The view from my window

The view from my window
The view from my window

Sunday 17 January 2021

Timing!

In July 2019 I sent off a request for an appointment with the French authorities to submit my dossier for French citizenship. I got an automated response and then nothing else but since I knew the delay would be very long I wasn't too worried. I have pretty much everything ready anyway, but two of my papers have to be less than three months old when the file is submitted so I've had to hang fire before getting them - a notarized copy of my divorce and an attestation from the tax people! Then my friend sent off her request in October last year and in the automated reply they said to re-send the email if it was a second request, putting the word "resubmit" in the heading. This she did and they got straight back to her with an appointment for December 2021! So I sent in a "resubmit" email and got bugger all. Then, yesterday I saw on FB that as of 1 January 2021 all paperwork must now be submitted online and the Prefecture in Annecy will no longer be taking appointments. Damn! I've waited, what, 18 months and now this. I looked up the link on the website and it looks pretty easy actually so hopefully if I get the two missing papers I can get that sent off in the next couple of weeks. Just as well really, I suppose, because the pass on my French language exam is only valid two years and then I have to take it again (I guess you forget how to speak French after two years then right)! And all this just to submit your dossier. The actual interview to see if you're integrated into French society will probably take another 2-3 years (seriously), but I suppose that at least gives me time to brush up on French history!

Things are still pretty quiet round here though. André has had two appointments with kitchen companies to see what he wants/can afford to get installed in his new apartment and is quite stoked. Then yesterday - as I handed him a coffee and a piece of cake - he suggested I might like to move in with him when the apartment is ready??? Yeah, right, buddy, it's either that or you learn how to cook right? Still it's been nice having him here and we really have been getting on very well so it's been a definite positive. I suppose, having someone here during this second lockdown has probably made it easier, I guess!

I see on the news that the NRA is in the process of declaring bankruptcy in New York and setting up again in Texas as a "non-profit". New York's Attorney General, Letitia James, has apparently been quoted as saying "you can't escape me with bankruptcy" so I guess there are fun times ahead! Seeing all the security precautions they're taking in D.C. makes me kinda sad though. Of course they would have to have enhanced security with any inauguration, but seeing all the barriers in front of the White House hit me somewhat. When we got married in 1985, after a short stint in a law firm I got a job at the World Bank, which is located just a few blocks away from the White House. So when I had nothing planned at lunch time I would walk down to the park to have my lunch, feed the ducks and sometimes stroll past the WH and there were none of those horrible security fences you see now. I know times change and security has had to be increased everywhere but... Heck where I worked we went from having a few overweight retired firemen posing as security (they were glorified parking attendants really), to being totally fenced in with a kind of "moat" on the lake side to prevent anyone from breaching the security fences, installing turnstiles we had to badge through and real security guards and ex-ray machines located in the main entrance (we used to get the anti-globalisation protesters whenever there were big trade meetings). Maybe the world has become a safer place for it, but it's a sad reflection on today's society isn't it!

In other news, my neighbour and I had planned to go walking yesterday since she has every second Friday off, but the day was wet and grey so we didn't go. Well that's not strictly true because around 4 p.m. the rain eased a little and I decided to get an hour's walk in along the railway line before our new 6 p.m. curfew (in force as of yesterday). Today, however, was totally different. The rain had stopped and the sun poked its nose through the clouds so she called me and asked if I wanted to go out. Sure! I would have liked to go up to La Clusaz but I saw on FB that there had been a landslide half way up the mountain gorge and the road was closed. So I suggested we go to Sixt Fer à Cheval and she said she was up for anything because - much to her shame - in the 18 years that she's lived here they have never been out exploring. Now I'm divorced and God knows my husband and I were at each other's throats at the end (I didn't like his girlfriend), but in the early days we were both very much up for getting out and discovering all there is to see around here - something which her husband just isn't interested in. So we set out and stopped off in Samoens so we could take a quick walk on one of the bridges above where they do white water rafting. I remember being one week away from giving birth and André (then four) went running off towards the bridge saying "look mommy, big", and when I got there I almost fainted as the drop over the side of the bridge was about 100 feet! He wasn't in any danger as he couldn't climb that high and I was only a few lumbering metres behind him but I got a fright anyway!

You can't really tell from this angle,
but this is a shot taken over the side of the bridge
and the drop is about 100 feet!

We tried to get up to the waterfall called Cascade du Rouget but the road was blocked part way up so maybe we can have shot at it another day by walking up - there just wasn't time today! It was such a pleasure to take Isabelle up there though because she kept saying "thank you so much for bringing me up here, it's fantastic" - and it really is!

