Posts filed under 'Family and Friends'
Sunday was a beautiful day here in Toulouse, so I went and spent the afternoon fig and blackberry-picking with a couple of girlfriends. The fruit was deliciously ripe and we predictably succumbed to the temptation of taste-testing our fresh produce along the way.
The girls braved the stinging nettle to pick the best fruits, while I…
… admired how happy my feet are in the new Birkenstocks I bought a couple of weeks ago in Biarritz 
I came home with a huge bag full of figs that we would never have time to eat before they went bad, so I decided to try my hand at fig jam. I have no idea how it tastes yet though, because one recipe said I had to let it sit for 4 days in an airtight jar before tasting it… I’ll let you know!
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September 6th, 2007
If you read the Sunday Telegraph today, then you probably came across this article. (Click here for a larger view).
My mate Dan and his trusty sidekick Steve, recently completed the Mongol Rally 2007 in a $900 Suzuki (Stacey-Jane) they found on Ebay, accompanied by a Telstra touchpad phone (Touchy) as their mascot; they called themselves Team Touchy. The Mongol Rally, now in its fourth year, sets off from London’s Hyde Park and the goal is to arrive in Ulaanbataar, Mongolia. Rally cars must meet certain specifications to be eligible to enter, but once on the road the teams can follow any route they like to get to their final destination.
Dan and Steve were among the 150 teams to make to Ulaanbataar! It sure sounds like they had a most excellent adventure. Way to go, guys!
Check out Dan’s facebook and the Team Touchy website (linked above) for photos and details on the rally. Well worth a squizz!
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September 2nd, 2007
Today is my big sister Elise’s birthday Apparently she’s coming over to France around Christmas time. Can’t wait to see her!
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August 15th, 2007
My darling dearest uncle has been putting me to shame by updating his blog very regularly now. It’s nice to see though, and it’s good inspiration for me. What would also be good inspiration for me is … comments. So please feel free to leave your digital footprint!
The last two weeks have been absolute madness due to some big projects for work. I have pretty much spent every waking hour working, including weekends, and my life was literally put on hold. As a result I’ve been spending yesterday and today trying to catch up on all the Christmas organising. Well, mainly the gift shopping. The next two days will be spent taking care of administrative and official type stuff so that the new year can be started with a clean slate.
One blog that I read regular is that of Moby… yes, THE Moby. Sometimes he goes on a little too much about political subjects for my liking, but I persevere all the same because I like the way he relates to the world. Anyhow, one thing Moby is fond of is lists. So perhaps for today’s post I too will try a list:
a - I’m not posting a photo tonight. I was going to, but I changed my mind… sorry!
b - Speaking of photos, I went back through some of my archives a little while back and I have some major cleaning up to do now that it’s been stripped bare of all the images thanks to the server meltdown
c - Also on the subject of photos, Remi has been doing a lot of portrait shots of people lately and some of them are really beautiful. Let’s hope he gets an album online soon so that I can show you
d - Feeling really creative lately and finding lots of inspiration. Which brings me to a great quote I read tonight on another blog I check out from time to time:
We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing.
Action always generates inspiration.
Inspiration seldom generates action.
Frank Tibolt
e - If like me you are feeling creative, a great blog to check out is whipup. It’s a highway to craft heaven!
f - If you are feeling creative and are having kids over for Christmas, kids that will need entertaining, then Kiddley is the place to visit for some great ideas. Makes me wish I had kids around! The last time I did something creative with a kid was in March-April when I did some origami with Annie and Rani. It was awesome. Craft with kids is highly recommended.
g - Tonight I followed the one-minute rule you can find here. That blog is one of the latest additions to my little favourites list… lots of things to develop awareness about our own behavioural patterns, tips and quotes. Worth a little visit from time to time. And the one-minute rule works great if you can remember to apply it.
h - I had a few other things to say, but I’ve forgotten them :/
i - I’m going to open a serious can of whoop-ass on blogger if it doesn’t stop misbehaving. What’s the point of changing stuff that isn’t broken, just so the newer version is full of bugs. And they changed my damn template!
So that’s about it for my list tonight. The Christmas cards are done and sent. The Christmas shopping is almost done and was near painless… so bring on the fat man and all that food!
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December 17th, 2006
Ok, so as far as comebacks go, that attempt back in September was pretty lame. I’m sorry for that. It’s just that no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t bring myself to update my blog. I had a blog identity crisis. I think I’m still in said crisis, but I feel guilty enough today to actually put fingers to keyboard.
