I recently read the book entitled The Widow Clicquot – The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It, by Tilar J. Mazzeo.  Unfortunately, there was not a lot of information in the book about The Widow.  Apparently not much was recorded about a woman who lived in the early 1800s, even if she did rule a champagne empire that placed her net worth at more than $10 billion dollars in today’s economy.  Yes, Billion! However, I enjoyed the story for its historical value.  She entertained Napoléon and Joséphine Bonaparte and she was also a wise business woman.  Anticipating that the trade embargo with Russia would end soon, and with great risk, she arranged to smuggle champagne there so that the Russians could celebrate the embargo’s end with the only wine available – her Veuve Clicquot wines.  Wise widow!

In the 1860s, the Veuve Clicquot said, “The world is in perpetual motion, and we must invent the things of tomorrow. One must go before others, be determined and exacting, and let your intelligence direct your life. Act with audacity.”  That quote works as well today as it did 150 years ago.  Amazing woman.

Following is a list of things that I either learned from the book or were things that I already knew about champagne but thought I would like to share with you.

1.  Vintage – using grapes from a single harvest.  Non-vintage – using grapes blended from multiple harvests.

2.  While France was making Champagne by accident and trying to rid their wine of bubbles, at the same time in England, it is believed that the British were adding sugar to the wines that they received from France to make it bubbly.

3.  Winemaking has always been an involved process.  Five percent of wine sold today is ruined by TCA, a fungus eating the cork.  According to Wikipaedia, a “corky” wine has a characteristic odor, described as the smell of “a moldy newspaper, wet dog, damp cloth, or damp basement.”

4.  Tall, slender champagne flutes are preferred for champagne because they allow the drink to release smaller, slow-rising, prettier bubbles.  The older the champagne is, the smaller the bubbles.  Therefore, small bubbles are associated with high-quality champagne.

5.  One theory maintains that the art of sabrage – opening champagne bottles with a sword or saber – was invented because of the Widow Clicquot.  In order to protect her vineyards, she gave Napoleon’s officers bottles of champagne when they come to town.  Being on horseback, they held the bottle and the reigns in one hand and with the other, they sliced off the top of the champagne bottle with their swords.  Click here to see a 2-minute video of how to use a saber to open a champagne bottle.

6.  La champagne is the region.  Le champagne is the beverage.

7.  On the bottle of champagne, the tiny wire cage is called a muselet, which covers the tiny metal cap known as a capsulet, which tops the cork or bouchon.  The annulus is the glass lip just below the muselet.  Wine labels are called étiquettes.

And that is everything that I know about champagne, other than the fact that I love the bubbles and the sparkle and the flavor.

I am determined to try the sabrage to open a champagne bottle in the near future.  When I do, I promise you (je te promets) that I will post a video.  I just need to find a saber…

Happy Champagne!  Happy Sabrage!  À votre santé!

~FTW

Usually Simple, Often French, Always Delicious

Easy French, Irish, Mexican Quiche

La Quiche Française, Irlandaise, Mexicaine et Facile

What kind of quiche?  Confused?  Me, too!  It’s French because the quiche is a French dish.  It’s Mexican, because I used a Mexican blend cheddar and green chilies.  It’s Irish because it contains broccoli, which is green.  I started working on this post around St. Patrick’s Day.  The Irish part made more sense then.

Melt a tablespoon of butter in a pan.

Add onions and garlic.

Add broccoli.  Cook over low heat and stir until broccoli and onions are soft.

Open a can of Green Chilies and add to broccoli mixture.  Stir.  (If you use fresh green chilies, use a smaller quantity as they have a stronger flavor.)

Do not stop to take a picture and drop your spoon in the mix.

Here it is.  All mixed up.

Have your unbaked pie crust ready.

Pour the broccoli mixture into the crust.

Pretty colors.

Add cheese.

Add more cheese.

Crack eggs into a bowl.  I used six because this is a large, deep pie dish.  For a regular pie dish, use four or five, depending on whether they are medium, large or jumbo eggs.

Add milk.  Season with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, or any other spices or herbs that you like.

Beat it.  Just beat it.  No one wants to be defeated.  Name that tune.

Pour it over the cheese and broccoli.

The crust should be full, but not overflowing.  I used a new brand of pie crust and did not notice, until I began to fill it, that it was quite a bit smaller than my usual brand.  I should have used five eggs, not six.  Ah, well.  Better to have too much than not enough.So, I won’t win any prizes for appearance with this one that overflowed the crust, but the taste is delicious!The canned green chilies add a little extra zip to the plain broccoli quiche.

