where ivy league is a problem

29 - March -2012


Well dear Reader,

this was the last day of the Reporter doing rustication, and that was very sad.

But wait ! [ As they say in france ] it meant that till the end, to thank her gracious host, the Reporter was ready to do some hard manual work like taking out some really strong ivy roots












So tiring was this, that she needed some nice rest in those therapeutic places and the one she chose had in fact as the name implies some nice black mushrooms :






and that was am excellent therapy.

Then as the sun was setting she could contemplate the magic of the hour :









then, since it was like the last evening, a little visit was due to the medieval town close by









and its Hotel de Ville,









And a last good-bye to the sunset on the fields,









And here ended the rustication of this very sophisticated Reporter,

with all Love,

the Frog

where spring comes up

26 - March - 2011


Well, dear Reader,
it does look like spring is coming up on this side of the pond.

The Reporter being courageous as ever decided with her host to go for a long walk in the woods, and there she saw some interesting vistas.

First along the woods a hill, lighted by a pale spring sun:







Then a lovely lake,









her kind host,









a lovely forest path,










another lovely path,










The exquisite little wild violets announcing spring :









then getting back closer to the host's home, a nice borie. Now a borie is a little cabin made of small stones, including the roof which is made of lauze, the flat little stones that are painfully assembled. These bories may seem high on the photos, but they are in fact barely the size of a man, and when you go inside they are too low for you to stand up. They are seen in dordogne but also in the south east of france in portions of less touristic provence. They were used for the shepherd to sleep, or to keep in the stray sheep until the shepherd would bring back the herd there and pick up then the stray.








Here is the entrance, and it is not even five feet high,









and here is the view from this borie :









not bad to be a shepherd really,
and here is the second borie,









and here is the vista from the second borie,








And since the Reporter was a little tired of all those vistas, we shall break here, this fascinating post on shepherds and some.

with All Love,

the Frog

rusticating and fixing

24 - March - 2012

Well the weather being delicious in the middle of france with fruit trees in bloom and temperatures reaching the high eighties fahrenheit, the Reporter spent the day inside since it was so romantic to visit a leroy merlin store :

in france leroy merlin is the equivalent of home depot, it is awesome.

First when you arrive you see this sign which had the blood of the Reporter sizzling :



In short, it means ' your hungers for fixing ' as the Reporter wants to fix the world, it was perfect timing.

So the Reporter went straight for her favorite :










See, how pretty ?
Plumbing.
and a little more of that :










See how shiny ?
and wait there is more :






Copper pipes !!!!!! Isn't that awesome ????


So after that the Reporter went straight for electrical :









A little bit more about specific details of electrical :









then to screw in your electrical finds, you need some beams









Xcept you need better quality ones :










then you need the screws, of course, and the Reporter chose the real nice looking shiny ones :












Then of course we got into the paint, at last, so in france, you have the 'CONDITIONS EXTREMES' that
s when it's really cold just like about 10 days ago :










but you also have the " experte " qualification which of course is the perfect fit for the Reporter who's a total expert at painting.










but then you have the Crepi Facade, which is stucco for the side of your house, it says after that : au rouleau ou taloche and honestly the Reporter, despite being an experte, has no idea what taloche means at all,











There's also the Special Grands Travaux paint, which means Large Works, as opposed to Special Tiny Works,











By then the Reporter was a little tired from the Special Grands Travaux, and she decided to switch sections of leroy merlin and she went to look at toilet seats covers, an important item in a house.
She found that one :











And honestly, even if you think it's a 3D one, it is not as you can see from this side pic :










Well, it still sorts of look like 3D but I can assure you, it's flat. Now the Reporter is so tired and so spoiled from such exquisite finds that it's better we stop that very educational post, right now.

So
With All Love,

the Frog

deep country

23 - March - 2012

Because the Reporter suddenly felt a surge of extreme courage, she decided to go rusticating and visit the countryside.

Well lo and behold, the first two days were great : rain and wind and hail and then this morning at dawn, it was all clear and right now it looks like this:










yes that is a little dark, but wait :









The sun rises and :










this is when you know that :












under the cynical crust :









of the Reporter's appearance :










there just might be :









a complete deep romantic and sappy side, but thank the heavens, it seldom shows.
So this is the end of this completely un-educational post,

with All Love,

the Frog

where it is sunny

21 - March - 2012


Well, Spring is totally here !!

The Parisians are flabbergasted, it is absolutely, totally, gorgeously sunny on the First Day of Spring.
They say things like : " Ah, c't-incroyable " which simply means, " It's unbelievable " but they contract the 'c' and 'est' and it becomes the very abreviated ' c'tin..' and it sounds a little like if we said : "'tsunbleevable" or something like that.

It's not really vulgar nor common, it's just 'breviated' to show you that they are busy, in a hurry, don't really have time to talk to you, are harried, and don't have the time to enjoy the first day of spring, while you do and should feel guilty of this, even if later on, they play hooky and will sit surreptitiously at a cafe sunning themselves. Parisians are complex. They know how to make you feel guilty, it is their guilty pleasure.

