I've been collecting these photos for a while. Now that I have enough of them, it's time to share...
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Des mots - The truth behind them
Your definitions of the "mots" were hilarious. Here are some examples:
Conscious at last!
Pasteque - pasta that you have to wait on a long line to buy
Gazon - gadget that tells you when your fuel is low
Cafard - gastro-intestinal emission
Chouette - AHH. Chu!
Ramoneur - one who only dates Ramons
Chauve-souris - a shave so close you almost lost your smile
Amy
Pastèque - Twinkie
Gazon - Stink
Cafard - Cyst
Chouette - Flyswatter
Frelon - Ruffle
Chauve-souris - Argle-bargle
Robinet - Burglar
Vis - Gristle
Ramoneur - Gumchewer
Betzy
Pasteque - duct tape
Gazon - Looky Lou's
Cafard - constipated
Chouette - eat
Frelon - turf grass
Chauve-souris - apologies
Robinet - chesty
Vis - p's and q's
Ramoneur - fertilizer
View_From_Here
Pasteque - non-permanent beauty "patches"
Gazon - A group of homosexuals staring at each other.
Cafard - bad air trapped under your Caftan
Chouette - kibble for miniature poodles
Frelon - 'captured' gas used in car air conditioners (see Cafard)
Chauve-souris - A social gathering (with wine) for machos
Robinet - an unhatched bird egg
Vis - The abbreviation for Blog Lurkers (European in origin)
Ramoneur - Ramon's special fertilizer (similar to 'ErnaEarth')
Sleuth decided to use all the words in a sentence. Here are her two versions:
After a very long night of dining on Ramoneur, the Frelons of the Chauve-souris decided to breakfast on Robinets and Chouettes washed down with Cafard, but found they required many applications of Vis after learning they had inadvertently Gazon-ed on the eye-scorching Pastèque instead of wine labels.
***
She sneeringly glared upon the elitist wine labels at the Chauve-souris, but mirrors cracked in the process, throwing the Pastèque gazon throughout the room like a laserlight show gone mad, stultifying the gay Frelons; some dropped their Robinets as they were lifted to lips and Chouettes hardened in midchew; as glasses of Cafard shattered on the floor, it became horrifyingly apparent to all...there was not enough Vis in the universe to make the horrid antidote known as Ramoneur look remotely edible, even if it meant escape.
Amy and Mrsgunka followed suit:
Amy:
"Pastèque!" shouted the old man, waving his fist, upon almost being sideswiped by an even older bicycliste.
"Gazon! GAZON!" screamed the bicycliste back at him. "You are a true Cafard! A Chouette!!! Your kind should be frelon-ed in the Chauve-souris. Yes!"
Never at a loss, our first old man let loose: "May the robinet vis your ramoneur! Oui! It is what you deserve."
Having both cleared their sinuses, as they did in this exact same way every morning, each one went his way. With a smile. Thinking about the checkers the two men would play tonight after dinner, as they did each night, with each other...
Mrsgunka:
I just know, my get up and go has got up and gazon! Just put in two batches of frelon in the ramoneur. When it's done I'll throw on the chouette, fix the pasteque and pour the chauve-souris. Pass the cafard, say grace and all will be well again. Vis? Robinet anyone?
[There are more definitions dotted around on the last thread.]
The true definitions will have you laughing at the creative efforts above. The thought of drinking cafards makes me shudder!
| Pastèque - Watermelon |
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| Gazon - Lawn |
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| Cafard - Cockroach |
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| Chouette - Owl |
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| Frelon - Hornet |
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| Chauve-souris - Bat (chauve = bald, souris = mouse) |
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| Robinet - Faucet |
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| Vis - Screw |
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| Ramoneur - Chimney-sweep |
[I mentioned Baldilocks as a nickname for and old "friend." I came across the word when looking up "chauve," which means bald. It's also used as a pejorative term, i.e., baldilocks!]
Monday, 6 May 2013
Des mots - A silly game
This is supposed to be a very silly game. I selected nine words (mots) in French. The game is to provide an English word for each mot, WITHOUT googling! The object of the game is to be creative and amusing, not to get it right.
Those of you who know French, just go with the flow and invent something silly, yes?
1) Pastèque
2) Gazon
3) Cafard
4) Chouette
5) Frelon
6) Chauve-souris
7) Robinet
8) Vis
9) Ramoneur
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Saturday, 4 May 2013
A walk into the past
I was born in a young country, discovered in 1500. The age of certain structures in Europe never ceases to amaze me. There are pre-historical sites dotted all over the place, but they tend to be cordoned off and in some cases you need to buy tickets, they're not part of everyday life.
The other day we embarked on a long walk to the oldest part of the village, where the first houses were built around the year 800, in a place called "Les Eglises." It's now a cemetery. We had to pass the younger parts of the village, such as the Vieux Pont, built in 1492.
Looking back, from the same spot:
After we crossed the bridge, a very steep hill awaited us.
We went up and up and there were fantastic photo opportunities from such a vantage point.
We finally arrived at the oldest thing in the village, a fountain that had existed for centuries before being "christianized" by a Breton abbot (St Méen) who lived from 520 to 617. It's not very easy to find, you have to walk around the cemetery, then cross a little bridge to get there.
The cool water was very refreshing after the long uphill walk!
We haven't been able to walk very much lately because of the rain, but as soon as it gets reliably sunny again, we plan to visit the "Pierre des Druides," allegedly a pagan sacrificial site. It's in the middle of the woods between our village and a little hamlet. I hope we don't get lost!
One of these days I'll post some photos of the prettiest houses in the centre of the village. They're much younger than the fountain, as they were built between the 13th and 16th centuries...