Deliciousness in every bite!

~FTW

Broccoli Quiche with Green Chilies

• 1 unbaked pie crust
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/3 minced sweet onion, more or less to your taste
• 2 cups fresh, chopped broccoli
• 1 4 oz. can green chilies
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese, cheddar, cheddar blend or any cheese you like
• 4 or 5 eggs, depending on size of pie pan and crust
• 1 1/2 cups milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a pan, melt butter and sauté onion, garlic and broccoli over low heat until tender.  Add can of green chilies.  Stir to combine.
3. Pour vegetables into prepared pie crust.
4. Add shredded cheese on top.
5. Beat eggs and milk together.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour over broccoli and cheese.
6. Bake for about 40 minutes or until eggs have set and it is not runny in the center. 

Enjoy!

• Made split pea soup with peas that had soaked overnight.
• Hung towels outside to dry.  (The dryer failed to function today.)  As soon as I headed out the back door with the laundry basket, it started to snow.  Really?  In April?  You can see the snowflakes.  Right after I snapped this picture, I clothespinned my mitten to the towel I was pinning up.  It was freezing!
• I checked the rhubarb.  It’s coming up!  Can’t wait to make Strawberry Rhubarb sorbet or soup, or pie.
• Returned Les Mis to the library.  I am sad to report that I did not finish reading the book.  The librarian called and they wanted their book back.  There were other people waiting to read it.  I hope they are able to finish it.  I will try again in the future.  I did, however, watch the 25th Anniversary broadcast of Les Mis on PBS last week.  Incredible!  Incroyable!
• I went to the car wash and made it through safely.  Not like the last time…
• MacGyver called and needed me to bring a saw to his job site.  It was in the truck that was at home, not the truck that he had with him.  It’s a hack saw or a coping saw or some such saw.  But before I drove to where he was working with the saw, I took a picture and texted it to him, to make sure I had the right one.  And that’s the only reason that I have a picture of that part of my day.

Before bed, my son was reading.  I went in to tell him it was time to turn out the lights, when I noticed his silhouette (silhouette* – a good French word, un bon mot) on the wall.  You can even see his eyelashes.  When I showed him the picture, he said that somebody used a silhouette like this to come up with the idea that witches should have long noses.  His nose is small, but looks rather Pinocchio-like in the silhouette.  I love the way he thinks about things.

* From Wikipedia – “The word “silhouette” derives from the name of Étienne de Silhouette, a French finance minister who, in 1759, was forced by France’s credit crisis during the Seven Years War to impose severe economic demands upon the French people, particularly the wealthy. Because of de Silhouette’s austere economies, his name became synonymous with anything done or made cheaply and so with these outline portraits.  Prior to the advent of photography, silhouette profiles cut from black card were the cheapest way of recording a person’s appearance.”

After the kids were in bed and I had finished cleaning up in the kitchen, (and having a brownie snack), I saw the full moon out the kitchen window.  I snapped this picture, not realizing until I added it here, that because of the double pane glass, I also got a clear reflection of the moon off to the right.  Wow!

Even ordinary photos can be extraordinary.  And ordinary days can be extraordinary, too!

Enjoy every day – ordinary and extraordinary!

Bon week-end! 

~FTW

This is the current exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  Whether you’re a fan of French, fashion, Impressionism, or, if you are like moi, a fan of all of the above, this exhibit will set your French-loving, francophile heart a-flutter!  C’est la créme de la créme.  Don’t miss it!  Hurry!  It ends May 27, 2013.

There are more than 80 paintings featuring period clothing and accessories from the mid 1800s, “when Paris emerged as the style capital of the world.”

“The latest fashion . . . is absolutely necessary for a painting. It’s what matters most.”

—Édouard Manet

Gallery One – Refashioning Figure Painting

Claude Monet; Camille, 1866

Refashioning Figure Painting – In the 1860s, clothing styles were changing to reflect Napoleon’s recent modernization of Paris, which I wrote about here.  The focus was on style and elegance.  These paintings truly were “all about the dress.”

Gallery Two – En Plein Air

En Plein Air – Artists began painting contemporary, outdoor, leisure scenes.

Note the size of Monet’s Luncheon on the Grass (Le Déjeuner sur L’Herbe).  It is about 13 feet tall and 20 feet wide.  According to the Met, this is the first time that both pieces have been shown together in the US.  And why is it in pieces?  

