Ooohhh la la!

Last week we started a new project at my monthly patchwork course - "I ❤ Paris". It is a kind of tote bag and we are going to learn how to appliqué pictures, add different kinds of decorations and so on. I am going with the theme "I ❤ Paris" because our teacher has tons of ideas for it (and she's from Paris incidentally). Our task this month is to embroider a lamppost onto one of the panels and the Eiffel Tour on another, just to get the hang of the kind of needlework/stitching she wants us to do. Next lesson we will be adding in a panel with a photo on it (I still have to chose my photo) and she also asked us to find small snippets of fabric with a "Paris" theme to it to add later. Now a couple of the ladies have the same fabric for this with pictures of stiletto heels, leather handbags and so on, but do you think I could find anything similar? No, of course I couldn't. What I did find was fabric along similar lines except it was beach-themed - sunglasses, parasols, beach balls and so on. Yeah, yeah, I know, Paris isn't on the ocean so please don't tell anyone, but I think the little cutouts might be quite nice anyway so I'll just have to go with what I have.

In order to make this bag we had to pick out six different, coordinating fabrics. I am useless at this stuff as I really don't have an eye for colour, so I decided to nip down to Cluses to ask Lydie, my teacher, for help, with the proviso that she does not allow me to chose anything pink and green or orange and green or yellow and green! I love those colours so tend to gravitate towards them all the time but this time I wanted something different. Anyway, she did a great job and we picked out a really nice selection of strong, bold colours that are not green and something!  Actually her shop is a little Aladdin's cave for anyone who likes that kind of stuff (we don't have the same selection as in the U.S. or the U.K.). But, I totally forgot to look for the "I ❤ Paris" fabric so last Saturday I decided to run out to a local "chain store" fabric shop a bit nearer to me.

Mondial Tissus ("World Fabrics") exists throughout France (I believe) and is a kind of generic fabric store, as opposed to Lydie's Aladdin's cave where she really specializes with some beautiful (if expensive) stuff. Anyway, Mondial Tissus is located in a commercial area about 20 minutes from home - you know, the kind of place that houses every shop/garden centre/garage possible. The trouble is, since all the roads/roundabouts tend to look the same to me I tend to go shooting past the "Mondial" turn off..... except that I now have a fail-safe trigger - yes, it's the sex shop right next door! No kidding, they share the same parking lot - Easy Love and Mondial Tissus! Or I guess more correctly, Mondial Tissus has about six parking spaces and if they are all full you just walk round the corner and use one of the 50 or so Easy Love parking spaces! You can imagine the look on some of the little old grannies' faces can't you!

Actually, that right there could be a business opportunity - buy all your kinky gear in Easy Love then nip into Mondial Tissus and have your alterations done! Who said the entrepreneurial spirit is dead!

Now I don't know what got into me but as I was heading towards my car I thought "what the heck, why not", so decided to have a quick look in "the other place"! I have never been in a sex shop before and since I am technically an adult I talked myself into going in because "I have every right to go in this shop and no I'm not the slightest bit embarassed and don't I look like a woman of the world" kinda thing right! Well I went in and had to go up some dingy stairs that made it look a bit like a speakeasy. I got to the top of the stairs, took a deep breath, one good look around (still standing at the entrance) and dashed out of there. Honestly, I think I made more of a prat of myself by doing that than if I had just wandered nonchalantly around! Maybe next time! Actually, the first time I had ever seen a sex shop was when my sister moved to Copenhagen in 1979 and we went past a sex supermarket!!!! Can you imagine grabbing a trolley outside and filling that up. To be honest, what was I thinking - "oh I'll just buy these fluffy handcuffs and handcuff myself to the bed"! What a pillock!

So, moving seamlessly on, on Sunday I drove over to my son's to drop off some paperwork I had for him. As it was a lovely day I decided to take a trip out in the car afterwards to try to find the departure point for a hike up the Môle. It's not a particularly arduous hike (apparently) but there are several different departure points for it so I decided to try and find one of the them for the day when I get my act into gear and actually hike up it. I found it eventually and while I was up above the snow line there wasn't much snow and there were loads of people making their way back down it on such a glorious day.

The Môle is the smaller mountain on the left

Departure point for the hike

One of my goals for this year is to get out into the mountains more. Well, that and lose weight in time for the wedding. I had been really, really good last week, watching everything I ate and exercising every day, so on Sunday I weighed myself and was thrilled to see I was down 6 lbs from my starting weight. Problem was on Monday (weigh-in day) I was up 5 lbs!!!!! What the flip!!!! So I tried again today and I am down 3 lbs again! Crikey, talk about hormonal! It can be so discouraging, particularly as I have been so "good" but I have to keep the faith I siuppose, and in all honesty the exercise alone was making me feel wonderful anyway. Time to get the nose back to the grindstone I think. Actually, when my friend Steve was over at New Year we were both moaning about how unfit we had both become compared to when we met in Peru four years ago, so we have a bet that next time he comes over we are going to walk up the mountain behind me to the Chalet de Balme. It's not a particularly difficult hike but I guess you have to get started somewhere right?

Chalet de Balme

Let's see if I can put my money where my mouth is!