Be Safe, Be Seen!

It's now a legal requirement in France for night-time cyclists, on country roads, to wear a reflective waistcoat as well as having decent lights. This is one of those laws that the French are sticking to, as it's a good idea and also because it's strongly enforced, I suspect. Thus Ben has reflective wear all year round, for late returns from work, and the boys and I get ours out when the shorter days arrive. Even the dog has her own reflective 'super dog cape', which she wears on walks after school at the moment. We add a flashing red light to her collar too, so that we can let her go for runs...

... without losing track of her completely!

We quite enjoy our walks in the dark.

Handmade Slippers

I was absoutely determined to make the boys some slippers this year. Partly it was being on the Utmost Challenge, and partly it was because the slippers we've bought them over the past few years have been absolutely useless. However, the really cold weather is here (2°C this afternoon) and I have made one slipper.
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It's a pretty good slipper, but unless they take it in turns to hop around the house it's not much use.
So hurray for the little old lady I met at a bitterly cold Vide Greniers this weekend, who was just finishing off the blue slippers above (modeled by Son 1). She had the rather fetching pair worn by Son 2 already on her stall. Those ones fit perfectly, but I had to put a bit of elastic around the blue ones before Son 1 was comfy. They are both very happy to have warm, handmade feet!

Santa Lucia

We had the enormous privilege of celebrating a Swedish Saint Lucy's day this weekend. The boys have some friends who are half-Swedish and their mum sensed my interest when she told me that the celebrations for our region would be nearby! I'm not showing faces here, as lots of children were involved. Saint Lucy herself is played by a teeaged girl with this incredible crown of candles. I'm sure my interest in the Santa Lucia festival stems from when I was a young girl, and fancied the crown on my own blonde hair!

She is attended by girls in white robes carrying candles, and the Star Boys - you can see their hats and stars in these two photos.

An adult choir sang beautifully, and then we ate Swedish goodies!I am really excited to have celebrated Advent in a different way this year.Thanks for your lovely Advent posts and for your comments on my seeds post. I am really enjoying how different people interpret the idea of Advent, and of my seeds, too! It is a hectic time for everyone now, and I realise that I am leaving far fewer comments for people than usual. I am also behind with my posts about some lovely parcels - I will just let Penny, Shelley, Maria and Lululiz know that their parcels have arrived safely. Thanks so much, ladies!

Advent Seeds

This is a funny old Advent post – I have some thoughts without a conclusion! I’ve decided perhaps that it’s best to let you readers do the concluding, as my own thoughts are very open-ended.
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Ever since Advent started, seeds have been on my mind.
Having re-read Jesus’ words about the kingdom of God being like a seed, I decided to germinate a few indoor seeds of my own. Here are the seeds (one jar quick-growing, and one much slower) and various quotations about seeds:
'Dreams are the seeds of change. Nothing ever grows without a seed, and nothing ever changes without a dream.' Debby Boone
'A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be tightened into place but a seed to be planted and to bear more seed toward the hope of greening the landscape of idea.' John Ciardi
'Education is not the piling on of learning, information, data, facts, skills, or abilities - that's training or instruction - but is rather making visible what is hidden as a seed.' Thomas More
‘What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches’. Jesus, speaking in Luke chapter 13.
‘There are those who think that the kingdom of God should, like a powerful wind, blow all before it. Others think that the kingdom ought to shake the world to the core, like an earthquake. There are still others who see it as a sweeping, cleansing fire. Jesus’ description in today’s reading is of his kingdom being more like a quiet whisper, which shouldn’t surprise us. After all, God doesn’t change.’ David Robertson , referring to the words of Jesus above. 'And so our mothers and grandmothers have, more often than not anonymously, handed on the creative spark, the seed of the flower they themselves never hoped to see - or like a sealed letter they could not plainly read.' Alice Walker
'Happiness held is the seed; Happiness shared is the flower.' John Harrigan
I'm meditation on what kinds of seeds I'm planting, and I wonder what you hope for in terms of planting and harvesting, yourselves...

Père Noël

Père Noël arrived yesterday, on a foggy evening, outside Ben's work canteen. He travelled in a horsedrawn calèche, or open carriage.

The family party was enjoyed by all, with fantastic presents for the children and great food - this is aligot, mashed potato with a secret ingredient!

It's a very stringy cheese which gives the potato interesting properties as well as a great taste!

Quick Update

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Off to see Père Noël at Ben's work do in an hour or so!
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Taking many, many mince pies!
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Son 2 has got the whole house singing Michael Jackson's 'Heal the World', in French, as he's learning it at school and has starred by singing it for the whole class. Click here for the version he's learning. Kind of cute...
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It's his birthday tomorrow...
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And in a spirit of full disclosure, I bought a large plastic storage box for Ben at a DIY store today. Sometimes it's got to be worth it to save the time of having him build a waterproof storage container himself... And it wasn't for me or the house...
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Not feeling in the slightest guilty. Time saved at this point in the year is a very valuable thing.

