Delete, skim or savour as your heart desires …
Impressions on my senses
Lavender and bees
Hummingbird Hawk Moth
Azure glacier lakes
BBQs
Farmers’ Markets
Swimming pools and rock music
Squished into speedos
Fairy-fine soda straw stalactites and underground Olms
Bloody toe and screaming
Hospital bills
Toll fees
17th century wood, paint and imagination
Golden sand and silky blue bathtub-temperature sea
Observations - Fashion
SPEEDOS – pools here, whether they are outdoor or in, will not allow men entrance with “beach” shorts. They need to be encased in a Speedo, also known as a “Banana Hammock” or “Budgie Smuggler.” This is because the guys will wear them all day and then wear them into the swimming pool. Ick. At first I thought this was brilliant. France is self-supporting in terms of the production and consumption of food and it continues to see itself as a world power. Consequently, France is encouraging families to expand. What better way to increase the population than to “show off the wares” during the summer. This was a great “theory” until I saw the bathing caps that are often also required. Very few people have the physique, bone structure and presence to make a speedo AND a bathing cap look sexy, the few that do probably compete in the Olympics. They are not lounging in the pool a block from our apartment. Trust me.
Much to my surprise, as soon as the summer solstice occurred people were wearing colours again. The streets came alive. Women were in heels and slinky to retro to alternative Nepalese. They have no trouble wearing sexy clothes here. They don’t feel they need to divide professional, personal and sensual. Why do we? The “in” colour for the men this summer was hot pink – worn with pride by both homos and heteros. White pants are also popular with the men, and they carry man bags (for all the French paperwork) and ride their kids scooters with equal masculinity and style. It’s refreshing.
Observations - Lifestyle
Mushrooms – all pharmacists in France are trained in mushrooms. You can go collect the fungi in the mountain meadows, bring it in and they will tell you if they’re edible.
We still don’t have our health insurance. It’s taking forever*. Luckily, the trips to the Emergency Room and the subsequent medications have cost much less than we were anticipating. A trip to the Doctor costs 28 Euros for us. A house call costs not much more. Medications tend to be a third to a quarter of the cost, and if they are prescribed then they’re partially refundable. We have a schwack of paperwork to hand in once we get our health insurance. It’ll be such a relief.
*Note: In November we still didn’t have our health insurance. Because I started a job in September, our status changed and the paperwork had to begin again.
School – there is a lot of stigma attached to the early years. Whatever happens is recorded, and follows a child throughout their educational career. So much hangs in the balance – self-confidence, identity, career direction. I’m glad Callum will have a chance to reinvent himself when he returns to Canada, should he so choose.
Banking – it’s very difficult to transfer money to Canada or here to France without being charged a huge amount by the banks. I guess if everyone agrees to charge a minimum of 30 euros per transaction then the bank machines are going to be kept busy!
Reduce, reuse, recycle - Everyone here uses reusable shopping bags. We just carry them around. No big deal. And all bags sold at the shops are inexpensive but hardy. It’s just habit. As for To Go coffee cups, they don’t exist. And lights go off by themselves in most public hallways, bathrooms and stairwells. It just makes sense.
Hot – it’s hot here in summer. I don’t mind it, it feels like it’s marinating my bones. But, I can’t stop sweating. Colin and Callum and I often don’t eat dinner. All we want are fluids. A salad and a popsicle please. The other wonderful thing about the weather is that we get FULL ON thunder and lightning storms. LOVE it! Our two balconies and sun room are perfect places to watch and listen to the spectacle that is nature.
Callum’s Casualty
In the midst of a lovely visit with Mike, Mary Jane and Nicole we went to the park. Callum was running through a fountain and smashed his baby toe (on his right foot) into a metal grating. It split the nail cross-wise and also tore into the flesh between his baby toe and the next one. Bled like Billy-oh.
Mary Jane and Mike drove us to the emergency room (Bless them). We were there for hours. Callum had his toe scrubbed clean three times and screamed so loudly that they gave him laughing gas to calm him down. The twin cylinders of nitrous oxide followed us from room to room. Two doctors looked at the toe and they nearly gave Callum stitches but decided the toenail will probably go black and fall off in about a week's time. I will need to clean, put antibiotics on and dress the toe twice a day ... without the laughing gas. The people above us are going to think I beat our child.
