Marché de Noël

In the region of Alsace here in France, Christmas is a big deal. 

The market in Strasbourg is considered one of the most famous markets in the world.

 It draws around 2 million visitors each year, 

some of them booking their hotel a year in advance.

It is also one of the oldest markets, 

history showing they have been happening since  around 1570. 

Seeing as how they brought in around 16 million euros in profit last year just in Strasbourg you can probably understand why they are so vital to the cities and towns in this region.

 It seems that every town or village of note has a market these days

 and they all draw their own crowd. 

Places you can park in most of the year are suddenly cordoned off. 

Pay parks are set up and the people descend down upon Alsace in hoards.  

This year I was able to visit three different towns to see their marché de noël: 

Mulhouse, Colmar and Kaysersberg. 

They were in high alert since the bomb threat to the Strasbourg Market in 2000 

followed by the attacks in Paris this year.

 I saw many an officer walking around with a machine gun in his hand. I didn't mind though. Hopefully that made things a little safer. 

Kitty sleeping in the Nativity

I visited quite early this year. 

Going to Colmar the first weekend and Kaysersberg on the second. 

 It's really the only way to visit without being crushed by the crowd. 

It made a big difference in how much I enjoyed them. 

The first year in Strasbourg we went near Christmas 

and we could barely weave our way between the stands. 

I loved it though so vowed to try and return at a better time. 

This year I did it right. 

There are stands for all kinds of goodies set up.

 Candies and traditional Alsatian Christmas cookies, 

Christmas ornaments...

all sorts of ideas for gifts

 and of course the many spiced wine stands 

and traditional Alsatian food stands dotted throughout the markets.

You can't visit without having at least one glass of hot spiced wine.

There are stands with huge pans 2 foot wide full of choucroute 

and tartiflette, rosti and many other Alsatian specialties offered. 

If you like potatoes and cheese you have found your way to heaven. 

Bretzels!

And then there are the dessert stands. 

Crepes and waffles smothered in nutella and whip cream 

are only the beginning of the offerings there. 

Last but not least, 

there is always at least one guy roasting chestnuts. 

That is a treat you don't want to miss.

My last visit was Mulhouse and their market is much better than in years past.

 They had many new stands and new lights and even a ferris wheel!

Mulhouse is the home of the fabrics museum 

so each year they make a new fabric line just for Christmas

 and use this fabric in the decorations around town. 

This is the current line. 

The Mulhouse Christmas Tree

 I find Christmas here very enchanting and I look forward to it more and more each year. Unfortunately, I wont be decorating our house this year as we leave on Saturday to travel down south and spend the Holidays with Frenchie's family. Next year though I am having a tree and it will be decorated with lots and lots of icicles. I promise!

May this Holiday Season find you in good spirits. 

May you be surrounded by friends and family 

and find much joy in everything...

The High Road

When we first discovered our house up here on the mountain, our introduction was the road. This long hill to climb to reach the goal. We knew from the start we could not drive up it. Maybe if we owned a little car but not our Vito.

So one of the things we had to decide on before we bought our chalet was were we willing to accept that limitation. We were and we did but I know that life would have been much easier back then if only we could have driven up that hill.

When we bought the chalet it came with a jeep. It was an old ratty jeep but it did go up and down that hill. Now it did make the task easier but it was not a licensed vehicle so anything we hauled in the jeep had to be first loaded onto the van and brought to the bottom of the hill, then unloaded and loaded into the jeep. 

We used it to haul all our earthly possessions up to the house. It was a long hard move.

 I didn't help matters any when I fell down on December 30th landed on the top of my foot and ended up with an ankle that resembles a deformed balloon animal in various shades of green, blue and purple.

 The rest of the moving job rested solely on the back of Frenchie. I'm still not sure how he managed it.  That jeep was our grocery delivery jeep, our firewood hauler and everything else in between.

 It was a sad day when the jeep ran no more and we were forced once again to haul our groceries up the hill by hand. 

Finally this spring we hired a company to redo the driveway. 

They started by grating the whole driveway from top to bottom. They also had to remove some roots and rocks. Just doing that was a great improvement. There were places where the driveway sloped like the mountain and places where it humped in the middle.

