The diet that keeps you at home!

The way he treats his body, you’d think he was renting. ~Robert Brault, robertbrault.com

This week they declared on French tv that French women are the slimmest in Europe. No I have no idea how they arrive at this statistic. On Friday morning two English and two French women meet for a coffee and a chat in Fougères. We sit in the sunshine admiring the beauty of the castle and chat. I was rather surprised that the very, very, slim French lady was on a "regime". She even had her diet sheet with her and questioned what some of the words were in English. Later I asked to look at this two week regime and thought it wasn't really that bad well maybe for a week, well maybe if you could have some wine with your meal, well maybe if.....

But what caught me eye was.....the addition of LIQUID PARRAFIN......quelle horror...I didn't even know they still sold it!

When we walked back up the hill from the castle to the town, I took this very confusing photograph. Can you spot the two fatties!

Two fat men

I hope that you dont need to stay at home for the wrong reasons today. LOL.

The French word for thin is mince, sounds more like mance.

The French slang word for blimey or blast is mince.

Etymology for the word diet.

Look like a child

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million. ~Walt Streightiff

On Thursday my French class resumed after the Easter hols and we were given more poems. Prof would like us to write what we think about a poem called A man and an ant! written by Alain Bosquet. Well we read the poem and even when we understood all the words and phrases there are chunks of it that make no sense at all! So I searched for another which I like instead, not keen on ants this week!

A different Poem by Alain Bosquet

A child said to me:
This stone is a sleeping frog.

Another child said to me:
The sky, it is very fragile silk.

A third child said to me:
The ocean when it is afraid, it shouts.

I do not say anything, like a mouse.

The dream of a child it is a law.

And then I know that stone,
Really is a frog, but instead of sleeping
it looks at me.

About the poet Alain Bosquet

Sometimes it is good to see the world like a child. In January I saw what was left of this tree and thought I saw an elephant.

Elephant in Bretagne.

The French word for eyes is yeux

The French Slang word for eyes is mirettes....I like that word.

Smiles

If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it. ~Andy Rooney

Some of the visitors that turn up in spring make me smile. We now have three bats that wizz around in the air above the garden, they make me smile. The toads have turned up too, I like them because they are a bit comical, however I become fearful that I will maim one whilst gardening ..AGAIN..

The swifts, swallows, or hirondelles call em what you will, always bring a big smile to my face, although they drive the dog crazy. woof, I look forward to their arrival.

The bluebells are opening, and the orchids are starting to push their way through.

The bank alongside our garden provides us with a show of pink orchides with spotted leaves. Like all the villages around here all the weeds (wild flowers) get strimmed by the men who are paid to keep the villages tidy. Although here they arrive with their strimmers after they have flowered. I took this picture last year before the strimmer arrived.

Voila une fleur my Roadside Orchide

But not all the things that turn up in spring make me smile, the darned ANTS are back indoors, this year in the bathroom!

The French word for smile is sourire.

The French word for ant is fourmi.

Etymology for the word smile.

Wake up Call

There is no hope for a civilization which starts each day to the sound of an alarm clock. ~Author Unknown

We have no idea what the future holds. Everyone from time to time gets a sudden shock or an unpleaseant event happens that stops you in your tracks. It is a kind of wake up call, it can be an illness or worse a death, maybe a personal financial crises. But when you do finally pull through to the other side, you can really appreciate some of the small pleasures that life brings.

I was delighted to see that Braja had popped in to my blog and left a message, she recently was involved in a serious car accident.

Part of my homework for French class are words which end in the sound O, for example oiseau (bird), velo (bike). I decided to get carried away and compile three pages of O's.

A symbol of France is of course the cockerel, noisy little alarm clocks!.....did you know that cock a doodle doo in French is cocorico. My picture today is a zodiac on a wall in Rennes, with a cockerel looking out across the square.

Cocorico

I hope that you find something to enjoy today even if it is only the smell of fresh coffee, or the sound of a bird's song.

The French word for sound effects is sono.

The French word for a small bell is grelot.

Left handed?

I willingly confess to so great a partiality for trees as tempts me to respect a man in exact proportion to his respect for them. ~James Russell Lowell

I have attempted to translate a poem, you cannot translate French word by word because it may not work out. I must see what my French teacher makes of my attempt. I hope she doesnt think it is too clumsy.

