almost citizen

Finally, my long-term visa or rather carte de résident (resident card) has been finalized and it's sitting snugly in my wallet. We don't have to deal with the paperwork at the préfecture for another 10 years. Until now, I had to renew my visa each year and after 2 years living on French soil, I'm granted a 10-year renewable visa which is perfectly fine with me.. I don't intend to take up French citizenship as that would mean giving up my Singapore passport. It's not necessary anyway since being married to a French entitles me to the social advantages of the French system (rebate on doctor's visits, medical treatments, allowances for kids, etc.) and having the carte de résident means I can be hired and have the same rights just like the normal French if one day I decide to look for a job here.

The physical aspect of the card though is nothing to be lauded.. it's almost the size of a passport, hence not small-wallet friendly. The French has yet to reduce the size of their IDs and the likes, to credit card size.. but apparently there has been talks to change all that, so all the best...

a day in dijon

We went to my in-laws' last weekend since my hubby had his Friday off and we made a stop in Dijon on the way there. Our last visits to Dijon were mainly spent shopping in Ikea so last Friday we did more exploring of the city... walked the streets of Dijon, window-shopped, shopped.. and shopped encore..

Dijon is notably bigger than Auxerre, so both of us were rejuvenated to be in the midst of a city buzzing with life and activities. I realized how much I missed people-watching while we were lunching in a resto-brasserie.

(some) Dijon trivia:
The city is the capital of the Burgundy region and is reputed for its mustard, blackcurrant and pain d'épices (ginger bread). The town centre is one of the best-preserved in France: 60% of the buildings are over 200 years old. The city was the birthplace of Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower).

The international flower show (called Florissimo) is held in Dijon every 3 years.. so we should really check it out the next time around.

To sum it up, we had a great weekend.. the weather was perfect, we had fun and we contributed to the economy of Dijon.

to dearest Abah...

This space is dedicated to my dear Abah who's celebrating his special day today.

Thank you for the things you've done to make my world a better place

and my life a happy one.

I'll always be grateful for your thoughtfulness, your generosity,

the way you make room in your life for others.

Happy birthday, Abah!

We wish you good health and happiness and thank you for being a great dad.

quel temps de merde...

And so we're having another long weekend here.. it's the fourth public holiday since April. I have the impression that my hubby's on intermittent short vacation these past months what with his day offs and the public holidays... and what do we do during these free days?.. nothing much I'm afraid.. besides a shopping trip downtown, we're pretty much home bound. The weather has been on the grey side a lot lately and with the temperature hovering below 15°C, you don't really feel like having a stroll outside. The cold seems to stretch longer this spring.. but apparently, they've announced good weather for the coming weeks, so we're looking forward to that.

Besides that, the flu bug is making its rounds.. poor hubby is having it and I've been freshly infected.. just hope the bug won't stay long.

weather update

I couldn't believe how cold it is today.. the temperature drops to 13°C this afternoon when it was at 26°C just last week! Granted, the weather hasn't been on the sunny side up today.. it's drizzling at the moment in fact. But the great difference in temperature caught us by surprise. Just when I thought those thick pullovers are well put away in the deepest corner of the wardrobe, out they come again in an instant. The weather has been on the yoyo lately. Hopefully the weather in Switzerland is better off than it is here (for Faz's and Zali's sake).

Well that said, I kinda like it when it rains at night.. the pitter patter of rain on the roof slates can lull you to sleep like a baby, under the warm blanket.

mail order

Recently, we bought these two items from the net and they were delivered to our doorstep within a week from the date of purchase. We've now adopted this mode of purchasing to expand our choice in goods. Since we live in a small town, we don't have the luxury of hopping from one mall to the other to find that particular item. First of all, there're no malls here and you can get items at a cheaper price on the net than from the stores, so that's a plus.

Now that I have my mini sewing machine, I don't have to put off mending that hemline for weeks (or months) at a stretch. The machine only sews straight line and that's all I needed to do things in a jiffy.

I'm so in love with our new camera.. it's much more stylish, smaller, lighter and it has improved functions. Dear hubby has graciously offered to 'update' my wedding gift of over 2 years with this sleek red compact gadget. Encore une fois, merci chouchou :)

a long weekend

We're having another long weekend here, tomorrow being a public holiday. Last week, my hubby had his Friday off and we spent the weekend at my in-law's as it was his grandma's birthday (she turned 94).

It was really pleasant to see the countryside coming back to life when we crossed the country. The fields are covered with thick lush greens and trees are gradually greening too. It's also the time when farmers prep up their soil for next season's crops and the smell of freshly fertilized earth really wakes you up.

Spring is a nice season indeed.. it's neither too cold nor too hot. But the weather can be deceiving in part.. it can be all sunny outside but you can still feel the chill and get all goosebumpy when you walk under a shade. So the best is to wear layers that can be easily put on or off.

I took a snap of the neighbour's garden across the street and their fruit trees are
flowering now (no thanks to the bees that like to hover around our windows, dear neighbour). Well they have cherry, apricot and pear trees I think. Too bad we don't know them.. we really should start making their acquaintance.. umm around the time their trees start to bear fruits.. heh ;)