The French Factrice

Braille Letter "W'

I'm learning braille and noticed the the letter 'w' doesn't have a logical dot position in relation to the other letters. Apparently the letter was added later in 1914 by Americans. Louis Braille didn't encode the letter when devising his ingenious tangible alphabet in 1821 because the letter didn't exist yet in French dictionaries!

Canary Island HIstory

Twittering little canary birds are obviously named after the Canary Islands. But the island's name came from the Latin canariae insulae which means 'islands of dogs.' Apparently the island's inhabitants all owned ginormous tail - waggers! It was originally an island famous for being full of fidos and not birds!

The Cat's Out of the Bag

In medieval England, piglets were sold in the open marketplace. The seller usually kept the pig in a bag, so it would be easier for the buyer to take it home. But shady sellers often tried to trick their buyers by putting a large cat in the bag. If a shrewd shopper looked in the bag - then the cat was literally out of the bag. That is where the expression came from!

Dog Tired

Dog tired is an old English phrase. It derives from an old tale of Alfred the Great who used to send his sons out with his extensive kennels of hunting dogs. Whichever of his sons, be it Athelbrod or Edwin, were able to catch more of the hounds would gain their father's right hand side at the dinner table that evening. These chases would leave them 'dog-tired' yet merry at their victory!

Jour des Crêpes

The Catholic holiday of Candlemas, on 2 February, is a feast to commemorate the purification of the Virgin Mary and the presentation of baby Jesus. In France, this holiday is called la Chandeleur, Fête de la Lumière, or jour des crêpes.

Not only do the French eat a lot of crêpes on Chandeleur, but they also do a bit of fortune telling while making them. It is traditional to hold a coin in your writing hand and a crêpe pan in the other, and flip the crêpe into the air. If you manage to catch the crêpe in the pan, your family will be prosperous for the rest of the year!
french vintage postcard

A Bouquet of Lily of the Valley for the Ozark Madieval Fortress

I just can't stop tooting The Ozark Medieval Fortress' horn! I blogged about the ingenious project here. The stone stronghold of the past is set to open on May 1st! Here's an illustrated aerial view of this momentous undertaking.

I stumbled upon the little beut of a vintage postcard at an open market in Toucy, France. Isn't it just perfect for announcing the starting date of the unique medieval construction site? The scented lily of the valley is considered to bring luck! Here in France we give small bouquets of the delicate blossom to friends and family on May Day. Bonne Chance to you Ozark Medieval Fortress!

Be sure to visit the official Ozark Medieval Fortress Site at:

http://ozarkmedievalfortress.com/

ozark medieval fortress

Rainbows, Arkansas, and the Ozark Medieval Fortress

The etymology of the word 'Ozarks' is a subject of speculation. It has been suggested that it's a linguistic corruption of the French "aux arcs-en-ciel," which means "toward the rainbows" Apparently the spotting of Roy G. Biv* is quite common in the mountainous regions of Arkansas. I'll surely see one when I visit the Ozark Medieval Fortress!

* Roy G. Biv - This stands for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. That's how I was taught to memorize the order of the colors of the rainbow in school:)

Be sure to visit the official Ozark Medieval Fortress Site at:

http://ozarkmedievalfortress.com/

french vintage postcard rainbow

The Ozark Medieval Fortress

I just scribbled the phonetically misspelled US state of Arkansas onto my bucket list! The 25th state of the union is home to the ingenious Ozark Medieval Fortress project! The rugged Proterozoic mountain range, extensive underground cave systems, world class trout fishing, sparkling lakes and streams, abundant wildlife, famous fiddlers, quilt makers, and tall tale story telling were enough to lure me to vacation in AR. But the fact that a stone medieval CASTLE using 13th century tools and techniques is being built has convinced me to hop on a plane and visit the "Natural State!" Here is a selection of the "medieval" artisans in action courtesy of the Ozark Medieval Fortress Facebook fan page.

The burly resident blacksmith forges every tool, nail, chain, etc. used on this astounding medieval construction site.

Each quarried stone is shaped by hand using a mallet and chisel and then put into place on the 6 foot thick castle wall.

All materials are transported via horse and cart. Isn't this image simply postcard perfect? Every imaginable task is accomplished by hand, from scratch and with passion! Historians, archaeologists, castle lovers, and laymen alike will be watching as the walls of this unique stronghold mount. I can't wait to visit! Don't hesitate to visit their informative website at: http://ozarkmedievalfortress.com.
ozark medieval fortress large letter vintage postcard curt teich

IKEA and Clumsy Omelet Chefs

I can relate with this all-thumbed, undexterous, butterfingered, maladroit, graceless girl who dropped her eggs! The card reads,"Ah! That's a funny omelet!" I hopped over to IKEA to replace all of the glasses that I've broken lately. I decided to give a palette of 12 glasses a good home and... slip...slop... I dropped them all!

Omelet!

