Jim and I have finalised our holidays and secured accommodation in Barcelona, Zaragoza and Bilbao and on the way home we’ll visit Sans Sebastian and then break the journey overnight about half way up France at Poitiers. I am VERY excited to be going to Spain, particularly my taste buds, I cant think the word Spain without salivating! I was last in Spain as a 4 or 5year old and Jim went in the late 90’s for a conference…..his memory may be a bit clearer then than mine! Jim’s visit to Spain included Barcelona, but as it was for a conference he said he didn’t get to enjoy the best it has to offer. Jim has expressed a desire to visit cities he’s already been to before but hadn’t thought much of and when I’ve asked him why then he would want to head back his reply is that he knows he would enjoy them much more with me. It’s nice to hear that stuff.

We have decided to delay leaving until Boxing Day so we can have a festive Xmas in our own home. So the Xmas tree is beautifully decorated, including may I add, home made edible decorations, thank you Nigella! Thanks to Peta, a welcome regular here in the comments box, ok pretty much our only commenter, we know you pop by but its ok you’re shy, we understand. As I was saying a big thank you to Peta for the Xmas crackers, she tells me they are the ones with the good gifts inside. In my family you have to get the ones that give you a chance of scoring the usable mini screwdriver set, perfect for fiddly jobs like repairing the arm of your sunglasses. Last year I scored a tape measure and a nail clipper, yep Xmas it’s all about the giving. Under the tree are lovingly wrapped gifts sent from family that every time I look at I feel blessed and excited. The fridge is getting fuller each day as I gather an array of festive fare. A detailed menu has been written and the city sourced for all requirements, the new “The Best of British” supermarket that’s opened up here in Lille has come in handy for a few items I wouldn’t find stocked on the shelves in the local supermarkets. But it wouldn’t be Xmas without the mini chocolate covered puddings, again thanks Peta you are amazing, they are the most sublime treat ever! And Jim’s mum knows how much he likes the traditional Greek Easter biscuits so she sent some over adapted for xmas into the shape of a star.

So Christmas Eve we will head out for a typical French Christmas meal, how Jim will manage with fois gras I don’t know. Then at about 11pm we’ll head to the Catholic Church for Carols and midnight mass and then home for a Xmas supper and maybe the opening of 1 present. Christmas morning we’ll have crepes, ring family and then go to the Orthodox Church, yep a bit of church hopping goes on at this time of year. When we get home there will be presents and the pork, Jims request, should be ready and hopefully the crackling crackly! I found a fabulous recipe here, that includes whole stuffed apples. I am used to a seafood meal, lobster, prawns etc for xmas, it being hot in Australia at Christmas, but it’s lovely to embrace the traditional, well sort of, but a turkey for just 2 would of been ridiculous especialy when we are going away. We are both looking forward to it and as well the unique opportunity to spend it on our own doing as we please, but of course we will miss everyone. There is the possibility we may go skiing in the afternoon, just over the border in Belgium they have an indoor snow piste and they are open Xmas afternoon and evening. Though I have gone a bit over the top with the Xmas menu so we might be unable to move let alone ski!

And then the next day Spain!!!!

On Sunday Jim and I set off on our bikes to explore the canal paths leading out of and around Lille. It was another gorgeous winters day, sun shining, but very cold, about 2deg max. Having all the right gear we were as toasty as could be, I do so love Icebreaker.

As we were riding along I was thinking how very lucky we are and how very happy too. I was thinking how much I love being married and how nice it will be when the time comes to add to our happy home. It’s something I’ve always wanted and now we’re married it can be more than just a dream. I know at the moment it is not possible but I need to know we have some concrete plans for the future, after all time is ticking on. So I decided the time had come to pin Jim down to a commitment on this issue!

“Well sweetheart you have a choice. It’s either a Hungarian Vizula, Standard Poodle or a Jack Russell. What’s it going to be?”

When Jim asked me to marry him he knew I came with a yet to be adopted dog. I made that clear from the start, I love dogs, I grew up with dogs and I have always planned on getting a dog when settled. Jim is, or was, not a dog person, I am highly suspicious of non dog people! Im sorry but they are not to be trusted, I just did a mental check list of all my family and friends and can not come up with a single person who does not love dogs. In my book people who own a dog but keep them outside do not love dogs, this is cruel, dogs are pack animals!!!

Jims attitude to dogs has changed over the course of our relationship and he now smiles just as much as I do when meeting a new canine friend. He came how from the post office the other day with a huge grin on his face and reported with much delight on his encounter with a French bulldog puppy(they are exceptionally cute). He no longer has to ask me the breeds of different dogs and has given up trying to promote the merits of having a goldfish for a pet(they don’t moult!) and has agreed on possibilities for names when the happy occasion arrives. We’re quite keen on Allez(silent z) a reference to a joke I made that when I first came to France I thought all dogs were called Allez. In French, allez as a command, kinda translates to come on.

