Time to reflect

We are fast approaching the new year so it is a good time to think about things that I enjoyed, or something I did that made me smile.

I have just been reading another blog which made me remember how pleased I was when I managed to photograph this wonderful dragonfly. Look really hard at those incredible wings.

I could show you exactly where I took that picture, if you were here. A bit futher down the track I saw these flowers in a garden which has no gardener, the house is not lived in.

Here is the blog that I was reading Brocobelle

The French word for dragonfly libellule here.

De bonne heure

It is not easy to get up when the days are short and the mornings are dark. It is also a disadvantage of no heating in the bedroom. It is so hard to leap out from under that warm duvet. Bright and early brrrrrrr.

I am trying to post some colourful pictures as in bright colours. When the sun shines at this time of year it can be incredibly bright.

Are you all having a good time? In between Fetes, how are you filling your time, playing with a new bread maker or digital camera?. I spent the afternoon loading pictures onto Flickr, watching French tv, and trying to keep warm. Am I the only one who is actually waiting for 2009 so that I can get back into doing things?

Here is my dog waiting for a horse in the field to look up at her.

French words, de bonne heure is bright and early.
Attendre to wait. Etymology link for attend

Christmas colour

Did you get something colourful to wear to brighten up the post Christmas blues?

There is plenty of snow here in France with many warnings on the weather forecast, but in Brittany, or Bretagne it has been wonderful sunshine but very cold wind.

Christmas is a great time for a walk, here is a shot that I took Christmas morning. The sun was so bright shining onto these beech leaves that have not fallen.

The French weather forecast Meteo.

Many coloured is bariolé.

Dazzle is éblouissment.

Back later with some more colour, I must go and put some logs on the wood burner.

Seasons greetings

I hope you all have a great day out there in Blogland. This forest picture is for my Uncle who has just had a triple heart bypass!!!

TonTon.

Chant but dancer?

Last night we sang. 5 Anglais and about 12 French. Up on stage what fun, nothing serious, but we tried hard. The main entertainment was a one man show a French comedian..yikes hard to follow YES. He was funny even if you didn't understand the jokes.

There were lots of very young children up near the stage, I wondered what they made of our efforts as they stared up at us.

Did I enjoy it? yes

We were handed a form asking if we would like to sing again in the future..oui why not. My friend then told me she was also going to attend dancing sessions...well I am not sure about that one.

Where ever you are I hope that you are starting to loosen up and feeling relaxed, maybe playing Christmas type music and having fun.

Here is my new dancing partner, but he is always rooted to the spot.

Here is a picture that was popular on my Flickr in the Autumn I called it sway.

This morning in the forest we heard the most wonderful bird song but couldnt identify the singer. Chant

Finally I try to be green however...fin

8. What do you personally find the most challenging in being green?
Only the cost of not being able to do more. However the up side of having to watch my money is that I look after things and dont replace things needlessly.

9. Do you have a green confession?
Yes our fitted kitchen came out of someone else house was shipped across the channel and fitted again here in France. Our bed was to be taken to a tip, and I am so glad we were offered it because it is the most confirtable bed I have ever slept on.

10. Do you have the support of family and/or friends,
I havent even considered this, I guess so.

Here are some Green Blogs/ web sites that I like to read

Dont be put off by the name Tree Hugger

Going Greenish

A very popular blog Down to Earth

Have you put your decorations up yet?

Christmas tree puddle

I am dreaming of springtime, warm evenings, and maybe I may just see this Heron in the tree again.



The French word for springtime.

Creative

I was going to buy a tree (sapin), but then we decided to use a bit of chopped off tree instead. No it isnt for indoors it is for outside, and it looks pretty good although a little bit pagan!!! I may even pluck up courage and take a picture.

Alternative Christmas trees, here is Julia Hailes blog.

I bet everyone else has got something posh installed in their living room!

I try to be green however..part 4

7. Do you eat local/organic/vegetarian/forage/grow you own?

It makes sense to eat food grown in France, for one thing it is cheaper. Who wants lorries thundering around any more than they do? I have always tried to support local business when that is possible.

