Translation: Impossible isn't French
How to use it
– Je ne peux pas le faire, c’est impossible ! (“I can’t do it, it’s impossible!) – Impossible n’est pas français. (”Nothing is impossible.“)
Why am I using French? Because we just had our French Ancestor Night!! We shared French fun facts, talked about our French ancestors, and ate French food to celebrate. It was wonderful!
Earlier this afternoon we had our weekly Zoom video call. Benson and Kylie joined us from Italy, and Jacob joined us from Tooele, Utah. Hannah was inside holding her new nephew, born to her older sister a week ago, so we didn't get to see her. Weston came up this weekend to spend time with his family, so we had a nice group here in person as well.
Benson shared some interesting French military history with us.
"Out of all recorded conflicts which occurred since the year 387 BC, France has fought in 168 of them, won 109, lost 49 and drawn 10; thus making France the most successful military power in European history."[1]
Then Jacob showed us this French pastry dessert that is basically made from bread dough, a ton of butter and a ton of sugar, ha ha. Sounds delicious!! It was created because someone stopped by a French bakery and wanted a large pastry made, but they were in a hurry. So the baker used what he had on hand and created this!
Amber shared some history of Louis Pasteur and how he created the first vaccines (for rabies and anthrax), implemented pasteurization and many other important discoveries. She also shared some beautiful French art with us. This one is called "The Vaccination", which was a nod to Louis Pasteur.
Scott shared some random fun facts, such as: In France, it is okay to marry someone posthumously. Not sure why you would do that, but okay . . . I guess. :)
Then it was my turn to share information about our French ancestors, Nicholas Lanier (born 1566 in Rouen, France, later immigrated to London and married our Italian ancestor, Lucretia Bassano); and Johannes Schnapp (born 1695 in Alsace, France and later immigrated to the Shenandoah Valley, VA).
Nicholas Lanier is on my mom's line through the Normans. He is my 13th great grandfather.
Johannes Schnapp is on my dad's line through the Sniders. He is my 6th great grandfather.
After we all had a turn to present, the boys began to be their usual silly selves. Here we see some noses up close.
And here, Jacob is asking Benson (based on the wrinkles on his forehead) what military rank it most closely resembles!!
After everyone else hung up (we chatted for an hour), Benson and Kylie stayed on the line with me for a little longer. I was able to discuss Christmas ideas with them, and Weston and Amber were able to ask Benson several questions about the Air Force.
It looks like Weston will be joining the Air Force once he graduates as an Optometrist in the spring. Once he finishes basic training and gets settled into his first assignment, he will be a Captain right out of the gates!! They are excited about their military future together!!
Then it was on to preparing our Grand French dinner.
Kylie found this delicious recipe for Chicken Fricassee and even tried it out in advance of our special day. It's basically chicken thighs in a creamy sauce with carrots, onions, celery and mushrooms, with fresh herbs.
The recipe can be found here:
Amber made Green Beans Almandine. The beans are blanched, then pan fried. The recipe also includes toasted slivered almonds, crumbled bacon, and lemon zest. It was SO GOOD!!
Recipe can be found here:
Scott made all the crepes. A good old fashioned stand-by and oh-so-satisfying.
We used this recipe tonight:
Amber helped make some French flags to add to the ambiance. Here's Gwen, waving her flag proudly.
Yesterday, I made the French Apple Tart. It's basically an apple pie, but with just one crust. And it's not your traditional pie dough either. It's way better! Then, you place all the apple slices vertically to make a pleasing design.
Before it went in the oven:
I just tried it a few minutes ago. OH. MY. GOSH. It is so delicious!! It's mostly apples, so I'm sure it will be okay to snitch a second slice. It's probably fine.
We also made Cheesy Croissant (breakfast) Casserole for dinner last night. I had intended to make it for breakfast this morning (Sunday), but I forgot that it was Fast Sunday and we would not be eating breakfast! So Scott and I had it for dinner last night, while Amber and Weston went to Rigby for the annual Whitworth family "Spooky Dinner".
The recipe includes toasted croissants, crumbled bacon, eggs mixed with heavy cream AND milk, 2 kinds of cheeses, and fresh herbs. After letting the croissants soak up the mixture for a while in the fridge, then it goes in the oven.