Living in France has helped Jim get to know dogs and what a joy they are, it is unavoidable as they are such a popular companion here. In France dogs are allowed pretty much anywhere, any shops, bars and even restaurants. The only problem is the dog shit on the footpaths, that certainly hasn’t appealled to Jim, it really is everywhere, but that’s another story.

I’ll leave you with my favourite joke….

A man is walking his dogs when another bloke passes and says

“Oh, they’re Jack Russells!”

the man replies

“no, they’re mine!”

The above photo is for the benefit of my mother, who I asked, if I sent her a copy of the pattern I was wanting to work on, she would help me out with with regular phone knitting dates. My mother loves me, misses me and she knits, so what could be the problem? The problem is she knows me! She feels it could be a bit tricky via the phone and thinks I will find it frustrating and she knows when I get frustrated I get irritable. Irritable is not a euphemism for nasty but it could be for petulant. She also knows I don’t always stick with my knitting, this is an expression used in my family and not just for knitting. “Congratulations, you really stuck with your knitting!” is a cherished compliment and now I’m knitting, one I will cherish even more. So I thought I would show mum a completed project and one Jim saw me make with only joy, well it was very easy and fun to add the button and the crocheted loop.

Locals tell us 5 years ago it would not of been entirely safe to walk the streets at night where we live. Now the same people couldn’t afford to buy in the area, Jims colleagues are amazed we found such a nice place at affordable rent. They need not of told us as it is all evident on first walking in the neighbourhood that a change has and is taking place. Completely derelict buildings with nothing but a facade and resident pigeons stand attached to magnificently renovated apartments. One day you pass a familiar store front that’s only indication it was once in trade is a faded frais frite sign and the next its doors are open and an array of french floral bouquets are for sell at prices I can not fathom. It would not be an exaggeration to say each week a new store opens, each more opulent than the last.

Last week however a fruit & veggie store opened just around the corner from us that is a very welcome addition. Even before it opened it was evident it was going to be a boutique kind of store. Although I am at first very attracted to these it is always short lived as they are generally run by staff who behave in such a manner as to make you think there must be a Versace label attached to the aubergine you’re wishing to purchase. In this instances the owners are so very friendly, they are a young couple having a bash at starting their own business and they seem very keen on selling lovely produce at reasonable prices. Im very keen on their produce too, as well as their understanding my French without complaint and the little extras that make their way into the paper bag such as clemetines and a fresh bunch of parsley. The locality also fits in well with my current soup making obsession as I try to avail myself of all the vegetables that are familiar to the French but not to me. Though last week after enthusiastically making a celeriac soup and being so curious as to what the taste would be, I could of cried when I realized I had forgotten to take the bay leaf out before I blended it! I swear that awful taste is still with me, Jim kept saying it was fine and that I wasn’t to throw it out he would eat it. I never felt more loved than when I watched him eat that wretched soup, he just kept saying how good it was as he added more and more salt, pepper, parsley, parmesan in vain attempts to disguise the metallic taste. I wrestled it off him (well not literally as that would of been quite a mess) and threw it down the sink, I dont think he ever felt more loved!

I was going to post a photo of the new veggie store but its a blur so as I was talking soup I thought I would take the opportunity of airing the one above. Love to report that the soup is of my creation, but no I can not. Its from Souplounge in Gent, Belgium, yep those fab Belgium’s just keep spoiling us. This time it’s with a huge bowl of soup selected from their menu that reflects what’s best on the day from what’s in season. Its then complimented with extras like small meatballs, fresh herbs and crunchy croutons. Another bonus is 2 bread rolls, butter and a piece of fruit, again seasonal….all this delicious goodness for 3euro!!

Well Jim’s home and he wants me off the computer, he’s keen to head to a Lebanese restaurant he’s heard good reports on. As the beach riot incident has made news over here might be a good idea if we say we’re English!

On occasions of expressing my delight in discovering the opportunity to speak, read, watch or shop in English in Lille, I get one of two responses. From those who have never lived in a country foreign to their own and in which a different language is spoken to their native tongue, they can barely stop the rolling of the eyes. In their mind if they were given the opportunity to live in a different culture they would immerse themselves 100%, they would recoil from anything familiar and embrace in every moment everything new and foreign. For those that have lived, not travelled, but lived in a foreign speaking country the empathy is palpable, they know that immersion is exhausting without respite. So while most days I cant believe my luck and today as my bike bounced along the cobblestones and my baguette and bottle of Bordeaux threatened to escape my panniers I was painfully aware of just how much I’m going to miss France when the time comes to leave. But other days it is relaxing and very much needed to be in the apartment with a cup of tea and some vegemite on toast listening to Radio National or reading The Age online or watching Claudia Karvan in the fabulous Love My Way on DVD and being totally oblivious to being anywhere foreign at all.