My newest Rose

Just a pretty photo of my newest rose for you.

She is David Austin's 'The Shepherdess', and was brought over by our recent visitors.

Her first flowers are beginning to open in the sun, and already I can tell that the perfume is gorgeous.

Roses by George Eliot

You love the roses - so do I. I wish
The sky would rain down roses, as they rain
From off the shaken bush. Why will it not?
Then all the valley would be pink and white
And soft to tread on. They would fall as light
As feathers, smelling sweet; and it would be
Like sleeping and like waking, all at once!

Garden thoughts.

I was thinking the other day about people who don't have gardens, for one reason or another. My son used to say to me, 'When you are older you should think about a sensible little flat with no outside work'.

I think I would hate it .

Imagine never being able to step out of the door and smell the flowers, pull a few weeds up, plant another little shrub.

I realise how fortunate I am. I dont live in a tower block. I dont live in a flat. Some people have no choice.I do live with too big a garden at the moment, which is why we limited most planting to an area of rockery off the terrace. There will come a time, if it hasn't already, when looking after a huge garden is too much.

But, God willing, I will always have a little patch of green.

Fete des meres.

Today in France it is the 'Fete des Meres', the equivalent of our Mother's Day. Shops are full of ideas for gifts. Cards are being sold for children and grandchildren to give to Maman.

Families will be gathering today to celebrate.
After our church service we popped into a local restaurant for a quick lunch, and were surprised to see it so full, as we thought that most families celebrated at home. But parties kept coming in, in threes, fours, sixes, eights, right up till 2pm.....and there was always a table somewhere for them. It was so good to see families celebrating, taking mothers and grandmothers out for lunch.
How the chefs managed to keep up I have no idea, but waiters ran between the tables, always cheerful and smiling, bringing dishes, chatting with regulars.
Bonne Fete des Meres, France!

Stitching finished.

Washed but unpressed as yet, my wedding sampler is finished. I have loved stitching this design, and thank Carolien once again for sending it to me.

I have made just a couple of changes in the colours, as the bridal group was almost all dark blue and rather heavy. So after consultation with an ex-Amish blogger, I dressed the bride in lilac, which is much softer. Like Carolien, I couldnt help giving my children personalities. (I didnt go as far as naming them!) I think my favourite group is the one of the three little ladies standing by the food table with the pretty check cloth.

Now all I need to do is to give it a light press on the wrong side, and take it to my framer.

(The white paper slip is just to cover up the names of the couple who will receive this.)

Woodpeckers and Blogger problems, encore...

I've changed my password.

I've tried a dozen times to access my account.

I continue to type out thoughtful comments, only to have them rejected by Blogger.

I'm not happy about it.However, I have been wasting my time in other ways, watching our Woodpeckers. I've decided that Baby is a bit naughty. He sits on the fence by the nuthanger and allows Mum to feed him. He does a pathetic little peck at the nuts occasionally.

Every now and then Mum says 'Come on, I've shown you how to do it, get on'. And Baby hums 'La la la, not listening Mummy', and hangs by his claws from the fence, upside down.

He is then in a perfect position to have food shovelled into his beak! I could spend hours watching them.

Our woodpecker family

For days we have been watching either Mr or Mrs Woodpecker feeding at our nut-hangers. I keep a record now, as every year at about this time, they turn up, proudly, with Baby. Baby is about as large as they are, but likes to be coddled.

This morning I was up early, round about 7 am, and there outside the kitchen window were Mother and Baby. Baby, big and fluffy, sat on the fence, while Mother shovelled food into him.Photo courtesy of dbnature.com

It would have been impossible to take a photo of them so I have used a stock photo which shows you much the same as my view.
We feel very privileged that these beautiful shy birds come every year. This year they are a week early. I hope they bring Baby every day for a while.

blogger......................

For the last two days I have been unable to post any comments. I keep being asked for my account number and password. Putting it in does nothing to help. I'm annoyed, as there have been some very interesting posts that I wanted to comment on.

Has anyone else had this problem? I know that Jane of the Maple st mob mentioned it yesterday.

Roses all the way.

