I know that! French Quiz – guessing closed

July 23, 2013July 29, 201315 Comments

Just a pretty day in the French countryside. Beautiful isn’t it?

Since you all seemed to appreciate the ‘easier’ quiz last week I thought I’d not stress you out too much this week. Just fill in these book titles with words you might associate with France. I’ll give you a bonus point if you give me the author too!

I hope that you’ll try your hand at my (mostly) bookish quizzes every week, but it’s okay if you just want to play when the quiz interests you. If you play you are eligible for a prize at the end of the round. For all of the details, click here. Submit your answers in the comment section – I will stop by and hide them throughout the week but try not to copy off anyone else You have til Sunday to guess.

No need to know all the answers, one guess and you’ll be eligible for a prize. No Googling

1. The Long Quiche Goodbye by Aames

2. I Am the Cheese by Cormier

3. The Elegance of the Hedgehog

4. Paris Trout by Dexter

5. How to Dine on Killer Wine by Warner

6. Champagne for One by Stout

7. Murder in the Bastille by Black

8. Anna and the French Kiss by Perkins

9. The Romance Reader’s Book Club by Cannon

10. Murder After a Fashion by Carroll

Answers to last week’s quiz here. Leaderboard here.

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway of The Doll by Taylor Stevens here.

Weekends with Gage – Caterpillar to Butterfly

July 21, 201314 Comments

This week Gage came home from summer camp with a little caterpillar he’d made out of a milk carton and he was so proud of it. When I say made I’m pretty sure he just put the green paint on, but he was excited about it. We do read The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle The Very Hungry Caterpillar so I thought it would be fun to make a butterfly to go with this caterpillar. My mom cut out some beautiful wings and I collected some things to glue and stick on. He was having a hyper day so I wasn’t sure how receptive he would be, but he saw the set up on the table and started saying butterfly and getting excited so I thought we had a chance. He lasted about 5 minutes, but that’s okay. He glued, stuck, and markered it up. My mom and I put the antennae and cotton bodies on after. Ta-da. Crafts are not his favorite thing so I’m going to have to think of something more active for this week.

the set up Those cardboard rolls in the middle were going to be our bodies until we went with something simpler)

Carefully placing a blue pom pom that he will try to move a few times.

Having grandma make one too was part of the fun!

And the finished product. Can you tell which one is Gage’s? I put his caterpillar above it as a hint.

There’s no butterfly here now but it would be the perfect place for one 😉 This was taken in a village in the French countryside. Sorry I don’t know which one.(courtesy of Bookbath)

Saturday Snapshot – Versailles

July 20, 201337 Comments

We took a train from Paris to Versailles. I want to say that it took about 45 minutes, but don’t hold me to that since it’s been a few years. When we arrived we started to walk over and were told that they weren’t giving tours that day because of the rain. We took our time and walked over anyway and were pleasantly surprised that the official looking lady by the train station had been wrong. The ‘home’ was over-the-top opulence as you would expect and the gardens were so perfect that even the intermittent showers couldn’t diminish them. I wish we’d had a whole, sunny day to discover all the nooks and crannies.

(don’t tell Jason I put this one in, okay?)

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy. It’s easy to participate – just post a picture that was taken by you, a friend, or a family member and add your link on Melinda’s site.

(courtesy of Bookbath)

French Milk by Lucy Knisley

July 19, 201317 Comments

French Milk. Finished 7-17-13, rating 3.25, graphic memoir, 193 pages, pub. 2007

Celebrating her mom’s 50th birthday and her own 22nd, Lucy and her mom decided to visit Paris together for a month. They rented an apartment in the fifth arrondissement and started touring the city in January of 2007 and this book is her travel journal. Lucy, attending the Center for Cartoon Studies, showed her skills in this graphic novel.

I was drawn in right away by her humor and the way she told her story. The photographs that were interspersed with the drawings made it feel more personal. I felt like I was on the streets of Paris stopping in cafes and drinking lots of wine and eating lots of cheese and bread. Her quirkiness was refreshing and I love the idea of doing something so fantastic with your mother.

