The view from my window

The view from my window
The view from my window

Tuesday 31 January 2023

You vill eat zee bugs!

This week has been pretty nice - cold of course, but lovely sunshine (and no more snow, for the time being). There were 12 of us at my place on Saturday night for our latest board game evening and as ever, I'm still pretty surprised that we're still going. I thought it would fizzle out before now to be honest, but nope, it seems everyone is just as keen to keep going! We played a game a bit reminiscent of a visual "Chinese Whispers" (although in French it's the "Arab telephone"), where you would be given a word to draw, then the next person had to describe it in words, and the next person had to draw something based on that description. It was pretty easy to play but it gave us quite a few laughs - although not as many laughs as we had with my new Amazon candles!

I mentioned before that one corner of my living room is quite dark because the plug sockets in that corner are naff so I don't have a light there. So with that in mind I bought three battery-operated candles from Amazon that I could leave on the coffee table if ever we are sitting down there. They also gave me a chance to play with Charlie by showing him how to blow on the candles and they would light up or turn off (all depending on where I held the remote control of course)! Well he was pretty taken with it for a while, and then a little later I saw Jen's friend, Julien, over there repeatedly blowing on the candles. I assumed he was playing with Charlie but when I realized the babe was behind me, I went over and asked him what he was doing and he told me he was trying to figure them out. At that point I burst out laughing and showed him the remote control! He was pretty embarrassed .... that is until we were all sitting at the table and I put one of the candles in front of Charlie again to keep him occupied. And that was when Isabelle picked it up and started blowing on it - and then her daughter did the same and they couldn't figure it out either! Isabelle's husband was cracking up laughing because he could see me messing with the remote, and when they finally cottoned on she started laughing and couldn't stop. She has a very infectious laugh and I think it's been a long time since we've all lost it like that, so I can highly recommend those candles (if your friends are maybe a bit slow on the uptake and/or alcohol might be involved)!

They were something like this!

Jordan is still working up at Flaine where it is -18°C during the day (-4°F). He says while it's not too bad, it'll be a lot better when they put the windows in the hotel - I'll bet! He's still enjoying it though and what with the extra money they're paying him to pick up the Romanian plumbers in town he told me he's now doubling the salary he was making when he worked with Max. Add to that the fact that he's not paying for petrol and I'd guess he can count another €400/month just for that, so I'm really pleased for him!

I'm still plodding on with my decluttering and cleaning (always easier when you've pitched a load of stuff), but while I was vacuuming in the end bedroom the other day it brought to mind a story a colleague told me when I first arrived in Geneva. At the time she was dating a young physicist who was working at CERN (the European nuclear research place - think Hadron Collider) and Manfried, being basically lazy, told her that he reckoned he'd figured out a way to "zap" the dust out of his apartment without dusting! So he ran a wire over most of the surfaces with the intention of running an electric current through it - which would then, theoretically, attract all the dust away from his furniture and onto the wire. It ended up leaving wire-shaped burn marks all over his furniture. They broke up not long after that (and thankfully I think he had nothing to do with the Hadron Collider)! 

I got quite a big job sorted in the kitchen too the other day when I pulled all my herbs and spices out. Man oh man, do I have a lot. I guess every time I was looking for ground cumin and couldn't find it I went out and bought another packet from the Chinese store! I ended up covered in all kinds of exotic spices and smelling like a curry house but at least that is done and sorted!

On Monday I had my last yoga lesson for two weeks as the yoga teacher's kids are on mid-term (ski) break until 20 February. Two weeks ago we did a class that centred around balance and boy did I hate it. While I know balance is extremely important, particularly as we get older, I was hopping round that place like a drunken pirate with a wooden leg! Yesterday's class worked on the lower back - which was great - but crikey you realize just how easy it isn't when you try to do some of that stuff. And talking of balance, I decided to take myself off to the lake at Passy for a walk today, but what I hadn't realized is that the path around the lake is still extremely icy so after walking up to the "beach" I decided to turn round and go back as I really don't want to go flying again and maybe break something. It was very cold but still stunning, all the same!


And what do you think about the EU's latest "offering" where certain crushed up bugs/insects have now been approved for inclusion in food products!!!!! I first read about it here and if I remember right, it was going into effect on 24 January. Since then at least a few other media outlets have picked it up and several of the better MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) are also raising the issue (thank you the wonderful Virginie Joron). There are a few really good MEPs (Christine Anderson of Germany, Cristian Terhes of Romania) and a few others whose names I can't remember and thank goodness for them, because otherwise we'd be left with people like the Greek MEP who had hundreds of thousands of euros in cash in a carrier bag in her apartment and can't for the life of her think how it got there (she's now in jail I believe)! Anyway, it would seem that certain bugs (crickets, mealworms etc.) have now been approved for grinding up into a kind of flour and included in food products. They're mainly destined for junk food like cookies, crisps, frozen pizza and ready meals, etc. but will also be included in certain pasta and bread producs under their latin names, of course! I'm off shopping tomorrow so I'll definitely be taking my glasses with me and using my Yuka app (I'll be curious to see if it picks up "ground crickets"). I'll let you know, but bloody hell, what on earth will they come up with next!