I could bore you with a hundred or more rose photos.....but I'm just showing you three. I could almost fill my garden with roses only, but then I would miss the lovely juxtaposition of things like the Alchemilla Mollis frothing under the rose, the Dianthus adding to the scents, and the contrasts of other colours.The above rose is 'Pullman Orient Express', and I would like to boast just a little and tell you that I took this from a cutting! I love her mingling of colours.
On my kitchen table is a vase of Alchemilla surrounding 'Pierre de Ronsard', a very lovely French rose which is climbing just outside my kitchen door. Connie, I think you would love this!



This one, sadly a little bit blurred, is Pat Austin, one of the most attractive Austin roses, and with a delicate scent.
The Chelsea Garden Show presenters tell us that the Rose is the favourite flower amongst the English. I wouldn't have a garden without Roses.

Is it a bird....?

Three slightly puzzled people gazing into a fruit cage. It had taken my husband and our friend all day to put up the cage and to make it safe, so they thought. Inside were all those tempting ripe strawberries and gooseberries. Raspberries and blackcurrants were turning colour.

So, how did that big fat blackbird get in??

It took ages to find a small hole about 3 inches long, down at ground level. We did wonder if he had a little pair of scissors?

And how do you encourage a blackbird to come out of the cage? The only way was to leave the door open for an hour or two. Later my husband wandered over, and found the blackbird plodding around outside the cage saying....'wasnt my fault, just couldnt resist those strawberries.....'

The hole is mended and hopefully there are no other entrances!

and now it's lists.

I have just under a month before we go to England for a while. The main reason that we go is for a family wedding, which will be a very happy occasion. As ever, I shall be helping with some of the flowers and other arrangements.

This is where the list making comes in. I cant do anything without lists....is it just me??

Presents for family.

Present for bridegroom's 50th birthday.

Breton 'things' to take to offer kind people who have given us hospitality.

Appointments to make.

Visits to elderly relations to arrange.

Tidy house (shrieks of laughter) for friends who will be staying here.

Send friends a map of how to find us.

.......and maybe, just maybe, build in an hour or so in Marks and Spencer??

...and a few more.

The coastal road from Pont Aven is beautiful. Driving down the estuary one is surrounded by the many 'Huiteries' or Oyster farms, all selling plates of fresh oysters. This photo is of Fort Bloque just off the coast. None of us are great Oyster eaters, so we opted to have lunch at a Creperie. Crepes, or pancakes, are a Breton tradition, and the savoury ones are made with a buckwheat flour and filled with ham, cheese, mushrooms...in fact any combination that you wish for. The dessert crepes are made with a much lighter white flour, and a favourite of ours is a simple 'Butter and sugar' crepe.

Another little glimpse of the mill race in Pont Aven, running down by the side of the working mill.

I couldnt resist these last two shots . Window boxes are a tradition here, but these were very special, made of painted terra cotta. I doubt that they are French, maybe Spanish.

This very old doorway caught my eye, heavily embossed with wrought iron. It's rare to see these doors now.


Another little tour is over. Our visitors went off this morning, on a perfect day for a ferry crossing. What a perfect week we have had with them. I'm so thankful for such good friends.

glimpses

We have visitors of the five star kind at the moment. They are not family, but feel just as if they are. Old friends whom we have known for nearly thirty years, insisting that they do the driving 'to give me a break'.

We went off to Pont Aven, a small town about 45 minutes away, and one of the most visited in this part of Brittany. The town is famous for its gathering of artists in the late 19th century, a gathering that included Emile Bernard and Paul Gauguin. There is an excellent little museum/gallery with many of the works of the painters of the Pont Aven school. Pont Aven is also unusual in that it had fourteen water mills at one time, being a centre for milling. There is only one left that is in working order now, and that has been turned into a restaurant.
Above is one of Paul Gauguin's paintings. I'm sure that it must be of the mill below.



The only working mill has a large wooden water wheel at the side. Somehow I missed getting it in the photo.



And below.........the way I feel right now! I have so many things to catch up on!

Sunday lunch out.

After a very lovely service at our Church we took our visitors out for lunch. Just round the corner is a family run Pizzeria, where the service is friendly and the food is all home cooked.

