However, I’ve declared independence from the traditional Christmas Eve dinner, leaving me options to try new things. They really complained last year.

I also add mashed potatoes and gravy to the menu. This is for my husband. He was not raised in the south. Although, he enjoys most everything southern, he doesn’t like sweet potatoes. So I make him mashed potatoes so he is happy.

We use my formal china plates, crystal and silverware at this special family feast. We only use them at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It adds to the ‘specialness’ (not a real word) to our celebration. It means we have to wash everything by hand afterwards because they are too delicate for the dishwasher. We have enough hands around the house to get this task done quickly with only a little grumbling.

So far I’ve described slaving over a hot stove cooking food, people complaining about what is or isn’t served, someone unhappy about being forced to eat a dish he doesn’t like, and people mumbling under their breath about hand washing dishes when there is a perfectly good machine to do it.

Sounds pretty…unthankful? I agree it sounds that way, however, I think it’s just the reality of seven independent thinkers, gathering as family to sit down together on one of our favorite holidays. Jon and I have celebrated 27 Thanksgivings together with each child joining in as they were born. That’s a lot of time to build tradition. Tradition is part of what binds a family together. As we all sit around the table and look to my husband to say a Thanksgiving prayer to bless our meal, each of us are touched in our hearts with gratitude to God for being at the table to share a dinner with the people we love most in the world.

And that is what Thanksgiving is really all about.

Monday, November 05, 2007

The Fattest American




The Japanese have always had a reputation for being tourists. In the states, I’ve always noticed Japanese people in tour groups or with a guide book exploring sites on their own. And they are always snapping photos. In fact, it has become a stereo type to feature a camera around the neck of a Japanese tourist as their typical ‘look’. However, the joke is on us!

Recently I heard that Japanese tourists have a friendly competition among one another. When they come to the states, they take plenty of pictures. But the picture they covet the most is of the fattest American. When they return home, they gather together to compare fat American photos. The person with the picture of the most grotesquely fat American wins! Some of these photos are posted on the internet for all to see. I was going to investigate this rumor, but I was afraid I might see a picture of myself! :-P

Friday, November 02, 2007

The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

Albuquerque is famous for its Balloon Fiesta. For nine days in October the blue skies are filled each morning with 700 colorful hot air balloons. The weather this year was mild and near perfect. We went to an early morning launch. A dozen balloons were inflated before the sun came up. Their gas burners caused them to glow in the pre-dawn dark. They lifted off together to test the wind direction. One reason Albuquerque is a great place to fly hot air balloons is for it's unique wind effect called the ‘box effect.’ The wind blows to the south at a low altitude. The balloons ascend and travel in a southern direction. After awhile the pilots lift the balloons higher and catch winds blowing in a northern direction. Its quite possible for a balloon to touch down very close to where it took off. The ‘Dawn Patrol’ balloons signaled that the box effect was working perfectly. Then hundreds of balloons began to inflate. The sight is absolutely unforgettable! Check out my video!

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

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!

Friday, October 12, 2007

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.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

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)

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

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.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

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.

Monday, October 01, 2007

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!