The other day we embarked on a long walk to the oldest part of the village, where the first houses were built around the year 800, in a place called "Les Eglises." It's now a cemetery. We had to pass the younger parts of the village, such as the Vieux Pont, built in 1492.
Looking back, from the same spot:
After we crossed the bridge, a very steep hill awaited us.
We went up and up and there were fantastic photo opportunities from such a vantage point.
We finally arrived at the oldest thing in the village, a fountain that had existed for centuries before being "christianized" by a Breton abbot (St Méen) who lived from 520 to 617. It's not very easy to find, you have to walk around the cemetery, then cross a little bridge to get there.
The cool water was very refreshing after the long uphill walk!
We haven't been able to walk very much lately because of the rain, but as soon as it gets reliably sunny again, we plan to visit the "Pierre des Druides," allegedly a pagan sacrificial site. It's in the middle of the woods between our village and a little hamlet. I hope we don't get lost!
One of these days I'll post some photos of the prettiest houses in the centre of the village. They're much younger than the fountain, as they were built between the 13th and 16th centuries...
Friday, 3 May 2013
Flowers in coffee pots
I posted this photo a while ago, among a bunch of other very colourful arrangements:
I found another trio of coffee pots with flowers and they're just as delightful!
Looking at the background of both pictures, they belong to the same person, clearly.
I found another trio of coffee pots with flowers and they're just as delightful!
Looking at the background of both pictures, they belong to the same person, clearly.
Labels:
gardening
Thursday, 2 May 2013
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
A night at the pub
View_From_Here sent us this hilarious joke:
I was at the pub the other night and overheard three very hefty women talking at the bar.
Their accent appeared to be Scottish, so I approached and asked, "Hello, are you three lassies from Scotland?"
One of them angrily screeched, "It's Wales, Wales you bloody idiot!"
So I apologized and replied, "I am so sorry. Are you three whales from Scotland ?"
And that's the last thing I remember.
I was at the pub the other night and overheard three very hefty women talking at the bar.
Their accent appeared to be Scottish, so I approached and asked, "Hello, are you three lassies from Scotland?"
One of them angrily screeched, "It's Wales, Wales you bloody idiot!"
So I apologized and replied, "I am so sorry. Are you three whales from Scotland ?"
And that's the last thing I remember.
Labels:
jokes
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Bird watching
We ordered some binoculars and they arrived a while ago, together with a little book of photos and descriptions of common garden birds.
So far, I have identified the the majority of the most frequent visitors, but a couple of them have me completely confused. I have to order a better book about the birds of Europe...
We also put a couple of fat and seed balls hanging from the window shutters in the kitchen. The number of customers has been increasing steadily.
These are photos from the internet, as I don't have a decent enough camera to attempt taking my own pictures.
The magpies building their nest have sparked our interest in bird watching. We can't see into the nest at all, but we assume there are young birds there, judging by the movements of the parents. Now we have to wait and try to catch a glimpse of the fledglings leaving the nest.
House sparrows are very common and the females like the seeds we have on offer. They perch on the telephone wire just outside the window, and "piu" quite loudly before coming to the ledge to feed.
We observed a daily continuous ballet in the distance. These birds form fairly large flocks and fly round and round, disappearing behind the trees, then re-emerging where you least expect them. I couldn't tell what they were, even with binoculars. The other day we went to Uzerche, visited the garden centre, then went to a nice bar on the church square for a couple of drinks (TW, CC and IG will remember it). We noticed the same ballet around the church. They were near enough and would land on the roof of the church every now and then, so we finally identified them. Apart from the ballet, there's nothing spectacular about feral pigeons...
Some cousins of the above are far more interesting and look more attractive:
The collared dove is much smaller than the feral pigeon, with a pinkish tinge to its feathers.
Blackbirds are terribly common, but it's nice to observe their behaviour. The females seem to spend long periods on the ground looking for grubs in Monsieur Soup's garden. The males like to use the drums Mr Soup uses to collect rainwater for long baths and a good drink.
I'm not very keen on these. The name alone puts me off.
These finches are lovely and colourful. I was very proud of myself when I managed to identify them. It took me a while to learn to notice markings like bibs and wingbars.
Identifying the great tit correctly was another achievement. From a distance, it's easy to take them for blue tits, but I did notice the black head, white cheeks and broad black stripe on the chest.
The blue tits are our most frequent customers and we're absolutely in love with these cheeky little birds (so is Pirouette).
We hope to see some of the more exotic species as summer approaches and they migrate from Africa. Last year I saw a hoopoe and that was quite a sight!
Bird watching is great fun and for people like us, who used to think "a bird is a bird," being able to tell them apart is very gratifying. Seasoned birdwatchers may laugh at us, but you have to start somewhere...
So far, I have identified the the majority of the most frequent visitors, but a couple of them have me completely confused. I have to order a better book about the birds of Europe...
We also put a couple of fat and seed balls hanging from the window shutters in the kitchen. The number of customers has been increasing steadily.
These are photos from the internet, as I don't have a decent enough camera to attempt taking my own pictures.
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| Magpie |
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| Male and female house sparrows |
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| The ballet |
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| Feral pigeon |
Some cousins of the above are far more interesting and look more attractive:
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| Collared dove |
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| Male blackbird |
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| Female blackbird |
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| Carrion crow |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Great tit |
We hope to see some of the more exotic species as summer approaches and they migrate from Africa. Last year I saw a hoopoe and that was quite a sight!
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| Hoopoe |
Bird watching is great fun and for people like us, who used to think "a bird is a bird," being able to tell them apart is very gratifying. Seasoned birdwatchers may laugh at us, but you have to start somewhere...
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