Blu's vue's

Contentment

2012-01-03T12:23:00.001+01:00

We tend toforget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’thave, but rather of recognising and appreciating what we do have. ~ FrederickKeonig

I read that quote, which after Christmas is rather ironic, since in my opinion Christmas is now a big shopping fete! But contentment is so much more than gadgets and stuff, are you content with how you look, how many close friends you have, how good you are at your job or hobby! Being content is a difficult thing to achieve and I am sure we all fail on various levels!

I guess it is some sort of inner peace, must strive harder!

Best wishes to you all from a rather rainy windy Bretagne!

To be pleased with = être content de

Once upon a time

2012-01-01T17:02:00.000+01:00

Time is a briskwind, for each hour it brings something new... but who can understand andmeasure its sharp breath, its mystery and its design? ~ Paracelsus

Another year gone, hello 2012 and for most of us we have no idea what will happen, I no longer have resolutions but I do try to set a few goals. My creative self needs time, time to play, experiment and try new things.

I have recently been reading French fairy tales on my Kindle and the image I created below looked a bit mystical.

Once Upon a time

I look forward to the warmer longer days, (although winter has not really arrived yet) rising early, that is my time for gathering ideas. It is so hard to rise early when it is pitch black outside and the house is cold.

Do you have a favourite time of day for thinking and planning?

Une fois = once

bien de fois = many times

pour la seconde fois = for the second time

Reading French can be like Shakespeare

2011-12-10T11:52:00.001+01:00

I do wander everywhere; Swifter than the moons sphere; And I serve the fairy Queen. ~ William Shakespeare

Often when I read French I can understand every word yet can make no sense of it, it is like being back at school reading Shakespeare, it can take a while for the penny to drop!

Fairies live in forest's no? I think they must.

Fairy land

Fairy Queen

Magical homes appear overnight.

They live in a magical world of colour

It is great to dream, child like thoughts.

I dream one day I can read without any difficulty in French LOL,

Fairy is fée

Childrens fairy story is conte de fées

2011-12-04T11:43:00.001+01:00

There is nothing wrong with change if it is in the right direction ~ Winston Churchill

Every generation seeks change

I thought Robin Hood lived in Nottingham forest!

Lower politicians salaries, increase tax on imports.

Cancel the debts, Control the Banks, Stop the war.

Tomorrow morning I will be meeting my French friends to talk about the News, at home and abroad, I feel there are a few topics here to start a lively debate!

So what would you like to change in the world?

News

News item d’actualité

News headlines del’actualité

News reader, presenter animateur, présentateur

Newscaster, announcer

Newsagent marchandde journaux

Newsagent’s magasinde journaux

Hue and Cry

2011-10-16T13:50:00.000+02:00

~ "Life is like a good black and white photograph, there's black, there's white, and lots of shades in between." ~ Karl Heiner ~

After the storm which blew out various electrical gadgets, we invested in a box which means via satelite we can view UK tv!.. Not sure if this is a great idea yet. However whilst I was learning how to use the clever box I viewed recorded and paused Oliver Twist, a very old black and white classic! One of the villains in the story is Bill Sykes and his cruelty causes his dog to betray him, and all the locals hunt him out!

Although I have heard this expression many times before I didn't realise what the full meaning was, so wikipedia came to my aid! Hue and Cry is a process by which bystanders are summoned to assist in the apprehension of a criminal who has been witnessed in the act of a crime.

Link to wikipedia Hue & Cry.

Black & White at Chinon France

I rarely take black and white photographs, maybe I should try taking some more, here are a few off my Flickr photo stream.

Black & White at Blois France

Black and white en Bretagne

Some French

To add some colour is colorer.

A loud outcry is clameur.

No need to be cross!

2011-10-07T13:36:00.003+02:00

~~ Is not a kiss the very autograph of love? ~Henry Finck ~~

The other day I was helping a friend who is French write a letter in English. "What do the little xx's mean at the bottom of emails and letters" she asked me....I instantly replied "they are kisses". But then she wonders why we use a little x and I assumed it had some sort of religious reason, maybe kissing people who are about to die or who are ill and praying for them!

My photograph The Devils Fingers a strange type of mushroom!

My photograph ~ Stone Cross a tiny chapel in Brittany

Wiki tells me the following ....The use of "x" to signify a kiss dates back to as early as 1765.^[3]^[7] In the middle Ages, many people who were unable to read or write often signed documents using an X. Kissing the X represented an oath to fulfill obligations specified in the documents. The X and the kiss eventually became synonymous with each other.

My Photograph ~ Crossed Wires

Some French words.

A religious cross is croix

To ~~cross ou~~t is barrer.

Fly like an eagle ~

2011-09-23T09:06:00.002+02:00

Lone eagles soaring in the clouds, fly with silent peaceful poise, While turkeys in their earthbound crowds fill the atmosphere with noise ~ William Arthur Ward ~

Cannes was not really my kind of place, too many people and cars! Yet I am sure it has lots to offer if you wander the back streets with a camera. I love looking at old buildings doors and windows.

Back street Door Details

I spotted this lovely placque too, a bit over polished but elegant.

The Cannes film festival was launched in September 1946, marking the return of French cinema after world war II.

Some French

In crowds ~ dans la foule.

Calm, peaceful ~ tranquille.

Tranquille is derived from Latin tranquillus quiet and calm.

TOURISTE!

2011-09-21T11:59:00.004+02:00

~~ The average tourist wants to go to places where there are no tourists. ~ Sam Ewing

Absent?....yes I had my internet connection wiped out by a huge orage (storm), we lost various electrical appliances internet decoders etc...then I got things ready for a holiday and went to the South of France for a week stopping en route both ways.

Cannes

We drove into Cannes it was a Sunday morning (Dimanche), we searched for some where to park and found a place down a side street. After a short walk in the heat we found a small restaurant also down a side street.

I am back now and it feels more like autumn, it is still summer down South.....more images to follow soon.

Feels like summer

Interesting buildings can be seen down the side streets away from the hordes and flashy motors.

Lovely Rustique

Of course if you have the money you can roast on the beach, (it is mostly private)

Sardine Racks

The sun makes everyone thirsty!

Some French

The French for thirst is soif

Heat (hot weather) is chaleur

Chaleur is derived from the latin Calor (heat, warmth, glow)

Take some photo's today!..August 19th

2011-08-19T13:11:00.008+02:00

~~ When words become unclear , I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence. ~~ Ansel Adams ~~

Only on August 19, 1839, was the revolutionary process explained, step by step, before a joint session of the Académie des Sciences and the Académie des Beaux-Arts, with an eager crowd of spectators spilling over into the courtyard outside.

Read about Louis here

In French

Louis Daguerre est resté dans l’histoire comme l’un des pionniers de la photographie pour avoir inventé le daguerréotype. Ce procédé photographique fut le premier à offrir des images permanentes et à pouvoir être exploité commercialement.

Link in French HERE.

The invention of photography

I hope you like my photograph called

Summertime

Some French

Camera is appareil photo

To take some photo's is prendre des photos

Do not disturb!

2011-08-12T09:41:00.003+02:00

~ This is the strangest life I've ever know. Jim Morrison ..The Doors ~

I have been reading a book written by Michael Wright called Je t'aime a La Folie, which I picked up at a hospital bookshop, part of the story revolves around an unfunny knock knock joke, but then they all are!

Je t'aime a La Folie is a nice read, and will be added to my visitors to France bookshelf for those days when the rain falls like stair rods.

Todays images are doors and portals in my local town Fougeres.

Knock knock, who's there? Bolton...Bolton who?............ Bolton the door!

Knock knock, who's there? Garden.......... Garden who?

.......Garden the treasure!

Knock knock, who's there, Laisser, Laisser who?

Laisser faire!

Have you heard any good jokes lately?

A little bit of French

To knock before entering........ frapper avant d'entrer

She lives three doors down the road ....Elle habite trois portes plus bas

A month of green ~

2011-07-27T13:55:00.008+02:00

~~ "Hot July brings cooling showers,Apricots and gillyflowers."-

Sara Coleridge, Pretty Lessons in Verse ~~

The ground was dry and parched, cracks appeared in the potager, the rhubarb wilted, the water butt was empty, but that was in April. This month July we have seen a lot of rain in Bretagne!

I walked through the Jardin Public this week in Fougeres and it was very green indeed.

The colour Green

And in fact it was still raining when I took the photo but only light mizzle, what has your July/Juillet been like?

