A Milestone.

Yesterday was a bit of a milestone day for me not only was it my 170th post but the number of people following Normandy Life reached 100 when Shakira signed on as a follower.

I find it incredible that 100 people scattered across the globe are willing to spend a few minutes now and again to read my "bucolic ramblings".

The most amazing thing is, that apart from a very small handful of family and close friends, most of my followers are people that I have never met in person and probably never will.

Despite that you are all very important to me and I feel that through your own blogs I have come to know you quite well over the past two years.

One person who's path would probably never have crossed mine in the real world is the lovely Kathy, otherwise known as Happy Mrs C .

Kathy was the winner of my 2nd Blogaversary giveaway last month and she recently blogged about receiving my package from France. She included some delightful photographs, of the gifts, staged in her garden amongst her stunning azaleas.
Kathy lives on Lookout Mountain, doesn't that sound like a great place to live, we met through Mrs Matlocks Alphabe-Thursday meme, a great favourite of mine.

So, thanks once more to all my wonderful cyber friends for helping this transplanted English rose in rural Normandy feel less isolated and thoroughly connected to you all.

Happy 2nd Anniversary to me! We have a winner!!

Today I'm celebrating the 2nd Anniversary of my Normandy Life blog, with Mr B & Mr Ben and 43 friends who all said nice things about my Alphabe-Thursday M post.

Random.org picked out #15 as the winner! "Happy Mrs C". who left this comment:
I would love to go to Paris and just wander and watch people. I make lemon meringue pies with meringue that high! it is really pretty easy, just use 4 egg whites a little sugar.
So now we know how to recreate the historic meringue that Mr B & I enjoyed so much in the Marais tearoom.

Mrs C please email me your address so that I can get your French cadeau on it's way to Lookout Mountain.
The past two years have flown by as I shared my ramblings of la vie quotidienne (daily life) in rural Normandy; learned new computer and photography skills; how to create mosaics; learned to love my slow cooker once again; gained the confidence to create a second blog, this time for the Quimper Club International and even how to tablescape!

To all the wonderful friends that I have made along the way a great big thank you from the bottom of my heart for your comments, emails, humour, camaraderie and support.
Despite most of you living thousands of miles away you are in my life, and it is a life all the richer for it!
au revoir from Normandie.

N is for Napoleon for Alphabe-Thursday

I have just finished reading "The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B", the first book in a trilogy, by author Sandra Gulland. So surprisingly, my N post for Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday meme this week is not about Normandy but Napoleon (Bonaparte).
My friend Sarah @ Hyacinths For the Soul has written several wonderful blogs about these books, read her Alphabe-Thursday J post here.
Of course I couldn't wait to read the books myself and promptly ordered them from Amazon.
We meet Napoleon towards the end of the book, in a paragraph entitled "In which I am introduced to a strange little man". Josephine was not impressed by the Corsican soldier, it was certainly not love at first sight.
She describes him thus: "a curious looking man with short legs and a big head. The man was remarkable. His long, limp hair hung down around his ears in a sorry attempt at fashion. His skin was sallow and his figure so thin his threadbare breeches seemed to hang. His eyes were large, grey in colour, striking. His teeth were good (Josephine's were not!) But there was an intensity in his expression that forbade levity".
I don't think it will spoil the story for you if I said that shortly after they met they were wed?

During the time that Mr B and I were refurbishing this big old house one of our favourite haunts was the Hotel de Vente in Bayeux where we purchased many vintage/antique items. One of my favourites was this print of an etching of Napoleon as Emperor.

I remember that Maître (the auctioneer) was very surprised and not too happy that his predominantly French audience was allowing an English man to acquire a portrait of Napoleon. Perhaps the Duke of Wellington and the memory of the Battle of Waterloo still lingered on? Click on the link to find out why it might be hard to forget.


I digress........... the portrait enjoys pride of place on the wall at the turn of the staircase and your eye is drawn to it every time you enter the house through the front doors.
Another very early purchase, after moving to France, this time from a depot vente in Cherbourg was this pair of plates finely painted with the portraits of Josephine & the Emperor Napoleon. (Double left click on all the photos to enlarge).

I know now that they were produced at the Pouplard Beatrix faiencerie in Malicorne-sur-Sarthe sometime between 1895 -1900, sadly I sold them before I discovered that fact!!
C'est la vie!
There is still time to enter my 2nd Blog Anniversary Giveaway, click here and leave a comment.
The lucky winner's name will be picked at random tomorrow, Saturday 24th April.
"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever. - Napoleon Bonaparte.

I hope you've enjoyed my N post today, now scoot over to Mrs Matlock's classroom to see who else's name is on the register.

Alphabe-Thursday L is for........La Métairie

I'm so excited to be joining in with Mrs Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday today, where the letter under the spotlight this week is "L", because the wonderful Julie Schuler @ My Good Babushka , a very talented artist and fellow A-T contributor, is offering a signed copy of her book "Ludmilla the Clown Went Missing" to one lucky participant.
Head over to Jenny's to find out more about how to win this great prize but first I must tell you about a wonderful shop that I recently discovered, La Métairie.

"La Métairie"specializes in "Decoration et Art de la Table" and is a place where I can easily lose track of time, admiring the displays and discovering one more "must have" item after another.

Will it be that beautiful hand embroidered linen cushion (pillow) sitting so prettily on the couch by the door, a set of stylish verrines to use for the mushroom appetizers I've been wanting to try, some mercury glass votive candle holders or a pretty "chemin a table" (table runner) for the dining room?

But wait, just look at this gorgeous white painted, wooden tray perfect for serving "DP's" outside on a warm summer's evening.

Well, dear reader none of these delicious items came home with me yesterday, because I wasn't shopping for myself.

I was searching for my upcoming 2nd Blog Anniversary Giveaway prize, I was shopping for you!

Now, head over to Jenny's and check out all those great L posts, but come back to Normandy soon to see the pretty cadeau that I got for you at La Métairie...................................