THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY, THE WEEKEND, OUR GITE AND USING THE FORCE

Ah, the weekend at last! It's strange, the weeks seem to fly by but the days are long, and the weekend seems to take soooo long to come around.

The weather is very warm again today, I hope it's here to stay. The washing even dried outside, which it hasn't done for ages. I'm hoping that this is a sign we will have a good hot summer, for our customers sake mainly. Oh yes, just another couple of months before the GITE is up and running. There is still availability if anyone's interested! It's a lovely gite, (or HOLIDAY COTTAGE if you are unfamiliar with the french word), large and spacious, with all the mod-cons but at the same time keeping it's rustic appearance. It sleeps 6, 3 double bedrooms 1 with en suite bathroom, separate bathroom, very large kitchen/dining room and lounge. Satelite TV, DVD, PlayStation, dishwasher, washing machine it's got the lot. It also has it's private terrace & bbq and garden. Within the grounds there is a lovely private swimming pool. Anyway, enough blabbing about that, if you're interested see my post 05 February 2009 for photos and a link to our site.

So what to do this weekend. Have a lie in for one thing. The children want Mexican Fajitas, (not sure if that's spelt right), for dinner tomorrow night, mmm, nice but messy. I'd better write down what I need to buy as the last time I made those I used "the force" instead of a shopping list and forgot half the ingredients! In consequence I had to make it up, and substitute things so it ended up being nothing like fajitas. It was a bit like making Chili Con Carne but without the Chili and without the Carne, all you're left with is the CON bit, except that in Spanish, (or Mexican, whatever, it's all Spanish to me!), CON isn't even a foodstuff, it means "with", so basically, you then have to turn to plan B. I always have a plan B. In fact, the children are so used to me using "the force" that if they know I've been shopping, they may ask me when they get in from school, "What are we having for dinner tonight, mum, PLAN B??".

HOLIDAY WEATHER OR EASTER BREAK, and when is Mother's Day?

SITTING IN MY GARDEN IN FRANCE.

Today in the Vendee is beautiful and sunny. It's warm and not a cloud in the sky. The children are all at school, so the house is very quiet and still. The only sound is the insects fluttering through the air, trying to find the warmest spot, and the birds twittering to each other in the trees. Look, a wasp, a sure sign that spring is on the way, and not a moment too soon

I guess that many of you are beginning to think about booking your holidays, if it's not already done. Or maybe an Easter break before the big vacation. We can't have summer holidays as we have a gite, and we have to be here for our customers on their holidays, people like you. Puts the children's noses out of joint a little, but we enjoy our family holiday in October. It's actually quite a nice time of year to go away, provided you choose your destination wisely. If you're thinking of holidaying in the Vendee, France, check out our holiday cottage, just click on the link: www.gitevendee.co.cc

Mother's Day is fast approaching, 22 March, and I just don't know what to get my mum. What do you buy for the person who has everything? Penicillin?? Only kidding! I'm trying to think of something different, different from the usual flowers thing, something that she can keep and won't die. Maybe I'll make something, my dad, (god bless), always said, "the best presents are the home-made ones 'cause it shows you've taken time and care". Mind you, I can guarantee she will be able to keep it but I can't guarantee that it will stay in one piece, I never was very artistic! What will you give your mum? I need some ideas!!!!

EASTER EGGS & CHOCOLATE? IT'S TOO SOON

So we've got the pancakes out of the way, thank heavens. But just when you think it's all over, just when you think you've got a short break before the kids start asking more things, just when you think you can walk around the supermarket without the "Can we have? Will you buy?", the stores are stacked with Easter Eggs! Really, everywhere you go there's temptation for youngsters, (and chocoholics), posters, eggs, bunnies, chocolates, and, exceptionally here in France, the chocolate bell & chocolate chicken, (never quite figured that one out!). Wait a minute! Easter's not until April! That's almost 2 months away, unless I'm stuck in a time warp or something. And to top it all, today is the first day of Lent, aren't we supposed to be giving up things like chocolate? It gets earlier every year, and so does the drain on my finances. I mean, they're not cheap, at least not over here, and in France you don't even get anything in the middle of the egg! I like stuff in the middle. I'm a stuff in the middle person. I remember when I was young rushing downstairs on Easter Sunday to see what the Easter Bunny had left for me. Ripping the egg out of the box and shaking it to see what was in the middle. My kids rush downstairs to see what the Easter Bell or Chicken, (?), has left for them. They too rip the egg out of the box and shake it. Unfortunately they just end up with broken chocolate! Never mind, they enjoy it anyway. Oh well, can't wait for the end of April, I suppose all the Halloween & Christmas gear will be filling the shelves then!