French words

Mist is brume

Heat haze is brume de chaleur

Chaleur (heat) comes from the Latin Calor,

Lavender blue

2011-07-21T14:56:00.010+02:00

The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. ~~
~~Pablo Picasso~~

What’s in a name? The Romans called it lavender which may have come from the Latin verb “lavare” which means “to wash” or from the word “livendulo” which means “livid or bluish”. The Greeks referred to it as Nardus after the city of Naardus in Syria. People in India called it spikenard, which referred to the shape of its flowers. Read more here.

The old lavoir in Fougères

Washing in solitude

Flowers on the banks of the river Nancon in Fougeres

I had lunch right next to the river the other day in Fougères at a little restaurant called l'Estiminette, which means little bar/bistro/especially a shabby one!!! It is really nice, honestly. Because of the strange summer weather we sat outside with our jackets on!

Apparently estiminette is from Walloon for cow shed!..link here.

Just in case you did not know Walloons are French speaking people from Belgium.

My search for the roots of the word lavender was inspired by Deborah's blog, see lots of lovely lavender here.

We are all washed out here, clothes drying indoors as the rain pours day after day!

French words

A washing machine is a lave linge.

A washer woman is a lavandière

Well what do you think?

2011-07-19T10:10:00.012+02:00

~~ A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is visible labour and there is invisible labour. Victor Hugo ~~

Sunday evening I watched Les Miserables again, and it is wonderful to think that the beautiful theatre in Fougeres is named after the author Victor Hugo. I happen to be a fan of an actor in the film of (Les Miserables), of course the one and only Gerard Depardieu who plays the leading role.

Looking at a Fougeres sky

I should read the book! or listen to it?

I have been given an MP3 player so I could listen to a downloaded Les Miserables here.

There is a site where you can read books online it is called read print click on the link here.

Talking about authors, my friend was reading a magazine from the UK and I spotted a review of Deborah Lawrenson's paperback book The Lantern. I think this would look good on my French reads bookshelf, so I must get a copy! It is useful to have a rainy days bookshelf!

A trick of the light behind the Saint Sulpice

Personally I think that you can think too much!

Some French

lantern light is lumière de lanterne

labour (toil) is labeur

What's your limit?

2011-07-17T08:13:00.010+02:00

~~ "We set ourselves limits but we are all strong enough to aim higher, to achieve our goals. All we have to do is find such strength within ourselves.
Know how to develop it. ~~~~ Alain Robert ~~

Aiming higher ?

Those steps are a bit tricky in their woodland setting. Have you heard about the crazy Frenchman who suffers from vertigo and climbs huge tower blocks?

His name is Alain Robert aka Spiderman read about him in this Wikipedia link here.

A little bit of French

A lot of strength is beaucoup de force

To lose ones balance is perdre l'équilibre

Vertigo is virtige

To turn or bend around a corner is virage
for example to turn right is virage a droite.

Progress

2011-07-10T08:30:00.005+02:00

~~ Then followed that beautiful season, Summer filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.~~

~~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ~~

Link to wikipedia about Henry here.

Yesterday I took a short walk in the forest, the first one for some time, it is looking very green indeed.

On the right tracks

Wishing you all a beautiful Sunday.

Some French

Childhood = enfance

c'est un grand gosse = he is still a kid at heart.

Mon pote & My post

2011-07-08T09:58:00.006+02:00

~~ Slang is a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands and goes to work.~~
~~ Carl Sandburg, New York Times, 13 February 1959 ~~

~~Thursday evening I went to see a friend for aperos and a chat. Another couple were there and we talked about speaking and learning French. I have a love of words and my friend explained that the first part of the English word Parliament means to talk, Parler . I wonder how many MPs know this?

These days we seem to chat with friends on the internet via Facebook, can you imagine the shock if a friend wrote a letter to you? My post box only receives bills, and occasional junk mail, and maybe a couple of postcards per year!

Here is a post box I spotted in Fougeres on Wednesday.

Pas de Pub!

Some French words

The French for a post is a poteau.

Poteau or Pote for short, in French slang means friend, ami fidele.

If you know why Poteau / Pote became a word for ami please can you let me know!

Computer Memory

2011-07-07T09:47:00.004+02:00

~~Memory is a child walking along a seashore. You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things. ~~
Pierce Harris.

This morning I accidently came across one of my own photographs, if you have never heard of Pinterest then take a look, people pin images that they like from around the Internet, if I pin an image from a blog I like to mention that blog and hope that sends them some visitors.

I stared and thought that is my photograph taken in a town called Ernée, in Mayenne, I went there on a lovely sunny market day.

Some comments were about the beauty of this door and how they would love to own it. The photograph is special for me since it holds for me a memory of a friend who was with me when I grabbed this shot, at the back of a market, my friend is no longer with us but my memory of her and that day stay with me.

Here is the photograph of the door.

Blu's Memory Door

French words

Computer memory is mémoire d'ordinateur

To recollect or remember is se souvenir

A little bit weedy

2011-07-05T11:49:00.008+02:00

~~Gardens are a form of autobiography. ~~
~~Sydney Eddison, Horticulture magazine ~~

It has been hot, hot, hot, and I have been trying a little bit of light gardening, early morning seems to be the best time to water, weed or maybe snip something back. Progress is slow but I will plod on! Feels a bit like my old school reports, tried hard but poor exam result!

Weedy

So what does your garden say about you?

Some French

Continuer à marcher = plod on

traînard = a slowcoach

Mixed Salad

2011-06-20T12:35:00.006+02:00

A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.
John Burroughs

Recently pain not pleasure kept me away from normal life & the Internet too, however I am now on the mend and picking up my bad habits again.

Recently television has been my distraction, and I watched in horror after the ecoli scare first broke out, and tons of salad food destroyed. Now we learn it was not Spain but Germany where the finger ought to have been pointed!

The weather is wet and grey, salad and summer feel like they have gone! Still they say it is good for the garden, (and the weeds).

Nestled in Green

Funny French expression

Panier a salade = a police van/wagon to transport prisoners, the name comes from the prisoners being behind grills inside the van, like lettuce in a salad basket. Link to French Wikipedia

Locked in?

2011-05-17T10:18:00.008+02:00

~ One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory. Rita Mae Brown ~

Can you easily remember words, I have to write everything down or else it is quickly forgotten. I have a thing about notebooks, they are my way of locking in new words!

In or Out

French words

Door lock = serrure.

Padlock = cadenas

Cadenas in the middle ages and later, a casket, with lock and key, to contain the articles used at table by a great personage, such as knife, fork, spoon, salt-cellar, and spices. Early examples have commonly the form of a ship.
read more at http://www.wordnik.com/

~ At home ~

2011-05-05T16:11:00.000+02:00

~ There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort. ~Jane Austen

I often look at art or photographs and find myself falling inside the image do you? It is sometimes difficult to explain why a certain image captures your imagination and makes you smile.

I am unable to get out and photograph so here is a shot from a few weeks ago I hope that you like it.

Did I ever mention that it was a French man who invented neon light?...well it was Georges Claude...link to wikipedia HERE

Light Falls

At home is a la maison

Taking your time

2011-04-25T15:26:00.004+02:00

The true traveller is he who goes on foot, and even then, he sits down a lot. ~ Colette ~

There comes a time for some of us when we realise that we just have to stop and rest a while, and do some more the next day!

I have been attempting to read some books in French including one by Colette, it is quite difficult, Colette wrote in a very poetical way, so the pages are plastered with pink post its, so I can learn all the new words!

Take a seat

Much easier to read and very enjoyable is Charlie et la chocolaterie, by Roald Dahl, Mr Wonka est le plus incroyable inventeur de chocolat de tous les temps!

French words

Post-it = Post-it or Autocollante
Note pad = Bloc-notes

Wishing you all an enjoyable Easter break.

Bloomin lovely

2011-04-20T09:15:00.008+02:00

If you've never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom. ~Terri Guillemets

The weather is so good at the moment maybe it is better than summer.

Wisteria Falls

Ding it's Spring

Simply White

Spring and various other things have been keeping me away from Blog world, I hope to catch up with you all soon.

Some French Words.

Petal = Pétale
In full flower = en pleine floraison
Blossom / bloom = s'épanouir

Hello Spring

2011-03-30T08:39:00.011+02:00

~Yesterday the twig was brown and bare;
To-day the glint of green is there;
Tomorrow will be leaflets spare;
I know no thing so wondrous fair,
No miracle so strangely rare.
I wonder what will next be there!
~L.H. Bailey ~

Celebrating another Spring

Spring is such a happy hopeful time yet it always makes me a little sad because it is a new time, and I think about those who are not here to enjoy it.

Wishing you happiness.

