October, a great month

 Hi all,
Today I'm going to do a little something different.

I long while ago I did an Autumn entry (you can check it out here) and I thought it high time to do another.  So I went back to The Simple Woman's Daybook and entered into her October Diary.  It's really a fun thing to do.

She has others there for the month of October, so after you're done reading mine, go check out the rest! 

Enjoy!
 

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...is my balcony where my geraniums are valiantly resisting the onset of autumn.

I am thinking...that having only one more year in France is a sad, sad thought.

I am thankful...that we live in the country and can open our windows and get fresh air and hear birds chirping.

In the kitchen...are my dishes from breakfast that I'm putting aside until a little later.

I am wearing...a red long sleeved shirt and my favorite pair of jeans. Barefoot.  I like barefeet in a house.

I am creating...painted porcelain-next up is a vase with irridescent paint.

I am going...to my friend's house today to discuss everything in French.

I am wondering...why still after all my studies and having already lived here in France a year, I still struggle with the articles.

I am reading...a novel for a friend- proofreading if you will. Enjoying it immensely, I might add too!

I am hoping...to finish a chapter of my work today.

I am looking forward to...getting a web-cam this weekend so that I can set up Skype for when Mr. K goes on a conference in Japan later this month.

I am learning...how to make use of my free-time and how to teach children that English can be fun.

Around the house...it's still morning, so everything is quiet.

I am pondering...whether or not to include almonds in a breakfast bread.

A favorite quote for today... "As Rosemary is to the Spirit, so Lavender is to the Soul." ~ Anonymous

One of my favorite things... the subtle scent of lavender in the morning.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Go to the market for groceries, purchase some printer ink and a web cam, drink in some modern art on Sunday, and taste the exquisite decadence of cupcakes.

A peek into my day...arise at 6:45 or 7am, enjoy breakfast with Mr. K, do some correspondance (either handwritten or on the computer), visit friends, errands, cleaning, tutoring or preparing for it, writing, and dinner with Mr. K while relaxing in each other's company.

Outside on my balcony

Until next time!


Bisous

Well, hello, Fall!

Just got back from a whirl-wind visit of the states. Three states in 15 days = crazy, fun catching up with family! Love you all! *muah!*

(Okay, I need to stop with the exclamations...but they're so much fun!!!!!)

Seriously though, does anyone else suffer from an overabundance of exclamation points?

Any-way.

Stopped off in CT, then went to FL, and ended the trip with a sejour in CA.  Dad, Mom, and family wedding. All awesome.

But, I will post about that later. I have to adjust and correct and sort through the numerous photos.  In the mean time, I'll leave you with a few photos of some goodies I brought back with me to France!

Don't judge me. I love the pumpkins in autumn mix. I may like them more than candy corn!

The next one has a couple outsiders that I picked up in France to add some fall flavor:

Molasses and Pumpkin. You can bet your booties I'll be baking this fall!

The Butternut squash and baby punkin's are from Simply Market. Funny story about that. Apparently no one buys the baby pumpkins here. The cashier gal was very confused with them and asked me where I found them. I told her they were with the other pumpkins, potimarrons, and odd looking squashes. She looked at me with a funny expression and just shrugged saying they were weird. She didn't charge me for them, though!  Free fall decorations, I guess. Not complaining.

My friends, M et Mme G gave me these:

Physalis alkekengi (Chinese Lanterns) look so fall festive. I'm currently drying them so they can go with my Monnaie-du-pape (Silver Dollars) that I have already dried.

When I think of fall, I think of candles.  France, for all its perfume, is not very good in the scented candle department.

So, while in FL I went shopping with my Mom (Hi, Momma!) and we managed to get some candles from Bath and Body Works as well as The Yankee Candle to take back here. Yay!

I have some yummy votives for fall and winter: Marshmallow Fireside, Autumn Pumpkin, Spice Cake.

*stomach is beginning to growl*

Plus a few for spring: True Rose and Summer Scoop

I'm in love with the Movie Night candle from YC. Smells just like Kettle Corn. Makes the apartment smell divine and makes me hungry.

I like scented candles if you couldn't tell. *smiles*

Speaking of candles, YC has some new Man Candles out now and they are, well, bless their hearts, just weird!

Examples of aromas: First Down-with a picture of a football on a field (smells like grass and leather), Man Town- with a pic of a remote control and a tv (smells of Axe Deodorant and a hint of plastic), Riding Mower-with a pic of a lawn mower (smells of, you guessed it, cut grass), and last but not least, 2' x 4'- which has a pic of the wood itself (smells nothing like wood or wood shavings but more of cologne).

Sometimes I question the sanity of marketers.  Well, at least Movie Night smells good. :-)

Oh, I forgot! Today, I found out that YC has a French website. You know what that means?
It means that yankeecandle.fr is going to become my new friend and I won't have to pack a glass jar candle in my suitcase anymore! 

