A Time For Fish

Lucy, Otto and Clementine spent the day fishing in Loudet.  This was a great village event that they were invited to that includes fishing, apéritif and a huge French lunch.  Daddy put the little, wiggly maggot on the hooks for the children and away they went.  Otto’s buddy caught a fish soon after he put his pole in the water which motivated Otto to get fishing.  Lucy took her time.  When she finally found her spot, she stuck her line in and caught a fish within seconds.  Fishing to her became instantly gratifying and super easy.  Otto did not share her elation.  Many moves, an almost catch by mommy and an hour or so later, Daddy finally pulled out a flippy flappy fish for Otto.  Whew.  Minty held the pole for a few seconds then quickly ran off to play with Clair her buddy from school.  Whiskey / Muscat / Pastis (for the adults) and nibbles followed.  A giant kids table was filled with hungry little fishers, chips, sausages and melon.  Candies (les bon bon), more fishing, water fights, face painting.  The weather could not have been better.  This was a great way to kick off the last week of school and the beginning of summer break.

( more pics on flickr )

I should mention that the fishing guild damned up a bit of the river and loaded it with fish.  One fish had a tag on it for a special surprise. Near every fisherperson caught a fish or two.

Lucy Surprise

Fruit is abundant which means Lucy makes dessert.  While dinner is being made, Lucy scans the kitchen for ingredients and quickly runs off to her room to write down her recipe.  Tonight’s creation, Nectarine Mix, arrives in sprinkled glory with powdered sugar and a large Daddy-sized nectarine as a centerpiece.  She makes it on her little red plastic table in a nook so that no one can see what her surprise dessert will look like.  When dinner is done, the creation is reveled to her anxious fans.  Though she couldn’t find a candle to accentuate the yellow in the nectarines, dessert was a huge success at the Curtis household.

Recipe is as follows:

Necturine Mix (previously known as Nectur)

• 3 or 4 necturines
• 1 big plate
• 1 big spoon
• 5 bolles
• Daddy (that’s powdered sugar)
• Springels

Happy Father’s Day, Papa

Otto very proudly recited his poem for Brent and did it a second time for the camera.

Clementine’s French Beginnings

Minty’s has spent the last few months in school immersed in French. Father’s day in France is coming soon and the kids are practicing their poem. Minty is doing the bit she remembers. Towards the end, you can hear her say, “bonne fête papa!”

Cerises!

The cherries are here!!!  Lucy, Otto and Clementine went over the our neighbors house to pick cherries.  The tree was drooping with gorgeous, perfectly red cherries. Minty wore her best white dress for cherry picking.  After nibbling a bunch and putting some in the bucket, they went over to fetch the eggs from the hen house.  This was a particular milestone for Otto as he bravely picked up Ms. Broody Hen to collect the four eggs she was sitting on.  He was so proud, he moved Ms. Broody again to put her back in her spot.