On the road again. Tonight.
(happy sigh)

I can see in my crystal ball that we gonna have more peaceful holidays than last year. One year ago, we've spent 2 crazy weeks trying to find a house in Bretagne. We finally did, then had to sign quickly without knowing how we'll proceed really...then started the big stressing time to find money. Waaaaa glad all that is over!

Now ok, we have much work to do on our lil paradise, but the most difficult part is finally done.

Anyway, back to the present holidays.
I'm all excited for many reasons (just the way we all are when we're about to leave the sweet routine)... and among them there's this new thingie that has been installed in the family house, there in Bretagne.
I've no idea how it's called in English, but you know... this kinda phallic thingie you use to watch the stars?
There is one there now!!!! I can't wait to try it all the more as the shooting stars' season is about to start no?
I'm unable to *read* the sky, but I luuuve the BeauDy of it **~~*^* *

I hope to come back in a supa-top-blogmood and share with ewwws, my friends, new sunnygroovybananas' adventures :-)

I will have a thought for those working hard... the minimum I can do while relaxing in a hamac :P hehe


Petite musique crépusculaire by Pascal Moguérou
from "Les Korrigans, livre II"

D-day -1!

haha!
Half of the luggage is done and I took only 3 pairs of shoes (2 other pairs waiting for me there! I'm SAFE :P)

Isn't it crual that I speak so much about the good time that is waiting for me?
Hmmm
I fear I gonna receive some huge bill or tax to pay before leaving... just to balance my present good mood (yup, stoopid catholics think this way: there's always a price to pay for Happiness ;-)

Anyway, I can be blind and deaf if I want! ... and only focus on such images as below ;-)


(well, okok, it's a bit OVER-purple for Bretagne ;-)

I was surfing on blogs when I saw one, lost in the crowd, without any *comment* option...
Of course there are still a loooot of them, but how weird!
Blogging without the possibility of *sharing* ând *exchanging* sound really pointless to me.

Poor lil blog, facing itself only all the time. It almost looks as if a fortress has been put around.
Sir LanceBlogt, there's someone or something to rescue here!

Just for the pleasure to see Pascale and I's first book presented between 2 political ones! hehe
(it's our publishing house's page btw)

I have no idea about the sells so far. But we get a very friendly feedback from directly concerned ones -or not- by hyperactivity.
OKOK, here are some examples of the feedback (in Frawnch, sowwwy!)

Second book about dyslexia is done, and the third one will concern kids who are genius.
I already have the text of the third one but I have to make a break before starting. Absobloodilutely necessary to avoid the logical overdose ;-)

D-day -2!

Tonight we start the luggage, tomorrow the car will be full, and on Thursday evening... hullo vacaciones!

If in the meantime I could win lottery, that would make the picture rillllly purrrfect ;-)


(well, okok, it's a bit OVER-sunny for Bretagne ;-)

I kissed my dentist!!!!

Friend's kiss, you nauDy minds!
(just like when you say hello to a friend here, you know?)

It's just that when she arrived, she just welcome me as a relative! lol
So as a pseudo-relative, we saluted each other in the friendly way!
Same when I left!

hehe

She looks zactly like one of my auntie and is kinda much more friendly. That's funny.
She's also the best dentist I've ever had since she said all my teef were doing really well!

Weeeeee!!!!

"working the whole day on the hobbits house's walls then going out partying is a very BAAAAAAAD idea, Candy...."
(dat was my body speaking)

The only part of my body that does not feel pain are my feet now. Which is already something! I think I have new muscles in the forearms, painful reward. lol

We had a very short weekend, arriving on Friday evening, leaving on Sunday morning. 8 hours driving. But we've been right to go there, we had an exceptionnally guuuud time.

Cousins offering to help with the house, then an early party at home in the evening... and finally all going to the fest-noz, Lola included :)
She luuuuved it, specially when dancing in my arms!
We finished the party time with drinks at home.
Slept like a baby :P

Bloody fire has just eaten my heart today.
80 angels gone.
80 devastated families haunted by terrible images.
 
And I'm going to force myself to get rid of the thought, to enjoy a weekend.
if there's one thing that isn't fair, it's Life, really.

fook!!!!
What are these new features again in blogger... "compose" window + "edit html" window!
 
They rilly should calm down, it's getting more and more unpleasant to use it...

