Vacation TIME!!!

Alrighty my darlings I will depart tomorrow for a fantastic adventure in Nova Scotia. Never been to Canada before and I'm going to explore the east side before I go and live in the west side.
So very excited to get away from everything. I would say computers (because I was going to) but that's only because my work is on them, I love blogging and writing and general surfing (on the internet). But stress relief is needed, so the old internet is not come along for the ride.
I will see you all in two weeks time!

I'm leaving you with this.
This is a present I made for my mother for Christmas last year. I can't believe we're already this far into the next year already!

My Mom wanted a cloth bag because they're really light, so I decided why not make her one for Xmas that was cute on top of everything. 

And for once the zipper closes in the correct direction for a right handed person. I'm sorry but all my bags that have a nice drawing of picture or a general side to point at people, then have the zipper close towards your back if you sling your bag over her right arm. This isn't very smart.... Has anyone ever lived in France??? It is the land of pickpockets! No zippers away!

I made the inside out of Japanese fabric. One large pocket on one side and two on the other.

Steampunk Attitude

Alright so I'm not sure if I've said this before but I am an extreme supporter of Steampunk fashion and attitude, and basically everything Steampunk. I love older things and the integration of the new with the style and manufacturing of the old.
So I was at 'Le Train Bleu' at the Gare de Lyon in Paris. This restaurant is a super Steampunk-like place. The gare is pretty old and this is the only part of it that has never been changed.

Very comfortable chairs.

 Fantastic hot chocolate! It's warm melted chocolate and warm milk in two pouring cups to mix as you wish. And they give you extra milk if you need any. Yum!

Lovely mother! Came all the way to Paris to help me with all the luggage.

Feeling pretty tired after carrying around luggage and stuff.

 Allez a little smile anyways.

The Special tea was delicious! And so was that fantastic cake. 

It is so beautiful inside!

Monday's recommendation

Because it's over and done I just needed to recommend these after I saw the last movie a few days ago. I apologize to anyone who thinks the opposite but I really think the books are a lot better (and I practically always think this when a book is translated into a movie) and I feel that if you saw the movies and didn't read the books, you really should give it a try. Especially considering that the end of the movie is completely different and a lot slower than the end of the books.


The Harry Potter Series
by J.K. Rowling

If you are in the dark about this widely popular story, let me fill you in.
Harry Potter is a young orphan who lives with his aunt, uncle and cousin who are all three horrible to him. His days are spent in a cupboard under the stairs where they lock him up when he's done anything to displease them. Apart from a rather parculiar attribute of his, a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead, he is a normal boy. This is until his eleventh birthday, and strange things start happening to him, snakes talk, things vanish and suddenly letters come to the house in his name. His family goes to any length to get him from opening the letters until finally he gets his hands on one.
Harry Potter finally understand everything that has happened. He is a wizard and he has just recieved his letter of acceptance to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is where his adventure begins and he will finally discover the secrets to his past, his heritage and the special scar that marks his face.

A fair warning, this is a children's book but after the fourth book it starts getting more and more violent and less cute and magical. Most kids (like me) grew up with these books, eagerly awaiting their letters for Hogwarts at 11 (as I did, most disappointing year of my life) and then eagerly awaiting all the other books. I grew up reading them, as so many did, and hence wasn't too shocked by the endings as I am now quite a bit older. So if kids read these a warning that the last three are rough stuff. 
Other than that I urge you to read them, even if the movies have been seen, to get all those details and good moments in class and around the school that they just didn't have time for in the books.

Back from a very very veryyyy long trip

This blog isn't here to complain about things and I think that we should always look at the positive side of things, so this will be short.

Landlady stole my deposit before I even pay rent, Washing machine broke in Paris apartment, Landlady wouldn't help in any way, shop downstairs was flooded.
Fiouuuuu..... That's all.
On the positive side the people living downstairs from my (old) apartment are SO sweet and didn't care about the flooding, telling me to stop stressing. Even though my landlady is bad there asre still fantastic people in the world!

