tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88235091767409122642012-02-16T21:43:32.177+01:00life in a quiet region of the Paris suburbsNadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.comBlogger341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-81442994368732643862008-06-14T16:59:00.009+02:002008-06-14T17:12:52.059+02:00

Image via WikipediaI recently worked for a conference held in this area's administrative 'capital' and some of the information I received reinforced observations I had made on the ground or read in the papers.This general area (91 on the map), which was originally mainly farming land and a few small and bigger villages is quickly turning into a premium location for high-level scientific and HPC

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-78976550271980972012008-04-02T14:40:00.004+02:002008-04-02T15:04:27.459+02:00

I have been so busy with work both out of the home and from home, that I have spent the last couple of days entrenched in my office. I remembered yesterday that on the first day of the month, I have to park the car on the other side of the street, unless I am prepared to be fined for being parked right in front of my house.We are in a part of the neighborhood where the street parking system is:

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-74448670922479088992008-03-25T20:06:00.002+01:002008-03-25T20:09:33.897+01:00

1st two red flowers of the season: Fancy Tulips Originally uploaded by solstice54 Flowers in the garden come up in colored waves. The yellow wave is still on, and these two beauties are the first of the red wave. Love them!

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-25685090933213535552008-03-15T23:31:00.008+01:002008-03-16T13:35:50.634+01:00

Attending the inaugural meeting of the new municipal council this morning was interesting. I had attended a council meeting just once a long time ago, when our parents' association was lobbying to get important work done around the school. It was the 'old team' already, so it can't have been more than 12 years ago.The hall was packed with all those who had voted for/were supporting the new team.

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-65996004582819773152008-03-13T19:26:00.004+01:002008-03-13T19:47:49.105+01:00

After 12 years of the same team, it feels a bit strange that the incumbent mayor is leaving office after last Sunday's local election. The new mayor won on the first round, whereas a number of others have to toil this entire week to try and get in next Sunday.Although he won only by a slim majority (86 votes), he got in. Next, we'll see what's going to change.The first meeting of the new team

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-40271525257807934592008-03-02T14:47:00.002+01:002008-03-02T14:58:25.871+01:00

I do miss the opportunity to blog. Except that I have other demanding tasks to perform, so... I don't get much time to think about it.Things are moving locally. The local elections will be next Sunday, and there seems to be a very limited choice of candidates. This gives my preferred side more chances, for once. We have had the same Mayor for 12 years now, and all she seems to be doing is

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-3336576758879865622008-02-25T20:11:00.002+01:002008-02-25T21:45:24.092+01:00

He who last May said that he was going to change our lives for the better and to solve each and every problem of ours is in a tight corner now. But there is nothing to feel smug about, even though he has made a number of psychological and real mistakes in the past few months.I have already discussed how I feel that people here in the suburbs are now reduced to trying to have a decent life. We are

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-48121744703729509402008-02-14T15:11:00.002+01:002008-02-14T15:15:49.389+01:00

Unbelievable, today is February 14, and we haven't had a real winter... again.Last year or the year before, I don't remember exactly, which is either a sign of aging or a sign of disappearing winters, we had a really bad MORNING. I was driving to Paris, and didn't make it past a certain hill, where trucks were all over the place, preventing cars from moving past them.Today again, the weather is

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-58234697971806843192008-02-13T10:05:00.006+01:002008-02-13T21:39:04.121+01:00

I was working in Paris yesterday, in one of the poshest parts of the city. I had to drop a check into my daughter's account, so I went to the branch there, rather than to our branch here.I arrived at the bank at the same time as a slightly older gentleman. I didn't know this particular place, so it took me some time to find the forms, write my check, etc. But that wasn't a problem, as an elderly

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-24039647045753020972008-02-11T10:50:00.000+01:002008-02-11T11:01:47.117+01:00

I chanced upon this fun exercise a few weeks ago, and jumped in:http://www.citizenofthemonth.com/2008/01/18/the-great-interview-experiment/What I liked about it, is that because you are interviewed by the person immediately ahead of you in the list of comments, and you interview the person immediately behind you, there is no complicated selection, you are where you are in the queue and you are

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-8475981696713893362008-02-09T15:00:00.000+01:002008-02-09T15:33:40.317+01:00

Everyone is complaining that French buyers are not buying enough. But read what happened to me today.I try to avoid shopping at the supermarket on Saturdays, because I can really avoid to do that, and because I hate being in crowds. But today was a quiet day, so my shopping should have been peaceful, leisurely and enjoyable.But there is so much you can accept, as a shopper. As I entered the

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-86596535743249034792008-02-02T10:38:00.000+01:002008-02-02T10:44:13.018+01:00