Et voilà, in a few hours, we'll be on the way to auld Bretagne.
AGAIN! yeah I know
hehe

(turning DM's song on:
When I'm with you baby
I go out of my head
And I just can't get enough
And I just can't get enough )

We hadn't planned to go there a week before leaving for holidays but... we've been asked to join to party (and they fookin insisted!). How could we resist?!!!
So on saturday we gonna have fun with our fest-noz. Bagpipes and hurdy-gurdy to make us dance. A first time for Lola, it gonna be terrific!

I wish some day we'll enjoy a fest-noz in Germany with the ex-band of Martin, the Frölish Geshray (among the band members, you can see Marcus and Thore, real good friends, who came to play during our wedding).

They play medieval and renaissance music.
It's simply a beauDiful and a very unique kind of music.



(if you click here, you can discover a few songs from the CD in which Martin played. I'm a fan, I can tell you! :P)

I dunno why, or how it happened... but the Herman's author and I have come to a point where it's getting very hard for us to communicate together.

Regarding communication, I'm not THAT bad usually... it's weird, I try to analyse the situation and I can't put the finger on what is not working.

Gawd, we have to work together for a whole series of books... I hope the situation is going to improve...

If I take that:


La Tour Interdite by Juan Gimenez

+ that:


Queen Emeraldas by Leiji Matsumoto

...then I get the purrfect cocktail. I don't know much about painting, I've never been really droolin in front of classic "masters"...
... but if I could learn anything from real artists, then I would chose Gimenez and Matsumoto.

I'm really RILLY fond of their work. Very inspiring.

(well, ermm, if you read me, guys, gimme a call! hehe)

I hesitate... am I going to write a mini-bloggie about our national day or the DVD I saw last night?

We watched Love Actually (I had to rent it secretly because Martin would have nebber taken a movie with LOVE in the title, and Hugue Grant among the actors! lol).

It was very pleasant, we had a great time!
(as Martin said, we reach an age now that almost forces us to appreciate this kind of movie...-laughing-...I still love "Killing Zoe" though ;-)

Weeeeee!!!
There gonna be another goilette in the family!
(dancing around)

Gwenola (sister) expects a baby girl!!!
That is simply fantastic, I'm very happy and I have now less than 4 months to turn into a purrfect auntie (which I already am, of course, but I can always improve :P)

It's funny because I start to feel exactly the same way as when Gweno was preggie the first time. Stressed and over-excited (= what I call a "happiness damage :P")

Okok, I gotta keep zen, relaxed and all.

A baby goil!!!!!
waaaaaaaaaa!

I just had to complain a bit for the weather to totally change!
See, it might be a right way to proceed :P

Last evening, we took Lola out for her first party: le bal des pompiers (firemen's ball) :)
I really have no idea where this tradition comes from, but every year, on the night before our national day, firemen usually organize balls where they work!

So we decided it could be something funny for Lola. We joined friends there and we had a short but really good time!
The place was great, with couloured lights everywhere, funny music (not bad one!), grannies dancing as much as teens, etc! Very kewl.
The shrimpette luuved it, but felt tired early enough.

Soooo, young parents and grannies left about when party boys and girls were arriving. Hehe... that kinda suited me!

(atishoooooo!)

Dreaming of sun, sand, burning desert and even rattlesnake's tssss tssss...

Some time for books, yes, but definatly no time for cinema, and hardly for DVDs.

Hardly!
SIGH!

Whenever I can I watch anything that I've missed on the big screen in the past 2 years, well I do it with huge pleasure (the fact Lola is almost 2 years might explain something here :P)

And so, after all of ewwws zillions of lucky ones, I've finally watched Kill Bill... number one, hey! Count a couple of years before I watch the other one :P

All has been said about the movie.
I think everybody who went to watch it REALLY enjoyed it.

You don't go and watch a Kill Bill when you hope to discover a (thinking hard) wim wenders or james cameron type of movie anyway.

It's really a Tarantino's piece of art. I enjoyed it probably as much as Reservoir Dogs, maybe more. Oulala!
It's just that... ok you start to watch Kill Bill, waiting for action scenes + spicy sense of humour touches. And you simply get 20 times more than what you had imagined.

Magic! Magic! Magic!

Second script for the Herman series done and sent to the publishing house.

And I've finally started the illustrations of my new tale. I have to make about 30 of them for this new book. Probably 2 months of work, considering I can't do that only. 2 months. Gawd!

