Joyeux Noel!

Christmas this year passed quietly compared to the roaring laughter and operatic singing by one of Xavier's (my hubby) aunts, last year during Christmas Eve dinner. I recall Christmas 2004 with a feeling of nostalgia....

There were 17 of us to dinner, and it was the first time I was to meet Xav's family. There were seat placings, so I couldn't just sit wherever I wanted (they take this seriously, so no exchanges!). Fortunately, I ended up with Xav's nice uncle Jean Pierre on my left, my lovely then future sister-in-law, Anne, on my right, and Xav himself in front of me. It'd be the first time I saw different forks, spoons, knives and glasses surrounding just one plate. It would definitely be a long dinner (as the French are famous for it) with gourmet food and delicious desserts at the end.

There was much laughter, some song (courtesy of Xav's aunt) and lots of talk (in spite of the language barrier). Then came the time to unwrap all our gifts, and in the midst of oohs, aahs, gleeful shrieks of excitement and teary smiles of happiness, came the first of the desserts. By the time we packed up everything to go, it was almost 2am - the last dessert had arrived - we had been having dinner for a record time (for me, at least) of 6 hours!

This year, the scenario is very much altered. Xav and I are the only family for each other on this lovely paradise island called Tahiti. Christmas Eve dinner was preceded by an incident with the police, mind you :D .....

We were on our way back from the hospital (Xav had an ear infection for the last three days and finally decided to put an end to his misery) and I was driving. It was the first time I drove the left-hand car drive since I came back and I was a little nervous about it. Not only did I not have an international driving licence, Xav told me that we didn't have the car registration papers either. Imagine my consternation when the police stopped me (surprisingly, they were stopping cars which were in the slow lane, hmm...), asked me to drive into what I knew was a public parking area, and breathe into a bag.

Yep, I was doing a Breathalizer test - my very first! Then, the policeman asked me in very serious French if I had drank any alcohol yet for that day. I would have cheekily answered 'not yet' but, there is something about the uniform that screws up your courage and demands respect, so I meekly said 'No' instead. I was, of course, let off the hook (thank God he didn't ask to see my licence or registration papers!) since I passed the test with flying colours.

That evening, I made an appetizer called 'Monkfish Terrine', which consisted of monkfish and vegetables. I overdosed on the veges and we bought the wrong fish, so basically, I couldn't swallow it, even though Xav did (he was really hungry!). We had roasted chicken (courtesy of Carrefour, sauce by Xavier Pourtauborde) for the main course, and then finished off with baked apples for dessert. By then I was already asleep on the couch, after having drained only 1.5 cocktail glasses of very good champagne. Xav followed suit an hour later.

And.....Voila! That was our lonely Christmas this year!

Newbie to Blogging

I have just been introduced to the world of blogging. Yes, I have heard of this interesting way to convert one's verbal diarrhea into a black-and-white notice posted over the internet. But, I have never tried it. I have never found the need to. Now, though, having suddenly been thrown into the realm of being a housewife (with no kids), I have rediscovered time itself - and how much of it there actually is in a day! So, I surfed the net, particularly for freelance writing work, and also fun things to do, like blogging for instance. Thanks to my very best friend who is all the way back home, I am now able to explore another option for creativity.

Well, I'll start afresh in a few days - right now, I'd just like to see how my blog looks like, in black-and-white, over the internet :D