Claude Monet; Luncheon on the Grass, 1865–66

The Musée d’Orsay reports that, in 1920, the painter himself recounted what had happened to the picture: “I had to pay my rent, I gave it to the landlord as security and he rolled it up and put in the cellar. When I finally had enough money to get it back, as you can see, it had gone mouldy.” Monet got the painting back in 1884, cut it up, and kept only three of the pieces. The third has since disappeared.  

It does make me curious.  Is the couple sitting on the blanket looking at what is now missing?  If so, what was it?  I hope the third piece reappears some day…

Gallery Three – The White Dress

Auguste Renoir; Lise – Woman with Umbrella, Femme a l’ombrelle,  1867

Gallery Four – The Black Dress

Édouard Manet; The Parisienne, ca. 1875

Gallery Five – The Dictates of Style

The Dictates of Style – Later in the century, the focus shifted from the details of the fabric to the effect of sunlight on the fabric.  Although the main focus may be on the sunlight, look at all of the details on this dress which can also be seen in the painting.  Imagine sewing (or painting) those pleats!  Oh là là!

Summer Day Dress Worn by Madame Bartholomé

Albert Bartholomé; In the Conservatory (Madame Bartholomé), ca. 1881

Notice the way the sunlight has washed the dots from the front of her right hip and the reflection of that part of her dress in the conservatory door glass.

Gallery Six – Frocks, Coats, and Fashion: The Urban Male

Gustave Caillebotte; At the Café, 1880

The Urban Male – The men’s fashion is a bit boring.  There are a variety of hats, coats, and canes.  I like the artist’s use of the mirror in this painting.  And note on the hooks above the men’s heads – more hats!

Gallery Seven – Consumer Culture

Consumer Culture – In the 1880s, several artists painted pictures depicting the relationships between customers, the store merchandise that they coveted, and the sales girls.  They also began to focus on particular items of clothing, such as hats, shoes, and undergarments, rather than the full silhouette.

Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917) The Millinery Shop, La Boutique de la Modiste, ca. 1882–86

James Tissot; The Shop Girl, La Demoiselle de Magasin, 1883–85

Gallery Eight – Spaces of Modern Life

Gustave Caillebotte; Paris Street; Rainy Day, Rue de Paris; temps de pluie 1877

Spaces of Modern Life – Note the newly widened streets of Paris, the beginning of a more modern life, and the end of the Impressionist era.

According to the Met website, the last Impressionist exhibition took place in Paris in 1886.  ”The next generation of artists—the Post-Impressionists—would champion evocation over description, imagination over observation, and timeless sentiment over the fleeting whims of fashion.”

Girl with a Boat – Picasso

Now, I realize that Picasso was a Modernist who came after the Post-Impressionists, but regardless, I will take an Impressionist over a Modernist any day.  That’s the way I like things – like the Impressionists – light and airy, full of fashion, fresh air, soft colors, flowers, and sunshine.

~FTW

(Unless otherwise noted, information and photos in this post are courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.)

Usually Simple, Often French, Always Delicious

Colored Deviled Eggs

Welcome to egg week here at French Twisted Woman!  This is the third and final eggciting thing I will do with eggs this week.  Kids get eggcited about these eggs, and in my eggsperience, the adults think the Colored Deviled Eggs are rather fun, too.

 Follow along while I eggsplain how to make them.

Place desired number of eggs in the pan.  I made one dozen.

Cover the eggs with cold water.

Bring water to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Don’t worry.  They won’t eggsplode!

Rinse eggs in cold water until they are cool.  Eggsercize caution and be sure they are completely cool prior to peeling.

We interrupt this program…the eggs were ready to be peeled when MacGyver arrived with a fresh Steelhead Trout that needed to be cooked for dinner.  Olive oil, lemon juice, sun-dried tomatoes and basil and I wrapped the fish in foil and put it in the oven.

Back to the eggs.  I was not expecting the trout, but it was a welcome interruption.  Sometimes life throws you a curve ball.  Breathe.  Inhale.  Eggs-hale.

Crack the eggshells.

Peel the eggs.

Cut the eggs eggsactly in half.

Remove the yolks and place them in a bowl.  At this point, my son entered the kitchen and wanted to help.  Before I knew it, he had finished the deviled egg filling.  So, there are no pictures of him adding the mayonnaise, vinegar and mustard to the yolks.  But that is eggsactly what happened between the photo above and the photo below.

To one dozen egg yolks, he added 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons of white vinegar, and 2 teaspoons of Gulden’s mustard.