Gone till Sunday

So I'll be one for two days to get all my stuff out of my apartment in Paris. I won't lie to you by saying I'm going to miss it, there is only so much of Parisians I can take...
Though, where I lived, it was a lovely place.

Supertramp, Nîmes Arenas!!!

My Mother is such a great gal! I just want to say that because it's true.

After seeing that Supertramp was in the Arenas in Nîmes, which is the city closest to our village, my mother jumped at the chance to get some tickets. We got enough for the whole family but, being bizarre and strange, my oldest brother didn't want to see Supertramp, my father couldn't make it to France and my second brother can't make it anyhow being in New York as he is.
So my little brother, mother and I invited our carpenter and his wife (who coincidentally became our good friends), Philip and Murielle.
ps: the name Murielle is very nice in french even though in english it sounds more like an older persons name... any thoughts?

I noticed on our way to the concert that I have never taken pictures of the arenas, this seems silly but have you ever realized how you never really visit or take pictures of the city you live in? It's so sad. Like I haven't seen much of France while I have gone on many a vacation in other European countries... sigh...

The Arenas! Only complete one in the world! Woohoo!

Fun fact about Nîmes, it has the most completely intact Roman buildings (including the Arenas and the Maison Carré) and Denim actually means 'de Nîmes' = from Nîmes. Yay!

 

The inside of the Arenas.

 

Mummsy darling.

Philip and Murielle

We are very tired...

But still excited!

Amazing light technicians!

Between every song or three the sax player would talk to us and tell some jokes that led into the next song title. It was awesome! 

  The big bang finish!

Back from the Alps - Forgotten Part 5

So I forgot one amazing thing that happened while we were in Switzerland. Or more accurately when we went to Zermatt. We were not only bedazzled by the beautiful yet lonely Matterhorn and the panoramic view at the top of the crémallière train. No. After having walked around, and deciding that if my little brother was too lazy to come anywhere during our holidays without work as an excuse then he wouldn't get food, we went on the search for a restaurant.
I love a lot of things about Japan, but I think one of my biggest things is Japanese food. Normal then that I would jump at the chance of eating some, even more so when my mother's friend Annie tells us she has never had any before. So we decide on the place.

Myoko had possibly some of the best japanese food I had tasted in a long time! Anyone who goes to Zermatt MUST go here.

Kimono napkin, so adorable! And really difficult to figure out, I had at the time but I have already forgotten.... sigh

The restaurant itself is really tiny and at the end of a long stone path.

We ate in the garden. I took this picture after a big group of people (who had been sitting at the table you see in the front here, with the addition of two table they removed when the people left) had just left. It was a giant group of older japanese people, on vacation I guess, but even though I didn't exactly understand what they were talking their talking and laughter was so amazingly heartfelt and happy that we couldn't help but all be happy just listening to them.

It was D-licious.

PS: I love this tea. But I've known this for much longer.

Monday's recommendation

Grass
by Sheri Tepper

Even if you have read any other Sheri Tepper, I believe this one is one of her best works. I haven't read much but of the style I recognized in the others I think she achieved it best here. Tepper has an amazing way of weaving stories together and a way of representing creatures in an almost fantastic light through certain characteristic in lieu of describing them completely. I always love this ghost like quality, and almost undiscribable entity, it gives her books so much more place for a reader to imagine in.
In this story, science fiction as I have just realized I forgot to say, we are many many years into the future of humanity. The people dominating the universe are a kind of upperclass-like European families. There has been a kind of deriving of the church and it has evolved into something called the 'Sanctity' and a plague is wiping out the human race.
However there is one place that is not touched. In old english mannered manors live the families of the planet Grass, called that way because that's pretty much all that grows there. Like the English of our time the people practice fox hunting. But this world is not what it seems.
The Foxes are giant creatures, ferocious and unstopabble, seperated from the humans by a wall. When the hunt it called it is the Mounts that come to the people and not the people who go and get their mounts, but these tall toothy creatures aren't what you would usually ride. And the blood red eyes of the vicious Hounds are enough to chill you to the bone. Fox Hunting it may be called but this hunt is carried out with the aliens that populated the planet of Grass before humans got there.
And now, everyone else in the universe wants to know why they aren't catching the plague.