The above photo was taken a couple of weekends ago, at Remi’s aunt and uncle’s lovely house about 2 hours drive away from where we live. You should be able to see the picture full-size by right-clicking on it and selecting “display image” or some such thing (sorry, I use a French version of Windows since I replaced my hard drive, and I can’t remember how the option is worded in the English version).
Lately things have been good and bad, up and down, but this week things have been mostly good… very good even. Firstly, after a few meetings with an advisor I have decided to take the plunge and declare myself freelance - a complicated administrative process here in France, one that requires serious consideration considering the risks and fees you are faced with when you take such a plunge. So in January I should officially be a “freelance” translator, totally independent and self-reliant. YIKES!
This has meant getting motivated in several ways, doing a lot of research, developing different character traits, learning to talk about myself, promote myself, ask for help… it’s been challenging and worthwhile and the process will no doubt be long. Still, when I am not full of self-doubt I really enjoy what I do. So some people apparently aren’t clear on what I do. I translate, mainly from French to English but sometimes from English to French. I mostly work on marketing texts or trade press copy, which means I get to be more creative in my work. I get to write, I get to proofread, I get to adapt and summarize texts, sometimes I even get to re-write them… all of which I love doing. So that’s it in a nutshell, for more info you can visit my professional site at natasha-dupuy.com.
When my work appears in a magazine, I usually get sent a copy of it. This week I received the latest, and was surprised to find that practically the whole issue is made up of articles I have translated over the past few months, and they all happen to be articles that I am happy with. The issue looks great! Remi’s not allowed to touch it lest he accidentally crease a page or leave a greasy fingerprint behind 
So that’s one of the things that happened that made this week a good week. Another is that Monday I got to attend my first meeting of an English creative writing group in Toulouse. Yes! I finally found one! It was so great. We are to meet every two weeks for a couple of hours, and we even get homework to go away with so that we have something to work on in between meetings and to share and discuss at the next get-together. I’m very excited
Another good thing: I FINALLY got through to the Spanish teacher I’ve been trying to reach for a couple of months, and so next Wednesday night I will be attending her class for the first time. Apparently I am making good progress just by attending the Spanish conversation group once a week, but that progress is not enough for me so I am looking forward to doing more work in that area.
Another good thing: Wednesday night I was invited to a friend’s reading group. A lovely bunch of people open to exploring different styles and genres, but not too intellectual and deadly serious about the whole affair, so it all ends up quite pleasant. Discussing a book over a yummy crepe… there are worse ways to spend an evening once a month or so!
And last but not least: About a year ago I had posted a message on this blog, stating that I was looking for some old childhood friends I had lost touch with after leaving New-Caledonia for Australia. In doing so, I was hoping that one or more of them would “google” themselves one day and happen upon my post. Well… it’s happened! A little while ago I was contacted by one of the people I had been searching for over the years. It’s such a nice feeling to reconnect with your past and with people who really marked your life in a big way. We exchanged a few emails and photos, and a couple of days ago she called me on the phone. It was so great to hear her voice. Fate would have it that she left New-Caledonia last April and is now living in… France!
About 1.5 hours drive away from Lyon, which is where we will be spending Christmas again this year! So she has invited Remi and me to stay for a couple of days while we are up that way. I will get to see her again, catch up on all those years, and meet her fiancé!
So today, right on cue to remind me that life is not all pleasure and happy tidings, I am having a flare-up that has left me unable to work all day. I also found out my latest text is to be finished to a really tight deadline which will have me working through the weekend… oh well, you know how the ol’ song goes “you take the good, you take the bad, you take ‘em both and there you have… the facts of life”
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December 1st, 2006
I realise I have not been updating my blog regularly for some time now and I probably should provide an explanation. The gap between February and April is explained by my 5-week impromptu trip to Australia to spend some time with my Mum and make her birthday this year all the more special. I probably won’t really write about that, though you will eventually get to see some photos.
The gap between my return on April 9th and today is due to my concentrating on getting constructive projects off the ground and a considerable amount of work done.
I am currently working on the finishing touches of my new-look personal website, so hopefully that will be up within the next few days. Part of those finishing touches involves getting all the photo galleries up to date and that is a huge task since the presence in my life of a great digital camera!
