Alphabe-Thursday. G is for Gavotte

It's been a while since I've shared pictures of beautiful antique and vintage pieces of Quimper faïence.
For this week's Alphabe-Thursday with Mrs Matlock @ Off On My Tangent I created a mosaic featuring two plates, a tall and slender jug, a bowl, and a two wall pockets, one shaped as an umbrella and the other in the form of a ladies slipper.

What these beautiful pieces all have in common is the hand painted motif of a young Breton couple, captured mid-step whilst dancing a country folk dance called a Gavotte.
These pieces have all been part of our collection at some time but sadly all belong in other collections now!
The Gavotte remains popular in Brittany to this day and you will often see it demonstrated during the many wonderful festivals held throughout Brittany during the summer months.

Beautiful costumes
Festival de Cornouaille  July 2002

Click here to visit the Festival de Cornouaille 2012 website.
If you are planning a trip to Brittany this year you shouldn't miss this wonderful event.

Daily daffodil

Christmas Open House Tour Part 2 – Festive.

Welcome to the second and final part of the Presbytère house tour.

In the library the tree is finally decorated and the dining room table is looking festive.

I began with a pair of table runners overlaid with silver and gold chargers.
The china is Rosenthal "Classic Rose".

The red napkins were a TJ Maxx purchase the last time we visited Hilton Head, SC. and the white napkins are from the Spode Christmas Tree range, as are the coasters beneath the stemware.

The stemware is vintage Baccarat, bought at auction in Bayeux several years ago. I think the pattern is Harcourt.

The green English pressed glass dishes are vintage too, I’ll serve one of our favourite appetizers in these; avocado prawn cocktails with Marie Rose sauce, very 1970’s!

I kept the centrepiece simple, a large white candle inside a plain glass hurricane surrounded by a faux wreath embellished with faux white poinsettias and gold accents.

I love Christmas Carols, singing along to them when playing CD's at home or, even better, going to a Carol concert and lending my voice (not good!) to all the others, an opportunity that I rarely have living as we do in deepest rural Normandy.

When our house & pet sitter called to let me know that she was available for a few days due to a cancellation, the Senior Partner and I quickly agreed that a long weekend back in the U.K. was just the pick me up we both needed.
Herefordshire is a favourite place of ours to visit and so we decided to head back there and experience it during the festive season.
I saw on line that the Goodrich Village Choir the “Roaring Megs” would be appearing at the Hostellerie in Goodrich on Friday evening. There was mention of open braziers, hot chestnuts, mulled wine, sausage rolls and mince pies whilst the lovely choir entertain us and bring the whole spirit of Christmas to our doorstep.
I booked a room and dinner for two, tout suite.
Then I read in the December issue of "Herefordshire Life" magazine that an Advent market and Carols for Shoppers would be taking place Saturday morning in the grounds of Hereford Cathedral, and that the Ledbury Community Choir would be performing at a Carol Concert in Ledbury on Saturday evening.
After a few minutes spent on google I'd found a lovely apartment for two in the centre of Ledbury, a beautiful little town steeped in history, and booked it for Saturday and Sunday.
So, there will be carols, shopping, good food and wine, carols, a seasonal client meeting for the Senior Partner, did I mention carols, and a rare opportunity for retail therapy with a friend for me.
As we’ll be on the overnight ferry back to Normandy late Monday, a cosy cabin to ensure a good night’s sleep in case of a choppy Channel crossing has also been reserved!

Isn't that enough to make anyone feel Festive?

Joining Jenny @ off on my tangent

for Alphabe-Thursday

I'm sure there will be lots of festivity happening this week in blogland

 as we celebrate the letter "F"!

E is for Evergreen.

Joining Jenny @ off on my tangent

for Alphabe-Thursday

where E is the letter of choice this week.

D is for ducks.

Picture the scene.................

The Senior Partner and I are walking our dogs, Ben and Fleur,

on the path close to the river bank.

We turned down a track and caught sight of a large pond,

in the middle of nowhere,

that we hadn't come across before.

