The clocks are forward, evenings will be light until 8.30, summer may be on it's way (and there goes yet another flying pig), but the sun is out, the sky is blue, la, la, la.
Cow on the ridge
Copyright Sue Smith 2007
Sunday, 30 March 2008
Silent Sunday
St Amédée
The clocks are forward, evenings will be light until 8.30, summer may be on it's way (and there goes yet another flying pig), but the sun is out, the sky is blue, la, la, la.
The clocks are forward, evenings will be light until 8.30, summer may be on it's way (and there goes yet another flying pig), but the sun is out, the sky is blue, la, la, la.
Men wear bras
No, not really.
It was Susie made me do it. Honest!
Apparently it will make my stats go through the roof, so I thought I'd try it and see what happens!
(And no, Anne, if she asked me to put my head in the gas oven I wouldn't!)
It was Susie made me do it. Honest!
Apparently it will make my stats go through the roof, so I thought I'd try it and see what happens!
(And no, Anne, if she asked me to put my head in the gas oven I wouldn't!)
Saturday, 29 March 2008
Feeling quizzical
Ste Gwladys
We were invited last night to attend a quiz in our village bar. Yes, it's in English and is mostly attended by British people apart from a few French husbands and wives.
We went with a little trepidation, large crowds of English in French bars never have been our thing but we had a wonderful time. Having thought we would be in a team with the lady who invited us, things didn't quite work out that way and we were partnered with a young English lady and her French husband who we had met a few weeks ago.
We were rather concerned also having learned that the team that we had been asked to join and which had now had to split into two groups, were often winners of the champions cup. We did our best and came in either 4th or 5th (there was a bit of confusion at the end) but our partners seemed happy at having beaten the other half of the original team.
Pub quizzes are funny things. Your team plays a joker on whatever subject(s) you think you are best at and Sod's Law dictates that on this occasion you will fail abysmally but do really well on all the other subjects. So it was last night. We did really well on mythology for example, a subject on which we had expected to maybe get three out of eight - we got seven correct answers, as we did with history, entertainment and people. But art and literature, oh dear, and geography the same. Put it down to a bad night. Next time perhaps we should consider the subjects we are least likely to succeed in and play our jokers on them.
Of course in that case Sod's Law will dictate that the easiest questions are the other subjects again!
We were invited last night to attend a quiz in our village bar. Yes, it's in English and is mostly attended by British people apart from a few French husbands and wives.
We went with a little trepidation, large crowds of English in French bars never have been our thing but we had a wonderful time. Having thought we would be in a team with the lady who invited us, things didn't quite work out that way and we were partnered with a young English lady and her French husband who we had met a few weeks ago.
We were rather concerned also having learned that the team that we had been asked to join and which had now had to split into two groups, were often winners of the champions cup. We did our best and came in either 4th or 5th (there was a bit of confusion at the end) but our partners seemed happy at having beaten the other half of the original team.
Pub quizzes are funny things. Your team plays a joker on whatever subject(s) you think you are best at and Sod's Law dictates that on this occasion you will fail abysmally but do really well on all the other subjects. So it was last night. We did really well on mythology for example, a subject on which we had expected to maybe get three out of eight - we got seven correct answers, as we did with history, entertainment and people. But art and literature, oh dear, and geography the same. Put it down to a bad night. Next time perhaps we should consider the subjects we are least likely to succeed in and play our jokers on them.
Of course in that case Sod's Law will dictate that the easiest questions are the other subjects again!
Thursday, 27 March 2008
Reading stuff
Ste Larissa
During our enforced exile from the virtual world, we've been reading several books and tonight I'll be going to our local bookshop group to comment on just one of them. 'On The Road' by Jack Kerouac (kindly lent to me by my sister). It's a semi-autobiographical account of a couple of young men travelling across the USA in the mid 1940s. I thought it sounded an interesting read, the book inspired many young men in the 1960s, Bob Dylan and the Beatles included but I personally didn't find it the 'classic' it has been labelled.
I thought that the characters in the book were some that I would dread running into in real life and was extremely irritated with their thoughtless, drunken antics.
And then I read the article on Wikipedia and looked for further links. Now I feel that I understand why the book was written and how and it has revised my opinion. Not totally, but enough for me to appreciate it more. So I hope I can speak intelligently about it tonight!
For our other book group we read 'The Leopard' by Guiseppe Tomasi di Lampadusa written around the same time as the Kerouac book. I found this one a challenging read too but could at least sympathise with some of the characters and, although I felt the book moves very slowly, at times I wondered why Lampadusa had bothered himself writing it, it has a certain charm to it.
We've dipped into other books too for groups or not; John Le Carre's 'The Mission Song' which I found a little disappointing after 'The Constant Gardener', but it has inspired me to go backwards and read more Le Carre (or re-read), Alan Titchmarsh's autobiography 'Trowel and Error' which is a very charming read (rather like the man himself), you can hear his voice in his writing, Diane Setterfield's 'The Thirteenth Tale' which I loved and a little book by Alan Bennett 'The Uncommon Reader' (Thanks to Mum for that one) which I won't spoil by explaining but do recommend for a fun, undemanding read.
I hope that little lot has given you something to think about reading.
During our enforced exile from the virtual world, we've been reading several books and tonight I'll be going to our local bookshop group to comment on just one of them. 'On The Road' by Jack Kerouac (kindly lent to me by my sister). It's a semi-autobiographical account of a couple of young men travelling across the USA in the mid 1940s. I thought it sounded an interesting read, the book inspired many young men in the 1960s, Bob Dylan and the Beatles included but I personally didn't find it the 'classic' it has been labelled.
