Ice Cold

This week here in Minneapolis (yes, I'm STILL here) the temperature has descended to -17 F. (-23C)  with windchills somewhere near -30 (-34C). I'd like to puff up my buffalo plaid bound chest, hook my thumbs under my red suspenders and boast that as a born and bred Minnesotan, this insanity doesn't affect me. You know, "awwwh, this is nothin'. You should a been here in '68. Now that was cold".

The fact is, it's colder than I can imagine anymore and I often wonder how people here can stand it.  Especially when it continues for months on end. But I have to hand it to these people, they seem to find ways to enjoy this nasty, bitter, mind-numbing cold. In fact, many would describe it as crisp, refreshing, and mind-numbingly beautiful. It's a cup half full sort of thing. And, I'm serious, they really do take advantage of the season.

Minnesota is a state that boasts 11, 482 lakes (15,291 is the total if you add all the unnamed lakes). That makes for a lot of mosquitos in the summer and a lot of ice in the winter. We are literally surrounded. Even here in the city, there are lakes everywhere. And people use them. There's just nothing more fun than a vast, flat, slippery expanse where the wind blows like a buggar and there is no shelter from its assault. Doesn't that sound inviting?

Of course people skate and play hockey on the ice. That's just a given.

But there are all sorts of options for moving along the ice. You can two wheel across it 

or choose the 4 wheel version if you prefer.

Three wheels work too when it's time to freeze the babies to sleep. 

Snow Kiting gets you across with only one "wheel" and it looks like way too much fun.

I am going to do this one of these days...really!

A lake full of unending, frozen water makes for a great midnight walk under a full moon. The noises  emanating from the shifting ice sound like the underwater cry of whales. It's both creepy and cool. While you're there, a little body curling is an option. If you don't know what curling is, you're obviously not from around these parts. Body curling is my family's version of this time-honored, northern game.

 My mom resting after joining us in aforementioned sport. Who body curls at 75 anyway?

Midnight ice art is also amusing.

Afterwards, at about 1 am, you can build a fire and enjoy a cold beverage next to the eerily beautiful field of frozen water. 

Ice fishing is a favorite pastime.

 I have said I'd never do it. I was wrong, as I am about most things I've said I'd never do.

And some nuts even work on it.

 My sister, the firefighter, doing ice rescue maneuvers. Because not all Minnesotans are smart enough to know when the ice is too thin to be enjoyed.

And then there's just the sheer beauty of it all. 

The end of the day at the fishing shack. Sort of reminds me of the movie Grumpy Old Men.

Of course, it's not always below zero here. Yesterday it got to 10 degrees and my sister and I were remarking how warm it felt. Considering it was 20 degrees warmer than the day before, relatively speaking, it was warm! And this weekend it should get to 30 degrees. I heard the guy on the radio describe the coming warm front as "spring break"! 

Minnesota is not the south of France but it certainly has it's own delights. I've got another project I'm working on here and must stay until the end of February. It will still be winter here at that point. But I'll get to return to Aix en Provence, just as the almond trees are beginning their bloom. And next year, the family has decided to spend Christmas in Jamaica. I'm game. I don't know how we'll manage to have any fun with no ice and all, but we'll manage.

Warm thoughts to all,

Cabbage Patched

I got four days in. Four glorious days of skiing in the Alps. I have no photos of us actually skiing but I have plenty of us "resting"!

 But I promise.... I've been on the hills. And having an absolute blast!

Things seem to be slowing down a little, however.

Wednesday, Thomas, the husband of my friend Vreni, took a digger. This guy is an excellent skier and fast....really fast. So when he fell, he fell hard. But he's also a relaxed skier so his injuries were minimal;  a big, fat bruise on his upper thigh and the same behind his knee. 

Later the same day I was following Roland (a friend of Thomas's) down a hill. One minute I was behind him, the next minute he was gone. Poof! Just like that. He was there and then he wasn't.  I skied to where I last saw him, peered down over the edge of the hill, and there he was... far below. Luckily not skewered on a rock, but struggling in a pile of snow nonetheless. As soon as I knew he was alright the laughter began. But as the day went on, we realized he wasn't okay and it looks like he's done some ligament damage to his knee. One down.

That night, Vreni began her ministrations. She ran to the grocery store (not the pharmacy) and returned with two heads of cabbage. She rolled them out flat and began applying them to the injuries. Yep, a cabbage patch. I'm watching all this, laughing, and looking up cabbage cures on the internet. Sure enough, cabbage is purported to have medicinal qualities that aid in the healing of swelling and bruising. I don't know if it works but  it's an excellent way to get men to remove their pants. 

Applying cabbage to a knee injury is a straight up process.

 Getting cabbage to adhere to a rear end is a little more problematic.

I was laughing too hard to get a clear photo of this last shot.