Soon it was smooth all the way down.  Then they added the gravel.

Frenchie stuck by our neighbors entrance in one of the two attempts he made to go up the driveway.

Our road is shared by our neighbors and their entrance was where some of the roughest parts were,  The workers smoothed the area and rebuilt their little wall so there were no more worries about the road eroding away in that area. 

Last but not least, they laid pavers down from the garage all the way to the gate entrance. Frenchie chose these beautiful latticed pavers and had them filled with gravel. It provides great traction for the van since, though this is now much smoother, it is still quite steep. What a difference! 

While they were working on the driveway and pouring the concrete at the gate entrance, Frenchie was working away on the terrace, readying it for the work to be done on it later this year. Since the workers were already here pouring concrete, he hired them to also pour the slab for the new patio. 

I couldn't believe the difference in the surface area. Before it was so broken up with different openings that we really didn't benefit much. We hardly used it. Now it is this nice big expanse. Big enough for a table and chairs and an umbrella with room to spare.

This is not the finished product though. We still have many changes to happen out here but that's for another episode about this ever changing chalet in the mountains!

Last but not least, we had the workers remove the huge tree next to the drive.  This was a hard decision for me. Frenchie wanted it gone almost from the beginning but I was stubborn and wanted it to stay. It was such a beautiful tree but even I had to admit that it robbed the house of light all morning and into early afternoon. 

Losing the tree would provide us with the much sought after sun. It was also pointed out to me that the tree was on the edge of a small cliff area. If a storm decided to take the tree down it would take a big chunk out of our driveway also, it might even fall on our house. So even though it was a hard decision, now that it is done I realize it was for the best. We have enjoyed a long sunny summer this year and I also have a new view! 

SO this is just one of the things that happened while I was waiting for my camera. I lost my camera shortly before they finished the project so I went out and took pictures of the finished driveway today.

We have a few other big projects going on that I hope to cover soon. They are all making a HUGE difference in the comfort of this house. I am amazed at the differences here since we first came.

I'll be back soon to fill you in on more. I hope you are all having a joyous December!

Healthy Eats

   
 I've mentioned several times recently that I have been on an elimination diet.It has taught me a lot about how much food can affect our health. Not only does it affect our digestion but so many other things including inflammation, congestion and even our moods. I know that I feel like a different person since I started and I hope I find the trigger food soon. I have added most things back and still feel pretty good. Not as good as when I was being completely strict but still much better. Some of the things I haven't added back are dairy, yeast and gluten. Most people say they couldn't imagine a life without dairy or gluten but I am quite surprised to find it barely bothers me. In fact when I think about eating bread or cheese I only feel fear that all the pain will come back. Mainly because the pain I was feeling on a daily basis had restricted me to doing less and less. Stairs were a nightmare of shooting pain in my knees and fear that I would fall down them if my knees gave out. Arthritis raged all the time. Doing much work with my hands would cause me days of pain afterwards. Now my arthritis pain is almost completely gone and the same with my knees. My congestion has cleared up. My headaches are gone and my stomach is calm.

     I have to admit that I still have cravings though. Like this week when we went to the little organic store and bought a big bag full of heirloom tomatoes and I made a big batch of my salsa. Chips are required.
          I have to admit the salsa was so good I did eat some with no chips! But...I still wanted them, so I went on a search for a chip I could make. I finally found one that looked like what I wanted at the Fed and Fit blog. These came together quick and easy. Instead of making single round chips I simply rolled the dough out on a pan with parchment paper and cut it into squares. These are PERFECT for salsa.



      So if you too are on a quest for healthy eating but still need a decent chip I recommend this recipe. The only difference I might change is the added salt at the end. I found they really didn't need it.

      And now I am back to munching on chips and salsa...hope you all are having a great week.

