Christmas Traditions

Christmas Traditions

It's Christmas Day, and here in France I continued a little Christmas tradition by having a pancake breakfast :-)

In our English conversation workshop, we recently discussed holiday traditions, and some very interesting ones came up!

• Christmas Dinner - in the Southwest of France, this means foie gras and confit de figues, followed by a stuffed guinea fowl, mushroom fricassee, and gratin dauphinois. (Muriel)
• Yule Log - while this is now a cake decorated as a log, its roots (ahem) are in the middle ages, where an actual log was burned on Christmas Eve. This log was soaked in oil, wine, and salt, and burned completely. This kept the devil away for the entire year. (Michel C)
• Advent - the days leading up to Christmas are marked by opening a little door of an advent calendar. Behind each "day" was a surprise, sometimes a picture, sometimes a piece of chocolate. On each of the 4 Sundays before Christmas, advent candles are lit. These candles are usually part of a wreath. On the first Sunday, only one candle is lit. The next Sunday, the first candle is relit, as well as the second candle. This continues through the fourth Sunday. (Renate, from Germany)
• Aniane - this is a feast of leftovers! 3 days after Christmas, all the food remaining from the feasting is mixed and cooked inside a large loaf of bread. This dish is known as La Croustade, or Ragoût d'Escoubilles. "Escoubille" is Occitan for garbage... (Michel M)
• Nadalet - An Occitan word for "Little Christmas," the Nadalet took place in the 7 days before Christmas. This was a tradition of earlier generations, that survived at least through the 1950's, but is little-known today. This is what was done, by Françoise's grandmother: Seven days before Christmas, she lit a fire in the fireplace, using a branch of vinewood. Once it was strongly burning, she extinguished the fire, then, taking the still-smoking branch, she sketched the sign of the cross in each room of the house. She repeated this each day, using the same branch. Then, on Christmas Day, she built the fire as before, but let it burn completely.

Christmas Eve 2019

Christmas Eve begins...

Administration, Strikes, and Weather

Because we moved within France (even within the same town!), I had to update my address with the French administration. That means another early morning trip to Montpellier (I am *not* a morning person).

Normally, the best way to get there is by train. BUT! we're having strikes again, so you can't count on the trains. Luckily this time I have a car 🙂. And some friendly contacts online for advice.

My Carte de Séjour (residence permit) is a 10-year card, so I had hoped to have quite a few more years before having to deal with it again. It was not to be. The plus is that with this card, you just show up with a small dossier to modify it. The negative is that you have to just show up, and hope for one of 16 tickets allowing you to submit the dossier. For an address change, I needed:
- the form filled out
- copy and original of my Carte de Séjour
- copy and original of my passport (ID page plus entry stamps, but not my original visa)
- justificatif de domicile (rent receipt) for the new address
- 2 photos
- signed statement that I had not been out of France for more than 3 consecutive years

I collected my dossier, and set my alarm. And I woke up to this! Record high winds and flood warnings!

Windy.com

I decided to delay my trip...
Today looked good, so off I went! I got to the end of the line just as the gates opened.

By 9:40, I had ticket #12, and I could sit while waiting. Two hours and a couple of tension-filled moments later (the indicator for which number was for which window was broken, and people were getting frustrated), it was my turn. Ten minutes after that, I'm on my way to my car, récépissé in hand. And passed this group of strikers, headed for the préfecture...

