Mes pensées (my thoughts!)...

A thought provoking time. We all know that I am a thinker; nothing new there. But a week away has sent me off into some sort of stratosphere of pondering. We returned to the same place to have the the same holiday that we have had year on year, yet this time something in me has come back different, ever so slightly uncertain. This is my reasoning for why:

We stayed in a place where there were 19 people - everyone shares dinner, it's very sociable. There were families there with little children - as in under 2's. It leaped out at me: how grown up our kids are. This thrills and appalls me in equal measure! Where did the time go? In a heartbeat they will be teenagers and I will look wistfully at families with a five and nine year old.

I am a downright mediocre skier. I have decided that skiing is one of those things that you only reach a level of real competence and skill if you start when you are three years old. I know, I know, there are probably some who manage to excel without that childhood background, but I would hazard a guess they are i) not mothers and ii) have no fear and iii) have a fitness level of an Olympic athlete. I also deduced that I rarely participate anymore in pursuits that I am mediocre at. I only like things that I am good at. Is this defeatist? Meh...

For the duration of our stay I did not lift a finger in the domestic department. I enjoyed this a disproportionate amount. What does this mean? Am I idle and slovenly? I found that having a chef make food for the children (yea, really) was the most divine thing in my day. OK, well second to the stunning Alpine scenery.

My ski instructor told me he spends his winters in the Alps and his summers crewing luxury boats off the shore of Cannes. I found myself wondering - why did I make the serious and responsible choices I did? Why am I not living that type of life?! Hmmm...

As I stood amongst what seemed like a million French people waiting for the bubble lift I did think to myself: this happens every day. People here queue up to scale the mountain all the time and meanwhile I am in my little corner of England. Probably doing the washing up. Meaning?

In certain circumstances in French restaurants I find that my brain has the capacity to recall long-lost snippets of pigeon French, learned in my teens. Je vais avoir la soupe à l'oignon, puis le foie gras, avec la tarte aux framboises à la fin. Oui, s'il vous plaît.



My husband is a remarkable skier; I never want to ski (be) with anyone but him.

I need to get comfortable with my age. I have decided that at nearly 37 - I am neither young nor old.

I ate so much cheese. It was bordering on obscene. How is it that French women remain slim?

All this and more...as after all, travel broadens the mind. Meanwhile I feel guilt for all this personal introverted musing (in my charmed life) when around me the world is in chaos...earthquakes, governmental coups, War. 'Nuff said. Life is a journey.

So what's new with you?

each of these three images are from a lady's findings

Beauty, better late than never...

It's travel day so we prepare to leave France and come home. Still slightly aching from using ski muscles but yes feeling rather relaxed and happy. We had wonderful sunshine for the last two days so had that contrast of sitting outside a ski cabin, eating lunch in the bright sun, stripping off layers of ski wear as it was so warm.

It's been a great time away; as ever a break from the norm is thought-provoking so I shall return home with my mind full of plans and reveries. Most of all though, it makes me want Spring to arrive now that we have had winter snow days. Time for those daffodils to bloom.

Off to pack now (oh-so-much laundry when I get home) but here are some beautiful things to tide us along...

The place we have stayed in has a real vintage feel...

via from me to you

Chocolat-chaud?

Lots of white-washed wood...

via it's mary ruffle

The best part of being away has been having food made for us; breakfast has been a high point for me...

Anyone seen any?

by Mikkel Vang

The vintage feel continues...

via from me to you

I'll be back with a proper catch up in a day or two...wanting to hear all your news!

The art of skiing...

We are here, manifestly throwing ourselves down mountains in strange clothing. There is something about the whole rigamarole of skiing that I find faintly bizarre. Early mornings to get the best pistes, chair lifts and ears popping with altitude. Ski school followed by apres-ski carbo-loaded meals. Strange how wine makes binding ski boots a whole lot more comforable!

I defy anyone to look this stylish on the slopes! However in amongst the physical trauma of aching muscles and bruised bottoms there are moments of sheer beauty - like being above the clouds this morning in the sunshine. Or watching your youngest child shoop down the mountain like a natural. Or watching your eldest tackle a red run with no hesitation and then detour off piste for a little cheeky jump in powdered snow that feels like marshmallow.

