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Lucifer’s Morning After

Aside | | Tracy

UPDATE: Lucifer Lou had his first day of being grounded to his leash while taking our morning walk.

We made it to the far end of the beach where we usually let the dogs run, Sami happily took off bounding around. Lou took four steps and realized he was still attached. In true Lou form, his response was to wag his tail, tangle us up in the leash, while bouncing joyously and shouting, “I regret NOTHING!!!!”

Sami was able to get some exercise while chasing birds up and down the beach. She managed to come back immediately when called . . . Lou called her a “show-off.”

Yep, life with a dog!

"I regret NOTHING!!"
“I regret NOTHING!!”

Conversations with Sami

Aside | | Tracy

As long-time pet owners, we often have conversations with and for our pets. Sami has a wicked sense of humor and often has some great one-liners.

Here is an excerpt of a conversation with her Dad while we having coffee the other morning.

SAMI: Daddy, are there boulangeries in the US?

ALAN: No, Sami, there are no boulangeries in the US, they have Starbucks.

SAMI: Cool, can dogs go there?

ALAN: No, Sami, dogs are not allowed into the Starbucks.

SAMI: Well I don’t know why not. It can’t be because they’re afraid of dogs, they’re all heavily armed.

Just life on a daily basis with our MinPin!

Renaming the Dog

| Tracy

We’ve decided to rename the dog from Lou to Lucifer. Our evil genius gave us quite a run this morning. Quite unintended on our part.

He turned off his hearing. Headed up the beach, always keeping us in sight but not willing to come close enough to be caught, even for a treat.

Three kilometers later, he had stopped to smell something of interest, when Alan managed to put the grabs on him.

We normally enjoy our mornings on the beach, two hours or more roaming on the shoreline, letting the dogs off-leash for some fun. Today was not that kind of day. Lou has lost ALL of his off-leash privileges.

Sami, however, remains the diva princess that she is. She came back when called and assisted in rounding up her wayward minion. Though in the process she nearly impaled herself on a piece of driftwood, poor baby. She’ll be a little sore tomorrow, but no worse for her escapades.

I’d love to add a photo of today’s adventure, however we were both to busy trying to catch the stupid dog to think about stopping for a photo.

Taking the Cat Out

Aside | | Tracy

On our morning walk today we saw our neighbor from across the street with her beautiful brindle boxer/pit bull mix.

Sami and Lou are very fond of the brindle and we have had many encounters with him as he often slips his collar and heads to the beach. He is a big friendly baby and is very gentle with our harridan and her minion. Minion Lou loves this big guy who will run along the beach with us whenever he spots our foursome on a morning walk.

Today when we came across him and his mom (who we see less often than her dog), the family cat was tagging along on their morning walk. Minot, the cat, comes when she is called, walks alongside her mom and big brother, and gives other dogs the stink eye as only a cat can do.

The brindle and his mom
Minot with her mom and brother

Things that make you go . . . hmmm

Image | | Tracy

 

While walking the dogs on the beach this morning we came across this shoe. Can’t help but wonder if the damage was from a small shark. Sure do hope that there wasn’t a foot in it when it happened! We have never seen a shark ourselves, but last summer one was caught in St. Cyprien, just a few kilometers north of us, so we know they’re out there.

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Celebrating Alan’s 3rd Year of Retirement

Image | | Tracy

 

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January 7 marked the third anniversary of Alan’s retirement. It is hard to believe that it’s been that long already, time seems to fly right by. There are some people who believe that retirement will lead to boredom . . . we wonder how we ever had time for a job!

Being party animals (not) we are celebrated with a day of cuddles from the pups (at least until the fight breaks out between Sami and Lou over who gets Daddy’s lap) and a home-made lemon cake!

Happy Anniversary Husband . . . so glad we made this change!

BTW . . . has anyone else noticed that Lou looks a little devilish in all his photos?? He always seems to have something devious in mind!

Floral Surprise

Image | | Tracy
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Memorial at the beach

Each morning when we head to the beach we never know exactly what we’ll find. The waves change the face of the beach each day. Some days it’s rocky, some days it’s sandy, some days there will be an enormous log, some days the beach is filled with shells, other days sea glass is everywhere.

Sami is always a bit wary when a new log or stump shows up where there wasn’t one the day before.

Today we found two rainbow hued roses someone had left as a memorial.

Sami loved them; Lou snuck up on them like he was hunting and barked . . . I think he was expecting them to fly away as if they were birds. He was a bit confused when they continued to stand there on the beach and growled  at them the whole time I was taking photos.

Death from Above

| Tracy

Those aren’t birds Daddy, they’re pterodactyls!

Each morning when we walk Sami and Lou, she pauses under the trees as we near the beach. There are whole families of birds (pigeons, sparrows, and seagulls) that live in the trees along the edge of the beach. She believes that they are pterodactyls hunting their morning meal.

Trees where the "pterodactyls" live
Trees where the “pterodactyls” live

 

The look of fear she gets near flappy things, especially the “pterodactyls”

I cannot even imagine what the locals think when they see this morning ritual. Sami sitting down and refusing to walk under the trees. Lou — oblivious to the terror above — prancing around Sami like a circus clown. Alan saying, “OMG! Pterodactyls” in his best Sami voice. All while I laugh at the comedy routine playing out before me.

Featured image from Wikimedia Commons — "Pterodactylus holotype fly mmartyniuk" by Matthew P. Martyniuk

Réveillon du Nouvel an 2016

| Alan

 

Tracy made a wonderful traditional US style Christmas dinner for us with turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, but with the French touches of Muscat de Noël wine and a Bûche de Noël cake.  New Years Eve 2015-2016 dinner was then up to me to make a proper French Réveillon dinner . . .  or at least as proper of a Réveillon dinner as this US Expat can figure out, shop, cook, and serve.

Réveillon is the traditional dinner that people in French-speaking countries celebrate the night before Christmas and New Year’s Day. Some of the traditional foods vary by region but can include turkey with chestnut stuffing, caviar or smoked salmon on blinis, oysters, foie gras, lobster, and coquille Saint Jacques (scallops). (More descriptions of Réveillon dishes with “food porn” photos at “The Local-France” Ten dishes that make up a French Christmas feast. )

For our New Year’s Eve Réveillon dinner I prepared:

  • Roasted Magret de Canard (oven roasted duck breast.)
  • Grilled Boudin Blanc de porc with truffles. (White pork sausage with black truffles.) Boudin Blanc in France are made with milk while the Boudin Blanc made in Cajun Louisiana is made with pork and rice stuffing.
  • Pan-fried Foie Gras (Duck Liver.) (I have previously learned the trick to remove the battery from the smoke alarm when cooking Foie Gras. The high heat pan and high fat content of the Foie Gras can trigger the smoke detector.)
  • Quiche Lorraine with bacon, cheese and scallops in place of Coquille Saint Jacques for our seafood course. (A purchased quiche since I didn’t think I would have enough time to cook everything.
  • A canapés and cheese plate including Catalan Sausage, duck breast, Foie Gras, Chevre (goat cheese), Brie, Fourme d’Ambert (raw cow’s milk blue cheese), with Rondelé de Président Ail de Garonne & Fines Herbes (creamed cheese spread) and small toasts.  Several of these cheeses are contraband and cannot be imported into the US.

For dessert a Bûche de Noël au chocolat (chocolate cream “Yule Log” cake with layers of crystallized sugar filling) purchased from our nearby pâtissier.

And, of course, Champagne. (What’s the point of living in France without toasting the New Year with real French champagne?)

Our canine children, Sami and Lou, enjoyed a bite of duck with their dinners too. Sami especially loves Canard!

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