I have nothing to declare...

Of course I'd like to be able to continue the title of this post with 'but my genius.' But that would be far too obvious. Worse! It would be plagiarism!

Perish the thought!

But it is a nifty, catchy expression, don't you think?

A hint of daring. A touch of 'up yours!'

'I have nothing to declare but my genius.'
MERVEILLEUX!

The Irish have the knack for witty, pithy expressions.

They can pull them off really well.

I remain unconvinced that, upon arrival at the  Roissy CDG airport in Paris, in front of the customs officers, it would have the same effect if I said, "Je n'ai rien a déclarer Messieurs, sauf ma génie!" They'd be rummaging through my Louis Vuitton luggage, hunting for a wee leprechaun in a bottle in the blink of an eye ;-) Or hauling me off under a suspecting stare.

They say the French have a certain 'je ne sais quoi.'

I reckon it's the Irish that have it hands down.

In any case, Oscar Wilde definitely did.

This piece is flying out to NZ.

I'm whizzing off to give English lessons to my messmonsters

I would love to start with the analysis of the above phrase, 

but I believe, in the hands of the messies,

it would be my undoing ;-)

 Une fabuleuse semaine à vous tous et toutes mes amis

Wine boxes, book boxes : Necessity is the mother of invention!

Eureka! The messmonsters' bedside tables are recycling history!
 It always seemed a shame to send all those gorgeous French wine boxes to the cinders but I was at bit of a loss as to how to use them otherwise.

Hurray for messmonsters then! No matter how much I tidied their room, there was always a pile of books on the floor next to the bed (not necessarily an indication that they were reading them but hey, there's always hope!)

Typical weekly scenario:

Me (with vaccy cleaner in hand) - Kids, would you please tidy your books into the book case?

Messmonsters - Sure Mum! Grumble grumble, but I'm playing.

Me - If the books aren't picked up in 5 mts I will vacuum them up! (hoping that the 5 year old wouldn't tilt)

Messmonsters - Get real The books won't fit up the vacuum cleaner Mum!

Me - (Not silly are they? Must be mine ;-)

After a quick visit to Bubble in Paris and a subsequent tour of Ethan's room - I spied a fabulous invention that would put paid to my nagging, tidy the books, and make vacuuming easier: THE BOOK BOX.

Recipe: 1 wooden wine box, 4 funky wheels, paint (non toxic obviously) an hour or so to throw the lot togther!

What do you think?

Lilibelle got pink but I just couldn't resisit a splash of orange in Pokémon's one!