Simply Curious

I've always struggled with learning languages. Sure, I can count to ten in french and spanish, and say hello and goodbye and thank you and other basics, but my brain freezes after that. I am in awe of polyglots like my husband, who randomly interjects foreign words into his sentences and doesn't even realize it. I laughed when my french teacher expressed surprise when I said I struggled with language. School language courses are easy. Show up, pay attention, do the work, and if you get confused, do a web search for exercises in the topic and practice. Fake the rest. I managed to get through my french oral presentation by creating a complicated powerpoint presentation that was so detailed that it was all the teacher could talk about for the next ten minutes. (I'm sure she never noticed I was shaking, stuttering, and reading off the cards because she was watching my hot air balloon graphic bouncing around the screen.)

I've completed the language requirements for my program, and feel disappointed. I haven't learned enough! Things haven't sunk in. I'm missing bits. I am not the least bit confident of being able to carry out a conversation in french. (Granted, it's possible this is entirely due to my inability to carry out a conversation in english.) It all went by so fast. I would have preferred more time to work it out and try to get that last bit to click.

I don't have to even worry about it any more. It bothers me. I took these courses and I didn't learn how to speak french! I acknowledge that there was always more I could have done. There's more I could still do, I suppose. X, Y, or even Z would make it easier, I just know it. Ah, well. I did the best I could, given the situation.

Drift� Ground Cover Roses — The Next Big Thing for Small Gardens

These are the roses we planted in our front yard. They're supposed to be REALLY hardy. We'll have to see if we can kill them.

HAH! Found the lyrics again, finally. Posting them here so I don't lose them again.

Lyrics to La Ziguezon (AKA Hero):
M'en va t'à la fontaine
Pour y pêcher du poisson
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
La fontaine est profonde
Je m'suis coulé au fond
La ziguezon zin zon

Refrain
Fille en haut, fille en bas
Fille, fille, fille, femme
Femme, femme, femme aussi!
Pis la bottine - tine - tine
Pis le rigolet ha! ha!
| Son p'tit porte-clé tout rouillé, tout rouillé
| Son p'tit porte-clé tout rouillé gaiement (bis)

La fontaine est profonde
Je m'suis coulé au fond
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Par icitte il y passe
Trois cavaliers barons
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

Par icitte il y passe
Trois cavaliers barons
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Que m'donneriez-vous belle
Si j'vous tirais du fond?
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

Que m'donneriez-vous belle
Si j'vous tirais du fond?
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Tirez, tirez dit-elle
Après ça nous verrons
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

Tirez, tirez dit-elle
Après ça nous verrons
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Quand la belle fut à terre
Se sauve à la maison
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

Quand la belle fut à terre
Se sauve à la maison
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
S'assoit à la fenêtre
Compose une chanson
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

S'assoit à la fenêtre
Compose une chanson
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Mon petit coeur en gage
N'est pas pour un baron
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

Mon petit coeur en gage
N'est pas pour un baron
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Mais pour un homme de guerre
Qui a du pouel' au menton
La Ziguezon zin zon

I never expected to be married, so wedding gowns were never anything I paid attention to. All I knew was that I wanted my mother to make it, and it would probably have to be white and long. When the time came, I found myself doing a mad research rush on wedding dresses in order to figure out what I wanted. SO many gowns. So many websites. SO many ugly dresses. So few patterns.

In the end, we took my favorite, the Grace Kelly style gown by Maggie Sottero, found a similar pattern, and revamped it to our liking. Away went the odd sleeves and the awful victorian corset lacing, to eventually be replaced with translucent bell sleeves and rosettes. I found a rose embossed white fabric and borrowed a beautiful antique brooch. I left out the train so I would be able to dance with no problems. The bouquet was a rather large wrist corsage around my dedication bible.

A Paper Craft Castle On the Ocean � Tokyobling’s Blog