Still deserve answers! Especially when my friend J is the one asking! So here I go!
you mentioned reading in bed - what books are you reading at the moment?
Um.....do blogs and newspaper articles count? I think ma maman would be shocked to hear, but I don't remember the last book I read, it's been a while since I took that much time. Yes, I have a lot of free time, I know, but I tend to get a wee bit absorbed in books, and can shut the world out around me (which while unpacking and stocking out home up is a little inconvenient). I currently have on me (I'm at Panera) a Christmas romance book. It's got 4 short stories and they are all good clean ones that have great ending and recipes!
Another part to this answer is something I mentioned to G this morning, that I am avoiding any books that may influence my own book I am working on. I don't want it to sound like anyone else's writing or to steal any hint of a story line, even accidentally. So right now that pretty much leaves fluff books---quick, light girly reads. I'm trying to read Emma, but keep leaving it at home!
do you stick to that same busy nights on weekends - or do you both try and get out more in the day?
Well, on the nights we are in on the weekends (I try desperately to get us out having a life), I do tend to maintain that schedule. We are usually lazy bums until mid afternoon whereas we run errands, maybe eat out, and then if we head home I usually end up at least baking something and cleaning. I love to bake, it allows me to be useful while carrying on a conversation with G, or allowing him to watch a show I caught earlier in the week. Lately we've been trying to be in earlier on Saturday nights because we found a church we like to attend on Sunday mornings. Oh, and we cannot be gone all the time, we have two very needy puppies!
Does being up all night mean you don't go shopping much during the week? How/when do you do your food or other shopping?
If I do the food shopping during the week it's after G gets home. Because we're a one car family, and he takes the car to work, if I desperately need something he swings by and picks it up on his way home from the commissary (since we've found some things are 2/3 cheaper there!). But usually when we head out for coffee we also do our shopping then. We've also been known to head out to the 24 hour Wal-Mart at midnight in the middle of the week! (only if G is wired and cannot sleep) Because this time of year I tend to make a lot of soups that last for days we don't shop much. We do however shop more often for fresh ingredients, so the grocery store is my way of getting out of the house on days I feel cooped up! I don't quite trust G completely to pick out our food yet, so he is usually told to just come home and then we head back out. It does waste gas, something I'm working on getting better at, but it keeps me sane!
Today is a busy day, working on the novel, drinking copious amounts of coffee (haven't slept since yesterday afternoon and am trying to break the cycle by forcing myself to stay awake and sleep tonight!), hanging out with a friend, and doing lunch with G. Oh, and running a couple of necessary errands tonight, staging a set up for a review photo, preparing for this weekend, and hopefully getting some sleep! How is everyone? Gearing up for a fun weekend, or hoping to relax in bed with a newspaper?
Stephanie of Bonjour Madame asked me:
Since you have lived in Europe and the states, I would love to know the differences in little things like social behavior...like what do people do for fun over there. And also the food, what are the big differences and habits?
Well, if the title gives it away, it's a difficult answer. We lived in Britain which is whoa trendy, the youth are an interesting lot, and the food can be very similar, and often heavier than American food. The club scene is really big for teens and young adults (because you can drink from the age of 18 there is a younger crowd going out on the town there than here). Girls tend to wear things that reveal far more than their bodies are in shape for or their modesty should allow for. Boys tend to dress either like an upscale player or a downtown thug. Simple enough, right? Neither G nor I were into the club scene (G because he's more the quiet type, and me because I had already pretty much gotten that out of my system thanks to my college years) and instead went to pubs where there was drinking and even dancing at some, but not the hot nightclub the trendy kids went to. I still enjoy an upscale night club, but prefer places with velvet seating and top shelf vodka. Oh, and the ability to actually hear the people I am conversing with.
There is one thing I've found to be true, however, and that is that the lifestyle you lead is one you choose. For instance we found that when we picnicked at the Abbey there were shockingly many others who did the same. Families who brought their kids and relaxed while playing football (soccer), older people who sat on the benches with friends or spouses and conversed and ate, teens who lounged in the grass with friends. Britain is a very social culture, so pubs are family places, and a really good time. Market days are huge opportunities to people watch because there is such a vast variety of people that you really can watch any type of person in a short amount of time. Young lovers buying flowers, older women and men negotiating the produce, children licking up dripping cones of freshly made ice cream. In a lot of senses the places G and I chose to spend time are an idyllic version of the world. My favorite shop for clothes in the UK was a place where everyone who worked there knew me, we conversed with others in the store, and I could get valuable opinions on outfits and different ways to wear pieces. Same for the restaurants we frequented, we tended to be known well and it was helpful in getting good food and lively service.
