Bits & pieces

Dom has started to take an interest in tea since she left home. One of the teas she’s given me to try is lemon pie flavour. It really is delicious. When you first make it, it smells just like freshly baked lemon meringue pie. A lot of people find they need quite a lot of sugar in it but I really enjoy it without. She’s also taken to drinking coffee. One of her friends has given her a small coffee maker so now we have ‘real’ coffee instead of instant. I went shopping this morning and came back tired and harassed and there was the beautiful smell of freshly brewed coffee to greet me…..

Both Olivier and Dom have friends who’ve grown beards recently. It makes me feel old or are boys starting to shave earlier?

One of the fields on the way to the sea is a sunflower field this year. On the road which doesn’t allow cars people have carved faces in the sunflowers. There are all sorts of expressions, it’s like an army of happy people.

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Traditional :: old world


2. Popeye :: the sailor man


3. Gin :: fizz


4. Harsh :: without pity


5. Topless :: boobs


6. The thing :: a film


7. Defiant :: rebellious


8. Huge :: enormous


9. Food :: time to eat!


10. Lenny :: Henry

It always comes round so quickly!

The new me

This is the photo Rob took for me to use for my blogs etc. What do you think?

In which I try flying

On Saturday morning we were off early with the computer and I went through the front door trying to put my phone into the little pocket made for it in my bag. I landed flat on my face because I missed the step. Rob insisted we went off straight away so I didn’t have time to soak my ankle in cold water. It didn’t hurt too much but swelled up like a tennis ball. In the evening I discovered grazed knees and elbow and I still ache all over today.

The last time I tried flying from the same step I was 8 months pregnant with Olivier, I somehow managed to flip my body over and landed on my back that time

What Anji Did Next

Rob was using the computer on Friday afternoon when there was a bang and the smell of burning. The fuse blew too. On Saturday morning we took it back to after sales as it was still under guarantee. Hopefully we should have it back in two weeks. Please, please, please let the memory be okay. I’ve got so much stuff stored on it, pages and pages of writing. I always meant to record it onto a disc but never got round to it. Now I’m struggling on a laptop. I know I’ll get used to it but….


There goes my fridge

What Anji Did

Rob was on holiday last week so I didn’t get near the computer. The bar on my fridge broke off so now I can’t store any bottles or boxes in the door (the first bar broke off about 18 months ago). The fridge is over 20 years old and the ice box door broke off within the first few moths of the life of the fridge. It hasn’t had a door handle for ten years. We planned to buy a new fridge next month – at long last!

Noggin the Nog and Oliver Postgate

At lunch time today I listened to Desert Island Discs as usual. A famous person is asked to choose the 7 pieces of music they’d like to have with them if they were ship wrecked on a desert island. It was a great pleasure to me and I’m sure millions of others, that today’s guest was Oliver Postgate. Do you remember Noggin the Nog, (I have my copy open in front of me as I write and you might just get a quote) Bagpuss (I was too old), Ivor the Engine, The Clangers, The Pogles, Pogles Wood?. Peter Firmin drew things for him and he made his films in the most incredible conditions. I remember his lovely voice and it was a pleasure to hear his choice of music.

They played the piece of music that had been written for Graculus in Noggin the Nog when he returned to where he was born.

“Perhaps you dreamed it Graculus,” said Noggin.
“Dreamed it? Perhaps I did but I know that it I fly over there to the right of the sun I shall see a lake of salt water among tall trees” Graculus craned his neck as if to see over the mountain. “There are fish in the lake,” he added; “blue fish, good to eat”

and so it goes on, and they talk about Graculus’s egg remembering where it was laid; it was very moving to hear it again after all these years…

That was my nice thing that happened to me today along with Peter’s nomination.

Schmooze

I’ve been awarded the “Schmooze” award by Peter. I quote: “Schmoozing as defined by Dictonary.com is the ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” Peter is more of a Schmoozer than I am I think, not many bloggers offer their female readers a virtual bouquet of roses. He’s from Switzerland, the French part, so I can just imagine his French accent….Thank you Peter for nominating me.

Now comes the hard part; I have to nominate 5 new Schmoozers, hoping that I nominate them before someone else does. In alphabetical order:

Alec Millard: A fellow postcard lover, always on hand with information and really beautiful cards. His blog has helped me a lot with my own postcard blog and business.

Because I Can: A very special Schmoozer who has had difficult times but rises from the ashes like an elegant phoenix! (She also has very good news!)

Life after Nexcom. Mary Lou has introduced me to so many new bloggers. She works hard on her theatre productions despite suffering great pain form her back. Her descriptions and pictures of her part of the world are second to none (any friend of William Least Heat Moon is a friend of mine).