We made several raised beds and they will all be in action this coming summer, I am very fond of French beans, mange tout and courgettes which grow like weeds. Next year a friend who has a lot more space is going to let me grow some potatoes at her place. I am a fair weather gardener so I am not sure what is going on in my potager.

I rarely buy organic it is so expensive.

Vegetarian meals are often eaten here, although after about 20 years of being a vegetarian I now do eat fish so I am not a vegetarian any longer. Forage, no but it is an interesting topic, many people collect the mushrooms in the forest.

A pea in my garden.

When our last water bill came I said to MOH he could save us some money by peeing in the garden just like all the French men do.

Aller faire des courses = to go shopping. The French word for invoice/bill facture. Do not confuse it with the word for postman which sounds the same to me.

The English word invoice has its roots here.

I try to be green however...part 3

6.What's eco-frustrating and/or eco-fantastic about where you live?

I still don't know what to do with lids off tins, yogurt pots. Polystyrene meat trays. What is the best type of deodorant to buy, not an aerosol can that is for sure.

French markets are great for fresh French produce, some small stallholders sell locally made bread, veg cheese etc. However the prices can be very expensive, which is no surprise when you learn how much tax self employed people have to pay to the government. Although the French have convenience foods just like everybody else they still tend to eat a lot of meals cooked from scratch or food in season. If I could afford to I would support the small stallholders rather than shop in supermarkets. What a dilemma.

Here is another picture taken in summer at the Saturday morning market in Fougeres.

Any way I can not stop because my veg chilli which I cooked on the woodburner is ready.

I do try to be green...however. part two

Tag continued.
3. Are you at peace with, or do you feel guilty about 2 (having a car and a dishwasher).

NO. I drive a diesel, and I do try to combine my trips out with places or people that I need to visit or want to see. The dishwasher, it is a fact that use can use more water washing up dishes by hand.

4. What are you willing to change but feel unable to/stuck with/unsure how to go about it?

If I had money I would have underground pipes in the garden to heat the house and solar panels, sadly I don't have any spare cash.

5. Do you know your carbon footprint for your home? If so, is it larger/smaller than your national average? KEH.........how do I answer this one...must do some research...In February we had the roof re slated.....the loft is totally open to the elements all around three sides. So I guess we are heating up the sky..although we do not have any heating upstairs.

Back later to answer more questions...au revoir.......

Talking of footprints here is my dogs paw smashing a puddle. Footprint in French is empreinte.

Link to the word imprint here.

I do try to be green...however.

I have been tagged by the Woolly Shepherd, who I met for the second time last Sunday. I am going to cheat a little.

1. Two motivations for being green.

The children of today need a future. I love this planet and I am afraid for her.

2. Two eco unfriendly items. Of course a car, I live in rural France. I have been living in this house for two years, just around the corner there is a bus stop to the local towns, I have NEVER seen this bus. Further more I am unable to carry anything heavy anymore, but that is another story.

I have a dishwasher, I worked in white goods for a few years and I can tell you that dishwashers use less water than when you wash up by hand, that is if you use a lot of pots pans and dishes. I do use loads of dishes because I don't eat meat but MOH does, so I am often cooking two different lots of foods.

I will come back and finish this TAG later. Lets have a picture to look, at all these words are hard work.

French Fancy asked a while back if we ever see deer in the forest. The answer is yes, If you look carefully there is one on the right hand side of the track. Through the winter months there is a chasse on Monday in the forest. I have no idea how many they shoot and kill. The forest is surrounded by farmers crops. A very busy route runs through the forest to Fougeres I have a fear one day that one of these creatures may run out across the road.

The word for Woolly is laineuse . The word for shepherd is berger.

A link to the Woolly Shepherd here....if you dont like blogs with music you can turn it off.

Mon Sammy Meeshell

What a fantastic evening, not a breath of wind, 9 degrees so not too cold either. We wandered towards the entrance and looked up.