A lot of recipes say to mash the yolks with a fork.  I like to use a mixer because I prefer the non-chunky yolk filling for my eggs.  At this point, you may add any other seasonings that you like, bacon, chives, etc.  We like our filling plain – simply yolks, mayonnaise, vinegar, and mustard – no eggstras.

Make your dye.  Mix a cup of water, a teaspoon of vinegar, and food coloring.  Place your egg whites in the dye.  The longer you leave them, the darker the color will be.

Drain them on a paper towel.  Some of my eggs have little flaws.  I am not an eggspert, but they will still taste delicious!

Eggspress the deviled egg filling from a pastry bag or a plastic bag with the corner cut off into the colored egg halves.  Sprinkle with paprika and voilá!

Make red, white, and blue eggs for the 4th of July.  Brown, orange, and gold eggs for Thanksgiving.  The possibilities are eggstraordinary!

- Photo Courtesy of Cuisine-Facile.com

In France, these are Les Œufs Miimosa or Mimosa Eggs.  Only half of the yolks are used in the filling.  The other half are finely minced and sprinkled on the stuffed eggs. The bright yellow sprinkles resemble the Mimosa flower, so they are aptly named Mimosa Eggs.

Mimosa Flowers

And Deviled Eggs?  Why do we call them Deviled Eggs?  In short, it originated in the late 1700s and has to do with spicy food and the “Underwood Devil.”  Click here for the entire story.  And if spiciness is the reason we call them Deviled Eggs, then why do we call the spiceless cake Devil’s Food Cake?

If you celebrate Easter, then Happy Easter!  If not, then Happy Eggs!

Bon Appétit!

~FTW

Food You’ll Find Here:

Usually Simple, Often French, Always Delicious

Chocolate Peanut Butter Egg Candy

Les Bonbons de Chocolat et du Beurre de Cacahouète

If you love peanut butter and chocolate, you have to try these.  If you don’t love peanut butter and chocolate, you have to try these.  They’ll convert you.  And you don’t have to wait for Easter to make them, although, that is why I posted the recipe this week.  You can shape them into eggs or balls or hearts or cubes.  They’re delicious in every form.  Here’s what you’ll need:

Each recipe I make has a story.  Today, it’s about the peanut butter.  Since I made these last year, we have switched from the peanut butter that has an ingredient list a mile long, which includes all of the hydrogenated oils and palm oils, to the kind that has one ingredient – peanuts.  And it needs to be refrigerated.  So I had to add more butter to make it work, but the consistency was a little different.  They taste wonderful, but you may have to adjust the recipe, depending on the type of peanut butter that you use.

You can also try using crunchy peanut butter.  If you’re feeling really adventurous, throw in some Rice Krispies for even more crunch.

Combine the confectioners sugar, peanut butter and butter.

Add the vanilla.  Yes, I forgot to include it in the photograph of the ingredients, but it’s in there.  See?  There it is on the spoon.

Mix until it looks at least this moist.  Then take a spoonful or whatever size you would like your candy to be, and shape it.  If you use the peanut butter with the hydrogenated oils, your mixture will look creamier.  When you begin handling this and shaping it, it sticks together beautifully.  It’s peanut butter.  It’s sticky.

If you are making them egg-shaped, they will look something like this.

We made 36 eggs.  Or ovals.  Or blobs.

Put the eggs in the freezer for at least one hour.  Later, melt the shortening and chocolate in a double boiler, or in a pan in a frying pan of water.

I do not own a double boiler pan.  Never had a need for one.  The pan in the frying pan of water has always worked well for me.  But if you have one, by all means, use it.  My daughter is impatient and is trying to chop the chocolate into smaller pieces so that it will melt faster, so that we can dip the eggs faster, so that she can eat one faster.  Faster, faster, faster!  Hurry!

What can I say about this pan full of chocolate?  Yum!  According to Harvard scientists, chocolate can do good things for your heart, skin, and brain.  Chocolate is good for you.  Hallelujah!  If it’s good for you, I suppose I should eat some every day.  Finally, guilt-free chocolate consumption.

At this point, we were very busy dipping eggs and someone forgot to take a picture of that.  And here are some of the eggs.  Keep in mind that my kids actually help so they may not look like Martha Stewart’s eggs, but they’re delicious.

Here are some close-ups.

You can use icing to decorate if you prefer, but my kids like sticking these decorations on to the wet chocolate.

And this photo shows the evidence.  We weren’t even half finished and someone swiped one.  I’ll be right back, as soon as I wipe this chocolate off of my fingers.