The conversation went something like this:

Me: Look at all those ducks on that pond, and it's hunting season, too!

SP: They're decoys.

Me: Of course they're not, they're real.

SP: Why aren't they moving then?

Trusty Lumix in hand, I walked nearer to get a better look.

He wasn't wrong!

Can you see, on the right, the overhanging roof of the blind

 where the hunters lie in wait for the real wild ducks to land?

This is the entrance to the blind, on the land side.

 I tried to get inside to get a "birds eye view"(!) but it was locked up tight!

Handing in my D assignment to Mrs Matlock

 for Alphabe - Thursday

@ off on my tangent.

Hope it get's an "A"!

Chutney/Confit

As I set off for a walk the other afternoon I noticed that a neighbour, the farmer who's cows are in the fields surrounding us, was out in his orchard collecting apples with his young family.
Imagine my delight when I got back home to find a bucket of apples by the front gate.

After picking them over and washing off the leaves and grass I seperated them out, some for eating and some for cooking.
Chutney is something that I enjoy making especially at this time of year, so I gathered the rest of the ingredients together and got peeling!

The French word confit can mean any type of food that is preserved.
A tomato confit goes well with chicken and an onion confit is great served with goats cheese, a balsamic vinegar will deepen the sweet/sour flavour of both.
The English word chutney, derived from the Indian word chatni,  has become one of the UK's favourite condiments and is never far away when a curry is on the menu.
Here's my quick and easy recipe for a spicy apple chutney, equally good with English cheeses such as cheddar, cheshire and white stilton or a French cheese like camembert or brie.
It also goes well with ham/gammon, pork, cold roast chicken/turkey, ideal for Christmas leftovers.

Here's what to do..............
Take
8oz onions, chopped
2lb apples, cored & chopped but not peeled
4oz sultanas, raisins or dates, chopped
half a teaspoon each of ground coriander, mixed spice, paprika and salt
12oz granulated sugar (I used half white, half golden)
three quarters pint (or one and a half cups) of vinegar.
(I used a special pickling vinegar this time but you can use malt vinegar in this recipe also).

Put
all the ingredients into a large, heavy bottomed saucepan (if you have a preserving pan all the better!) slowly bring to the boil and cook until the sugar has melted.
Then simmer for two hours on a low heat (keep an eye on it from time to time, so it doesn't burn on the bottom) until it is thick and sticky.
To test if a chutney is ready, I always follow Delia's advice.
Take
a wooden spoon and draw it quickly along the bottom of the pan if it leaves behind a channel that doesn't fill up immediately with liquid then it's ready!

If you like your chutney a little less spicy you can amend the quantities of each spice but don't leave out any one spice completely or it will upset the balance.
Decant the chutney into sterilized jars, seal and store in a dark, cool place for 2/3 months before eating.

Joining Mrs Matlock for Alphabe-Thursday

 where you will find lots more C words

also

Beth Fish Reads

for

Weekend Cooking
and
The Tablescaper
for Seasonal Sundays

Click on the links or sidebar buttons (you know the rest!)

A swarm of French B's.

clockwise from top left:
bee
boucherie
bombarde & biniou musicians on Quimper faience
ben
basil
boulanger

bulldog

clockwise from top left:
bar
boucherie
broderie decor on Quimper faience
blue shutters
boulanger
bonaparte

I trawled my photo archives and strolled around town at the weekend

to find some very Frenchy B's

for

week deux of Mrs Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday
@ off on my tangent

 where the letter B is the star today.
Click on the link to join in the fun.


In 2010 my B post for Alphabe-Thursday was all about our dogs.
Click here if you'd like to meet the gang.

Alphabe-Thursday. A is for Apple

Once again Miz Jenny Matlock is hosting Alphabe-Thursdays at Off On My Tangent
I didn't fully participate last time having completed the entire alphabet in the previous round, however, AT is a favourite meme of mine and so, here we go again.................................

These apples are being shoveled into a large wooden box to be pulped
before being turned into cider or calvados.

A is for Apple, well what else could it be for in Normandy.

