Pardon My French

A Post in 15 Minutes or Less

That is what I'm giving myself! We'll see how this works, as I'm hanging on to my blog by my fingernails. There's just so much I want to do in a day and I don't seem to organize myself very well. Surely I can manage to spare 15 minutes, right? And Mom, I swear I'm going to put some photos up. I haven't forgotten you.

So, I now have a 2-year-old and just like clockwork she is wanting to do more things independently and claiming her territory, just like she's supposed to. It's still fun for the moment; I'm holding my breath to see how long it lasts.

We're making slow, slow progress on the house and I'm managing both to grow and kill plants at the moment. I have this ficus I inherited that did just fine until now, and is shedding leaves like crazy although nothing has changed. I tell myself it's just a phase. I started some tomato plants from seed - 2 batches because the first batch took forever to grow and now I have aplenty (for now). My peonies are surviving, although the clematis has seen better days. The jasmine is scenting up the veranda but the orchid looks ready to kick the bucket any second. Ah, we all need challenges.

And another life-changing discovery has been the start of yard sale season. I'm calling it a yard sale since it's people selling their old stuff, though technically it's not in anyone's yard. The second-hand shop is old news! It's a perfect weekend activity, because I get my retail therapy and Sunday drive in a two-for-one punch. I scored a children's clock for 50 centimes (it works and everything!), a potty seat, big bag of legos in great condition, an easel and chalkboard, and toddler puzzle -- all for well under 10 euros. And I've learned that people offer you a better deal if you hesitate a bit just because they don't want to take their junk home again. It's win-win for everyone. And needless to say, everyone is really nice because they are personally invested in getting rid of their stuff. I did have a brief moment of sorrow when I saw the art desk, since I'm sure it was lots cheaper than at the second-hand store.

The other bonus is that I've been to different little towns in the surrounding area, and once the weather is nicer we'll be able to discover different playgrounds and such. A lot of the play structures in our town are for older kids so Bo Bella still needs supervision and assistance, but we've been able to spot fun-looking places on our travels. It's been good to get out of our routine for a little bit.

I've gone over my 15-minute limit but at least I've gotten a post up. I'll have to wait until later to confess my love/hate relationship with the Twilight series, to mention that we have no TV thus I'm not able to watch La Nouvelle Star and actually am surviving, and to entertain you with various and sundry other mundane facts of my little French life. Maybe next time...