jeudi de paris

I promised to post some photos of Ivy and Caitlin's visit.  Here are the first lot.  They were all taken in Sturget.  The roses were all just starting to come out, we wished we were staying a week longer just to be able to see them bloom.

Today my cousin Karen arrived so we've been catching up and I decided it was time to cut my hair.  To celebrate the nice weather that has finally arrived!

The camera-totting tourist about town and her model, sometimes willing, sometimes not.

In the town of Blaye we visited the citadel which overlooks the estuary.  Click here to read more about it.  

Some other willing models for Ivy.

Visiting JB's aunt and uncle in their summer home in the Perigord area, we were treated to lunch and some tree climbing.

Notice from the photos above that I've put on weight?  Not a big surprise, we spend most of our time in Sturget, shopping for food, cooking and eating...

Time for dinner, so I'll leave you for now, and promise to try and post more pictures soon!

many thursdays gone

I would like to say that spring is finally here.  There are some signs, as you can see, but its really all a deception.  Spring has decided to hold back this year and three degree days are still common.  We have had to take back out our winter coats and hats. Perhaps summer will make an early and sudden appearance.  So we hope!

I have a lot of catching up to do.  I've just been so completely over my head; I haven't abandoned the blog but I have just not managed to find the time to do my Thursday posts.  I was hoping the two-week spring break we had in Bordeaux would allow me some time, but the internet was erratic and just refused to cooperate.

My good friend Ivy and her daughter Caitlin arrived in the second week (with a suitcase full of pantry goodies), having delayed their trip a couple of days to stay back and vote in the Malaysian GE13.   Playing tour guide (I should know Versailles like the back of my hand soon) was a full time job so I neglected to update the blog.  But we took lots of photos so I'm hoping this week to find some time to post them. 

We visited an ancient windmill in the area, reconstructed from the days when villagers would bring their grains to be ground into flour by the miller.  It had us all singing this popular children's nursery song:

Meunier, tu dors

Ton moulin va trop vite

Meunier, tu dors

Ton moulin va trop fort.

Ton moulin, ton moulin va trop vite

Ton moulin, ton moulin va trop fort

Ton moulin, ton moulin va trop vite

Ton moulin, ton moulin va trop fort

(translation in brief: miller, you sleep and your mill spins too quickly) 

We had a couple of sunny days in Sturget for which we were grateful.

Young-at-heart old friends hanging out together.

As always, a visit to Sturget is not complete without a meal with the Faux family.

This is how the barbecue looks like in vineyard country in France.

 Love and peace to all.

I'll try to be back soon, but first, the laundry calls.  Ah, the life of a domestic goddess.

jeudi de paris

About a year ago today, we cringed a little as as we saw all our belongings packed up, and travel the more than 10,000 kilometres to France.  Our time in Malaysia, captured in photos and videos, but mostly in our minds and in our hearts came with us, and will continue to stay with us.  

JB insists that e-books are the way to go, but I couldn't leave my old paper types behind.  They are still in their cartons, as I haven't found the bookshelves I want, but I know they are there (along with my soya sauce, they were my most precious cargo).

You know from these titles that they aren't my books... its clearly in the HIS section of our library.

We spent a quiet Easter this year.  After all that moving and unpacking I couldn't muster up enough energy to have the girls' friends around and paint eggs or do egg hunts.  We did do some baking though.  Anais loves home-made bread and this Jamie Oliver version which is filled with parma ham, eggs, cheese, basil or anything you want really, is scrumptious.  This is the second time we've made it and we've re-named it the 'Love Bread' because we fashion it into a heart shape and its made with love for people we love... cheesy!!

We had lunch with my father in law to celebrate his birthday and went for a walk at the Parc de Sceaux, five minutes from his home.  Click here for a virtual visit.  It was a beautiful sunny day, but still very cold.  Quite unlike last Easter, when Tea painted her Easter eggs by the poolside, shirtless...

