looking pretty, feeling fine

Somewhere in the middle of the story I am about to relate there is a moral - I'm struggling to find it, but I just know it's in there somewhere.

Maybe I should start at the beginning.  Yesterday afternoon I had an appointment to shoot pictures for the latest in my 'French girlfriend' series,  it was a beautiful day, I decided to cycle the 20km there and back.  Had a great time, easy ride, stopped to take some pictures en route, picked some berries for the imminent Christmas wreath, ... all went like a dream.

Stay with me, there is a point coming ....

At 5pm I collected my youngest from school and stopped at the sports shop on the way home.  Well, you can imagine after 20km on my bike, I was feeling like a positive sporty saint, and we sailed around the store looking enthusiastically at all sorts of instruments of torture  exercise machines, then we got to the cycle stand where my son was thrilled to find an electric bike and asked permission to try.  A very nice young salesman tried to sell it to us explained what a marvellous machine it was, and my boy was off.  Well, it looked such fun and I was feeling so sporty for the afore mentioned reasons, that I expressed the desire to have a go too.

Now you can see where this is going ....

Let me tell you never to ride a bike inside a shop with highly polished concrete flooring.  I sailed up and down a couple of alleys like a real pro, and was attracting rounds of applause and gasps of admiration (OK,  that bit I made up) until the last bend, where the bike and I parted company!  The shiny floor took control of the brand new wheels and pulled them from beneath me.

I am sorry to report that the first part of my body to hit the ground was my cheekbone, now black and swollen, hence the photo at the top of this post.  The resemblance is alarming, but there's no way I'm showing you a photo so you'll have to take my word on that one.

My sweet son  managed to mutter something about it being quite cool to have a mother who wants to try things out;  the staff in the store were in a frenzy, worried no doubt that I was about to sue, but I'm not that kind of a girl!

It is extremely annoying to have to admit that one is growing older, and although I don't feel I should abstain from being very active,  I guess that  age dictates that we have to become more wary of what we do - especially in public!!

Take care today!!

the christmas wreath

Every year I make a wreath to hang on our front door in the first week of December.  Last year it was mainly holly, the year before box with apples and silver balls.  This year I'm looking for ideas for a simple and natural looking wreath. 

Actually our main entrance is a sort of double door, so a large wreath hung centrally is tricky.  Maybe I'll go for two symmetrical and identical smaller versions.

What do you think of these ideas, found all over the net and stashed away, please forgive the lack of credits, I seem to have lost the links!

I love these ideas from the French Marie Claire magazine.  Lots of wreaths used on the same wall, or a big one decorated with lichis!!

What do you like to put on your front door to welcome Christmas guests?

I'm sure you could give me some good ideas

a french country house to love and care for

If you've ever dreamed of packing up and moving to France, to a truly authentic region, full of history and natural beauty then you'll want to know about this house.  Not just a house actually, a former presbytery, dating back to the 18th century and beautifully restored to create a 4 bedroom/4 bathroom home, with room for more on the top floor.

The house is in the Cotentin,  a  protected area of outstanding natural beauty.   The subtle grey stone of the building is typical of the region and will look wonderful with roses climbing up the walls and over the gate.   Within walking distance to the sea, the house is near St Mère de l'Eglise, made famous during the D-Day landings.

The person who acquires this lovely property will be starting with a clean palette, as inside everything has been very tastefully restored without changing the essential character.   I love the double opening doors, the huge fireplaces and the soft tones of the walls and floors.

The outbuildings give that essential French feel to the property and will prove useful for creating summer rooms or storing garden furniture.  The property lies within easy reach of Paris by train, and close to the port of Cherbourg, making it ideal for anyone thinking of creating a B&B.

The garden is perfect because it's not too big an area to handle, but being surrounded by green fields there's the feeling of size.    I can see this laid out in a potager and parterre, complimenting the strict façade of the house.  The land is rich here, trees and garden grown well, and the property could go from beautiful to stunning in quite a short time.

If you would like more details and other photos, you are welcome to drop me a line and I'll tell you what I know or put you into contact directly with the owners.

sempé - the frenchman who conquered new york

This book  I lift down from my shelves again and again, just for the pleasure of immersing myself into the poetical, whimsical world of Jean Jaques Sempé, a French artist, who has been drawing for 50 years and who in particular conquered New York with his numerous cover illustrations for the New Yorker.

Jean Jaques Sempé has a poet's soul, his characters are small, lost in a giant world of urban buildings, tall trees and infinite ocean.   His characters are musical, there are many children, and cats.  I adore his sense of humour,  his fine observation.

Equally at ease when drawing Paris as New York, he lived in both places for years.  But it was a teenage dream come true the day the New Yorker accepted his first drawing, and then gave him  his first front cover.   A short while later he had his own space in their offices and today, with over 100 front covers to his name he is part of the institution.

 

If you are visiting Paris this winter, there is an exhibition of his drawings at the Town Hall.  Not to be missed!!  And if you'd like to acquire one of his delicious watercolours for your own home, the place to go is the Galérie Martine Gossieux in Paris.