It's about 8.00 am and everybody's snoring in the house :-)
It's been, I don't know, one hour and a half that I'm awake... Our day will be busy busy with Lola's Baptism, so I wanted to get relaxing time before everything starts.
I luuuuve these peaceful moments when the sun is rising and I'm having my first cawffees, listening to guuuud music (evanescence), surfing a bit on the web while Joe's purring on my knees :-)))

But it's bloody cold this morning! I'm sure it's not even 10°C right now!
Eeeeck, that makes my dressing plans more complicate suddenly :P

We've meet the priest twice and he's fine.
He's younger than Martin, which is kinda funny. He seems to really love his job too. You know he's not like old priest who are too austere, he seems so eager to spread his faith that you've to stop him sometimes or he loses himself in passionate talks :-)

I just worry for one thing though... The Church usually asks that the godfather and godmother be baptized too. This time the Godmother is not and the priest yesterday talked about it for hours to come to a point: he'll give more importance to the godfather during the celebration. He said it was for respect about the godmother's convictions. He won't ask her to do all the ritual, just part of it.
And Martin finds that great that he does it because he "respects* the fact that Emmanuelle is not a *believer*.
And I feel behind this great "respect", it's only a way to exclude a bit Emanuelle from the ceremony because she is not part of the Church. You see?!!!

Anyway, I hope he will be diplomatic during the ceremony. That bothers me a bit!

I'm very happy to celebrate that today, with close friends and close family.
There should be about 30 people.

I hope all will be fine between my mama and papa. Divorced parents is a real probbie for children when it comes to official ceremonies. You *nooooooe* they're not happy to see each other, so they make efforts. I'll also have to keep an eye as sual on my grand-mama who could bite my dad anytime. Same as usual. And it's boring!!!!

Anyway, after the ceremony we all go at my mama's for other festivities (champ', etc etc).

I hope that Lola will enjoy her day, at least I'm sure she'll be happy dancing with her hands when we'll sing in the church! hehe **~~* *^* *

I think the Frawnch rugger team has found its secret weapon: tight t-shirts!
(fainting)

Well it seems it's the new rule now, wearing this kind of t-shirt. I think yes, they're much more practical, hm, professionnal yeah, hm, well, way more sexy too! hehe
I've tried to find a good pic to show you, but I've only found this:



(refainting)

And I've not even talked of the results of yesterday!
The boys have succeeded against the Roastbeef team, which hadn't happen in a whole LONG year!!!!
(despite an interesting Roastbeef tactic: a member from the English staff ran between one of our boys and the ball while the boy was lining up a first-half conversion!)

Well, this victory is a sign for the World cup I tell you! Mwaaaaahahahaha

I just wonder about this match we've watched, why do they call it "friendly match"? LOL ... because it was far from being really the case, as usual ;-)

And here's a susual scene between Joe and Lola. Joe keeping some self-control though showing obvious irritation and Lola simply enjoying her hairy lil friend!

Do you remember this sexy guy (Banderas) playing guitar and guns? Yes, yes El Mariachi!!!



And do you remember this same guy, still with his guitar, getting a bit more nervous...desperado?




Weeeeeeeeell, mr Rodriguez (that I luuuuuve) has made a third movie about this mariachi!
It's called "Once upon a time in Mexico" (something to do with his -our- beloved Sergio Leon I guess), it's still with Banderas and Salma Hayek, but also with... JOHNNY DEPP and WILLEM DAFOE (triple fainting here!!!)



Ok, I've seen the trailer which is far from showing the best of the movie I bet! But nebbermind, I'll be there for el mariachi!
(singing)
Me gusta tocar guitarra
Me gusta cantar el sol
Mariachi me acompana
Quando canto mi cancion!

We've experienced what I'd call a *digested shower* this morning...
I was in the supamarket with the shrimpette in the trolley, when suddenly my lil angel started to vomit more than she had drunk an hour before!
... she had just tried to swallow a sticker...
Poor lil one, she was covered with it. Thank gawd a man came to help me, holding the shrimpette while I was taking her clothes off!

Anyway, the fact she's vomitted is kinda usual for kids, right right... but there was my handbag open just between her legs.... it's been a disaster for my papers and bag.
Happy lovely morning, you make me sing sing sing
hehe (yeah, we always laff ... AFTER! :P)

The shrimpette is doing really well now and I just bought a new bag!

weeeeeeeee!

