where time stands still

 

I have spoken here about it on a few occasions before, but going home really does feel strange, and the feeling just seems to deepen year after year. Sure, the reasons for that are rooted in childhood,  teenagehood and the endless underlying family issues that come with that territory - I'm sure a lot of you out there know what I'm talking about. But there is also the fact that as years have gone by I have lost all ties with the few school mates I had. Distance does this. That means going home is purely a family business: I go, they get to see baby, we catch up for a while (note to self - remember to avoid talking politics, healthcare, money, and work. I know, that doesn't leave much but it's essential in order to survive even the shortest of visits), eat, walk around the village and that's pretty much it, at least when the weather is not hot enough to be outside.
Still, when the sun shines the light is amazing, the local cheese is out of this world, this time we got to see a small circus, and there are lovely shops in the nearby town - I tend to go a bit crazy to compensate ;)
Maybe it's time to stop visiting France at Easter for me? 

sakura love

 

 

Aren't cherry blossoms just the best? Their ephemeral beauty could almost make me forget that the holidays are over. Almost.

Ces jolies fleurs de pruniers ne sont-ells pas adorables? Leur beauté éphémere me ferait presque oublier que les vacances touchent a leur fin. Presque.

mothering Sunday

Baby Lavender has a secret life. She goes to work everyday in nursery and tells me all about it every evening, then starts all over again for her daddy when he comes home (of course, we can only decipher so much of her da-da-da language yet...). Her carers tell me she's very active. We get a detailed written report everyday: what she's eaten, how much milk she drank, how long she slept, the toys she played with that day etc.
This morning she gave me the best possible present for mother's day beside the lovely card her carers made with her - she slept until 7! She must have known it was a special day to treat her mum. And to treat myself, whilst waiting for peony season, the lovely local spring blooms.

Happy mother's day to you!

Bébé Lavender mène une vie secrète. Elle part au travail tous les jours à la crèche et me raconte toute sa journée le soir, puis recommence pour son papa quand il rentre à la maison (bien sûr, on ne peut encore décoder que peu de son da-da-da...).  Ses nounous me disent qu'elle est très active. On reçoit un rapport détaillé tous les jours: ce qu'elle a mangé, combien de lait elle a bu, combien de temps elle a dormi, les jouets avec lesquels elle a joué ce jour-là etc.

Ce matin elle m'a fait le meilleur des cadeaux possibles pour la fête des mères mis à part la carte que ses nounous ont faite avec elle - elle a dormi jusqu'à sept heures! Elle devait savoir que c'était un jour spécial pour sa maman. Et pour me faire plaisir en attendant la saison des pivoines, les jolis fleurs printanières locales.

Joyeuse fête des mères à vous!

(pour celles qui vivent ici en tous cas)

snow where are you?

Wet and windy February. Whilst the south of the country is literally drowning under all the rain, here we are, miserable, wet and windy but not properly cold like a good old winter should feel like. Snow, I miss you. Last year it was snowing on the day Baby was born. We were waiting to be seen at the maternity ward very early one Monday morning as day was just breaking and it snowed. Later that morning before I lost my mind track of time in the delivery room, I remember looking outside and seeing yet more snow falling down.
As Baby's birthday approaches I realise I am feeling increasingly nostalgic of those last  few weeks of pregnancy and early days of motherhood. I miss the anticipation of it all - even though it drove me mad at the time, the laziness, and touching my tummy to feel her kicking back at me. And the cold, crisp air charged with the impending snow.
Man, I really wish for some snow before winter's over.
In the meantime I have found some comfort in finishing all the nitty-gritty hand quilting of my last baby quilt. What a great feeling when it finally comes together! I also made a new bias in a lovely black sakura-style fabric I bought with Atina Alga years ago. And we've taken the habit of going out for breakfast at the weekend. Lazy days, hibernation, and comfort foods. Just that darn snow missing...

cherry blossoms in Japan

Baby Lavender loves a bit of fresh air, so we try and go for a walk everyday since she is about ten days old. I think she was born at the perfect time of year to allow for that to happen: the air is full of hope for warmth to come, there are explosions of colours and scents at every street corner, and of course, lovely bucolic cherry blossoms - my favourite!

in my neighbourhood - this week

This recent article reminded me of our trip to Japan three years ago, and made me all nostalgic of the lovely time we had in Kyoto during the sakura season...I can't wait to visit this country again!

hanami in Kyoto - three years ago

vintage fabric

I am terrible. Honestly, I cannot help but buy more fabric even though I have a stock building up at home! But really, deep down, you know you couldn't have resisted this loooovely vintage-like fabric if you'd seen it yourself, could you?

When I spotted it, I knew instantly how to use it too. So last weekend I started fussy-cutting it into beautiful little rectangles...

And guess what they became? Little lavender trinkets for Christmas stockings. Aren't the fabrics just gorgeous?

They all went in "the finished products basket" for a while...

And finally into little bags of lavender goodness - by that time day light had disappeared, sorry for the bad pictures!