Fête des Mères

"Never hit your mother with a shovel, it'ill leave a dull impression on her face"

Butch Cassidy

Happy Mothers Day (France) to all dear mothers, past and present!

I recieved two lovely pressies this morning; a hand decorated note pad that Rémi made in school and a pair of lime green cycling shorts (baggy ones that hide lots of sins!)

 

I also dug out this little blast from the past.  I remember making them for my mother in '93, my first year at university, for mother's day.  

Dré dans l'darbon...

... basically translates as 'head first down a mole hole',  is a biking event orgainsed annually in Passy.  There are 3 categories 10km, 30km and 42km; the 10km event an easy run through the forest and around a lake, ideal for families with small children.  There is even a 'pit-stop' to refuel and rehydrate tired little bodies (tired old ones also!) and as the event is sponsored by 'Satoriz', the organic supermaket, all the 'fuel' was 'bio'.

Now Rémi, being only 6yrs old, is not yet capable to calculate distance/time equations; thus sped off at lighting speed yelling behind him "is 10km longer or shorter than it takes to fill the car with petrol?" I couldn't answer as i could'nt catch up with him (lucky really as i'm not to hot with equations either).
We liased breifly at the 'pit stop',  before I found him tangled up in his bike after a small crash into a tree! (He got a lovely 'print' of his pedal on his right shin to match the one he got on his forehead  the day before from a 'flying' BMX!)
Next year i'll sign him up for the 42km, that will calm him down!! (I hope)

Spelleing mizsteaks!

I can't figure out how to get the spell check to work in english, so apologies for any spelling mistakes!

Reap what you have sown!

I read a little quote the other day - "we create life with our love and destroy it with our desires!", (this is the translation as it was in french).  I try to always keep it in mind, as the balance between letting your children do what THEY want and what YOU think is best for them is a very difficult one. 

Tino and Papy Bob sowing Swiss Chard seeds

It's the nature or nurture question!  do you recolt what you have sown or is it just pot luck?  In all honesty I think I swing towards nurture's (is that a word?) side. 
Anyways I hope to soon enjoy a delicious lunch of swiss chard (simmered slowly with new pots and sherry) in the good and lively company of my boys;  happily recolting what I have sown.

Way cooler than Silly Bandz!

...and slightly warmer.

A stitch in time..

save's 9 but a tension square saves 3 years! 

Many moon's ago, whilst waiting the arrival of Tino, I made a jumper for Rémi, at that time aged 3.  Despite meticiously following the instruction for the age 4 size, it came out age 6 size!  I have to admit, I didn't do my tension square.  The thing is, when I decide to knitt something and i get all the wool etc I just want to get going!  Now depending on how the tension square works out, one may or may not have to change needle size.  As the only 'wool shop' in Chamonix doesn't stock wool, knitting or crochet needles, this can be problematic.  Anyways, Rémi is now big enough to fit the jumper, and looks rather dapper in it, don't you think?  
I made the teddy bears with odd bits of wool and using the model from http://www.motherbearproject.org/
They are very easy to do.  If anyone would like to make one or two for the project please let me know and we can send them off as a group.

Mice

I think mice
Are rather nice.

Their tails are long,
Their faces small,
They haven't any
Chins at all.

Their ears are pink,
Their teeth are white,
They run about
The house at night

They nibble things
They shouldn't touch
And no one seems
To like them much

But I think mice
Are rather nice.

Rose Fyleman

Just recently Rémi has started loosing his milk teeth, which he then puts under his pillow for the tooth 'souris' (mouse) to collect and in it's place leave a small offering in the region of 2€!  Now these teeth are so darn small and hard for the litte mousey to find in the dead of night, that I thought i'd make her nocturnal chores a little easyer.  Thus using my new found crochet skills and my old knitting ones I concocted this little mouse pouch.  Lucky for me in France we have the 'tooth mouse' and not the' tooth fairy' as i don't think either of my skills would have stretched to making a fairy shape!  Bye,  Don't forget to brush daily.