Recipe for 36 Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs

• 1 16 oz. Box Confectioners Sugar
• 2 Cups Peanut Butter
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/2 Cup Melted Butter (1/4 cup if you use regular, not natural, peanut butter)
• 16 (1 oz.) Squares Semi-Sweet Chocolate
• 2 Tablespoons Shortening

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine confectioners sugar, peanut butter, butter and vanilla.  If you need more moisture, add a little milk.  Mix until blended. Shape into 36 eggs keeping them flat on the bottom. Freeze eggs for at least 1 hour.
2. When the eggs have frozen, place shortening and chocolate in top of double boiler.  Melt over medium heat, stirring until smooth.
3. Stick a fork in the bottom of a peanut butter egg.  Dip it in melted chocolate to cover.  Drain on waxed paper.  Decorate the eggs while wet if you are attaching stick-on type decorations.  Otherwise, wait until they are dry to add icing.

Enjoy!

~FTW

I am not a crafty person, French Twisted, but not crafty.   Glue guns scare me.  After the kids use the glue gun, cleaning the glue off of the table scares me even more.

These eggs are easy to make.  A little time-consuming, but no crafty talent necessary.

Raid the closet for old silk ties.  Any silk fabric will work – blouses, handkerchiefs, etc.  You can also pick them up at thrift shops or yard sales.

Yes, they need to be silk.  Polyester will not work for this project.

If using ties, you’ll need to disassemble them, remove the lining and cut them open on the seam in the back so you have a wider piece of fabric.

Cut a piece of silk large enough to wrap around the egg with a bit extra on the ends to twist and tie.  Wrap the front, the more colorful side of the fabric against the egg, and wrap it tightly.

Secure with rubberbands, baggie twist-ties, or string.

Wrap a piece of white cotton from an old sheet or t-shirt, around the silk-covered egg and secure again with rubberbands or string.

Repeat for as many eggs as you would like.  We made a dozen.

Place eggs in pot and cover with cold water.

Add 5 Tablespoons of vinegar.  Be sure that your vinegar makes concentric circles when it hits the water, as mine did.  (Not really necessary, but mesmerizing in the photo.)

Bring water to boil and simmer for 20 minutes.  When finished, rinse with cold water until eggs are cool enough to handle.

Then, start unwrapping.  This fabric produced…

…this egg.  And so on.

Wipe them with a little vegetable oil to enhance the colors and make them shiny.

They are not fancy, nor are the perfect, but they are unique.  The muted colors give them an antique, Country French feeling, n’est-ce pas?  (Doesn’t it?)

I wish you all beautiful eggs!  Je vous souhaite à tous les beaux œufs!

~FTW

P.S.  If you try this method, please take a picture and post it in the comment section or email it to me so I can share them.  Merci!

Food You’ll Find Here:

Usually Simple, Often French, Always Delicious

Broccoli, Potato, Cheese Soup for St. Patrick’s Day

La Soupe aux Brocolis, Pomme de terre, et Fromage

I posted this last year and I am posting it again, in case you missed it.  It’s a warm, hearty soup.  Soul food.  Comforting.  Whether you’re Irish, or French, or not!

In celebration of all things Irish and green, this is the perfect soup to serve for St. Patrick’s Day or any day.  It offers a nice, greenish color and it’s full of potatoes, like Ireland, before the Great Potato Famine.  The consistency is thick and creamy, but there is no cream involved.  Only cheese.  Lots of cheese and puréed vegetables.  Simple to make and very delicious.  

These are the main ingredients – Broccoli, potatoes, onions and cheese.

Melt the butter in a stock pot and add the onions and garlic.  Stir and cook until soft.  I am a lover of sweet, Vidalia onions, so if I forget to mention it in any recipe, or unless I state otherwise, I am using Vidalia onions.  Use your favorite onion.  ”Ogres like onions.  Onions have layers.  Ogres have layers.”  Name that movie!

Onions and garlic are cooking.  Please do not zoom in on this picture searching for the garlic.  You won’t find it.  It’s not in there yet.  I forgot to add it until after I took the picture.  If you don’t like garlic, you can omit it.  But I love garlic.  It’s in the next picture.

I love this smell – onions and garlic frying in butter.

The garlic is in there now.  You just can’t see it.  Add the chicken broth.  Homemade broth is best.  You may use canned broth.  I often use bouillon cubes and water because I always have bouillon in the pantry.