I think people who *create* (writers, painters, musicians, blog writers..hehe.. etc) will understand excatly what I mean here... I feel kinda empty today, not because of a lack of inspiration, it's more that nothing can come out today. I feel like I've closed some inner door.

Doc, does that mean I really deserve holidays or that I'm fookin lazy?!!!

I've just done a lil painting (24x32cm) yesterday afternoon. "Humeur crepusculaire" deals with dusk.



If I've put it online, it's really because Martin insisted (unsatisfied "pseudo-painter" are so boring, don't you think? hehe...).
I luuuuve the theme, enjoy the ideas I've put in here, but it would have been better with 2 more days I think. I will paint about dusk again! Yesssss!

That's about the weather we've got since beginning of July...



It's a bit too much for me. And it's cold!
My monoï oil has kinda frozen again and if I enjoy good long baths, it's mainly to warm up.

SIGH!

(Listen eww Sun, you've about 2 weeks to join us. You should not resist like that, you gonna have a fookin guuud time in our company (shaking almost salaciously palish legs :P)

No no, I'm angry! I haven't resisted the sales!
I said I would! I *need* nothing and have no euros for just *nothing*!
But then... when this pair of shoes waved at me with its Droopy's look in the hmmm buckles, I just had to save dem.

I thought I had no shoes to kick asses properly. Now it's done! ;-)

Sometimes that happens. Some words sound much better in English than in French, or vice-versa.
I realize that when I'm looking for titles for my painting.

Today, I had to deal with dusk, which in French is "crepuscule".
For once, I find the French word much more beauDiful and poetic!

1-0

next match?
;-)

Awwwww .... and phewwwwww!
Dat was about my reaction when Joe was brought back from his last chemo session.

Awwww... because he looks bad, he simply does not move from the nest I made for him. He has scratched himself even more than usual above the eyes (where he lost his antennas). He is calm (way too calm) but still stressed (wet nose betrays a lot)

And.. Phewwwwwww... because the tumour is not back for the moment, and it was his last chemo session. We won't do it twice, sure thing.
Chemo for cats is kinda new it seems. As expensive as an operation, but less painful I think. And more efficient. I hope.

Hm, and I gotta add a real grrrrrrrrrrrr to my reactions.
Grrrrrr... Because it seems the veterinary has let Joe in his transport's box for the whole day! (usually pets are put into larger cages there).
And we got him back all wet and scared. He has peed on himself all day of course and they did not care at all. That makes me mad. They should enjoy the same treatment for a day me thinks, maybe they would understand.

Alinet is the first blog writer I've met! So far I had "only" met friends from chat.

And what a fookin kewl morning Lola and I spent with Alinet!
We instantly got on very well and we both could not stop talking as if we were kinda old friends who had not seen each other since years! hehe...

Like Alinet said, what is great when you meet people who have blogs is that you already know the personnality through the writings. No bad surprise possible, or hardly I imagine.

I recognized in Alinet exactly the woman who writes the blog. Very open, with a huge sense of humour, very direct, able to talk with equal attention about serious topics or carambar jokes, really sensitive (Lola can confirm -even if the shrimpette was in a rather devilish mood!-).

Yes that's Alinet :))

Oh, and cherry on the cake.... Alinet even knows Apocalyptica!!! Really! What a goil!

**~~*^* *

In a couple of hours, Paris will be trembling in its boots (no, I've not planned to shout again against witches around ;-) lol)... but there gonna be a legendary meeting between Candy Froggie + her shrimpette and .... tadaaaaaaaaa.... Alinet!!! Yup, Alinet! I'm fookin lucky!

It gonna be fuuuuuun!

(dancing around)**~~*^* *

I neber thought I could shout after a granny.
But neber say neber, right?
hehe

I feel a bit bad, though the "granny" in question is a real b..witch!
She lives in the building just in front of ours, and she spends her time insulting the kids (who are not even 10 years-old) each time they come and play in the courtyard.

And each time she does that, I always think I will tell her my way of thinking one day.
For once, she hasn't seen me opening the window today (otherwise she always disappear).

She kept on shouting insults at the kids (telling them the worst thingies, racist stuff -they're portuguese-).
I had to shout more loudly than the old witch! But it took her 1 long minute before she could hear me!

