Wednesday, February 9, 2011

yo wheres the BACON.

Time : 11:10pm can I get this done before my battery dies? (or before I have to get up to plug in…)


Location : sitting on my bed like a futon

Weather : although it was a balmy 24C IN THE CAR, I think we’re sitting at a more agreeable (whoa three vowels in a row!) 2C outside



Ok, just so you know, this is a sprint entry. Meaning I am going to get this done as fast as my thoughts can process from my brain through my arms onto the keyboard and BAM onto the screen (plus posting time). Thank goodness I only have one photo for today. Sorry, no Paris photos yet. I’ll keep ya posted on that one, I promise.

Today really was a productive day. I have to say I am proud of my morning.

Not only did I get all my laundry done and hanging, but I also managed to keep amazing tabs on the drying rotation of my socks on the radiator. Those puppies are like burgers; leave them too long on one side and they get a little crispy. Crispy socks are not the best, just like burgers.

I also did the weekly cleaning of Lou’s room before the cleaning woman got here, which is usually my goal for each Tuesday, and is also usually not attained because I forget, or get distracted then forget. Regardless of either way, today was a success.

I also did my little bit of homework that I neglected over the weekend: read, summarize and pick out some new vocab from a news article. Mine was not overly interesting. Apparently over aggressive and violent patients are quite the problem for Chinese doctors in China. Who knew?

I was so busy being productive this morning that I thought I missed my bus when really, I was just so on the ball that I rolled (not literally) (haha) to the bus stop early without realizing it.

I’d like to say class was extremely interesting and I have lots to say about it, but I don’t. Sorry.

After school I did more homework, verb sheets. You may think that I am behind in my work thus having homework all the time, but really, I just like to get it done. Besides, I can’t become a master of the French language if I can not mastered the art of conjugating verbs and more importantly; the subjunctive ones.

I was super pumped for the supper that I made, or was in the process of making. The potato-carrot casserole that I made only had 20 minutes of time (dead on for 8 o’clock) left in the oven when Marie-Anne came home and informed me that since today was Pierre’s birthday, we were going to go out to eat in Marseille with him. I was a little disappointed, but hey, my casserole can wait until tomorrow! LET’S GO TO BUFFALO GRILL!!

Buffalo Grill is a French restaurant that is made in what they think is an American fashion. Meaning they’re all about Cowboys & Indians with things like BISON BURGERS and CANADIAN GRILL MIX (I know eh) on the menu. Personally, I opted for the Ostrich Filet and Fries. Marie-Anne assured me that ostrich, which is a red meat (crazy!), can not be distinguished from beef. The first bite I took tasted like lake. Not lake water, but the smell of warm lake. More specifically, Lakeview pond. So my first bite wasn’t the best. But with a little BBQ sauce, I learned to love the ostrich meat.

Apparently ostrich meat is all the rage in France right now. Why? Well, not only is it low in fat and good for you, but it is also very ecologically friendly to farm and easy. Now, I’m trying to picture a semi full of ostriches going down the highway just as we see semis full of cattle, and well, the easy factor really doesn’t seem too feasible to me. I mean, where do people get these ostriches to begin with?

Oh, and my favourite part of the menu was the desserts. They had things like DONUT (with a scoop of ice cream on top, coz ya know, that’s how we do it in America), CHEESECAKE and BANANA SPLIT. Plus of course some of the more refined desserts like waffles, crepes and crème brulee. Marie-Anne and I each got a little tart of PECANE PIE, Pierre got a BROWNIE and Lou ordered from the kid menu, barbe de papa aka COTTON CANDY. Did I mention the odd western theme that was somehow able to make Montana, Minnesota and Canada seem like one?

About Marseille.

Being a port city, there are many, many people who arrive from different countries, and many, many of these people are really poor. The population is about three times as big as Saskatoon’s and the city is about twice a big, a little less because you have to account for the space taken up by the harbour areas. There are huge apartment buildings housing hundreds, maybe even up to a thousand people everywhere. Unsurprisingly the crime rates in these areas are really high. Marie-Anne said that there are areas of the city that even the police do not go into ever because they are too dangerous for them. I could not imagine living some place like that. It would be a human jungle, and that, by far, is worse than the animal jungle.
my toes will never freeze again.
and my tummy will always be
filled with goodness.

On a lighter note, when we got home, about an hour ago now, and emptied the mailbox on the way in, we found a little white package for me. I opened it very excited, and probably really giddily (seeing as I am absolutely wiped at the moment) too! Thank you to my fam jam for my birthday gifts! I’m wearing a pair of Smartwool socks right now. My feet have not felt this supported and free of moisture since I was in Berlin! Lou saw that I got socks and was appalled. She just doesn’t understand. I don’t blame her either. Never having to ever think of the possibility that yes, your toes could actually freeze off today would make getting socks for your birthday a hard concept to understand. It even took some explaining to Marie-Anne.

I read with pleasure all of the letters y’all sent and the cards. I saved the Valentine’s Day related items until the actual day comes.

Well, so much for this being a sprint entry. My eyes are burning with tiredness (no exaggeration or expression in there, it is really quite literal) so I’m going to get this up and lay me down to rest.

11:53 pm

5 comments:

  1. Forgive me, but I find it really weird that you have to clean Lou's room before the cleaning lady comes. Not because it's her job to clean it, but shouldn't tidying it beforehand be Lou's responsibility?
    Anyways, that ostrich burger sounds crazy! Lakeview pond.. my goodness! Gag me with a spoon, please. I ate ostrich while I was in germany, but I don't remember any pond-like tastes. Perhaps they were cooked differently. I'm glad you learned to love it though :)
    The rest of that restaurant sounds pretty nuts too. Did you manage to control your laughter? I'm not sure I would have been able to, in your situation :p

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  2. well, I dont really put away the toys, but I fold the clothes and vacuum. Plus make the bed everyday (which I stil find odd..she's 9...anyway)and I dont have to have it done befoer the cleaning lady comes, I just like to.
    I think the ostriche was cooked oddly, like it was heavily grilled, like with suuuper crispy gril marks on it. Kinda took away from it coz they were like strips of charred meat on the ostriche lump. :(

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  3. Trying to clean a kid's room - you sound like your Mom. And it is truly a success when you get some of it done.

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  4. Love the socks/burgers analogy.

    Ostriches come from eggs. I had an ostrich stirfry at The Willows once. The meat was gray and nothing special. Maybe I should create a recipe for it!!

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  5. Mom I know ostriches come from eggs. But the meat really was red meat. It was WEIRD. but yummy at the end.
    Can you even get ostriche meat in saskatoon?

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