Thank you Joe for being our official chicken taster!
We've taken the habit to first give a bit of the chicken I buy to Joe just before cooking it.
And you can be sure if he does not rush to its chicken bit, it means that it won't be that good.
It works everytime!
Joe just need to smell it and then he gives his opinion:
eating it : excellent chicken, usually expensive one
sitting in front of it, watching it weirdly: you gotta add a lot of sauce to what you gonna cook (G)

My mama thinks my goils (in the paintings) are too nekkid!!!!
Grmmmppphhhhhhhhh
Just a pair of boobies here and there is not so shoking, don't you think?

Next time I'll show her what is *erotic painting*, I know excellent artists in that field (gotta make a lil list of the artists i've discovered!)

When I show a nekkid body (and in such a naive way that it can't be shocking, nenene! hehe), it's just because the creature or person is living that way! I'm not going to modify the reality :P

mamas....... !!!! (rolling eyes)
;-)

There's a new guest in the Gallery!
Morwenna, buDerfly of Mordreuc, has just arrived :-)
Welcome mademoiselle :P **~~*^*


click me

Tonight (at 9.00 pm!), we've this rendez-vous with the priest for Lola's Baptism.
Actually we'll be several parents there to discuss about our... beliefs and convictions.

SIGH!!!

I don't mind talking about religion, beliefs, etc.... but not in the AA way ya know (all in circle talking about our *probbie*, oops I meant *faith*!).
That is not very inspiring.

But somehow I find it more complicate to explain to our friends (who do not *believe* at all, most of them at least) why we want Lola to be baptised rather than to unknown "guuuud ol' Catholics" ;-)
How can you explain a *spiritual* desire to someone who rejects anything which does not seem rationnal... Very hard!

As I had already said in here, our desire is to bring a kind of spiritual dimension into the Shrimpette's life.
I do believe in a God (which Penny and I use to call *mr Universe*.. hehe), and this unconditionnal faith is pretty important to me. Even though I don't go to Church often, even if I don't pray so often, there are times (and not always during tough times) when my Faith brings me a lot.

That will be a Catholic baptism. Why Catholic? Because it's the only religion I really know and Catholics accept godfather and godmother who are not baptized (unlike Protestant Church, Martin's church).
I think I will tell Lola about the Old testament and a bit more. The way my grand-mama did with me. Like telling tales, trying to avoid the black or white points of view.
Then she'll follow her own path, with or without a God or Goddess. I wanna give her the possibility to chose and to make her opinion :-))**~~*^* *

You remember the scary (drawn) bits in The Wall? And the creativity in Yellow Submarine?

Involving in such a project would be the dream of my (working) life!
I've been contacted a few months ago by a Brasilian guy who asked me to participate to the creation of a cartoon. Stoopidely I even did not answer, thinking it was a joke. Well I'm sure it wasn't a serious offer.

Anyway, that made me think a rock-opera cartoon would be *my thing*.

... Well of course, if Metallica, Dead can Dance or Björk could contact me, I just feel it would be more inspiring than if it was Zouzou Pitchoune (noooooo, you don't know him? ;-)
hehe

(shiterooooo, I wanted to add a link to this famous *zouzou pitchoune*, but he must be so unpopular that even the web has ignored him. snif :(( )

It's been an important day for the shrimpette.... she's got her first pair of SHOES (and Gawd, you would not believe the price of baby shoes!)

And yes, the first pair of shoes in the life of a lil lady is something!
Can you just imagine all the other ones that will follow? hehe... The first shoes of a long long series, well, if she's like her mama huh! :P

I think she still prefers being barefoot though... Here's her lil face just after I took her shoes off.
She got hysterically happy (already typical women's reactions, see! hehe), and was coming to me to bite my nose (her new hobby!)

I'm exhausted, dead, right now.
I'll come back to life in a bit....
..... let's say when it will be time to put my shrimpette to bed and to enjoy a glass of white milk (that won't be soon I fear!)

Now that Lola's literally running on her all fours, I have to be so careful all the time that she does not put her fingers where she must not!
And actually (and I bet it's the same for all babies), Lola does exactly what is forbidden!

putting her fingers in the pivoting part of the doors or in the plugs (the plugs seem even more funny...)
trying to eat Joe's food, well trying to eat Joe's tail too
trying to enter Joe's litter
putting her hands inside the video or dvd player and playing with all the buttons
trying to lick our shoes, I mean their sole!
getting the soil out of the plants' pots, eating it sometimes

etc, etc

I thank Gawd for not having twins!
hehe
And last night she woke up really screaming for more than 1 hour (she wanted to get out of bed), between 1.00 and 2.00 (as we went to bed at 1.00, it's been hard, no, IMPOSSIBLE, to sleep)

She's not slept at all today so far, but I've put her to bed anyway for half an hour.
I needed a break and a 6th cawffee!