When we got to the end of the gorge we parked up and managed to fit in a 90 minute "trudge" through the snow. If you stuck to the main paths it was okay but go slightly off to the side and you sank up to your knees in the snow, so we both agreed that we'd go looking for snow shoes this week so that we can go back and head out further. It was quite fascinating (to me at least) that in places where something had made a hole in the snow it was actually blue inside and so pretty. And "blue" definitely beats "yellow" as in "never eat the yellow snow" (dog pee)! When we got back from our walk we stopped off and had a glass of mulled wine but we really couldn't hang around too long (a) because of the curfew and (b) because when the sun went behind those mountains it got cold and dark really quickly!

Eerily quiet!


Don't go off piste!

On the way back we just had time to stop in at Picard, the nicest frozen food store around here, where we picked up "truffled mashed potatoes" and ice cream to take home. Isabelle kept saying how much she'd enjoyed herself. I think she's frustrated actually because she has a very stressful job (she's the main breadwinner) and would like to get out and do things during her time off but the kids aren't interested and sadly neither is her husband - although he's a really nice guy. Oddly enough as we were walking back to the car we were both saying how we often don't feel like we've achieved anything. We both cook and clean and keep our homes up but rarely feel like we achieve anything other than the mundane stuff. Maybe other people feel like that too, I don't know, but I sometimes get this odd feeling that I'm just "marking time" somehow and I don't like it. Maybe if we keep plugging away at the walking it will help us both!

When I'd made dinner I saw that Shrek was on TV so André and I sat and watched it. Gosh Eddie Murphy was wonderful as Donkey! I remember one time switching the DVD over to Spanish to see how the Spanish Donkey handled it and I have to say he was also brilliant. In any case André and I had a good laugh. After that Bill Nighy was continuing his documentary series on the world's most beautiful railway journeys and in this episode he was in Sri Lanka, and more specifically Kandy. Gosh that brought back some memories. While not being able to travel hasn't bothered me too much, and goodness knows I've saved an absolute fortune because I haven't been able to take any trips, I must admit I'm quite looking forward to when this bloody pandemic is over and I can scratch the itch that is the travel bug once again!

19 comments:

  1. 'Marking time' is exactly how I've been feeling of late and it is a horrible unsettling feeling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad it's not just me that feels like that. There's so much more I could be doing around the house, for instance, but it's like pulling teeth at the moment!

      Delete
  2. I am just ready to feel I can safely do a few things. I miss the theater. Right now a play that was scheduled for mid March in the Voldemort year is currently scheduled for June of this year .I guess we will see!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't see much let up here by March to be honest (although they're aiming to try to get things moving in time for the ski resorts to at least benefit from spring break) but I'm praying by end of spring/summer things improve. I really don't see going through another summer of this do you? Somehow I think people will no longer play the game as everyone has had enough of it - although I truly believe the restrictions are for the best to try to keep people as safe as they can!

      Delete
  3. Fingers crossed that all your paperwork goes smoothly and your citizenship is granted without delay. We've had so much rain of late, I fear any high winds would just lead to the felling of so many trees. I call the situation I find myself in 'treading water' it keeping me alive but it's very exhausting too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It'll be a long time before I get citizenship but I want to push ahead with it because I feel/felt so strongly about staying in the EU. In any case I will get a 10-year residence permit which is automatically renewed so I'm not worried about it either way. And I'm glad I mentioned "marking time" because it seems I'm not the only one - so not going totally mad then!

      Delete
  4. Goddess I loathe bureaucracy and paperwork. It gives me such a pain.

    The NRA bankrupt? Hardly. They are being sued and this is their way to keep some coins.

    I am shivering looking at your snow, though I'd like a little here. The dog would go nuts in it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think the NRA is bankrupt either - morally maybe but not financially, but they have filed apparently. As for the snow, it's usually not too cold because it has to warm up a little to snow. The wind is what makes it really cold but we don't get so much of that. And I bet your dog would love it. I watched a lovely Youtube video the other day of a labrador sliding down a slope on his back. It was so funny!

      Delete
  5. The wait for your French citizenship is crazy! What a horrible bunch of red tape. Your hike with your friend sounds perfect. I'm looking forward to one later but won't be tracking miles. I miss so much that yes, I feel like days just pass one to the next. I'm getting too restless in life, but also for my kids lives. I'm really putting my eggs in by summer basket for life to move forward again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think we're all hanging on to the "summer basket" for dear life aren't we. To be honest I don't know how much more people can take - unless they have lost someone to covid or have themselves been seriously ill!