The first nail to grow in will likely be gnarly, but the doctors think Callum will have a normal toenail in about three months or so. In the meantime, we're rethinking our plan to go to the lake Tuesday and to Italy in mid-July. We're wondering how we can keep Callum active and away from screen time without putting too much pressure on his foot. Sheesh.
Poor little fella. He was very brave and patient. And then when we came home at around 11:15 pm I laid him on the couch and he forgot about the toe and fell to the floor. Just rolled off the couch and landed on his toe. Talk about lung power. Did you hear him scream from where you are?
In about 10 minutes I'm going to take off the dressing and see if he ripped off the nail. Are you nauseous yet? I am!
Parenting can be painful, it's growing pains all over again.
Moving In
We have unloaded a heap of boxes and this place is finally starting to feel like a home.
Once I realized my barrier to unpacking the boxes I got over it and have done much better. The barrier was: no cupboards or closets. I'd open a box and put stuff ... where? The floor? Storage takes ingenuity, European space-saving techniques (don't buy it in the first place) and the willingness to TOSS stuff.
Callum got his new bed compliments of some birthday money from each set of grandparents. The bed is raised up and has a play area underneath - very cool and he loves it. Mark your calendars, HE SLEPT IN IT LAST NIGHT.
Colin is better. He had gastroenteritis accompanied by a whopping headache. He was dysfunctional for five days after he returned from England. When he was correctly diagnosed and set up with a football team’s worth of meds he experienced a complete turn-around. It's lovely to have him back. Read: the limp yet willful curmudgeon has been replaced by a strapping Yorkshire lad.
On CANADA DAY we dined at the only Canadian restaurant in town. It's called Ontario, looks like a sugar shack, serves Quebecois beer (and Bud Light –bleh!), maple-syrup lamb, bison, ostrich and salmon. Ostrich? The pecan pie was so flat it looked like someone had sat on it, someone larger than Stephen Harper. We ate sparsely but were with fun people and it felt good to celebrate being Canadian.
Mother in the Hood
My son is driving me ape-shit.
He doesn't want to walk anywhere, get dressed or even wash his hands or wipe his bum.
Everything is a struggle and I'm getting completely worn out over stupid stuff.
Today I simply put on a Ben 10 show for him and am going through emails because I have cramps and I need to get out but I can't do it without losing my temper.
And Callum says "YUCK" to every food item I offer him but will try eating ear plugs and hair and roll around on the floor of a train station. "YUCK".
Colin is having a hard time at work. His hours are self-inflicted and insane. He leaves for work around 8:30 am and returns home 11 or 12 hours later. His metrics are determined by group performance but he is determined to serve each customer with the best he has to offer. This often means communicating with Victoria, B.C. or Laverne (Tennessee) before he shuts his computer off and stops answering his phone for the night. The stress makes him exhausted and edgy.
On top of that my birthday is on Friday and I feel like I've dropped off the planet in terms of health, fitness, creativity and finances. I am way behind on all of that compared to last year.
I know it will pass. Tomorrow I'll probably feel much better.*
*Note: The next day my friend Anna informed me that I was turning 46, not 47. I DID feel much better!
HOLIDAYS!
Colin took three days off on a week where there were two national holidays, so we had 9 days to squander on the wonder that is Europe. With not much cash in hand we rented a car and mostly did day trips:
- visited Pont-en-Royans where the houses overhang the river and are built into the rock
- explored the Grottes de Choranche which contain soda straw stalactites and were introduced to weird creatures called Olms (little lizard type creatures that are blind and colourless and have lived in caves since prehistoric times).
- floated on and swam in periwinkle-blue lac Monteynard (Sam and Mark were with us for the boat trip and then they made us dinner. We had so much fun we stayed overnight!).
- discovered Lac de Laffrey (drove along a load of D roads, tiny worm-like squiggles on the map) flowered mountain meadows and stunning viewpoints.