(why does it seem that easy for other mamas?! I see them apparently relaxed with their 2, 3 children around!)

Clowns: weird creatures born to make us laugh.
Does it work with you, do you always laugh when there's a clown around?
I don't...

They'd be robots, that would be fine to me. But they're human, and that means there's always somebody hiding behind the mask.
That is enough to feed my imagination ...
In *my* world, clowns are sad and frightening... I never see them as funny, no way.

All that to introduce my last painting (so much blabla, huh! hehe), the *Master of Laughter* (yes yes, weird translation, but the closest to French language)


click here

Since I woke up this morning, I can't help thinking it's Tuesday today.
And I've asked Martin not to tell me the contrary so that I can wake up tomorrow morning thinking it's wednesday!
And then, Martin will tell me that I'm all wrong again, that it's Thursday.
Imagine that, the weekend will look suddenly much closer!!!!
Life is beauDiful sometimes, but you gotta help it a bit to make it so :P

All that sounded logical, didn't it?!
Goils are l-o-g-i-c-a-l, it's simply in our nature, see!!!!

I need a pullover!!!!!

(kim wilde roarring get out, get out of my liiiife)
(dancing around)
(going to cuddle Joe)
(dancing around with him)
(no he's not happy!)

it's COLD this morning!!!
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

My memory of smells...

Some toxic wood varnish
... my grand-father is in his workroom, my grand-mother is cooking jam, my sister and I would like to spend more time with our lil friends. sigh

catweewee
...we're spending days at a family friend's. She gets tons of cats. One day we bring her back a dead kitten we found on the road. We knew she would burry him. We also knew she'd get sea-sick seeing it. Nasty lil thingies we were (g)

honeysuckle
...we're running down the path, we cross the only street of the village and we go up towards the woods where there is this little church. Boys are waiting for us behind the chapel there. It should be fun.

medication with strawberry flavor
...I get much fever, but there is this wedding and I'm one of the little bridesmaids. My dress is really pretty I think. My grand mother keeps telling me if I take the medication I'll be able to get up. I resist. I can't drink it. I won't wear my dress, it's not fair.

white glue in colored pot
...She's just near me today. The mistress talks loudly but I can't focus on anything else than her. She's eating her pot of glue. She does it all the time. And that's only one of her numerous disgusting eccentricities!

.........

My world of smells...

skin
my other half, my shrimpette, my mama, my grand-mother

burning wood
family, friends, family castle, warmth

the rain
my bed, my man, my home, the woods, mushrooms, moss, fairies

the metro
infection

monoi
sun, summer, skin, sensuality

Chanel perfumes
old rich boring women wearing too much make up, too many jewels

cinnamon
xmas, adventure, unknown islands

etc etc
**~~*^* *^^* *~~~**^*

I wonder why people here complain so much about the effects (=deaths) of the heat wave.
I mean they say the state has not taken its responsibilities and that in a modern country it's a shame that this happens.

It's like we're always looking for someone or something to blame. I cannot stand this kind of passive attitude.
I agree hospital must work properly, etc etc.
But then, there's a point when it turns to be absurd to always blame someone for what's happening. Mainly when people who're blaming or complaining are those who were on the beach enjoying their summer! ;-)

Is it just an illusion or I'm feeling a bit cold this morning!!!
I left an over-heated Paris and I've just found it rainy and cold (if 20°C can be considered like cold!)

So many deaths linked to the heat wave! It sounds completly unrealistic, but well I guess the heat accelerated a few "cases"..
So... are we prepared to years of supa-heated summers (as they say we should have)?
Are we prepared the same way to heavy rains (as we might start to have now!)?
What about ice-cold winters?

I think we're not ready to face these weather changes.
But till the body adapts to all that (more hairs in winter, night life on summers :P), I keep my swimsuit and my skis in the same wardrobe!

Nooooooooooooooooo
I mean YEAHHHHHHHHHHH
hehe

We get the loan for the house!!!!!
It was our last chance and it worked!
weeehooooooooooooooo!