Now is such a time.Being a small business owner means that sometimes you have to more or less disappear from radar screens. To do you job, simply, because my job is one that requires a lot of mental concentration, and I can be absorbed for hours without noticing.So although I am not forgetting about this blog, I simply don't have the time, or the energy to maintain it. But that is only now.I

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-30379231644721194232008-01-26T11:52:00.000+01:002008-02-09T15:46:54.649+01:00

Since I started this personal blog, I've set up a Google Alert to get the news about this area.I set up one for my town, but it keeps returning the exact opposite, news about foreign affairs, as I explained in a previous post.The alerts I receive are based mostly on reports in the main local daily called Le Parisien. It is not the kind of paper I would normally buy, or even read online. It's too

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-56949633247591896842008-01-21T19:11:00.000+01:002008-01-26T19:23:01.903+01:00

I am a member of a classmate network, two of them really, but the more recent one is becoming my primary classmate network.When did that movement start? I don't know. The first one I joined existed around 2000-1, and I don't know when this one started, but I joined in October, when I was looking for a young person, because I had some bad news for him. Relationships are becoming complicated in our

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-12311952706936797072008-01-21T01:22:00.000+01:002008-01-21T01:49:31.080+01:00

This may have something to do with suburban life, but I find it difficult to keep current with what is happening in my area. The town magazine (full-color, heavy paper) is published only once a month, so most of the news it contains relate to local events that happened some time ago.I also use Google Alerts, and they often return pieces from a widely-distributed daily newspaper called Le Parisien

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-686673825540878642008-01-19T23:30:00.000+01:002008-11-14T07:08:20.687+01:00

I've had to slow down, my knee isn't feeling better, so I don't drive far, and it would take me ages if I walked. I'm seeing a doctor on Tuesday, then we'll see.I had to do some shopping at the local supermarket. I decided to drive there at lunchtime, in order to avoid the crowds, especially on a Saturday. I didn't want to fight my way through a sea of trolleys, and stand in a long queue at the

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-47945002126603123472008-01-18T16:16:00.001+01:002008-11-14T07:08:20.829+01:00

Oooops, as I was messing around with the settings yesterday, I must have changed something, because just as I started writing this heading, it was instantly transliterated to Hindi script!I have learned Bengali, but not Hindi, and anyway, I'm not writing in either language. But it's an interesting feature, that you find under the Settings tab.Today is already the 18th of January, and I haven't

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-56990377152842980652008-01-16T00:39:00.000+01:002008-01-16T01:32:27.924+01:00

I went to Paris for dinner with my 'Bengali group' tonight.We usually end up at the Dishny Restaurant in Paris (see address below). I like it because it's quick, cheap and most importantly, good. I had a mixed dosai (a kind of big crepe with meat and vegetable filling), and several spicy sauces, and sweet, Indian tea. Mmmmm... lovely.I learned Bengali for 4 years and actually graduated last June.

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-57939382544914835422008-01-13T18:18:00.001+01:002008-11-14T07:08:20.967+01:00

With the New Year rush, I hadn't noticed them, but here they are: my first daffodils of 2008.They are more or less on time. In previous years, they came out earlier and earlier, last year it was in December. Still, early January is a little early. The yellow ladies are turned southward, away from the house, trying to catch as much sunlight as possible. I think that the snowdrops are coming out

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-19660623169091843202008-01-12T00:24:00.000+01:002008-01-12T01:05:05.292+01:00

Who would think it was that complicated to get an ID card when you are a French citizen? Well, it is.My younger daughter got mugged on the train last year and one thing leading to another, she never got her ID card re-issued. Now she needed to have it done, because in order to get a French passport, you have to have a valid ID card, and she needs a new passport this Summer.The way these things

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-23481665785096995052008-01-07T21:52:00.000+01:002008-02-09T16:03:49.963+01:00

The news is everywhere in the French press today, and on the radio, but I have yet to find a reference to it elsewhere.The National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) at Orsay is getting a new supercalculator in March.To be quite honest, I don't know exactly what this does, apart from a lot of number-crunching at very high speed. The good thing is that it's going to be used to monitor climate

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-50180165715612761762008-01-06T19:04:00.000+01:002008-01-07T21:52:04.068+01:00

I was writing the other day about public transport in this area. I've just received the Essonne department's magazine, and what do I see?'Priority to be given to public transport'The web article is slightly different from the paper version, but there it is. At long last. Never mind that the various projects will concern mainly the eastern part of the department, somewhere I hardly ever go unless

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-13765595371649335092008-01-03T23:41:00.000+01:002008-01-04T20:44:51.978+01:00

In an effort to curb the use of private motor vehicles within the boundaries of Paris, the present (socialist) Mayor had the Mairie de Paris sign an agreement with the famous JC Decaux company (the billboard maker) for the operation of a bicycle lending system in Paris.This being a good idea, another 30 suburban municipalities attempted to make a separate agreement with a US company, for the same

