You may remember from last year that this time of year in France is full of national holidays. We get a four day weekend out of Easter, with Good Friday and "Easter Monday" ("Lundi de Pâques") off.
We were invited to some friends from church for Good Friday dinner. They live in Genthod, an upscale suburb of Geneva along the lake (is there a downscale suburb of Geneva?). They served leg of lamb, it was very tasty. Ironically we also saw this scene right outside their window:
Apparently, even in an upscale neighborhood, one doesn't get very far from the agricultural heart of things around here.But we had no other plans for Easter Sunday, so I was desiring to find something a little special for dinner for our little family.
Oddly enough, it appears that ham is a rather unusual thing to cook for a meal around here. This is particularly unusual since "jambon" (ham) is otherwise ubiquitous. "Jambon" pizza, "Jambon" sandwich, etc. Last year I couldn't find a ham for Easter to save myself (something oxymoronic about that...). But this year the local "boucherie" had a perfectly acceptable ham that they were carving into slices. I just bought what they had left - about a pound-and-a-half for 12 euros. Certainly a bit more than you might expect to pay at home, but hey it's once a year.
So K made a glaze and had me singing
"This little pig of mine,
I'm gonna eat that swine..."
(Sorry, but kids songs kind of run endlessly through my mind these days. Makes thinking about physics just a little more challenging...)
To combat it, I try to listen to "adult" music as much as I can. Lately, in keeping with the season, I've been listening to a men's chorus (The Hilliard Ensemble) singing a doleful Psalm in Latin. If you don't mind such a thing you can hear it on this youtube video - you can also download the audio MP3 from Amazon for a buck. It goes well with Good Friday.
And then for Easter, our church finished the service with an old favorite hymn, but sung in French. It has quite a history, actually. Kinda kewl. :)
In case you thought the angels I wrote about before don't exist, I caught a picture of them. We had Paolo and his wife and daughter over for dinner; this is the guy who helped us get K's purse back.
(No, they still haven't fixed the water damage yet, and it's been over a year.)
In my unbiased opinion, my ladies just keep getting cuter:
These two have been trying to hash out a sleeping/eating schedule that works for everyone. It wasn't always all smiles and laughter. K was just about at the end of her rope trying to figure out what worked and what didn't work. She's been plowing through a stack of books, making phone calls and sending emails, compiling divergent opinions about the topic.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing
We think now that perhaps they're coming to a mutual understanding, and everyone is getting more sleep. :) Smiles all around.
(Two pictures of Gen taken by our friend in Genthod.)
Happy Easter, from our family to yours.
-PKBGD
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