Paul Verlaine and my friend Carol...

One of my favorite French poets from the 19th Century was born on this day, 165 years ago. Paul Verlaine was born in Metz in 1844, and is best known for his 'symbolist' style of poetry and for his tumultuous relationship with Rimbaud. It was Verlaine and Rimbaud who added the 'rock and roll' element to my French lit studies, and without whom I may never have made it past Molière.

It's also my good friend Carol's birthday, and although our relationship doesn't include alot of the elements of Verlaine's and Rimbaud's (namely homosexuality, gun shots, prison or absinthe), she does continually inspire me and is always there to give me a swift kick when I need one. She is also an amazing photographer, somehow managing to capture poetry in all of the photos she takes.

So happy birthday to two people who have inspired me, and Carol, I think it's time for another trip to Paris soon!

It's all about me...

The most exciting news from the Dukedom this weekend is that today is my birthday. But as I'm officially starting down that slippery slope called 'past 35 and careening out of control towards 40', I'm not sure if it should be classified as good or bad news.

At any rate, I'm hoping today will include at least one glass of champagne, and I guess that has to be considered to be the good news.

So bon weekend tout le monde, and I'll see you on Monday, when I'll be another year older and I'm sure, infinitely wiser...

Birthday parties à la français...

Tomorrow the littlest lady turns 4 and is having a party, or a goûter d'anniversaire as it's called here. Her friends from her class- Faustine, Margot, Ornelia, Celia, Maelys, Ava, Emma, and Léna are coming over for a two hour TinkerBell (la fée clochette) themed party.

I feel like I'm getting the hang of these kid birthday parties in France. One of my first attempts still gets the occasional giggle from one of the French mothers who said the other mothers were very amused at my crudités, pinata and organized games. Apparently here, all that's called for is a cake, a bowl of bon bons and enough space for the kids to run around in a sugar-induced frenzy.

So compared to some of the stories I hear of people in the UK (and possibly the US?) who spend shed loads of money on entertainers, food and party favors, we get off pretty lightly here. And the kids still manage to get over excited and talk of nothing else for the next week.

The hardest part this time will be the small talk with the other parents who stick around, as I don't know that many of them and will have to get through the whole 'oh-you're-foreign-I-can-barely-understand-your-French-but-tell-me-your-life-story-anyway' routine. Integration into a small French village is a never-ending process (or at least it feels like it after 8 years).

The oldest little lady's friends' parents are used to me by now. Let's just hope this new set are as cooperative, er, I mean, nice.....

It's birthday month chez nous.....

The month kicked off yesterday with the 3rd birthday of the littlest lady, who was a ball of excitement all day as she waited every so patiently throughout school until her party afterwards. I chose the easy option this year for her and invited around her 5 best English friends and their parents.

This was the easy option because:

1. She has only just started school and hasn't really made specific friends yet, so going down the class route would have either included alienating some of the kids or inviting all 30 kids (2-3 year olds)... Kind of didn't want to choose this option.....

2. I had to work all day beforehand and new that if some of my English friends and their kids came around, I wouldn't be so ashamed of the fact that my house was a mess. If it had been my French friends I would have felt compelled to clean for days. Why is that? It's not like the French are more obsessed with the housework, I guess it's an acceptance thing. Don't want to give them a reason for singling me out, like '....oh, the American woman, did you see the state of her floors? I mean honestly, how can I let my child mingle with another
culture if that's their idea of cleanliness.' Oh the shame. I just don't want to have that sort of stigma attached to my kids so young. They'll have plenty of time to be embarrassed of me later.

3. I know that on the 21st I'll be having the oldest lady's entire class for her party(5-6 year olds), and just the thought of it exhausts me, so I thought I'd take advantage of the last year I'll probably be able to get away with it and gave her the birthday party of my own design. She can choose who to invite next year. And I'm pretty sure it'll be her entire class. So I'm starting to
squirrel away the Valium now.....

The Duke's birthday is at the end of the month, and once again, I think he'll be getting wine for his present. One of the best wine shops I've come across in a long time, Le Clos St Gabriel, which is located in a very hard to find location in Beziers, has recently opened a tapas and wine bar near the Allées Paul Riquet in the center of town, called Le Chameau Ivre, or drunken camel. Apparently now they do tapas and food, as well as letting you browse and taste and discover new wines. It sounds like a bookshop for wine lovers. I think we'll try it out on the Duke's least favourite day of the year, and I'll keep you informed.

Raising children is hard in any country.....

Recipe for the day: A little discretion, a lot of patience, quite possibly a large bacon sandwich, but definitely no horse meat........

As a newish mother (two girls, 4 and 2), I'm still learning (as if you ever know everything) how to be a good mother. Throughout my pregnancies I was constantly reminded that I was living in a foreign country and surrounded by a different culture.

Most of the time I've been able to draw from both my American heritage and my adopted French culture to find the answers and philosophies that best fit my needs when it comes to raising children. But what I am learning more and more each day is that the trials and tribulations of a mother are pretty much universal. Worries, dilemmas, confusions, they all transcend borders. It's easy as a mother to feel like you are going through things alone, but in fact every mother throughout history has probably dealt with the same issues, in one form or another, and survived.

I decided to hand out my four year old's birthday invitations today. There where only three, but trying to do it in a discreet manner without all of the other kids seeing it was a bit difficult. And I can't help feeling that I've breached some kind of birthday- invitation-etiquette with the other mothers and that there is probably a very strict French way of handling this.

We passed the horse meat seller in the square as we walked up to school this morning. As an American, this is one French delicacy I have never really gotten in to, but I think for the kids growing up here, it should be seen as a 'normal' part of their life. Should I be making horse meat hamburgers at home? I'd like to introduce my kids to as many different foods as possible, but I think it might take me awhile to get around to this one......

no point starting at the beginning.....

Recipe for the day: deep breaths, fresh air, crap television, large quantity of hiding from the children......

We are currently in the process of major renovations, so you'll have to excuse the frequent updates on the amount of wallpaper I've managed to scrap off the walls each week. Currently on layer 3, in the girls' room I started about 4 weeks ago.

Feeling a bit of the winter blahs at the moment, even though it's 70° and sunny. Lots of birthdays this month, and I'm feeling slightly nervous about throwing my first mixed French/English toddlers birthday party. Surely the level of sugar intake is the same no matter what country they are in? I'm hoping it goes well and isn't too awkward for the French mothers.

Saw 'Thank you for Smoking' the other night and quite liked it. Can almost imagine some zealot is trying to airbrush out all cigarettes from classic Hollywood movies.

It is probably painfully obvious that I'm new to this blogging thing, so please bear with me. I hope you may find something vaguely interesting along the way......