Two of us had pizzas, which were enormous, and two had what was fondly billed as 'Petite salades'. These filled a plate and were ornamented with avocado, warm potato, hard boiled egg, etc etc. Very filling, and I'm so glad not to have had the large version. We were just saying that the restaurant wasn't very full, when the door opened, and a handful of people came in. Followed by several more handfuls, mothers, children, baby in pram, grandmother and grandfather. We stopped counting at 25! As they passed our table, every one greeted us with a 'bonjour, bon appetit!'.

We asked our waitress if it was a birthday, but she said, No it is a celebration of a first Communion.

It was so touching to see such a huge gathering of family and friends together.

I'm back. With a new livebox all installed and connected. I felt quite proud of myself, as when the technician came , he told me that I had got all the wires in the right places.

The foxgloves above are in a corner of our garden, and I love them. Every year they come up bigger and better, but sadly this year missing the one white one.

I tried to explain the English name to my neighbour, who looked politely puzzled.

'Gloves?'

'Yes, gloves. '

Of a fox?'

'Well, yes, not of course that a fox actually wears gloves, but it's what we call them in England.''

'Ah...... bon. Here, (explaining very clearly and simply) they are of course, Digitale'.

(But foxglove is a much nicer name, don't you think?)

Internet problems

My internet is not where it should be. The complications of access here are many, one of them being that I had to queue for half an hour this morning at 'France Telecom', to get a new Livebox. I dont know what the equivalent is in UK now, but here it is the box through which all connections to internet and phone come. Or should come.

At the moment we are running about 50-50, connected to both phone and computer some of the time, and not most of the time.

I just dont like or understand technology. The man who was supposed to come and fix it hasnt turned up, so I may be out of reach for a while.

Sigh.

Book review

I was sent a free copy of this book by Booksneeze (Thomas Nelson), and asked to give an honest review of the book. I was in no way compensated for this.'What the Heart Sees' is a collection of three books in one, by Kathleen Fuller.

Each story is a light romance with a different scenario, but all are based around the Amish. The author obviously has a great deal of knowledge about Amish traditions, lore and language, but I did at times find it annoying to have to keep referring to a glossary of Amish terms.

The stories are light and easy to read, with little suspense. It is easy to work out what will be happening, but they are pleasant and uncomplicated. It was interesting to learn about some of the family traditions of the Amish groups, but the stories did not show some of the struggles that must exist in the lives of these people. The young ladies portrayed all seemed to be very malleable, as indeed maybe they are.

However, if you want a pleasant and uncomplicated read, then this is an easy book to whip through.

A small harvest

It's that time again, when things suddenly start to ripen, and need picking. Everything is a bit early this year, and the Goosberries are almost ready. I couldnt resist picking a few yesterday, just to make a little crumble (mouths watering?)
And of course, these beauties are one of our favourite soft fruits of the year. Sadly we dont have as many this year, something to do with replanting with many maiden plants. But what we do have taste pretty good to me!



Later there will be raspberries and blackcurrants. I can't wait!

Honeymoon.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have gone on honeymoon. Various places are being bandied around the internet.

Is it The Seychelles? Is it Martinique? Is it........

I do pray that this young couple can be left alone, with no repeats of the disgraceful paparazzi scenes that have haunted the Royal family for years.

Let's hope for,

No helicopters overhead,

No long range cameras trained from a hillside miles away.

No rustlings in the bushes,

No one unkind enough to sell the information as to where they are.
No intrusive phone calls.

Nothing.

I won a giveaway!

Thank you Beth, at 'An instrument for His Glory.'

I entered her giveaway a little while ago, and was delighted to win this book,

which I feel I am going to find a blessing.

All I need now is the time, the peace and quiet to sit and absorb it.

Robbed!

One day this week, a friend of mine was in the local supermarket, pottering round with her trolley, handbag firmly closed.

She was approached by a very charming young lady, possibly Romanian or Polish, carrying a clipboard on which was an 'official' paper describing a new home for the handicapped to be built in the town nearby.

Would she like to make a small donation? Maybe 20 euros? Like all these other names on the list? As she drew out 5 euros from her purse, another equally charming girl approached from the other side, politely introduced herself ...'Bonjour Madame, I am Anna, how kind of you to make a donation, many people are giving to this charity.........'

