Franco Fridays: Windows, Chandeliers, and Mirrors

I definitely have to pinch myself to be reminded that, "Oh, my goodness, I was in Versailles this year."

I was at Versailles on a super-duper, busy, crowded day.  I just realized that the iPhone on the right is my husband's.  Everybody take a picture.  Is that room not gorgeous?  It's the royal chapel, I believe.

If you have a little patience, you can get a better shot.

I love that white stone and the gold accents.  Can't you see all the marquis and marquesses lining the walls in their fancy dress?

Even with all the beauty around you, don't forget to look up.

I loved those black and white tile floors.

Joan of Arc always makes me feel sad.

And broad stone staircases make me feel happy.

Apparently I also like window latches...and the views of the garden through the open windows.

By the time we went through the house and got into the gardens the fountains had been turned off, so I was glad I saw them from the window.

Not only were there beautiful windows, but magnificent doors and chandeliers abounded, too.  I don't think this decorating sense would work in my current home, but the French definitely have style.

Some might say it's a little ostentatious at times, but it is a palace after all.

Light passing through crystal is lovely, and it made the Hall of Mirrors enchanting.

I told you it was enchanting.

I usually have an Anne of Green Gables moment in places like this where I say, "That's one consolation of being poor...you have to DREAM all this up."

For many and varied reasons, I'm thankful that France and Versailles were part of my 2013. 

Reminiscing, a morning walk

I woke up this morning wanting to linger over a few pictures from our time in Cumbria.  I shared some small pictures while we were there, but the beauty deserves a little more detail.  We stayed the night with a sweet couple, and KJ went out to a men's prayer meeting with pastors in the area, while I went on a morning walk with our hostess.  I was excited when she mentioned a walk, because...well, it's just so very English. 

We had arrived in Cumbria after dark the night before so we didn't realize how beautiful of a spot we were in.  We walked out of her neighborhood and were greeted by grazing cows.

It was a really breezy morning with the wind coming in big gusts, a far cry from the 80 degree weather we'd left behind at home.

Once we got on the public footpath, I caught my first glimpse of the Hoad Monument, not knowing we'd have a chance to climb the hill later that day.  It took my breath away.  It's a really nice landmark for the town of Ulverston.

It was also one of those days when it vacillated between sunny and cloudy....aaannnddd I stepped in dog mess.  But I didn't let it get me down.

Ulverston used to be a busy port long ago, and we passed a canal that helps channel water from the bay.  There were still a few swans about.

By the time we reached Morecambe Bay it was dazzling in the morning light.  Everywhere you looked on this trip, you were blown away by beauty.

 Our new friend, Allison, on "her" bench

She said she felt a little "put out" when she found someone else there. :)

We watched a couple of trains go by that will eventually get you to London.

After enjoying the view for a bit we began the 20-minute walk back to the house and tea and a biscuit.

 

It was a pretty pleasant way to start a day.

A Thanksgiving Leaf Banner: Gettin' Crafty

Are there any other mothers out there who have sometimes felt like they weren't good mothers because they didn't do "crafts" with their kids?  For some reason, to sit down and color or organize opportunities to paint, create, or otherwise make something "crafty" epitomized being a good mom to me.  Maybe it's because I don't consider myself a natural crafter?  It's all kind of ridiculous, and I think I'm growing out of feeling like that, though it didn't stop me from feeling kind of proud of myself for doing a craft with Ella Saturday morning. ;)

I saw this glittery leaf project on Pinterest one night and thought it was pretty, and it made me excited to use glitter.  I also thought the kids would enjoy a glitter experience.  Who doesn't love glitter???  I was strangely looking forward to a big glittery mess.

The original crafters said they used a bag of artificial leaves from the Dollar Tree, which I was unable to find, so I ended up using Photoshop to create a template that I printed out on cardstock and used as a stencil.  You're welcome to download it and use it if you have any leaf projects up your sleeve this fall.

Ella and I traced and cut until we felt like we had enough, and then came the fun part:  glue and glitter.

We experimented with different ways of decorating the leaves.  Ella had the good idea of coloring them first so there was still some color showing through the glitter.  Some leaves got more glitter than others, but I don't think you can really mess it up.  Ella was hesitant at first about completely covering her leaves with glitter, but it grew on her.