This morning I was looking up how to say “parapente” in English (I found it: paragliding) and as it turns out this sport qualifies as an adventure sport, though it doesn’t seem it to me. Is adventure sport the same as extreme sport? Anyhow, trusty old Google led me to an A to Z guide of adventure sports, a couple of which triggered a raised eyebrow or a quiet “What the…?!”. Check this out:
Extreme Ironing: the list description is “The world’s newest adrenalin sport. Combines the thrills and spills of your favourite extreme activity - be it rock climbing, surfing, snowboarding or whatever - with the rosy glow and sense of self-satisfaction that only a razor-sharp crease in your slacks and neatly-pressed lapels can provide.” I mean is the world really that short on thrills?? I still don’t really understand the concept, but if you’re game to find out more you can visit their website.
Fly by wire: “Oh my god! James Bond eat your heart out. Imagine being strapped to a rocket pack and propelled around a mountain. I shall repeat that… Imagine being strapped to a rocket pack and propelled around a mountain. I cannot do it justice, you should visit the site and watch the videos.” So H, there’s something for you to try out on your next ski trip to NZ.
Free fall: “Falling out of an aeroplane is not always an accident, you can actually pay to do it. From the moment you jump your body will accelerate at about 10 metres per second until you are approximately travelling at 120mph. This speed is dependant on how long you are in free fall. Then hopefully your parachute opens and you can slow down a little before hitting the ground.” Sounds great! I’ve always wanted to fall out of an airplane, where do I sign up?
Rap jumping: “This is basically abseiling, except with a little more adrenalin. You launch yourself off a cliff, facing downwards but attached to a rope. When you start to get close to the floor you use the rope to decelerate your self, hopefully with enough time to spare.” Facing downwards, Geezus! Apparently you can learn more about it here.
Or you can go for Tank Driving, some particularly strange activity they call Vindaloo which I believe is just the morning after a very hot curry but I can’t confirm that because the site link leads nowhere, or you could even try Wadi Bashing - it sounds like you go around bashing Pakistanis or Middle Easterns, but that’s not it , or Zorbing!
Well there you have it… choose your adventure. I think I’ll just stick to learning to ride a bike and drive a car for the time being, both of which I am doing at the moment
BTW… the above quotes were pulled from the A-Z list located here.
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May 13th, 2006
Is it completely wacky to think that my dead grandpa used the frogs in the pond across from my place last night to show me that he is still around and with me?
I was thinking about him and about the whole life after death thing when in my head I asked him to manifest himself - quickly asking him straight after not to freak me out by showing up in the dark as a freaky blue ghost. As I finished my request, the frogs across in the pond started going nuts. In my head I said “if that’s you, make it louder”. That very second it got much louder for a couple of seconds then quietened down again. I said “if that’s REALLY you, do it again”. And again the noise level went up considerably for a couple of seconds, until I said “ok stop it, you’re freaking me out now” and everything stopped.
I have had a couple of experiences in the past (not with my grandpa) that were much more straightforward than this - I mean that made it hard to leave room for any doubt. Freaky every time, mind you. But this time I thought, would it be so implausible since my family has always called me Froggie? maybe that was just his way of getting the message across?
Anyhow, I’m kind of… well not kind of, I’m REALLY interested in hearing any stories of “supernatural” stuff that you may have experienced. Don’t be shy!
If you’re too self-conscious to write the stories in the comments, you can email them to me at tash dot fizzylight dot com
Hasta la vista!
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April 23rd, 2006
Doing the madison at Remi’s grandma’s 80th birthday party
A little more pensive on the train home…
Sorry about the rather lengthy bout of silence, but there seems to be quite a lot going on right now. Some good news though… I have my first official, legal translation contract: a 46 page document for a public administration whose name will look great on my CV. I got my first go at writing an official quote and contract for my services. Yikes!
The weekend before last, we set off by train to Perpignan for 3 days to help Remi’s grandmother celebrate her 80th birthday. On the way there I saw pink flamingoes in the wild for the first time ever. Apparently they are pink because they eat shrimp.
In Perpignan I finally got to meet Remi’s aunt from Vancouver: Micheline. Lovely woman
At a party full of geriatrics I let loose on the dancefloor and busted a couple of madisons and paso dobles before sitting down to a dinner of about a hundred pigs :/
Other than all that I’ve also been working on a genealogy project that will eventually involve the greater part of my family. It’s a pretty huge undertaking but very rewarding so far!