At the same time as she was being distracted by 'Anna' the first girl must have slipped her fingers into my friend's purse and found a large amount of notes that she had recently drawn out of the wallbank. Until she reached the check out a few minutes later, she had no idea what had happened. The two girls meanwhile were scurrying to the exit.
I spent the afternoon at the Gendarmerie with her, and although they had had other reports of these girls' activities, they had not been caught, though they are on the store's CCTV cameras.
It's not the loss of the money, it's the feeling of having been duped that hurts her.
I am going to be very watchful when I next visit the supermarket. Brittany was never like this years ago. How sad that it is becoming a place where you can't trust.

'We're a couple of swells'

Our church hall is perhaps not the newest or most attractive room, but last night it had been made to look welcoming and pretty for our Talent night. Supper was served in the interval, and the cast list comprised a mixture of songs, poetry, readings and just general fun things.

I promised you a photo of the 'Couple of swells', complete with spats and amazing costumes!

Didnt they look the part?

They took the house by storm, and I'm sure will be approached by local Talent scouts!

It was such a good evening with many of our congregation and friends attending. It all made for a family atmosphere....which is what we hope to show.

Spats

What are these curious articles?

They're Spats, made to be worn over the top of a gentleman's shoe. They were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th Century, and no well dressed man would have worn morning dress without them.

We are having what is laughingly known as a 'Talent night' at Church this week. Two ladies decided to sing 'We're a Couple of Swells', and naturally, needed spats as part of their costume.

Have you ever made spats? No nor had I, but I found a pattern on the internet, as one does, and went ahead.
I only hope they look as good as this Scottish piper, also wearing long spats over his shoes.



I'll take photos of the 'swells!'

Picking daisies

I found this evocative poem recently, written by Nadine Stair at the age of 85. It says so much about the small regrets that we have as we age.
It would be easy to think that regrets are all we have in reading this. It doesnt mention the joys, of which there are many.

If I Had My Life to Live Over
(I would pick more daisies)
by Nadine Stair

I'd dare to make more mistakes next time.
I'd relax, i would limber up.
I would be sillier than I have been this trip
I would take fewer things seriously
I would take more chances
I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers
I would eat more ice cream and less beans
I would perhaps have more actual troubles,
but I'd have few imaginary ones

You see, I'm one of those people who live sensibly
and sanely hour after hour, day after day
Oh, I've had my moments
and if I had it to do over again,
I'd have more of them
In fact, I'd try to have nothing else
Just moments, one after another,
instead of livng so many years ahead of each day
I've been one of those persons who never
goes anywhere without a thermometer,
a hot water bottle, a raincoat and a parachute.
If I had to do it again,
I would travel lighter than I have

If i had my life to live over,
I would start barefoot earlier in the spring
and stay that way later in the fall
I would go to more dances,
I would ride more merry-go-rounds.

I would pick more daisies.

.

Barbie garden?

Wandering around my garden this morning, I couldnt help but notice that a lot of my plants are...Pink. It is indeed a favourite colour of mine, but I hadnt realised just how much of a 'Barbie garden' I have!

Pots of Pink Geraniums always call to mind one of my favourite books, 'The little White Horse' by Elizabeth Goudge. I'm sure these lupins were cream last year, but no, they're pink.

What a joy my roses are. This is a French rose called Pierre de Ronsard, no scent but beautiful flowers, also pink.

Ah, Aquilegias, or Granny's Bonnets, um, also pink. I think they have self seeded as I'm sure there were white ones there last year.

And....the stunner of the season. My amazing pink poppies.

Every year I think that they can't get better, but they do.

There are many more plants which have produced pink flowers, all without my planning!

I'm just a Barbie girl at heart.

May 1st in France

May 1st in France is heralded by these two images.

Houses here in Brittany will have a branch of new Beech leaves tucked by the front door or on the gate. When I asked why , my neighbour just said 'It's the custom'. Of course, Lilly of the Valley is everywhere. It is sold in little bunches on the street. It is given by neighbour to neighbour. It is the flower of May 1st.
How lovely that our Duchess of Cambridge chose it in her wedding bouquet.