Anywho, back to picture correcting and sorting. And then on to the chapter revision of my piece of writing.

Until next time!

Bisous

Je voudrais vous présenter...

Always fun beginning with a French lesson, right?

I want you all to meet my new friend:

(I call her "Vera"...)

"Just look at the pretties!"
Okay, I'll stop quoting from my favorite TV Show of all time (i.e, Firefly).

But seriously. Isn't it the prettiest mat you've ever seen?
And, it makes me happy just looking at all the butterflies.
*smiles*
I like butterflies.

The mat may be a little thin for the activities I'll be using it for (only 6mm when it should really be about 12mm), but it was just too cute to not get.

For those of you who may not know, I have signed on to do Pilates with Blogilates for a month of beginner excercises. Boy, do they kick my boo-tay! But, I'm becoming less and less sore after the workouts and I am able to do them without muscle failure now. (Yay! and only after 2 weeks of working on them!) 

Basically, six days a week I do the workouts and they change everyday.  You follow the moves on videos and the instructor, Casey Ho (I believe that's her last name) is this positive, fun, hard driving ball of energy to get you through while you do it to Pop music.

Seriously! She makes working out so much fun that even though your muscles are crying out for mercy (and they do, oh how they do) you end up laughing at something she talks about while you're doing it, and you, for a moment, forget that you're working out hard.  It's awesome! (And that's coming from a seasoned former high school and collegiate rower- 2 seat in an 8 man sweep- Holla!)

Why do I feel the need to workout?
Well
A) it's great for the body!
B) Doctor's orders and
C) it gives me happy endorphins to fight the blues when they come around (mostly on rainy days- and in France, that is pretty common in Autumn through Winter).

Anyway, thought you'd all enjoy meeting Vera. 

Happy Friday!

Until next time,
Bisous!

What do I do in my free time? Glad you asked!

So some of you (i.e, family members) may be wondering what I do in my spare time here in France.   When the laundry is done, folded and away; bread is made; and the house is vacuumed and I don't have any errands to run, I amuse myself in the arts.

I've begun porcelain painting this past year and I absolutely love it!
These are my favorite pieces I've done. 

Music and Roses tarte plate

Cranes decorative plate

French roosters

 They were really so much fun to do and I plan on doing the class again this year! We sign up in September. Can't wait!

Other than painting, I do some drawing. Nothing too big and always in a black book I have, but I like them. It keeps me entertained.
I'll share a few from this year with you. No harsh criticisms, please. I look at the drawings as more of a study in materials and form. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. Most of what I draw is from life or a still. But, well, you'll see.

"Biscuit Garnot"

This is a stuffed animal dog, named Biscuit, who belongs to two sweet twin girls
(grandchildren of my dear friends here). They had asked me to draw him.
So I did. They only gave me 10 minutes hence why it's not properly shaded.

 "Cat in a tree"

This is a study in charcoal and colored charcoal. Lucky for me, the cat outside
was adorable and decided to be a nice model..for 15 minutes.

 "Photobomb"

And this, well, it's entirely from my own mind. I was craving Chinese steamed
pork buns that night. It's amazing what happens when you get cravings...

And this one's the newest. I call it, "Bedtime Stories".

This is based off a still from Jane Austen's "Northanger Abbey", the film from 2007. I changed a few things but the idea is the same.

And, oh yeah, I'm working on a new writing piece and will be joining a writer's group soon. So very excited about this.

So yep. That's what I do in my spare time. Mom, now you know.
*Whew!*
(It's always scary sharing art online, so I'm just going to trust that all goes okay.)
Thanks for reading!

Until next time,
Bisous

When Paladins come to visit...

Salut mes amis! (See I'm learning the proper greeting here)
Back again after a bit of a hiatus. We had another visitor come to our <<château>>. We'll call him Paladin S.  He's one of Mr. K's good friends and one of his longest acquaintances, too.  Needless to say, it was glorious!

Mr. K, Paladin S, and myself made great adventures. We almost had an epic story in the Bois D'Aigre Foin on his first day of visiting. I was Adventure E, Mr. K was B the Bard, and well, Paladin S remained Paladin S. So much fun!

Anyway, one week in France is hard on anyone because there is just so much to see and do. Feet don't always cooperate, but you learn to bludgeon them into obedience over time.

We decided to treat Paladin S to a Paris experience while he was here, such as Mass at Notre Dame (they have International Masses at 11:30am on Sundays, btw) and Les Invalides with Napoleon's Tomb. Very cool. They had a great exhibit of Knights in Shining Armour and WWI and WWII war artifacts to look at.
We got nerd swiped on the Quai d'Orsay on our way to Les Invalides:

We still haven't figured out the cryptogram.  Any takers?

Arc de Triomphe was fantastic as always and the ice cream on the Champs-Élysées was delicious. I highly reccommend  Jeff de Bruges' vanilla and salted caramel ice cream. Miamm!

