with family! I'm missing mine, but very excited to see my dad
tomorrow. I woke up this morning (after getting to bed very
late...more on that in a minute), with the same usual flutter of
excitement for Christmas morning. It's a white Christmas here, with a
light layer of snow and lots of heavy wind.... And I haven't heard
from Laurence yet, but I assume she'll call after while. If I don't
end up going over to her house, it's really ok because I could use the
rest and I'll have an extra plate of cookies all to myself... But what
would Christmas be without spending time with others? Corinne, when
dropping me off around 12:15 last night, said I could call today if I
needed anything... So we'll see!
So last night, Corinne picked me up around 6:45. She prepared me in
the car for who was at their house and that the girls had typed up a
menu so I would know what I was eating. Her mother, her father-in-law,
and her husband's grandmother from his mother's side were all there
along with her 3 kids, Lucie (age 5), Emilie (age 9), and Julien (age
13), and husband, Luc.
When I got there I was introduced to everyone, gave everyone the
bises, or double cheek kiss, and stood around talking for a minute
until Corinne finally said let's go sit in the living room! The kids
and I played on the wii (Mario cart) while the grandmothers watched
and the parents cooked. Grandpa was in and out, making jokes that were
a little over my head french capacity-wise.
Around 7:45, the girls were given trays of little finger foods to pass
around (veggie tray, little pieces of bread with olive paste, and
little pieces of bread with...caviar) and grandpa phillipe popped open
champagne.
I tried the fish eggs, even after asking what it was and being told by
Lucie that I was eating fish babies. Corinne said she was proud of me
for trying them haha.
Around 8:45, we were told to come sit down for dinner. The menu for
tonight was seafood and more seafood. They explained that where
they're from in the south of france, you eat lightly on Christmas eve
to save room for the big feast on Christmas day...and eating fish is
there way of eating lightly.
Thankfully, the first course was a delicious scallops and bacon
dish...for which I licked the plate clean. The second course was a
seafood casserole thing with rice that was good but not my favorite.
Grandma didn't touch hers...so at least I did better than that!
Then, we had the cheese course with 10 different cheese ranging from
very smelly to more Swiss cheese type cheese. I of course tried a
small bite of each, and can firmly announce that I do not like very
smelly cheese.
For desert, the menu said 13 desserts. I was a little anxious/excited
about the prospect of 13 deserts, but I was told that really you just
choose a little bit of 13 different deserts and then you are allowed
to eat. I still liked the concept:) The different things they had out
were: a huge fruit bowl, candied fruit, dates, chocolates, papillotes,
2 buches (the traditional Yule log cake), my cookies, nougat, and
nuts. The main way to get up to 13 without making yourself sick was by
having a slice of apple, a grape, a pice of pear, kiwi, a raisin, and
a nut... So then the other half could be sugary chocolate stuff. It
was great fun:)
After desert, we had coffee/tea and by this point it was nearing
Minuit- or the time when pere Noel begins to pop through. So the girls
were ready for bed, exhausted and excited. Julien was allowed to try
some after dinner digestif alcohol...and was a little stumbly and red
in the face. I was just exhausted from keeping up with the
conversation, still feeling sort of sick (I woke up yesterday with a
yucky sore throat), and entertaining Lucie and Emilie. Lucie is just
as cute as can be. Often between courses she wanted to play "ni oui,
ni non" in which you asked a person a series of yes/ no questions and
they had to respond without saying oui or non. I lost often at the
beginning, but got better at finding alternative answers until I would
lose on purpose just to help her out and not get frustrated:)
Corinne offered to drive me home and I said goodbye and joyeux noel to
everyone. When I got home I talked to my parents and went to bed. I
didn't sleep all that great even though I was so tired...and I still
haven't heard from Laurence (now nearing 12:45... Do I eat lunch or
wait??? Oh the decisions I have to make haha).
Anyway, enjoy your day! I'm so thankful for all my family, friends,
and loyal readers (hehe I mean you Judi!). Je vous souhaite un joyeux
Noel! And I wish safe travels for my dad leaving this afternoon for
France!!! I can't wait to see you!
Reste cool;)
Sent from my iPod
Bravo for trying the caviar! Good post, good post.
ReplyDelete