LE CHAT BLEU

First photos with my new digital reflex (Nikon D50), at a gourmet chocolate shop in Lille.

THE ACCIDENTAL MARATHON

Some shots from that 'accidental' 50 round trip cycle around the Baie de Somme, including the Parc de Marquenterre

SUMMER MELT

wtf?
Originally uploaded by Nyx.

Hats for Dogs

Hello digital internauts! Been a while, but my lazy ass bone has been playing up again.

So, y'know, it's been hot. And if it's not the heatwave, the hezbollah or Zidane's headbutt it's not news. And heat means a couple of major changes here in France - first is the transformation of old people into sort of geriatric houseplants (have you misted Madame Tartempion yet this morning?), the second being the bone melting epidemic amongst small dogs transforming them into a canine rag mutts.

This weekend past was July the 14th, which, like most historical celebrations in any society around the world, means a chance to drink more alcohol. I went to some northern beaches in the pas de calais region, soaked up the faux tudor and tacky souvenir shops, watched dogs get carried and witnessed some nightmarish toddlers face meets chocolate icecream incidents.

DAY OF HAPPY

Someone has calculated that today - the 23rd of June - is the happiest day of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere at any rate). And I'll have you know that I spent this allegedly momentously joyous day on active mold duty as this apartment (told you I'd complain about it eventually) tries to pass itself off as The Best Little Sporehouse in Texas.

THAT'S MORE LIKE IT...

I'm eating a Tim Tam, it's pretty good.
I've been back about 4 days now, slowly getting back into the rhythm of the tropical lifestyle and changed time zone. Mostly recovered but still getting up insanely early. But that's also partly because around the equator the sun has pretty much only 2 states - set and up. The intermediate dawn business lasts about 10 minutes.

HOUSEWARMINGS

Current view of our internal courtyard - it's coming along gradually, and has finally evolved slightly beyond the the three primary colours of moss, putty and cement by some orange marigolds and an ornamental kumquat given to us as a housewarming present. Crossing fingers that it doesn't turn up its leaves and die within the first month (considering my criminal track record with nursery plants that are any older than 6 months and retail for anything over 20 euros  - just ask my recently departed ficus). It's only because they load them up with chemicals and grow them in perfect hermetically sealed greenhouses (i.e. their 'ideal growing environment' or some such rubbish), so that the minute you put them into the real growing world (where they might get too over or under enthusiastically watered, the pollution diluted stuff filtering through the dirty window doesn't actually count as light, and there's dust clogging up their stomatas), they just go and die ungratefully on you.