I took this photograph at the Fete de la Pomme in Trévières last Sunday, and will have more to share for the Tablescapers Seasonal Sundays gathering at the weekend.
If you would like to see my A post from the first AT that I particpated in, then click here, and here for the A post from the next.
This my second post today if you're looking for this week's Reality Shot then please scroll on down.

Hot off the press..............Quagga

I hadn't intended joining Mrs Matlock for Alphabe-Thursday but when I received a copy of my nephew Alex's latest school report today and read this comment from his science teacher :

"Alex works particularly well when completing "open ended" tasks and recently produced a fantastic presentation on the extinct "Quagga"

This very proud but ignorant {What the heck is a Quagga?} auntie had to brag about him.

This is a Quagga......................

"The Quagga was a southern subspecies of the plain zebra with withers of 1.30 meter. It differed from other zebras mainly in having been striped on the head, neck, and front portion of its body only, and having been brownish, rather than white, in its upper parts.
The name Quagga has been adopted from the Hottentot speaking indigenous people of the South African interior.
'Quagga' is an imitation of the animal's call, which it shared with the other plain zebras."

You can find out more interesting facts about Quaggas here.

Very well done Alex, Auntie Em is very proud of you!

H is for Hibiscus on Hilton Head.

Just realised that I can join in with Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday this week with a triple HHH post.

This beautiful hibiscus plant is growing just beneath my balcony here at Marriott's Surf Watch resort.
The shadow capture was an extra bonus which means I'll be sharing this post with Harriet and her #130 Shadow Shot Sunday gathering.
Why not click on the links and visit both of these great blogs, I know you'll have fun.

Door push plates for Alphabe-Thursday

Every week I receive a lovely email newsletter from my friend Judy aka Brittany Byways.
She always has lots of lovely Quimper items for sale, antique, vintage and new pieces.

Recently she offered a pair of blue and white door push plates which I knew immediately were destined to be mine.
Luckily I was the first of her clients to email back about them and within days they arrived here in Normandy.
Here they are enhancing our pristine white bedroom door, don't they look the bees knees?
Knew they would!

FYI it's the door that isn't straight not Mr B's handiwork.

Close up of shell motif

Joining Jenny for Alphabe-Thursday this week where the letter D is in the spotlight, be sure to go over and see who else is participating today.

Alphabe-Thursday is Back!! A is for Asparagus & Artichoke.

Sarreguemines Asparagus & Artichoke Plate

Sarreguemines Aspargus & Artichoke Plate

I just discovered that one of my favourite meme's is back this week, Alphabe-Thursday @ Jenny Matlock's blog Off On My Tangent.

Sarreguemines Asparagus & Artichoke Plate

It seems that the last class of students may have worn down poor old Mrs Matlock because this term our teacher is Mrs M's much nicer, and better looking younger sister.

Sarreguemines Asparagus plate

Today, I'm sharing with you picures of French faience asparagus and artichoke plates, which I used to collect before falling head over heels for Quimper pottery.

Sarreguemines Asparagus Plate with 2 shell shaped segments to hold butter or sauce

There's only so much faience a girl can have, something had to go!

Limoges Asparagus plate

All I have now is a set of 10 gold rimmed, 19th century Limoges plates, finely decorated with delicate flowers and leaves, which I just can't part with.

Guess the nephews (or their wives) will have to fight over these when I'm gone.

Sarreguemines Asparagus & Artichoke Plate

Linking also to Claudia's Friday Finding Beauty and Laurie's A Few Of My Favourite Things Saturday.

Be sure to click on the links to see who else in participating this week.

Rainbow Summer School: Just call me mellow Yellow

Courgette flowers.

For Mrs Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday Rainbow summer school project some cool mellow yellows for your delectation. Fruits and flowers blooming in my garden this week. And in case you were wondering, courgettes and pumpkins are technically fruits because they have seeds.
Maybe teach will give me a gold star for that little factlet?

Golden yellow pumpkins.

See you in class.

Alphabet Soup and au revoir Mrs M.

