Soundtrack to my life

Some more songs that have been a sonic background to my life of late.

Ben Howard, Old pine

I listened to this album pretty regularly as we packed up our old lives and started our new ones here. It reminds me of first tram rides through unfamiliar streets, humid rain storms and walking around gazing up in wonder at the old sandstone buildings with a smile on my face.

Nina Simone, Lliac wine

A necessary song as soon as the lilacs in the park bloomed. I inhaled their heady scent whilst Nina sang about it. Nina Simone is just the greatest.

Kim Boekbinder, Girl on a bicycle

I've been hiring bikes quite regularly and zooming along the river. I almost always hum this song in my head when I ride along feeling happy and ridiculous as I pedal.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Home

Because home is wherever I'm with my love. And right now it's here and I couldn't be happier.

The Jimmy Chamberlain Complex, Loki Cat

I randomly started playing this song a lot as I worked and it crept into my head and got stuck there and will forever remind me of the first few weeks here when we only had what we could carry on the plane in our rucksacks and the flat was empty and yet full of possibilities and happy moments.

Coldplay, Every teardrop is a waterfall 

I've been listening to Coldplay a lot when I run along the river. I love the line in this song about being in the gap between the two trapeeze as that's where I was for a while before, during and after moving.

Smashing Pumpkins, Let me give the World to You

Pure joy in song form, filling my ears on my first trip back to the UK and then blasting out of our speakers when I returned as I twirled in our living room at 4 AM, spun round by my love.

The Grateful Dead, Box of Rain

My latest favourite source of inspiration. A song that reminds me not to be gloomy. Strangely enought I keep finding my direction around the corner where its waiting for me whenever I walk out of the flat (just like the song says I will).

What's your favourite song of late? Please share!

x

Squirrelling away II

A couple of weeks ago I had an encounter with a sneaky red squirrel in the Parc bordelais. He was much smaller than the grey squirrel I spied back in the snow in February. Red squirrels tend to have much less bushy tails than their grey counterparts. Just look at how pointy his ears are too! He clung on to the tree there motionless for over a minute before scurrying away into the treetops up above us to go about his day :)

x

I spy a nuthatch

Just a quick post today to share this photo I snapped of a nuthatch in the park in Bordeaux a couple of weeks ago :) We spied a whole flurry of nuthatches that day, darting through the tree tops and coming into land on this feeding box. I was so so happy because nuthatches are probably my favourite bird. Back when I lived in Wales we had a regular visitor in our garden and I used to spend many a quiet moment admiring its beautifully swooping eyeliner markings as it fed (usually upside down) on the bird feeder we had there. Since then I think I've seen a nuthatch only once, on a snowy day in Munich, its bluey back and orange belly standing out against the snow as it slinked on past us. Nuthatches are really shy and elusive which means it's a real treat when you do spy them - so getting a photo opportunity like this really made my day!

What's your favourite bird?

x

A haiku a day...

Friday

Belly catches up,

send out warning signs too late,

too much on my plate!

Saturday

Soaking in the bath

to the sounds of pouring rain,

wet outside and in.

Sunday 

Grouchy, tired me,

being my worst self as I 

refuse sweet slumber.

Monday 

Mascara hurry,

smudges appear, shouts break out

on the other side.

Tuesday 

May day, lilac skies,

magical clouds float, swifts screech,

the river flows by.

Wednesday 

Pre-meditation

I spy a butterfly perched

amidst my flowers.

Thursday

Erratic pixie,

swift and nimble as she plays

her magic fiddle.

x

A haiku a day...

Friday

Caught in a rain storm,

Sheltering from lightning as,

puddles become rivers.

Saturday

A humming chorus

as bees pay homage to the 

ephemeral blooms.

Sunday

Hanging fabric streams

in my little souk wardrobe,

living out my dreams.

Monday

Quiet on the streets,

empty for Easter but for 

our foreign chatter.

Tuesday

That smell after rain,

of earth and new foliage

getting a spring clean.

Wednesday

I push seeds into

dark earth: there, magic happens,

I just have to wait.

Thursday
Blue haze, dark downpour,
the sky can't make up its mind today
so I stay inside.

x

Life lately...

Lately, life has been: 

* adventures * exploring * speaking lots of French * sipping fine wine * unpacking and decorating * little bits of magic * cobbled streets * so much blossom * crocheting ripples * sunday trips to market followed by afternoons of food and jazz * bike-riding * sundrops and rainshowers * obsessively watching Twin Peaks * baguettes from the boulangerie * discovering perfect wine bars, restaurants and little shops * making new friends * loving my happy kitchen * making memories * the heavenly scent of lilacs * running along the BIG river feeling small next to its sparkling surface * long baths * planting seeds and flowers * smiling ridiculously * beaucoup de fromage *

 some snippets...