What else can I tell you… Oh yeah… I ate crumpets!! real ones! My friend Anne scooted over to Bristol for a week and brought me back crumpets :) Thanks Anne!
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February 21st, 2006
This is what we saw outside our window when we woke up this morning! Snow everywhere, you’d almost think we were back in Canada! Ok it’s still a pretty thin coating in comparison, and the snow is pretty slushy, but still… when it’s something you don’t expect to see here after average winter temperatures of about 10 degrees during the day, it’s a lovely sight to wake up to
So yesterday I had to check myself into the day hospital for my full day of tests and I must say I was pleasantly surprised to have been very well looked after. If that is what being in a French hospital is always like, they certainly have got something right. First I checked into my room and read for a while until the nurse came to take liters of blood from me for various tests, and also to insert an IV drip. Then a man came with a wheelchair to wheel me down to get my CT scan done. The iodine injection is a very weird sensation, you feel all hot all over as if you’re having an allergic reaction and then you feel like you’ve peed your pants. Luckily the nurse explains all this to you beforehand so you don’t freak out. Then it was off to X-ray for x-rays of my wrists, hands, feet, ankles, knees, hips and shoulders. Then back up to my room where a lady brought me some breakfast. Then the most amazing thing happened… my doctor actually came to check on me! In Australia when I was in for emergency gall bladder removal I think it took 3 days to see my doctor, so you can imagine how surprised I was yesterday.
After that it was nap time and lunch time, believe me IV drips and injections etc can really knock the wind out of you. At about 1.30 a really nice ambulance driver came to get me to transfer me to another hospital for my lung function tests. The lady who did the tests was really nice too… Bah! I guess everyone was really nice yesterday… She could see that I wasn’t totally comfortable with the whole idea of having my nose blocked and being locked into a tiny glass cubicle, having to blow in and out of a tube that cut my oxygen off intermittently. It wasn’t very pleasant, but the results were great. Apparently my lung function and capacity are above average for my age, height and weight. She thinks that any problems I might have with breathing on occasion would be caused by a lack of endurance since I don’t really do any sport anymore.
So then I got picked up by another ambulance and brought back to the first hospital to be given last instructions and to check myself out. That’s about where the bad news came.
The CT Scan shows nodules on my lungs. Now the trick here is to try not to panic but I think it came as a bit of a shock to Remi and me. Perhaps these nodules were there all along but only detected this time because of the iodine injection? My next specialist appointment is planned for March 10th but he may want to see me before that once he has seen the scan and other results. What I have to prepare myself for is the very real possibility of having to take steroids. I am hoping it doesn’t come to that though. I guess all we can do is wait and see.
So yesterday afternoon ended up being a little emotional and luckily we had a little soiree planned at a fellow Toulouse residing Aussie’s place for a little belated Australia Day celebration. We were greeted with flags galore, mini clip-on koalas, Slim Dusty, licorice bullets, Anzac biscuits, snakes, lamingtons… and Tim-Tams!! And a good time was had by all
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January 28th, 2006
Every couple of days I read through the Sydney Morning Herald headlines to catch a glimpse of what is going on back home. Lately, as reading the SMH becomes more and more like watching Fox News, I have been wondering why I even subject myself to this torture. It gets me so mad I wish I could just jump through my monitor and strangle the idiot who writes this crap. For example today - Once again, Schapelle Corby has made it into the headlines, this time thanks to the arrest of her brother. Now not only is the article completely geared toward making you think that Miss Schapelle Corby is po’ white trash, but in this issue her mother gets a hiding as well with said article finishing with the following statements:
“Kisina is one of two children Corby’s mother had with Tongan-born James Kisina.
Ms Rose has six children from three relationships.”
I mean…what the?? Objection your Honour!! Relevance???
In other news today, confirmation has arrived that Flippa and Howie will be hopping over from London to spend a weekend here with us in Toulouse!! Can’t wait! (Just for clarification, Flippa is a Kiwi and Howie (Huw) a Welshman… we discovered the Canadian Rockies together).
Terribly sorry about the lack of updates over the last few days. I had some technical problems with the site (DNS changes as usual!), was in a mad rush with a last minute translation sent to me on Friday afternoon and due COB Tuesday. Wednesday morning I had a job interview which really didn’t go well but hey, let’s not dwell on that. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger right?! RAAAAAAAR!
Oh and we would also like to welcome Henry to the blogosphere
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January 19th, 2006
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