Is it raining? I hadn’t noticed Now changed to Spooky's Blog: Spooky is grey with yellow eyes but we still love him and his wonderful sense of humour.

The Introverted Exhibitionist: Is an Empress, no less! She comes from an established dynasty of bloggers and replies to comments without fail.

All of my 52 friends on my blogroll are worth a visit, what I pity I only had to choose five!

Unconscious Mutterings

More mutterings, I do enjoy these but the weeks seem to go so quickly!

1. Situation :: place


2. Theme song :: Limelight


3. Kelly :: From the Isle of Mann


4. Club :: golf


5. Swerve :: avoid


6. Couch :: therapy!


7. Bigfoot :: he woods on the farm, my dad always told us that the Big foot tribe lived there


8. Arbitrary :: decision


9. Inventor :: Newton


10. Blazer :: school uniform :(

Happy Bastille day!

Some fireworks for you.

Insects and poetry

Dom’s friend Iris came (she used to wear a top hat with a toy rabbit in the band). She gave me some more words for my fridge poetry and proceeded to write me some lovely lines. I’ve translated some of them for you to share:

• Don’t eat before Sunday


• That takes me on a secret journey


• When papa dreams of washing up we laugh (how true)


• Love my heart prepare a good fizzy poem


• Do you like walking weekends


• Think that the sun is lovely

She used up nearly all the words. She also studies insects at university. Above is what landed on me the other day. Thanks to Iris I could look it up to share with you, it really was a beautiful blue. Another one

I can't remember where I got the photo from, if the picture above is yours please email me so that I can give you credit for it.

Camping, cooks and postcards

Don’t ask me where the past week went. I can’t say that I’ve got much to show for it. We went to see how Dominique and Monique were getting along at their campsite (they are in the window at the top); they were pleased to announce that they got married in September! Olivier’s friend has started work as an apprentice chef. Now I feel old. I can remember them sitting together on the front doorstep when they were 5 years old.

I’ve been busy sorting out postcards. They are all in alphabetical order. Now all I have to do is sort out the Paris, Lourdes, abroad and miscellaneous sections. Paris and Lourdes are so common that they aren’t really worth selling and some of the Lourdes ones give me the creeps.

The weather is more like March, or is it October?

It tickled my fancy

I received my magazine from England this morning. My horoscope for this week says that I'm in for some 'Rumpy Pumpy'.

Not worthless

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Parrot with a man attatched

We’ve been living in this village for 21 years now and for only the 2nd time this morning I’ve seen the old fisherman who walks around with a parrot on his shoulder. Everyone else in the family seems to have seen him regularly, but I’ve only known of his existence for a couple of years. He came into the post office to talk to someone else who owns a parrot, judging by the conversation I overheard.

Workin' girl

Dom is now a working girl. For two months she’ll be working in the towers. I don’t think that her and Rob’s timetables coincide much. She'll be giving guided tours in English and French. So if you are passing and have an excellent tour in English, don’t forget to tip the struggling psychology student.

My son and stain removal

Olivier recently had a polo shirt. It’s billabong one I think. He really likes it and looks great in it. Ever since he’s had it we’ve had to remove every type of stain. The worst was apple, he even went to buy the stain remover for that one. After four washings I managed to get it out. The next stain was red wine, I think someone must have told a good joke as the person in front of him took a mouthful, it was sprayed all over. Today the polo shirt is drying after its second wash because of spaghetti sauce. The other day he told me to rub lemon into grass stains to get rid of them. I wonder what’s coming next?

Unconscious Mutterings

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Partner :: friend


2. News :: TV


3. Foam :: mousse


4. Paycheck :: money


5. Me :: life


6. Eight :: mints


7. Dairy :: milk


8. Exciting :: happy


9. Hockey :: cold knees


10. Socialite :: debutante

Green card?

Dom is hoping to study in either Canada (English speaking) or the US for her third year. She’s just discovering how expensive it will be. Does anyone know how it works for foreign students who want to work while studying? Does she need a green card?

She’s got a room next year in the same place. It’s pretty basic and she does a lot of visiting so it’s not as if she’s stuck there.

Spanish cakes

This is fast becoming a foody blog. One of my pupils, who is ten years old, is half Spanish so he’s already bilingual and he’s making great progress in English. Last Tuesday was our last lesson of the school year so he presented me with some lovely little Spanish cakes. They have cinnamon in and are delicious. I don’t often bake cakes myself, but they reminded me of a recipe for Pastelitos de Boda in my Mexican cookery book that I used to make, they are very crumbly, great with a cup of coffee.

It was Rob’s birthday yesterday so the four of us managed to eat together for once