Callaloo Soup

Sunday Afternoon in Chambéry

On the spur of the moment last Sunday we decided to go into Chambéry for their annual Foire. We hit the road before lunchtime.

My main motivation for going was the flea market.

(I found a few treasures for my French vintage shop on Etsy, which will be listed by the end of the week!)

There were lots of other things to see too.

There was cheese tasting:

and a bit of cheese buying:

We stopped for lunch at a cute place called Happy Juice. Yummy wraps and fruit smoothies!

Someone got to take a carousel ride

Then it was time to head on back home, tired but happy.

Sometimes the spur of the moment events are the best ones!

 

Happy May Day!

In true French fashion, this morning our neighbours (who grow a thriving garden), offered us some muguet: Lily of the Valley.

Six years ago I wrote a bit about this tradition:

Today is Labour Day in France, known in French as La Journée du Travail. It is also being celebrated all over Europe (except for Switzerland and the Netherlands). In France it is also known as La Fête du Muguet, a celebration that dates back to the Middle Ages. Muguet is the plant we call Lily of the Valley in English, and the Celtic people accorded this plant with the property of a porte-bonheur (good luck charm). In 1561 Charles IX formalised the custom of donating a bunch of the flowers to one's friends and family, when he gave a bunch to ead of the ladies in his court. The flower is also associated with lovers who exchange them on this day (no Lucas and I didn't wake up early enough to go buy each other fresh bunches).

The same holiday is also being celebrated around the Caribbean, and probably throughout the British Commonwealth. We call it May Day. The actual day on which it is celebrated differs from island to island. In Barbados like in Britain it is celebrated on the first Monday in May, whereas in other islands it is always the 1st of May.

From the information I was able to find online it would appear that many of the other traditions we have on this day, such as dancing around the May Pole and Morris Dancing, originated in England and date back to the pagan festival of Beltane.

But back to the lovely flowers.

Have I mentioned how wonderful they smell? Get closer to the screen, maybe you can smell them too.

I think I need to plant some of my own to share next year.

 

 

P.S. White Rabbit, White Rabbit, White Rabbit!

Friends, Food, Family & Wine | Scenes From the Weekend

How was yours?

Fall in These Parts

Just after we moved I tweeted excitedly

Since then I've been watching the trees nearby and on the hills surrounding us do their thing, and this afternoon I grabbed the camera as we headed out to make use of the bit of sunshine that was peeking out.

This particular tree is on one of the main streets and is just gorgeous. In fact as I snapped away, a lady just in front of me commented "It is a beautiful tree isn't it?" I agreed with her and she went on to say " And I actually only looked up to see it when I heard your camera click!". If that isn't a reason for me to take my camera everywhere I don't know what is!

A bit closer to home I caught one of my neighbour's trees with the hills in the background

I'm hoping that we get to drive up into those hills soon so that I can capture even more of the glorious colours. What is Fall looking like where you are?

 

10 Things I Will Miss About Living in Lyon

1. Spending time with my dear, dear, dear friend Lucy and her family. Happily our new house is less than 30 minutes drive from their weekend place, so we will still get to hang out often!

2. Going to see the giraffes at Parc de la Tete d'Or, and the park in general.

3. How easily accessible everything is by metro amd tram

4. The Flea Market

5. The 3 times a week neighbourhood market

6. Our favourite park to take Kieran to play

7. Storytime at La Biblichausette

8. Vieux Lyon, which is a geat place to take photos.

9. The Fete des Lumieres in December

10. The Annual Salon de Vignerons Independents (wine fair)

See more ten things lists here

An Unexpected Family Afternoon

Yesterday was the annual Fete de la Musique in France, and as it turned out Lucas had the afternoon off, so we packed up the munchkin boy and headed out to one of my old time favourite haunts, Vieux Lyon.

 
After a healthy fruit snack we came upon an accordian player, just in front of La Marquise Tea Room

 

Tea wasn't on our minds however, not after we saw this!