I got home by 1:00, with just a little bit of traffic.

~~~
UPDATE: June 17, received my updated card (Titre de Séjour) in the mail!

Recycle, Reuse, Reduce, Repurpose

Today we went to a "Gratiferia" - this is an event put on by one of the associations in Sète. The name comes from Gratuit (free) and Féria (faire). It's purpose is to encourage people to reduce waste by (1) bringing things they no longer used and (2) taking things they would use.
It was an interesting and fun afternoon, seeing all the items finding new homes 🙂

UPDATE: My friend Monique, who worked this event, told me they collected 2,500 kilograms of items, 700 people participated, and they were left with 486 kilograms of stuff that they then donated to Secours Populaire (a charity).

Drop Biscuits

I've been missing Mom's biscuits lately, and the topic came up in my English Conversation Atelier - it's hard to explain just what a biscuit is! So, Mom sent the recipe, and I put my oven through another hoop!

Drop Biscuits (from Mom's cookbook: Better Homes and Gardens NEW Cook Book! And she's only had it since 1955!)

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour (T55)
3 teaspoons baking powder (levure chimique)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-8 Tablespoons margarine or shortening
1 cup milk

For sweet biscuits (for strawberry shortcake), add
1-3 Tablespoons of sugar

Steps

1. Heat oven to 450°F (230°C, or 220°C with fan). In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the shortening, using a pastry blender (I just use my hands!), until the mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in the milk until the dough leaves the side of the bowl (dough will be soft and sticky).
2. Drop the dough from a teaspoon onto a cookie sheet.
3. Bake 12 - 15 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove the biscuits from the cookie sheet to a wire rack or paper. Serve warm.

~~~
If you're wondering why I'm posting so many recipes lately, "Food" is our current topic in my English Conversation Atelier...

Pomegranate Ginger Snaps

I'm giving my new oven a workout! Last night, rotisserie chicken and roasted veggies, today... Cookies!

I had given up on finding molasses, when a friend gave me a jar that she had special-ordered. I tried it in my ginger-snap recipe, and let's just say it's very different...

Then, some time ago, wandering the aisles in the grocery store, my eye was caught by Pomegranate Molasses! Hmm... I couldn't resist! And, today, I made these...

They are tangy, rather than molasses-y, and could probably stand up to more ginger. But the texture is *exactly* the same! Crisp, then chewy - mmm mmm!

Pomegranate Ginger Snaps

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup colza oil (not strongly flavored)
1 large egg
zest from one clementine
1/3 cup pomegranate molasses
2 cups flour (T55)
2 tsp baking soda (levure chimique)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
Cream sugar and oil. Add egg and zest, stir well, then stir in molasses. Mix dry ingredients and add. Refrigerate if necessary (easier to roll).
Make into small balls (about 2 teaspoons), and roll
in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees F (177C) for 10 minutes. Remove
cookies immediately to cool (they will be soft).
Makes 3 dozen +/-

Cereal Grains - Score!

Score! I've been looking for various cereal grains here in France, for... Well, it seems forever!

But the other day, I finally got to the semi-local* Bio store, and scored! I had hoped for bulk, but no.... But I kept looking, and in the cereal grain section, I found (almost) all I'd been searching for:

• Whole wheat
• Spelt
• Oats
• Barley

I'm in soup heaven!

~~~
* If you're in Sète, the "semi-local" bio store is at the commercial center in Balaruc.

The Kitchen Junk Drawer

The Kitchen Junk Drawer...

 Is there a single house in the entire world that *doesn't* have one?!?

You don't plan it. Eventually, after enough moves, you specifically plan *against* it! But. Still. It happens...

Well, here it is. In France. There is just no escaping it...

Ingredients:

• Tape
• Superglue
• Manuals for every appliance
• Basic tools
• Non-basic tools
• IKEA tools
• Velcro on a roll
• Water filters
• Weird things, like sticky pads to keep chairs from making a racket
• Etc

Champagne Lesson

Today I got a lesson in pouring champagne, or any sparkling wine. Tilting the glass while pouring champagne is *forbidden!* For beer or cider, OK, but not sparkling wine!
The acceptable method:

• Pour the champagne, and let the bubbles (mousse) form to about 2/3 of the glass. 
• Wait until the bubbles start to dissipate. 
• Then pour more champagne slowly - the liquid will increase, but the level of bubbles will stay the same.

Voilà, you have a full glass of bubbly!

Filling In the Holes

We went appliance shopping today!

We spent yesterday afternoon at the laundromat, hopefully for the last time (here, anyway)! We did 3 loads for 17€, brought some home wet - the soap was automatically dispensed, so we couldn't use our unscented soap...

Washing Machine

I've been doing dishes by hand - not my favorite thing, plus, they take up too much room!

Dishwasher

I won't be able to bake anything in time for our monthly lunch next week, but I have the whole Winter ahead! (I promise, I won't go crazy with cookies, but I have a new ingredient I want to try!)

Oven

Of course, we needed a cabinet for some of this stuff - it's nothing special, but we got a put-it-together-yourself kitchen cabinet - that's on for tomorrow (if I'm up for it...)

Rainbow Season

It's Rainbow Season here in Sète ! Nice to know we aren't missing much in our new place...

If only I had been a little bit faster - this scudding rain, just 2 seconds before, created a fantastically brilliant rainbow!

Hot Showers and a Table

More furniture came this morning! We now have a bedframe (we had been using air mattresses under our regular mattress, so the week wasn't too bad) and a table!

Look! A French Table!

And! This afternoon, the gas guy came! He turned on the gas line, checked for leaks, and showed us where to turn off the main if necessary. Then he checked each burner on the gas stove, lit the water heater, and made sure we had hot water - everything works!
Next? Hot showers!

Heaven!

Moving in France - The Move Out

Moving in France - The Move Out

Our Last View from Old Place

October 1 - Our "move in" date is set! But the move-in is only part of moving. We also had to deal with the move-out!

October 2 - waiting until our new-apartment dossier was accepted, we mailed (registered letter) our current agency our notice that we would be moving out. We picked November 4th, knowing that the required 1-month notice doesn't begin until they *receive* the letter. It worked out ok, but in retrospect, it would have been less stressful to add a couple of days.

October 14, 15 - received mail from our current agency, with information on whom to contact about our move-out inspection. Since they are selling the apartment, they said they didn't need to arrange any viewing times with us (yay!). We made an appointment for the inspection and key-exchange.

October 16 - our chauffagiste came to check the heating system. There's a problem, but we aren't sure if the owner will have it fixed, or try to sell it as is. We expect to have hot water problems until we leave...

October 31 - our internet moves - Rick is in the new apartment for our morning appointment. We had a little drizzle while loading the car in the morning, but then it cleared up!
Rick somehow got even more address changes done:
Changed our bank information online!
Updated Rick's voter registration
Changed our address for the US state department
I got stuff ready to move, then picked up our van. Lifesaving Friends John and Susie arrived, and we loaded the van, drove a whole 3 kilometers, and then unloaded - whew! We gassed up, then returned the van (15 minutes to spare), and I felt like collapsing... I walked back to the now-old apartment, got a lovely hot shower, then picked up Rick to go shopping for our dinner. I saw ONE roast chicken left! BUT! It was opened (I guess we know why it was left!). OK, on to pâté and salami :-)
Back at our now-new apartment, we finally collapsed, feet up in our new recliners, wine glasses in hand.

November 1 - it's a holiday! for some... Back at our old apartment, we packed up some odds and ends, cleaned some (but not all), cooked lunch and showered (wow! remember? no gas at the new place). Then we shopped (yes, more shopping!). Picked up a microwave and a roast chicken (yes! we beat the crowds!). AND! got to use a holiday coupon!

November 2 - shopping, laundry, and hours of cleaning - I'm pooped!

November 3 - we took a holiday from moving! We got our showers at the old place, then went to a friend's birthday party. Afterwards, we came back, did a final walk-through, and then went Home, ready for our checkout tomorrow.