I must get on with my French homework and do some grammar!

Poem by Maurice Fombeure.
I am of wood, my hands and my face,

Of wood I am, yes, of hard heart of oak,

Worked by a clumsy sculptor,

But the forests quiver in my heart.

Torn apart by ceaseless storms,

Indifferent to the hot breath of the animals,

Blind and deaf to the sources in the moss,

Already ready for its dark drop,

Already ready for its eternity.

Fombeure, Maurice (1906-81). French poet. his poetry had a natural simplicity his ability to inject everyday living with humour and poetry.

Here is a picture that I took on 24th December, when the sun is so low in the sky it hides behind the trees.

Left all Alone.

Today's post is my way of plugging two other bloggers who both work the wood with talent, I wonder if they are left handed?

Art Propelled where Robyn makes totems and other wonderful pieces.

Woodwose Carving where Dave carves small pieces of wood often with a lot of humour.

The French word for clumsy is maladroit.

The French word for straight is droit.

Etymology for dexterity.

Who got the money?

Faith is putting all your eggs in God's basket, then counting your blessings before they hatch. ~Ramona C. Carroll

In the forest there is a small stone cross, and I was curious about why it was there and the inscription upon it. Fouteau de Poulailler. I discovered this week in one of my library books a little more about this cross.

Raillier a republican historian of the revolutionary period, wrote that in pagan times if an inhabitant of the countryside had a fever one of their close relations or friends would go to the fouteau (beech tree) make a prayer, engrave the figure of a cross on the bark of the fouteau and dig a small hole in between the roots where they would leave an egg or a coin.

The effect of this pious deed was the healing of the sick. It is said that beggars came from time to time to look for the offerings but it was fruitless.

The historian noted that that the superstitious practice described did not entirely go out of fashion.

The Church in a way restored the pagan ritual by erecting a cross at the Fouteau Pouillailer, then in 1937 a granite cross replaced the wooden one.

Link showing hêtre or fouteau.

Buried Treasure

So who took the money and eggs?

Fouteau Pouillailer = Beech tree henhouse, sounds like one of Tina Turners songs!

The French word for beggar is mendiant

The French word to dig a small hole is creuser.

Secret Roses

Silence is the true friend that never betrays. ~Confucius


A friend was recently talking about a place that was peaceful and so I started to think about silence, even now although I cannot hear any traffic outside, noises can be heard inside the house. The motor on the fridge just kicked in.

Did you know that Harpo Marx was named after the Greek God of silence Harpocrates, well I didn't. But I do now!

Apparently the French have an expression D'ecouvrir le pot aux roses, to discover the pot of roses, which means a secret! Can you keep a secret when you have had a few too many? The term sub rosa, means that you should keep what you hear a secret.

Link to wikipedia Harpocrates.

Link to wikipedia Sub rosa

Here is a picture that I took last summer in Fougeres, and BTW the price of the roses hasn't gone up yet!

Secret Roses

I hope that you don't have to keep any secrets this weekend!
PS..Buy yourself some golden roses for Easter.

The French word for peaceful is tranquille

The French word to tell is raconter....en raconter = to tell tales.

Etymology for the word private.

He didn't fess up.

If you mess up, 'fess up. ~Author Unknown

Several years back I saw the name Jules Ferry on a map, and have seen it many times since, Rue Jules Ferry is often used as a street name.

So who was Jules?.......He was prime Minister of France twice, and helped to remove education from the strong influence of the Catholic Church, good man I thought. But on reading further I changed my mind, he formed the idea of acquiring a great colonial empire, for the sake of economic exploitation. He declared that "the superior races have a right because they have a duty: it is their duty to civilize the inferior races."

This week Segolene Royal who was the leader of the opposition in France has been stirring things up for the French President. Read more here. Segolene discombobulates the issue!

Link to Wikipedia about Jules Ferry.

Link to Jules Ferry Biography here.

I took this picture last week when I walked up Jules Ferry street in Fougeres, I am going through a door phase!

Old Door

Do you think that he, Sarkozy should say sorry for previous French governments who messed up and for the arrogant attitude of Jules and others like him?.