      Delete
  6. I think a lot of us feel as if we are just "marking time." I've felt that way my entire life for the most part and here I am, still doing it. But, it makes for a life, doesn't it?
    I truly admire your walking, lady! What strength you have and here you are- building more!
    I find it so interesting that you have to pass the French exam to become a citizen. How many languages DO you speak?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At the end of my working life I kept telling myself that I would soon be free and I could go exploring any time I wanted, so not to actually do something about that when I AM free would make a lie out of everything I ever told myself wouldn't it. I don't walk with local groups (yet) though because they really are like mountain goats and even the over 80s leave me standing! As for languages, I have a degree in French and Spanish but my French is obviously a lot better than my Spanish. We also learned German and Russian at school. German - forget it, I couldn't get along with it but I liked Russian. Actually I considered taking it back up when I retired but it would have meant driving into Geneva (again) for the lessons plus they were expensive, so I chose Italian, which is a lot more relevant round here obviously. Pity we've only had about 6 lessons all told so far - bloody covid - but we'll get there and it is such a pretty language!

      Delete
    2. I meant to add re speaking French to obtain citizenship, the French logic is that if you become a citizen you get the right to vote and if you have the right to vote you should at least be able to follow political debate - and I totally agree with that (not that I tend to follow much political debate in France - but don't tell them)! But in any case, if you're going to live in a country and intend to integrate I think it's essential. If you never intend to integrate - well that's a whole other debate isn't it!

      Delete
  7. Since I'm only a little over an hour away from Washington I've been there numerous times and I can remember how it was before the fencing went up. The snow pictures are fabulous. Oh, and I must be one of the 5 people who have never seen Shrek.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When I was in D.C. there was just your bog standard set of railings in front of the White House and now - heck I doubt you'd even see it if you were standing right in front of it. As for Shrek, I had young kids (so a perfect excuse to watch this stuff). It's cute, but I thought Eddie was pure genius!

      Delete
  8. You are lucky to live in such a beautiful area, I don't understand your neighbour not having explored it. That said I was chatting today with my mum about my aunt, the one who lived in Geneva, and we were saying how limited her knowledge is of her local area. She's been here for almost 20 years now and still gets lost on a regular basis! I, on the other hand, love to go up unknown roads just to see where they go! I think applying for citizenship is long and complicated in most places. I know my son had a lot of hoops to jump through to get his Australian citizenship and in fact nearly lost out on it due to it being mishandled by an agent! Thankfully all was well in the end, but it was a stressful time for him.
    It's nice you and Andre have got on so well, you'll miss the company when he goes I'm sure, perhaps not enough to feel you want to move in with him though lol.
    Security everywhere is very visible now. I remember when we used to go to Glasgow airport just to go onto the outdoor balcony to watch the planes land and take off! We used to exit the plane on the steps and walk across to the main building. When we were in Fiji a few years ago we landed and they brought out steps for us to exit to the tarmac we commented on the memories that brought back! Changed days indeed now, and when you see what the idiots did in Washington last week, its no wonder!
    I'm not convinced we'll get our 'freedom' this summer but I live in great hope that the end of the year or next year will be 'normal' again, fingers crossed!! x

    ReplyDelete
  9. I know people who have absolutely no curiosity about where they live either but each to his own I guess. Some people love art (I don't), books (I do), golf (never) history (yes), stamp collecting (I'd rather have all my teeth out). I think my neighbour's husband just can't be bothered to be honest but he is a genuinely nice guy. I'm just glad that she's so happy to go out exploring! And like you I regret that we need such high security now. I guess we didn't realize what we had at the time did we!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I don’t like confronting the idea of just marking time but to be honest if I wasn’t in a support bubble with my Mum so I am at least allowed to drive out, even if it is just to sit in her living room for a change of scenery, I would be crawling up the wall by now. Walking locally from home is not just repetitive but oh so muddy and although last week’s snow brought us some relief on that score, it’s now melted and created more mud! Guess we all have to enjoy what we have and keep sharing: your snow looks fab, the admin less so.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's strange how countries have handled their lockdowns/restrictions differently. Here (at the moment) we have a 6 p.m. curfew but we can drive somewhere to go shopping/walking etc. I absolutely hated it when we were restricted to 1 km from home and for one hour - that really felt like I was trapped. Still, while we might all be miserable we don't have much choice but to keep on "marking time" do we. I'm glad you've at least got your mom's place to have a change of scenery. I guess some don't even have that!

      Delete