A visitor!

No, it wasnt Tigger who knocked at my door on Friday last.

It wasnt in the middle of the night either.

But I still love the picture!

It was another 'blogger', the charming Floss of

Troc,Broc and Recup, who came to see me.

She and her family were on holiday in Brittany, and she gave up an afternoon to pop in, which I thought was very kind!

It was a delight to meet her and to hear about the region in which she lives (near Toulouse). She was somehow just as I'd expected her to be! We have certain things in common, one being a squirrel-like compulsion to collect THINGS! I used to spend many hours searching the markets for lovely old linen, which is now almost unobtainable. I think most of it has gone off to USA!

We had a lovely afternoon, sitting in the sun, sharing tales, teaching experiences, family stories. I so appreciated your visit ,Floss!

And just a few more........

A huge sedum, just about ready to open fully,

and already covered in bees. How they love it. We always

knew this as the 'Ice plant', I dont know why.

I do feel that I'm perhaps dragging you around my garden , insisting that you look at this, see that, look this is flowering.....

But that's what gardeners do! I remember long ago being taken around Trelissick Gardens in Cornwall by the gardener who had worked there for years. What a privilege to see it all through his eyes, to hear stories of his favourite trees. Sadly he is no longer with us, but he is lovingly remembered by many.
Geraniums flowering profusely, hung on our garage. Provided they are fed they will go on for another month.


And a Lagerstroemia just about to flower. (I think maybe known as Crepe Myrtle also?) This is a triumph, as I've only ever seen them in the South of France, loving the sun and opening with a blast of
colour , purples and pinks, round about now.
I planted this last year and it sulked. But look at it now!

Nearly Autumn

Autumn colours in the garden, and it's still August! The Michaelmas daisies are

flowering. The Nandina behind them is beginning to turn red .

One of our apple trees is producing well. This is a very crunchy eating apple which

we enjoy for

weeks on end.


The Clematis is still giving me beautiful big flowers to look at.

Cosmos, all self seeded, unexpected, blowing in today's wind.

And is this the last rose of Summer? It's Jude the Obscure, one of my most lovely

David Austen roses. The perfume is almost pineappley.

Soon it will be time to cut back, to restructure.

Sad to see the Summer blooms going.

Pearl anniversary

This is Agrostemma 'Ocean Pearls' , a plant that I

would love to have in my garden.

I'm posting it today for a friend, who is celebrating her

30th, or Pearl , wedding anniversary.

I thought it was more beautiful than any string of pearls.

Happy anniversary, Angela and Bob!

(Tracing Rainbows.)

Identification, please.

This beautiful butterfly, or moth, alighted on the plants on our terrace this morning.

I'm just not sure what it is, and would love to know if anyone can name it for me. It spent a happy half hour with us, twisting and turning on the branches, sucking every bit of nectar possible.
NB...Thank you Terri, I think you are right, it is a Garden Tiger Moth.

My grand daughter found it too.

Apparently the caterpillars are the very furry kind, several of which we had seen around the terrace.

Summer Sunday

This is where I shall be this afternoon. The temperature is rising steadily and I'm so grateful that we have the pool. Last year we hardly used it, due to a very poor Summer. In fact I think 2007, when this photo was taken, was only good in patches (Curate's egg style).

So, I'm making the most of the good weather.

During the last two weeks the pool has been full of visiting children, who have had a wonderful time diving with underwater toys, and racing.

I shall be more sedate!

Roasted tomato soup.

I have to give Delia Smith the praise for the original recipe, which I use as a base. I often make Tomato soup but this roast tomato soup is more concentrated and full of flavour. It also involves a bit more work.

I started by picking big warm tomatoes from the greenhouse, and put them in a bowl of boiling water just to loosen the skins. As I slid the skins off, I sliced the tomatoes in half and put them on a roasting tray. Then I put a little Olive oil (extra virgin from Tuscany) on each one, a bit of chopped garlic, and some fresh basil. Into the oven for an hour till the edges start to go black. At that point the kitchen smells wonderful!

