february 29, 2012

LOST party: the two Sawyers.

february 28, 2012

Paul and Bekah re-textured the walls, painted, and added the crown molding---it looks so great!!! Now we're on the hunt for a big, cool mirror to hang above the fireplace, cute new bedspreads, and some artwork to tie it all together.

february 27, 2012

Putting in all those pounds of tile. It's going to be beautiful!

february 26, 2012

Bekah and I catered lunch for the Gospel choir, as they had another concert today in a nearby town. The concert was held in this amazing hall, called the Monk's Cellar, since that's what it originally was. It is one large room with a vaulted ceiling, made entirely of stone. I'm enjoying soaking in the moments in places like this.

february 25, 2012

Local churches sponsored a Gospel concert of a really great choir from Grenoble. Every ticket was sold, packing out the house - 900 seats! It was a really fun concert - lots of energy - and the crowd got really into it. Fun!

february 24, 2012

Unloading 1300 pounds of tile from the van. 

february 23

Our château team was invited to lunch at Rosie's home. She is the sweetest lady ever and treated us to an absolutely fabulous lunch of homemade quenelles in her own tomato sauce, chicken-liver cake, coq-au-vin, cardoons, cheese, and an ice cream bûche with fresh fruit salad...we were so spoiled!

february 22, 2012

Fun with walnut shells.

february 21, 2012

Pizza party/movie night with family friends!

february 20, 2012

So, what I've been working on lately is a kitchen handbook for the Château. Pictures of myself typing are not nearly as interesting as, well, almost anything...but it's what has been taking up a lot of my time so here's a shot of some of my work. I'm trying to put down in writing and pictures everything that an American would need to know if they were suddenly dropped down here in Saint Albain and had to cook for a group of French people. Everything from which grocery stores to shop at to how to clean out the dishwasher...I'll be at this for quite a while longer.

february 19, 2012

This is a necklace I made out of fimo clay and cut-in-half hand-rolled felt balls (thanks, Holly!) as a hostess gift for my friend Catherine; she and her husband had us over for lunch. I'm totally bummed that I forgot to take any pictures with them---we had a wonderful time having a long, leisurely lunch of Fondue Bourguignon and a truly awesome chocolate cake, and then walked around their property for a bit, their three super-adorable little boys running all over enjoying finally being able to play outside after such bitterly cold weather. They recently moved to this really cool old farmhouse with views of hills an fields all around and acres and acres for the boys to play; they said they feel like they're on vacation all the time...aahh, comme la vie en France est belle!

february 18, 2012

Spent the afternoon at the annual business meeting for the "Friends of Nature" club of Saint Albain, of which I am a member. I'm not always a fan of spending a beautiful sunny afternoon sitting in a meeting...but this one was actually quite nice. Everyone who came "won" a prize (I got a combo of a cap advertising some kind of company, a lighter, and a lanyard), several of the ladies made bugnes, a doughnut traditionally served just before Lent, and of course they had a fine selection of French beverages. And the people in this town are just truly kind and lovely; it makes up for some of the awkwardness of being a terrible conversationalist in French during the mingling time.

february 17, 2012

Jay working on pulling up the carpet that was damaged from the burst pipe. We're going to put tile down instead of new carpet...so now we'll be all ready for any broken pipes in the future. Bring on winter!

february 16, 2012

Lise and me working in the kitchen---all bundled up with down vests and wool up to our chins!

february 15, 2012

Château cooking day...I wish I could take credit for these super-cute strawberry mousses...but they're 100% Bekah Dreisbach.

february 14, 2012

Château grocery shopping morning with Paul & Bekah and my mom-in-law. We had a great Valentine's Day, too...ended up having to make a last-minute run down to the American Consolate in Lyon to get papers notarized for buying the building, and then Jay's parents took us out to a fabulous V-Day dinner on Rue Mercière in Lyon. Wow, I am like totally spoiled these days.

february 13, 2012

Signing papers to buy a building!!! We're going in with Jay's parents to buy a building in downtown Warsaw, Indiana----crazy!

february 12, 2012

We just had to stop and get a Fôret Noire at a patisserie while my mom-in-law is here since they're her favorite. Life is tough.

february 11, 2012

The Mona Lisa. (Got to visit the Louvre with my mom-in-law while our guys were in their meeting!)

february 10, 2012

Up in Paris overnight to pick Jay's parents up (they're visiting us on their way back to the States after time in Africa) and for a business meeting for Jay, his dad, and another colleague. Isn't that car the absolute cutest ever?

february 9, 2012

One of the wings of the Château flooded last night due to a burst pipe. The cool thing is, some of the things that were damaged were things we had already been hoping to fix/replace...and this way insurance will probably cover some of it. Sweet!

february 8, 2012

Cold snap continues...in talking with the locals, it's been many a year since the Saône River has frozen like this.

february 7, 2012

Cooking day at the Château...in the middle of a cold snap. No, I haven't suddenly gained 30 pounds, I'm just wearing a puffy down vest under my apron. 

february 6, 2012

Superbowl Sunday. Or actually, Monday. The game didn't start until 12:30am for us...but we toughed it out and (mostly) stayed awake.

february 5, 2012

10 mile run today for our half-marathon training. I'm bummed that even in this picture you can tell that I'm barely moving, and I'm pretty sure I could have race-walked the distance faster than I jogged it. Just two more long runs to go in our training before the big day! I wish I could say that I'm now hooked on this kind of running and can't wait to do this again...but at this point I'm thinking one half-marathon in a lifetime is enough.

february 4, 2012

Jay helping some of our neighbors with their willow harvest; they grow it for their own basket-making business and to sell wholesale to basket-makers around France. 

february 3, 2012

This is a French pizza at it's finest---crispy crust, lots of cream and cheese, oil floating freely across the surface...yum. But it also represents something that totally baffles me about France. People always say that the French stay slim because they eat smaller portions. In my experience, I've been stuffed to the gills here in France way more often than in the States, at restaurants and in peoples' homes. (And I'm definitely not complaining!) I can only assume they've got the whole balance thing figured out, indulging on special occasions and eating healthfully and reasonably on a day-to-day basis. But back to the pizza...this thing is about 13 inches in diameter (it's falling over the edges of a very large dinner plate) and is for ONE person. It has to have more calories than say seven or eight BigMacs. (May I also mention that there are bottles of spicy oil on the table to pour over the pizza, just to add some extra flavor?) And it's not exactly what I would call a balanced meal...there are a couple of onions swimming around in the grease, but that's all the vegetation in this particular meal. At a restaurant, each person is expected to order their own pizza: it's a dish, not something to cut up and pass around. And they don't do doggy-bags. So you either gorge yourself, or throw it away...and neither of these options seem to jive at all with French values (throwing away stale bread is a mortal sin)...and that is why I will forever remain confused about French pizza. And I will keep eating it until the day we leave.

february 2, 2012

Paul, Bekah and Rose have been finishing the walls in one of the big dorm rooms at the Château this week. It's going to look so great!

february 1, 2012

This whole training for a half-marathon has been somewhat brutal this week in the frigid temps, and I'm sure our neighbors think we're totally nuts. Whoever thought it was a good idea to schedule a race at the beginning of March? But at least it's getting us outside "enjoying" the winter landscape. This is a farmstead just outside of our village.