                                           

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Awhile back I had to go to Strasbourg for another eye test and when I returned Frenchie met me at the train station and we spent a leisurely hour or two wandering the streets of Colmar. It is filled with tiny cobblestoned streets lined with interesting shops and cafes. We happened upon a Madagascar Festival that was basically just a market filled with stand after stand of wonderful craftmanship all made by the women of Madagascar and they proudly would tell you about how they polished said stone or wove said scarf from raw silk. I was astounded by the beautiful pieces on display and the prices were so low I couldn't help but select several pieces. The labradorite heart here is so colorful, I am afraid the pictures don't do it justice. It Flashes with gorgeous blues and greens. I think it is probably the nicest piece of Labradorite I've ever seen and I can't wait to make a piece out of it.

The shell in the center was an interesting piece. The woman actually had raw shells that hadn't been polished yet on display and she explained how she polished them and made the pieces. She called this the eye of Santa Lucia. I love the spiral design in the center!

The ammonites were just amazing. I picked up two matching ones and a larger single piece to make earrings and a necklace. The selection was plentiful and some of them were so big. I could have easily spent a fortune there, it was so hard to pick and chose.

Lastly, Frenchie stopped at the silk scarf stand and though I make and sell silk scarves and have a whole dresser full of silk I had to admit I wanted one so bad. Frenchie happily bought me the most beautiful scarf. It has become my favorite and I have already wore it several times. It is completely different from the silk I normally work with so I don't feel too guilty.

All it all it was a nice find. The prices were so low and knowing they were going directly to these wonderful women made me happy. I have seen some of the conditions in Madagascar. It is a poor country but beautiful. I am glad they came to Colmar and I hope they return again. Next time I will try to take pictures! 

Hopefully soon I will put a few of these to the wire and try to make some jewelry out of them. I am struggling with my jewelry right now though. Taking this long break has made me rusty. I have been trying to make a simple pair of earrings for three days and nothing is working. Please send me some patience to help me through this dry spot. I need it!

Wishing you all a restful and wonderful weekend...

A Clear View in Sight

        As you all know I have been away for awhile because of my eyes. I have literally been sitting doing nothing most of this time. I totally de-stressed. I slept a lot. I lost 20 pounds on my elimination diet and that was not intentional, but happily received! I took a lot of time to sit and stare at the hillsides around me. Listen to the countryside. Enjoy my little spot on the mountain. And I healed. My eyes are not 100% yet but I can say there has been a 90% improvement if not more. I am not sure why this problem keeps rearing its head. The doctor says it is caused by fatigue and stress but I don't live a particularly tiring or stressful life. She also said there is no cure so whatever is causing it I hope my lifestyle changes help to keep it away.
      My main change I have made these last two months is my diet. I didn't change it because of my eyes, I went on a strict elimination diet to determine what kind of food sensitivity I am having. I still haven't located the culprit, though I still haven't added back all foods. All I really know is that this diet has made a clear difference in my health. I lost the 20 pounds and that is wonderful but that wasn't the greatest benefit. My headaches went away. My constant stuffiness and post nasal drip is gone. My insomnia barely shows it's presence anymore. My knees don't hurt going up the stairs (I am sure this is because of the weight) and my arthritis pain is almost completely gone. The stomach and intestinal problems that have been plaguing me for many years now are practically non-existent. All because of my food. I also added some fermented foods. Mainly fermented vegetables and probiotics and I added digestive enzymes. I haven't went back to the doc to have my tests done to see how well this worked against my cholesterol but I know I am healthier. I don't doubt it for a minute. I FEEL healthier.
      So I am coming back to my blog. I will go slow. I refuse to tire myself out and get back in the same bad situation. I can only sit for so long though. I must do something. While I rested many things have gone on here at the house. We have had workers in and Frenchie has been working hard on his days off. I did do a little here and there but I watched myself and didn't overdo. I do have some things to show you though. I will try to update you in the next few weeks.
      I do have one slight problem though,  I lost my camera. We went on a visit to see friends in Zurich and the bag I took was left behind at a train station. Of course it was the last train that night so no going back to retrieve it. So for the moment the only thing I have to take photos is my tablet. I hope the pictures don't hurt your eyes too much!
    I do have a few projects in mind to begin my activity. So be on the lookout. I will post again soon.

                       

Until then take care and the weekend is soon upon us, have fun!