La Belle Saison

Erm...

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:19:00 +0000

I've been trying to find the time to - I don't know why I haven't been able to - It's been a while since - Feck it. I've had the longest lasting writer's block known to man. Thanks to all you loyal subscribers for keeping the faith. Princesse Ecossaise will be back. I promise.

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Baby Shopping and Other Short Stories

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:40:00 +0000

Well it's been a crazy month what with my new job (which isn't so new anymore) and two sets of visitors during April - the first one being my mum and the second Zannie and her fiancé Venzo. There was a spot of drama as soon as our guests left for home because I was knocked for six with a case of the lurgy which, despite my protests that it was just a wee cold, scared the living daylights out of my loved ones who were all convinced I had caught swine flu. We get quite a few Mexican tourists at the Chateau de Versailles, you see, and my dad was having a hairy fit, telling me to wear hospital...

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My Royal Job

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:00:00 +0000

I've been working at the Château de Versailles for two weeks now and I must say, it's very surreal. Of course, I don't really have an office in the palace since I am merely a lowly caissiere / controlleur, but at times of calm throughout the day, I still find myself shaking my head in disbelief when I'm reminded that I, a 23 year old hailing from a tiny village in Scotland, am working in the Palace of Versailles. The irony that Princesse Ecossaise is now working in this royal château has not escaped me, either. What's more - and I know that this might change many expat's views of me but...

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Out of sight, out of mind

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:34:00 +0000

I don't want to be a baby about this but It's my birthday And no one From home Remembered. Only my Facebook Friends did. And that's because Facebook reminds them automatically. What has my life come to?!

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The Cosmetics Girl

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:19:00 +0000

I was taking my time browsing through the make up and perfumes in the duty free shop at Glasgow Airport, killing time while I waited for my flight back to Paris. The trip home had been seriously short - I'd only really had two full days in Scotland - but I'd done everything I had needed to do. I'd spoken to the priest about marrying us in his church, I'd viewed three venues for the wedding reception, had my highlights done and even managed to squeeze in a lunch with Zannie. It was hard to go back to France after such a whirlwind visit, but at least I was going home having made headway on...

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Next of Kin

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:16:00 +0000

Sitting in the office in one of the buildings at the Chateau de Versailles, I took my time filling out the employment form. From somewhere in the room I could hear a clock ticking - although there was no clock to be found on the walls - and I have always found the rythmical tick-tocking rather peaceful (except, of course, when I am late. Then it's stressful). I looked around at the other people in the room - my future colleagues - and with the exception of the guy with a cold sitting next to me breathing annoyingly loudly through his mouth, I liked the look of them. I looked back down at...

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Proof that cats will sleep anywhere

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:47:00 +0000

I came home the other day to find a furry present lying in a very awkward looking position on top of my clothes horse. Proof, indeed, that cats choose the most uncomfortable place they can and then insist on sleeping there.

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Scooting

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:26:00 +0000

I wasn't sure I even wanted a fold-up push scooter when FP drove me to the nearest Decathlon sports shop and guided me to the patinette display. There were boxes and boxes of them, different models, different sizes, wooden ones, metal ones, ones for doing tricks on and others acting as a means of transport. FP had heard enough of my complaining about the half hour walk to the gym and as if a light bulb appeared above his head, he had suddenly come up with the idea of getting me a scooter which would make the trip more appealing. Less expensive than a bike, yet quicker than walking, he was...

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Mean Kitty

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:40:00 +0000

Another video that had me in fits of laughter. Check out this vid with lyrics below and if you have a kitty I'm sure you'll be laughing your socks off too. I can reeeeeally relate to this song, Ollie is just like Sparta, we call him Hell Cat because he loves to cause so much chaos! In the nicest possible way, of course. And doesn't the guy in the video look just like a certain Mr Newton that frequents this blog? TD, is that you?! LYRICS: I got this little kitty about 2 months back he was the nicest little kitty, now a pain in my crack This little kitty is a ninja, always stalking my...

