Summer 2010 part trois

Finally, we treated the whole of the Belle-famille to lunch at la Maison de la Lozere.  One thing you may not know about Jube is that he was born and grew up in Lozere, one of the least-populated departements in France.  The cuisine of Lozere is not necessarily considered the most refined food in France.  Generally it is seen as hearty peasant's fair, with the most famous dish being l'aligot, mashed potatoes mixed with tomme, a special kind of cheese.  Through some kind of Lozerian magic, the potatoes and the tomme mix together to become one seul et unique creation.  Jube tells me of his memories eating aligot, watching the gruff farmers make it by mixing and mixing with a big wooden spoon, lifting the aligot out of the dish to reveal a long string.  It really does look like someone pulling a spoon out of a dish of fondue.  It is wonderful.

La Maison de la Lozere basically serves haute cuisine, but they also bring you aligot on the side.  Jube and the Belle-famille always complain that gourmet restaurants give you a tiny dish of something - but they all like la Maison de la Lozere because if you don't fill up on your entree, you can always get more aligot!  Here are some pictures of our wonderful meal:

This was one of the first courses - I think an amuse-bouche - made with fish.

Unfortunately I didn't take any other pictures of our meal until dessert:

And, one of my favorite things about those expensive restaurants - they always give you a surprise dessert with your cafe:

Summer 2010 part deux

We also did some traditionally French things last summer.  They included:

Seeing a manifestation on the streets of Nimes;

Visiting my favorite market (aux Arceaux de Montpellier) and picking up some tasty French food;

And checking out the social commentary graffiti'd around the city.  (It says:
Vous pouvez me filmer (priorité!), mais, vous n'aurez jamais ma liberté de pensée. 1984!  Fuck you!
You can film me (top priority!), but, you'll never have my liberty of thought.  1984!)

Summer 2010

Looking back at my blog, I see it's been severely neglected!  I completely forgot to post about our time in the south of France last June!  Well, we met the newest member of the Belle-famille:

Erine!  Yes, this little bouledogue francais has conquered the hearts and minds of the Belle-famille.  She goes everywhere with them.  Luckily, she really is a sweet little dog.  Even Jube ended up liking her (although he is not quite as obsessed as le Pacha, who really got upset with us when we yelled at her for chewing on our shoes).

Our Condo/Notre Appart

As you may remember, last summer we bought a condo.  We figured that interest rates probably wouldn't drop lower (they haven't dropped by much!) and that home prices would probably go up soon (untrue - but they haven't dropped, so almost as good!).  We decided on a condo because there are only two of us and we don't need too much space.  We also both hate doing yard work, so the condo ended up being an  obvious choice.  Finally, it's located right next to a metro stop.  Although neither of us use the metro to get to work, we both can, and it's great for going into the city for after-work happy hour, etc.

We both really like the location and the layout... but when we visited, we knew we had to do something about the paint.  It looked like this:

Do not adjust your screen - you really do see four colors in that last photo (blue, cream, red, and green).  We repainted nearly all of the walls in the apartment, and although you could say it's less unique, it suits us a bit more.  Here's a photo of the living room:

(Yes, the green was one of the few colors we kept intact.)

Something we didn't have to change much of was the kitchen:

Although when Beau-papa was here this summer, he helped us install a backsplash (well, actually, he pretty much did it on his own).

Rehoboth

Jube and I went to Rehoboth Beach last weekend. We biked, body surfed, ate ice cream and frozen bananas, and in general enjoyed a 3-day weekend. Nice.

An arty Jube photo.

I wore this hat the whole time.

Body surfing!

Bye-bye, Rehoboth! We will miss you!

Father & Son: A Meme + My Comments

Here are the rules:
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag 20 friends.
5. Everyone tagged has to do the same thing.
6. No classical or Christmas music, or music in other languages.
7. Have Fun!

1. What do your friends say about you? Oh Very Young

I hope this refers to my looks and not my maturity level...

2. How would your coworkers describe you? Just

Yes, I am a very fair person!

3. How would you describe yourself? Beautiful Way

If I were to describe myself, I would do it in a beautiful way...

4. What do you like in a romantic partner? Stoppin' the Love

Is it opposite day?

5. How do you feel today? Street Spirit (Fade Out)

I guess I feel tired of hittin' the streets.

6. What is your life’s purpose? Unnatural Selection

Heheh.

7. What is your motto? Feelin Good

I like it.

8. What do you think about the most? The Small Print

It does consume me, I admit it...

9. What are you going to do on your next vacation? Escape

We are leaving for Rehoboth on Saturday. I can't wait!

10. What do you think of your first love/date? Separator

We did have a LDR for awhile.

11. What is your life story? A Punch Up at a Wedding (No No No No No No No No)

Yeah, that's all my life is, man... just some punch up at a wedding...

12. What did you do yesterday? Cymbal Rush

It sounds like a cool day.

13. What do you think of when you see the person you like/love? Everything in Its Right Place

:)

14. What describes your wedding? The Icicle Melts

-_- I don't get it?

15. What will they play at your funeral? Sober

It will be a sobering situation for me, for sure!

16. What is your obsession? Space Dementia

I think that this is what happens when you play Mass Effect for too long. I didn't talk to Jube for a whole weekend.

17. What is your biggest fear? Ruled by Secrecy

It does sound super scary!

18. What is your biggest secret? New Born

Shhh. Ne le dis a personne...

19. What is your biggest turn-on? Moonshadow

It is sexy.

20. How do you describe your friends? Dollars & Cents

Yeah, suckers just out for what they can get.

21. What would you do with a million dollars? Annie

Anne, did you see this? It's true. I'm saving up for it right now.

22. What is your opinion of sex? Lucky

I don't think I'm the only one with that opinion!

23. What is your biggest regret? Airbag

Yeah. Buying a car without them would be pretty bad, eh?

24. What would you rather be doing right now? Feral

It sounds kinky...

25. What will you post this list as?

Father & Son

Cultural Misunderstandings

Jube works with immigrant youth, helping them integrate to life in the US. Part of his job is helping them find internships and jobs, which includes talking to their supervisors and things like that. The other day, one of his students' supervisors contacted him with a concern.

"It's kind of embarrassing, and I don't know how to bring it up with him..." she said.

"What's wrong? I can talk to him about it," said Jube.

"Well... you see... he doesn't wear deodorant. And in the summer, well... you understand."

"Oh, yes," he answered. "In some cultures, deodorant just isn't as important as it is in the US."

"What, do you think he's from France?" she said.

...She was serious. Poor Jube.