What's growing?

This year's rhubarb looks much the same as last year's, so I didnt bother to take another photo yesterday when a large bundle was brought in from the garden. This morning two big bags have gone into the freezer, and a Crumble is made ready for tonight's dinner. I love the first pale pink Rhubarb of the season.

What else is growing?
The strawberry patch is looking very healthy, and I think I'll be making jam again this year. It will soon be time to put little mats around each plant to stop the slugs....to try to stop the slugs.

The plastic cloches are sheltering something, not sure what.

The Broad beans are up. I hope we have finished eating last year's in the freezer.... The Bretons don't know Broad beans at all, and frequently ask if they are animal food. We found that further down south they are widely grown. It's odd , this difference of opinion in different regions.

Then in the greenhouse the early lettuce and radish are flourishing. We ate the first tiny crunchy red babies this lunch time, and the sharp taste was so good. soon there will be so many that I will be desperately hunting for people to give salads to.

It is a particular triumph this year, as it means that my husband is recovering well from last year's stroke, so well that he has only needed minimal help with the heavy rotovating. We are indeed blessed.

Staying with books...

A postscript to my previous post on books.....

I was fascinated to read the many comments on my reading list, and to learn about the books that people have grown up with and love.

Enid Blyton, of course, who didnt read her Famous Five books? (Though I always felt that Uncle Quentin was deeply suspicious.)

My old favourite, Milly Molly Mandy was a loved story. I still have my two ancient copies, battered now.

Did anyone else read the Pollyanna stories, I wonder? My four books sit on my shelves, and are re read from time to time.

And of course, the classic, Winnie the Pooh. I could recite most of the poems from a very early age, as could my own children. I couldnt believe a youngster who was surprised that 'the books were written before Disney'.

Anne just reminded me of Noel Streatfeild.Oh, how I wanted to live with Posy , Petrova and Pauline in Ballet Shoes. another world of innocence and dreams coming true .

I could go on and on naming authors, and no doubt will be given a memory jog from one or two comments! We could discuss books for ever.

I wonder what will happen to all my childhood books in years to come. I'm sure they won't have the same appeal to today's children....sadly.

Books, books...

My life revolves around reading, and always has done. I think I was probably an early reader, as my mother taught me , using the old Mollie Clarke books, with-words-hy-phen-ated-like-this! I'm not sure if her books are in circulation now.

I cant imagine a life without the written word. I had a wonderful godfather who every Christmas sent me the latest books,.....every new Arthur Ransome, Elizabeth Goudge's 'Little White Horse', The Water Babies, and so many more. No school stories, just good childrens classics. What wonderful presents to give a book-hungry child. My mother loved poetry and I learned to love the cadences of words, listening to her recite The Lady of Shalott to me.

It quite worries me when a friend says 'Oh I've no time for reading'. My teaching life was spent mainly in giving less able pupils the tools by which to learn to read, by introducing them to the wonders of stories, by giving them confidence to trust their abilities. The delight of a child who suddenly masters reading is wonderful to see. Suddenly all those 'marks' mean something. Suddenly there is a new world to explore.

My reading has always been slightly eclectic in choice and I usually have a couple of books on the go. But with a new book I cant just dive in. I need to get to know the book. I hold it, enjoy the scent of new pages, I never ever look at the ending till I get there. I read about the author. I note the date of publication and the other books he/she has written. Then I'm ready to go!

I read the Cormac McCarthy book, The Road, in one sitting. I think it's the only way for that particular book, which I found bleak and deeply depressing, sadly. It's the story of a father and son walking through a burnt out world.

Lovely Joanne Harris and Lollipop shoes, I did enjoy her fantasy world.

Jan Karon has been a great favourite of mine for some years, and her gentle stories centred around a priest in a small American town leave me wanting more. I have just finished her 'Home to Holly Springs', a slightly new departure for her.

'The Purpose Driven life' adds a touch of spirituality to my reading. It isnt a book to read in one go, more chapter by chapter, and indeed was used by our Church as a study recently. Wonderfully inspirational.

'The Guernsey Literary and potato peel society' was lent to me by a friend, and is a book that I wish I owned. Written in the form of letters, it tells the story of Guernsey during the War, delving deeply into relationships.

Adriana Trigiani makes me laugh. Her stories of, again, life in a small American town are poignant, funny and very readable.

That's one week's reading. My grandfather used to tell me I read too fast and tested me on the contents of books. I surprised him, I think!

