OK this is not the world's best photo but it does give you a bit of idea of what Marie-Antoinette's farm is like. We met up with friends there on Sunday since the weather was so good. If I have understood correctly, Marie-Antoinette wanted a place she could call her own (since actually France in its entirety belonged to her husband the king) and so she got her husband's permission to build a little farm in the grounds of the Château de Versailles and then she hung out there with her girlfriends, milking cows and feeding lambs and listening to doves coo while the rest of France starved to death in miserable poverty. Hum did that come out a little irreverently? The Château de Versailles (and its gardens) is a wonderful place to visit and since we live a short bus ride away we often go there for walks. There seems to be a special climate there - every time I go the weather is the same as outside my front door but more intense (intensely hot, intensely cold, intensely wet... today it was intensely inappropriate weather for February - warm, sunny, blue sky). The light is absolutely beautiful too. Versailles is a crazy place believe it or not and I'll have to explain that later because for now I don't have the time.
These are some delicious vegan fairy cakes (actually the Faustess ones from Vegan With a Vengence without all the fussy icing bits) that I made on Saturday to take round to D's friend's house for tea - she was invited over to play. D of course helped decorate them but I don't have any photos unfortunately (D wanted three sorts of icing which probably turned out even more complicated that the original recipe's two sorts). I don't really know the Mum of D's friend that well and so didn't even bother explaining that they were "special" fairycakes (i.e. vegan) because I didn't want her to think I was a total crackpot (usual opinion of almost everybody with regard to avoidance of animal products) and to forbid her daughter from coming round to ours to play again!
Bon je vais faire vite, puisque je suis sûre que si vous lisez ce message en français vous êtes plus au courant que moi de l'histoire de l'Hameau de la Reine à Versailles où nous sommes allés nous promener entre copains dimanche. J'adore cet endroit! Elle a vraiment réussi son coup je trouve (je parle de Marie-Antoinette bien sûr) et on arrive rapidement à oublier que nous sommes à Versailles et non dans une idylle champêtre flottante loin de tout (je ne sais pas si cela se dit mais j'aime bien). Loin de tout sauf les gentils Versaillais qui se ruent ici pour jouer ensemble, en short gris et duffel gris et pull en cashmere gris. Hmmm. Je vais laisser cette remarque parce que mon fils est Versaillais donc il serait impossible pour moi de aller plus loin que la gentille moquerie.
Et une photo de mes petits gâteaux (fairy cakes) végétaliens que j'ai faits avec D samedi pour ramener chez la copine chez qui elle était invitée pour jouer. D a voulu les décorer bien sûr et il a fallu faire trois sortes de glaçage au cas où sa copine n'aimait pas telle couleur, ou le goût du citron, ou la texture... C'est dommage que je n'ai pas de photos - ils étaient jolis comme tout. (B si tu lis ce message, moi je les trouvais jolis, d'accord?).
This is a cushion cover I am working on. It is a completely random design. So far so good, I fear the quilting will be tricky though. My idea was to create a piece that you couldn't tell how was created, that is to say in which order the pieces were sewn. I am not sure it was a success but other attempts will surely follow.
Je travaille actuellement sur une nouvelle housse de coussin. Mon objectif était de faire en sorte qu'il soit impossible de dire en quel ordre les morceaux ont été ajoutés au design. -j'ai travaillé 100% au hazard) Je ne suis pas sure d'avoir réussi mais je ferai d'autres tentatives puisque j'aime cette manière de travailler.
And this is my lunch. Tea last night was simple leek and potato soup. I have jazzed it up this lunchtime by adding a teaspoonful of cashew nut puree, a fried mushroom and lots of freshly cut mint, parsley and coriander. Believe. This is heaven in a bowl! It "has the spot" as D would sayMon déjeuner. (Il y a certaines personnes, qui trouvent cela halucinant que je prenne des photos de certains de mes repas...). Une soupe de pomme de terres/poireaux d'hier soir, ranimée avec un peu de purée de noix de cajou, un champignon poelé et des herbes fraichement ciselées directement dans le bol - menthe, coriandre, persil. Résultat: divin.