I thought that the characters in the book were some that I would dread running into in real life and was extremely irritated with their thoughtless, drunken antics.
And then I read the article on Wikipedia and looked for further links. Now I feel that I understand why the book was written and how and it has revised my opinion. Not totally, but enough for me to appreciate it more. So I hope I can speak intelligently about it tonight!
For our other book group we read 'The Leopard' by Guiseppe Tomasi di Lampadusa written around the same time as the Kerouac book. I found this one a challenging read too but could at least sympathise with some of the characters and, although I felt the book moves very slowly, at times I wondered why Lampadusa had bothered himself writing it, it has a certain charm to it.
We've dipped into other books too for groups or not; John Le Carre's 'The Mission Song' which I found a little disappointing after 'The Constant Gardener', but it has inspired me to go backwards and read more Le Carre (or re-read), Alan Titchmarsh's autobiography 'Trowel and Error' which is a very charming read (rather like the man himself), you can hear his voice in his writing, Diane Setterfield's 'The Thirteenth Tale' which I loved and a little book by Alan Bennett 'The Uncommon Reader' (Thanks to Mum for that one) which I won't spoil by explaining but do recommend for a fun, undemanding read.
I hope that little lot has given you something to think about reading.
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Who ate all the cookies?
Ste Annonciation
Our ISP very kindly offered us a three month free trial of their anti-virus and firewall software. I thought that the programs we had were working well but, well, you never know, and it was free for three months.
Unfortunately it has eaten all my cookies and set my internet security access so high that I have to remember all the passwords I ever had (impossible, especially if I've had to change them for any reason) and sometimes, but not always, blocks me out of my blog page.
So please forgive me if I am not around from time to time.
And blame it on the cookie monster.
Our ISP very kindly offered us a three month free trial of their anti-virus and firewall software. I thought that the programs we had were working well but, well, you never know, and it was free for three months.
Unfortunately it has eaten all my cookies and set my internet security access so high that I have to remember all the passwords I ever had (impossible, especially if I've had to change them for any reason) and sometimes, but not always, blocks me out of my blog page.
So please forgive me if I am not around from time to time.
And blame it on the cookie monster.
Monday, 24 March 2008
Silent Monday (because I missed Saturday)
Gerbera, Hong Kong Park February 2008
Copyright Sue Smith 2008
Saturday, 22 March 2008
All sorts of weather
Ste Léa
It's a cold and miserable Easter all over by the sounds of it. Whilst chatting with youngest daughter this morning I was able to report beautiful sunshine, rain, hail and then sleet before the weather settled down to beautiful sunshine again. We can see on the road in the distance the odd caravan and camper van heading south for the holiday - I just hope they find a bit of warmth!
We have finally heard that work on the pool should begin in the first few days of April. The delay is due to another previously started pool that is filling up with water every time it rains. Since the forecast for the next week is changeable with a fair amount of rain I suspect they will have that problem for some time to come.
The next week will, with any luck, allow us the change to get some tree clearing done. As we've neither of us used a chain saw before we have been waiting for a more experienced friend to turn up with his and give us a few pointers. We're looking forward to getting some more light in the garden but it will no doubt leave us with another pile of trimmings to shred or burn. The logs will be saved for next year's fires once the log burner is installed.
The car is going to the doctor's on Tuesday as, when I had to have four new tyres the other week, they noticed that the brake pads and one disc need replacing. Oh joy. More expense. Still it will be done and safe for a good while to come, hopefully.
We had a very nice meal with friends last night at the local hotel school, but the meal was quite late (even though they insist that you arrive before 7.30 not a dish was served before 8.30), so we arrived home at midnight feeling very full and I spent a rather uncomfortable night. Surprisingly I then slept through the Little Bar Steward's insistent scrabbling at the kitchen door this morning and we didn't actually get up until 10 o'clock! Disgraceful behaviour!
It's a cold and miserable Easter all over by the sounds of it. Whilst chatting with youngest daughter this morning I was able to report beautiful sunshine, rain, hail and then sleet before the weather settled down to beautiful sunshine again. We can see on the road in the distance the odd caravan and camper van heading south for the holiday - I just hope they find a bit of warmth!
We have finally heard that work on the pool should begin in the first few days of April. The delay is due to another previously started pool that is filling up with water every time it rains. Since the forecast for the next week is changeable with a fair amount of rain I suspect they will have that problem for some time to come.
The next week will, with any luck, allow us the change to get some tree clearing done. As we've neither of us used a chain saw before we have been waiting for a more experienced friend to turn up with his and give us a few pointers. We're looking forward to getting some more light in the garden but it will no doubt leave us with another pile of trimmings to shred or burn. The logs will be saved for next year's fires once the log burner is installed.
The car is going to the doctor's on Tuesday as, when I had to have four new tyres the other week, they noticed that the brake pads and one disc need replacing. Oh joy. More expense. Still it will be done and safe for a good while to come, hopefully.
We had a very nice meal with friends last night at the local hotel school, but the meal was quite late (even though they insist that you arrive before 7.30 not a dish was served before 8.30), so we arrived home at midnight feeling very full and I spent a rather uncomfortable night. Surprisingly I then slept through the Little Bar Steward's insistent scrabbling at the kitchen door this morning and we didn't actually get up until 10 o'clock! Disgraceful behaviour!
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