The best and most beautiful things in the world...

… cannot be seen, 

or even touched.

They must be felt with the heart.

Helen Keller

Science experiment #1 for kids, and kids at heart.

Do bubbles freeze???

Have you ever wondered that?

Wait till you see what other tricks I've got up my sleeve

 to get the messmonsters outside and breathing deeply 

in sub zero temps :)

Some of my OWN artwork nearly ready to post 

(not counting our recently constructed papier maché volcano!!)

Hope you're all set for a wonderful week.

And that you have made careful note 

to surround yourself with beautiful things.

Happy Birthday 

to my dearest Dad, 

my dear friend Patricia, 

and my god son Dorian

Finally got those Indian shots sorted out 

with stories to tell later in the week,

like being invited to be a 'second wife'

by the first wife!!. 

Now please excuse me, 

while I prepare myself for the rollercoaster ride school week

;)

Love to all

That's The (Human) Spirit ...

Are you all still here? More to the question, am I all here? 

If you remember rightly from Wednesday's post (what I hope was Wednesday's post as I'm clearly not here to check), I am currently galivanting around skiing and signing the final sale of La Fontiane, our house in Provence. All going well of course! And, skiing aside, between petrol strikes, incompetent real estate agents, bullying pseudo buyers and  very dodgy property lawers, to the eye of the average Ange, all is most certainly NOT going WELL! 

But let's not be pessimistic ;-) 

We're not BEATEN YET!

There is always a solution. One requiring resolve (even if I'm shaking on the inside I'm not meant to show it, right?), determination, stamina and  arming myself with large doses of a keen sense of humour, to this day not readily available over the counter in chemists across France. Meredy - can one administer your blog intravenously??? I have been asking myself this for the last week or so... Sigh. Not to worry! I have a secret weapon anyway. I have in fact spent the last few weeks incognito working on this piece...

 ...in order to steel my resolve and boost my will.
It is inspired by Helen Keller, sitting up there at the top of the page, a woman who continues to inspire the entire world through her example of staunch courage, integrity and resolve in the face of many odds (OK - we'll  choose to ignore her initial terrifying temper tantrums cos all kids go through them, and she never got any of Meredy's rainbow cake to help her feel better... n'est ce pas?).

As she (Helen, not Meredy) so astutely said:

No Pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars

Sailed to an unchartered land, or 

Opened a new Heaven

to 

 the

human

spirit

This is for Elizabeth Avedon, another inspiring and talented woman.

Now - full of optimisim - I say see you Samedi 

because all will, of course, be well!

'Now don't you worry about that my goodness gracious me ;-)'

PS I am surely missing your blogs immensely as you are reading this and will be back to dropping round as soon as I am home and equipped with an unfaltering and dedicated internet connection... In the old farm house at 1700m altitude, we are just lucky to have a heated room, a bathroom and lighting!

5 ways to a successful 2010 and a 100th post give-away game!

Ooh la la it's finally the 31st of December. A magic day that tips us over into the start of a new year full of possibility and and promise. Of course you've all got your 'tout doux' lists ready for 2010: me too!

But rather than bore you with my goals for the coming year and the other 1000 50  things I would like to accomplish in my lifetime (as I cross things off one end - the list grows at the other), I thought it would be more 'ME' to share with you 5 quotes that most inspire me and have done so for a number of years - all with a distinctly 'Ange does it in 2010' twist!

When you've finished reading my version ... you'll have a wee task to accomplish at the end. Are you ready? Let's LEAP!

1) Find your Passion and Do What YOU LOVE!

The trick to success is making your vocation your vacation

Mark Twain 

(photo from here)

2) TAKE CHANCES!

Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. 

You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps. 

David Lloyd George

(photo from here)

3) Be POSITIVE

No pessimists ever discovered the secret of the stars, 

or sailed to an uncharted land, 

or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.

Helen Keller 

(photo from here)

4) SPLURGE at least once OUTRAGEOUSLY!

"Anyone who lives within his means suffers from a lack of imagination" 

Lionel Stander ( photo from here)

Was that a bit too much for one year? I suggest we all...

5) TAKE REST! 

A field that has rested gives a beautiful crop 

Ovid

Now it's YOUR turn!

It's GIVE AWAY time... 

(or a 'fun' way to Give Back, as Laura says)

To take part all you have to do is leave a comment on this post giving an inspiring quote that moves you, tickles your fancy, makes you giggle, reassures you... and you will go in the prize draw.

What will you win? One of my 'positive planks,' which, as you know, are recycled from French wine crates, with your favourite words of wisdom, in your choice of colours (or as close as I can get to them) to suit YOUR home!

I will have One plank to give away - and two other smaller objects which I am still deciding on, and will share later on today when I am more awake: but all three will be hand calligraphed with each winner's respective favourite words.

The game is open to every one, in all countries with or without a blog and you don't have to sign up as a follower to be in either. I'd rather people hitched along for the ride with me because they like my work and my writing. But I'm big on including every one when it comes to games ... don't like people to feel left out!

For those of you who are nice enough or a wee bit crazy enough to have accompanied me this far, I'd be really thrilled if you'd grab my 'Signed by Ange' button below (a big thanks to Julie @ Being Ruby for the design she made from a few scribbles I had put down on paper - she's amazing!), put it on your side bar and link it to this post...

Hope you'll join me in the adventure!

May 2010 be an inspiring and giggle-full year for you all and your families...
Oh dear - it's 4.27am and I'm still here...
Bonne nuit
Ange xx

OOPS! I nearly forgot. I'll be drawing the winners on Saturday Jan 9th at dinner time with the kids. It's much more fun, albeit more work, to have the wee messmonsters gleefully drawing names out of a hat than doing the old 'random' machine... Although I know how to do it now n'est ce pas Julie ;-) And I will announce them in my Secret Sunday post... on Sunday Jan 10th.

... Bed? Bed? Where are you Bed? Oh I give up - I may as well make myself a cuppa and wait for the sun to come up!