Healthy Food . . . Fresh Ingredients . . . Easy Recipes . . . & Musings from France
Living in France means dealing with the French Bureaucracy. It’s both easier and harder than one expects.
Scalloped Potatoes Question: How long must one live in Europe before being able to adopt the same trusting attitude as the native-born?Answer: More than 12 years. That's how long I've been here and I still can't do it. Many years ago (I seem to be living in the past lately) mon mari needed a watch repaired. He … Continue reading…
The Powers That Be. I wish they had someone else to pick on for awhile….. The details of settling in….. For a reason known only to the mysterious Powers That Be, our telephone, which worked perfectly fine in the Vendée, with the internet and ADSL line, causes the internet and ADSL line, here in the … Continue reading…
Carrrot and Ginger Soup THEY say, when life hands you lemons…… For those of you who are getting a certain, perverse entertainment rush out of the ongoing mess that is our life…. The scoop: Unbeknownst to us, the house that we are buying, er, trying to buy, belongs to a child. The previous owner, I’ll call … Continue reading…
Courgette (Zucchini) Gratin August is over. 'I know that!', you think. But do you truly understand the significance? For the last 5 weeks, conversations, chez nous, have gone something like this: 1st day of August: Mon mari: I can't get through to the (insert business here)! Me: It's August, they're closed for the holidays. Mon … Continue reading…
Pasta with Fresh Avocado Sauce We need to adjust our marriage. If your intent is to leave all your worldly goods to your cat, or even your grandchild or favorite nephew, don't move to France… Or Spain… Or any other country that ascribes to the Napoleonic Code. For that matter, don't try bequeathing your possessions … Continue reading…
Pesto Pasta Salad Note to self: Don't forget to look for closet space!!!!!! We sold our house…. We think. Nothing is as easy here as it is in the U.S. Or as fast. We've been trying to sell our house for 3 years. Two weeks ago today we 'agreed a sale'. Then we arranged for … Continue reading…
Finally, we have our new car! It only took 3 hours to sign all of the paperwork and graciously accept the instructions of all the various people hauled out of the woodwork to show us how stuff works. Mon mari's signing hand is in a sling today, but we hope for a full recovery. … Continue reading…