MARDI GRAS, FAT TUESDAY, PANCAKE DAY, WHATEVER

ANYONE FOR PANCAKES? THEY'RE GREASY, JAMMY, SUGARY, HONEYEY, (?), LEMONY, ALMOST ANY WAY YOU WANT...EY. BUT COULD SOMEBODY TELL ME WHY WE EAT THEM ON SHROVE TUESDAY? IS IT BECAUSE TOMORROW IS THE FIRST DAY OF LENT, ASH WEDNESDAY, AND WE HAVE TO FAST FOR 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS? OR IS IT JUST SHEER OVER INDULGENCE.........HMMMM, TRICKY ONE THAT!!

GOOGLE MAIL DOWN, DON'T PANIC

A little bird told me that Gmail is currently experiencing a few "technical errors". A lot of the system appears to be down, and there seems to be a bit of a panic on, as many people rely on Google mail for their work, or even just as their mail address. I noted that they have posted an up-date on their support page stating, "We are aware of a problem with Gmail affecting a number of users. The problem occurred during the night at approximately 1.30am Pacific time. We're working hard to resolve this problem and will post up-dates as we have them. We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused." So, for anyone requiring up-dates, check out the support page, but I'm sure it will be up and running soon. By the way, I've just checked my Gmail and mine is working, and I live in France.

BRITS SCOOP THE OSCARS, AND I SCOOP WILD WIND HAIR

So the Brits did very well at the Oscars, especially "Slumdog millionaire", I can't believe that was going to go straight to dvd, originally! And our lovely Kate Winslet finally got her Oscar, her dad must be so proud. And as for "Dancing on Ice", well, Ray & Maria did it again! What a performance, some truly amazing skating from a young lad who has never done it before, he's a natural.

The kids have gone back to school today...yippee...the holidays have drawn to an end. It was a bit of a shock to them getting up at 6.30am, (and me), after 2 weeks of lie-ins. They all complained, and it's a Monday which makes it worse. They should make the first day back at school a Thursday, then it wouldn't seem so bad. In fact, maybe Mondays should be abolished altogether! The weather today is glorious, I think it's warmer outside than in. This is typical as it was like this on Saturday, so we decided that we would go to the beach on Sunday afternoon. When we got up yesterday morning it was overcast, but the sun did come out at lunchtime. However, as soon as we arrived at the beach the sun did an about turn and the wind whipped up, and it felt cold. We had a nice walk, well I say nice, it would have been nicer had the wind not blown sand in my face and made my hair look like some giant hoover had just tried to suck it up! The walk did have a positive side, though. It tired out not only the children, but the dog and in consequence all four of them dropped like flies on the sofa upon our return, so I was able to cook dinner in peace. Well worth the wild hairstyle!!

THE OSCARS, JADE GOODY'S WEDDING & RAY QUIN DANCING ON ICE, I'M SPOILT FOR CHOICE

Although the children are bilingual, as am I, and although we have the choice of either French or English TV, the number one choice is always English. This is mainly because French TV is either live, (and they manage to screw it up each time), or because it's re-runs of very old programs such as "The Love Boat". But today is Sunday, not just any old Sunday, this is a busy Sunday, at least as far as celeb watching is concerned. Today we have Jade Goody's wedding at lunchtime, Ray & Maria dancing on ice tonight, (I could watch that young lad skate until the cows come home!), and then, sometime during the night, the long awaited Oscars. Fortunately, we all have roughly the same taste in TV, this means that we don't have to spend a fortune on separate ones for each of us! But they don't enjoy the Oscars so much. I remember my daughter piping up one year, "Why do they keep calling it Oscars? It's not Oscars award, it's hers!!". That was a couple of years ago, she understands it a bit better now.

My no2. son has a friend round this morning, and it's funny listening to both French and English voices at the same time. It must be very confusing for their friends, because although they speak French to them, when brother or sister arrives on the scene, they will converse in English to them. Thus the poor French kid gets a kind of Franglais mixed in with his own language, and looks at you dumbfounded. Mind you, could be good if they're learning English at school. That is the beauty of a child being bilingual, they can switch and change languages at the drop of a hat, even mid-sentence. I speak 3 languages, French, English & rubbish, the latter being the better of the 3!

Should there be any Americans dropping by, you'll know the results of the Oscars before me, however, I will know the results of Dancing On Ice before you, so I'll up-date tomorrow. That said, you probably don't know what Dancing On Ice is, apart from it's obvious name, maybe I should try to get a preview up on the blog, but then again, unless you are familiar with the UK celebs that are in it, you probably won't want to know what it is.