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The Mom / Mum song

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:30:00 +0000

I just have to share this with you, even though I'm probably quite certain you all know about it anyway...I'm always the last to know. Anyway, check out the video below, and sing along if you can keep up. This is exactly what my mum was like when I was a grotesque teenager! I'm busy learning the words off by heart so that by the time I have my own kids I will be able to spout out all that as quickly as she can! Although considering my future kids will probably speak French, I should perhaps find a French version too...

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Jazz Hands

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:11:00 +0000

I had just sat down on the sofa this afternoon, sighing as I fished out half a soggy biscuit from my coffee when my mobile phone started vibrating. I gasped loudly and experienced a cold flash of panic in my chest. Flustered, I opened the 'junk drawer' and raked through the mish-mash of miscellaneous objects that can be found in there, pulling out a biro and notepad and took a deep breath before answering the call. "Allô?" I answered, hoping that it was the call back I'd been waiting for all week long. "Oui, bonjour. Is that Mademoiselle Ecossaise?" The disembodied female voice said on...

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Manfred

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 12:01:00 +0000

Meet Manfred, our new wardrobe. The past few weekends have been spent mounting our new and very long awaited 'dressing'. I love this new addition to our home - despite the fact that we couldn't get Ikea to deliver the mirrored door because they 'don't deliver glass' (wtf?) and therefore we are now missing the middle door. I adore it because everyone who knows me knows that I have a billion clothes and coats and shoes and handbags and accessories that I have accumulated over the years (and can't bare to through away, even if they are no longer in fashion, are too tight, or I wouldn't be...

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Peeping Toms

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:32:00 +0000

I opened the French doors that lead to our small balcony and motioned for my friend Sava to follow as I stepped into the fresh evening air. She placed her glass of sparkling white wine on the iron bistro table, pulled out a pack of 20 Marlboro and lit up. I put my glass next to hers and folded my arms across my chest in the hope of keeping warm. I'd invited Sava and her husband over for a dinner party and while the men were inside having their beer and trying to fix a broken laptop, I'd accompanied my new Iranian friend outside while she had a smoke. We were mid- girly conversation when...

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Ollie

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:09:00 +0000

This morning was spent cleaning and tidying the apartment in preparation for tonight's romantic (but not cheesy romantic, mind) Valentine's Day meal FP and I have been planning. He was busy in the bureau cleaning his desk and I made my way to our cleaning cupboard to fetch some Mr Muscle. The door had been left open (as we all know by now, FP does not know how to close drawers or cupboard doors) and I reached in to grab the bottle of product when I was wacked across the chin by a wagging tail. Ollie loves to get into our cleaning cupboard, which is a shame because he knows it's forbidden...

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How to make me smile

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:26:00 +0000

FP knows me very well - even too well, sometimes - and it hasn't gone by him that I've been feeling a bit down recently. But the thing I love about my fiancé (I think that's the first time I've ever used that term to refer to FP! It's so weird!) is that when I'm upset and he doesn't know how to bring me out of my slump, he will try anything to get a smile on my face. And so when I walked into the kitchen last night to clean up after dinner and saw that not only had he done all the washing up, but had left this simple, but sweet message on the steamed up window, he had indeed succeeded in...

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TEFL teachers I really need your help!

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:20:00 +0000

After rejection after rejection, and being told by a bitchy recrutement agent this morning that I should not be looking for a bilingual assistant job because I don't speak perfect French (who does? Not even the French speak perfect French!) I kind of just had a break down. And on a phonecall from FP - while he tried to get me to stop crying hysterically - he told me to do my research and find a good, well-known and respected TEFL course. We might be able to afford it, and at least if I train to be en English teacher I will know what kind of job I'm looking for. So, does anybody out there...

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On Being Unemployed

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:16:00 +0000

I could never be a housewife. The life I am living right now is far from Lady of Leisure, it's closer to Lady of Boredom and it has been getting me down. My job hunting - that, might I add, has been going on for one month now - stinks and it seems that no one really wants me to work for them. I feel useless and lazy and very, very guilty when FP gets up at 6:30 in the morning and I surface around about 9am, but I am trying very hard to find employment, so what's a girl to do? I spend my days doing the same household chores as I did the day before and will do the day after. The dishes...

