Carpe diem

The recent rise to fame of Susan Boyle and her incredible voice serves as a reminder to us all how important it is to pursue your dreams before it is too late. In my mind 50 is the moment when you still have the time to try. A year or so back I decided to write down the thoughts and ideas that were in my head. Word made things easy for me; when I was 10 my teacher, Mr Sadler, sat observing me while I wrote and came to the conclusion that my brain was working too fast for my hand. This was why my handwriting was and still is, so bad. It’s taken me 40 years to really start to write. It doesn’t matter that I will never be properly published, I’m having a great time just making up stories and trying to make the people in them behave as if they were real. Some stories are useless and other are much better.

What are you doing?

Just call me Orange Eucalyptus

Stolen from Peter!

1.Your rock star name (first pet, current car) – Tippy Renault

2.Your gangsta name (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe) – Lemon Boot

3.Your Native American name (favorite color, favorite animal) – Purple Elephant

4.Your soap opera name (middle name, city where you were born) – Mary Worcester

5.Your Star Wars name (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name) - Knuan

6.Superhero name (2nd favorite color, favorite drink) – Turquoise Martini

7.NASCAR name (the first names of your grandfathers) – Richard Walter

8.Dancer name (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy) – Opium Chocolate

9.TV weather anchor name (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) – Forrester Faverolles

10.Spy name (your favorite season/holiday, flower) – Autumn Rose

11.Cartoon name:(favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now) – Grapefruit Jean

12.Hippie name (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) – Orange Eucalyptus

13.Movie (or porn) star name (first pet, first street where you lived) – Tippy Furze


I think that the names work out well. Let me know if you decide to play.

Changes

Jo has decided to make her blog, BrilliantGirlGenius by invitation only. If you were a regular reader and would like to have access to her blog, email her at revolutioninmyhead(at)gmail(dot)com, or me at the address on the lefthand side just above the lime clock and I’ll forward your email to her. If you are shy you can always check out some of your other sister’s blogs in my list.

Easter visitor

Dom came home for a few days last weekend. She thinks that she will be staying in Poitiers after all. She wants to do research in to language/bilingualism sort of things. Well she’s already an expert there in a voice on sort of way. Her job in the library has been suspended. No funds to pay them with. She’s seen the head of her department and he’s gong to see if he can’t get the money somehow. This is the document library we’re talking about. How can a University function with that closed off?

She has a boyfriend now and it sounds as if they are pretty serious. I’m pleased she’s met someone that matches up to her high standards. She has a friend, M, who is studying in Paris. He lent them his flat for the weekend. Apparently boyfriend and M have a lot of friends in common and now Dom has met a most of them. They went to visit Iris, the fridge poetry writing, insect lady with the rabbit in the hat band of her top hat. She has a flat in Montmartre! How cool can that be? Though it is tiny she does have a real toilet. The last place she had only had a Turkish toilet (where you have to squat). Bonnie (The bird rescuer) came to visit Dom too and they went out for a drink together. It was lovely to see Bonnie again. She is such a pretty girl, very French, looks wonderful in anything – how do they do that?

Dom’s visit went all too quickly, but she has left me her first paper to read.

Creme Eggs

We managed to obtain a supply of Cadbury Creme Eggs for Easter. We paid a euro each for them. Can you get them where you are and how much did you pay for them?


Hope you have a sunny Easter with lots of eggs, if that's what you like.

Mini heros

I almost forgot to mention this one: A man walked into a school in France and tried to take a little girl by force. He hadn’t reckoned with the rest of the children. One brave boy went for him and tripped him up while the others made lots of noise and ran to fetch an adult. They were all only 7 and 8 years old.

The headmistress of the school is very proud of her pupils but still has to explain why the school gate was left unlocked. Since a hostage taking at a nursery school over 10 years ago school gates are supposed to be kept locked.

All grown up

The monuments in France are now open through the lunchtimes as of April 1st. This means that staff have to be covered while they take their lunch breaks. Now that Olivier is 18 he can work part time, so he is working weekends and throughout the Easter holidays. He’ll be working almost full time throughout the summer as well. It’s good all-round as far as our family are concerned, it gets him out of bed at a reasonable hour, he doesn’t have to keep asking for bus fair and he’ll be able to pay for his own clothes. (He’s got expensive tastes). He did appreciate working at the restaurant last summer for the same reason.

Today he is going to give blood for the first time. The blood doning centre have a mobile service which visits villages, businesses, factories and now I’ve discovered, lycées. Rob and I haven’t been for several years because of the BSE problem in the UK. (We weren’t allowed to give blood) Rob used to donate his plasma which was rich in tetanus antibodies too.

Like I said; all grown up.