10/31 Friday

The day was primarily taken up with preparations for the visit of Simon and Julia, but we did manage one out-of-town excursion, to Domaine La Croix Belle. Madame Francoise Boyer didn’t remember us immediately but when we mentioned that we had been there last year and heard the sad news that her son in New York was in love with a doctor who had no interest in living in France, she brought us up to date. He’s broken it off. He did love her, but she would only consider France for vacations. She was half Puerto Rican and in his job he’d been hearing a lot of Spanish as well, so now he’s studying the language. There was more to tell, clearly very complicated and very sad, but it was time to taste.

We talked about which wines would need cellaring and which were ready to drink and we made our purchases: several bottles of the more expensive rose, under 6 euros a bottle; a bottle of the No. 7 white as back-up for the one we’ve chilled for the dinner tonight at 12.5 euros; two bottles of the red vin primeur for us to split to be drunk before Christmas; and Sharon bought a bottle of Solanque, a sweet dessert wine for use in her Christmas pudding. As we left, Francoise presented us with a gift bottle of red to cellar for drinking next year.

On our return home, we couldn’t get the remote to open the garage door. The spare remote worked though, as did the one we carry in the car when the batteries were changed out. So Sharon went off to the Tabac, the only stores allowed to sell cigarettes under government license along with newspapers, magazines and other sundries. She not only came back with a battery but next door in the village clothing store she found a catalogue of some cute knitting patterns for Vera’s new little grand daughter.

After a first flurry of dinner preparation, we took a walk to the local cemetery. November 1^st is a national holiday and they take the opportunity to clean up the family plots and decorate them with fresh blooming plants, the most popular choice being huge pots of chrysanthemums that are sold everywhere this time of year, including right at the gates of the cemeteries, and cost 12 about euros apiece. Cazouls is one of the larger towns in the region and has quite an extensive cemetery with an old section down the middle and two newer wings. Not surprisingly, the newer grave sites are the most profusely decorated.

Returning home, we encountered groups of parents with children in costume heading for the Halloween party at the municipal center. Last year was the first year that we noticed Halloween creeping into the culture. We even had a few trick-or-treaters. They took us by surprise so we didn’t have any candy to give out. I dug into my pocket and pulled out some coins. One lucky kid got away with two euros. Word got around and several older kids rang our bell but to their disappointment we were quickly reduced to the smaller coins. This year we brought candy over from the States. The choice of candies was a bone of contention between Cathey and me. She thought that traditional American Halloween candy like candy corn would be appropriate. I voted for lots of cheap, nasty chocolate things. Cathey nixed that idea in the belief that French kids would be accustomed to finer chocolate. Fine chocolate on Halloween? We’ll see. Cathey did buy enough Reese’s peanut butter cups and such to keep me happy if the French kids don’t gobble them up first. (Not a chance. It’s Halloween. I WILL have my Reese’s.)

On one of my cigarette breaks out by the front door, a couple of neighbors drove up and asked if they could park in front of our garage to unload their car. We struck up a conversation, all in French.

It’s cold.

Yes, but not as cold as our home in the United Sates. Zero degrees (Celsius) there.

Where do we live in the States

Pennsylvania, about 80 kilometers north of Philadelphia.

It was nice last week.

Yes, that was our first week here but it has been a bit chilly since.

How long will you stay?

We leave Sunday. (I struggle over the proper future tense and apologize for my poor French.)

Not at all. You speak French better than we speak English. Vocabulary and conjugation are very difficult.

I agree that learning conjugations has been very difficult.

One of the men says that he studied English in school for five years but it’s all gone.

Well, I say, it’s easy talking about the weather. I couldn’t discuss philosophy with them, though.

They admit that they’d rather talk weather than philosophy anyway.

They have to leave. I feel very good about myself. It is possibly the longest conversation I’ve yet to hold entirely in French. A bit simplistic, perhaps, but gives me hope.

Sharon reminded us that since tomorrow is a national holiday and all of the stores are closed on Sunday, we’d better decide what we needed between now and the time that we leave on Sunday. Smart girl. Off to the Carrefour/Cazouls for bread and sandwich makings for the plane ride and lentils for Cathey to take home and some candies for me to spread around at work.

Dinner prep then began in earnest. Cathey has been contemplating the menu for a full year, making additions and corrections as she perused the 10,001 cookbooks and magazines available to her. Sharon added a few touches and away they went. Thank God the oven works.

So, here’s the menu:

Amusee Buche

Atop thin rounds of toasted baguette, Sharon spread pea puree with slivers of pepper salami.

Shrimp and scallops were dressed with reconstituted dry seaweed, shallots, leeks and served with a white wine and crème fraiche sauce.

Main Course

Catalan chicken with picada (sauce composed of garlic, chocolate, almonds, bread crumbs, saffron, cinnamon, cloves, anise seeds, tomatoes, onions, sherry, bay leaf, orange peel and olive oil) accompanied by haricots verte and rice.

Dessert

From Wine Spectator, Sharon put together a pear and goat cheese tart. We finished with dates stuffed with pistachio marzipan.

A series of wines were uncorked, from a fruity rose to begin to a rough Spanish red with the chicken. We finished with port.

As always, the guests brought gifts – a bottle of red wine, Diary of a French Herb Garden, and the DVD of Les Choristes.  Believe it or don’t, that’s our first DVD of any kind and it’s in French.

The discussion was far ranging. The Brits were curious about the American election system. How does one describe the Electoral College to folks who grew up with Parliament? Simon expressed great curiosity concerning Obama’s parentage and family history, not surprising since Simon was raised on a coffee plantation in Kenya. We tell him what we know. I try to give some insight into Chicago politics, the implication that the cemeteries of Chicago played a major role in the election of Kennedy, my opinion that Obama’s ability to successfully navigate the hazardous waters of Chicago’s political machine probably accounted for his stunning out-maneuvering of Hillary.

The current organic food movement in France and the state of organic foods in the States, whether the extensive fiber optic network being constructed throughout France will actually be utilized by the French, our electrical fire, the possible occupations of the three ladies we observed at La Croisade, all were thoroughly investigated.

Simon and Julia both took seconds of both the seafood and the chicken!

All during the evening, the doorbell rang and groups of little costumed imps took their pick of the unfamiliar fare that we had brought from home. Some just grabbed from the large bowl that I offered, some were more careful making their choices, some looked at the strange stuff with confused looks on their made-up or masked faces. There were many more than last year but we had enough for all. The little boxes of Mike & Ike seemed to go first but who’s counting? I will say that I was left with only one peanut butter cup and two Three Musketeers.

All in all, a rousing success with one small exception. Julia forgot her scarf.