She lost me a little bit about halfway through. She became whiny and it was hard t o feel sympathy for her when she complained of missing home. One month in Paris is such a wonderful gift! I know I am saying that as a 40 something and Lucy had not yet turned 22, so maybe that was the problem. I probably wouldn’t have appreciated it as much at 22 as I would now. After she recovered from that mood the book became more about what they ate and where when I wanted more story.

Overall, this is a short, easy to read travel journal. I think it would be a perfect read for anyone planning to travel there. It’s perfect to get restaurant and shopping ideas., but for me it didn’t deliver enough about her relationship with her mother, and that’s what I was expecting.

This was from my personal library.

Traveling down the Seine. (courtesy of Bookbath)

Scrambled France Quiz – guessing closed

July 16, 2013July 22, 201322 Comments

The last few Paris quizzes have been challenging, so I thought I’d make things a little easier this week. Just unscramble the titles of these classic novels set in France. I chose them because I think you’ll recognize them all!

Just for some extra help here are the authors who wrote them-Camus, Hemingway, Dickens, Hugo, Collette, Dumas, Leroux

I hope that you’ll try your hand at my (mostly) bookish quizzes every week, but it’s okay if you just want to play when the quiz interests you. If you play you are eligible for a prize at the end of the round. For all of the details, click here. Submit your answers in the comment section – I will stop by and hide them throughout the week but try not to copy off anyone else You have til Sunday to guess.

No need to know all the answers, one guess and you’ll be eligible for a prize. No Googling 🙂

1. IIGG – Gigi by Colette

2. A EALT FO OWT TIIECS – A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens

3. HET HETER EEESTRSKUM – The Three Musketeers by Dmas

4. EEAMMD VRYBOA – Madame Bovary by Flaubert

5. ELS SABLEMISER – Les Miserables by Hugo

6. TEH COTNU FO ONETM SITCRO – The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas

7. HET BACKHHUNC FO NOTER DEAM – The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Hugo

8. ETH TOMANPH FO HET PRAOE – The Phantom of the Opera by Leroux

9. HET UNS SLOA ISERS – The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway

10. EHT RTSANGRE – The Stranger by Camus

Answers to the last two quizzes (French Actors) (Eiffel Tower)

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway of The Doll by Taylor Stevens here.

For some reason I loved this image. This was one of our hotels in Paris, the rooms were beautiful. (courtesy of Bookbath)

The Doll Giveaway!

July 15, 2013July 15, 201312 Comments

So, I was able to spend some time with Taylor Stevens, the author of the Vanessa Michael Monroe series, last month and brought home a new, signed hardcover copy of the latest in the series, #3. I decided to give it away this month since Taylor assured me that France is in the book 🙂 Although I haven’t read this one yet I can recommend this series for thriller lovers and those who love kick ass women.

The Doll (Vanessa Michael Munroe Series #3) The Doll, 2013

Haunted by a life of violence and as proficient with languages as she is with knives, Vanessa Michael Munroe, chameleon and hunter, has built her life on a reputation for getting things done—dangerous and often not-quite-legal things. Born to missionary parents in lawless Africa, taken under the tutelage of gunrunners, and tortured by one of the jungle’s most brutal men, Munroe was forced to do whatever it took to stay alive.
   The ability to survive, fight, adapt, and blend has since taken her across the globe on behalf of corporations, heads of state, and the few private clients who can afford her unique brand of expertise, and these abilities have made her enemies.
   On a busy Dallas street, Munroe is kidnapped by an unseen opponent and thrust into an underground world where women and girls are merchandise and a shadowy figure known as The Doll Maker controls her every move. While trusted friends race to unravel where she is and why she was taken, everything pivots on one simple choice: Munroe must use her unique set of skills to deliver a high-profile young woman into the same nightmare that she once endured, or condemn to torture and certain death the one person she loves above all else.
   Driven by the violence that has made her what she is, cut off from help, and with attempts to escape predicted and prevented, Munroe will hunt for openings, for solutions, and a way to strike back at a man who holds all the cards. Because only one thing is certain: she cannot save everyone.
   In this high-octane thriller for fans of Lee Child, Stieg Larsson, and Robert Ludlum’s Bourne trilogy, Vanessa Michael Munroe will have to fight fast, smart and furiously to overcome a dangerous nemesis and deliver her trademark brand of justice.

