.jpg)
Showing posts with label bike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bike. Show all posts
Monday, September 3, 2012
The road to school...
...has just got longer for Son 1, who starts at lycée tomorrow! The lycée (high school) is in the town next door to ours, so instead of the 5 minute cycle ride he and his brother are used to, he'll be cycling 20 minutes there and 20 back each day.
We all have bikes, crammed into our utility room following some thefts a few years ago.
Both boys are learning basic bike maintenace with Ben - frankly, I should learn too, but I just hate all that dirt and confusing machinery! Above is Son 2 with his dad, preparing his bike for the rentrée last Saturday.
Yesterday Son 1 and I checked the route (mainly on a cycle path) and the timing for his new journey - it really took me back to the summer rides I enjoyed with him three years ago (photo above) when we were getting him ready to cycle on his own to collège - a dyspraxic cyclist takes a little longer to be roadworthy than your average child! Aww - what a little cutie he looks there, compared to his tousle-haired, square-jawed, lumbering self these days... but I'm so proud of him. He's chosen to cycle rather than register for the school bus. I've pointed out that he'll regret that on cold, rainy days, but he points out freedom (first priority) and exercise (second) are worth a bit of cold and wet over the course of a school year...
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Cycling (with the lark) to the Vide Grenier
I mentioned yesterday that cycling to a Vide Grenier is always risky (what if I want to buy something bulky?) but I was determined to do it this weekend anyway! It's a challenge to buy no more than fits in a rucksack, right?
Here is the rucksack in question, and this is what it weighed on my (long, hot) journey home. 
Shall we look at what was inside?
Firstly, a cheerful stall reminded me that I'd suggested a camp blanket badge swap to Vintage Vicki and to Josie-Mary last summer, following on from this post. Ladies, it's incredibly late, I'm sorry, but would you like to take your pick from the following if you're still interested? I've visited all these places.
Continuing the badge theme, here is quite a length of some wonderful ribbon. I want to wash and re-wind it, but I think it may end up in my blog shop...
I was in the mood to sort through stacks of crockery (I'm not, always), and when I started going through a pile of soup bowls with pink flowers on them the man on the stall asked what I was look for. 'Les roses bleues', I replied, feeling a bit stupid, because that means 'blue pinks' as well as 'blue roses'. Strangely, he seemed to know exactly what I meant, and started sorting through the stack for me:
Eeek! Totally Floss!
I nabbed these ones too, which are also quite Floss. 1€ for ten, functioning soup bowls. Into the rucksack they went (wrapped in my denim overshirt).
I hadn't found any buttons this summer, so I was resolved to find some this time. No big hauls, but 50c for the cute card and 10c each for the pretty ones was a good deal - they were on two different stalls, and were both good value - it was a remarkably good value VG all round!
I have a bit of trouble restraining myself from rushing at fabric covered boxes on stalls - I want to look nonchalant and it usually doesn't work. This one was in really good condition -
- they so often look like they've been holding nails in the garage for the last twenty years - and she only wanted 50c for it! Crazy! Most people want at least 2€ for the rusty, dusty ones!
And now, it's just possible that, like me, you've been drawn to this cloth. It was on the stall of a professional linen dealer. These are usually Hyacinth Bucket-like ladies who are a bit precious about their over-priced goods, and I have learned to avoid their stalls for my own sanity. But something drew me back...
Oh, how well-guided I was to end the VG with this kind lady and her silent husband! No H. Bucket about her - she had her feet on the ground and was cheerful and happy to sell. 2€ for the red and white checked kitchen tablecloth (no, I'm not selling it on). 2€ for this 1940s - 50s lace and patchwork cloth (stained - will get to work on it next time the sun shines...)
2€ for this bundle of fabric offcuts from the same period (in fact, from the same wardrobe, she told me...)
And 2€ for this large and pristine printed tablecloth (perhaps a reproduction print, this one - I'll do some research). She had to talk me into them, but I'm really glad I did it!
In the interests of science, I'll tell you what else went into the rucksack to add to the weight. One mobile phone:
One bike lock (this is not the combination, enterprising bilingual local bike thieves):
One wallet that used to belong to my mum.