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Just My Luck

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:26:00 +0000

If you know me at all, you will know that above all else, I am rather an unlucky person. Not much works out for me the way I’d like it to; not job interviews, not nail polish, not diets, or experimental cuisine. My hair has a life of its own and I can’t ever do my signature the same way twice, causing shop keepers to believe I am, in fact, an identity thief when I try to pay by cheque. Waiters very often bring me the wrong food order when I eat out and I’m pretty sure my cat hates me, judging from the way he squirms for freedom when I hold him. I always seem to be the one who picks a...

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Trouble in Paradise

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:48:00 +0000

This morning when I went downstairs to check our pigeon hole for letters, I found another stiff envelope addressed to the pair of us. Turning it over I saw the return address was - as I had suspected - Scotland. Back in the warmth of the apartment I opened the envelope and admired the lilac floral card, emblazoned with the words ‘You’re Engaged!’ I was touched when I read the words inside, the three signatures at the bottom belonging to my dad’s colleagues. Colleagues who, despite them having worked alongside my dad for years, I have never met. How kind of these people to have thought of me,...

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It's a hard life, so it is

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:26:00 +0000

For the life of me, I can't quite make up my mind on whether I'd rather be in a boring old office job right now, or sitting on my sofa with a laptop warming my knees, searching for a boring old office job. Unfortunately, I don't have the choice, because currently I am an unemployed bum and therefore searching for said office job is the only choice left to me if I don't want to become homeless. Looking for work is really something I dream of while I'm stuck in a job - the opportunity to get myself onto a career path in teaching English or in the tourism / fashion / publishing industries...

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The gift of all gifts

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:10:00 +0000

I creaked open the bedroom door and slipped noiselessly between the covers where I snuggled up to a sleeping FP. He stirred from his sleep and turned to face me, placing his hands on my waist and pulling me closer. "It's christmas, baby!" I wispered into his ear excitedly. "It's Christmas morning!" FP opened one eye and smiled at me sleepily. "Happy Christmas, my angel." We lay in bed, our bodies as close together as possible, breathing in one another's scent. It was difficult to stay at my parent's house over christmas when my dad insisted we couldn't share a bed. We missed each...

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Noel, Noel!

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 21:59:00 +0000

Well, the year is almost over now and it's always about now when, like most people, I look back at the past twelve months and consider whether my year was a success or a failure. Or somewhere in between. But this time I think I can say, without a doubt, 2008 was the best year of my life so far. The beginning of the year saw me finally recover from a five year long battle with tuberculosis. I then passed my driving test which, to most people might only be a tiny little success but to me, after having failed the test countless times before, it was an enormous victory. And then I came to...

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Un Dîner de Cons

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 20:18:00 +0000

It's extremely difficult to use your knife and fork to cut up your meat when you are sandwiched between two very wide, burly old men who don't think twice about invading your personal space with their elbows. I tried hard to minimise my body size, to make myself much narrower than I am, in the attempt to have more room to manouever my own arms, but to no avail. At dinner parties I am very often placed right next to the pervert or the loudmouth or the woman with the extremely huge hat that has feathers which poke you in the eye. Yesterday I was sat between two large strangers - the hostess...

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The End

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:05:00 +0000

Well, that's it then. As of right now, I am unemployed. Today was my last day at the office and it struck me how ironic it is that even after all those months of complaining and hating my job, I now feel sad to have left. I suppose it's true when they say you never know how good you've got it, until it's not there any more. I packed up a small box of my personal belongings, emptied the desk drawers and stole a roll of sellotape as a souvenir (and to use when I wrap my christmas presents tonight. Sellotape is the type of practical item that I never think to buy until I find myself...

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Meaty

princesseecossaise@gmail.com (Princesse Ecossaise) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:31:00 +0000

When I was a vegetarian, I turned my nose up at meat. All kinds of meat. Chicken, porc sausages, bridies, christmas turkey, burgers...even some fish I wouldn't touch with a 40 inch barge pole / fork (the fish that still had their faces and eyeballs and scales). It started out as a way to lose weight, if I remember correctly, and continued for eight years before I finally put another morsel of meat into my mouth. I gave up my vegetarian title because of France. Because I knew I'd be coming to live in France eventually and that I couldn't continue eating Coquilles Saint Jaques (or...

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