Hallelujah
- Alexa Nickandros
- Oct 14, 2018
- 3 min read
Hey all, Winslow here! I am in good spirits because I got to get out of the apartment yesterday and get some fresh air! The young one took me to Lac d'Auron, about a 10 minute drive from home.
I can't believe how warm it still is in mid-October (it gets to 80 in the afternoon). The sun was scorching my fur so it was a good thing that we all set up at the shaded picnic table. Even though everyone knows winter will sneak up on us any day now, I am the only one ready and dressed for it! We sat at the lake for hours and I listened to my companions talk in all kinds of different accents and watched all sorts of people and dogs (and two ferrets) accumulate at neighboring tables, on the shore, and on the volleyball court. It would have been nice to watch the young one play some volleyball herself, with her friends, or even throw a frisbee. Maybe next time!
As I write I am listening to the boyfriend sing and play a very pretty song. I have heard it every day for about a week now and I think I know all the words at this point. I wish I could sing along. Well it goes like this...
...the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift
the baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah...
The young one would probably sing along too but her voice is all weird and crackly. She claims that the children made her sick. I am worried that I might catch something as well because she took this creature to school and tossed him around to all the snotty-nosed, really-young ones to play a game...
Can a stuffed creature pass on a sickness to another stuffed creature? Good thing he is getting a bath today.
Besides the minor cold, the young one says that her two days of teaching so far have been quite good, but long. She is away every Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30 until about 6:00. There are three different levels that she teaches: 5-6 year-olds who know absolutely no English, 7-8 year-olds who know slightly more than no English, and 9-11 year-olds who know a bit more than that. It must be tough to speak only English to a class full of children who are still learning French! But this is when they are most receptive, and she is already learning that repetition is the key. Usually the teacher will chime in and help explain in French. The young one is a language assistant after all, and is supposed to be working with the teacher, not instead of.
Life at home is moving pretty slow to be honest. The young ones go off to the gym almost every day and are gone for more than 3 hours (it's a long walk there). I watch as the space is gradually assembled with the addition of over-the-door hangars, a candle, an extra pillow, bath towels, a small rug, a drying rack, empty wine bottles displayed on the kitchen cabinets, and two plants.
The three of us hang out at home and usually someone makes dinner. The young one wants to share what she has cooked so far because we are all so proud of her for spending some time in the kitchen!
Hi, Alexa here for a moment! So, I make quiche a lot. This is my first one since moving to Bourges. The base of my recipe comes from Mom's: 4 eggs, 1/2 cup whole milk, 3/4 cup sour cream. Then I add a bunch of cheese, a lot of pepper, and onion. This time there is broccoli and zucchini in there along with a secret ingredient: smelly foot cheese.
One of my favorite things to eat at the Brewery over the summer was buffalo cauliflower dip. What I did was buy a gallon of Frank's hot sauce off Amazon (you can't find it around here), and cook it with grated cauliflower, blue cheese, onion, and a bit of sour cream, topped with emmental. In my opinion it just tasted like textured hot sauce. What I'm really proud of is what I did to fix it.
After adding larger chunks of cauliflower and some cream cheese, I breaded the chilled mixture and fried it into "fire balls". They were probably the best things I've ever made. However, that's not saying much...
Cordialement,
Winslow and Alexa
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