My wee boy will be 3 on Janury 19th. (How did that happen?) He brings the post in every day, and always says, "It's all for you." Or, "It's all for you and Dada - there isn't any for me." Of course, there were a few packages with his name on at Christmas, but that is all done with now that it's Twelfth Night, and we're taking all the decorations down tonight.
Anyway, my son loves the postal system and one of his favourite cartoon characters is Postman Pat. I wondered if you could send him a postcard that shows your local flora and fauna? Something special about the area you live in? We will send a postcard of Scotland or St Andrews (where we live, yes, golf capital of the world) to everyone who sends us a postcard! Quite probably written in purple crayon.
If you need my address, just email me at jo_gibson 1999 @ yahoo. com (take out all the spaces) and I'll send you our street addresss. Thank you! It will be the thing he really remembers about his birthday. I've been quilting a globe for him, and I'll finish it up for his birthday, so we can find where all the cards come from!
Great day for a birthday, same as me, can highly recommend it! Great because it is jusy far enough after Christmas, that pressies are bought in the sales, so always had more pressies than my cousins, from my Grandma, as she spent the same on all of us.
"Janner" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:50e862a1$0$1968$ snipped-for-privacy@news.free.fr...
Hey, that's something! My poor mother had her birthday on 26. December, and you can imagine how many presents she got, especially in the lovely post-war times before Wirtschaftswunder. However, perhaps it taught her to be less materialistic ,and, in the long run, paved the way for an attitude that made her exit from this world a bit easier. (Which reminds me that she died on
Having a Christmas birthday is hard, mind you I am not very materialistic myself, but my cousins are and success is measured by houses, cars, clothes etc - haven't got time for all that! Who cares what anyone thinks as long as you have your health and family and great friends and you are happy!
Very true. I'd give up all my Christmas presents ever had and yet to receive to have my mum back. Alas, that won't happen, I guess. But I know what you mean with materialistic. I hate folks who act like that. As if money automatically made a better person of you. I have a neighbour who is rather wealthy but although she is from no higher birth than everybody else around here, and, in her ways is rather vulgar (e.g. uttering derogatory things about you in a larger company with her 'verbal pinkie sticking out') but has nothing better to do than to spread discord among the neighbourhood and run around with her nose in the air. I guess she was rather pretty once, remnants of a sweet face can be discerned under the multicoloured putty on her face. But hey, what good is a sweet face when it comes with a sour temper? Didn't you have your share of trouble with your local quilting club?
Oh yes! Haven't been back since,but reading between the lines the one trouble maker and her followers are now picking on others. Not sorry to have left, it doesn't matter about languages, culture etc, people are people and you always find some that you wonder, who hurt them so bad, that they have to be so bad to others?
I feel that, perhaps, maybe, I am a little wiser for this experience and the only thing that I gained from the group was an excuse for an afternoon out, they don't have any courses or any organised learning and sharing, which I was used to in the UK; actually I was teaching a few of the ladies there new techniques, but hey ho that's life and I've got loads to finish up around here, like the attic (loft) insulation, half is done, so therefore half the house is warm, but half is still cold....... Now if you could see me when I have my old work clothes on !!! Have been known to pop into town for emergency diy bits and bobs in my old clothes, to the shock off people I know - you can't go out looking like that, what'll people think? Who cares, I'm decent, not doing anything illegal, just very busy!
"Janner" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:50eb42dd$0$1988$ snipped-for-privacy@news.free.fr...
Well, in the long run, people like that destroy every club etc. Yes, I guess you are right, they must have suffered a bad hurt but we cannot heal them if they don't want to be healed. Alas. But that shouldn't worry you or me; in the long run, we all find a place where we can socialize and get together with folks that share our interests. I felt so lonely when I first moved to Hagen, but then I joined the sewing class I'm in and, although I did it for myself, I found so many good friends there. Well, I guess at least as good friends as the girls in the sewing newsgroup or in this one.
France is a strange country, and although the general public in both countries would probably strictly deny it, German and English ways are a lot more similar then each ones an French. I guess it's the Norse touch in both cultures. Of course the British have the Norman part, too... OK, I'm wandering, speculating wildly, so forgive me. But the French are definitely strange; on Arte, a French-German TV station, I saw something funny: They compare both cultures in a programme called 'Carambolage', and one difference was that you don't see many old folks on the streets in France while in Germany, streets seem to be teeming with them. The reason for this isn't that there are less elderly French, it's just that a fantastic invention called 'Rollator' hasn't made into that country yet. Their old folks are just at home...
Another cultural difference! In Germany, nobody would mind you visiting the DIY in your working clothes (in fact, it would look strange here to go there donned up like for shopping in London); but I heard a lot about people in southern Europe putting great emphasis on how you go out.
Well, bear with them, they're only just people, too. ;-)
Oh yes the differences, but plenty of similarities as well! In the UK, I lived in Cornwall and we are Celtic (like Wales and Scotland) so we didn't have a lot in common with the English! Sorry to anyone English, but we only ever seemed to meet those who bought 2nd homes and left our communities desserted in winter. We live in SW France and share, quite surprisingly a lot of culture and some history as Cornwall traded with the locals here.
There is a definite split here as well, between the Parisians and the French, and when we first arrived here a Parisian family arrived not long after and although we were welcomed into the community quite quickly, they were shunned for years. My French history isn't that good, but way back in history there was a great famine in France and Paris closed its borders to the French and let them starve and the French haven't forgiven them yet!
As for the Rollator, they are here but also we have something better here - a 2 seater car that goes only 50km/h on the road for those who are elderly or don't have a driving licence! Boy are they dangerous, they do as they please as there is no test, no highway code exam or anything! Scary!!! However, the average life expectancy where we live is around 100yrs, so there are all ages here and everyone mixes in together, the only place that I've had probs is with the Quilter's group! I am a member of our local archery club and they are more than welcoming to the fact that my girls look upon the other members as our extended family!
It doesn't bother me with the Quilters' as I see some of them around town and they are friendly enough, just that one trouble maker.....
Certainly feel like it is home here, reminds me of when I was growing up, we live very close to the land and most produce is local, it is like going back in time, with a vibrant market where everyone meets for a petit noir and puts the World in order every week. I like to think that we have integrated very well and to be honest we tend to steer more for the French communities and activities rather than the British expat scene, as they are usually made up of the type of people that we wouldn't have mixed with in the UK! People come here and pretend to be something that they're not, because no-one knows them, there isn't anything wrong with just being you!!!
I am just so grateful for the better standard of living, healthcare and education sysytems here; and I would never go back to the UK to live, haven't even been back for a holiday since we arrived here in 2006.
C'est la vie! I quilt at home now and my DM lives 5 mins away and has a quilt studio which I use with her, so we share knowledge, skills and ideas with each other and it is probably been the closest that we have ever been.
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