Summer

There are four seasons as you all may know, and there are many things people love about each season. And actually I've met people with a favorite season, most of which it was summer. I have deduced that most people love summer most because that's when the vacation is. I loved the 'idea' of summer coming up because school was going to be out, not the actual reality of having to face the summer.

So here is a little list of the greats and not-so-greats about summer.

I LOVE:
-The Sun only because without it we'd all be dead.
-Being able to swim in the pool
-Not having school (even though this year and next year that dream is gone and after that I doubt work will let that dream live on either--- So I'm changing this to a USED TO)
-Shorts weather
-The sound of cicadas (South of France is FILLED with these little (or big) guys)
-Going on walks in the Mountains, usually the Alps
-Lots of reading getting done (thanks to no school so maybe no more...)
-Summer Movies
-Cherries, Mandarines..... Fruits!

Mother's second swim of the summer!

It was my first swim of the summer and boy was I happy to finally get into that fresh water after the weather we've been having.

Extremely happy to try out my new retro looking swimming suit. It is so fantastic and great fabric and durability. Yes apparently I am  a walking commercial but whatever I really liked it.

It's from Seafolly, a lot of their stuff is great. 

I ABHOR:
-The Sun when it burns me or generally when I'm in it... (I'm sorry for the redheadliness that is me)
-The Beach and everyone's sudden fascination with it when it is the hottest time of the year.
-Long, long days
-The HEAT (South of France, it was 39°C the other day that's.... 102°F)
-Not being able to eat chocolate (It's too hot)

Ah well I can find more things to like, yay for being positive! Even though Summer is my least favored season I still look forward to some things, as we all should!
My hair color and sensitive skin make me slightly bias in my opinion, I do apologize.

Back from the Alps! - Part 4

I know I said I wasn't able to go out a lot when we were in Switzerland and I was not lying, but I couldn't help but want to share some of the pics my Mother got on one of the days she went out walking. I am SO jealous about what she saw that day! Nature, and especially the animals in it, are something of a favorite of mine.

Such a fantastic view!

Feanor agrees with the previous statement.

PS (except not really post): She did spend most of the time inside the water, yes.

 

Feanor has never looked more in her element than walking along side the bises of Switzerland.

This girl was litteraly just twenty meters away from my Mom! So lucky!

Wasn't even spooked by the dog! Just watched posed and walked away as calmly as ever aparently.

Here's the male. Since he was on the other side of a ravine no need to fear, he was a little more annoyed with them but didn't really have much to say since well... he can't fly.

 

Nap time.

So jealous of this! Once they rounded the mountain they found this giant field where millions of Marmots were just running around and having a blast! They weren't phased by the dog either (but Mummsy did have to hold on to her a bit).

I wish I was there!

 

It's actually really lucky that we only brought Feanor to Switzerland this time, if Eldur (our husky) had been there.... The Marmots would not have been.

This was another day, when they first tried out Feanor' backpack. She looks so sporty! Like a real sauvetage dog.

Sauvetage = Saving in french

Note-They don't use Saint Bernards anymore and only used them a little bit in the past, now they use longer nosed and better tracking dogs such as German Sheperds and Retrievers.

Note number 2-Saint Bernards never actually wore tiny barrels around their necks, the sad sad truth.

These sculptures are all over the place in the valleys where we have our house and the couple of neighbouring ones. People sculpt fallen trees or stumps that won't grow anymore to give a little flair to some fo the walks. 

I've seen many of these in the middle of the forest. But these ones that Mother took pictures of are more on display than anything else.