The food there is debatable. Pub food is heavier, but who would turn down fish n chips just because of a little grease? The more trendy food places served your "fusion" type foods. For the most part any modern country has the same variety of food as the US. There was a really good sushi place in Cambridge (oh, and for anyone who's curious, Cambridge is a great "walking" city, so easy to explore), and French and true Italian food is big for chain restaurants (such as Cafe Rouge and Strada). The only thing I think they top us on is Indian food, because the Indian community is so big there, and it is all amazing! We did get to try more things like Argentine cuisine (due to the population in Brandon, Suffolk) and Turkish kebab houses are everywhere as well. I think I'm having a hard time explaining myself since we moved to the Baltimore/D.C. area and we haven't had any problem finding those sorts of places (including kebab houses) here. (Hence the title) I would say though, that the culture around food there is different than here. Even children and teens enjoy their food. Sure you have KFC inching it's way in, but it definitely caters to the lower economic population from what we saw. Teens would have their 18th birthday parties at restaurants like Cafe Rouge, which while a chain had private rooms and champagne and were more like cafes that just happened to have more than one.
Britain, like much of Europe operates on a slower pace than America. They take their hour or two for lunch. Shops close down by 5 for pretty much everything, except the mall, it closed at 8 except around Christmas. Grocery stores opened late on Sunday and closed by 4, if they were open at all! The country as a whole is much more respectful of the need to not work yourself to death. And the longer lunches were great for people watching as well, since you would see friends and lovers meet up for a bite. In a lot of ways it really was like watching a British movie.
I'm not saying the country is perfect (I am not a huge fan of their government's need to put their nose into absolutely everything), but the people were usually quite lovely and fascinating to watch. Because they still do so much like they have for forever (markets, bicycles on long country roads, closing down for every holiday under the sun) and are not apt to change any time soon, it's a relaxing feeling of once you figure the pace out you know what to expect. Coming back to the U.S. has been very jarring at times. We're a more convenient country, can grab a quick bite to eat. But we also no longer seem to understand how nice it is to just take a breath and slow down. I know G's biggest annoyance when we moved back was servers in restaurants bringing us our bill before we'd asked. It does feel as if you are being asked to move along, mid-conversation. And who in their right mind wouldn't do this to customers in a business where most of your money is made from the patrons!
I know I've rambled a bit, but the best answer, Stephanie is that their culture is slower. They relax more, they stroll more, they eat more courses even at chain restaurants. They celebrate more (all these restaurants have special menus for Christmas and New Years----oh, and they call it Christmas, not Holiday!), sending out certificates for free bottles of champagne for your birthday with your meal (of which we took advantage of and have noted for when we move back!). They have people who are more specialized (cobblers, tailors, butchers, bakers), and are very knowledgeable about their profession (knowing where to send us for pigeon if they didn't carry it). As for the food, the variety of what people eat is much greater than here, whereas many people look suspiciously upon "ethnic" foods, there that is such a huge part of their culture as a whole!
Has anyone else noticed similar things while traveling Europe? Anything you think I'm wrong about?
I knew this would be trouble. G in fact laughed at med when I got Kaycee's question and set into a dead panic. "They're going to hate me," I said. I muttered something about maybe making something up, to which G reminded me that I am an honest person and started this thing to hold myself accountable. I grumbled a bit and then thought about it and he was right.
You see, I faced this question recently (at the wine tasting) and set into a dead panic then too. As someone who spent 4 years in classes (sometimes even in the summer), taking on loads of work, then worked 2 jobs back to back sometimes, and then later went and worked at a bank while planning a wedding, I am used to having things to do. Then I got married. And with every intention of getting a job I got hit with reality. Oh I could get one, but with G's ever changing schedule in England there would sometimes be days where I would never see him, so he asked me to stay home. At first it was fun, a break, and then it got tedious. I spent a lot of days in bed, doing nothing other than reading a book or watching a movie. So the easy answer to Kaycee's question about what do I do with my day, asking me for a typical day is: nothing, absolutely nothing. I am totally the woman who lies in bed all day doing nothing more than read and perhaps eating a bon bon.
The more real answer is: more than I ever thought I would. Let me state I do lie in bed all day, most every day. I know I've got it good. Most days I sleep the day away. Today, for instance I woke up at 3:45 this afternoon (less than an hour ago). However, what I should mention is I didn't go to bed until 7 this morning. I am a night owl, and often no matter how hard I try get my days and nights mixed up. G says it's because I hate to go to bed, and will fight sleep, so inevitably it has me going to bed later and later. It doesn't bother him, I generally lay with him as he falls asleep, and such as this morning (which caused me to relax enough I dozed off) I crawl into bed so he wakes up with me. G doesn't care too much about my schedule. I'm awake when he's awake. I sleep when he's gone. It doesn't really affect him.