- played at a waterpark up in Les 7 Laux (a ski resort in winter, it's a rockin' adventure place in the summer for climbing, hiking, biking and exploring).
- ventured to le fort du Saint Eynard (magnificent views of the whole Grenoble valley).
- watched fireworks (celebration de la Fete nationale a Grenoble) in Parc Paul Mistral (thanks Sam. A kebab, a good friend and the buzz of a gazillion people celebrating freedom and the revolution - ACE). I goofed here. We were invited to Jinnie and Seb's for the Monday night fireworks and I thought it was on Tuesday. Missed hanging out with them and Lindy and Ray. It turns out France celebrates for TWO nights. These are people whose company I delight in. Must be the dementia!
- wandered the grounds of Chateaux Vizille, birthplace of the revolution (nice to meander with the earth beneath our bare feet. Much needed).
- took a three day trip to Florence (Italy), the coast of La Spezia and the site of the last winter Olympics. Costly trip but full of epiphanies. For example, learning Italian would be so much easier than French - you say it the way it is spelled, you pronounce every letter, you write it the way you say it, and grammar is laid out the same way it is in English. In addition, most signs are in Italian and English so vocabulary accumulation is rapid. Saw magnificent Renaissance paintings and architecture, realized how much we missed the ocean and B.C. mountains, and the cumulation of our trip was driving through the rain and snow over tiny mountain passes in the dark while listening to Quirks and Quarks (CBC radio program). We’re so nostalgic for "home".
Callum
Callum is doing well. He misses his friends but has had the great fortune to meet a 5 year old boy from Vancouver who is here in Grenoble for a couple of weeks. We're off today to Parc Paul Mistral to play: a free ropes course, rock climbing wall and water area (among other things – all promoting health and physicality). We went to Annecy with them the other day and Callum got a good dose of superhero and lake activities. He's really looking forward to Owen's visit. He needs kid time, to be able to communicate verbally about his interests and ideas with someone his age who can respond with the same focus and passion.
Colin
Colin is missing Canada. We are clear that we will take advantage of being here, but we were not clear that our adventure would drop us down an economic level (our rent alone, not including utilities or household goods you have to buy as a renter [i.e. stove, fridge, lighting fixtures] or the housing taxes you pay as a renter to the city for the land or maintenance fees paid to the building collective, is equivalent to $1,297 Canadian for a two bedroom flat) or that Colin would work such crazy hours (often gets home between 7 and 8 pm). He will have a new boss in a few weeks. We're sad to see Andrew go back to Canada but are happy for him. Melanie, Colin's new boss, used to be his supervisor back in Victoria. Colin has tremendous respect for her and is looking forward to working with her again. They will all be relocating to a new building in September - which looks like it’ll be an hour+ commute rather than a half hour, but other than that there may be unforseen advantages*. We'll see.
*Note: When they moved to the new building Colin started biking along the river to work. It helps recalibrate him and he’s getting fab calves!
Birthday
I had a fantastic birthday. Some friends of ours (Martine and Adam) proposed going overnight to a mountain refuge for my birthday, but it was full and we have to postpone it. Instead, they treated me to Polish alcohol that had real gold in it and a visit to the Chartreuse cellars - the largest cellars in the world - and the St. Bruno Cathedral. Melanie and David made a birthday breakfast for me that included banana and chocolate chip french toast with caramel sauce and fried bananas on top - can you feel your arteries hardening as we speak? It was awesome. Sam and Mark came over to help me celebrate as well, on their new Street Hawk cycle. And I spent the day in Annecy with some new friends from Vancouver - so all in all it was a fabulous 24 hours. Colin was very sweet and bought me something I'd been eyeing for 3 months - a set of lights (not expensive but they add so much warmth to our living room). Thanks for the thoughtful cards, emails and gifts.
Sorry for running on at the mouth. It's been windy and hot which was giving Callum nightmares which led of course to sleepless nights and a subsequent lack of focus and energy. Things are settling out though, and our visitors over the next couple of weeks will be a welcome celebration.
Hope all is well with you and that you're having a summer full of fun, friends, good food and better weather.
With joy,
Ramona
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