And why is the title 'Cycling with the lark'? It's not because I got up early - these were lunchtime bargains. It's because on the way home I chanced a shortcut down an unfinished road which seemed to lead me more directly home. (The road's unfinished because the Council and the contractors are in a row over who is going to pay for putting on the final road markings - sound familiar, anyone?) Anyway, this road did indeed run all the way to where I hoped it would, and was, of course deserted except for me, my bike, and a host of birds. A lark flew in front of me along the side of the road for a good distance.
A final opportunisitic (and wonky) shot of a happy cyclist and her finds!
Here is the rucksack in question, and this is what it weighed on my (long, hot) journey home. Shall we look at what was inside?
Firstly, a cheerful stall reminded me that I'd suggested a camp blanket badge swap to Vintage Vicki and to Josie-Mary last summer, following on from this post. Ladies, it's incredibly late, I'm sorry, but would you like to take your pick from the following if you're still interested? I've visited all these places.
Continuing the badge theme, here is quite a length of some wonderful ribbon. I want to wash and re-wind it, but I think it may end up in my blog shop...
I was in the mood to sort through stacks of crockery (I'm not, always), and when I started going through a pile of soup bowls with pink flowers on them the man on the stall asked what I was look for. 'Les roses bleues', I replied, feeling a bit stupid, because that means 'blue pinks' as well as 'blue roses'. Strangely, he seemed to know exactly what I meant, and started sorting through the stack for me:
Eeek! Totally Floss!I nabbed these ones too, which are also quite Floss. 1€ for ten, functioning soup bowls. Into the rucksack they went (wrapped in my denim overshirt).
I hadn't found any buttons this summer, so I was resolved to find some this time. No big hauls, but 50c for the cute card and 10c each for the pretty ones was a good deal - they were on two different stalls, and were both good value - it was a remarkably good value VG all round!
I have a bit of trouble restraining myself from rushing at fabric covered boxes on stalls - I want to look nonchalant and it usually doesn't work. This one was in really good condition -
- they so often look like they've been holding nails in the garage for the last twenty years - and she only wanted 50c for it! Crazy! Most people want at least 2€ for the rusty, dusty ones!
And now, it's just possible that, like me, you've been drawn to this cloth. It was on the stall of a professional linen dealer. These are usually Hyacinth Bucket-like ladies who are a bit precious about their over-priced goods, and I have learned to avoid their stalls for my own sanity. But something drew me back...
Oh, how well-guided I was to end the VG with this kind lady and her silent husband! No H. Bucket about her - she had her feet on the ground and was cheerful and happy to sell. 2€ for the red and white checked kitchen tablecloth (no, I'm not selling it on). 2€ for this 1940s - 50s lace and patchwork cloth (stained - will get to work on it next time the sun shines...)
2€ for this bundle of fabric offcuts from the same period (in fact, from the same wardrobe, she told me...)
And 2€ for this large and pristine printed tablecloth (perhaps a reproduction print, this one - I'll do some research). She had to talk me into them, but I'm really glad I did it!
In the interests of science, I'll tell you what else went into the rucksack to add to the weight. One mobile phone:
One bike lock (this is not the combination, enterprising bilingual local bike thieves):
One wallet that used to belong to my mum.
And why is the title 'Cycling with the lark'? It's not because I got up early - these were lunchtime bargains. It's because on the way home I chanced a shortcut down an unfinished road which seemed to lead me more directly home. (The road's unfinished because the Council and the contractors are in a row over who is going to pay for putting on the final road markings - sound familiar, anyone?) Anyway, this road did indeed run all the way to where I hoped it would, and was, of course deserted except for me, my bike, and a host of birds. A lark flew in front of me along the side of the road for a good distance.
A final opportunisitic (and wonky) shot of a happy cyclist and her finds!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
English Roses from France - Giveaway Winner!
Well, I'm about to close my giveaway and draw the winner, but please bear with me while I go through my progress on those Rentrée Resolutions - that's what my (now traditional) back-to-school giveaway is all about! If you haven't looked at all the comments on my original post, they're well worth a browse - and also a check back to the previous year, when resolutions had a slightly different 'feel'. I think my favourite this year may be Autumn Mist's, which is : "To stop interrupting people when they're talking, a terrible habit I've had for years. I think I'm improving in this, but I daren't ask anyone!" I love it and I identify with it. But that doesn't make her the winner! I shall sort that out with random.org in a minute... So, my resolutions:
Join the Library - getting there! I popped in when I was passing by unexpectedly the other day and discovered (unsurprisingly) that I'd need a 'justificatif domicile' to show my address before I could join. So now our electricity bill is tucked into my diary for the next time I pass:
Buy and read the newspaper: I'm doing that quite often and have learned a lot and, I should think, improving my French too. But doesn't it create a lot of recycling?
