We've Adopted a French Custom -- the Aperitif!

Work Time

We're continuing to go through every room and closet in the house (next week we get to tackle the messy garage... oh boy!), and we're making decent progress. Melanie is the brains behind the operation, sorting all the crap stuff into different piles, while I'm the brawn that gets to haul everything outside.

Piles:

• Trash
• Shred (old credit cards, bank statements, etc.)
• Donate (stuff too good for the trash, but not something we want to keep)
• Storage (we're going to rent a 10x10 room at a storage facility)
• Daughter (items my daughter needs to look at later)
• etc.

We've decided that we just don't have time to sell anything, so we're donating our couches, dining room set, hutch, treadmill, etc. I've made about 15 trips to GoodWill and we'll have to rent a truck or something for the big stuff.

Aperitif Time

Campari is a popular aperitif

During breaks we like to research Paris and the French way of life. We're learning a lot, and we're not just focusing on the good stuff -- we're reading about the negatives, too. It's important not to overly romanticize everything or we run the risk of setting ourselves up for some major disappointments.

Last week Melanie read an article about a customary evening drink known as the "aperitif". The practice of drinking an alcoholic beverage to stimulate the appetite before dinner apparently dates back to 5th century Greece, but it was popularized by the French in the late 1800's.

The original "Aperitif a la Française" (French-style aperitif) consists of a dry alcoholic drink such as Vermouth, Sherry, Campari, Cognac, or Pastis (you might as well drink a black Twizzler), and a salty snack like peanuts or olives. These are consumed slowly, usually after 6:00 PM, and they signify that you have reached the end of your work day. In fact, you aren't even supposed to talk or think about work once the aperitif is delivered.

We've found this to be a great way to finally relax at the end of each day. In fact, we're finding that, just as we're starting to wear down, we begin to look forward to Aperitif Time and it gives us an extra burst of energy to wrap things up.