Merry Christmas Friends!

 Christmas morning is one of my favourite times in all the year for so many reasons. It's when we celebrate Christs birth, and for me that means time to reflect on my relationship with Christ and his purposes. It's also a time when my garden is singing. While the photo above is not one of mine, it is exactly an image I get when I look out my bedroom window on Christmas morning. I love to hear the parrots sing, and to take in the vibrant array of colours and aroma of flowering gums.

I want to take this opportunity to wish all of you a wonderful Christmas season, may you and your families be safe, healthy and happy. Where support is needed for any reason, my you be surrounded by your loved ones, the angels in your life, and know that we are community where ever we are.

My partner and I celebrated Christmas lunch with our community - some close friends. Both of our families are some distance away, and Christmas is one of those times friends and community are pretty special We celebrated with prawns, BBQ chicken, and a range of delicious salads, including a greek salad, Poh's Green Papaya and peach salad, a fennel and red onion salad, and a tomato and avocado salad. All of this was enjoyed with a sparkling burgundy and a St Hugo Shiraz, and followed by gluten free Christmas Pudding and custard. Yum.

Tea Party

Gluten Free Chocolate Brownies

Yesterday I hosted a friendly tea party to help my partner celebrate a significant life occasion. I'm sorry now I didn't think to take some photo's - here are some off the web from recipes I cooked. When my partner lost his job in July he decided to return to school and finish a diploma he started 8 yrs ago - and now it's finished!  

It's the silly season, and after trying to find a common date for a few friends to have dinner with us, we finally decided on afternoon tea - it was great idea. We had a beautiful afternoon, and enjoyed some yummy things together. By chance, most things on offer were gluten free, and delicious!

 Our Menu included                     

• Apple Cheese cake Slice
• Chocolate Brownies
• Coconut Almond Cake
• Butterfly cupcakes
• caramel slice and rum balls

All of this was enjoyed with freshly brewed coffee, tea and a lovely glass of chilled moscato or a sparkling burgundy.

Coconut Almond Cake

 

 So what do kids do when the adults are sitting about? My friends, twin 12 yr olds, found the camera and wandered around my garden taken photo's I may never take - but beautiful none the less!

Melbourne - Comme Paris!

Lygon St

 It has been so long since I blogged I have almost forgotten how to load a photo! I'm so sorry for my absence, and I do hope to be catching up with all my friends soon.

I wanted to share with you my most recent french experience. Last weekend I went to Melbourne with a girlfriend to the Paris to Provence Festival. It was a festival dedicated to all things French, and laid out in the style of the the weekend markets you'll find in any French village. We were taken away from our cares and woes with les cafes, patisseries, du vin et du fromages! There were stalls dedicated to linen from Provence, books for children, learners and french speakers, and jams, preserves and many other wonderful french delights.

But visiting Melbourne wasn't just about going to see Gabriel Gate cook for us, or to stroll in beautiful gardens with other lovers of all things french - visiting Melbourne is about shopping, catching the theatre and walking in it's Paris like streets and parks. So here's some photos from my weekend. Hope you enjoy it too

Window at Brunetti's, Carlton

!

Brunetti's - Famous for their Cakes and Coffee

Brunetti's Fruit Tart

Melbourne - cosmopolitan and modern

Melbournes Central Station - an Iconic Landmark

The historic aspects of Melbourne that bring it a French Charm

Melbournes Southbank - could be in any modern european city

Southbank - could be a scene of the Siene!

when the old blends in with the new

nothing better that a morning on the Yarra!

The Yarra River

So French!

Paris to Provence Markets - Soap Displays

Gabriel Gate making for us a fruit salad with raspberry coulis!

Japanese Literature Challenge Updates

 We're more than half way through the Japanese Literature Challenge 6 season and I haven't posted on anything yet. The challenge is hosted by Della Bellezza and I think I've participated in 5 of the 6 challenges. I hold this challenge as one of my favourites because it takes me into new worlds of literature that I would have never done before - and I enjoy it.

I originally posted my intentions for this challenge here, but it did not include this one - Murakami's 1Q84. It's HUGE by my standards (I'm not an avid reader and I've had a fear of books over 500 pages long). Still, I couldn't resist it when I was about to go on holidays to a remote tropical island.

Murakami has featured in all of my reading lists for the Japanese Literature Challenges, and again he doesn't disappoint. I'm only 2/3rds of the way through this one, but I'm definitely hooked, and again, being transported into a strange and bizarre world - one with two moons and little people.... I'll post more soon about it (hopefully when I finish it) - but here's a quote from another reviewer.

This is the real world, there is no doubt about that.
But in this world, there are two moons in the sky.
In this world, the fates of two people, Tengo and Aomame, are closely intertwined. They are each, in their own way, doing something very dangerous. And in this world, there seems no way to save them both.
Something extraordinary is starting.

and from another blogger who struggled in the beginning, but in the end loved the book - she comments on a characteristic of Murakami's writing:

The Fantastic. Interspersed with the seemingly mundane aspects of daily life are moments of magic and utterly bizarre surrealism. Again, Murakami succeeds in poking that chink in our armour, our Achilles heel – which is love of the supernatural, and the otherwordly. How else could readers bear to read page after page about Coca Cola, and The Beatles, and jazz cafes, and downtown Shibuya/Shinjuku (though in 1Q84 it’s more Janacek’s Sinfonietta and Remembrance of Things Lost/Past - i.e. the elusive Marcel Proust), and how to prepare the perfect grilled mackaron with grated daikon radish, and miso soup with tofu and littlenecks and green onions, and cucumber slices with wakame seaweed in vinegar.