We bought back some masks from Venice for D to paint herself. Actually she really doesn't care that much for them but they have become one of S's favourite toys. He often asks me to put them on for him and then he of course has his turn... like just now when I fetched him from his nap. Nous avons rapporté des masques de Venise pour D - elle pourra les peindre elle-même. Mais en fait D ne s'y intéresse pas trop - c'est S qui les adooooore. Il me demande souvent de les mettre et puis bien sûr il les met lui-même... comme à tout à l'heure au réveil de sa sièste.
Hello there. I have just finished another cushion cover. Yay! As you can see, I had fun writing again. This time something that D said whilst talking to herself the other day "J'ai perdu ma tête, tout ce qu'il me reste ce sont mes cheveux" which translates to: "I lost my head, all I've got left is my hair". She had me in stitches (so I've now got her in stitches)!! I regret not using a different colour thread for the writing since it doesn't show up so well on the first two lines and I experimented with capitals for the last two lines which make them stand out even more so the result is not as balanced as I would have liked. Also the most obvious words are "ce sont" (meaning "they are") - not really the highlight of the sentence. But you know what? I see this as a dot on my learning curve and what's more I managed to get it sewn up, quilted and cushioned during S's naps today so all in all I am patting my back!!. All the writing is freehand which is something else I am pleased with. I am the sort of person who just does it! If I had to plan it out, trace the letters on etc I would stick to witing with a pen. Or typing actually.
Voilà, une autre housse de coussin pour mon canapé. Je viens de la terminer et j'en suis assez contente. J'ai recopié une phrase que D a sortie lorsqu'elle parlait toute seule l'autre jour: "J'ai perdu ma tête, tout ce qu'il me reste ce sont mes cheveux". Elle m'a bien fait rire. Je ne suis pas trop contente de la couleur des mots, du fait que j'ai utilisé des majiscules pour la moitié du texte, que les mots "ce sont" en ressortent le plus (mais moins dans la vie que sur la photo heureusement) bref pas trop contente de plein de choses mais néanmoins ravie que j'ai pu la réaliser entièrement aujourd'hui pendant les sièstes de S. Et là il se réveille. Perfect timing. A+
OK this is not the world's best photo but it does give you a bit of idea of what Marie-Antoinette's farm is like. We met up with friends there on Sunday since the weather was so good. If I have understood correctly, Marie-Antoinette wanted a place she could call her own (since actually France in its entirety belonged to her husband the king) and so she got her husband's permission to build a little farm in the grounds of the Château de Versailles and then she hung out there with her girlfriends, milking cows and feeding lambs and listening to doves coo while the rest of France starved to death in miserable poverty. Hum did that come out a little irreverently? The Château de Versailles (and its gardens) is a wonderful place to visit and since we live a short bus ride away we often go there for walks. There seems to be a special climate there - every time I go the weather is the same as outside my front door but more intense (intensely hot, intensely cold, intensely wet... today it was intensely inappropriate weather for February - warm, sunny, blue sky). The light is absolutely beautiful too. Versailles is a crazy place believe it or not and I'll have to explain that later because for now I don't have the time.
These are some delicious vegan fairy cakes (actually the Faustess ones from Vegan With a Vengence without all the fussy icing bits) that I made on Saturday to take round to D's friend's house for tea - she was invited over to play. D of course helped decorate them but I don't have any photos unfortunately (D wanted three sorts of icing which probably turned out even more complicated that the original recipe's two sorts). I don't really know the Mum of D's friend that well and so didn't even bother explaining that they were "special" fairycakes (i.e. vegan) because I didn't want her to think I was a total crackpot (usual opinion of almost everybody with regard to avoidance of animal products) and to forbid her daughter from coming round to ours to play again!