 Pretty, Pretty

Part way through the project I decided not to worry about making a perfect banner for decor and to instead merge it with the desire to keep a record of the things we're thankful for this month.  I really liked the results:  a little bit of shiny and a whole lot of thankfulness in the heart listening to my kids give thanksgivings.  Maybe a little laughter listening to their thanksgivings, too.

I failed to take a picture of James' first thanksgiving with my good camera.  Here it is on Instagram.  I love that boy.

Fall Fun For Kids of All Ages

In between Ella and James taking turns being sick, we had a really fun and lovely day on Thursday.

We joined our church's school at the Rainey Ranch for some outdoor fun.  We all had a really good time, and as always, Ella's former classmates were all really excited to see her.  She usually gets mobbed when she arrives on the scene.

James enjoyed swinging and playing golf.  That little pro made about 5 hole-in-ones.  Golfing with Big Daddy is paying off.

Ella rode the horse and went on a hayride, and then we were excited to get to spend a little time with cousins in the afternoon.

She was blowing me away with her beauty on Thursday. I love seeing her happy and having so much fun.

Despite the threats of rain we got really excited about trick-or-treating Thursday night.  We decided it would be fairly easy to put together a costume for KJ.

 Guess who.

I'd travel through time and space with him.  That's for sure.  And maybe, with a little magic in the air Thursday night, just maybe we did.

Shall we have tea?

Most people associate the British with drinking tea, ourselves included.  But this past trip, actually being in the homes of English people we got to experience first hand the ritual of tea-drinking.

I read something in a book once about how it was something the English did when they didn't know what else to do, and our hostess while we were there brought up that very thing.  "You can always make a cup of tea."  No matter the situation, the crisis, the problem, you put the kettle on.  You sit down and figure it out over a hot cup of tea.  

Our host said he probably drank 8 cups a day.  You start the day with a cup, a mid-morning cup, a cup with lunch, after lunch, afternoon, dinner, at the close of day.  It really is a ritual.  It's calming.  It's a nice way to slow down in the middle of a hectic day.  And it's kind of an easy habit to pick up, though we're far from 8 cups a day.

This is the fourth Sunday in a row I'm missing the Sunday service at church. We were gone, I had nursery duty, Ella was sick, and now James is sick.  I treated myself to a slow start to the day that made me smile.

We also picked up the habit of topping off the top quarter of our cup with milk, something I never thought I would do, but I now love the creaminess of it.  It makes it even more of a treat.  This is actually a re-creation of an amazing chai I had in Paris.  Adding milk made it just right.

When it's brewing it smells like Christmas:  ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg.  Sweeten and add milk, and it's not a bad way to start another day home with a sick baby.  Not too bad at all.

"In everything give thanks..."

Franco Fridays: Headed to Versailles

It's been an entire month since my last post about our mission trip to France, but I'm picking up where I left off with our group on board a train to Versailles.  A portion of our trip was spent getting to know and spending time with teenagers in Parker's youth group as well as with people we met at the Polyglot on Tuesday night.  It's great when you can combine that with seeing something extremely historical and beautiful, too.

 This interaction made KJ and I laugh so much.

I made a comment about Yann's Hawaiian shirt, to which he replied,

"It's not Hawaiian; it's Retro Swag."

Very cool working clock

First glimpse of the palace at Versailles

I always get nervous about writing historical commentary, but I think what I was mainly imagining with my first looks was the anger of the mobs during the French Revolution and what they would have felt looking at this.

  Oh, Louis XIV, and all your extravagance...

But the sun did shine brightly on the palace of The Sun King, showing off its gold trim.

Evan's Elmo shirt at Versailles is suddenly making me shake my head.

Sweet, beautiful Reema

We were there at the start of a holiday weekend, and the crowds were intense, though it was much better when you got inside the gate.

It was really beautiful.  I love seeing the differences in architecture between different cultures.  Since it was my first time in France I was really paying attention to the "French-ness" of it all.

The blue and gold clock is pretty gorgeous, right?  It's a busy weekend around our house, so I've got to go teach reading, writing, and arithmetic, so the glories inside Versailles will have to wait until next week.  Happy Friday, everyone.