Cat collection

For many years I've collected cats, or maybe they have collected me. I don't think I have bought any of these felines, but they arrived to live with me from one giver or another.
I have always loved cats and the two 'real' cats that I have had are now just memories. Both of them lived for eighteen years. Both were tabbies, both were rescue cats. Both were loving and lovely.
These little china cats are a few of many. the others live around the house. One day I'll get them all together, but for now I like to see them in small groups, as they might be in real life.

A plastic view.

This is what arrived in our neighbours garden yesterday. He had murmured about getting a 'serre' which could be anything from a small greenhouse to a full-blown semi agricultural plastic tunnel. You can see which he chose!

Nicol is a great one for vegetable growing, as are most of the Bretons. With this, which must be around 6 x 4 metres, he will surely be able to feed not only his family but also most of the village. He has already planted his carrot seeds, his lettuce and his French beans. He is so thrilled with it! I have to admit that we too have a plastic tunnel, but a much smaller one, tucked neatly away in our veggie garden, seen by no one!

Sadly , our view from the terrace now includes this mammoth plastic thing. A few judiciously planted bushes or trees are definitely going to be considered. Evergreens maybe?

The hum of the Tondeuse.

On a beautiful sunny day, so warm that you would really think Spring had arrived, the silence is broken by one sound.

The tondeuse........the Motor mower. Humming noises from all gardens around us.

Ours sulked in the shed, leaning heavily on its deflated tyre. Not coming out to play, it muttered.

Bouncy teenager from next door vaulted the fence to see if he could start cutting the lawn for the season. He has a deep love affair with all things mechanical, and took over our lawn last Summer when my husband was in hospital. Our lawn? No, I think it's Jean Luc's.

His father was called over the fence and the three men stood looking at the poor stricken machine for a while. Then Nicol said briskly ,'This wont do, let's get it out'.

Then ensued a complete overhaul by father and son, hmmmm, no puncture, just needs pumping up, go and get the pump Jean Luc, oh and while you're there find a new petrol cap to replace the one you lost last year.........

What lovely neighbours to have. And yes, Jean Luc will be mowing 'his/our' lawn tomorrow.

Hungry?

I thought it was time to get the Breadmaking machine out of the cupboard to make a loaf.
Somehow I had got out of the habit of making bread....and many would ask why one bothers to make one's own, living in the land of wonderful bread!

Yes the bread in France is good, but we do like to have a typical English loaf now and then. Baguettes are great, but they dont last longer than the day you buy them. The French bakers are becoming more adventurous and one can find Italian loaves made with Olive oil, Flax loaves (pain de lin), and other different recipes. The average brown or 'complet' loaf has often a very crusty crust, and can be like eating a brick. Our neighbours love their bread 'bien cuit', and I've often seen them pointing at the darkest brownest loaf for their selection. How do their teeth cope?

So, out with the Bread machine, mixture put in at 10 pm and timed to be baked for 6am. You wake up to a lovely smell of freshly baked bread!

I could make it without a machine, but why, when it is all there to use? Easy to cook, easy to clean...and the bread is very good to eat, especially with a bowl of home made tomato soup for lunch!.

Hellebores

These are my beautiful Hellebores, picked last week. I love hellebores as they are often the first splash of colour in a Wintry garden, flowering from January to April. My plants have travelled with me, some through three moves, and have enlarged considerably. The Christmas Rose, so well known, is of course a Hellebore.

The only way to display them is to pick the heads and rest them in a bowl of water. If you try to keep them in a vase , they droop sadly.

They move about gently, and seem to change places!

I was given a new plant recently, a pink Picotee, that is a double flowering one.........beautiful.

Head dresses

Some of the loveliest head dresses can be seen at festivals in Brittany. These, known as Coiffes, are not normally worn except for special occasions, and many are handed on from grandmothers or even great grandmothers.


Each region of Brittany has its own version of the 'Coiffe'. The tall ones are from Pont Aven and Pont l'Abbe. I'm not sure how comfortable they would be to wear!

The coiffes are worn with traditional Breton costumes, white or coloured aprons covering full black skirts, pretty lace collars on black blouses. Men wear a round black hat with a velvet ribbon around it.

Many Breton museums have exquisite examples of the coiffes, pristine cotton and lace made into fantastic shapes. There are reputed to be 1200 types of coiffes.

Look at the work in this one, so delicate. It is lovely that these traditions don't die out, that festivals such as the Fete of the Blue Nets at Concarneau are a showcase for these costumes.