November 4 - Move-out Day! We met the inspection fellow at the old apartment a little before our 10:30 appointment, and he got started. What an incredible difference compared to our move-in inspection! We had a short discussion about what he was going to do; he said it would take at least 3 hours, and that we didn't have to be there - he would call us when he was done. Great for us; we bought more things for the new place, returned our hotspot, and had lunch out. It did indeed take more than 3 hours! Then we showed him the garage...
We started reading his report, and he pointed out each area that really mattered, in terms of getting our deposit back. He said to tell him if anything in the report was a shock. We were concerned because our entry état des lieux had not been completed, and the initial report had discrepancies - he phoned the agency, and they assured us that they well remembered our situation, and not to worry; we would get our deposit back :-)
Well, we were all done looking through the report he had created - it was very slick, and well documented with photos - when... his tablet died! His battery had run out! So, he plugged it in, and we waited - we chatted, and enjoyed the view for the last time, and eventually there was enough charge to let us sign the état des lieux - we left about 4:00.
This fellow was very professional - the rental agency hired him shortly after we told them about how our entry inspection went (or rather, how it *didn't* go!) He was brought on to clear up all the various messes that had been left.
At home (!), we emailed photos of our electric and gas meters to the company for our final bill.
And had soup for dinner!

Moving in France - The Move In

Moving in France - The Move In

Our New Place

Our "move in" date is set! Our rental contract includes the date when we will get the keys and conduct the "état des lieux" - our move-in inspection.

October 1 - our dossier was officially accepted for our new apartment!

October 10 - we arranged for our internet and house phone to move. For the overlap, they are lending us a 4G hotspot - we picked it up a couple of days later. They prefer at least 20 days of notice! Luckily, we just hit that window.

October 15 - arranged for renter's insurance on the new apartment, as well as the overlap on the old. Got an attestation via email (required for our move-in)

October 17 - I took our renter's insurance attestation and our bank information to our new agency. I tried to follow up on our handyman contact, but... It seems clear (from another person there) that this sort of recommendation is not allowed :-\ Later that day, we got the rest of the information about our new apartment by email.

October 19-22 - every single day, we hunted for furniture! Saturday and Sunday, we went to used furniture places, then Monday and Tuesday, we investigated new furniture. Tuesday was very stormy, and we still drove all the way to IKEA in Montpellier!

Results: we bought a used table and bed frame, but! When we arranged for delivery... (1) our elevator is too small for the table, so that means carrying it up 3 flights of stairs and (2) they can't deliver until November 5th, so we'll be sleeping on the floor for a few nights.

October 23 - it's another horribly stormy day, so we got a *lot* done by internet and phone! 

We arranged to have our chauffagiste send us a maintenance certificate (required for our move-out), and he will move our contract to the new apartment as well!

We made an account online at the Post office, and set up mail forwarding. They will mail a code to our current address - we will need this to complete the action.

We arranged to move our account at the gas and electric company, and requested our move (in and out). They called a little while later to finalize some details. When we move in, we have to take photos of the meters, and email them. Since recording the readings is a part of our move-in inspection, we'll just do that at the same time.

We contacted a few handymen, but we're still having no luck finding help to move our few items. 

October 24 - we went to arrange a moving van and help (!) at Happy Location... Well, we started this. The fellow had a friend, and we hoped to hear good things by the end of the day. We have plans B and C lurking.

We went online (one website, for each of us) to update our car registration, CPAM (health system), taxes, basically every government entity there is!

October 25 - sooo, another plan bites the dust! Our moving job is too small to be worth our fellow's friend finding a babysitter :-( Our fellow offered, but the only time he could do it was the exact same time that we are doing our move-out inspection. Plan B - made more rounds of petits annonces. Plan C, asked and got a *huge* favor from a friend. Set for Thursday...

October 26 - had a little reprieve today; the only move-related chore was to go to Happy Location and reserve our moving van!

Well, we also got our very nice neighbor to show us where all our meters were :-) 

October 28 - Move-in Day! We did the move-in inspection (état des lieux) in the morning - quite a thorough job, if you ask me! The agent had her list, and I had mine, so we both did our thing, then compared notes. Unfortunately, the gas was off (apparently, this is a safety requirement), so we couldn't check everything. But we did have electricity this time! And we still checked the shower (poor Rick got soaked...). We ended with two items on the "discuss with the owner" - he contacted us before the end of the day!