I shouldn't have laughed (when am I going to learn this?). Because yesterday after a LONG day of skiing, and getting battered by a couple of hills of hard snow, I returned home to nurse a nasty boot bruise and eventually a knee that has progressively stiffened and swelled. My knees suck...they always have... and I don't think I actually injured it. I think I just wore it out.

So last night I found myself rolling out cabbage and applying it to my bum knee and my bruised ankle. I woke up in the middle of the night in a bit of a sweat (because of the damned wool socks I had to wear to hold the cabbage), and I smelled like the first whiffs of vegetable soup. This morning I peeled the limp, green leaves from my various body parts, and voila, the ankle seemed as good as new. Not so for the knee however. Two down.

So now Roland and I are hanging around the house for the day. It's not bad. We've got a terrace with a couple of lounge chairs situated in full sun. We've got our books.  I have my computer. I've got this to look at.

And hopefully another cabbage patch tonight will allow me to get back on the slopes tomorrow. 

The Pants

I leave for Switzerland tomorrow for my yearly brush with death. As I was watching television report about the avalanche that annihilated a ski station in the alps last weekend, did I worry about the possibility of this happening in at my final destination? Did I think that perhaps I should be going a little earlier in the season so as to avoid all that heavy, spring snow?

Absolutely not.  All I kept thinking was, "oh my god, I wonder if my ski pants will fit?". Yep, not worried about dyin'...just worried about looking good when I do!

Every year I go to visit my friend Swiss friend, Vreni, at her house in the breathtaking, eastern Swiss Alp ski station, Arosa. We laugh, talk in a bizarre mixture of 2 languages, eat, drink, and kick a little ass on the slopes. Okay, she kicks, I nudge. And each year, I have to borrow or rent all my gear. Not just boots and skis but clothing as well.  I've gotten by, but I feel a little bad each year as I don her son's pants, her husbands socks and her gloves and goggles.  I've now collected my very own jacket, long underwear and socks so I'm getting there. But last year, I happened to be there at the end of the season when....yippee...sale season was going on, and I bought a pair of ski pants.

Now I must tell you the price for these pants. I have to tell you because it's shameful. Shameful that a stupid pair of pants should cost as much as my car! They were 589 Swiss francs. Which translates to $645. Did you throw up a little in your mouth? Of course,  I didn't pay that. I got them for 75% off. But, this is still double what I would normally pay...so...these things better fit! And if they don't, I'm not going! The Pants have been sitting in the corner for two weeks, labels still attached,  staring at me with their accusing, expensive, slim fitting eyes. And I've been afraid to try them on. Yes, I'm afraid of a pair of pants. Not an avalanche....A PAIR OF PANTS!

Tuesday I took the plunge with 3 days left to cancel my trip if The Pants and I didn't agree with each other. For 2 weeks we had danced around each other, looking each other up and down. And finally, it was I that backed down and with a prodigious, pessimistic sigh, I stepped out of my skirt for the battle.

Zip, clip, score! SCORE!

So just as the almond trees blossoms are busting out in all their springtime glory, I'm off to avalanche country. Me and my very best friend...The Pants.

   

 

Need a Little Christmas

Christmas isn't quite the affair in France as it is in the states. Don't get me wrong, it's a well celebrated holiday. But you don't see the extravagant decorating or the hear the incessant Christmas music starting in October that you get stateside. On one hand, I don't mind it. On the other, I miss a little bit of the excess. And I really miss decorating my home for Christmas.

Friday, I wandered up to Boulevard Haussmann to see what was happening at the big department stores here in Paris. I can't really do any shopping but I just wanted to see if I could scare up a little dose of Christmas. The two biggies here are Galerie Lafayette and Printemps and they came through, injecting me with the fix of Christmas commercialism that I desperately needed. First, the light show on the exterior of the Galeries Lafayette. Absolutely breathtaking. I couldn't figure out how add a video to the blog but these lights change colors and design constantly across the huge facade.

The interior of the building, which dates from around 1912 was just as beautiful. Yes, that is a stained glass dome at the top!

It's main rival store, Printemps, is just across the street and also stunning.

Both of the stores featured Rock and Roll themed animated windows this year and though I didn't take any photos, they were delightful and brought back memories of  the annual trek to Minneapolis with my boys to take in the delightful animations in the Daytons' windows...just as my parents did with me when I was a child. 

The reason I didn't take any photos of the animations was because the other windows at Printemp were just so beautiful. Sponsored by Chanel, they take us on a trip around the world. Not my world, but perhaps the world of Chanel! Nonetheless, they are exquisite and I thought you should be treated to a few of them.

Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm supposed to denounce Christmas commercialism and revel in the simplicity and love of the season. Fa la la la la. Which I generally do. Unless I'm without all the overkill and excess. Then I get all hinky. So thank you Paris for pulling through for me. I've got just enough to survive until I get back to the states for Christmas...in just a couple of weeks!