So the casserole looked amazing. It even tasted amazing! But it was too cheesy and too carbolicious and ended up being too much for my tummy.
Here is the recipe that I used:
https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a19448795/cheesy-croissant-casserole-recipe/
It was a really fun weekend, celebrating the French culture and bringing our children into the experiences at the same time, even though they were all over the world.
Next month's focus (even though technically it's November already) will be: Scandinavian food, culture, and family history. Hooray for Ancestor Night!!
As for the rest of the week . . .
Monday: I felt great, especially after having a few days off work during our mini-quarantine last week. So I decided to head out and run a bunch of errands. I had my monthly massage, which was amazing and wonderful as usual. Then I went in search of winter boots and another pair of comfy shoes that don't hurt my feet after being in them for only a few hours.
I found success on all counts, but I had to go to 3 stores to find what I wanted. I think I found the comfiest pair of winter boots that I've ever had in my whole life!
While I was at Fred Meyer, I sent Amber a picture of all the coats on sale there, since she was on the hunt for one. She ended up just loading the girls into her car and meeting me there at the store. I entertained the girls while she tried different coats on. She didn't find anything at the right price, even though she fell in love with more than one coat there, so she's still hunting and trying to be patient.
After dinner, Amber joined up with the Whitworths for a family home evening lesson via Zoom. I helped bathe the girls and blow-dry their hair in front of the warm fire downstairs while they tried to warm up. After the girls briefly joined the discussion with the Whitworth clan, Amber enlisted my help to get the girls ready for bed while she had a chance to play a game with the other grown-ups. I happily helped Abby and Gwen to brush their teeth and then we read a few stories while we waited for Amber to come down for prayers. They always do bedtime prayers over Facetime with Weston. Such a sweet and lovely habit to be consistent with!
After the girls went to bed, I noticed that I wasn't feeling well AGAIN!! My throat was sore and swollen and I felt pretty lousy. I watched a little bit of The Voice with Scott before going to bed. I hoped that I would feel better by the next morning.
Here is Gwen being silly while sitting on the potty.
Tuesday: I woke up feeling "okay". I was tired, but at least my throat was better. But most of the day I just felt so lousy. It's hard to even really describe what my symptoms were. My head felt like it weighed a ton. I kept feeling like I had a fever, but when I checked it with our new digital thermometer, it was only 97.6. I had 2% energy. I had 0.5% gumption. And I felt really run down.
I had to excuse myself from a young women presidency meeting that same evening because I wasn't feeling well. I spent some time making phone calls and texting other moms to see if someone could fill in for me Wednesday night when all the youth were heading to the corn maze. The election office was expecting my help starting Thursday and through the election next Tuesday. How was I supposed to do any of those things when I felt like garbage?
As I was lamenting about my pathetic little situation that afternoon, these words popped into my mind, accompanied by a strong feeling of encouragement: "Ask Scott to give you a priesthood blessing." As soon as I gave it the slightest bit of consideration, I felt my eyes burning with tears. I know someone in heaven was concerned about me and was trying to help me. Plus, it had been a long time since I had had the privilege of receiving a blessing from my husband. I think the last time he gave me a blessing was right before he left last August (2019) to serve in Saudi Arabia for a year.
When he got home later that afternoon, he inquired as to how I was feeling. I brought him up to speed and asked if he could give me a blessing. He said, "I would love to give you a blessing." So he did. I felt at peace afterward, knowing that everything would be okay soon enough.
Wednesday: I was feeling somewhat better, and therefore was able to get up and do a little more. I had a killer headache all morning, which I finally squelched with Diet Coke around lunchtime. Ibuprofen could not fix the headache, but the occasional caffeine certainly does the trick!
That evening, Scott and Gwen helped me "wash" the dishes. They mostly had fun playing in all the bubbles, ha ha.
Thursday: I was feeling very tired again, all day long. It was so frustrating! I even wondered at one point, "Am I depressed??" My neighbor, Kim Parkinson, came over that evening to visit, and when I told her how I had been feeling, she shared that her husband, Ben, had been feeling the same symptoms! He had even described feeling "heavy". Yes! That's exactly what I had been feeling, but couldn't quite put into words. It felt like my body was made out of lead, especially my head.
