fast forward

We're now an hour ahead throughout Europe. That's what happened come springtime. It's what they call daylight saving time, which is to use daylight to its maximum advantage. It usually happens on the last Sunday in March and we'll stay in this time zone throughout spring and summer. So twice a year, we have to move the clock forward and then backward by an hour when the right season comes. It's no big deal really and you don't feel the change at all.

With the time now advanced by an hour, that makes the time difference between here and Singapore at 6 hours instead of 7.. so take note y'all.

spring : printemps

So spring is here.. the sun is out, the birds are serenading, soon the flowers will bloom, plants will grow, branches will be green again.. no more dreary-looking streets and avenues. It's the season of growth and renewal.. but this season also brings rainy spells, strong wind, hail and other severe weather depending on the area.

We're into the fourth day of spring and we're having a clear bright sky today. The temperature is at 12°C.. still chilly but not freezing. I've opened all the windows to air out the apartment. It's the time for deep cleaning.. time to get rid of winter's worth of dust and grime and bring in the crispness of springtime into your home.. hence the name "spring cleaning".

We get to enjoy longer daylight now and soon shed all those layer of clothes. Time to put more 'spring' into our step now :)

to dearest Mak...

Today's a special day for a very special person. It's my mom's birthday and I'm beating myself up for not being there to celebrate this day with her. Although we're oceans apart, she's always right here close to my heart. Thank you for your love and all that you've given us. Thank you for being a wonderful mom.

Have a very happy birthday from both of us, Mak! We wish you good health and happiness always!

zapping away

Eversince we got the cable, we've been watching good movies almost daily and the best part is that we now have the option to watch the movies in their original version and also the option to turn on the subtitles, which for the moment is available only in French. I've always preferred my movies in their original version with subtitles on (of course) if it's foreign. Imagine watching a Hindustan film 'baptized' in French.. SO wrong! Speaking of which, the movie "Lagaan" was aired on the cable not that far back.. that was the second time I saw a Hindustan movie on French tv.

So now I really get to enjoy my Hollywood movies.. and with the subtitles on, I improve my French at the same time. Before, I had no choice whatsoever as every single programme on the national tv is French-dubbed and I had to 'irritate' my hubby (a lot) by constantly asking him to translate what was being said. Now though, I can understand 92.51% of what's being said on tv if I listen to it attentively.

Well we seldom turn on the national tv now that we have the cable and with over 200 channels available, there's no reason to.

croque monsieur

That translates to "Mr Crunchy" and obviously, that refers to food.. another cheesy kind... and with a name like that, it has to be of French origin. Well it's basically a cheese and ham sandwich French style. Trust the French to turn something basic into a gourmet-looking food.

All you need here is slices of bread, chicken or turkey ham and lots of Gruyère.. failing that, I think Emmenthal or Mozzarella could make a good substitute. What you do then is to sprinkle generous amount of the grated cheese on one slice of bread, place the ham on top of that, sprinkle more cheese, place the other slice on top of all that and finish by sprinkling another layer of cheese. Then just pop it in the oven and let it sit there until it turns golden brown.. serve it while it's still hot.

Well there you have it.. a 'how-to-bust-your-diet' sandwich that's crunchy on the outside with cheesy-coated ham on the inside.. mmm. It couldn't get any simpler than that.. but of course you can omit a layer of cheese (or not). Well go ahead and try it if you haven't already. It may not do your waistline good but you'll have one happy stomach after that :)

all bottled up

That looks like rows of mineral water bottles you'd find in a typical supermarket but those bottles are actually sitting in our kitchen. That by the way, is our daily source of drinking water. That's how we do it here.. we don't drink from the tap as the water here contains limescale or what they call hard water. Some people don't mind drinking from the tap here but I find the taste pretty awful even after the water has been boiled. That's why you'll notice people stacking up their trolleys with packs of bottled water in supermarkets here.

Hard water proves to be a bother. Not only it's undrinkable, it can ruin your washing machine in the long run with the build up of limescale so each time I do the laundry, I have to put this anti-limescale product in along with the detergent to prevent damage to the machine's internal 'organs'. Besides that, hard water will leave behind unsightly residue in the bathroom and around the tap.. and also ugly water spots on your clean dishes if you leave them to drip dry in the drainer.

Well this is one of the things I had to adapt to when I first came here. So every week, we (well my hubby rather) have to lug heavy packs of water home when we do our grocery shopping. We consumed around 10 2ltr bottles of Volvic weekly... and I have the pleasure of crushing countless empty bottles on a regular basis.

Well, I never thought I'd be drinking so many bottled water in my life.

let it snow

This morning, I woke up looking at heavy snowfall. Our windows were covered with snow and I stood by the big window admiring those fluffy white flakes falling from the sky. It's amazing how intricately design snow flakes are.. and if you were to look closely at the window, you can actually see the crystalline structure of a single snow flake and it is really fascinating... what's more amazing is that snow crystals come in many different shapes and sizes but always with hexagonal symmetry.

It seldom snows in our place and usually when it comes, the snow doesn't stay for long.. it will either melt within the same day or a couple of days after. It's nice to see some whiteness around here for a change even if the snow spell doesn't last that long.

What a great difference a day make. Yesterday, the weather was at the total opposite.. we had strong sunshine yesterday and the sun was in full force throughout the day which brought a much needed brightness to our apartment.

Well the temperature was at 0°C this afternoon and today's weather reminds us that winter is still here and kicking.

Drop by this site for some make-a-flake fun :)