Prior to coming to France, the girls did train for cold weather.  Here they have cranked the air conditioning up high (not great for the environment, I apologise on their behalf) and have creatively fashioned some earmuffs from their headbands and socks.

And here I was in my kitchen at this time last year, preparing for our farewell party.  All that space!

Here now, a year later in Paris, we have been just as lucky, finding a very charming apartment which dates back to the 16th century.  There are still things to be done, light fittings to be installed etc but I promise to post some photos soon.  In the meantime, I wish spring would hurry up and really arrive. 

jeudi de paris

I thought you might enjoy photos of Anais on her recent ski trip with her school.  She came home with animated stories of her week away, including the part with the kids and their sick bags in the bus.  That aside, everyone returned with glowing cheeks, totally elated.

The weather was sublime for most part of the week, perfect for skiing, snow racquet walks and building igloos.  Every evening we had photos and a little update posted on a blog.

Its no easy task building an igloo though!

photos by Alice Pillet

I think this trip will remain a highlight of Anais' childhood memories; the glorious days spent with her young friends on the spectacular slopes, and though a little melancholic in the evenings, a kind teacher with a good story and a goodnight kiss helps to allay the homesickness somewhat.  As for me, the first letter she wrote home goes into a  time capsule, to be read again in future years, when she leaves with more than a small suitcase and her little stuffed unicorn.

jeudi de paris

I've just realised that its Thursday again...I haven't sat down to prepare a 'proper' post but here is a picture of the girls last week.  Today is the first day of spring but just last week, we had snow in Paris!

As we stepped out into the very chilly morning to go to school (the girls dressed in green and more colourful clothes to celebrate the first day of spring), we grumbled that the sun hadn't been informed that winter is officially over.  I would like to be in that little house by the beach in Hawaii right now...

leaving notre dame

Apparently, moving house is one of the top three most stressful events in your life, the other two likely being getting married and getting divorced.  Moving house for us has been a long process; we left our home in Jalan Damansara almost a year ago.  In between, we've slept in many different beds over several continents, and reached our final destination in late summer.  We were in a furnished apartment for a while with the Notre Dame watching over us.

The logistics for our move was a little complicated; we had our things from Malaysia shipped to Bordeaux for storage, at my father in law's summer property while we looked for our apartment.  The shipment was delayed, thus delaying our arrival in Paris.

A week after we arrived in Paris, we heard from my father in law's gardener/carpenter/handyman that the beam supporting the roof in the garage was about to give way.  All our belongings were directly below this beam.  I told myself they were only things, replaceable.  What mattered was my carton of soya sauce.  

The beam was repaired.  We found our apartment.  We've enjoyed the terrace and the view over the Seine and the Notre Dame, but we were ready to settle in permanently.  

With the girls spending the week with their aunt and cousins near the beach, JB and I went off to Bordeaux to sort out our cartons. We were grateful for the 'good' weather.  We almost slept with our gloves on, but at least it didn't rain.

The weekend of our move, Tea celebrated her 7th birthday.  A week earlier she invited a few friends over for a little party including a boy in her class whom she likes very much and who apparently likes her back.  He said he wouldn't come, because there would be too many girls, and returned her invitation.

She came home and handed me the invitation, totally unperturbed.  I said ' Why don't you ask him one more time and explain to him there will be other boys at the party'.  She shook her finger at me and said (in French, so this is a rough translation) "No mama.  You know, with boys you cannot do that.  They will think you are stubborn.  If he doesn't want to come, too bad for him".  I was stunned as I looked at her in awe.  I think 'stubborn' was her word for 'desperate'.  I'm glad she's got it figured out!

So we had a fun (fun for the kids, exhausting for the parents) little party with cake and lots of lollies and played Pin the Donkey's Tail.  There were other boys at party and Tea shed no tears for her amoreux.

This is the living room of our new apartment (I posted a picture of the kitchen a couple of weeks ago).  We are still living admist cartons (am taking a break from unpacking to write this post), but we are starting to feel at home.