Some French words
Spring = Printemps
leaf buds = bourgeon
flower buds = bouton

Etymology for button

Read an older post about the Devils Snare

Stones, bricks and concrete.

2011-03-14T14:23:00.011+01:00

Architecture is inhabited sculpture ~ Constantin Brancusi ~

~ Every week weather permitting, I am setting myself a little photographic challenge, the current one is architecture. Just in case it rains all week here are a few images from my archive. Should I search out some new buildings, I do like modern too!

Blue sky and the Theatre Victor Hugo Fougeres

This beautiful building was restored and re-opened in 2001.

Blue sky framing Morel et Gaté

This was a shoe factory, fabulous art deco style. Fougeres

Marvelous Mosaic Sporting the Coq motive

Grey Sky at the Chateau Fougeres

Materials granite, schiste, stone, slate/ardoise, and half timbered houses (Colombage)

Do you have a favourite building, new, old, or quirky?

French words

Concrete = béton
Ciment = ciment
Draughtsman = dessinateur
Architect = architecte

Disappearing weekends

2011-03-11T14:29:00.008+01:00

Weekends are a bit like rainbows, they look good from a distance, but disappear when you get up close to them ~ John Shirley ~

Last weekend I took a drive out to visit an exposition, I was expecting to see art but it was in fact more of a craft fair, on the way back I took a small detour.

My friend had told me about an area of land that is reserved for wild flora and fauna but is essentially a marsh land. The sun was shining so I got a pretty shot of the water. A couple were strolling around the water, I think I will go back again and do the same.

Tourist information (in French) HERE.

La Tourbiére de Landemarais

It is worth driving off the mainroads so that you can discover some of the lovely old stone buildings. This tiny chapel is named after Sainte Anne, the year 1646 is carved above the door.

Chapelle Sainte Anne

The chapel has been given a new roof so it should be around for a lot longer.

Information showing chapel before restoration HERE.

I hope you have fun this weekend!

French words
Marsh = marais
Swamp = marécage

Discovering silence

2011-03-02T08:28:00.005+01:00

See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence.... We need silence to be able to touch souls. ~Mother Teresa

I have broken a morning routine by recently not turning on the tv to watch BBC World News, all is quiet, and the distressing images are locked away inside the television. I will watch the News in French later, the pictures will be the same just the words will be different.

Today I bring us two peaceful views.

Sun

Moon

French words
A quiet day = jour paisible.
Without noise = sans bruit.

Fragile life part two

2011-02-23T11:56:00.009+01:00

~ As every thread of gold is valuable, so is every moment of time~ John Mason ~

What happens when three Flickr photographers go out and about in Brittany?...Why we get in each others shots, get out of the way! Petit Minou, Purpleruthie, & Blu.

We went on a hot summers day, to take a look at the Champ Dolent, one of the many menhir's (huge stones) in Bretagne.

Tall stories & a Tall Stone!

There are many myths and folklores, about this Menhir, one is that a battle was once fought between two feuding brothers. When the fighting was at its height, and the field was running with blood, the menhir sprang up between the two sides, amazed by the miracle, the armies ceased fighting and made peace.

Little and Large

Location of the Champ Dolent HERE.

French word surgir for a person or animal to suddenly spring up, not sure about large stones!

Fragile life part one

2011-02-19T09:13:00.011+01:00

~ “Life is one of those precious fleeting gifts, and everything can change in a heartbeat.”~

Larking around in the leaves

Some weeks in our lives are harder than others, this week was one of those for me. This week my friend who often showed me new places in Brittany, or nearby Normandy died very suddenly. I have been looking at pictures of some of the wonderful places, buildings, flowers, that we enjoyed together.

Christian Dior's House & Gardens at Granville

Beautiful rose garden by the seaA beautiful house & museum

The Elegance of Dior

Link to Christian Dior's House & Gardens website HERE

The French for heartbeat is battement de coeur.

The French for tears is larmes.

Setting the tone

2011-02-13T08:14:00.016+01:00

Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realise they were the big things. ~ Antonio Smith

Following on from last week, here are some popular pictures off my Flickr Stats, I kind of like having no control, other than I am not repeating recent photographs or my art.

Around the fields on a frosty morning just walking the dog.
Two toneA really old shot, of some beautiful blue bells.

DingDong

A recent shot in the forest I love the way this tree is wearing fallen leaves, some from other trees.
Winter Mannequin

June 2009, a walk in a park in Fougeres.
Summer Roses

On a day trip to a lovely part of Normandie (2009) I saw these rather odd benches.
The Living Bench

We had snow last February and when the roads are clear it is great to walk in the forest.
Soft Shadows

You really can take pictures everywhere, this one was taken at the recycle bins. (April 2010)

Green Bouquet

Some French words

Tone (sound)~ tonalité

Tone of voice ~ ton

Tone up your body ~ tonifier

Talking about tone and deafness, I think dogs like Clive do a great job assisting people. Lots of dogs are trained to help people with disabilities. Clive helps a young lad in Ireland who has Autism, if you have never seen CLIVE click on the link HERE

Some of my February images on Flickriver

I'm addicted to stats ~

2011-02-06T09:17:00.018+01:00

Torture numbers, and they'll confess to anything. ~Gregg Easterbrook ~

Just like comments are welcome here on blogger, I love looking at my stats on Flickr umm I know I am a bit addicted.

So I thought I might share which photographs got the highest number of views (not art) from my stats this week!..Hotchpotch post!

An old favorite called Sway

Paris Champs Elysees trip to see Monet's art at the Grand Palais

Engulfed a puddle picture

Heart in the Sky ( I love looking at the canopy in the forest)

Twists & Turns (yes it is upside down)

A rather old shot taken on a hot summers day Golden Arch

Inside a pepper

Red Pepper was posted for the Week 5 of The 52 week project.

I often cook with the warm coloured peppers, red, yellow orange. I love to make veggie sauces for pasta, or a good veg chilli. I despair what the big companies like Monsanto are doing to our food and the Governments let them!

I wonder what your addictions are, apart from food and drink!

Cats wire is addicted to netting LINK HERE

Some French words

number of people, nombre

number (numeral) chiffre

telephone number, numéro

Rare indeed ~

2011-01-30T15:23:00.007+01:00

~ Did you ever notice when you blow in a dog's face he gets mad at you? But when you take him in a car he sticks his head out the window. ~Steve Bluestone

I rarely take a photograph of my dog that looks half decent since she rarely keeps still when I have a camera in my hand. She is not great company since she prefers to be outside when I am inside and once inside does not wish to be stroked, she would prefer to jump on your lap! This dog behaves rather cat like at times.

So I am surprised to have two photographs of the mad mutt two weeks running!

Some of you may know I love playing with puddles, and so does the dog, week 3 of the 52 week project.

We both love puddles

We both hate having our picture taken

Week 4 The 52 week project, a quick snap of my dog, take a look at that face what a softie. My walks round the village with my camera are a nightmare as she pulls my arm just as I press the button. So off the lead in the forest is much easier, hence all the trees in my photo stream! Rarely still this dog behaves more like a hyperactive cat!

French Words
Dog lead = laisse
Dog bark = aboiement.

Colour palette

2011-01-27T18:56:00.006+01:00

Inspiration and genius one and the same ~ Victor Hugo~

Words to describe my trip to Paris; black, darkness, cold, rain, fun, laughter, Metro, Grand Palais, Eiffel tower, Marmatton, river boats, crowds, art, Monet, brush strokes, inspiring.

I even found a tree to frame the famous landmark! Photo modified using the Flickr editor Picnic, what was I to do with rain on the lens!

Tour Eiffel!

Moving underground

French General

Sadly it was not great weather for photographs, but the memory of the other pictures, Monet's art is buzzing around in my head...buzz buzz.

French words

Crowds ~ Foules
Artist's brush ~ Pinceau

Chatterbox

2011-01-16T16:29:00.004+01:00

Most people are nice and just want to have a chat. ~ Ben Nicholas ~

Most weeks I meet with friends for a beer, a coffee or a vin chaud. We have a chin wag, and when I meet my French friends, they ask me all sorts of questions, they usually go away reciting something awful, like red hat no knickers! Don't ask!

Here is a shot I took for a Flickr group; The 52 week project 2011, a shot each week that shows a little bit about my life.

Cafe de Paris

Some French words
Talkative / Bavard /Moulin a Paroles
Gossip / Cancan
To tell a story/ Raconter

Locked up magic ~

2011-01-07T16:28:00.004+01:00

Bare branches of each tree on this chilly January morn look so cold so forlorn. Gray skies dip ever so low left from yesterday’s dusting of snow.