Cycling more often: I've buzzed about town quite a lot on my bike this week. I've only done one planned cycle ride, though.
I'll just take this opportunity to show off our improved bike-storage facilities:
The spare bikes are on the wall and only the four we need every day are in the rack. This should make it a lot easier to get them out, and back in, on school days. The helmets are on new hooks on the door, too - thanks, Ben!
And finally, the Forum des Associations didn't come up with any craft classes or groups that really tempted me. Where is the French version of Vicki's and Dawn's group, or Josie-Mary's? Answer - I don't think they exist. So I have decided on a project based on a book I picked up at a Vide Grenier a few years ago:
I'm going to collect together photos of our gîte holiday and put them into a Scrap Book (yes, a Scrap Book, not just a scrap book) as a Christmas present for my parents in law - if you remember, it was a full family holiday to celebrate their golden wedding. I'd love any advice on scrapbooking from you all - I've bought (some of it new - eek!) some materials, as I realised I would have spent quite a lot on joining a group and buying equipment, so there seems no harm in setting up properly for a home project. I need to timetable myself some weekly time on this - I'm really looking forward to it!
So now I'm going to pop over and close my Giveaway, and then I'll head back here and tell you the winner!
Join the Library - getting there! I popped in when I was passing by unexpectedly the other day and discovered (unsurprisingly) that I'd need a 'justificatif domicile' to show my address before I could join. So now our electricity bill is tucked into my diary for the next time I pass:
Buy and read the newspaper: I'm doing that quite often and have learned a lot and, I should think, improving my French too. But doesn't it create a lot of recycling?
Cycling more often: I've buzzed about town quite a lot on my bike this week. I've only done one planned cycle ride, though.
I'll just take this opportunity to show off our improved bike-storage facilities:
The spare bikes are on the wall and only the four we need every day are in the rack. This should make it a lot easier to get them out, and back in, on school days. The helmets are on new hooks on the door, too - thanks, Ben!
And finally, the Forum des Associations didn't come up with any craft classes or groups that really tempted me. Where is the French version of Vicki's and Dawn's group, or Josie-Mary's? Answer - I don't think they exist. So I have decided on a project based on a book I picked up at a Vide Grenier a few years ago:
I'm going to collect together photos of our gîte holiday and put them into a Scrap Book (yes, a Scrap Book, not just a scrap book) as a Christmas present for my parents in law - if you remember, it was a full family holiday to celebrate their golden wedding. I'd love any advice on scrapbooking from you all - I've bought (some of it new - eek!) some materials, as I realised I would have spent quite a lot on joining a group and buying equipment, so there seems no harm in setting up properly for a home project. I need to timetable myself some weekly time on this - I'm really looking forward to it!
So now I'm going to pop over and close my Giveaway, and then I'll head back here and tell you the winner!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
I've got a Utility Room with Bunting!
Our Utility Room used to be so nasty (we had no garage and no garden shed, so it was trying to be three rooms at once) that I have no 'before' photo for you, but here's an ordinary, everyday shot of it now:
There were two pressing issues that got it up to scratch - firstly, Ben finished his mega-shed, and most of the stuff stored in this room could be finaly re-homed. The second was a spate of bike-thefts, which persuaded us to make space for our bikes indoors. When I told my dad about the bikes being inside he was quite worried about the storage issues we'd face, so these photos are partially to reassure him that it is all working very well indeed!
So, we put the bikes in via the garden door, and in front of them, instantly accessible from the in-house door, is my washing machine! (Bought second-hand this spring from a colleague of Ben's who was emigrating to Canada). Boy, is this an improvement on the set-up before we sorted the room...
Very handy!
On the other side of the door I store my trusty all-terrain shopping trolley:
And here is a shelf for something very important in our home:
Wine, indeed, but also all the preserves, jams and jellies I posted about yesterday!
The bunting is made from rice sacks, and you can buy it online. I got mine in Edinburgh, though. A functioning utility room is a real treat.