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-9954294784813204302008-01-03T01:37:00.001+01:002008-11-14T07:08:21.177+01:00

The Paris Champs Elysées: January 1, 2008As I was strolling down the Champs yesterday afternoon, one realization suddenly jumped on me. So many children!I was with these friends: C and J, a retired and retiring couple, therefore slightly older than me, with their dog, and N, an old lady who is a friend of theirs. Everywhere we looked, we saw babies and toddlers. Unbelievable.This is because on

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-69418333122711811652008-01-02T20:09:00.000+01:002008-01-03T01:32:46.805+01:00

It seems that the figures I reported yesterday about the number of cars reduced to ashes in the suburbs on New Year's Eve may have been underestimated. All in all, the Interior Ministry declared that 37,000 police were on duty on Monday night, and 'only' 372 cars were destroyed throughout France, but the opposition is adding up the figures in all the départments and finding, apparently, a higher

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-1885119832679326222008-01-01T10:56:00.000+01:002008-01-01T11:16:45.484+01:00

Only about 20 cars were torched last night in Essonne, the broad area where I live, South of Paris.I did hear a few loud bangs here, and my dog went wild for a couple of minutes, but generally speaking it seems to have been a quiet night in the suburbs.The drop is not surprising. In Paris alone, 4,500 policemen were patrolling the highest-risk areas, including the Champs Elysées. It must have

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-9550657810708377342007-12-31T10:42:00.000+01:002008-11-14T07:08:21.395+01:00

I always find that the last day of any year is not one I want to spend rushing around buying Champagne and food for New Year's Eve.I don't even have plans for tonight, although I have an idea that I may spend the evening having a quiet meal with a friend who recently lost her father and might like to have some company when her teenage children go off to parties (my own children go to their own

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-32758744646554393062007-12-30T12:01:00.000+01:002007-12-30T12:13:25.925+01:00

I've been so busy working on my business blog recently, and generally doing social networking on the internet, that I have stopped checking my list of bookmarks. It has grown to such a size that I had to do something about it.First I decided to de-clutter my needlework bookmarks, those that I was following every day last summer. I have deleted about a quarter of them. Most of these I had kept on

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-22758829050438081452007-12-29T13:56:00.000+01:002008-01-20T00:25:03.439+01:00

This time, it could be called a New Year present. I just received the gas bill.That's another interesting development. Until last year or the year before, you received only one bill from EDF-GDF. It was rather convenient, considering that I had only one entry to make in my accounts (and I had to calculate the professional share only once a month) instead of having 2 entries and 2 different

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-24786721071639594712007-12-28T18:49:00.000+01:002007-12-28T19:12:23.728+01:00

The local January 2008 newsletter made its way to my mailbox this morning, so I perused it in search of interesting things to do.I normally don't take the time to participate much in local events, unless someone I know is involved and I want to support him/her. I did take part in a quilt exhibition once, and was quite proud of it, but usually I'm too tired to go out after a day's work, and when I

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-90554839078822067142007-12-26T22:19:00.000+01:002007-12-26T22:23:41.835+01:00

I'm off to Rouen tomorrow, on a family business.So tonight I'm finishing some work due tomorrow.When I return, I'll have more time to continue this blog. It's hard to maintain when you are called upon to call on people, accompany people shopping, etc.So watch this space. Maybe from Friday on, I'll be more available.

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-80897677965848222332007-12-25T10:57:00.000+01:002008-11-14T07:08:21.592+01:00

A quiet morning today.The rule is, now that the girls are grown up, to open presents as close as possible to midnight, so that everyone can have a slow morning.I got up fairly early because the dogs have to go out. This picture is the view from my sitting room. I am sorry I wasn't able to capture the rosy glow of the new day. This is the view facing South-West, and the sun wasn't completely up

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-75304481214526944462007-12-23T13:15:00.000+01:002008-01-20T00:26:04.630+01:00

... from the electricity company. My annual bill!It has a nice heading now. In a marketers' world, EDF (Electricité de France) has a new logo, with the phrase 'bleu ciel' in white handwriting over a blue cloud.See?Looks like a dream... and vaguely reminds me of this TV kiddie program when I was a child, "Bonne Nuit les Petits", where the boy puppet would throw a handful of twinkling sand,

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8823509176740912264.post-56267306456339230962007-12-22T23:47:00.000+01:002008-01-20T00:26:33.242+01:00

Somehow it feels strange to start a blog just before Christmas, when social activities are slowing down as we get more interested in last-minute shopping and family gatherings.I did go out to buy a couple of things this afternoon, but either everyone had already deserted the mall or there is less milling around than there was last year (which was already less crowded than the year before).The

Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01626134382734089846noreply@blogger.com0