For me, I am a later learner so will never be a natural skier. I just watch in wonder as others show how it is done. And then at the end of the day, feeling content to be on flat ground, I sit with my cuppa tea and think OK, yep I get it. A relaxing holiday it is not - but it is something else. Family time personified. The very best experience of a hot bath. And enjoyment of that uniquely French cooking that makes you feel a whole lot better after a morning on the slopes. Then I yearn for a place not unlike this to rest up...

Things of beauty...

Hello, hello. A much better week this week, I have got my head together finally! Have you sensed there has been too much rattling round in there for a while?! It's exhausting trying to be 'at one' with oneself. Well at least it is for me...

Meanwhile, for months I have been trying so hard to help my son learn to read. I set myself a little goal that we would read every night, no excuses and the fact that I pledged to myself and to the Internet somehow worked and I have not missed one night. The net result: he's doing so much better at school. Accolades all round, so I am delighted. All you ever want for your kids is that they can do stuff; they don't have to be the best by any means, but you just don't want them to struggle with life.

 Still tweeting...it's a revelation! Still loving my blog. Still generally quite happy with life :-)

via crush cul de sac

Taking the world of pretty-picture-lovers by storm...bridal website BHLDN. As I am not getting married I swooned over the underwear...

We go skiing in a week but there is no snow in the Alps - well not no snow, but not much...please can there be a large snowfall??

via are so happy

It's the minutiae of life that reminds us what matters...

I realised that not one member of my family had read even one book of the 'Harry Potter' series...so I have ordered the box set...

...the beautiful Emma Watson...

I spied the first daffodils making efforts to remind us Spring is coming...

I could sleep for a week; every night I put my head on the pillow only to wake what feels like half an hour later, when of course a whole night has passed...

Boo is reading 'Anne of Green Gables' at the moment, out loud to me as I cook in the evenings. So utterly sentimental, it makes me cry just thinking about when Matthew Cuthbert gives her the dress with the puffed sleeves. It's always been about dresses for me! Love the series - have ordered the box set!

...Emily Blunt...

I have very little planned this weekend, time to regroup!

Have a lovely one...

Ski lunches...a drop of heaven...

Baby it was cold outside! One of the best ever life-enriching experiences has got to be to ski, with your family to a little French log cabin that serves great food, nestled in the mountains. You get inside, shielded from the weather and it looks like this...


Every where you look there are hearts - and you know how I love those...


And you order the Savoyard delight - tarteflette - potatoes, lardons and about as much melted cheese as you can manage; its the most warming mountain food...

I am newer to this skiing business - my husband's family have been doing it for years. So we take our kids - its abit of a tag-team holiday, we spend alot of time resembling pack-horses, getting the Boo's skis/poles/general stuff up the mountain and getting them delivered to ski school. I only learned to ski in my 20's so I will never have that fearless ski ability that my kids now have. They shoop down the mountain, even our 4 year old, and I trail a little behind just in wonderment that they can do it so well! Makes me very proud :-)

So to stop for lunch, all rosy-cheeked and find a gift of a restaurant like this one...its called Le Vaffieu for anyone visiting Morzine in France...its heavenly for me.

View from my window...

Returned from skiing - really wonderful time, albeit the whole family bar one, were plagued with a nasty bug! We battled through though. Boo 2 was a complete trouper in ski school. This was the view from our window on the glorious first day when the sun shined and it wasn't quite so bitterly cold...

I am full of cold, sniffling as I write this, but wanted to say 'hello'...more to come...see you in two tics...

Gone so soon?

I am signing off for a week - going skiing...avec ma petite famille...

It will be strange to take leave from the blogging - strangely addictive daily habit! But I will return...

Looking forward to some Alpine air, some good mountain food (bring on the tarteflette) and most of all, some time away with husband and the boos (oh and my lovely brother and sister in law and the kiddy's Godfather to boot).