There were two pressing issues that got it up to scratch - firstly, Ben finished his mega-shed, and most of the stuff stored in this room could be finaly re-homed. The second was a spate of bike-thefts, which persuaded us to make space for our bikes indoors. When I told my dad about the bikes being inside he was quite worried about the storage issues we'd face, so these photos are partially to reassure him that it is all working very well indeed!So, we put the bikes in via the garden door, and in front of them, instantly accessible from the in-house door, is my washing machine! (Bought second-hand this spring from a colleague of Ben's who was emigrating to Canada). Boy, is this an improvement on the set-up before we sorted the room...
Very handy!
On the other side of the door I store my trusty all-terrain shopping trolley:
And here is a shelf for something very important in our home:
Wine, indeed, but also all the preserves, jams and jellies I posted about yesterday!
The bunting is made from rice sacks, and you can buy it online. I got mine in Edinburgh, though. A functioning utility room is a real treat.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Those Rentrée Resolutions
Wow, the Rentrée is proving very busy! As well as school for three of us, we have workmen on the patio roof! Apologies that I'm not blogging much at the moment, either as a reader or a writer...
Anyway, I said I'd let you know a bit more about my resolutions. I'm going to list them on my sidebar so that I keep them in mind!
I need to watch the French news regularly, both to improve my French and to keep in touch with national and world events - somehow having headlines on the internet or even by email doesn't seem to work for me.
The cycling is something I've been doing for more than a year now - I cycle with the boys to school and then I go on and do a tour round the local coutryside. It's great for my fitness but also to remind me of the blessings of living in France. Unfortunately, my journey to work takes me through some of the most uninspired outskirts of Toulouse, and if I'm not careful it begins to appear to me that I exist on a series of industrial estates and motorways. By getting out on the bike, I see the country lanes and learn more about the rural history of our town.
I've kept a spiritual journal, or prayer diary, for about 15 years now, I guess. The books have varied in size and content, as I sometimes think I should buy a very cheap book to show I'm not swayed by fripperies, and sometimes I decide to get a really special notebook to indicate the importance of prayer! Just goes to show, it probably doesn't matter... In some volumes I've just written, sometimes I get all creative with coloured pens, while some of the books have lots of newspaper cuttings pasted in and annotated. It's an important way for me to get the right focus my life, but I need to make an effort to keep it up - the less you spend time on reflection, prayer, study etc, the less you feel you need it...
The resolution to avoid committments if I haven't the time to do them properly is going to make my blog just a little different. I've felt bad recently that I've not been able to pay proper attention to following up tags and awards, so I've reluctantly decided to make the blog tag and award free for now. I shall keep the lovely awards that people have given me on here for a while, and then I guess I shall have to delete them or the announcement: 'This is an award and tag-free blog' will look a bit silly! Please realise that I am really grateful for the pleasure and recognition your awards and tags have given me, but that I just don't have the time to follow them through properly this year.
Please don't forget to sign up for my Rentrée Giveaway! The button's to your left...
PS - I was actually trapped in a Vide Greniers yesterday evening! The stuff of dreams, or of nightmares..? More to follow...
Anyway, I said I'd let you know a bit more about my resolutions. I'm going to list them on my sidebar so that I keep them in mind!
I need to watch the French news regularly, both to improve my French and to keep in touch with national and world events - somehow having headlines on the internet or even by email doesn't seem to work for me.
The cycling is something I've been doing for more than a year now - I cycle with the boys to school and then I go on and do a tour round the local coutryside. It's great for my fitness but also to remind me of the blessings of living in France. Unfortunately, my journey to work takes me through some of the most uninspired outskirts of Toulouse, and if I'm not careful it begins to appear to me that I exist on a series of industrial estates and motorways. By getting out on the bike, I see the country lanes and learn more about the rural history of our town.
I've kept a spiritual journal, or prayer diary, for about 15 years now, I guess. The books have varied in size and content, as I sometimes think I should buy a very cheap book to show I'm not swayed by fripperies, and sometimes I decide to get a really special notebook to indicate the importance of prayer! Just goes to show, it probably doesn't matter... In some volumes I've just written, sometimes I get all creative with coloured pens, while some of the books have lots of newspaper cuttings pasted in and annotated. It's an important way for me to get the right focus my life, but I need to make an effort to keep it up - the less you spend time on reflection, prayer, study etc, the less you feel you need it...