So the Reporter walked out at dawn to enjoy the early morning and next to where she lives, the lovely painter's studio was all pale blue and pink :











Then she had to get some flowers for a dear friend who was not too well and stopped by the lovely Au Nom de la Rose,









and there were some adorable ones for sure :













Then she went to have breakfast at Sennelier, and on her way back she stopped in front of Deyrolles,












And then she went home to work, because even in Paris when it is spring's First Day and it is sunny and delicious, some people have to work.

With Love,

the Frog

twelveth day, it's grey too

19 - March - 2012


The Reporter has been quartered inside painting a commission :











Grey day. Oviously. No one sits outside at Les Deux Magots :









If you look closely at the photo, you will see that there is a crowd inside having therapy.

And what is more, a few yards away, there was a sewer problem rue bonaparte in front of Nobilis :









So if you ask the Reporter, everything is going down the drain.

so to feel better and forget the vision of empty tables :









The Reporter stopped by her beloved Bon Marche :









As you see, there was a lot to report, for once.

With all kinds of grey and freezing thoughts,

Love

the Frog

tenth day where it is grey

17 - March - 2012

Well there is nothing doing, dear Reader,

but March 17th 2012 in paris will have to be a grey day and what is more, cold. Forget that last night people were having dinner outside like this was a summer night, too much of a good thing is not good for you so today is grey and cold, like 42.8 degrees Fahrenheit. So to prove this see a cafe :










See ? See the tables ? Unoccupied. That is a sign that the therapy of the cafe is going inside not out.


So on a saturday in paris if you are a Parisian couple, and it is 42.8 degrees outside, this is how you dress :












Navy blazer, jeans, black shoes.
That 's it. You cannot dress different. It's the 42.8 degrees uniform. And everyone is dressed this way. You do not want any of these schmaltzy colors like [ gasp ] yellow or green or red. It is just not done. Perhaps a small small clutch in an Hermes orange color, that might be allowed, but even that, that is bordering on improper.

So the Reporter was missing some supplies for her master painting, and Sennelier was again on the order of the day.
And .... when she got to Sennelier, there was a crowd, the result was that the suspicious staff was quite " affairé " which means bustling about, and so she was not being surveyed too closely and she could take some pics of her beloved Sennelier :

the monster oil pastels that one of her painter friend is addicted to :











one portion of the brushes that the Reporter is addicted to :









the other portion of the brushes that the Reporter is also addicted to :












The pics, you will have noticed as you are, Dear Reader, very perceptive, are a little fuzzy, And that is because, the Reporter was a little terrified to be found out taking those surreptitious shots, so her heart was pounding and that had the camera somewhat unstable in her distinguished hands.

This is the front room closet with all kinds of goodies :











and this is the closet in the back of the room with all sorts of goodies too,











That is in fact a very queer pic as I peruse over it because I realize now there is round mirror on the closet and in fact, [ gasp ] one can see the Reporter in it taking the pic. Scary.

Well, once the Reporter got all her supplies in a plain plastic bag, she got out of Sennelier.
The Dear Reader has to understand : No One, can equal the grace of Audrey Hepburn having breakfast in front of Tiffany's window, but to be honest, the Reporter wouldn't mind coming each morning with a coffee cup and a croissant and have breakfast in front of Senneleir's windows. But the thing, of course, is that in france, you do not walk the street of a city with a coffee cup in hand, this is just not the proper manner to adopt in a City.

So walking on back to paint, the Reporter stumbled on an Epicerie Fine.







It is not wrirtten Epicerie Fine on the awning, but it is painted above the entrance door. Epicerie Fine doesn't mean Thin Grocery, as you do not find in france products which are there to make you thin, [ gasp ], the French do not even want to hear the word, 'diet', but of course it means Fine Grocery in opposition to the Groceries which are vile.
Check on the sidewalk, on the left side of the photo, the pile of wood for your 18th century fireplace to warm your humble abode.

Then the Reporter came upon a lovely flower girl who could be our new Eliza, if only Rex Harrison was still around to care for, and refine flower girls,














and then the Reporter came upon the venerable DeBauve & Gallais store







Now this is a venerable house and of course excellent chocolate. This is a serious matter and no one wouldn't take seriously the choosing of a sample of those delicacies.

As a matter of fact they create their own chocolate in the back yard of that venerable building, and above the driveway that takes you to an adorable yard shaded by old trees, you can see this sign:







As you can see, it says :
De Bauve & Gallais, FABRICANTS DE which means MAKERS OF, CHOCOLATS FINS ET HYGIENIQUES, which means
OF FINE CHOCOLATES [ compared to the vile ones that others make ] AND HYGIENIC. IT probably just means they are clean and healthy. Which of course they are.

So this is the end of another highly educative post on the strange mores of the Parisians.


Last but too lovely, Le Salon du Dessin, the Drawing Show,










With all love,

the Frog