While they have been roasting, I took a couple of potatoes and boiled them. When the tomatoes were done, they went into the Magimix, with the boiled potatoes and the whole lot was whizzed together to make a thick soup. You can add half a pint of stock if you prefer a thinner soup.

Season, eat hot or cold, and enjoy.

Aliens in the field..........

Just on the other side of our fence.....the Alien crawled into

the field.

Puffing and huffing, it striped its way across the wheat,

raising clouds of dust into the air.

Neighbours gathered to look,

to rescue their puny plants from its jaws.

Just the local Combine Harvester,

arriving to cut the crops.

Crabapple jelly.

From this.....

9 lbs of John Downie Crabapples lovingly grown by us,

to

this.....

8 jars of Crabapple jelly.

A little drive...a lot to see.

Out to the Bio shop this morning. This is a very new enterprise in the next town, a newly built shop selling totally organic food, meat and bread. We have once bought meat there, the best lamb I've tasted.....but the price! I went to get Demerara sugar in bulk as the supermarkets only sell a pale version in small packets. Even wines that are organically raised are sold at the Bio Coop. In the year that it has been open it has become so popular, and there are always rows of cars outside.




As I drove I looked up ahead, and there was a hang glider, sailing along, high up in the clouds. I thought how he must be enjoying the peace and quiet up there. I hadn't taken my camera, so found a picture on Fotosearch of a similar glider.



Looking up also was one of local Kestrels, perched on a wild plum tree by the side of the road. I wonder what he thought of the huge 'bird' above him.



A little further along the road I saw the lady who always does her washing in a Lavoir on a Monday. Again, this is not a picture of the local lavoir, ours is much smaller. They were traditionally used for washing, being fed by a cold spring, and even now, some ladies take their clothing and wash them in the icy cold, and sometimes green, water. She looked as though she was fed up with it all this morning, but maybe that was because she was carrying three heavy buckets.



On my way home I stopped to return some preserving sugar lent me by a friend. I used it to make nine jars of Crabapple jelly, from our own little trees.

So much to see on a short drive to the shops.

Beach/Birthday/Sun.

Larmor Plage is one of our favourite places to go. We have a favourite restaurant there and usually wait for a specialish occasion, or taking visitors there.
Yesterday was my husband's birthday, and the sun shone so brightly. I'd booked a table at La Folie Douce, and asked for a promenade table, right by the walkway between the restaurants and the beach. Perfect!

As we sat at our table there was just so much to watch. Families were wandering on to the beach, fathers playing ball with the children. Mothers were getting baguettes from their picnic bags and preparing lunch. The Surfboard hire people werent getting any custom as there was little or no wind, so they did what all sensible French people do...upended a surf board to use as a table, and sent up to one of the many restaurants for food. the waitress trotted down the beach bearing large plates filled with something good. In the photo (click to enlarge) you can just see one of the men carrying a tray of coffee down to the group. It's the way to live!

Larmor Plage is very much a family beach, and little clusters of children grouped on the beach, making sand holes, jumping in and out of the water in the bathing area. There was little noise, no shrieking, just contented murmurings. The surfers began to paddle lazily out in the afternoon hoping to find a breeze.
We opted to bring a car rug and laze in the sun for a couple of hours.
We wished we could have stayed fot the 14th August firework celebrations, but they didnt begin till 11pm, and that would have meant a very late drive home.
It was a perfect day.

August 15th in France.

The feast of 'L’Assomption'.

August 15th is a public holiday (jour ferie) throughout France. Many shops will be closed, although most large supermarkets and several small shops might remain open in the morning .

Catholics celebrate the day of The Assumption throughout France . It commemorates the departure of Mary from this life and the assumption of her body into heaven.

There will be church services, and families will meet together for family meals, outings, and possibly celebrations in the evening. I guess there will be fireworks in our village, which is always fun.

But in Brittany we have another celebration on 15th August. This is held in a small town called Pleucadeuc, and is known as the festival of Twins . Apparently, up till 1992, there was an aviation festival held in the town. But an air disaster in France meant that there were many problems in organising this sort of festival. The Mayor asked the Council to think up something else, and the deputy Mayor, who had twin daughters, and realising that twins are numerous in this region, decided to have an anniversary celebration and to invite twins to meet in Pleucadeuc. The festival was born in 1994, and is now the largest gathering of twins in Europe. Apparently more than 1000 pairs of twins met in 2007, coming from all over Europe! I believe the idea has now been adopted in America.