from Goodreads

Want to win a signed copy? All you need to do is leave a comment with your email address. I will count EVERY comment you leave on any of my posts this month as an entry. Just make sure you leave your email on this post so I know you want it. I’ll tally previous and future July post comments for the drawing. Open worldwide 🙂

Gage will draw a winner on July 31, so get to commenting 🙂

I bet the super heroine, Vanessa Michael Monroe, uses these sidewalk gas pumps! (courtesy of Bookbath)

Weekends with Gage – Gage and the Purple Crayon

July 14, 201317 Comments

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson is a book that I have loved sharing with Gage. It is all about imagination and that’s something I want to encourage in Gage. The fact that purple is his favorite crayon color and that there was a scary dragon in it made this an easy sell. It is a little long, but Gage makes it all the way through. I’d say It’s perfect for kids 2 1/2-5 and there are just so many activities to try with this one. I decided to let Gage make his own. book. Harold was armed only with a crayon, but Gage got stickers and a little help from mom.

For prep I folded 4 sheets of paper in half and then a sheet of white cardstock for the cover, collected purple crayons and stickers that could help with storytelling. We very loosely used some of the scenes from the book. Gage had fun even if I had to prod with the storytelling. I will do this activity again and each time prompt more from Gage so I have to provide less. I made the cover myself after he was done 🙂

the set up

what should I put on the road?

sometimes one crayon is not enough

and sometimes I needed help.

I’m feeling proud.

the final product I had so much fun with Gage I’m thinking of making one myself. I think this book is a must have for any kid. Harold’s that is, Gage’s isn’t for sale!

There’s a little bit of purple in here :(courtesy of Bookbath))

Saturday Snapshot – Lyon

July 13, 201321 Comments

Lyon is the second largest city in France and its beautiful. These were all from our 2010 trip. Ever been?

(courtesy of Bookbath)

Fave Film #46- Chocolat

July 12, 201317 Comments

(2000)

Cast-Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina, Lena Olin, Johnny Depp

Vianne and her daughter, Anouk, are travelers. In 1959 they blow into a small, devout village in France and open up a chocolate shop at the beginning of Lent. This angers the mayor and moral leader of the village and the two struggle against each other for their place in the community.

Why I Love It– There are so many things I love about this movie, but the thing that stands out the most is the mysterious and mystical storytelling. It is magical realism with a message. A story of the good (the godly followers) and the bad (everyone else) it was told in such a lavish way that it wasn’t the same, stale story we’ve seen before. There is whimsy but it also gives you something to think about.

I thought the casting was perfect. Juliette Binoche was perfect as Vianne. She was kind but almost eager to stir the pot. The glint in her eye let you know that things were not as calm as they seemed. And Judi Dench was flawless as usual. I’ve seen Alfred Molina in many movies, but this is the role I usually associate him with in my mind. And, Johnny, oh sweet, sweet Johnny. He is a sexy man ‘cleaned up’ as a river rat. His subdued performance was a change from some of his more flamboyant roles and he worked well with Juliette.

And the chocolate…oh the beautiful chocolate! It made me want to go out and buy some handmade works of art. Vianne liked to guess people’s favorite chocolate and I like to think that she would have chosen her hot chocolate for me.

There is beauty on the screen and in the movie’s message. I can’t say that the message of tolerance didn’t have its problems but I found them easy to overlook. I was too busy looking at Johnny and the chocolate to care 😉

Even though the movie was set in a fictional French town I can see Vianne setting up shop here, in the Montmartre area of Paris.

(courtesy of Bookbath)

Rainy Paris in July

July 11, 20139 Comments

It’s rained here every day for the last 16 days and yesterday I even had to wake up Gage from his nap to take him to the basement when a tornado warning rolled through town. When we visited France in 2010 our time in Lyon was perfect but Paris gave us more than one day of rain. Enjoy some gloomy pictures from around Paris and Versailles. Paris, even is the rain, was still beautiful.