After we got our keys (!!), I dropped Rick off at the "old" place, where he took care of all the many appointment changes. I went shopping for cleaning supplies, and spent the afternoon cleaning the new place. I did leave a much shorter list for later - I got home exhausted!
Fortunately, we're working on getting our freezer emptied out...

October 29 - We were in the middle of breakfast, getting ready to head over to the new place by 10, when the IKEA delivery folks called - they were nearly there! We rushed out to meet them, leaving behind all the things we had intended to take. I suspect they forgot to change their clocks... Well, half the stuff fit in the elevator. The two big chairs had to be unboxed to fit into the living room. Whew! you just don't think about interior doors being smaller than "normal!" They were done by 9:30, so we waited a little while for the landlord - he had arranged to come by and check the partially-non-functional shower, discovered during our inspection ;-)

Good news! our landlord *replaced* our shower! and he removed the kitchen door and put it in storage, and "settled" the toilet (it was a little wobbly)

Bad news! the gas and electric company *cancelled* our appointment to turn on our gas! We had to take another one, which is not until the FIFTH of November! So, showers remain at the old place, being very very careful, because I'm *cleaning* well before then...

This Mid-October Morning

This Mid-October Morning...

A Week of English!

Last week was *full* of English, here in France!

• Sunday, I spent the day with an American/Brit couple, showing off Sète
• Monday, we had our weekly English conversation workshop
• Wednesday was our monthly English-French potluck lunch
• Thursday, I went on a photo-hike, and everyone there spoke English
• Friday, we had a lovely lunch and afternoon with Irish friends

Thank goodness for Tuesday and Saturday! I'd be afraid of forgetting my French!

Gruissan Hike

I went hiking with a new group, with a focus on photography - we met just outside of Gruissan, and walked about 6 kilometers, with lunch in the middle.

The old tower was a constant focus

Everyone parked at a roundpoint at D32 and D332

Our 2 choices - we did the Red Route

Information signs

Our lunch spot

Corn Tortillas!

A friend brought corn flour from the US, and I finally gave it a try!
Here's my tortilla-making station

They turned out to be more gorditas (little fatties) than usual tortillas, but they worked just fine, and were an exotic hit at my potluck lunch ;-)

Moving in France - The Rental Contract

Moving in France - The Rental Contract

Today we went to our new rental agency, and signed our rental contract (contrat de bail)!

The contract is standardized by the government, so everyone runs through large chunks of it pretty fast. The things that vary most often are:
- name of renters and landlords
- amount of rent, deposit, and agent fees
- details such as T2, footage, parking spot, cellar, unfurnished
- amount of time required to give notice before leaving (zones tendues, like Sète, require only 1 month)
- whether water heating is collective or individual - if individual, then you are required to have a contract with a chauffagiste

Because there are two of us on the lease, everyone (the agent and both of us) initialed each page and signed the last page, of *all three* copies!

Then, we all initialed and signed copies of information about repairs - what part is ours to pay, how long our responsibility is in effect.

After all that signing, we still had two more important papers to sign - checks! One for the agency's fee, and one for the security deposit. We hadn't thought to bring our RIB (bank account information), but they said we could give it to them later. We will owe rent for 4 days in October, and the full month of November when we move in.

On the 28th, we will bring our renter's insurance (attestation d'assurance), and we will do a walk-through (état des lieux), noting and photographing anything less than perfect (some recommend doing a video, showing the agent pointing out things). At least this time, we won't have a dozen pages of inventory to check! Then we get the keys! And start moving in!

While we were at the agency, we asked for the name of a handyman, and also someone to help us move bigger items (like our refrigerator). Our agent said the handyman would do both! and she will email us contact info. She will also email the health and status report of the building (it's older, so this is required by law).

So, we're getting there! And we now have our first justificatif de domicile for our new address - the rental contract!

~~~
Standard lease agreement: https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F920

Les Onglous Canal du Midi Hike

Les Onglous Canal du Midi Hike

I wanted to start my hiking season off with a fairly easy hike - this stroll along the canal seemed to fit the bill. The path is flat and packed dirt nearly the entire distance, and it follows along the canal. It's mostly in the sun, but there are a few sections in moist shade. There were quite a few bicyclists on the same path - a friendly exchange of "bonjour!" added a smile to our hike.

~~~
We parked in Les Onglous, between Maldormir and Agde, at the bridge marked with the star on the map. We walked West towards Agde and the Hérault river, about 6 km, had lunch, then returned (it's not a loop). Given that, it's easy to simply turn around earlier to shorten the route.

The Path

Parking spot