Summer time in Brittany

Things grew in the potager ~ then the weather got too hot and all the lettuce bolted and went to seed!

Fireworks illuminated the sky ~ Moules Frites evening ~  Le quatorze juillet ~

I got bored with geraniums ~ 

We had a few wild storms / orage  and some red sky at night!

I hope you are all having a great summer ~

 En été, la chaleur est parfois insoutenable?? ~   In summer, the heat is sometimes unbearable?? 

Summer light ~

There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.  ~Edith Wharton


Summer light ~

Summer light ~

There are two ways ~ Il ya deux façons

So soon it became June ~

What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade.  ~Gertrude Jekyll

Everyday beauty ~ in the forest ~

Everyday beauty in the garden ~

Everyday beauty ~ above your head 

Every child must learn how to read. ~ Chaque enfant doit apprendre à lire.

Sweet April showers do bring May flowers ~ Thomas Tusser

Word of the day ~ averse = light rain or shower

Movement

Quote of the day ~ A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise.  ~A.A. Milne


Word of the day  ~  Swirl (move in a circle) = tourbillonner


January Image ~ frozen lake

Thought of the day, I was not meant to be thin!

Slippery weather!

Quote of the day ~ Winter came down to our home one night ~Quietly pirouetting in on silvery-toed slippers of snow~ And we, we were children once again ~ ~Bill Morgan, Jr.

Word of the day Slippers = pantoufles

January Image

Thought for the day
Will I get the car out of the garden any time soon....

Question  ... What colour are your slippers?.....mine are red :-)

Friday's post

Letter writing is the only device for combining solitude with good company.  ~Lord Byron

Word of the day warmer

Getting warmer (to guess: closer) tu chauffes

January Image flaky old white door

Thought for the day

Will sending mail by post become a thing of the past?

I hope it is warm where you are, since it is snowing here!

A little piece of blue ~

Quote of the day ~Forests, lakes, and rivers, clouds and winds, stars and flowers, stupendous glaciers and crystal snowflakes - every form of animate or inanimate existence, leaves its impress upon the soul of man. ~ Orison Swett Marden

Word of the day cloud
Clouds of all kinds/types =  Nuages en tout genre.

January Image clouds over the ~ Baie du Mont Saint Michel

Wishing you Blue skies ~

Enfin!

Quote of the day It's too early I never eat December snowflakes.   I always wait until January. ~ Charlie Brown

Word of the day Last ~ What was the last book that you read?                  Quel est le dernier livre que tu as lu ?


January image Into the light ~

At last it is trying to snow!

So what was the last book that you read?... I am reading Thumbelina in English and in French Poucette.

Busy doing nothing?

Quote of the day ~ Here, on the river's verge, I could be busy for months without changing my place, simply leaning a little more to right or left.  ~ Paul Cezanne

Word of the day Row  (propel a vessel) nautique                = ramer

January Image ~ 

Thought of the day ~ That quote makes me want to go and find a river bank~

Scattered thoughts

Quote of the day ~ I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. ~ John Burroughs 

Word of the day is Row  (things in a line) = rangée 

I like to plant straight rows of daffodils.         J'aime bien planter des rangées bien droites de jonquilles.

Thought of the day, I am not fond of rows of daffodils, I prefer scattered clumps!

January Image 

The weather has been so mild this winter, some people have daffs popping up in their gardens!

Back soon  'À tout à l'heure !' 

Open or shut?

Quote of the day ~ Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot.  ~ Clarence Thomas

Word of the day is Handle ~He turned the handle to open the door. = la poignée

January image

So why is that a January image ?.......well January is named after Janus the God of doors and gateways.

Truth is like the sun ~

Quote of the day ~ Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away. ~ Elvis Presley

Thought for the day ~ where has the sun gone!

Word of the day is shut ~ shut-eye (to get some shut-eye) = piquer un roupillon


January image ~

Have a great week,  à bientôt, back soon.

Quote of the day ~ A celebrity is a person who works hard all of their life to become well known, and then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized.  ~ Fred Allen 

Thought for the day Why do I keep loosing my specs! 

Put your glasses back in their case =  Remets tes lunettes dans leur étui.

January image 

Back soon, À bientôt, j'espère!

Now

Quote of the day ~  Don't let yesterday use up too much of today.  ~Cherokee Indian Proverb

My word of the day is next  example below.

We're going to visit family next Christmas.  = Nous rendrons à notre famille au prochain Noël.

Which in fact is not true, I hate travelling at Christmas!

January Image

Well what is past has gone, and tomorrow is tomorrow, whatever you are doing now enjoy it, wishing you all a lovely day!

Nothing is worth more than this day. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Word of the day is aim.
He aimed the camera  = braquer un appareil photo

January image 

So we plunged into January, now what are we aiming for?

Taking the plunge

My Word of the day ~ Plunge
Plunged  (fall or drop in figures)  in French  = chute

Take the plunge (commit yourself  to something) in French  = se jeter à l'eau

Image of the day ~ A leaf in the snow

Best wishes to you all  ~ Bonne année, bonne santé

Food for thought

I read today that the the English word aliment, where we get the word alimentary canal from, comes from the Latin word alere and has been kicking around in English for donkey's years, well since the 15th century.  The word aliment is hardly used today.

In French however the word alimentation means nourishment, food, feeding, diet.

So I will share this image of mushrooms, not sure if they might kill you or not, they looked like little flat breads to me!


Bon Appétit !!!

Link to Merriam Webster dictionary HERE

When poor men wore long trousers!

The weather this summer has been like the curate's egg, good in places, not always ideal for shorts and brown legs!

In between showers, I have been out and about, with our visitors family and friends.

I have managed to get out and about with my camera but not always managing to get pictures with blue skies.  Here are a few shots from recent weeks.

Having a laugh with friends in Combourg

Coffee by Le château de Fougères

A visit to the Comice Agricole

A walk around the Mont Saint Michel

My post was short and I hope sweet!

From Merriam-Webster
At the time of the French Revolution (1787-1799), knee breeches ("culottes" in French) were the height of fashion for aristocratic men. The men of the general populace could not afford such impractical finery and instead wore the "pantaloon" (long trousers). When the poorer classes rose up against the government, members of the Revolutionary army used this difference in dress to distinguish themselves from the aristocracy, calling themselves "soldats sans culottes," literally, "soldiers without culottes." Almost immediately, "sansculotte" became a noun in both French and English.

Todays word sansculotte read more HERE

Going around in circles

A lie can be halfway round the world before the truth has got its boots on. ~ James Callaghan

I have been watching off and on the TOUR DE FRANCE, this year 2012, it runs from  Saturday June 30^th to Sunday July 22^th 2012.  The main group of riders is called a Peloton, which is where we get the English word platoon from, a group of military men.

In French peloton can mean, ball, squad, or pack.

The photograph below was taken at La  Guimorais, 35350 nr Saint-Coulomb, in Bretagne, France I felt that the horizon looked like the world is round.

Some people still believe that the earth is indeed flat and a Flat Earth Society exists! Link to wikipedia HERE. 

My very best wishes to you.