This grumpy gus is collecting eggs for an omelet.When Swedes want a smile for the camera, they say "omelet," which gives a decidedly more subtle and less radiator-grill-like result than when saying "cheeeeeeese." Zut! Now I'm hungry.

french vintage postcard collecting eggs

God Save the Queen

Here's a glimpse of a London in retro postcard form to go along with these snazzy Union Jack chucks I just found online. I must have this flag footwear!

I always assumed that the name 'Union Jack' was a fond and very specific nickname for the British flag. But apparently flags have been called 'Jacks' since the late 1500's. It's was a generic term denoting any bit of cloth flying in the wind! Yep. I'll be humming 'God Save the Queen' as I strut around in these babies.

Thank You Librivox!

I found a fabulous free audiobook resource! Volunteers over at Librivox.org read and record books books that are in the public domain. The selection is endless and also includes foreign language texts. Books in French, Urdu, Ancient Greek, Church Slavonic, and Tagalog (I've never even heard of that one) are all up for grabs in MP3 form.

I'm currently reading, listening, and bumbling through 'La Femme de Trente Ans' by Balzac. It's a big help to hear the pronunciation of each and every word. I'm hoping that some of the vocabulary will get stuck in my wee brain:) Have fun!

librivox.org

That Old Chestnut

This little lady from the Limousin region of France is busily cracking open chestnuts. I often make bread with chestnut flour. It's naturally sweet and doesn't grow stale as quickly as a baguette. Chestnuts are also surprising bursting with vitamin C!

Chestnuts used to be a common food staple in the United States until the chestnut blight fungus of 1904 devasted the population. 4 billion American chestnut trees died within 40 years. That makes me want to plant a chestnut tree in my backyard!

The History of Tinsel

Tinsel in its modern form was invented in Higham Ferrers England in 1843, and was originally made of shredded silver.

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary the word is from the Old French word "estincele", meaning sparkle.

Back To the Salt Mines

The word 'salary' actually comes from the word salt. The Roman historian Pliny the Elder stated as an aside in his Natural History's discussion of sea water, that "[I]n Rome. . .the soldier's pay was originally salt and the word salary derives from it. . ."

Having a Snapping Good Time in Florida - Postcard Friday #46

Fossils from 3 brand new crocodile species were recently found in the ancient Sahara wetlands! The Rat Croc (silly name, eh?) was a rather smallish reptile. This 3 footer ate roots and grubs that he dug up with his bucktoothed lower jaw. These crocodiles walked on two legs rather than flat on the ground like their modern snappy cousins! Click here to read about the pancake, duck, and boar crocs! The full article is amazing.

Editor: This postcard features a large and in charge ALLIGATOR.

Marie: Picky! Picky!

Welcome to this weeks Postcard Friendship Friday! If you're visiting and would like to join in the fun we would be thrilled;) It's easy! All you need to do is:

1. Have a blast with this mail theme! Examples include: any type of postcard, a photo of a mailbox, mailman, a stamp image, postcard altered art, or simply a photo of something that you find 'Postcard Perfect' etc etc etc!
2. Link in with Mr.Linky at the bottom of this post
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what a blog party is all about!
4. Link back to the party from your post so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is talking about today! Please grab the badge if you'd like to add a bit of PFF colour to your post:)

Silver Shed Romance

Here's a bit of jelly to complement the peanut butter post! Silver Shred would be an odd J to add to your PB though. It's a finely cut lemon jelly marmalade. It's apparently good for your complexion and scrummy by the spoonful too. Isn't this a darling card? vintage postcard

Peanut Ointment and Jelly Sandwich

O Canada! Peanut butter was invented by Mr. Marcellus Gilmore Edson of Montreal, Quebec! He described his new product as having '' a consistency like that of butter, lard, or ointment.'' A peanut lard and jelly sandwich doesn't have quite the same appetizing ring to it. This food pioneer might get a kick out of knowing that the average American will have eaten 1,500 of the sandwiches before graduating from high school!

Phantom Metro Stations of Paris

This grainy vintage postcard is a rare find. The mustached gentleman is making his way down to what is now called a phantom metro (subway) station in Paris. The stop Saint-Martin was officially closed on September 2, 1939.

The phantom station was recently spiffed up by the Salvation Army of Paris, France. The homeless are sheltered in this antique setting during the bitter winter months. The station still has beautiful porcelain tile advertisements on the walls.

Hopefully warm soup and a bit of old world charm can bring a smile to their face!

Going Bananas for Stamps!

tongo banana stamp

Tonga was the first country to issue peel and stick stamps in 1969! They took the squareness out of stamp collecting by printing this banana shaped franking option. There is no lack of this elongated fruit on the islands or on their letters.

Tonga is the only surviving monarchy among the island nations of the Pacific Ocean. The late king (Tupou IV) was also listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the heaviest monarch in the world. He must have eaten a few too many bananas!