The French word for duty is devoir.

The French word to stir or mix is mélanger.

The word discombobulate.

Flowers for the Gods

Earth laughs in flowers. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Hamatreya"

I often stop in the forest to let my dog have a romp around whilst I take a few snaps. Last Thursday I had a little surprise. A large lorry stopped me from parking where I had intended and so I pulled up near to the Cordon des Druids.

The sun was shining through the trees onto the stones and it was just after midday. The stones are in a line which stretches for about 800 feet, the tallest is only about 6 feet high.

Midday Sun

But something was different, because the tallest stone was adorned with a garland of flowers, it was the right size for wearing on your head. The stones that I had visited the previous week have been given a macabre image with modern day sculptures of hands with claws and benches wearing devilish heads. The information boards told you about the Druids sacrificing people on the huge flat topped rocks.

The flowers made these stones feel like a happy place to be.

I found a website about a couple who travel around various parts of the world looking at these old stones, there is a lot of information in this link.

Garland for the Druids

The French word to adorn is paré.
The French word for romp is galopade.

Etymology for the word sacrifice.

Its all rubbish here

Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless. ~Bill Watterson

Sunday morning I am meeting a couple of friends, and we are going to a Vide =empty Grenier =loft sale. You may have heard of all the wonderful bargains that can be found at a Vide Grenier. Well last year I went to one near here and I was amazed. I had seen better stuff thrown away at the local tip in the UK. That's not to say that I haven't been known to purchase a bargain at a tip, because I have.

I spotted the beautiful horn of plenty last weekend in Vitre, it is all hand carved, and it is above an Insurance shop.

Maybe I find a horn of plenty!

Well I am only going to be sociable and I will be amazed if there is anything other than rubbish. I will let you know if I spot a real bargain! Wish me luck!

The French word for a load of tat is camelote!!!!

The French word for stuff is truc.

Etymology for the word junk.

A birds tear

Imaginary gardens with real toads in them. ~Marianne Moore's definition of poetry, "Poetry," Collected Poems, 1951

My French class is sadly on another two week break, until after the Easter holidays, so more time for gardening if the weather stays fine. We read another short poem out loud of course.

Myosotis
J'aime les e'tangs, et j'habite
Partout où l'eau se creuse un lit.
Ma fleur, d'un bleu pâle, s'agite
Au moindre vent, au moindre bruit,
Ma coupe d'or est si petite
Qu'une larme d'oiseau l'emplit.

Alphonse de Lamartine

Forget-me-not
I like the pools, and I live
Everywhere where there is water,I dig a bed.
My flower, a pale blue, trembles,
With the least wind, the least noise,
My gold cup is so small
A tear of a bird fills it up.

To read more about Alphonse click on the link here.

Yesterday afternoon in the garden weeds were dispatched, sadly I cant tell my weeds from my flowers. The forget-me-not grows wild and often where it isn't wanted.

Here is a picture that I took last year, the flowers grow wild near the stream in the village, I thought that they would look good on a cake. They were so tiny they were very difficult to photograph.

Cake Decorations

Are you caught up in the gardening frenzy?

PS. We have toads in the garden here.

The French word for wild is sauvage...fleur sauvage

The French word for sadly is malheureusement

The Richness of time

There is one kind of robber whom the law does not strike at, and who steals what is most precious to men: time. ~Napoleon I, Maxims, 1815

Last week as ever time flew by at a fast pace. One day we took pictures of the Belfry or Befroi in Fougeres. Although it is very prominent when one looks up at the town of Fougeres it is easy to miss it on market day. Everyone is looking at the produce on the stalls and not looking up.

Apparently the belfry was built in 1397 funded by local merchants. It allowed ordinary people access to timekeeping previously the preserve of the church and nobility.

I had never thought about richer people having access to time, and poorer people living without a clock. Maybe it would be nicer to live in a world where you could live by simply using the sun in the sky and not a timepiece.

Flower Tower

Actually I don't wear a watch, but my mobile phone can tell me the time if needed.

The French word for lifetime is vie....cours de la vie

The French word for ringing of chimes is sonnerie.

Etymology for the word clock.