Yet in the heart of each tree waiting for each who wait to see new life as warm sun and breeze will blow, like magic, unlock springs sap to flow, buds, new leaves, then blooms will grow. Nelda Hartmann, January Morn.

Magic awaits

Nice to know that buds and leaves are not that far away.

The French word for heart is Coeur.

The English word courage has Anglo French origins. Etymology link.

Cheerful down under ~~~

2011-01-05T10:22:00.004+01:00

~ A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition, William Arthur Ward ~

I just heard on BBC world news, that the Australian people who are up to their ears in flood waters are sanguine, (cheerfully optimistic). Easy for the reporter to say eh! I hope that the waters recede soon.

Sunny disposition

French words
Sang, blood
sanglot, sob
sanguine, blood test, ruddy colour.

Etymology for sanguine

Ripples of hope

2011-01-01T22:54:00.006+01:00

~ Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope... and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. ~Robert F. Kennedy

Despite all the wars, and fighting I view on my television screen, I am often warmed by the kindness I have found via the Internet.

Ripples of snow

I will try and get around to leaving comments on your wonderful blogs, but my Internet connection is like an old railway line in winter!

French words...
Ripple = frisson, ondulation.
Splashing = barbouillage, éclaboussure.

Farewell to 2010

2010-12-31T13:32:00.008+01:00

Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he could be and he will become what he should be. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

~We cannot remain in 2010 lets open the door to a new year.

Bonjour 2011

Today's post was inspired by the French word demeura which means reside or remain.
The French word rester can be used to remain the same.

The origins of the word remain come from Anglo French remaindre which is linked to the word manor in latin mansio!

May your dreams come true

2010-12-24T08:12:00.003+01:00

Life is full of beauty, notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest, and fight for your dreams.

White Christmas

After watching on my television screen the queues of people struggling to get to their destinations, many are dreaming that Christmas is not white. Wishing you a wonderful time in the company of friends or family.

Some French words

Christmas, Noël
Snow white, Blanche Neige
Father Christmas, Père Noël
Dream, reve.

What colour is silence ?

2010-12-08T09:39:00.007+01:00

Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone. ~G.B. Stern

I thought today that I would thank some of my regular Blog visitors who often leave a comment here, and tell you a little about them.

I could start with Lady Fi, or Fiona, who lives close to a beautiful lake in Sweden, she has a wonderful way with words, and is a brilliant photographer. We enjoy images of her beautiful dog Oscar who loves to swim in the lake, silhouettes of children having fun, we get occasional views of Stockholm. At the moment her blog is full of gorgeous snowy loveliness.
Visit Lady Fi's blog here.

If you seek a blog with fun and laughter, and often a surprise then look no further than Tom Foolery, every time I visit her blog she has moved the furniture around. Once in a while she makes us all sad and stops blogging, but thankfully returns after a makeover, a good photographer too. Visit Tom Foolery here.

If craft and design is what you adore then Art Propelled has a blog where you could loose an hour, living in South Africa she carves amazing icon like totems. Art Propelled scours blogworld and shares incredible work from around the world. Visit Robyns blog here.

Ken Devine writes blogs his diary, has a love for France, he is restoring a Breton house, and is a talented artist. Ken has several blogs, his art blog can be viewed here.

French Fancy who is rather brainy and has a love of fine writing, she adores Lord Byron, has been rather distracted from blogworld as she settles into a new life back in the UK, some have said she is a little bit posh. Her recent news was sad, which she bravely shared with her blog friends, to follow this very popular blogger click here.

So thank you to my blog friends who often comment...mwah!

Is Silence Golden?

I think silence is white what do you think?

Thank you to my new followers too!

Some French words

Gratitude is reconnaissance.
Well appreciated is bien apprécié.
Thanks a million is merci mille fois.

Bonheur

2010-12-07T09:08:00.002+01:00

~ If you see a friend without a smile give them one of yours. ~ proverb

Happiness

I had forgotten just like every year, how hard I find days when we have no light, or blue skies at all. I have been looking at greyness for days, so I am grateful for smiles and laughter.

So let me share this beautiful image taken in November, I hope it makes you smile.

Some French words

Happiness is bonheur
Smile is sourire
To burst into laughter éclater de rire

Sleeping beauties

2010-12-01T11:35:00.006+01:00

~ Dreams are illustrations... from the book your soul is writing about you. ~Marsha Norman ~

Earlier this year I visited Giverny, and saw some of Monet's paintings. So when I read on the internet about the exhibition in Paris at the Grand Palais, a friend and I thought why not. So we are off to view some of the great mans work in January.

The church at Giverny where Monet is buried

A preserved studio where the Impressionists used to paint

I was rather excited, when we eventually found this old studio. Most of the tourists are unaware that they can wander through the gardens at the back of the hotel Baudy. Just ask at the bar and walk through, then find yourself in a lovely quiet garden with a studio covered in greenery. Built in 1887, behind the former hotel, Baudy, this small studio the only one of its time has been preserved. Here Claude Monet and his friends completed their plein air paintings, outside are beautiful gardens.

Something magical happened...I realised that I am a painter too.

Here is the dining room

in the popular hotel Baudy where Monet and many artists would have listened to the piano. The guide book tells us this is pretty much as it was in Monet's time.

The beautiful restored watergardens, must look incredible when the waterlilies open up.
The only catch to our trip to Paris is that the only times available when booking online, (the queues are two hours long) are during the early hours. So when I get up at 4 in the morning to go and view Monet's art many Parisians will be asleep dreaming. We get 1.5 hours starting from 5 am. Then maybe breakfast in central Paris!

A link to the website Grand Palais here
A link to a website re Giverny here

Some French words

Canvas ~ toile
Charcoal ~ fusain
To paint the town red ~ faire la noce

Slippery tracks

2010-11-28T15:02:00.003+01:00

To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward. ~Margaret Fairless Barber, The Roadmender

Weather permitting, I have been walking around the fields in the mornings taking advantage of the colours as we slip into winter. I find it a wrench to go out in the evenings when the log fire is roaring and it is dark and cold outside. I keep my eye on the weather forecast, since the roads can be tricky when it gets icy....am I obsessed with the weather?!

Wishing you warm snug homes!

Weather today very cold ~ froid
Temperature tomorrow! below zero ~ en-dessous de zéro
Forecast for tomorrow! freezing fog ~ brouillard givrant,

Trying new things

2010-11-23T08:35:00.005+01:00

~I quit being afraid when my first venture failed and the sky didn't fall down.
~Allen H. Neuharth

Fear of failure must never be a reason not to try something ~Frederick Smith

I have been trying out new ways with my photography, what new thing have you been trying?

Some French words for fail
to fail an exam is rater
to fail (neglect) is négliger
to go bankrupt is faire faillite
fail (not suceed) is échouer

Crunching through autumn leaves.

2010-11-17T08:52:00.004+01:00

~ November Nights ~ by Adelaide Crapsey ~

Listen. . .
With faint dry sound,
Like steps of passing ghosts,
The leaves, frost-crisp'd, break from the trees
And fall.

More about Adelaide on wikipedia here

Some French words
in passing is ~ de passage
passing fancy is ~ lubie
passing love affairs ~ amourettes

Thinking in colour

2010-11-16T12:15:00.006+01:00

Quote by Robert Fulghum
Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one.
It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air.

Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination. ~Robert Fulghum
Link to wikipedia here.

A little Red Bomb

Natures colouring box

Go and buy some crayons and start colouring your world.

French Smiles
A half smile is a demi-sourire
A bright smile is sourire lumineux
A broad grin is a grand sourire

Smoke trails

2010-11-15T20:28:00.006+01:00

Autumn Fires ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!

Smokey Grey

Although it is not cold, the persistent rain is rather dreary, so log fires are very comforting! Wishing you warm dry evenings.

A feu de joie is a bonfire for celebration
feu de jardin is a garden bonfire.

Souvenirs

2010-11-11T09:16:00.006+01:00

French tv is currently showing many programme's about General de Gaule, it is 40 years since his death, and today the 11th November is of course remembrance day.

Every French town has a memorial, the names of the soldiers engraved into granite stones, the dates shown mainly from the 1st world war.

Some Memorials

Bazouges la perouse

Saint Georges de Reintembault

Other memorials are for the people who resisted the Nazis, in WWII

Laval

Also the many civilians who died during the allies bombings.

The Americans dropped leaflets warning the people of Fougeres that the town was to be bombed, sadly the leaflets all fell in the countryside, and so many townsfolk perished.

Fougeres

Today we stood in the rain at 11 am and watched the parade in a nearby town. The parade included the musicians from the local band, the Firemen/women, a group of old people wearing their medals on their civilian clothes, about six men in full uniform. They headed quickly down the road to a nearby hall, the weather was dreadful. We retreated to a favourite bar for a swift one!