I've loved every little happy momentl!

x

Here's to spring.....

.... and twirling beneath blossomy boughs.

It's been a while since I wrote a proper post but now I have a real internet connection again I can get caught up on the last few weeks. Spring has sprung here in France since we arrived just over a month ago....

Where once there were bare branches, now there are blossoms in full bloom and even some starting their snowflake-like dance to the floor. Confetti for a wedding that never was (unless the pixies have got some secret nuptials going on that we are unaware of)

Ahh! Impossible candy-floss branches bursting with petals. Simple pinky white petals that astound in their transformative capacity. New life, transitions, prettyness! Just look at this magnolia tree....

I always think autumn leaves are my favourite, but then spring comes along and I'm not sure I don't prefer the blossom! But since each season is so ephemeral in its own way I don't have to choose! In autumn I twirl beneath golden rusty boughs, in spring, I twirl amidst the petals!

Walking the same way in my new town every afternoonI noticed the very day that leaves became visible on the trees and it makes my heart happy to be surrounded by warmth and leafy trees and delicate flowers again.
So here's to Spring!
x

A haiku a day...

A double portion of haikus today to get me up to date for the last two weeks...

Friday
Knitting needles click,
French chatter accelerates,
my brain’s in a whir.

Saturday
Wet whiskers, webbed feet
emerging from the river,
muskrat colony.

Sunday
In seconds, grey clouds
become rainstorms, drenching us,
before we can hide.

Monday
Cet après-midi
les heures sont longues, chaque minute
une petite souffrance.

Tuesday
Night hours bring me
apocalyptic visions,
cold sweats and no rest.

Wednesday
Banging door foretells
panic – water everywhere!
Flood emergency!

Thursday
In this town I’ve found
cobbled streets to wander round,
I have happy feet.

Friday
On two wheels I float
past everything, velo fun,
Cycling is flying.

Saturday
The cat on the lead
is an unhappy feline,
He can’t chase the birds!

Sunday
Theatre full of song
and heads thinking secret thoughts,
entranced by the strings.

Monday
Impossible tree
engraves candyfloss branches
onto my mind’s eye.

Tuesday
Out of boxes we
unearth forgotten treasures
from the before time

Wednesday
Surprising flowers,
unreal, petals everywhere
until I awake.

Thursday
French horns ring out loud,
echoing around the square,
a blast of grandeur.

x

A haiku a day...

Friday
Mission complete so
lets go wandering, we'll see
where our feet take us.

Saturday
River of people,
flooding the street,
sink or swim shopping

Sunday
Magnolia blooms,
soft and pink, signalling spring,
Tree transformation.

Monday
A man plants a kiss
on the tiny furry face
of his ferret friend.

Tuesday
Hot sun beams onto
the vast, still, river mirror,
Blinding my vision.

Wednesday
French conversation,
Strangers, but not for long,
Strange bubble of life.

Thursday
Les taches de rousseur,
se multiplient sur mon nez,
French constellations.

A haiku a day...

Friday
Lost in translation,
so we give up, sip beer and
enjoy life in France.

Saturday
Booming fireworks,
bright lights, river reflections,
explosive welcome.

Sunday
Dimanche en France, so
let's amble to market, rain
can't dampen my day.

Monday
Two new friends for me
outside the épicerie;
chat et coccinelle.

Tuesday
After wine and cheese,
talk turns to tortoises, what
strange little creatures.

Wednesday
Furniture failure,
bureaucracy at the bank,
wednesday blues mean beer.

Thursday
All day long shivers
dart up and down my spine, cold
creeps into my bones.

Ummmm, re-reading this weeks haikuus as I type has made me realise that there are quite a lot of references to wine and beer! haha! Next week I will try and be more sober in my poetry. Lets just say a wee drink every now and then has been helping smooth the transition into France when our attempts to find cheap furniture have repeatedly met with failure....
x

A haiku a day...

Excuse the lack of all things non-haiku lately - I've been busy moving far away over the last few weeks. I'm here en France now with this week's haikus....

Friday
Today my life is
a giant jigsaw puzzle,
piled into a van.

Saturday
Une nuit blanche, outside
dreamless fog fills the valley,
as a new day breaks.

Sunday
Family faces,
sat round a table again,
older, fewer, here.

Monday
Overnight murmurs
announce spring, blossom blooms as
green buds sprout on trees.

Tuesday
Clean, bare and empty,
time’s up here, so off we go,
into the unknown.

Wednesday
Flying is easy,
I just close my eyes and soar,
into a new world.

Thursday
Candlelight bathtime,
Joni sings, I sip fine wine,
Happy salle de bain.

With that all typed up and ready to post I will say bonne nuit. 'Tis time I got back to my new crochet project :)
x