Have a great week everyone,

Packing Up

Today is d-day. As is my habit, I've left everything for the last minute and as usual, I'm scrambling. Tomorrow morning I leave for the United States to watch (with my own 2 eyes) and celebrate the college graduation of my two boys. They both have taken their time, just like their mom, and I will be so proud and pleased to see them finally walk down that aisle in their silly, flat hats. Okay, I'm also pretty excited about no more tuition payments but mostly it's about their graduation!

What to pack....what not to pack? This ain't easy when you're going to a place where it last saw snow...last Monday....but where it's trying to be spring. It could be below freezing, it could be 80 degrees. So sweaters, shorts, or both?

Then there's the issue of french wardrobe versus American (midwest) wardrobe.  A friend of mine and I were laughing about this as I was pinning her older, American dresses closer to her body before making alterations. Our french clothes are different than our American clothes. The tops are lower, the skirts are shorter and everything is tighter. And as I was trying things on to make decisions, I realized everything of mine is tighter...and not because I want it that way! Ugh! Red wine and camembert. A couple of weeks ago, while my friends and I were shopping, I tried on a shirt that I fell in love with. It's a wee bit transparent and I asked them what I should wear under it. My friends and the saleslady dropped their jaws a bit and said "just a pretty bra of course". I replied I couldn't possibly get by with wearing this shirt "with just a pretty bra" in Minnesota...particularly not at my age. Two rolled their eyes and one gave the usual response as she shook her head: "You Americans are such puritans". So shear chemise and pretty bra are going to Minnesota for a test run!

Maurice, the dancing fish, has been deposited at the home of a pretty little girl who is so excited to take care of him. In fact, I just received word that she's trying to make him a little house for the bottom of his bowl. And Arthur, the roof cat, is going to visit a friend as a test....to see if her boyfriend would put up with having an animal. I neglected to tell her that if Arthur doesn't like him, her sweetheart will have the scars to prove it. My cat isn't missing half an ear for nothing!

My lists are made of things I need to bring back for people. For me, foam paint brushes and Skippy. For others: Blistex, Citrucel, and Murine. It's always so odd what people miss here.

So now it's time to put it all together, finish the laundry and clean the apartment. I will try to stay in touch but, as usual, I've got a schedule in the states that leaves me exhausted before it even begins.  Nonetheless, I can't wait. Minnesota is so beautiful in the spring (or whatever season it is there). And I haven't seen it in it's green glory since the summer of 2008.

À bienôt mes amis,

Winter Wonderlands and Craft Projects

It's spring in Aix en Provence and Sunday afternoon the world was out and about soaking up the 55 degree (13 C) temperatures and taking up a little sun. A far cry from the temperature in Minnesota the day I left....-20 F (-29 C)!

People here are incredulous when I tell them what sort of temperatures we live with in the northern midwest. What exactly do people DO in Minnesota and Wisconsin in the winter?  How do people entertain themselves when surrounded by sub-zero temperatures and mounds of snow? It's not so bad really...you have to roll with the weather and not fight it. Walks in the woods are fun...allow time for rest, wear the right clothes and make sure the dog is wearing boots!

Walks along the lake are wonderful. Colder than bloody hell...but beautiful. This is Lake Superior which rarely, rarely freezes over so you have to walk along it, not on it.

Sometimes we have to help others in need. As someone did for me when my car broke down in -10 (-23 C) temperatures. Or when someone's plane lands on a frozen lake, breaks a ski and crashes.

We do spend a lot of time outdoors. It's actually fun to drink wine by the fire on a cold night. .

Some people think it's fun to drill a hole in the ice and stand there all day waiting for a fish to decide he'd rather be someone's meal than remain in the frozen water for one more moment. But truthfully, ice fishing really just an excuse for guys to get away from their wives everyone else and drink beer

We plow through all kinds of weather to get where we're going. And sometimes we even make it!

And we eat. Yessirree bob, we eat!  But, if we're lucky, we have a son who makes sure we do it very well.

Of course, often we have to just give in find something to do indoors. Playing games in a bar is an option. It's close to a beer tap and someone else cleans up after you.

And periodically, our indoor activity involves craft projects. This year's Christmas craft is actually the same as last year's. It's a simple project really and I'm going to share it with you so you too can do this at home.

You don't need much really. The most important item for this project is...

1 Frozen Mouse (keep in mind he has to have frozen quickly and never, ever thawed.

Then all you need is cotton, red ribbon, a glue gun, and... one... crazy... mother.

Decorate your mouse simple and elegantly (avoid dripping glue which we didn't do) and work quickly (advice from crazy mother) because a thawed Christmas Mouse is not a good thing.

Use your finished creation in any of your outdoor Christmas decorations.

I do believe, this is the only site on the internet with clear and concise instructions for this particular project. Happy crafting! Who needs spring anyway?