Link to wikipedia about General Charles de Gaulle HERE.

Some French words
Tristesse means sadness,
Guerre means war,
Souvenir means remembrance, memory,
Paix, means peace.

Blue skies after the rain

2010-11-09T08:33:00.004+01:00

The leaves of memory seemed to make
A mournful rustling in the dark.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow~

Rustling leaves

If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand, Rejoice for your soul is alive. ~ Eleanora Duse

Rejoice

Wishing you all some blue skies soon, we have had several days of wind, rain, and terrible Internet connections!

The French word bruissement can mean, rustle, lap (as in water), swoosh, or whir!

Golden days ~

2010-11-08T08:31:00.004+01:00

~Romance is the glamour which turns the dust of everyday life into a golden haze. ~
~ Carolyn Gold Heilbrun ~

Golden Glamour

~In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different. ~ Coco Chanel~

Different from the rest

The winds are blowing the rich colours of autumn downwards. Winter is coming, parties are on their way, time to get dressed up.

Link to write up on Coco Bonheur Chanel here.

We have an invite to a New Years party already do you?

The French for gladrags is ~ belles fringues.

Bonheur means good times.

Here

2010-11-07T14:07:00.006+01:00

A short poem by ~ David Wagoner ~

Lost Stand still.

The trees ahead and bushes beside you Are not lost.

Wherever you are is called Here, And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,

Must ask permission to know it and be known.

The forest breathes. Listen. It answers, I have made this place around you,

If you leave it you may come back again, saying Here.

No two trees are the same to Raven.

No two branches are the same to Wren.

If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you, You are surely lost.

Stand still.

The forest knows Where you are.

You must let it find you.

Listen to the forest

Do you have a forest or wood that you know well? I just Googled Fougeres foret and saw some of my own art and photographs!

About the poet David Wagoner link here

To stand still in French is ~ ne bouger pas

Changes of opinion.

2010-11-05T08:06:00.006+01:00

A critic is a man who knows the way but can't drive the car ~ Kenneth Tynan~

How times change, I have been reading about Impressionist and post Impressionist painters.

I read that 100 years ago 5th November 1910, a major exhibition in London showing works by Cézanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh, shocked British art critics.

According to the art historian Rachel Teukolsky, “the paintings’ styles looked so unlike the realist canvases to which the British public was accustomed, that some reviewers accused the artists of attempting literally to destroy the Western visual canon.” A number of critics associated the paintings with French revolutionary political traditions. “In France a reform movement always has its section who are for the barricades, the guillotine, and the Anarchist’s bomb,” a review for the Spectator.

Fortunately times and opinions change about art, although we still see plenty of barricades!

The image for this post is a recent photograph taken in the forest, I almost discarded it, yet it seems to be going down fairly well on Flickr I named it ...

The Vision

The French word for critic is critique

To be open to citicism is ~ ouvert à la criticism

Dancing leaves

2010-10-31T16:37:00.011+01:00

~ A Whirl-Blast from behind the hill ~ by William Wordsworth~

A Whirl-Blast from behind the hill
Rushed o'er the wood with startling sound;
Then--all at once the air was still,
And showers of hailstones pattered round.
Where leafless oaks towered high above,
I sat within an undergrove
Of tallest hollies, tall and green;
A fairer bower was never seen.
From year to year the spacious floor
With withered leaves is covered o'er,
And all the year the bower is green.
But see! where'er the hailstones drop
The withered leaves all skip and hop;
There's not a breeze--no breath of air--
Yet here, and there, and everywhere
Along the floor, beneath the shade
By those embowering hollies made,
The leaves in myriads jump and spring,
As if with pipes and music rare
Some Robin Good-fellow were there,
And all those leaves, in festive glee,
Were dancing to the minstrelsy.

Bowers

Green

Tallest

Festive

Still

Leafless

The French for dancing is danse,
Dance floor is piste de danse
Belly dancing is danse du ventre

PS I hope that you liked the poem.

Tall Stories

2010-10-31T08:47:00.003+01:00

A church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. ~ Abigail Van Buren ~

Today 31st October according to my calendar purchased from the postman, is St Quentins day. Amazing that he could become a Saint when no real details are known about his life. He was a Roman, martyred in Gaul. He settled in Amiens in France, here follows the usual story of performing miracles, being repeatedly tortured, beheaded, and his corpse thrown into the marshes.

FIFTY FIVE years later a BLIND woman from Rome travels to France and finds his remains, actually it says they arose from the water with an odour of santicty. She buries the body and builds a small chapel! Of course later these bones are made a Saint!

Tall Stories to tell

No wonder I find this story to be a bit of a supercherie!

Supercherie means hocus pocus, deception, hoax, fake, sham.

Some French synonymns, tromperie, duperie, imposture, tricherie, ruse.

The Devil's snare.

2010-10-29T13:19:00.012+02:00

~ People seldom notice old clothes if you wear a big smile. ~Lee Mildon ~

It has got rather cool, scarves, gloves and warm sweaters are being unpacked, winter jackets revisited.

We take many things for granted including the simple button, initially worn as an ornament, then later used as a toggle, they were eventually used with a button hole.

In 1250 they were so popular (with the rich aristos) that in France a button makers guild was formed. So many buttons on clothes required the rich to employ professional dressers!

The church named buttons as the Devil's snare, ooh lala!

When French tailors started to make fabric buttons the button makers asked for laws to be passed to stop them!

Winter approches

Bouton d'or

Bouton is the French word for button.
bouton de fievre is a coldsore.
bouton de porte is a doorknob.
bouton d'or is a buttercup!

Come walk with me

2010-10-24T15:20:00.008+02:00

Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come ~
Chinese proverb ~

~ For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver. ~Martin Luther

Man's heart away from nature becomes hard. ~Standing Bear

I know that if odour were visible, as colour is, I'd see the summer garden in rainbow clouds.
~Robert Bridges, "Testament of Beauty"

To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug. ~Helen Keller

If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking.
Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.
~Raymond Inmon

I hope that you enjoyed that quick walk with me around the forest, and my favourite park in town.

The French word balade means stroll. ~se balader means to wander along ~ baladeur is French for a walkman.

Etymology for the English word ballad.

A Diary full of pictures

2010-10-17T12:52:00.013+02:00

~Memory... is the diary that we all carry about with us.
~ Oscar Wilde ~

This is a memory of October 2009, outside my favourite Cafe / bar Cafe de Paris, in Fougeres, on Saturday mornings this square is full of market stalls, and venders selling smokey sausages and frites. During October the trees turn a lovely shade of yellow.

A special memory, 2010 the trip to Monet's house and garden, memories of colour, but also perfume too, the flowers in the walled garden were almost too powerful for my nose!

This picture of trees and clouds is behind a beautiful but very spooky church the Saint Sulpice, so cold inside you can see your breath!...Fougeres, close to the castle. My friend and I were out shooting with our camera's.

These pink and red roses are usually outside the florists on the Rue National, (my favourite street in Fougeres). I often stop with my camera, and sometimes buy roses for other people!

This is my favourite place in the forest for photographs, I stopped here the other week after French class to show my friend, she loves taking pictures too!

I just had to stop and take some pictures of this tree,situated by some apartements on the outskirts of Fougeres, I had spotted these lovely yellow leaves on a few occasions after class. I called this memory Lemon Drops.

This photograph is of blackthorn flowers, which are such a delight after winter, at a friends house in St George's.

Recently my short term memory in getting worse and worse, thank goodness for photographs!

Most days I wash my hair twice, I think, I put two spoons of coffee in my cup, and if I write a shopping list I leave it at home.

The French for a desk diary is an agenda.
The French for a personal diary is a journal intime.

Ordinary folk ~

2010-10-14T21:59:00.007+02:00

~ I think that the recent liberation of the Chilean miners has been an event that tugged at hearts around the world.

Testing for gas ~

MOH's father spent his working life underground mining for coal. A tribute was erected on the top of what was spoils from a mine, this is now the highest point in Nottinghamshire, sadly this tribute, a miner and his lamp has been vandalised, the miner has now lost his lamp, what a shame.
I hate enclosed spaces and therefore could never cope with what these men have lived with day in day out. Bravo to the miners.