Home made ice cream in a variety of luscious flavours!

I had the passion fruit and coconut, and Lucas had the passion fruit and lemon. Kieran had vanilla

and passion fruit, coconut and lemon!

There was some dancing

and a break for cookies (also home made at the Tea Room).

Finally a stop for a quick GPOF on the way back (a GPOF is the family version of a GPOY. I just totally made that up.)

Given that Kieran fell asleep last night without a murmur and was still going strong 12 hours later I think we need more afternoons like this one!

 

 

Lunchtime Treat

Left to my own devices on Monday, I decided to treat myself to a special lunch: a blue cheese tartine with bacon and honey

I've been collecting recipes on Pinterest to try, and this seemed like the perfect one for a solo lunch. I could have cribbed it together using what we had already in the pantry, but decided that since it was a treat, I'd make it exactly as written. Luckily, living in France all the ingredients were available a mere five minute walk away.

It was absolutely divine, and finishing it off with a pear was the perfect touch!

B is for Books and Brocante

All week long Kim Morgan is hosting the Write.Click.Scrapbook blog and posting ideas for scrapping about books and the love of reading. I've been meaning to do a layout about the books that Kieran loves, so happily volunteered to do this page for one of her posts.

 

We read to Kieran at naptime and bedtime, and in between! The munchkin does love his books, and he's also pretty specific about which ones he wants to hear. If we start a book he isn't interested in he quickly shuts it and throws it away. Some of his favourites are Mr. Brown Can Moo, Chicka Chicka ABC, Brown Bear Brown Bear, and in French Miffy, Les Canards and Mon Premier Imagier des Petites Betes. The last book is the one that taught him to say "Croa Croa" like a frog (ok a French frog). Now he says "croa croa" whenever he sees a frog in any of his books!

B is also for (la) Brocante! I have listed some buttons and trim in the La Brocante section of my Etsy store. Here's a sneak peek

I'll be listing new items all week, it seems that I had quite the stash hidden away!

 

Little Red Riding Hood, or why children should obey their parents.

One of the things I picked up at the flea market on Sunday was this 1949 edition of Le Petit Chaperon Rouge - Little Red Riding Hood.

The jury is out on whether it's for me or for Kieran. I just love the illustrations.

Oh Grandmother! What big ears you have!

The French ending is different to the English version (and probably more realistic). Yes, Red Riding Hood gets eaten. The moral of the story? Disobedient children get eaten by the bad wolf!

 

Hunting for Treasures

Yesterday I hit the flea market twice. In the morning I went to my favourite one, the Puces du Canal. I haven't been since before Kieran was born, so it was a welcome diversion. To add to the joy I was all by myself, so I could linger almost as much as I would like (I had to make sure to be done before it was time for his lunch and nap!)

You can see the individual photos on Flickr by clicking the links below.

1. Puces Sept 1, 2. Puces Sept 2, 3. Puces Sept 3, 4. Puces Sept 4, 5. Puces Sept 5, 6. Puces Sept 6, 7. Puces Sept 7, 8. Puces Sept 8, 9. Puces Sept 9

Most of these are random shots (and quite a few were shot from the hip), but I did get myself a few of the printer's letters in the first photo. The same seller also had a stack of three printer's drawers, but I resisted. That's the disadvantage of a small apartment. Not enough space for all my junque!

In the afternoon we all went to a larger community garage sale or Vide Grenier as they are known (Vide Grenier = Empty Attic). This time we were more focused on Kieran's winter wardrobe, but I did also get a couple of things like handmade lace and trim.

Never fear dear friends. If you're hankering for some French treasures I have good news! I am working on reopening my Etsy shop and stocking it with some of the sweet things I find. I know it looks pretty sad over there right now! I will be posting an update as soon as that happens.

The Fall months are when there are lots of these types of sales in France so I am planning to to make the most of them before holing up for the winter.