So, while I'm working on finishing this epic, I've also found something else that interests me for this challenge - Alex Kerr's 'Lost Japan'. See this review.

Any other suggestions? preferably shorter books?

September Bliss

I'm back and I'm in a state of bliss. I've just had a wonderful couple of weeks in the middle of the India Ocean visiting Christmas Island and the Cocos Keeling Islands.

Christmas Island is a larger more active island - where fishing, bush walking and kyaking where everyday activities for me, and Cocos Keeling was a place for me to stop, watch the hermit crabs and read.

Snorkeling admidst the beautiful coral underworld, and then feeding the sharks, reminded me about my place in the world. Sometimes you can loose track of just how big or small we are in the scheme of things.

So, after much relaxing, unwinding and reflection, I've come home with a refreshed commitment to a quote that's on my fridge:

'Life shrinks and expands in proportion to ones courage' Anaias Ninn

and as one friend reminds me: 

Carpe Diem and YOLO!

(you only live once)

 

Paris in July Final Wrap Up - 2012

Wow, wow and more wow! This years Paris in July has been an absolutely awesome event - and it's all because of you! Thanks so much for participating, visiting and travelling to Paris in July with us.

This final wrap up has been both exciting and challenging for me - so many posts to review. I really wanted to honour everyones contributions and recongise the effort. So here's my summary of as many posts as I could get to. (I'm sorry this will be a long post - please read to the end to see this weeks winner).

Book Reviews:

• Le Road Trip - Lakeside Musings
• Bonjour Tristesse &** Eugenie Grandet - Bellezza
• Bel Ami - Fleur Fisher also by Ripple Effects
• a series of book covers by The Book on The Hill - as part of her regular French Fridays
• The Girl at the Lion d'Or & Tin Tin & Metrostop Paris - Literary Relish
• ** JoTracey at And Anyways did a great post with covers of books she read in July - a collection of modern french classics (can I say that?)
• Sara C did an interview with the author and read Lunch in Paris
• The Siren of Paris - Anglers Rest
• another great collection of reads with a Paris connection  & - Alex in Leeds including The Metrostop and True Pleasures: A Memoir of Women in Paris
• Les Miserables - TheStoryGirl
• Paris I Love You: But Your Brining Me Down & Le Road Trip by Deb Nance at ReaderBuzz
• Paris My Sweet by One Literary Nut
• Three Strong Women - Iris on Books
• Le Road Trip - an Accidental Blog
• Belle Book and Candles - review of books read in July

 Poetry, Music or Film Reviews

• A Midnight in Paris by Nadia at A Bookish Way of Life
• Poetry by Arthur Rimbaud at Third Storey Window
• A Music Clip of Nouvelle Vague by Fleur Fisher
• Poetry and Art and Music that reminds me of Paris by Only Orangery
• **A clip of the old Paris under the Eiffel Tower in 1900 by L'il Bit Brit 

Photos and Travel Posts:

•  Paris and Beyond posts a daily photo from Paris - I just love July 27th - la Danseuse
• Words and Peace on Wines and Vinyards
• Paris Memories in photos by Jeanie at Marmalade Gypsie who was actually in Paris and did frequent photo posts
• ** Photos of things I love about Paris by Esme at Chocolates and Croissants
• Memories of a hot hot summer in France - a strong belief in wicker
• Paris in Picture #8 - A Readers Footprint
• **Paris Montage - Ripple Effects
• France Reverie - An Accidental Blog
• Paris through my lens posts photos from paris every day.
• Christy - Lil Bit Brit did some great memory posts too.
• Words and Peace - Photo Challenge
•  Bibliolathas posted photos that highlighted memories from visiting Paris in July.
• Fighting Dreamer posted photos from a day in Paris (beautiful flowers)
• Faith Hope and Cherrytea - photos from a visit to Bonaface, in Canada's French Quarter
• Flowersandstripes - photos and post from a weekend in Paris and a trip on the Eurostar

Cooking and Food Posts:

• Madelines - by One Literary Nut
• Mirabella Tart - TooFond
• Pain Francais - ReaderBuzz

So, in summary, many of us enjoyed revisiting or sharing photo's from recent and not so recent trips to Paris. Thank you all for sharing those great photo stories. A few of us enjoyed sharing some video and music clips. Thank you to those who did, and I encourage everyone else to learn how to do that, because listening to your music has been a joy while I've been reviewing all these posts. Book reviews rated high amongst this years participants - particularly Metrostop Paris, Le Road Trip and Bonjour Tristesse. On the film front - Midnight in Paris gained some attention this year - and why not? it's such a lovely reminder of all things Paris.

Everyone is a winner, but I promised to pick one post from this last week to get alittle prize, and it's come down to those with ** and Lil Bit Brit's discovery of Paris in 1900 was the pick of the bunch this week. So Congratulations Christy, drop me an email (found on my About page).

Until next years Paris in July - a la prochaine!

Paris in July 2012 - Wrap up is on its way!

Bonjour mes amis! Je suis desole parce que je suis en retard ......

I wanted to let you all know that the Paris in July 2012 wrap up is on its way. So far I've located more that 30 reviews from the last week, and it's just taking me a little while to get through them all.  We've been overwhelmed with the responses this year, and it's been a blast - une joie!

Si vous avez un post recent - please leave the link here if you have made a late entry in Paris in July..

I'll return soon with the wrap up :)