You Say You Want a Resolution
New Year's Resolutions--I haven't made them this year. It's not that I don't believe in them, or that I couldn't think of anything good this year. I just haven't had time to reflect, and I prefer to give it some serious thought.
On New Year's Eve, Christy and I spent a quiet night in my apartment watching Pirates of the Caribbean and making chocolate chip cookies. We watched some fireworks from my back balcony (although we could hear lots more) and we toasted the new year with sparkling cider. We managed to stay awake 'til 2 AM. That's quite an accomplishment at my age, ha ha!
On January 1, Christy and I were invited to have lunch with Katherine and Jean-Claude Galles, who host my Bible study. They invited several couples and singles from the church who don't have family in the area to celebrate with. We ate from 1:00pm until 6:00pm--a veritable feast!It started with oysters on the half shell, platters and platters of them. Oysters are a delicacy, eaten especially for Christmas and New Year's here in France, and the coast about 45 minutes away is famed for the best oysters in France. I had never eaten raw oysters before, but managed to slurp down four of them to be polite. Everyone at the table was making jokes about them breathing/moving, but I didn't translate that part for Christy, who ate about 8 of them. Christy enjoyed the feast and the fellowship, and I was really glad that she had the chance to experience a true French meal.
She left on the 2nd. Naturally, with her leaving in the late afternoon, we had a busy "last-minute" day. In the morning, I took her to work with me for a bit to meet my co-workers, before we went to the grocery store for half-price holiday chocolates. I was raised to shop the "after-Christmas" sales! By the time we got home and packed her purchases into her baggage, we had just enough time to mail out a souvenir package to her family and head for the train station. I said goodbye to her and she traveled on to Paris for her flight out.
Once I got home, I spent the evening taking my Christmas tree down. I opened my half-price chocolates and sampled a few before declaring an early night.
But at 2 am, those cheap caramels ended up costing me a lot more than I bargained for! I had a stomach virus all night and all day yesterday. Ugh. What's worse than being sick all day? Having someone criticize you for not blogging while you were sick! That's right. I called home, as I lay on the couch too weak to move, and my brother wanted to know why I hadn't updated my blog since I was "laying around" all day.
So, I have made my blog the first priority today (thankfully, I'm feeling much better). I hope to get to my "to-do" list today and maybe at some point, I'll even have time and energy for resolutions.
In other news: thanks to the Prims group from PAG who sent me some goodies, my aunt Bett who sent me a "Crab" care package full of crab decor for my kitchen, and the many people who sent Christmas cards! I really loved getting the news and photos and well-wishes of so many folks from home.
On New Year's Eve, Christy and I spent a quiet night in my apartment watching Pirates of the Caribbean and making chocolate chip cookies. We watched some fireworks from my back balcony (although we could hear lots more) and we toasted the new year with sparkling cider. We managed to stay awake 'til 2 AM. That's quite an accomplishment at my age, ha ha!
On January 1, Christy and I were invited to have lunch with Katherine and Jean-Claude Galles, who host my Bible study. They invited several couples and singles from the church who don't have family in the area to celebrate with. We ate from 1:00pm until 6:00pm--a veritable feast!It started with oysters on the half shell, platters and platters of them. Oysters are a delicacy, eaten especially for Christmas and New Year's here in France, and the coast about 45 minutes away is famed for the best oysters in France. I had never eaten raw oysters before, but managed to slurp down four of them to be polite. Everyone at the table was making jokes about them breathing/moving, but I didn't translate that part for Christy, who ate about 8 of them. Christy enjoyed the feast and the fellowship, and I was really glad that she had the chance to experience a true French meal.
She left on the 2nd. Naturally, with her leaving in the late afternoon, we had a busy "last-minute" day. In the morning, I took her to work with me for a bit to meet my co-workers, before we went to the grocery store for half-price holiday chocolates. I was raised to shop the "after-Christmas" sales! By the time we got home and packed her purchases into her baggage, we had just enough time to mail out a souvenir package to her family and head for the train station. I said goodbye to her and she traveled on to Paris for her flight out.
Once I got home, I spent the evening taking my Christmas tree down. I opened my half-price chocolates and sampled a few before declaring an early night.
But at 2 am, those cheap caramels ended up costing me a lot more than I bargained for! I had a stomach virus all night and all day yesterday. Ugh. What's worse than being sick all day? Having someone criticize you for not blogging while you were sick! That's right. I called home, as I lay on the couch too weak to move, and my brother wanted to know why I hadn't updated my blog since I was "laying around" all day.
So, I have made my blog the first priority today (thankfully, I'm feeling much better). I hope to get to my "to-do" list today and maybe at some point, I'll even have time and energy for resolutions.
In other news: thanks to the Prims group from PAG who sent me some goodies, my aunt Bett who sent me a "Crab" care package full of crab decor for my kitchen, and the many people who sent Christmas cards! I really loved getting the news and photos and well-wishes of so many folks from home.