jj's teeth

i had been a bit worried about jj’s teeth. especially not being with her, and not knowing how bad her little accident really had been. i read on the internet that when you have a sports accident to the teeth you have to see a dentist right away, or there is a danger the tooth can fall out. i was worried about how hard she had hit her head. motherly fears of concussions etc. jj had assured me that she was fine. i should have remembered that jj usually dwells on every little cut and ache and pain, so if she said she was fine, she would be fine. she went to see the dentist who took xrays and she’s fine. no cracks in her teeth. her mouth was swollen which kept pressure on the tooth, but in a few days it would all get back to normal. she called me and told me that in fact, it was getting better by the hour and she had already eaten a plate of pasta. phew. looking forward to seeing her tonight. she will arrive around 10 or 11. she won’t have much time to repack as we need to leave for the airport tomorrow at 10:30am, to go to boston. we will be visiting my mom in new hampshire. we will also see my sister and family, who are currently a few hours away from jj, in switzerland, will be back. it will be a fast visit. 4 days with them and then 3 days in boston.

little ski incident & tummy bugs

heard from jj and she has been having a great time.  skiing around at various slopes in the alps.  i was worried about how much sleep she would be getting at this week long sleepover.  today she was very tired and unfortunately has had a little skiing accident.  actually, two.  apparently she hit a cabin and hurt her wrist.  and then she fell off some sort of lift which sprang away and then came back and whacked her in the mouth.  luckily she has been wearing a helmet.  she said it would’ve been very bad without it.  her tooth has moved slightly and hurts.  her friend’s mom has made a dentist appointment for tomorrow.  she is also flying back tomorrow and then on saturday we are flying out to boston.   i hope she is ok.

meanwhile, p and i left the chateau monday morning.  we had had another nice breakfast, packed up our stuff and went to the park rousseau again, but sadly it was closed until the afternoon.   so we headed out to senlis, a little medieval town with a famous gothic cathedral.  we didn’t end up staying long, because p suddenly had tummy problems.  since then, we have both come down with a tummy bug and, in contrast to our decadent meals of the weekend, we have spent the last few days eating plain rice and peas.  hoping this will pass soon.  have been trying to take advantage of being childless for this week and paint.  haven’t done the hours i had hoped for, but, i never do...

decadent living

we are staying tonight too, at the chateau. we had a delicious breakfast and walked in the park across the street. the “jean jacques rousseau” park, was created by the marquise who owned this chateau. he was revolutionary in his approach because he created a park that felt “natural” and not formal. rousseau liked it so much he decided to stay and eventually was buried in it. unfortunately, at some point the french govt decided that he should be in the pantheon, so they moved his remains there, next to his arch enemy, voltaire! i think that was very rude of the govt. anyway, the dog LOVED the park. there was only 4 other people in the park and there were a lot of yummy smells for him. he sniffed excitedly in frenzied circles which got bigger and bigger and finally he disappeared into the distance ignoring our calls. it was funny to see how excited he was. we finally had to put him on the leash. we investigated a few other mellow tourist attractions around. there is a “mer de sable” (sea of sand) amusement park, that was closed. didn’t really look interesting. run down rides and a really big field of sand... we went across the street to the abbaye with church ruins and a beautiful chapel. there was also a museum in a mansion. they run workshops here where you can learn about and make your own perfume! jj would like that. we went back to the chateau and hung out a bit. we then went for an aperitif of champagne, in the lounge. this chateau is not as upscale as our honeymoon spot (abbay de cernay). it was at one point a retirement home and sort of has a run down feeling in spots, but all the same it is a nice spot and has a very impressive marble staircase in the entryway. we discovered that there is a veggie menu available (at a very much more reasonable price to the other menus) if ordered in advance. so we put in our orders. we had the same first amuse bouche with our champagne. then there was a layered appetizer of smoked eel and herring. then the same watercress/tomato amuse bouche. our main dishes were a vegetable tempura french style. light and delicious. followed by the cheese course, with some new cheeses mixed in: mont d'or (vacherin du haut-doubs),reblochon and munster. then we had another dessert appetizer – passionfruit with whip cream thing. our dessert was again impressive. it was a 4 inch diameter hollow chocolate sphere filled with creamy crumbly mush of peeled citrus sections inside, skewered with a gold leaf covered chocolate stick, and cup of sesame flavored whip cream on the side. and of course, there was the coffee, macaroons and fruit gelees. but tonight everything was a little bit lighter. we both went for a last walk with the dog.