I told (shouted) her if she did not stop threatening the kids I'd call for the police! (which I thought was suddenly the best thingie to tell... old witch-grannies are always "on the side of the police"... a reverse situation was kinda appropriate)

Anyway, she complained about her fragile health, and I told (rather shouted again! gloops!) her to go to relax on her bed then, to stop shouting after the kids, to put plugs in her ears and leave the kids live their life.

Once it was over she closed her shutters and it was peaceful again.

Really! She always makes more noise than the kids!
I hope I will never turn into a bitter dry old bitch... witch I mean! ;-)
How can they be so nasty with kids just playing around and laughing?!!!!

Weeeehoooooooo!!!
On the 17th July, we have a Fest Deiz in Pleslin-Trigavou (can't be anywhere else than in Bretagne, ne? hehe)

We've been there hmm 3 years ago... It was a Fest Noz then. But a Fest Deiz is just purrrfect! We can take Lola with us and she'll simply dance with us!
I can't wait for it, I hope they gonna play LOTS of gigs! and mazurkas! and scottish!

It will happen in open-air, on a field surrounded with megalithes. Last time there was a big fire in the middle and a clear sky with zillions of stars.
***~~*^*

Lola's top 5 this month:

1.Barbapapa
2.Oui-oui
3.Bouba
4.Augsburger Puppenkiste
5.Teletubbies

Das Teletubbies are on their way out it seems! But you never know, they have sometimes hypnotizing powers!
See ya next month for tragic details!

I've just discovered a new band, Rajna, which was stuck in a metal section on some weird webpage.
It's not metal at all. Some compare it to Dead can Dance (shaking head!).
They take their inspiration from Nepal and Tibet (ocb fait tourner fait tourner! lol, je m'égare!)...

Anyway, I've heard their last album only (Hidden Temple)... and after a few times, I found it really pleasant.
If you wanna listen to something really zen and relaxing... you should try it :P

Et voilà! It was the last day for Lola and her lil friends at the "PMI's place".



We'll start again meeting on every wednesday in a couple of months.
It was great today, like party time for the devils. Much music, many cakes, with all the mamas drooling around, as you can imagine. (I could not resist eating 3 tagada strawberries... when 2 seconds later, a mama joined and whispered "arrrgg, I wanna a fraise tagada, but nenene they're for the kids, I can't do that"... I nodded, mouthfull..lol)

Here's a pic that shows how Lola is determined already to resist charming devils! (proud mama here! hehe)



Lola is now almost 21 months (still counting in months, because every month makes a HUGE difference).
She now talks more but rather lil words or parts of words. She says danke or merci when she gives something (just like in restaurants! LOL! la classe!)

For the first time, she asks (in her own way) to go to the loos!!! (but forget it with her lil pot... she thinks it's a horse! It never works!)

Haaaa, the shrimpette is turning into a real ladyshrimpette ;-)**~~*^* **^^* *

pssssst... does anyone know where's the "new item notifier" thingie hiding in the new version of bloglines ?

Anyone who gimme the answer will get a carambar!

Ouch!
I'm in a boiling mood today! Biting mood! Scratching mood! RoaRRRing mood!
Grmmmppppppppphhhhh!

Wanna join for a *cupotea* ?

;-)

I think I've lost a friend.
(no no nobody's dead! lol)

I'm not sure yet, but it's like in a couple of months, a big wall has appeared between the 2 of us.
Or I'd rather say, a big wall has appeared around this friend.

And it's strange, but our differences now make that I don't want to make any efforts anymore to get closer again.

We got on RILLY well for years.
And now I wonder how a solid friendship can just evaporate like that. Life's strange sometimes!

Writers!!!! (grmmppphhhhh)

I find it very VERY hard to work, as an illustrator, with a writer.

I would not give advice about the content of a story I illustrate (though I burn to do it sometimes ;-)... But simply try to tell a writer that a 10 lines sentence might be too heavy for kids, that there are spelling mistakes, that there should be some punctuation.... when he refuses to listen anyway!

ha!

So I find myself telling at the end "ok, you sign the text, can't force you to anything"...

SIGH

I've also learnt a lil something with my newbie experience.
I'll do like every other illustrator for children's book: I'll ask 70% of total payment.

There is much more work (for children's book again) for illustrators than writers (trust me, this is trooooe).