It's too too kewl to be troooe, my heart is beating quickly, all that means our life is going to change!
I feel like jumping in the air with a tiny parachute... hehe... exciting and stressing!!!
Exciting because I can already feel the keys of the house in my pocket, stressing because our debt ratio is going to be actually too high.
I feel we're going to eat pasta for a few years!

Ok so now next step is getting the written proposal from the bank (in 10 days), with the inrestest level (crossing bits so that it's not too high....).

We're forcing doors to reach our everest, risky but .... is there any other way than taking risks?

Ohhh weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Lola has eaten her vegetables and drunk her bottle (not easily but ha well...) for lunch.
I really started to worry... it's been 3 weeks she's forced herself to follow a diet.
As soon as it's time for Lola to eat, I start to tremble in my boots, wondering if she'll take anything of what I've prepared.
I hope now it will only get better.

The funerals of Bernard went ok this morning, though I'm feeling abit sea-sick now.
Death usually does not make ya feel different than that, huh.

It was a beauDiful ceremony, simple one, with lovely flowers everywhere and nice latin songs.
I could see Bernard's face in the faces of his 3 children. It's like part of him is still here.
**~~*^* **^* *^^* ^* ** *

Don't you find it weird that countries' names or cities'name are translated in different languages?
I find it much more logical to talk of London rather than of Londres or of Bretagne than Brittany... it's as weird (to me) as talking of Guillaume Shakespeare or William le Conquérant! hehehe
tssssss

Anyway, that was my thought of the day (it's hot, forgive me!)

When it gets 40° outside, I'm really thankful for not being...
...a removal guy
...a guy working on the roads (building dem!!!! hehe)
...a cook
...an asthmatic
...a model introducing the winter collection
...a joe full of hairs
...a man in general (wearing trousers, etc!)
...a preggie goil
...a farmer
...a fireman
...a flower seller

So well, isn't life brilliant! I'm none of any above! weeeeee
:-))))))))

I don't know if it's linked to the heat or not, but Gully is acting as if he was completly mad!
the keybord went frozen, then the screen, then I've had several *goooood* crashes, and now programs are being deleted!
grrrmmmpppphhhhhh!

I think I've installed too much stuff...and that the heat does not really help!
Anyway, these successive crashes means we gonna spend our evening re-installing everything (SIGH!!!)

I've just finished another lil painting, Katou, wasp of the Bas Bout, which belongs to a series of Breton insects I'm painting :)

Lola is 10 months-old today!!!




Wooooooooooo, there have been so so many changes in a month!
Lola has learnt to walk on her all four, she even runs that way when I'm behind pursuing her! hehehe
She has now 7 teef and starts to prefere "solid" food rather than her bottles (and gawd, bottles meant PEACE for 10 minutes....not the same with a spoon!)
She is still having her 9 months "crisis" (which is kinda well known and which really happens!)... getting frightened when you're not around, starting to make contact with other kids but also crying instantly and loudly when she is stressed.
And with the heat, she's lost her blessed habits and now she wakes up very often every night. I hope THAT will change soon...!
She imitates us more and more... our faces, parts of the words we tell, etc.

You can really see changes everyday.
She also share bursts of laugh with us... we start just giggling and finish red with big open laugh. Very funny!
And now she kisses us all the time and does it to joe too (when we don't look at her for a min!). Her kisses = open mouth stuck against your cheek (or closed eye when you're not lucky) and she licks your cheeck for a minute holding your head with her lil hands :-))))

happy sigh**~~*^* *** ^* *

oh bloody shiteroo!
A family friend has just die (from a stroke)... my parents and he and his wife had spent so much time together with other friends (1970s' style :-).
The kind of friend who's like a relative, he was part of our everyday life *picture* finally.
And my sister and I had spent many summers in their house with their kids, Hubert, Fred and Caroline who were our official baby-sitters...
The funeral of Bernard will happen on wednesday. I'll call Hubert tomorrow to tell him we'll come.

Booooo

Bubye dear expensive Compuserve with who I've learnt 7 years ago (!!!) what was the internet, and thanks to who I can make a world trip finding a welcoming house every 2000 km! Isn't life wonderful?!!! hehe

**~~*^* * *^^* *(happy sigh)**~~*^* * *^^* *

Where is the rain! Where is the wind!

Everything is hot here... the chocolate bits in the cereals have melted, my skin cremes (which feels really yucky) are hot, the alcohols are hot, the phone is hot, the grass in the parc is hot... the glasses are hot!!!