It was reassuring to know that it wasn't just me. But I was still worried about going back to work on Friday. It turned out they didn't need me on Thursday (thank goodness), so I was happy to have another day to rest up and get better.
Friday: I got up early, around 5:45 a.m. and got ready for work. I worked 10.5 hours at the Election Office and helped 1300 voters to vote on the last day of early voting. Yes, 1300 voters. The most they've ever had in the past was around 800 voters on the last day of early voting. It was a crazy circus all day long, somewhat organized, but a somewhat organized chaos.
But the best thing was that I felt good all day! I had the energy and focus that I needed. And I made it!
When I got home around 7:00 p.m. Friday evening, Amber and Weston were out doing a Halloween Scavenger Hunt around the neighborhood with Marissa and Azure. Amber and a couple ladies from our ward helped to organize a little parade down Coronado Street at 4:30 p.m. and then a go-whenever-it's-convenient-for-you Scavenger Hunt after dark.
Abby and Gwen sure do love hanging out with their little cousin, Azure. Gwen is getting much better about all the hugs that Azure loves to give.
Saturday: Happy Halloween! After spending the afternoon baking and prepping for today's French dinner, it was time for trick or treating.
Abby dressed up like Super Girl, while Gwen chose to be Tiana (from the Princess and the Frog).
Weston dressed up as a Darth Vader optometrist (with a mask that he made himself with his 3-D printer), while Amber chose a more relaxing character - Bob Ross, the painter. Here she is painting a happy little tree.
We weren't sure what to expect as far as any trick-or-treaters, but we had candy for whoever decided to put in the work.
At one point, we looked out the front window to see if anyone was coming at all, and I noticed how horribly dirty the living room window was! Between grandchildren making streaks and handprints on the inside, combined with dust and 2 seasons' worth of accumulation on the outside, it was time to clean it! We could hardly even see out, especially when the sun was hitting it just right.
So we decided to clean the windows! We had a bucket already mixed up with the blue cleaner liquid (thanks to Jacob and Benson and their window washing business from a couple years ago), so it literally took about 5 minutes to do ALL the main floor windows - both inside and out! I took care of the inside panes, while Scott did the outside ones. We sure make a good team!
Much better.
Scott was kind enough to answer the door for trick-or-treaters for most of the evening. He let me lay down and put my feet up, which was nice. We only had about 10 or less doorbell chimes for the whole night! With each person that came, we made sure to give them a whole handful of candy, instead of the usual 2-piece rationing.
In between answering the door, Scott and I watched a movie and ate our Cheesy Croissant Casserole. It was a very relaxing evening.
Later, after Amber and her family got back home, I got a group text from my mom, telling us that my sister-in-law, Stephanie, had contracted COVID-19 and wasn't doing very well. She is married to my youngest brother, Michael, and they live up in Post Falls, Idaho (near Coeur d'Alene). They have 2 little boys, Jaxon (5) and Logan (2), who have very fragile immune systems. Stephanie works at the local hospital, and probably contracted the virus there.
Here is what my mom's texts said, following a conversation with my little brother, Mike, last night:
Several of us chose to fast for Stephanie and her family during our monthly fast today. I hope that she will get feeling better soon! Here is what she wrote on Facebook Saturday evening:
And one last thing . . .
While Scott and I were at church today, and the Whitworths were doing home church (we just started doing a split schedule with half the ward going one week and the other half going the next week), well . . . , Abby had a little accident.
She wanted some gum up in the kitchen cupboard above the computer nook. The chair for the computer has wheels. It also spins very easily. We have mentioned to Abby many times that it's not safe to stand on the chair, or to climb up on the counter while using that as her anchor.
But . . . there's gum . . . and she really wanted it.
At some point, she fell and whacked her forehead pretty bad. She's had a huge goose egg on her forehead all day long, and by tonight it was starting to turn colorful. Weston assessed it, and evaluated her for a concussion, which he determined was negative. But ouch! It looks so painful! Poor thing.
Looking forward to a busy week as we finish up the election, finish up getting the yard ready for winter, and finish making our plans on how to renovate our master bathroom.
GO VOTE (if you haven't already). XOXO
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