What is the matter............?

"What is the matter with Mary Jane?"

Well, that's how I feel about Blogger today.
For no reason, it tells me that I am not following anyone, it tells me that I cant connect to other peoples blogs 'because my computer might be sending automated messages'. I've lost the list of blogs that I follow so I dont know who has written what today. Oh, sulk.

I think it's just having a tantrum.....like Mary Jane!

Rice Pudding

What is the matter with Mary Jane? She's crying with all her might and main, And she won't eat her dinner - rice pudding again - What is the matter with Mary Jane? What is the matter with Mary Jane? I've promised her dolls and a daisy-chain, And a book about animals - all in vain - What is the matter with Mary Jane? What is the matter with Mary Jane? She's perfectly well, and she hasn't a pain; But, look at her, now she's beginning again! - What is the matter with Mary Jane? What is the matter with Mary Jane? I've promised her sweets and a ride in the train, And I've begged her to stop for a bit and explain - What is the matter with Mary Jane? What is the matter with Mary Jane? She's perfectly well and she hasn't a pain, And it's lovely rice pudding for dinner again! What is the matter with Mary Jane? By A.A. Milne.

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Swallowtail.

Not at all a brilliant photo, but if you look carefully, you can see that there is a Swallowtail butterfly on the Geraniums.

He just wouldnt stop moving!

Shopping!

I really love to go shopping. Maybe I don't always buy things, but I do love to look

My mother inspired me as a little girl. She always took Vogue magazine, which usually featured extremely expensive couture. 'But ' she said, 'it gives me inspiration and ideas'. There was no chance that she would be buying haute couture, but she was a very talented needlewoman, and could cut a pattern from scratch.

So, in the same way, I go shopping. Now I have just found a very nice new shop on line, and its name is 'Millie and Dottie's emporium'. An emporium! I have a mental picture of a very grand building, with a gold staircase and maybe even a floorwalker. Yes, I do remember seeing these august gentlemen in my childhood, walking through Kendal Milne's in Manchester with my Grandmother.

But Millie and Dottie's emporium is just a lovely shop, where you can find all sorts of treasures. Enter through the front door and go to any of the rooms.....the Library, the Boudoir, the Sewing room...oh so many others! I was enchanted to see Millie- Mollie- Mandy there as well, one of my childhood favourites!

.

What can you find?

Bowls. French vintage buttons. A red rolling pin. a pretty tin with a rose on the top.

No, it's not my shop, and I don't know the owners personally, though one of them is on my bloglist. Mrs Ragged Roses has a very charming blog which I enjoy reading..plus she lives in a favourite part of England! But I did like my visit to

Millie and Dottie's Emporium!

'What I did on my holidays'.

As you can guess, we have been away. This time it was to 'celebrate' a rather special birthday, a sort of three score years and ten birthday.

Where better to go than one of my most favourite hotels in lovely Cornwall, the Nare. Situated on the beautiful Roseland peninsula, the rooms open on to terraces overlooking the sea. On a windy night all you hear is the crashing of the waves on the beach below. Waking on a sunny morning the sea is golden and calm, little wavelets dancing onto the sand.

Needless to say most of the days were typical English weather and we looked out at pouring rain and sea mist. However, there are corners to settle down in comfy armchairs, trays of coffee brought to warm you, people to chat to, newspapers and magazines to read, incredible meals to eat.

There were some lovely days when we walked on the beach, picking up enchanting pale pink shells, gazing at brave surfers. There were some even better days when family came to visit, a grandaughter celebrating her 21st birthday, daughters and sons carrying armfuls of presents and birthday cake! How wonderful to find on the breakfast table an exquisite basket of roses. How blessed I am in my friends.

For the young and agile, the headland is a wonderful walk, threading the way trhough wild sloes, through tangles of bright wildflowers, over the worn well trodden paths.

Back in France now, and missing my lovely Cornwall.