On the 10th day of Christmas....

Rodez, Place Foch, Dec. 31 2012

I wonder why her shadow looks like "The Thinker"?

...I had some minor preparations to do for the New Year's Eve party, or "réveillon," that we are going to. 

As I posted two years ago on my "old blog," I'm not too big on this celebration. Too long, too late, too much food...at a time of year when I am usually too tired.

But since this year I have had longer Christmas holidays than usual, and also we didn't spend any time travelling, we both felt up to accepting the more or less standing invitation we have to celebrate New Year's with friends here in the village.

I think they know we are both pretty frazzled these days, so I got an easy but pleasant food task -- buying cheese and the wine to go with it.

For the bottles, I went to my favorite wine merchant's, La Cave Ruthène, and then I went uptown to buy cheese at another favorite Rodez place, Chez Marie: 

Chez Marie is a fab address and Marie is a fab person. Not only does she sell the best cheese in town, but her little shop, right behind the cathedral, is also a "cheese restaurant" with great food at reasonable prices.

I feel a New Year's Resolution -- no, intention, coming on. During the week, I have got to get out of my work neighborhood and into the town center more. Because, as my daughter just pointed out to me a few days ago, downtown Rodez is a very pleasant place.

On the 9th day of Christmas...

....I delved into two very different types of books.

After taking about a 3-week post-DELTA Module One break from reading books about English Language Teaching, I decided to go back to the basics with Jim Scrivener's Learning Teaching.

I had already read some chapters from it, but with the emphasis on practice that is coming up in DELTA Module Two, I thought I would go back to the beginning.

I really love this book. First, the new edition has the Millau Viaduct on it, so that can't be bad for someone who lives in Aveyron.

Second, Scrivener has a way of dividing language teaching stages into such easily comprehensible steps. He never seems to get preachy or dogmatic, and slips in the occasional bit of classroom reality by making statements along the lines of "at this point, you may want to stop the activity because your students are tired of it."

I think I am going to try to read, or re-read, the whole darned thing before going to my first DELTA Module Two session in...10 short days.

But all work and no play does not a vacation make. After spending the afternoon "learning teaching," I settled down to read in one of my Christmas presents:

I would have loved to have gone to the Edward Hopper show that's happening at Le Grand Palais until January 28.  But it looks like it probably isn't going to happen...then again...I just saw that it's open until 10pm on Thursdays, and I will be spending one night in Paris on January 24!

I'll see if I can squeeze it in. If not, the book is a lovely replacement.

On the 7th and 8th day of Christmas...

...reality struck in the form of a good look at what is awaiting me in the Cambridge DELTA course, Module Two.

I think I had been so obsessed with trying to pass Module One -- results are in February, so I'm not crowing too soon -- that I hadn't really looked that much into Module Two.

Today, I really plunged into the description in the official handbook.

All I can say is that it looks tough. I just finished an initial "reflective" paper...due date December 30th, they show no mercy! And I will be back in Strasbourg for a 9-day session very shortly -- departure on January 10!

On the 6th day of Christmas...

...I will be shamelessly materialistic and write just a bit about one of my Christmas presents. 

Despite my interest in communications technology, I was late to the smartphone game. But for Christmas 2012, I said good-bye to this...

...and hello to this:

I couldn't be happier! This is a really great gift that should make 2013 a lot more fun. 

On the 5th day of Christmas...

(Image source: http://www.daytimer.com/)

...I was going to brag a bit about "how much I had got done today."

But somehow it didn't really feel like that much.

In the meantime, through Twitter I ran into a very thought-provoking post from my old blogging buddy My Inner French Girl.

It was thinly veiled as "best wishes for the holidays," but it was actually about the multitude of online organizational tools that we can now use,  whether they really help us pare down our "to-do lists."

I haven't used a lot of those tools, but I have also given up on a tight paper system. I guess I'm 'twixt and 'tween.

As I commented on her post, I remembered that in the 80s, I had proudly adopted a Day Timer. I used it religiously, seemed to race through my "to-do lists," and have never felt so organized since.

Was it the Day Timer, or is it just the times that have changed?

On the 4th day of Christmas...

...it actually was Christmas!

So, if you celebrate it, Merry Christmas to you!

If you're reading this, I have probably already wished you a Merry Christmas via some other form of social media, likely Facebook or Twitter.

Have you noticed how present they have been this holiday? It seems like I spent almost as much of the day answering Facebook messages, keeping up with Christmas tweets,  and looking at other people's Christmas pictures -- not to mention writing old-fashioned emails --  as doing my own Christmas stuff.

I'm not saying this is a bad thing! It's just part of life now, and I suppose I'm happy it's part of mine.

On the third day of Christmas...

...I got a heck of a lot done! Last-minute food shopping, all of the gift wrapping, and some house-straightening.

Now I had better get to cooking! Our Christmas Eve dinner will be simple and has become our family tradition:

Starters: foie gras and saumon fumé on toast

Main Course: boudin blanc (see above), sautéed apples, and steamed potatoes

Dessert: A fancy bûche de Noël purchased from a local pastry shop

I love this meal because it is so easy to cook that the evening really feels like a true holiday!