On The First Day Of Christmas.................

To coin a phrase it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here.
The Byers Choice Carolers are out and in fine voice and today, 6th December in honour of Old St Nick, the Santas arrived laden with sacks of toys and goodies to decorate the dining room mantlepiece.
More about them later in the week.

Like everyone else I have boxes and boxes of Christmas "stuff" in the attic, (not all of it is displayed every year) it's always a joy to unpack the boxes and take a nostalgic trip down memory lane as I decide what will be displayed where, whilst listening to Christmas music CD's.
Christmas Carols from Saint Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle is a particular favourite.

Each year I limit myself to buying just one new item to hang on the tree but when I saw the beautiful hand made, limited edition, 2011 Partridge Nest created by Vicki in her Sacred Yarn Room (ably assisted by her very good friend Mary) on her blog 2 Bags Full my heart did a little flip!

Then when I read that
 "The charitable portion of the proceeds from the sale of this nest will be donated to our local Ronald McDonald House. So many families can't be at home during the holidays because they have sick children in the hospital. These funds will be used to help make their Christmas a little brighter."

I wanted to buy one even more.

Sadly, all the nests that Vicki had created were already spoken for by the time I saw them and I resigned myself to waiting until Christmas 2012 for my Designer nest.
You can imagine how delighted I was when Vicki emailed me to say that one of the reserved nests had not been picked up and it was mine if I wanted it.
In keeping with the Pantomime season it felt like  "Cinders you shall go to the ball!"

The beautiful hand crafted Partridge Nest arrived today and I have spent a very pleasant afternoon fluffing my nest and finding the best place to display it, in all it's gorgeousness.
With the nest came a wonderful glazed pottery pear to sit in the centre of the nest and a partridge ornament to hang on the Christmas tree, these were both made by Susan Jenkins another talented friend of Vicki's.

Click here to find out more about Vicki's amazing hand made nests and perhaps get your name on the list for next year!
Now, if I could only get hold of those Williams Sonoma 12 Days Of Christmas plates...................

Linking this post to Bunny Jean's Wednesday Bunny Hop

Poor Old Mr Ben!

My little dog - a hearbeat at my feet.

Edith Wharton.

Our sweet little cocker spaniel Ben has been under the weather recently.

A quick trip to the vet's last week resulted in
a 15 day course of antibiotics, for a undiagnosed infection of all four paws,
and a disinfectant foot wash for every other day;
 a five day course of medicine for an ear infection
(which made him ill between 2 o'clock and 4 o'clock every night for 5 nights!),
 sterilizing ear wash and ear drops;
plus his annual vaccination against rabies.

We also had his eyes tested and picked up another bottle of eye drops
to replace the tears his poor old eyes have ceased to produce.

Quite an expensive visit but he's so worth it!

As you can imagine with all of the above to deal with
 plus those 5 nights without much sleep
there hasn't been too much time left over for blogging.
So, I thought I'd let you know
 that my very good friend Sarah @ Hyacinths For The Soul
has written, today, about her visit to us here in Normandy.
Maybe you'd like to pop in and see us all there?
And
My November Book Reviews are on my other blog
just books
if you're looking for something to read during the holiday season.

Seasonal Sunday.

Tomorrow is the first Sunday in Advent 2011 and since I'm nowhere near ready to decorate or even bake Weihnachts Plaetzchen this year I've decided to repost my first Advent Sunday post from 2010.

As today is the First Sunday in Advent I'd like to share a little of my story with you, and introduce you to a wonderful friend of ours.
In 1984 Mr B's career took us to Bavaria, Germany.
We left all our family and friends behind in the UK to start a new life in a new country. Scary.
We threw ourselves wholeheartedly into our new surroundings, making many German friends in our neighbourhood and amongst his work collegues, but the most important friends we made were our landlords and next door neighbours Herr & Frau Wilde.
Over the years we shared many wonderful times with the Wildes, celebrating not only high days and holidays but also day to day life in Pöcking, a small town on the shores of Starnberger See.
Frau Wilde (never Traudl, never "du") sort of adopted me as the daughter she never had.
She taught me many things, like how to play bridge, she is a fanatical bridge player and to this day, if I ever get the chance to play, I always find myself bidding in German! (Vier pik!)
We spent many an afternoon sitting in her "winter garden" as she helped me improve my embroidery, knitting, and German conversation skills all the time enjoying her "kaffee und kuchen".

From top right: Our house
 a favourite woods where we walked our dogs,
Feldafinger Strasse.

The snow season in Bavaria starts around the beginning of December and during our first winter in Pöcking she taught me how to cross country ski on the local golf course in Feldafing.
Did I mention that the lady was born in 1918?