(ooops, I can hear ewws writers knocking on my lil door!)
(woooooooooooosh)
(more safe under the bed ;-)

(I find that blogging about blogs very very paradoxal. I won't do it twice in july, I promise :P)

Reading Alinet's blog about blogging or not blogging, I realized there were not any rule really with blogs.
Everybody finally does it for different reasons.

I can't help thinking though that if we write in blogs, it's because we want to be read. Otherwise we would simply not put our journal online, no?

Now I'm not looking forward getting more and more readers, I personnally don't see the point here. Sharing with friends and relatives is what matters to me. And sometimes if a newbie joins the discussions, that's fantabizooby. If the newbie turns to be a friend, that's even beDer.

Anyway, that was a female-ish (= complicate... kiddin! :P) way to say I was happy to see you all so regularly around here. I luuuuve to hear your opinions, defend your ideas or share your last jokes!

Thank ewwwws **~~*^* *

(cough) have I said I won't talk again about Metallica before a couple of years?!!!

Gawd, I'm such a liar!

hehe

Tonight they (metal ones) have rendez-vous at Le Grand Rex theater to watch (in preview) Metallica's movie, Some kind of monster...
And this theater is really close to where we are, dat's a bit frustrating I reckon!!!

Well you can't do everything you wanna, right? (till you win lottery, that is :P)
Anyway, while the others will be enjoying metal surprises, I'll be preparing my rendez-vous with the taxguys tomorrow morning.

At least I will know everything about how it happened, if any metallica's members joined (they'd beDer not! hehe), etc. Vive le ouèèèèbbbbb!

I'm signing 3 new contracts with the publishing house. Again for the "Herman series".

I'm happy...but...not about to be rich yet!

Woooaaa, it was a short weekend but really good (only talking of time here!)

We decided at the very last minute to leave for Bretagne.
So woooosh, on Friday evening we were on the road to our oasis.
On Saturday, we managed to work quite much in the house with the help of relatives. That was coooool!

I've learnt how to play with a lil pneumatic drill (boys' toys are much funnier than we could imagine!) to get rid of the ugly surface of the wall. We want the old stones of the walls to be visible again.
My hands are painful now, bleeding here and there (lol, dunno how I managed to hurt meself this way!)... but they made a fine job!

What's rilly kewl is to have so many people ready to help there (I wonder what they will ask in exchange now!!! hehe)

Easiest way to spoil a weekend:
receiving the kind of papers you never want to receive from TAXguys, and worse, on a Friday (when of course, you can't reach them anymore for explanations and gotta wait).

Argggg!

When such thingies happen to you, how do you react?
-you think so much about it that your weekend is really spoiled?
-you don't care?
-you manage to put that in one of your inner drawer till monday?

I can do the third. Just forgetting about it for a couple of days.
SIGH, no choice anyway.

wooosh woooosh wooooosh

done!
All is forgotten, it's almost the weekend!
Oh yeahhhhhhh

hehe

Full moon tonight!

(with the dreams Martin and I got last night, it's not a big surprise! ;-)

I dreamt we were having mint tea in some northen africa bar...with Metallica's members (LOL! again, I KNOW!)... (I feel bad for having such teenagers' dreams!!!! grrrmppphhh at meself... hehe)

... and Martin dreamt I was giving birth at home and that according to some tradition his friends made him drunk, which made him really angry! LOL

Anyway, full moon on a Friday evening, isn't it just purrrfect!!! :))

Despite a cloudy weather, I'm sure I will see *it*!
(happy sigh)

I'm still looking for a religion in which woman has been created first...

Not because I am ultra-feminist or whatever, just because I can't believe there is not one single religion or tradition that accepts the logical idea that woman could actually be a source of creation at the very beginning!

(lol, it's too early anyway... I'd beDer have a cawffee instead of blabla-ing)

Anything for a quizz!!!
And I've just found one before to start (early!) the weekend!
(happy stoopid smile)

I thought I'd get a beDer score but ok, I can live with that :P

Bubye Ken, we spent so many good times together... with your macho and old-fashioned style, your incredible good taste, and your ultre-bright smile! I won't forget ya!



Hullo Blaine, you look ermmm young, not macho (or is it a trick), not smiling really (not happy with miss B. and her botox sessions huh? Time to change the goil too!!!), not that self-confident. We'll make ya feel comfortable no worries



Damn... and where's GI Joe when we need him! (ya remember the GI doll with hairs on the chest! LOL! My B. liked this one a lot!)