There were only a few people around and so it had a totally different feel, quite magical.
We walked slowly up the street, the shops were all decked out for the seasons festivities. A few restaurants were open but only a few diners were inside. It was lovely and quiet. We considered doing this again next year, perhaps another time we could have a meal in a restaurant, we study the prices for a set meal you need about 28 euros.

I recomend this visit on an evening in December, really rather lovely.

The French word for toy is jouet. You can hear French words on this link.

What joy the children have on Christmas morning!

Mont Saint Michel a tourist attraction link here.

Going Out Tonight

I am excited because I think I am going out tonight to see the Christmas lights at Mon Sammy Meeshell...that's what my friends little boy called it. Wish me luck I will see if I can get some decent photographs. Here it is in the daylight with about three million people in the summer!!

A word of warning don't ever go on a hot day in July.Everybody goes there tout le monde!!! Unless you like crowds of course? The French word for crowds here.

Music....

I got roped into some Christmas singing. We have a practice this afternoon at 2 pm...or as they say in France 14.00 hours. This particular song is easy to sing but I must find out if it is a "Christmas Song". It is called La Java Bleue. If you would like to hear it here it is. Please do not laugh too much.

Enchanted forests

Yesterday I went along to a Cathedral in a nearby town, in fact it is in Normandy. My friend was singing in the choral. The event started off with a group of children singing lovely French songs they were dressed in their red and white Santa Claus hats. The choral came on next, who sang beautifully, followed by a small orchestra who played a wide range of music including Pirates of The Caribean. The entertainment was finished off with more songs.

The Cathedral to me doesnt look that pretty outside but is lovely on the inside, a bit like some people!

My connection today is the word enchanted.

Here is my enchanted forest

Enchanté can mean delighted to meet you, although no one has said that to me yet!! ha ha

The French word to sing is chant.

Santa or Father Christmas is Pére Noel.

Connections and communications

This week in the forest when it was cold and icy I saw a puddle with strange shapes in the ice. I thought to myself,that looks like Runes, but what did I mean?. Later a friend who leaves encouraging comments on my Flickr said the same thing.

Here is the picture

Runes explained in Wikipedia. Maybe the ancients left me a message to put on my blog hee hee.

I think it says thank you for leaving a kind comment on my Blog!

Have a look on Vagabonds blog here for some smashing pictures of the moon, what the ancients must have thought about that big thing up in the sky. Bindu has some great shots here of where people lived for so very very long and she tells a great story.

Finally because it is very windy and wet outside, here is another puddle picture. The French word for puddle is flaque. The French word for vagabond is vagabond.

All wrapped up

This week the weather has got colder and colder. From the sunny Saturday in the park to freezing fog Thursday and Friday. Hats and gloves, and warm jackets..wrapped up warm.

On Monday in the frost I saw a log which seemed to me to be all wrapped up too.

Then on Wednesday I saw a bow and ribbons in a frozen puddle.

Natures presents all wrapped up for free.

Maybe you had better choose something from the shop to wrap up your gifts.

A scarf écharpe or foulard. Pacquet..wrapped up a package. Cadeau......present.

How Sad

A friend on the forum that I use (Brittany Friends), made a post tonight about dogs being stood on while still alive and then later their skin is used as fur to be worn by us humans!. This is happening in China and goodness knows where else.

It is not just dogs it is cats too. I made a quick look on the Internet to see what information there is and it isn't good. I cannot watch footage of such horrors as animals being skinned alive.

Products from China for sale here in France have been on the news a lot this year, and it is always bad press. After several cases of people buying chairs imported from China, and then having terrible skin problems, the import of certain chairs from China are being banned. The chairs have been treated with some nasty chemical which has caused skin rashes.

I am probably guilty of buying something cheap from China myself, but I will not be wearing any fur ever.

Here is my lovely dog looking at you!

Fourrure is the French word for fur.