Photographs taken in Nottinghamshire, UK. by Blu

Profitez des petits bonheurs ~

2010-10-10T14:02:00.011+02:00

I suppose the pleasure of country life lies really in the eternally renewed evidences of the determination to live. ~Vita Sackville-West ~

Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them. ~Bill Vaughn

The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers ~
~Basho

Autumn ~ A time to kick up your heels, in the leaves, see how it feels. ~
Blu

The air is like a butterfly with frail blue wings, the happy earth looks at the sky, and sings. ~

Joyce Kilmer ~

Birdsong in spring, when all is begining! ~
Blu

I think it is good to have the changing seasons, good times to reflect and also plan ahead. Maybe plant some bulbs for spring!

Imagine ~

2010-10-09T00:28:00.005+02:00

~ Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace. ~ Buddha ~

I have a favourite shop window, do you? Mine has paintings and prints, sometimes I stop and take a photograph, I like to capture the people in the street along with the image.

It is hard to imagine that John Lennon would have been 70 today, sad that the world has not become a more peaceful place since he died.

Tombe la pluie~

2010-10-06T18:27:00.006+02:00

~Walking through puddles is my favourite metaphor for life ~ Jessi Lane Adams

~ It has been raining rather a lot recently, is it caused by the weekly rehearsals singing strange French songs???... maybe, we have a "singout" in a couple of weeks time, I may have to put cheese in my ears.

It has been raining so much big woofer had to stay indoors some of the time. When the big woofer is not outside all of the daylight hours she gets rather bored!

Life is dull!

The French for puddle is flaque
The French for splash is plouf
Here is a French word for bored, ennuyer

2010-10-03T07:38:00.011+02:00

~ When snow falls, nature listens ~ Antoinette van Kleef

~ Sit in reverie, and watch the changing colour of the waves that break upon the idle seashore of the mind ~
Henry Wadsworth

~ My age is as a lusty winter, frosty but kindly ~ William Shakespeare

~ Nature alone is antique and the oldest art a mushroom ~
Thomas Carlyle

~ If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes ~
Charles Lindbergh

~ Pluck not the wayside flower, It is the travelers dower ~
William Allingham

~A throne is only a bench covered in velvet ~
Napoleon Bonaparte

My world this week, weather was cooling down but now is very wet and windy, some evenings the fire has been lit, darker evenings are here, hot meals to plan, a wet dog to dry, watching the landscape reappear as they harvest the maize.

Wishing you all a warm and comfy sofa to sit on rather than a park bench.

Warm thoughts

2010-09-30T17:04:00.010+02:00

~One can enjoy a wood fire worthily only when he warms his thoughts by it as well as his hands and feet. ~Odell Shepherd ~

The colourful months of October and November are almost upon us, the trees can be felled again, log piles stocked up.

After the buzzing chainsaws are finished the logs in the forest are neatly stacked, for local fires.

Giant pencils that need sharpening

Did you know that the pencil sharpener was invented by a French man called Bernard Lassimone, receiving French patent number 2444 in 1828.

Holding onto colour

Some French words

To have a waist like a wasp is taille
To carve, sharpen or prune is tailler
A pencil sharpener is taille-crayons

Warm wishes to all my blog readers.

All photographs are in my Made a favourite folder on Flickr.

Laughing in the sunshine

2010-09-26T08:20:00.012+02:00

~ Meditation brings wisdom, lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom ~ Buddha

~ The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses ~ Hanna Rion

~ You can't be at the pole and the equator at the same time. You must choose your own line, as I hope to do, and it will probably be colour ~ Vincent Van Gogh

~ The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit ~ Nelson Henderson

~ Celebrate your success and stand strong when adversity hits, for when the storm clouds come in, the eagles soar while the small birds take cover ~ unknown

~ Friends are the sunshine of life ~ John Hay

~ A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine ~
Anne Bronte

Let me leave you laughing in the sunshine, or if it is raining go splash in some puddles.

For more puddles visit my Artography blog.

"I've caught this magical landscape and it's the enchantment of it that I'm so keen to render. Of course lots of people will protest that it's quite unreal, but that's just too bad." ~ Claude Monet

Surreal

2010-09-24T08:09:00.006+02:00

Certitude by Paul Eluard

If I speak it's to hear you more clearly
If I hear you I'm sure to understand you
If you smile it's the better to enter me
If you smile I will see the world entire
If I embrace you it's to widen myself
If we live everything will turn to joy
If I leave you we'll remember each other
In leaving you we will find each other again.

Paul Eluard ~ 1895 - 1952 one of the founders of the surrealist movement.
Link about the surrealist movement in wikipedia here
Link about the French poet Paul Eluard here.

Here is one of my favourite pictures taken a couple of years ago, and has not been seen much.

Surreal

Some S Words

To start, jump, startle, is sursaut.
To overhang, is surplomber.
To do something right away, is sur-le-champ.

Make the most of everything

2010-09-19T20:48:00.015+02:00

Everyday beauty

Life is too short not to make the best and the most of everything that comes your way everyday ~ Sasha Azevedo

I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck ~ Emma Goldman

It is by chance that we met, by choice that we became friends. ~ unknown

I can enjoy society in a room; but out of doors, nature is company enough for me.
~ William Hazlitt

Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet. ~ Roger Miller

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf's a flower ~ Albert Camus

Do not anticpate trouble or worry about what may never happen, keep in the sunlight ~ Benjamin Franklin

Best wishes to you all, Blu.

Posed

2010-09-17T00:24:00.008+02:00

Flickr Favourites Friday.

I dipped into my made a favourite folder and found this lovely image of a girl posed upon a creature. The photograph was taken in the Vendee in 2009 where I saw a beautiful merry-go-round, (in French manége). The top was painted in these lovely panels showing marvelous girls and beasts.

Posed

So using the letter P as my French link I discovered that Coca Cola created by Dr. John Stith Pemberton originally was a drink called French Wine of Coca, which contained French Bordeaux wine, coca leaves, and caffeine (from the kola nut).

Pemberton (1830-1888) was an American pharmacist, soldier, and inventor.

When Atlanta banned alcohol consumption in 1885, Pemberton needed to change the formula of his French Wine of Coca, removing French wine. He added sugar, citric acid and essential oils of various fruits, and Coca-Cola was created.

Pemberton became partners with Frank Robinson and David Roe, but the partners soon began to quarrel and Pemberton sold his interest in Coca-Cola.

Some P Words

Panard is slang for foot

Paluche is slang for hand

Everyday Beauty

2010-09-12T08:52:00.011+02:00

Life becomes precious and more special to us when we look for the little everyday miracles and get excited about the privileges of simply being human ~ quote Tim Hansel

This weeks round up and cheer up session, here's to everyday beauty, and when and where you can find it.

In a garden in summer

By a lakeside in the forest

At the end of winter a pale blue sky

Growing wild in summer at the roadside

Silhouettes on a cold winters day

Fluttering by at a garden centre.

Under the trees at the end of the road

Wishing you all an enjoyable week.

Oriental tapis

2010-09-10T08:34:00.010+02:00

Today I chose the photograph which really resulted in my journey back into art, it was taken in the forest on a cold February morning. I posted the picture onto my blog, some time later fellow blogger Carol asked if she could paint one of my photographs and she chose this photograph.

I liked what she painted and I was inspired to start using photographs as inspiration for art. My photograph and painting are shown below, I thought the colours in my art were like an Oriental rug.

February Colours

Oriental tapis

Both images are in my Made a favorite folder on Flickr.

Link to Carols blog here.

In Brittany every summer there are many marching bands and they parade at the many fetes in the towns and villages. The biggest parade is held in Lorient during the Festival Interceltique, where they play the bagad If you hate the bagpipes you will hate the Breton version too!

Lorient was originally a place for warehouses and shipyards, established there in the 17th century, it was named L'Orient (The Orient). Trading in India was big business and the French East India Company was later founded there. Lorient grew as a port and was badly bombed during World war II since many German submarines were based there.

Submarine in French is sous marin
Warehouse is entrepôt.

Blogs old and new

2010-09-05T20:33:00.007+02:00

Blogs old and new

Blogs that I follow, take a look at Robyn's blog, not only is she the most talented artist who carves totems and panels but she blogs other people's incredible work too.! I have been following Robyn's blog for a very long time and it is always worth a visit, she lives in beautiful South Africa! Just click here Art Propelled.

My second link is to a new Internet friend Sand625 who creates wonderful, digital art, and produces some very colourful images. Just click here Sand625

A few L words..
Lunetier...a spectacle manufacturer.
Lutin an elf, goblin or pixie.

Todays picture is Lions Tooth from the French dent de Lion, the name has nothing to do with the flower head of the common dandylion but the leaves which are shaped like teeth. Rather odd since the French call it Pissenlit which means wet the bed perhaps because it is a diuretic.