Four parcels arrived for me in the post over the last two days. Much excitement - two not even opened yet. Further parcels have arrived for Son 2's birthday.
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Going to celebrate Saint Lucy with some Swedish friends tomorrow night.
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May find time to blog!

The Deferment of Gratification...

So, the deferment of gratification, whilst undeniably a Good Thing, gets on your nerves after a while! Karen sent me this very exciting swap parcel as her half of our Christmas Stocking Swap, absolutely ages ago! I was determinded not to open it before December, just so that it felt properly Christmassy. I also felt I shouldn't open it before I'd posted mine, just 'cos, really. So, I posted mine yesterday, and today's the day!It's hard to feel 'properly Christmassy' when it's 16°C and the sun is shining on our green, green grass, but I know you Antipodeans can cope with hotter than that and still feel festive, so I got out Beck's Australian Christmas cloth and got opening...

OOh, a minor distraction in the packaging! And then on to the first item, Karen's very pretty handmade card. I now have enough cards to set up some ribbons to hold them, and this one will take centre stage.

Pretty, pretty wrapping - I have been drooling over that red and white vintage string in Country Living, and here it is, with pretty tags attatched!You like? I like!I guessed the squishy packet would contain the Christmas stocking, so I opened it first. Bingo!Beautiful festive fabric and a sweet yo-yo decoration. I love it, Karen!Now a matching bird - how charming.A candle teacup - you may think it looks good, but you haven't SMELLED it! It's just fantastic in real life, and I've been wishing for a scented candle...Three fantastic vintage French advert magnets. The top one is for a mint alcohol which is alledged to be a good prevention against epidemics! Angels holding the bottle and all... I've just been teaching about advertising standards in my 5° English class, and I think this might break a few of them ;) The yellow one is for Lu biscuits, which are still a firm favourite with French children. Cute little scholar on it. The final one is for French Wine (in general) - 'Health, Happiness and Hope'! I'll drink to that...What is in this tiny box? A tiny Christmas Pudding, of course! I think Ben and I will share it tonight as a little foretaste of Christmas.Another lovely bird, this time on such a nice notebook.And, incredibly, something I've been wanting to read all year! What a great gift, Karen!I'll have to hide this from the boys...Until I'm ready to share it, anyway. Scottish shortbread is something else to add to yesterday's list of what the British abroad miss!And at the end of that well-defered parcel opening, I am the proud owner of all the lovely packaging, above, and a really super set of gifts. Thanks so much, Karen - beautifully made and wisely chosen, all of it!

Now my parcel has to make its way from La Poste to the Post Office. Karen says she'll start stalking her Postie any day now! I hope she enjoys it half as much as I enjoyed hers...

ATORA, or, What the British Abroad Can't Do Without

Way back in October, I showed this picture of groceries picked up in Edinburgh Tesco. We were stocking up on the things that Brits can't do without, or our own version of that list, anyway...
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Sarah from NZ wondered what wonderful goodies were inside the Atora packets, and I thought I'd keep her in the dark until now! Hold on a bit longer, Sarah - I'm going to tell you what else is on our personal list...
For the boys, Marmite. Personally, I hate it, but it's one of those love-it-or-hate-it British items and it comes out with the bread every day as far as the boys are concerned. It is available in France, but it's expensive and the jars are small!
Sandwich Spread is another one I hate, but it's Ben's Comfort Food of Choice. After a certain point in the evening, Only Sandwich Spread Will Do. His mum was most amused when I told her, as his dad is just the same...As with both the items above, you can get Cheddar in France if you're prepared to pay over the odds. But three out of the four of us love strong farmhouse Cheddar, and we're prepared to save it for those occasions when someone's been in the UK rather than trying some mass produced substitute. Two summers ago Ben took the boys to Cheddar Caves and they tried out all the different varieties - extra mature won for Son 1, and Mild with Marmite (!) was the favourite for Son 2.

Now for me, I really do like a little glass of Ginger Wine on a cold winter's evening. If I have space, I bring back a bottle or two in the suitcase...
And finally, to the Atora! It's not yummy, Sarah! It's pretty unpleasant, actually, but it's essential at Christmas time...

... in both Christmas Puddings and Mince Pies! This year I'm just making Mince Pies, as we'll be with Ben's parents on the big day itself. So, for mincemeat, chop up apples...
and add the suet. Have you guessed what it is yet? (Rolf Harris accent optional.)

It's fat - traditionally animal fat, basically the fat from around the kidneys of beef animals. It's grated and rolled in flour.

Two years ago I couldn't get any Atora from the UK and I asked our local butcher to save me some kidney fat. I grated it with flour and it made perfectly decent suet. But Atora is far, far easier! You can get vegetarian Atora too.

Now add raisins,

sultanas, and currants if you can get them (I couldn't).A small mountain of soft dark brown sugar, and candied peel.Chopped almonds. The zest and juice of two lemons
and two oranges,

lots of mixed spice, a bit of Fair Trade cinnamonand a little nutmeg.Stir it all up and you've basically made mincemeat!Delia, however, recommends leaving it to soak overnight and then putting it into a very low oven for three hours before adding brandy, so that is what I shall do...