The resolution to avoid committments if I haven't the time to do them properly is going to make my blog just a little different. I've felt bad recently that I've not been able to pay proper attention to following up tags and awards, so I've reluctantly decided to make the blog tag and award free for now. I shall keep the lovely awards that people have given me on here for a while, and then I guess I shall have to delete them or the announcement: 'This is an award and tag-free blog' will look a bit silly! Please realise that I am really grateful for the pleasure and recognition your awards and tags have given me, but that I just don't have the time to follow them through properly this year.
Please don't forget to sign up for my Rentrée Giveaway! The button's to your left...PS - I was actually trapped in a Vide Greniers yesterday evening! The stuff of dreams, or of nightmares..? More to follow...
Saturday, July 11, 2009
On yer bike!
Son 1 has missed out on day-to-day cycling this year. Ben cycles to work every day, and Son 2 and I continued the cycle ride to primary school, which I then extend to have a bit of morning exercise. However, Son 1 started College (Secondary School), and walked there on his own each morning, as his road-skills weren't good enough to cycle without an adult.
Well, in September, both boys will be at college (gulp), and both want to cycle there. Son 1 has decided, of his own volition, to have a crash course in cycling skills over the holiday, with me as supervisor and tester! Every morning so far we have been off at about 8am, for a cycle ride around the rural edges of our town.
Yesterday we took the camera, as I wanted to capture the harvest scene in the field next to our house. The combine harvester was there on Wednesday, causing a quite incredible amount of dust which is still floating in the air, visible in shafts of sunlight.
We crossed the town and went up the steep hill to my friend's house, to drop of Ben's jam book and a sugar thermometer. She has an over-productive peach tree this year and has decided to try bottling fruit for the first time. Her friends and family have taken to addressing her as Martha Stewart.
Cutting across country from her house, we arrived in a lane which combines wonderfully froggy ditches with beautifully sunny flowers! Son 1 was intrigued by the moon, which you can glimpse in the photo above.
On the return home, I finally had my camera to snap the wildflowers which have grown up in the verges around all the local towns in the last two years. There has clearly been a lot of seeding done by the municipal gardeners, and all along the roadsides the scrubby grass has been relplaced by poppies, cornflowers and other self-seeding wild flowers. It will be interesting to see how the verges develop as the plants go truly wild.
The boys and I are flying off to Edinburgh this evening, but when we get back, I am sure the road will call once again...
Happy holidays!
Well, in September, both boys will be at college (gulp), and both want to cycle there. Son 1 has decided, of his own volition, to have a crash course in cycling skills over the holiday, with me as supervisor and tester! Every morning so far we have been off at about 8am, for a cycle ride around the rural edges of our town.
Yesterday we took the camera, as I wanted to capture the harvest scene in the field next to our house. The combine harvester was there on Wednesday, causing a quite incredible amount of dust which is still floating in the air, visible in shafts of sunlight.
We crossed the town and went up the steep hill to my friend's house, to drop of Ben's jam book and a sugar thermometer. She has an over-productive peach tree this year and has decided to try bottling fruit for the first time. Her friends and family have taken to addressing her as Martha Stewart.
Cutting across country from her house, we arrived in a lane which combines wonderfully froggy ditches with beautifully sunny flowers! Son 1 was intrigued by the moon, which you can glimpse in the photo above.
On the return home, I finally had my camera to snap the wildflowers which have grown up in the verges around all the local towns in the last two years. There has clearly been a lot of seeding done by the municipal gardeners, and all along the roadsides the scrubby grass has been relplaced by poppies, cornflowers and other self-seeding wild flowers. It will be interesting to see how the verges develop as the plants go truly wild.
The boys and I are flying off to Edinburgh this evening, but when we get back, I am sure the road will call once again...
Happy holidays!Thursday, May 28, 2009
Shopping on a bike
I often nip to the local supermarket on my bike. I have investigated numerous ways of carrying my shopping home. I still have NO IDEA how classical French people on bikes manage to carry baguettes under their arms! However, I found this good-value and very entertaining 'picnic panier' in a shop called Casa today:
Now, this is how to carry two baguettes home safely!
And bread, milk, yoghurts,
Tomatoes, chocolate, pasta,
Spaghetti, cheese, smoked trout...
Now, this is how to carry two baguettes home safely!
And bread, milk, yoghurts,
Tomatoes, chocolate, pasta,
Spaghetti, cheese, smoked trout...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