More links soon

Everyday Beauty

2010-09-05T11:38:00.009+02:00

A friend on blogger and Facebook asked me if I would like to join a just for fun FB Group, I accepted a request to join a group there and I have been posting some of my photographs and art. For those of you who do not use Facebook here are the images posted this week.

Everyday beauty when the light filters through the trees in September

Everyday beauty when the sun lights up a leaf

Everyday beauty in the forest
Everyday beauty around the fields

When October leaves are heavy with colour

Although the daily news is often negative, we are surrounded by beauty you just need to look for it.

Friday Favourite and the letter B

2010-09-03T10:20:00.004+02:00

Blimey another week has flown by, so I have dipped into my Flickr folder to select a photograph that was made a favorite by another photographer.

I love to photograph details on old French doors this one was a beautiful blue one, can you see the little person waving to you?

Beautiful Blue Door Details

So today's letter is the letter B, I thought of the oh so French head gear the Beret rarely seen these days on ordinary everyday people. However when I see an old guy wearing one I cannot help but smile.

Etymology for beret from French béret, Occitan berret cap, Latin birretum. A Birretum or Birretus was a cap or coif worn by judges in England. Wigs were worn as a status symbol, but also the original purpose of the legal wig was said to provide a form of anonymity and safety or disguise.

France is also famous for gifting the statue of Liberty to America, it was designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. The statue cost 4 million francs, $400,000, it was paid for by French and American citizens even French schoolchildren donated money towards the project. This symbol of liberty was was eventually erected in 1876 after many problems trying to raise the money required both for the statue and the base. Link to wikipedia

I am often amazed that money can be found for huge projects when times are hard; the Panic of 1873 or deep recession hit Europe and America after a series of banks had crashed in Vienna, and various economic setbacks. Europe and America were in a deep recession which lasted two decades!

A few B words,
barrette, a hairslide,
bosquet a copse or grove,
bouliste a bowls player

It is a beautiful day here, I hope yours is too!

Favorite Friday and the letter M

2010-08-27T11:35:00.011+02:00

Dipping into my Made a favorite folder on Flickr, today I chose a picture I called Mosaic. I discovered that the word Mosaic comes from the name Moses, which means drawn out!

The painting is based upon a photograph taken one morning whilst walking the dog around the village.

Mosaic

Mener to lead or guide.

Mener au village to go or lead to the village.

Menotte handcuffs, shackles or a childs hand.

Did you know that Marcel Marceau the famous French actor and mime artist, used his miming talents to keep children quiet when helping them escape from the Nazi's in WorldWar2. Link to wikipedia here.

Wishing you all a marvelous weekend.

F is for

2010-08-20T09:24:00.008+02:00

Today I discovered a new F word which sounds rather nice, floréal, which was the eighth month in the French Republican calendar, (used for about twelve years). Oh the eighth month was not in the summer,they had ten day weeks and each day had only 10 hours, of course!

Link to wikipedia here. Amazing, no Saints days either!

To celebrate Friday here is an image from my Flickr Folder (Made a favorite), yes and excuse my English and American/French spelling of the f word!

With all the rain that has been falling I must be missing out on the funghi in the forest!

Whatever you are doing have a fab Friday.

Thinking about you

2010-08-16T18:20:00.003+02:00

Peeking around in blogland after an enforced rest I found my fingers unable to reach for the right words.

So here is an image to let you know that although I have been gone some time, you have not been forgotten.

Thinking about you

Plongé dans ses pensées = Lost in thought.

Mid Year Resolution

2010-06-29T06:45:00.004+02:00

The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway ~Henry Boye

More than halfway through the year and yet somehow this year I feel that something is missing. It is natural to set goals and targets which we often do not achieve. My French is still dire ~ Parler le Francais comme une vache Espagnole I speak French like a Spanish Cow.

Yesterday was our last French class until September and our singing group meets for the last time tonight!

Brittany Cows
Maybe I need to meet myself halfway?

French word mi = middle

Discovering the past

2010-06-09T09:57:00.009+02:00

If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck

I was wondering what was happening in Europe in 1840, and what was life like. The year that Monet and my favourite author Thomas Hardy were born.

In France The Belle Poule brought Napoleons remains back from Saint Helena to Le Havre.
In Belgium the saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax, in the UK the RSPCA was formed, the lovely summertime drink Pims was invented. The postage stamp was introduced, the first, the Penny Black. Queen Victoria married Prince Albert. Scarlet fever was rife and in 1840 at least 20,000 people died of the disease in Britain!

Oh and Adelie land was discovered, Mr Sarkozy is the President and the language spoken is French, it is close to Porquoi Pas Point! discover A delie Land cute penguins here.

Blu's beautiful views, in Monet's garden

Besoin is the French word for want or need.
Affranchissement is the French word for postage.

Thank you

2010-05-28T10:41:00.012+02:00

"I've caught this magical landscape and it's the enchantment of it that I'm so keen to render. Of course lots of people will protest that it's quite unreal, but that's just too bad." ~ Claude Monet

I was lucky to be featured by Total Art Soul, just like on Flickr you need to join in and if you do it is possible to get to know creative people from all over the world! From time to time I add an image to the online gallery, and try and contribute to the forum. It is interesting to see which images Cathy the administrator chose to post in my feature page. So thank you Cathy for putting my art in the spotlight! Link HERE.

More about Monet.

Oscar-Claude Monet was born on 14th November 1840 in Paris. In 1845, Monets family moved to Saint-Adresse, near Le Havre. Claude was educated at La Havre’s secondary school.
Around 1856 or 1857, Monet began taking pastel and oil painting lessons from Eugene Boudin who worked primarily outdoors, he encouraged Monet to do the same. Monet later said, “Suddenly the veil was torn away... My destiny as a painter opened out to me.”

Lillies Adrift on Monet's pond

Monet's beautiful bridge

A colourful watercolour scene at Giverny

I also have to thank Claude Monet, because something strange happened to me when I went to Giverny, he gave me permission to say I am a painter too!

To be continued.

To make something happen we could use the mot réaliser
To tear off an object we could use arracher

A painter of flowers

2010-05-26T18:42:00.007+02:00

I am following Nature without being able to grasp her, I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers. ~ Claude Monet

Holidays for many of us are usually a very short break or in my case one night away in Normandie, however although the Normandie border is only 15 minutes away our destination was towards Paris, a four hour drive.

We oohed and ahhed at charming old timbered houses topped with thatch, we commented on the pretty villages. Eventually we stopped for an enormous inexpensive lunch in an Auberge, sadly the staff were holding back on smiles and conversation.

Apres Lunch. The land flattened out en route looking very like the flat lands of Lincolnshire in Angleterre. Just before arriving at Monet's house we drove through soft rolling countryside very like Bucks/Berks across the channel. The light traffic got even less busy. At 16.00hrs we arrived at our destination as some visitors were leaving, we took in the perfumed walled garden, the beautiful water garden and Monet's wonderful comfortable house.

Monet's beautiful home

The house was opened to the public in 1980 after much restoration to the property, however photographs of the interior are forbidden.

I thought that the tulips would have finished flowering but I was wrong.

Gorgeous

You will often see the word interdit for forbidden

Half timbered buildings are called colombarge

To be continued.................off to paint!

Winter boots?

2010-05-12T15:29:00.007+02:00

A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.
Charles Spurgeon

I have some sandals and if the weather ever warms up I ought to visit the cordonnier or shoe repairer, which got me wondering how this French word came about. I pictured a cordon of policemen holding their shields, in dark uniforms and wearing leather boots, a common sight these days when the people join a protest. But I was barking up the wrong tree.

This word has roots in latin Corduanarius and Cordwainer. Etymology for the word Cordwainer a shoemaker, who used cordovan leather from Cordoba in Spain. Cordovan leather was made from horse not cow hide.

If it doesn't warm up soon I may be back into winter boots or move South to Spain!

I am going to warm up with one of my recent photographs which I posted in the Flickr Group VIVID COLOURS

Take a Bow

The flowers were showing themselves off in the Jardin Public in Fougeres. What flowers are on show in your local park/public gardens?

Botte is the French word for boots

Semelle is the French word for the sole of your shoe.

Straining to win the sky.

2010-05-08T15:37:00.007+02:00

The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber. The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Wisdom of the Sands, translated from French by Stuart Gilbert

Who was ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry? well until 2002 his image and drawings were on the 50 franc note! Link to wikipedia Here.

We are reading one Antoine's books Le Petit Prince at French class and it is much harder than reading a newspaper.

Recently we have had several visitors, but sadly the sunshine has gone en vacance and the blue sky is rather shy!

In between vistors I manged to paint a few pictures reminding me of the blue skies I would rather be enjoying.