1914 ceasefire Joyeux Noel

We have just watched a film on tv, Joyeux Noel, based on when the Germans, French, and Scots declared a cease fire for Christmas night on the front in 1914. The soldiers then sang, shared drinks and buried their dead comrades in the snow, and played football in "No mans land".

Makes you think with Christmas approaching that even if you haven't got much it is good to be at home with the people who love you. So it makes me think about people in the armed forces away from home. What a mixed up world we live in.

On Saturday I walked around Fougeres, it was sunny and the sky was blue, no snow here in this part of France. So much rain has fallen that the force of water at the castle was extremely powerful, the sluice gates were open and the water roared.

So while others were doing their Christmas shopping I wandered around the park, and streets which have some lovely old timbered buildings.

I saw some interesting boxes, not for presents!
This one is near the castle.

This box is in the Jardin Public.

This one in a street near the old timbered houses. Just in case you didnt know, to cease fire cesser-le-feu.

Box is boîte.

Easily distracted

Today was my "formal" French class and I was driving behind a JCB loaded on a truck,the plate stated 25kph and so I enjoyed the mud and spray, it was raining heavily again. Although I didn't arrive late they where already in full swing. I saw that my usual spot was not free and so I sat on "the other side of the room".

All went well for about half an hour. Then the rain stopped, then the sun came out, and because I was now opposite the large windows I looked out at the trees. I wasn't paying attention. I felt like I had gone back in time. I am foolish enough to have signed up for two classes which run back to back, and so I changed over to the other side of the room when some of "hour one" went home.

I am attending two hours class not because I am good at French

I am there for two hours because I am pretty bad.

Yet again the rain stopped me from going to the town of Fougeres and taking some photographs. I have checked the forecast for Saturday and I hope to get out and have a wander around the town.

Nice old door in Fougeres 1659

.

Nice old Tower on the castle.

Do you get easily distracted when sitting opposite a large window or is it just me?

Oh by the way 1659 is the year when the story book character Robinson Crusoe was shipwrecked..... Just in case you want to need to know the word for shipwreck. naufrage.

Difficult Task & a big Thank You.

Well how lovely to receive an award from the witty French Fancy, because she likes the colour blue and my photographs. So a very big thank you, Merci Beaucoup mon ami.

The rules are:

Copy and paste the rules and instructions in your post.
When you post about receiving this award, make sure you include who gave you the award and link it back to them.
Post five winners and link it back to them as well.
Post five of your addictions.
Add the award image.
Let your winners know you gave them an award by leaving them a comment on their blog.

Dilemma not sure what the image is, post five winners AGH.. can I post the giver on the award as a receiver???

Because I am new to this blogworld I dont really have many followers, who leave comments and who have blogs of their own. Some of the blogs that I follow I dont leave comments on or not very often , so they might think that I am a nutter if I send them an award!! Maybe in a years time I may have a few more contacts in blogland!!

So sadly I am going to cheat.......

First here is a blue picture to thank French Fancy.

Five addictions,

1. Guess what the colour blue...my house is full of it.

2. Fougeres, I cannot get enough of it, wow what a fabulous town.

3. Wine, French bread, and cheese.

4. The internet, it is just great, and I spend a lot of time on it.

5. Taking photographs of trees, puddles, and castles.

Blogs that I would award.

1.French fancy because she is funny and chatty
2.Bindu at Transient Lives because she has the most fantastic blog with marvelous photographs. And I think you must all go and look there NOW.

3 The Woolly Shepherd because she really goes for it and works like a demon..

4. Fresh Start in a New Place........I was so sad when she stopped her story...boo hoo

5. Chris & Carol Only in Thailand, great blog and I hope that all is well.

I have recently started to follow Henry the dog diaries....but I noticed he doesn't want to be tagged, so I think an award is out of the question, many of the others I have only added in the last couple of weeks.

A castle and a reflection all at the same time Fougeres Bretagne France, just down the road.
Anyway must log off now and get some zzzzzzzzzzzz, night night. Blu xx