chateau d'ermenonville

we are up at the chateau d’ermenonville, which is another landmark building renovated and made into a luxury hotel. it's about 70 km from paris.  i have found a great deal – 2 nights, breakfasts and one dinner included for a very reasonable price. well, it IS february – good time for deals. this is our “valentines/early anniversary/no child/try to forget that there’s no child” weekend. just had quite the meal at the chateau. started with amuse bouche (the tiny in between courses course)– a couple of little canapes, one served on a flat silver spoon, to shovel into the mouth.

then my appetizer was “l’ile flottante de queue de boeuf en vinaigrette, foie gras poele et son consomme de pot au feu” which was beef tail meat with fried fois gras on top, beef consomme poured over it with little floating islands of chewy sweet eggwhite balls. it was really good. interesting flavors, varied textures and subtle, soft beefiness. p had raw oysters on top of leek and truffle cream soup. then we had another amuse bouche in between – creme of rocquette greens, mozzarella, cream o f tomato puree on top. for main course – i had duckling breast on top of a bed of a caramelized navette turnip, and fried spaghetti stuck in it, forming strange curling sculpture. the duckling was a little tough, but the fried spaghetti was fun and overall, tasted good. then we had a cheese course. the little cart came around and i chose THREE goat cheeses one covered in ashy green mold(just looked it up, could be an “ash pyramid” valencay), one a long rectangle with outside like camembert and a tall white bell shaped one, livarot (our new favorite) and the maroilles.

p had roquefort, maroilles,calvados coated one, and st. marcelin. the green chevre was very good, the camemberty one was a bit boring but the decapitated triangle was great. it had garlic and peppers inside and a nice soft peppery flavor. need to find out name of that one. especially went well with the peppery red wine we had. we started with a givry and then had some bordeaux. then, because we hadn’t yet had enough courses, they brought us a “dessert appetizer”. a PRE dessert amuse bouche. it was a pistachio flavored creme over raspberry sauce. then dessert was really special. we ordered the “poire belle helen”, which i assumed would be some poached pear on a cake with some chocolate or something along those lines. instead we got a wonderful science experiment. a pear shaped glass with pear balls and other mushy and crunchy, crumbly stuff inside. in the opening sat a chocolate funnel shaped cup filled with whip cream. on top of this was a thin wafer of a slice of dried pear – the top down slice through the center, so it was a perfect representation of the pear. the waiter then asked if i wanted hot chocolate poured in. how could one refuse? he poured it into the chocolate cup, it sat for a moment, and then the chocolate cup sprang a leak and the hot chocolate poured into the goop in the bottom of the glass. the whole lumpy mass with crunchy, chewy, mushy textures and chocolate and pear flavors. it was a constantly changing set of flavors and textures. but wait! we’re not done yet. we then had coffee (well, p. did) with a plate of macaroons and pate de fruit (fruit jelly) of lime and cassis – very tart and delicious! we are very, very full. p. had to take the dog for his last walk of the day. he said that it was beautifully clear out with the stars shining and a lovely mist hanging on the moat and island. (i forgot to mention there is a moat and island.  and the moat is filled with water.  i love moats.  they should always be filled.  i've seen chateaus with dry moats.  it seems like a missed opportunity!)

hints of spring & small steps forward for my paintings

jj is going away today, flying to evian, france, with the "girl gang of 4". one of her good friends has an apartment there. they will ski for the week in the alps. tough life. jj and i are both a little nervous about it. just normal, you know.

p and i are going to a stay at a luxury hotel - a renovated chateau, about 70 km from paris  (got a great deal!)  we are bringing the dog. lots of parks and forests nearby for walking. it will be our valentine's and anniversary weekend (anniversary is actually feb 29th, only every 4 years).

meanwhile, the weather has warmed up and spring is in the air. i know it's trying to trick us into feeling good, before winter comes back... but anyway, it is around 55 degrees, the sun is shining and in the park by the eiffel tower, i can smell flowers. i can't see them, but i can smell them.  it might be the trees.

