18 April 2014

Not the first time

So at least three of you have said you've been caught up in the same kind of bomb scare that I was caught up in Sunday morning at Roissy/CDG airport. It must happen a lot.


It happened to me once before. Years ago. Walt and I were checking in for a flight over in Terminal 2. The woman examining our passports and registering our luggage was just finishing up when an announcement was made over the intercom. I couldn't quite hear what it was all about.


But the Air France clerk suddenly tossed us our boarding passes and yelled: "We have to run! Follow me!" And we literally went running out of the terminal. We fully expected to hear and feel an explosion behind us. We didn't. It was pretty exciting, all the same.


Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Saint-Aignan. I went out and walked around the vineyard with the dog in the morning. The rest of the day, I was sort of in a daze. My body wanted to sleep, but I did my best to stay awake. I dozed off in front of the TV several times in the afternoon. It was probably a mistake to try to watch the latest recorded episodes of The Good Wife at that particular time.


Today is gray and rain threatens. I slept for the second night in a row. I'm optimistic about my jet-lag ending quickly, but I also know that just when you think it's over it hits you again. By Monday, I should be in good shape. I will probably have a groggy Easter weekend.


We will be cooking a rabbit. That's what we do on Easter. It's a 30+-year-old tradition in this household. This time, I think we might grill the rabbit — if it doesn't rain on Sunday — and baste it with a mustard sauce as it cooks. In the past, we've made rabbit French-style (en gibelotte), Thai-style (in a coconut-milk curry), and other ways. Grilling it will be a first.


Meanwhile, here are some pictures of purple flowers of various kinds that I've taken recently around the yard and vineyard.

15 comments:

  1. Ah, you eat the Easter Bunny! Mercy! But I think you will cook and eat it with the respect it deserves. I love all the blue in your garden!
    And wish you to lose your jet lag quickly.

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    1. I just found a recipe for rabbit barbecued with Moroccan spices — cumin and cayenne. Sounds good. Eating rabbit on Easter started years ago for us, when we lived in Washington DC. We hadn't eaten rabbit for a year or so, it being so hard to find in the U.S. back then, and Easter just made me think of it. So we started having Easter rabbit and never stopped.

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  2. I love your purple flower scheme interspersed in a tale of running from a bomb scare. Re jet lag, I've been frequently told that I must stay awake after arriving from the US (California nonstop) in France and go to bed on the new time to adjust faster. Personally, I prefer to take a nap when I arrive, get up in time for dinner, and then I feel fine while my dinner companions nod off still trying to stay awake.

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    1. Hello Lee, I'm of the stay-awake-until-normal-bedtime school, but that's aspirational. I do tend to doze off the first few days of the lag. The good news is that I've had 2 normal 8-hour nights of sleep since I got back Wednesday. They say it takes a day for each hour of time difference to get back to normal. That means 6 days for me, and 9 for you. I remember all that travel from California to France as being pretty brutal.

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  3. ok we have to talk about this... are you on the very latest episode of Good Wife? totally caught up? what are your thoughts about the Big Event a couple weeks ago? i've been so mad i havent watched since and i've seen every single one. i'm still in a huff over it! i'm also wondering how weird do you think US culture is getting? i live here and i think its getting weirder... so i'm wondering what changes you think are the most pronounced or it seems about the same to you? i have a thought of you rushing back home and being so glad to be there and saying to Walt, "oh those crazy americans! you cant believe what i saw/overheard....."
    :-)

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    1. I'm not caught up, but spoilers have told me about the Big Event. That's okay, I watch for atmosphere more than plot. I don't know the details of the Event. And I think American culture is definitely getting weirder. The morning shows on the networks are so sensationalistic. I am very happy to be back here, though French culture has its quirks and peculiarities too. I'll be catching up with The Good Wife over the next few weeks. It's on on Sunday nights here, two episodes at a time.

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    2. The Good Wife continues with intensity and lots of plot convolutions ahead.

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  4. I love the flowers. So lovely. I need to plant a few more purple flowers in my garden.

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    1. Purple flowers are good. The deer don't seem to eat them.

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  5. Your wisteria is lovely and I spy some seedlings in the mini green house. Sympa.

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  6. Ken, welcome home. Lovely photos of your lovely flowers! I do so enjoy hearing of all the traditions you and Walt have… Good luck with the jet lag. I agree with OFG about *The Event* on The Good Wife, but what follows is good too….

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  7. I didn't know you are a fan of the Good Wife. Y also likes to watch it followed by The Mentalist - though that one may see it spinal days pretty soon .

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  8. Your wisteria makes my heart ache. It's one of those plants that does not do well in Minnesota. I love it - thanks for sharing.
    Barb in Minnesota

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  9. Bonjour! I'm starting to plan my exit strategy. Time to have some fun ... and catch up on your blog! A bientot!

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