Did someone call for an ostéopathe?

He looks pretty impressive in his clinic-wear, eh?



Jonathan has been working in the clinic as part of his studies for two years now. He's treated about 75 patients and will be increasing his patient load soon. Recently he was contacted by a French magazine that will be running an article on alternative medicine and needed photos of a very handsome osteopath. (Well, something like that.)

The article will come out in March and the magazine is distributed in 40 countries. So famous!



A big thank you to Dorine for taking the photos and to Thomas, the patient. (They are both graduating in the spring with Jonathan.)



I've been working on some osteopathy slogans. Thinking of having t-shirts made, or maybe throw pillows. What do you think?

"Osteopaths: manipulating people since 1874"

"Just D.O. it!"



"We do more than snap, crackle and pop."

"I'm disfunctional. You're disfunctional."



And my personal favorite, drawing on the palpatory side of osteopathy...

"Be feeled!"

I'm turning red...

Tomatoes a month ago...

Remember last month's green tomato salvage? It's turning out beautifully. Two weeks ago about one-third were ripe, another third today and another third are still nestled in the basket. Check back with me in two weeks...



Obviously, this is great news for the 100+ tomatoes we'll be able to enjoy even after the frost. The bad news is that now I understand just how easy it is for tomatoes to be picked super green then ripen as they are being transported miles away.

But for now, I choose to focus on the delicious plans for these little tomatoes!

Productive name-calling...

Jonathan and Kari are talking as they walk through their neighborhood on a beautiful fall afternoon. Let's listen in...

K: Uh... snob.

J: Bookworm.

K: Gold-digger!

J: Cheapskate!

K: Copycat... Poseur.

J: Loser.

K: Momma's boy!

J: Dork.

K: Weirdo.

J: Big-mouth.



Don't worry, blog readers. It's not what you may think.

This weekend I had to write an article on popular insults in American English. Jonathan helped me do a little brainstorming before I sat down to write. It was actually kind of challenging to find insults that might be of interest to language learners, but that weren't too childish or too - ahem, grown-up.

Any obvious ones we missed? Thanks, blogworms! ;)

3 things, 4x over...

3 things I want to do in Lyon soon

- See as many of the lights displays at the Fête des Lumières as possible from Dec. 5th-8th (This year's preview photos just posted here. So cool.)
- Visit the Deportation and Resistance Historical Musem to learn about the Occupation, Klaus Barbie and the Gestapo in Lyon
- Go to the market as often as possible! Odds are good that I will never live this close to such an amazing variety of produce - better enjoy while I can.

3 things I want to do in Senegal next February (that's right - we bought tickets!!)

- Watch the fishing boats come in off the ocean
- Kiss Jonathan at the Lighthouse overlooking Dakar
- See Ibrahima, Diami, Pape Dieye, Demba, Daouda, Maye, Robert, Yaye Coumba, Alioune, Bintou, Astou...

3 things I want to do in Marietta next fall

- See Stephen and Beth's house (aka Holly Hill)
- Eat at Willie Rae's
- Show Jonathan the sights of Atlanta (ideas welcome!)

3 things I want to do in Iowa next winter

- Meet cool Sam!
- (Maybe) try cross-country skiing
- Cook for my in-laws

Obviously, these are not comprehensive lists. But are there any other things I may not have thought of?

Better than flowers & chocolates...

On Saturday Jonathan was gone for a day-long class. But at about 1pm he sent me an email saying he had a surprise for me. Most wives might think flowers or chocolates - and he did bring me some pretty amazing chocolate-bling from Paris once - but I had a sneaking suspicion that wasn't it this time.

I'll give you a hint: my surprise was perfectly soft and blackened, with a wee bit of mold, and of the genus Musa.



Plantains!

During his lunch break, Jonathan walked to the Bombay Bollywood Bazaar and found they were having a sale on plantain bananas. Knowledgeably, he dug around for the darkest ones, leaving the firm, bright yellow ones behind.

Jonathan said the woman ringing up the plantains jokingly asked if he was going to make aloco (an West African dish) with them. His affirmative answer took her by surprise. Apparently she'd never heard of white people making aloco before. :)



Unlike bananas, plantains are either eaten green (as a starch) or black (as a sweet), but in either case must be cooked first. We like them fried up into aloco or baked with a spicy tomato and onion sauce, or baked with a pinch of brown sugar and cinnamon. Yum!