i have been meaning to go to talk to the owner of this particular restaurant to see if they would be interested in putting my paintings on the wall. i have been meaning to go for months, but was getting up my courage... i have had lunch there and then p and i went there a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it. i left them a postcard of mine, with a note thanking them for such a delicious meal (a strategic ploy). so i was walking by this morning around 11, with maynard and they were preparing for lunch. i decided it was time to plunge in, so i attached maynard outside, knocked on the door and went in. i told him we had had dinner there and that i was an artist and would he be interested in showing my work. he pulled out my postcard and asked if that was me! he said he was very interested and only had one other artist that was meant to show in february. he had to contact that artist and then i can show after that! i am so excited. i told him i'd love to have an opening event that was a wine tasting at the same time (they are a wine focused restaurant). he said that would be great, that they do wine tastings all the time and that he could cook some little tasty treats! yayyy!!

later: finished the onion painting.  put jj on a plane to the alps with her friends to go skiing.  was sad.  for a moment had an inkling of wanting to cry.  that thought of “in only 3 years she will leave the nest...”  met p for light dinner at “le suffren” a brasserie at the corner of the champs de mars.  it has a bright and cheerful ambiance.  famous for its seafood.

2 potlucks in one day

today i went to TWO potluck parties. the first was lunch in one of jj’s friend’s apartment. it was another parent organized event. the apt was lovely and grand. high ceilings, all the haussmann era details and beautifully decorated. i particularly loved the mint colored silk curtains and the placement of flowers all around. excellent food and wine.

then, that evening there was a college club pot luck at the club president’s apartment. she has a parisian “artist’s studio” . these were built in the 19th century specifically for artists and typically have one open room which is 2 stories high. it was like a big cube, with huge 2 story windows, in one of the liveliest parts of paris (near boulevard montparnasse). there were exposed wooden beams and she had opened up the kitchen to the livingroom. large paintings hung on the high walls. quite an amazing apartment. she is a very interesting, accomplished and dynamic woman. i think she is a retired journalist. 

i made a big batch of chinese shrimp to cover both potlucks.

circus time

worked on the onion still life for an hour; then, it was circus time!

years ago, when jj was little, i took her to a circus when we were visiting paris. it turned out to be a little family run one where the grandma was the mistress of ceremonies, her husband was the clown, the son was the macho tiger tamer, one daughter was the trapeze artist and horse rider and another daughter was the poodle trainer. the young grandchildren were in the wings mostly, working hard leading the animals in and out. there were zebras which were totally wild, running around the ring, kicking up sand and there was an elephant. i was not as amazed with the acts themselves, as i was to how this family could possibly afford to feed the animals when the show was barely attended and the cheap tickets were around $15. it seemed like a hard life and like something you’d see in an old movie. i had NOT been a fan of the circus before, but i thought this was incredible. so real, so down and dirty, so tough... the new yorker in me, loved the glimpse of this scene from a different time.

exams week finished and there was a day off, so it was a perfect time to go to the circus again. jj’s 3 friends all decided to go too.

i was excited about the idea. i thought that over time, we could go to all of the 4 or 5 circuses in paris. to the slick and formal “cirque d’hiver” housed in an 19th century wood structure in the 11th arrondissement, to the horse focused circus in the bois de bolougne and to other family run ones around paris. it was hard to pick which one to go to. i wanted to go to the down and dirty, trashy circus, but jj decided we should go to the horse focused one.

we got cheap seats in the back, but when we arrived, we were seated in great seats, down very close to the ring. i think they moved everyone down close, because otherwise, it would look very empty. there were several school groups. at the intermission there were 5 little kids, probably 5 years old, all in a row, asleep.

this circus is run by a man whose family has been in the business for generations. they specialize in horses and train them to do their tricks with just a wave of the hand. they stand on their hind legs and turn in circles in unison. there was an elephant too, who did tricks. sadly, though, we could tell that the animals really weren’t happy doing this. the horses foamed at the mouth. they did things hesitantly. jj was sad to see it. i thought it was a clever showman trick that the man smiled through the whole thing, which made you think that the animals were all having a great time. the rest of the circus just wasn’t that special either. family members did their acrobatics, which were hard to do, but i felt, anyone could learn to do with a good amount of practice. they were very proud of their music abilities. the men all played several band instruments. it seemed that in olden days this would’ve been very impressive. they were able to play the instruments, but they certainly weren’t prodigies. after the circus, i told jj about the elephant rampage video on youtube. quite frightening – an elephant in a circus just gets fed up. google “elephant rampage honolulu” to see it. anyway, so much for circuses. i don’t think we’ll be going to many more.