Yuka app!

And finally, for no other reason than I just discovered them (better late than never), I've included a video by an Irish trio called Foil, Arms and Hog who I think are hilarious! Take away "mammy's" Irish accent and give her a Welsh one and you've got me and my mom going out clothes shopping - which thankfully didn't happen too often!

20 comments:

  1. Insects supposedly have a lot of protein, so they may show up in more than cookies, and crisps. I burn a lot of candles, mostly for their scent. The pine scented ones do a really good job of covering up Biggie's flatulence.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well these candles obviously don't have any scent - but they sure gave us a good laugh!

      Delete
  2. Say what? Bugs in food? Whoever approved that should be made to eat live bees. That's a cute story about the candles. Sounds like a fun night.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know some cultures do eat bugs but my thought is that these foods should be VERY clearly labelled so people have a choice - and of course some people are allergic anyway! I'd bet they weren't eating bugs at Davos though!

      Delete
  3. It really ticks me off what 'they' are allowed to put in our food and not have to clearly label it. Just like sugar here in the US has 61 different names that you have to search for. Why do they need to put sugar in everything?? That is the reason we mainly eat everything that I make from scratch. You still have to be careful though. I love the story about the candles. Too funny!! Have a great week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've just come back from grocery shopping and used my Yuka app on everything (people looked at me like I was nuts)! Apart from the obvious culprits (candy, chocolate etc.) which you know are going to be bad, I was quite surprised at the self-raising flour - not good at all! Other than that, most things rated as fair to good! Mind you, this law has only just gone into force so I guess it will take a while to kick in with the dessicated crickets! I tend to cook everything from scratch too but I sense that in the future I'll be shopping more and more at the organic/health food store too!

      Delete
  4. I don't know. Somehow the idea of ground crickets in my cookies don't bother me much. I suppose I am very pragmatic about these things.
    I watched the little video. Yes- it's perfect.
    What a beautiful place you live in! Cold but beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I could deal with ground up bugs in food too BUT I feel very strongly that it should be widely advertised so that people have the choice. Somehow I don't see that happening. And yes those Irish lads are great aren't they!

      Delete
  5. I would want to know if there were insects in food, so that I could avoid them. Yuck. I know they're high in protein but I'm not there yet, not even close.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm with you 100%! I know some cultures do eat bugs but what I feel so strongly about is informed consent - and that I fear is not coming any time soon!

      Delete
  6. Eating bugs in my food does not sound appetizing at all

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same here - and I won't be doing it if I can help it! That's why it needs to be made VERY public so people can make a choice! I also don't see that it's in any way necessary!

      Delete
  7. Oh, my goodness, your local lake is stunning, and in the snow! Picture postcard, but yes to the health benefits of a walk not being offset by breaking an ankle. I slipped over a couple of weeks ago onto my tailbone and I am being very careful where I put my feet in the garden now..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The lake at Passy is beautiful all year round and a very easy, flat walk, but you're right - not worth breaking a bone for! I also fell on the ice the other week but luckily didn't hurt anything. Banging your tailbone has got to be very painful!

      Delete
  8. Curiously my daughter who claims to be vegetarian or even vegan depending which way the wind blows, offered me a taste of some kind of cereal bar she was munching on where the main source of protein was crickets. Apparently as she follows a veggie diet purely for sustainability reasons, insects are allowed. I declined the oppportunity to try!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've had a couple of people tell me that it wouldn't phase them. I guess my only point is that it should be well indicated so people can make informed choices. I read on a couple of sites that chitin (which I believe can be found in the shell) can have an adverse effect for some people but who knows. For me (for the time being at least) I'll pass!

      Delete
  9. I have two sets of those candles. I keep one out and use that set. The other is stored with Christmas items. That is funny about them trying to blow it out. I will have to remember that trick.
    No bugs intentionally put in my food. We already eat bugs and eggs that cannot be erdicated from food. Let's not put it in there intentionally.
    My balance is gone! I don't think I can improve.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. While they're obviously not candles it was really funny to watch them get taken in! Wish I'd been quick enough to video it! And you're right, I think there is enough crap in our food that we maybe don't know about so I personally don't think we need to add more!

      Delete
  10. LOL at those candles! Tbh, I am not too concerned with what is in my food, I eat viennas right from the tin. But I can see that things should be labelled in general properly - we've had baby powder turn out to be toxic / cancerous :/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's the labelling that I'm concerned with since I believe people should be made aware and have a choice! And wasn't J & J fined big time for the baby powder scandal? I thought I heard it was asbestos in baby powder, but I'm not sure!

      Delete