Frau W & me 1991

Perhaps the one thing that Frau Wilde taught me which touched me the deepest was how to celebrate Christmas the Bavarian way,
Her Weihnachts Plaetzchen (Christmas biscuits) such as Zimtsterne and Springerele were legendary.

And so on this First Sunday in Advent and in honour of a much loved lady, I'd like to invite you to "kaffe und kuchen" my way.

My Adventskranz 2010.

Sadly, fresh evergreen wreaths are not easily found here in rural Normandy and so once again this year, a "faux" wreath decorated with white poinsettia flowers and silver pine cones surrounds four classic white Church candles.

The china service is Rosenthal's "Classic Rose" in white, which with its silvery grey design and gold trim complements the Adventskranz beautifully.
Napkins: Spode Christmas tree. (was sonst?)

For you to enjoy during the Adventszeit

 old fashioned mincepies 

and lebkuchen, a very simple iced biscuit similar to gingerbread.

Joining the Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday # 76

 with this nostalgic look at Christmas past.

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.

Reality Shot Thursday

After a visit recently to the garden centre for new rose bushes (Peace) and top soil to plant them in

 I snapped this quick shot of my very basic (definitely not glamourous) potting table.

The table acts as a catch all space for things going in and out of the house

 from the laundry/wine cellar/storeroom,

 which you can just glimpse through the window,

 behind it.

Now, that's a place you really wouldn't want to see.

Keeping things real with Claudia

 for Reality Shot Thursday #6

 over at Mockingbird Hill Cottage.

It doesn't get more real that this!

Teatime treat - Apple and Sultana Cake.

We've had a good crop of eating apples this year

from the trees espaliered against the garden wall.

As a thank you for staying home with the dogs, whilst I swanned off to Paris last week, I baked an apple and sultana cake to make teatime a little bit special for the Senior Partner.

(he's partial to fruit cake) 

It's a very simple cake to make, especially if you have a KitchenAid Mixer.

Ingredients:

350g self raising flour

150ml sunflower oil

175g golden brown sugar

3 eggs (beaten)

1tsp ground cinnamon

75g golden sultanas

3 medium sized eating apples (peeled, cored and diced into small pieces).

Method:

Preheat oven to 180⁰C /350⁰F/Gas 4

Lightly grease and base line a 21cm/8" deep cake tin.

Pour the sunflower oil into a bowl - add the sugar and beat together until well blended.

Gradually beat in the eggs until the mixture has increased in volume, then add the sieved flour and cinnamon and stir gently into the liquid, until fully incorporated.

Add the diced apples and sultanas and mix well, don't worry if the mixture is stiff.

Transfer to the baking tin and bake for about an hour or until golden brown.

Check for doneness by testing with a wooden skewer, if any uncooked mixture sticks to the skewer, continue to bake the cake for a further 10 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean.

Leave in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack until completely cool.

Linking this post to Weekend Cooking @ Beth Fish Reads

click on the link to see Beth's review of

The Mozza Cookbook

 by

 Nancy Silverton

White Pumpkin Vignette.

One of my favourite blogs to visit is The Tablescaper.
She has such wonderful ideas, not to mention the china, pottery, accessories, linens and silverware collections that she owns.
Well, I guess the clue is in the name of the blog!
Although I personally don't "tablescape" (is that a verb?) I often find inspiration there for ways to decorate our home, especally at this time of year - Autumn.
A recent post featured a collection of gorgeous white pumpkins and brown ceramics, you can see it by clicking here.
Suitably inspired, I went "shopping", through my home, to create a fall vignette for the top of the wood burning stove in the sitting room.

I gathered together a large faux white pumpkin (TJ Maxx 2009), a white ceramic cake stand, rattan tablemat and faux fall wreath (Michaels 2009).

I added a tall lantern (a recent purchase from La Redoute), which I placed on a couple of hardback books for extra height, before lighting the "Cashmere" candle inside.
Then for added interest and texture, a log which I unearthed from the outdoor wood pile, "enhanced" with real horse chestnuts from the garden.

I really like how it evolved, however the chimney sweep called by the house on Friday morning to clear away any debris which might be blocking said chimney.
Soon there will be wonderful log fires to sit beside, with tea and books, so I think I'd better find a safer place to relocate this vignette to, very soon.

Joining The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays

and

Marty @ A Stroll Through Life for Tabletop Tuesday # 86

click on the links or sidebar buttons

 to see who else is particpating this week.

A Seasonal mosaic

There's definitely a chill in the air these early mornings here in Normandy.
Autumn has finally arrived after our wonderully unexpected Indian summer of last week.
To add a touch of Fall decor to the dining room I used an orange and black paisley shawl as a table runner on the dining table, filled an antique Choissy -  le - Roi, Majolica soup tureen with windfall apples and pears and placed it on a matching serving platter.
I added faux mini pumpkins, leaves, berries, acorns, real horse chestnuts from the garden, a pair of vintage French, silver plated pheasants and a simple white lantern to complete a seasonal vignette.
Photographing the whole table was a nighmare, thank heavens for mosaics!

