La Journée Parfaite

Yesterday was the perfect Saturday. It started at about 9:00am, when 2 friends -- Fred and Johan -- and I headed out to go skiing for the first time this season. I hadn't been skiing in a few years, and was pretty nervous about how it would go - especially since I've never skied on mountains anything like the Alps. But, it was great! I forgot how much I liked skiing. Dad, if you're reading this, thank you for all the years you spent teaching me how to ski. I am sure I gave you hell sometimes about not wanting to go, but I am happy you were patient and took us skiing year after year.


After skiing, everyone took a break and Johan went to work. I had decided a few weeks ago to cook "Thanksgiving dinner" with Fred. He's been exceptionally nice to me the past couple months - he's cooked some French food for me, and his house has really become a second home. So I was pretty excited to share some Americanisms (and eat some familiar food!) Since it was just the two of us, it missed some of the jovial ruckus that usually accompanies a full day of cooking, drinking, and eating. We also didn't watch any American football. BUT, we did eat stuffing, mashed potatoes, chicken and gravy (turkey is hard to find here), and pumpkin pie. So, while as Americans we all know there is about 100 ways to make stuffing, I learned there are only really two ways to make the traditional French dish Quiche Lorraine - cheese at the bottom or no cheese at the bottom. We also have endless ways to make gravy, and even mashed potatoes have variations. It's something I probably don't give America enough credit for - but I actually love that flexibility. French cooking seems more definitive and, well, rigid (albeit delicious). Sidebar: Much like the food, the English language is flexible. It's hard to learn, but once you know it, it's expressive and adaptable. We have more words than almost any other language on earth, allowing for a multitude of nuanced ways to say essentially the same thing. Anyway, Fred is going to cook my stuffing recipe (Thanks, Diana, for finding that!) for his family at Christmas - which of course, I think is awesome. Globalization- gotta love it!

While cooking dinner, we got the added bonus of fireworks! We didn't know why they were going off (found out it was for a Christmas lighting ceremony), but in my mind they were to celebrate Thanksgiving. After dinner we watched Lord of the Rings (!!!) while eating pie and drinking something like Champagne and discussing how great of a day it was. (You probably know, but in case you don't - Champagne can only be called such if it is from the Champagne region of France, which is in the Northeast. Everything else is sparkling wine.)


So, like the title of the post says: The perfect day. Skiing, thanksgiving dinner, pumpkin pie, champagne, and Lord of the Rings!

What's more is that I bought my ticket home for 2-week March vacation. I will be back stateside February 25th and I am very excited to see you all again soon!