champagne shipment

went to conversation group at a nearby cafe. it was fun and we laughed a lot. one woman said that the french term for a single person, “celebataire”, had an opposite meaning in english.

then worked on my onion still life for 3 hours and it’s looking good.

also received my shipment of champagne. i have been trying to organize a champagne tasting. our friend, tove, the norwegian journalist who wrote a book on champagne, gave me a list of what she would recommend. it wasn’t easy to find a lot of these names, so i ended up mail ordering them. i tried to organize the tasting on my own, but could never get enough people at any one time. finally i went through the parent organization and we have it scheduled for the first friday in march. tove will be visiting, and so will lead us in our degustation. we will have 12 people, each will pay 15 euros which will hopefully just cover the cost. they will also each bring a little light snack to go with champagne so we don’t have empty stomachs. one of the organizer mom’s will host it in her beautiful apartment .

aaro luncheon

started work on still life of onions. 

then went to a luncheon organized by the” aaro” – “association of americans resident overseas”. i thought it would be some good contacts for me. hoping they’d know people to help with american and french taxes. mostly were retired people, but they were interesting enough. i met one woman who’s children also went to jj’s school and she had some good advice. again, she said that it was a great education and kids were able to get into good american colleges. i realized that my big question on this issue was, “but would it damage my child in the process?” she said, no, it wouldn’t. you just have to be supportive at home.

orchestra concert

jj had an orchestra concert today. there were 6 different orchestras playing and it lasted all afternoon. she had to arrive at 12:30 for a rehearsal and the concert started at 3:30. her orchestra was fourth to play. she had been warning us that they sounded terrible. in fact, it was perfectly fine. they were not fabulous, but they were quite good and even got a long applause for one particular piece from an opera, with a beautiful trumpet playing the vocal part. however, this was all sort of tough on her schedule, since she needed to study for her exams. it was after 6 when she finished playing and so we didn’t stay to hear the rest of the orchestras.

ski trip planning

went to lunch with the 3 other moms of the “girl gang of 4” to discuss preparations for the upcoming alps ski trip. we bought plane tickets, there and then, since they ended up being cheaper than the train and it is getting late.

exam week

jj’s exam week starts today. each subject gives one or two midterm exams, known as “compos”. she has one or two each day, and then is out of school the rest of the time, theoretically studying. so she is home a lot and stressed. meanwhile, a workman is going to be in and out this week doing work to the bathroom to resolve our “mildew” problem.

decisions, decisions

we will soon have to decide on whether or not we stay in paris. we love the lifestyle and p has a good job for now. we are in the health system. the two factors against staying are feeling far from family and whether we believe in this school or not. i am constantly thinking about this school and asking information of anyone i meet who has had contact with it. there seem to be many. they all seem to agree that the school gives a good education and makes it easier to get into a good u.s. college.

carte de sejour progress

finally, the follow up appointment at the police station for my official residence card, the “carte de sejour”. this is my third appointment and luckily i had everything i needed including p, who should have accompanied me the last time and had to skip out of work this morning. each time i show up missing something, i need to wait another 2 months for an appointment. when i asked how long a wait it would be today, the lady was very nice and said “40 minutes, oh, but you are a special case because you are married to a european, and there’s a special agent for you, so it might be a shorter wait”. in fact, it was a MUCH longer wait and everybody else passed us by. it was an hour and 40 mins. but happily, everything was in order and in 2 months i can come by and pick up my card which is valid for TEN years! yay! (many others have to go through this process every year). afterwards, i was meeting the conversation group at my favorite chinese restaurant, “mirama”. i had made the reservations and was hoping i wouldn’t be delayed at my carte de sejour meeting. everything worked out perfectly and we had a nice chinese new years lunch. “mirama” is a typical chinese luncheonette with ducks hanging in the window. excellent shrimp wonton and noodle soup, and duck and roast pork. (17 rue st jacques, latin quarter, 5th arr)