Shopping fever

Those are a bargain! Really they are. 3 euros per meter... the silk (under the dots and the cutter) being 4 euros per meter, but still a bargain.

and especially for Miss Georgia Littlepea, flip-flaps with charms.

PS: to answer your comments, I'm always ready for a weekend in Barcelona. I'm an organized lady, you know, one daughter in Paris, one in Barcelona, one niece in Wien...  :-)
To tell the truth, Barcelona is the town where I started relaxing and enjoying doing nothing a few years ago. Now, after a lot of training, I can do that in other places too!

The plumber just left! things are back to normal!

Tarragona and Barcelona

I was a bit exhausted as I prepared my bag on Thursday night. I even slept throughout the trip to Barcelona.
These were even my first words when my friend Neki asked me how I was. "Exhausted". But that was not to last!

 

She had the best potion for that: a whole day spent chatting, visiting a fabrics shop and a patchwork shop (small but a quilter dream!) one Vermouth drunken lazily, then another one, a nice lunch. My mojo had returned before we left the first shop. I was in great shape by the end of the afternoon!
This day was followed by two more with my daughter Amandine. We first pampered ourselves in Barcelona, with a well deserved pedicure, and some shopping, then a nice evening celebrating one of her friends's birthday.
The next day saw us on the train to Tarragona, the Roman ruins and the beach.
A weekend of friendship,  mother-daughter love, sea and sun. That should take me until the end of August.

I hope your weekend was as nice as mine.

The road of silk

Thank you for your comments on my last post.
I'm rather proud that we can have family gatherings like this one.
A bit sorry I don't have more of Emilie on the pictures.

Yesterday I wen to a tiny exhibition in Aix en Provence, named the Road of Silk. I expected a lot of Marco Polo, and pictures and adventures. Well, it was more modest :-)
Anyway, I learnt a few things, and saw some strange machines:

This one is used to unravel the cocoons and spin several threads together.

This one weaves up to 47 thread into a ribbon

 This one is also used for weaving several threads together

This is a bust ornament.

A kimono, in case you did not know :-)

The rooms were so tiny I could not step back to take the pictures. Sorry.

Today I woke up to find there was no water in my pipe. Went out to check. The counter box was open, and the counter was off. Rest of water on the road. Later on, a neighbor came to tell me he saw water pouring out my garage, in the middle of the night. So he cut the water for me. I owe him a big "thank you". Now I'm waiting for the plumber. Hopefully this afternoon. Sigh...

busy lazy weekend

Hi to all,

Glad you like the haberdashery in Paris. I wish I'd made better pictures, but given the weather, it was the best I could do (it was both sunny and rainy at the same time...)
Emilie had her birthday in June, but we managed to get together only last weekend. Enjoying the sun around the swimming pool at her father's (this is him, and our second daughter)

It was really fun. Cooking was easy, some tomatoe/parmesan tiramisu, BBQ (delicious), and salads.

Some cold drinks(me and second daughter)

birthday cakes

Where is the birthday kid? She hates having her picture taken. She is here, wrapped in her birthday present...

which you can see in more details. It is part of why I've been rather quite in the textile front this year: it tooks me a big part of my free time, and I wanted to keep the secret. I saw a pattern exactly one year ago, and it called to be made for Emilie. I was cutting the pieces when I learnt she had lost her job, then her sister lost hers too, their father had some health and family issues. Somehow, this quilt absorbed it all. It was very soothing to make something positive, full of love. And I finished it when things started to improve. To me, this quilt does mean a lot. This party was the happy ending of the year.

Haberdashery

While I was in Paris, my daughter wanted to show me a shop she had discovered. A haberdashery, where you can find anything you may need.
Apparently, it is an old business. The windows are not stylish, but they display treasures (provided you are fond of haberdashery, that is).

They even sell supplies to make hats, all kinds of hats, with forms displayed in the window.

yes, the plump lady with a camera is me...

The persons there are very nice, and really, the shop is worth a visit. Stepping in is like stepping in another world, at another time, because the shop has not been revamped for ages. I'd say you can find items from the 50's, maybe even before, as well as the newest items.
Its name is a bit amazing, Ultramod...

Paris

Hello to all,

I've was away this weekend, gone to the North Pole, I mean Paris.
Can you imagine people there still wear winter clothes? And rightly so? yuk!

You see what I mean? This picture was taken around 9:00...

Can you guess what this building is?
Yes, you can go on its roof

Look at the windows for a clue. Yes, this is a cathedral, in Evry near Paris, build by Mario Botta..
Unfortunately, the doors were closed. No picture of the inside.
But you can have a peek here.
This one is Notre Dame d'Espérance, in rue de la Roquette in Paris. Picture taken between two showers.

and this is the inside (sorry Kirsty, no chandelier...).


Let's finish on a bright note: the view from my daughter's flat.

Dogs

I don't look forward to retirement, except for one thing: being home most of the day, thus being able to have a dog. Until then, I get my dog dose from several canine blogs.
Here is a post by houndstooth of Tales and Tails I'd like to share with you.

One Of The Highlights Of BlogPaws — Hero Dogs Of 9/11

I don't think I'll be able to see the whole movie, but you may have the opportunity.
Kuster, one of the pack of Tales and Tails, is training to become a search and rescue dog. I'm sure he will be good at his job, but I do hope he'll never have to face such a hell.