And as I was panicking last night G pointed all of this out. That I may do absolutely nothing during the day (even on the days that I am awake) but that I do a whole ton in the evenings and at night. It's my best time. So, here is how my day went yesterday:
Slept all afternoon.
UPS guy came, we joked about hopefully this product being the right one. I got excited when I took it out, but worried where to put it since it was whoa bigger than I thought it would be (more on that later).
Called G to tell him, he was on his way home.
G and I spent a couple glorious hours in bed, curled up watching t.v. and chatting about his day. He also got his readings for class done then.
At 6:30 G made coffee in our stovetop percolator and we drank an entire pot. Neither of us was hungry.
At 8 we went downstairs and picked at the potatoes, carrots and onion from the night before.
Then my night began. As G typed up a paper for class I roasted a spaghetti squash for his lunch today. As that was roasting I mixed up a batch of cookies, and made some. They were supposed to be for his class, but this oven heats differently and I was not liking how they turned out. Still tasty, but less fluffy. Hmmm, have to figure that out, I still have over half a bowl of cookie dough in the fridge.
I had poured the pan drippings from the chicken the night before into a measuring cup and placed in the freezer to set up. I pulled that out and painstakingly scraped off the chicken fat layer and then put the dark brown juicy part into a glass jar in the fridge to put into a soup later this week. After kicking G off the computer for a sec to look up things about chicken fat, the chicken fat was put in the freezer again to use like duck fat at a later date. (roasting potatoes and veggies)
I had all those lovely kumquats from before, and had planned to make marmalade but couldn't find the recipe. Instead found a recipe for candied kumquats and decided to give that a go. I ended up doing a batch and a half of the recipe, cutting each one into thin slices was painful (my cuticles are still a little sore, note to self, next time wear gloves). This was my first time canning anything so I called my FIL to ask about jars. After sterilizing them, I was able to pour in 6 cups worth. Only I had more, so I sterilized an old Bonne Maman jar and poured the rest in there, leaving just enough to pour over a couple of madeleines for G for a dessert. He was grateful and said it was amazing. My jars all popped, so we did a dance around the kitchen at our small success.
As the candied kumquats were boiling I had been slicing up grapefruit peel we had saved from a couple days earlier. G had eaten all his grapefruit candy, and so I was making a new batch. After the canning was done, I blanched the peels 3 times, and then boiled them in the simple syrup mixture and left them for an hour to do their thing. During that time I made up a batch of wheat bread, and left that to rise.
G had gone to bed by this point, and I was alone in the kitchen with my thoughts, still panicking about doing nothing during the day. I put together a lunch for G of the spaghetti squash with roasted chicken shredded and mixed in. The grapefruit peel finished so I took it out, sugared it and laid it on the drying racks to dry. Then I sliced a carrot into sticks, steamed them over the simple syrup from the grapefruit peel so it would have a mild citrus infusion, and then added them to the container with his squash. I then poured the simple syrup into a sterilized jar and let it seal (good on cakes, ice cream, etc and we already had a big bottle in the fridge). I sliced up a few radishes and then softened butter in my fingers to apply to the top of each half, then sprinkled on some sea salt. I had made a tiny mini Bonne Maman jar (they were what were served with croissants at Cafe Rouge and I always took them with us rather than have them throw them out) full of the syrup from the kumquats and that with a couple madeleines was G's dessert to his lunch today. I made up a new little menu for him, and then ran upstairs to take a shower. I still needed to make the bread, but it was close to G waking up, so I curled up with him (there may have been some making out, lol).
Unfortunately I fell asleep so G followed my half asleep instructions as to his lunch, he punched down the wheat bread and wrapped it in plastic wrap, put it in the fridge and I will be making that this evening. So, the real answer to how I spend my days is: part housewife eating bon bons and part busy busy chef. That was a typical day for me (well, I don't usually can, but I revel in looking for things to make in the kitchen). Today I will finish making the bread, I will saute up the brussels sprouts to roast to accompany some roasted chicken (from the other night) and roasted potatoes and steamed carrots (both fresh). I also need to make some more caramels and attempt to make the old school way of doing Turkish Delight (G loves sweets), but don't know if I'll get to that tonight.
My nights are filled with cooking. Often not even for that night, I am the ultimate prep ahead person. The chicken was roasted night before we ate it (although it would have been delicious hot out of the oven!). The spaghetti squash got the same treatment. I usually chop veggies for a soup the night before. And I will be making pancakes soon with the buttermilk from making butter to freeze for a later date (to be eaten with candied kumquats). During the day I lie about and relax. I'm enjoying it for now, knowing that when we start our family it will never be the same! (actually just went down to grab the camera for the pics, and saw the bread needed to be dealt with, so it's now in 2 bread pans rising)
Madame Stephanie asked a question as well, but that will have to be a whole other post!