Add the cubed potatoes.  Look at the buttery goodness floating on top.  You need 2 – 2.5 pounds of potatoes.  If you have a scale, you can weigh them.  If you have a new 5 pound bag of potatoes, dump them all out, count them, and put half of them back in the bag.  Peel and cube the remaining potatoes.  Use 4 or 5 baking potatoes, depending on their size, about 4 – 5 cups.  It’s soup.  Use what you have and what you like.  So easy.

While potatoes are cooking, cut broccoli into bite-sized pieces and cook until tender.  Steam or microwave the broccoli.  I microwave it in a bowl with about 1/4 cup of water, and cover the bowl with waxed paper.  This is virtually all of the cooking the broccoli will get, so if you do not like crispy broccoli in your soup, cook it thoroughly.  I like mine to maintain a little of its texture in the soup.

Add the broccoli to the soup.

Scoop about 1/2 or 2/3 of the potatoes and broccoli out of the soup and place them in a blender or food processor.  Purée.  If you prefer, you can scoop all of the chunks of broccoli and potatoes into the blender to purée.  I prefer to leave about half of the vegetable chunks in my soup.  Partially chunky or all puréed.  Blender or food processor.  It’s your choice.  It’s your soup.  It’s your world.

Pour the puréed veggies back into the soup.  Stir to combine.

Add the cheese.  I used a cheddar blend, but feel free to use any cheese that you love.  Not American processed cheese food, please.  REAL cheese.  Stir until cheese melts.

Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with a crusty baguette and a salad if you’re French, or with your corned beef if you’re Irish, and enjoy!

“Only the pure of heart can make a good soup.”  — Ludwig van Beethoven

Let’s go and make a good soup!  Une bonne soupe!

~FTW

Broccoli, Potato, Cheese Soup Recipe

• 1 sweet onion chopped, about 2 cups
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 4 – 5 cups peeled, cubed potatoes
• 5 cups water
• 4 chicken bouillon cubes
• 3 cups fresh broccoli cut into bite-sized pieces
• 3 cups of cheddar cheese

In a large stock pot, melt butter and sauté onion and garlic.  Add water and bouillon cubes.  Add potatoes.  Cover and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked.

While potatoes are cooking, chop and cook broccoli.  Then add it to the soup.

Remove about half of the potatoes and broccoli from the soup and purée in a blender or food processor.  Pour puréed mixture back into the soup.

Add cheese.  Heat all until cheese is melted.  Enjoy!

I must confess, that today, is the first that I had heard about this organization and this celebration.  (For more information about International Women’s Day, please click on the link at the top of the page.)

What caught my attention was the French Twisted woman in the photo.  But I really liked the quote, too.  This would also be the perfect toast for a group of women.

Here’s to good women.

May we know them.

May we be them.

May we raise them.  

Whatever being a “good woman” means to you – Wild or wistful, Offbeat or old-fashioned, Mighty or mellow, Amusing or amazing, Natural or nurturing, or all of the above – strive to be yourself, be that good woman, today and every day.

Bon week-end!

~FTW

Courtesy IMBD.com

Here are some interesting facts about Victor Hugo, author of Les Mis.  And today happens to be his birthday.  When the movie was released, in 2012, it was the 150th anniversary of the first publication of the book.  We are still reading it and re-enacting it 150 years later – it must be a classic.  And it’s French, so c’est magnifique!

Victor Hugo – Courtesy of FreeThoughtAlmanac.com

1. Victor Hugo was born in France on February 26, 1802.
2. He is considered one of the most well-known French Romantic writers.  In France, he is most well-known for his poetry.
3. At only 20 years old, Hugo was granted many gifts and a pension from Louis XVIII for writing a book of poetry and verses.
4. He wrote The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, which was published in 1831.  The book inspired the city of Paris to restore the neglected cathedral.
5. Les Misérables, which was published in 1862, sold out within hours of its release.
6. The shortest telegram in history is credited to Hugo and his publisher upon the release of Les Misérables. Hugo was on vacation when the book was released and was waiting to hear from the publisher as to how it was selling. The telegram to his publisher was “?”  The publisher responded “!”, indicating the book was a success.
7. Les Misérables has been produced in 43 countries and has been translated into 22 languages.
8. The original Les Misérables musical opened in London in 1985 and was the longest running West End musical in history.
9. Hugo was a national hero in France.  The celebration of his 80th birthday lasted for three days and included one of the largest parades in French history.  
10. More than two million people marched in Victor Hugo’s funeral procession through Paris when he died in 1885.

Any thoughts on Hugo or Les Mis or the Oscars?  Has anyone read the book?

~FTW