Dinner at a Happy Days Diner in St. Germain/ Latin Quarter was <<pas terrible>> but we had fun.  It was the second time since coming to France that I've had a cheeseburger. Makes me miss the States and my Dad's homemade onion and garlic burgers. (Soon though! Soon!)

The next day the gents went out to Versailles. I stayed home to rest the feeties. 16km is a lot of walking in one day and I wanted to be ready for the following day back in Paris. The overall consensus of Versailles was "Wow!" and "A lot of palace..." Hehe. And they didn't even see it all (It's definitely a multiday event if you have the chance. Too much walking otherwise). I love that place. Just ask my Momma!

The following day we headed back to Paris and this time I remembered the camera.
These are a few while we were waiting for the train to come to our little station.

The three amigos!

Sitting pretty

We decided to head to the Eiffel Tower for lunch and so Paladin S could have a visit. Unfortunately, we forgot to make a reservation online so the lines were terrible. That said, Mr. K and I found a nice spot to enjoy part 1 of lunch while Paladin S went and fought the masses.

Classic pose

Proof is in the sunglasses?

 After a little repose on the Champs de Mars, we went to go find Paladin S. While waiting under the Tower, we saw this creature trying to fit in with the masses of ducks.

Nobody here but us ducks!

I tried to get a better shot, because that mammal was HUGE!

I think it was the infamous Ragodin/coypu I've heard tell about

 Apparently, they are big river rats and similar to the muskrat. Ragodins eat about 25% of their body weight in plants and destroy a bunch of marshes and fresh water banks. But they're so cute too!

After the excitement of the day, we decided it would be a good idea to eat the rest of lunch together and then stroll along the banks of the Seine. They're currently doing Les Berges de Seine, which is completely pedestrian and they even have floating docks!

He found the sweet spot on the docks!

Me too!

 Mr. K just laughed at us.

The hammocks were actually the worst hammocks we had ever lain in! Those knobs just jam into your backs like no tomorrow. Ouch!

The gents here are displaying the best way to sit on the ropes.

We think the other people on the left are just paralysed from the pain and
therfore, cannot escape the clutches of the ropes.

 On we went, as we rubbed the bruises out of our poor bodies, to enjoy and explore the rest of the floating docks.

 Very cool!

So pretty

 We came to the end of the docks and they had a whole line of wooden lounge chairs large enough for two people. So neat! Even better, behind the chairs was a jungle with wooden platforms you could do yoga on. Mr. K and I vowed to return one day and enjoy the view from those chairs. They can't be nearly as bad as the hammocks!

Paladin S looking suave and debonair...must be the Paris air.

Turning around I told Mr. K to stand "just so" while I took a picture.

"Okay...I don't know what you're up to..."

This is why I love my husband. He had no idea why I wanted his picture right there, but even so, he humored me. I had him turn around right after and he was impressed with the mist.

Yes, you too can take an artsy photo with the mist!

The cool thing at the end of the docks was a set of binoculars that you could pivot in any direction. Very nice!

Continuing along the banks, we found the coolest things: mazes painted on the paths, a boardgame cafe where the tables have checker boards and mazes designed on their tops, napping huts (I kid you not! You can actually rent a container with a window and bean bag chairs to nap in!), teepees (also available for rent to nap in), a HUGE photography display, baby rock climbing walls, the makings of a blackboard wall and then the end:

Back to the beginning when we were nerd swiped.

 Needless to say, we were highly impressed. Way to go France for making the best place to take kids and adults on a summer day.

As it was Assumption, we headed in the direction of Notre Dame so Paladin S could go to mass. Very cool. And what a lovely turnout! Mr. K and I didn't go in as we wanted to stroll in some shade and look at the Bouquinistes, but at the end, wow! Tons of people filed out of the church!

 

We all decided it was dinner time immediately after that.  So, back to St. Michel we went.  We found a cute Brasserie/Cafe at a crossroads where we could watch a man juggle clubs while balancing a glass bowl with two goldfish in it. Impressed, but I know a better juggler who's name begins with A and who happens to also be a Doctor. (Dr. A, you are still the best!) The steak et pomme frites were good, but not nearly as good as my grandma's flank steak. I miss that too! (I'm a foodie, can't you tell?)

Disneyland Paris was the next day, and if you haven't tried it, go here for lunch:

All you can eat buffet and the best baklavah I've had in a while. Yay, Disney! Also, Disney is just fun. Blame it on being a FL gal and a yearly (sometimes twice a year) visit to Disney World with family. We all love it. Many many memories. *smiles*

The last day, the gents went to the Louvre museum while I took care of errands. (Pesky errands getting in the way of visits...) And then it was the end. *sniff*

All in all, a wonderful visit with Paladin S. We'll miss you! So glad you came!

Three cheers for friends! Hip-hip-hooray!

Cheers!

Until next time,

Bisous!