Long Weekend 2 and a wonderful swap parcel!

The advent of reasonable weather here hopefully means the end of the ludicrous wellie boot situation we have found ourselves in this winter.See the problem? What crazy mother thought that identical boots in sizes 35, 36 and 37 would make for easy gardening and dog walking? I cannot WAIT for the day that the boys' feet are bigger than mine, which will mean that they stop walking off in MY boots!Henry the hedgehog, who has been guarding wellies for longer than the boys have been part of the family, is still doing a great job, though. He could do with a brush-around, though, poor chap.
Other weekend events - Son 2 played rugby At Home for once, rather than in some far-flung town on the other side of Toulouse. It was a huge and very successful tournament - well done to the Ecole de Rugby.

The strawberries were successfully transplanted out of Raja's reach - now we just have to think about what to do to protect the raspberries! Son 2 decorated a third pot to complete our pot family. Mr and Mrs Pot (much admired - thanks for your comments) came with us from the UK years ago. This year 'Pappie Pot', which means Grandpa Pot, has joined the family. The boys have some wonderful all-surface pens which can write/draw on glass, stone, pots etc - fantastic!

The fence you saw being planted up has finally removed the 'sitting in a goldfish bowl' nature of our patio. We celebrated by setting up the table there and enjoying an evening meal without being watched by everyone passing the gates. The flowers are from Ben's 'meadow' and the little greenish vase was a troc shop find by me and Son 1 this weekend.This is just a close-up of the little broken teapot I showed you in the last post - very cute, and a good planter for the Lily of the Valley, I thought.

It just got better and better, because my swap parcel from Sharon the Crafty Trundler from Clover Cottage arrived!

It was a free-style swap and she spent a lot of time researching the things I like, including the colour blue. Look at the fantastic bag, which is going to come on a first outing with me tomorrow to my French lesson! And two happy little hearts, in my favourite colours and fabrics...

I knew just the place for the hearts... We have our very own loving couple: Great, Great Aunt Selina, who I think has a bit of a Mona Lisa smile, and the rather gloomy Great, Great Uncle Joshua.I think that the love-hearts are just what they need to cheer them up!

Thanks so much, Sharon - I am overwhelmed by the lovely things I've been given!

This is post number 93, I think. I am planning an 'Auld Alliance' Franco-Scottish 100th Post Giveaway, so do look out for that!

Long Weekend Part 1

In France the bank holiday weekend is over - we had Friday, Saturday and Sunday (although Son 2, below, had longer, as his teacher was off school on Thursday and President Sarcozy's done away with supply teachers - here is Son 2 having a picnic with me between my lessons).

So, over the weekend, Son 1 and I did a spot of troc shopping:

And he also invented a theory about Mayans being the first astronauts, flying to the moon in their pyramids: Son 2 and Ben were planting up the new fence in the front garden: And la Famille Pot got a new member and became hosts to the strawberry plants, to keep them away from the dog this year!There's plenty more to tell, and hopefully more time for me to tell it over the next few days, but for now, enjoy your long weekend if you're still having it!

Happiness to all on May 1st!

The title is the kind of greeting I've been seeing on French May Day cards. They are always accompanied by Lily of the Valley, muget in French (pronounced 'moo-gay', for those who are wondering, as I did for years...) The muget is sold all around, on the sides of roads, in florists' shops and in supermarkets, because it's considered good luck for the first of May.

Elizabethd has explained why in her excellent May Day post. I had always wondered what the connection was - thanks, Elizabeth!

I bought some yesterday, because this is what the Lily of the Valley currently looks like in my garden:

It's a bit embarassing, because when I left Edinburgh in early April my mother's plants were already thriving and in full bud. However, I did get this groovy cellophane as well as the wonderful plants, so perhaps the investment was worthwhile...Have a very happy May Day, wherever you are, and however you celebrate in your own country!