And Lola is losing her appetite... and when she does not eat, I'm getting like the mad rabbit in Alice (in wonderlands). I tell you, there must be an italian mama hiding in me! hehe
I'm ready to wake up anytime in the night and rush with the milk bottle.. if Lola wakes up, that is (s)

Shiteroo, it does not happen as we wanted with banks... What we need and what they can give us is really different so far. I honestly thought it would be a lil easier. Hm, that's stressing, I hope we can find something before the end of next week! :)

See how my lil ones can stand the heat here..... snoring! hehe






I've been desperatly looking for a ventilator (fan?), and it turns to be an impossible mission (sigh!!!)
if only I had 2 or 3 generous male-ish souls with banana tree leaves...!

I usually like remembering how life is short and precious. That's pretty motivating to make you reach your own *everests* **~~*^*

Unfortunatelly you often think about that when death is around.
And I don't know why but summer and death are often partners when it comes to *my world*. I've lost 3 of my grand-parents in summer. And they're the first of a (short!) list.
So far this year, i've not been affected by any other "close" death, but summer has already brought its bad news. A neighbour has lost his wife last week, a friend has had a miscarriage (that really really broke my heart), and a couple of days ago the brother of a good friend has lost his wife in a car accident. They had married a month ago in Thailand (he's French, she was Thai), she was just 30.

I always come to wonder how you can stand the death of close friends or relatives. I mean, ok, I've lost my grand-parents, it was terrible... but somehow they were "old". Any other situation frightens me.

Anyway, life's short. It's never too early to make plans, to try to reach ones' dreams (*everests*). Never too early but yes, quickly too late! LOL no, I'm not being negative, I just think tomorrow might be the last day! hehe
So what?
hm, time for a fresh glass of white milk! ;-)**~~*^*

Hard to do anything with such a heat... lucky people who're at the beach right now!!!
We expect 35 to 37°C today; poor Joe.. with his fur to carry it must be really unpleasant!

Anyway, I've spent part of my weekend deciding how to organize my gallery because I think I have to organise my paintings into diffenrent categories now. There are too many of them on a single page.
Soooo, now I know what I want, I'll work on it in the week with the help of Martin. It's pretty hard to make something you really want and something which is practical for the visitor but I found a compromise! Phewwww

Meanwhile, I've added a painting I made in Bretagne. I should start with a new one in the week (as soon as the weather gets more reasonnable!)

Now the details...:-)
This house is at least more than 2 centuries-old (but the owner could not tell really... we'll make research!).
It's located in a hamlet with full of old old houses in stones, which is at about 5km from the medieval town of Dinan.
The whole area is protected, no one can build anything new around. Phewwww! (the kind of detail you've to check when looking for a house huh!).

There are 6 rooms, the whole house being about 80m2. Smaller than I wanted, but who said size did matter at the end ;-)
We've 2 gardens, 1 in front, 1 behind... with incredible views.
From the garden behind (which goes to the river Rance), we can follow a path that leads us directly to a pub!!!! the "saint patrick's", in the small harbour near!
Woooooooooooo!!!

The price of the house is of 84 000 euros. And this is not the kind of price you can find anymore there, even with lots of renovations to be made!
That's why we took the decision so quickly. And we were not the only ones to want this house! Phewwwww, we've been very lucky!
So yes there are lots of works to be made...

The roof should be re-done, but it's still ok (it will wait).
We've to connect the houses making openings on each floor (and the walls are about 60cm to 1m thick!).
We've to build 2 big windows on the first floor and to install 2, 4 roof windows.
All that will be made by professionnals. We wait for their quotation right now (trembling in my boots)..

We've to lower the floor a bit (for my giant hubby :P)... it won't be easy, the house is built on a rock!
We've to make a kitchen, bathroom, toilets and the other rooms.
We've to build 2 stairs.
We've to take care of the stones'walls so that they look like they were ages ago:)
And all that we'll be made by ourselves and with the help of courageous friends and relatives :P

It sounds like there are lots of works to be made, hey?!
Yup, that's right, but that's about what we wanted! hehe

As soon as it's ok we'll start looking for a job there, but till then (I think 3 years minimum), we'll probably have to stay in Paris where we get the money.
It won't be easy to pay for the flat + the house, but we'll make it.

Anyway, the house is not ours yet. We've signed a "purchase promise", and we're given now 2 months to find a bank that will allow us to get a credit.

Now you know everything! :-)))**~~*^* * * *