When Miss Jenny began A-T back in January I was a bit slow off the mark and missed linking up with the letter A. So, I linked to Suzanne's VTT instead!
I'm so pleased to have the chance to finally link my A post to Alphabet Soup Thursday, now I have a full set.
Mrs M, it's been so much fun being in your class. I'll miss our Thursday get togethers but will pop in from time to time to see how my favourite teacher is getting along.
Au revoir.

I just found out from my good friend Sarah @ HFTS that there is a new meme in town called Alphabe - Thursday @ Jenny Matlock's blog.
I'm a little late joining in as A was the letter of the week, last week, but better late than never is what I always think so, A is for...................Academy Awards!!
The countdown to the nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards has just 6 days to go and the Oscar ceremony will take place on Sunday March 2nd.
So, hopefully Colorado Lady Suzanne with have her computer back up and running in time for her very popular Vintage Thingies Thursday as I share with you some Hollywood glamour and an intriguing tale from yesteryear.
Ava Gardner.
Porgy & Bess star Pearl Bailey.


A few years ago,whilst mooching around a very large Antiques Fair in Le Mans, I came across a nondescript black, plastic folder containing a number of signed black and white Metro Goldwyn Mayer studio photographs of Hollywood "Stars" from the 1940's and 50's and a handwritten notecard. I'm not a collector of Hollywood ephemera or autographs but something about the small collection and the added personal touch of the notecard "spoke" to me. After a very short haggle about the price the folder came home with me.
I did sell some of the pix on eBay shortly thereafter to a collector in New York who knew a lot more about them than I did and probably was rubbing his hands in glee at the bargain he got that day, c'est la vie.
I still have some of them and more importantly to me I have the notecard too, perhaps I'll use them in some way one day. (Mamie Jane if you are reading this I need your creative input here!)
Esther Williams.

The card was addressed to Dear Countess de Beauregard and signed Jean Douglas.
It reads:

" These pictures arrived just lately - and I only hope you hadn't given them up forever!

My husband and I were very thrilled with the entire Iata (sic) conference, and it was a very great pleasure knowing you and your husband. We're certainly looking forward to seeing you both again in the not too distant future".

My google search produced Jean Douglas - an actress working in Hollywood in the late 1920's and 30's who was credited only as "the blonde" in the Oscar nominated (Best Art Direction) 1930 movie The Vagabond King, starring Jeanette MacDonald.

Lana Turner
Elizabeth Taylor.

Hollywood legend, diva and my personal favourite: Miss Judy Garland.

Also included were photographs of some of Hollywood's leading men of the day: Red Skelton, Walter Pidgeon and Van Johnson.

Happy VTT everyone.

Z is for ZEN; my MP3 player

Alphabe-Thursday this week marks our last day of lessons before we head off for our summer break and in Mrs Matlock's class we have reached the final letter of the alphabet "Z".

Therefore Z is for Zen.

What is Zen?
Wikipedia says it is this:
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The Japanese word Zen is derived from the Chinese word Chán, which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which means "meditation" or "meditative state."

Well, let me show you another type of ZEN.

That's right it's my sweet little MP3 player where I keep my Music & more importantly Books!

I love to listen to books when on a journey.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows "read by Stephen Fry is on there ready for my next long flight to the US.

Doing the housework, vacuuming & dusting, is much less arduous if I bop along to some great Motown Classics at the same time. I just pop ZEN into it's little pink Minnie Mouse sack and off I go.

Who can resist Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"?

A couple of times each year I have a mammoth load of paperwork to file for Mr B's business and the only way to face this onerous task is to listen to a book. It usually takes about two full length paperbacks to finish the job.

Last week it was "Second Opinion" by Michael Palmer, when I finished that I began "Gone Tomorrow" by Lee Child.

Don't tell Mr B but I think I have a crush on Jack Reacher. Working amongst the vegetables in my potager is my time to meditate, and experience Zen, then I choose to listen to Chakra Healing or more often Deepak Chopra's "Soul of Healing Affirmations".

"My body is the garden of my soul, of my soul". See you in class.