Photographs taken on my morning walks around the fields were used to get my paint brushes moving.

Voici le mois de Mai

Blue sky views through the Hawthorn

Tige is the French word for the stem or stalk of a plant
Rappeler to remember/remind call back.

Promotion

2010-04-25T14:54:00.003+02:00

Why do two colours, one put next to the other, sing? Can one really explain this? No. Just as one can never learn how to paint. Pablo Picasso.

On Friday evening I received a message on Flickr that I was now the administrator of a Group called VIVID COLOURS, oops I thought, I hadn't posted anything there for ages. The group was down to only three members including me. Well I thought this ought to be right up my street since my paintings often turn out very colourful. I started recruiting and this morning when I looked we have 29 members yippee.

Here is a link to the group VIVID COLOURSSo at a time when Mother Nature is starting to colour up, I now how somewhere else to play when it is hot outside!

I have been reading a great book about an artist called Enzo Cini who spent most of his life in France and ten years in Bretagne in a place named Treguier. His art was often bursting with colour vivid and vibrant! Here is a link that mentions him....(actually I look at the pictures a lot, since the book is all in French haha.)

Here are two of my recent contributions to the Flickr Group.

Autumn forest ferns

Black n Blue

The French word éclatant means shining or brilliant
The French word vive has many meanings like vivid bright vivacious
Etymology for the word vivid

Evolve

2010-04-10T11:22:00.011+02:00

Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life. ~Henry L. Doherty

I discover that so much learning can be done from home these days, really most people who have access to the internet and good health have every chance to be inspired and learn a new skill.

I am slowly picking up links to blogs/forums etc via Twitter, this is my second attempt to try and find out what Twitter is all about. Some of the places that I visit inspire me to get on with my art/photography. I now follow more blogs via Twitter and Facebook and good old fashioned email than I do by looking at my blogroll...sorry if I missed your posts. oops.

Thinking of early summer days

A visitor to the Forest last year

If you make jewellery, paint, carve, knit, write, are creative, maybe you are a musician, try this inspiring site out Total Art Soul

I will be offline for a few days but I do hope to catch up with my Internet friends soon, thanks to several new visitors for mentioning my blog.

A lovely French word for summery is estival

Caterpillar is Chenille not to be confused with ankle Cheville

Paper is a wonderful thing

2010-03-25T16:39:00.012+01:00

A house without books is like a room without windows. No man has a right to bring up his children without surrounding them with books, if he has the means to buy them ~ Horace Mann.
~~~
Not content with joining one library I have now joined another, naturally I am attracted to beautiful books full with pictures, like Idées pour les Pétales by Sophie Debieve, the book bursts with colour and inspires me to paint in shades of pink and red.
~~~
On Friday when I return books, magazines and music to Fougeres I will be searching for a favorite book about the forest, which has many poems in it. We have been asked to write about trees for next weeks French class!
Did you know that although Paper was invented about 2000 years ago in China, and was made in the 1400s throughout Europe, it was not until the late 1700s that paper was being produced in long, continuous rolls. In 1798 a French paper mill clerk invented a machine that could make a continuous sheet.
~~~
This piece of art was Inspired by a book about Tiffany lamps.

Light Filters

Walking in the forest in spring time, it may have arrived at last!? Get out there and get shooting.

Soft spring light

On the subject of paper do you still buy one? ... these days we only buy a local paper Ouest France on a Friday, although I would like to to try out France Soir which comes out every morning ~ matin!

The French word for picture frame is cadre
The French word for bookish is livresque

Buzz

2010-03-14T08:45:00.008+01:00

I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee. ~Carly Simon

Saturday morning we went into Fougeres,we usually park at the bottom of town by the chateau/castle. A walk up to the old town and then after a browse around the market we went to a favorite place, the Cafe de Paris.

It is for me a great place to chill out and people watch. I love the atmosphere, people sitting at the bar on their own reading newspapers, families searching for tables with babes in arms. Women chatting up the pleasant cheerful server. The deafening noise of the coffee machine, and the general buzz of a Saturday morning. Must go back soon!!

Down town

Uptown October 2009

Do you have a favorite place to people watch?

The French word for deafening is assourdissant

To browse maybe you could say ~ Je jette un coup d'oeil.

The day the circus came to town

2010-03-07T08:45:00.006+01:00

Time is a circus, always packing up and moving away. Ben Hecht

Back to French class, and we had a new poem, by Francis Jammes.

Priere pour aller au paradis avec les anes.

The prayer is about hot dusty days, ..do you remember those?...and the hard life of a donkey who toiled long and hard, with panniers tied its sides. The life of a donkey pulling a caravan, working for travelling show people, street entertainers, or acrobats known as Saltimbanques. Le mot saltimbanque vient de trois mots italiens, "saltare in banco", sauter sur une estrade.

It conjures up in my mind a colourful spectacle, but what a hard life to live and no life at all for the poor old donkey.

Link to wikipedia about the author Francis Jammes

Below one of my photographs followed by a small painting.

Hot heat haze in the forest

Let me entertain you

I do not think that I have ever been to a circus, have you?

The word for dusty soil is poudreux.

Etymology for somersault

Brrrrr

2010-02-25T00:33:00.005+01:00

Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart.Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)

This part of Brittany does not suffer from excessive snow, yet we have seen plenty of snow fall this winter leaving us with white dangerous roads. Now we have howling winds and rain, closed petrol stations (a strike) and winter is becoming a little tiresome! Still to cheer myself I have been playing with paint and doodling with pencils, any pictures in magazines that inspire me are thrown into a box so I can sit and sketch while cooking dinner.

I recently joined a new forum for artists, photographers, writers, musicians, it is called Total Art Soul and if you are that way inclined do check it out. On a wintery theme here is a painting I did for Illustration Friday, not far from our woodburner.

Wilderness

Fun with frozen puddles the chilled photographer, I must say that I prefer it to all this rain!

~ The Beast ~
Frozen and then never seen again

Hope all is well where you are, and that you can beat the winter blues!

To have the blues is ~ avoir le cafard. (Cafard is actually cockroach)!!!

Adrift

2010-02-20T14:05:00.005+01:00

Every day you spend drifting away from your goals is a waste not only of that day, but also of the additional day it takes to regain lost ground.
Ralph Marston

I have joined a group called Illustration Friday on Flickr, last weeks subject was called Adrift, and I have been a bit adrift myself, days taken up visiting a garage, the police station, and our Insurance shop, several times!!! But I must put that all behind me and move onwards.

Adrift for Illustration Friday
Blu confusion

The French word for adrift is dérive
Goal in French is but sounds like BOO, note that there are muliple entries for but!

Boom

2010-02-15T20:14:00.005+01:00

Life is like a downhill ski run!!! goes much too fast and unexpected bumps sometimes catch you out! ~ Blu!

Sorry that I have not been around much but something unexpected happened, which will be consuming my time for the next few days. No one was hurt but a car may be written off!

Needless to say that the car below is not mine, there is a man nearby who collects vintage cars and organises the occasional rally!

A beautiful car.

délit de fuite ~ hit and run ~ failure to stop after an accident!

I recently received an award from Carol and we need to quote some favorite things
~ One of my favorite things is driving a car!

Picture a memory.

2010-02-06T15:37:00.007+01:00

"Life is the art of drawing without an eraser" ~ John W. Gardner 1912 - 2002 American Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.

Although I think that I am more of a painter I am now enjoying making a few rough sketches. I was recently bought some wonderful artists pencils, and I am now enjoying sketching and drawing all sorts of things, and now just for fun I have a couple of journals where I draw really quickly an image of that day, they will help me remember where I have been!

Blu's Memorydoodles

On the subject of pencils!!!
Nicholas Jacques Conte (1755-1805), French mechanical genius, chemist and painter, born on the 4th of August 1755, from a family of poor farm labourers. At the age of fourteen he displayed artistic talent painting a series of religious panels, he then took up portrait painting. He was also passionate about scientific studies. With the supply of plumbago (a native English graphite) cut off by the war between England and France, Conté devised a mixture of clay and graphite used to this day in pencils, and took out a patent in 1795 for the form of pencil which still bears his name.

At the weekend I made a mixed media collage, inspired by a talk we had at our French class about India, in French Inde.

Aromatic Lands

Etymology for the word pencil.

The French word for pencil case/box is a plumier.
The French word for eraser or rubber is gomme.

Off for a few days...

2010-01-24T18:55:00.004+01:00

When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money. ~Susan Heller

Au revoir France hello Angleterre

offline for a few days...how will I cope? LOL

A few get togethers réunions

Instead of using the phone...face a face.