Joining the Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays #69

Mary @ the little red house for Mosaic Monday
and Marty's Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Through Life

Click on the links or sidebar buttons to visit our gracious hosts.

Reality Shot Thursdays

Have you ever looked at a favourite blog and found a new party going on that you think you like the look of?

Well, this morning whilst perusing Mary's delightful blog "A Breath of Fresh Air" I discovered Reality Shot Thursdays a new blog party being hosted by Claudia @ Mockingbird Hill Cottage.
Claudia describes it like this -
it's about letting everyone in on a glimpse of real life in our homes every Thursday, a Reality Shot  is what's just to the left or right of a staged, pretty photograph?

If I can drag myself away

 from my computer and camera today

 this is my next task...........ironing!

Go on take a deep breath and show us what's lurking at the corner of your eye.

Pink Saturday in October!

Although it's officially Autumn and the Virginia creeper on the house is beginning to change colour from green to burgundy, there are still plenty of roses in my garden.

So, I'm sending you all a little piece of pink, from Normandy, to celebrate the first day of October!

Joining Beverly @ How Sweet The Sound and her wonderful Pink Saturday party

click on the link to see more beautiful pinkness from around the globe.

Blogging again and having fun with friends!

Such a lot has been happening since my last post almost 2 weeks ago that I'm only now able to catch my breath.
I'll be posting about where we went and what we got up to during our wonderful break back "home" in the UK very soon, but first I want to share with you the two visits which we have had since our return.
On Wednesday my very good blogging friend Jenny, & her husband Enno, (Two Tumbleweeds) from Holland came for tea.
It was the first time we had met face to face but you would never have known it, as we hit it off right from the start.

Jenny & Enno
just two tumbleweeds!

Jenny & Enno are both talented artists click here to go to Jenny's new painting blog.
The Senior Partner and I were thrilled when Jenny presented us with one of her artworks which she had painted during their time spent close to Monet's Garden at Giverny.

We spent a lovely afternoon together chatting over tea and scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam.

As they left Jenny told me that she felt we could be related, well, all I know is that we're family now!
On Thursday afternoon my dear friend Sarah (aka Hyacinths For The Soul) and her husband Mr HFTS came to stay for the weekend.

Sarah, Mr Ben & me

Sarah and I met over 10 years ago, through our love of Quimper pottery, at the Quimper Club meeting in Washington, DC and have met almost every year, since then, at the same annual event.

Monogrammed napkins from Roundtop,
gingerbread from Dijon & graines de moutarde de Bourgogne,
French nougat, quince,thyme & rosemary preserves,
 and
pretty notecards

Mr B & I were in the UK whilst the club was meeting this year in Brittany but Sarah soon brought me up to date on all the latest Q news and I felt as if I'd almost been there myself!
She also brought delightful gifts for us both, we did feel spoilt.

Hyacinth in Bayeux!

Sarah & I drove to Bayeux on Friday for a little flea marketing, a visit to the Bayeux Tapestry and the Cathedral, followed by crepes for lunch.
If that girl lived here we could get up to all sorts of mischief!

experiencing my local epicerie

The "husbands" were happy to sit in the sunshine and have lunch in the garden putting the world to rights, until Sarah & I arrived home with one or two "treasures" found at the Depot Vente.

Hidden in a pile of plates I discovered this special piece. Number 50 of 300.
It was produced in 1990 to celebrate the "Trois siècles de faïences", Keraluc, Quimper.

The price?
 Just 2€ -  the thriftiest find I've ever had!

Joining Bunny Hop Wednesday at Bunny Jeans Decor & More

 French Inspiration Thursday @ The French Cupboard
and

Vintage Thingies Thursday with the Colorado Lady

Click on the links to see who else is participating in these great meme's this week.

Tuesday morning muffin - Ginger Pear

There's something about a wet and windy Tuesday morning that has me reaching for my favourite muffin recipe book - "Muffins fast and fantastic" by Susan Reimer.
Mine is the second edition 1999, but you can still find it on Amazon if you click here.

The espaliered trees on the west facing garden wall are heavy with apples and pears.

Ginger Pear Muffins

Did you know that the second post I ever wrote was about a Tuesday morning muffin?
It received one comment!
I was such a newbie at blogging.
But quite good at making muffins!
Still am..............
Click here if you missed it and are not the person who commented.

Joining Bunny Jean for Wednesday's Bunny Hop the place to meet new bloggers every week.

The faded charm of pink hydrangeas.

I've been in the wars a little bit this week!
On Monday I was stung by a wasp on my lower left arm, as I'm mildly allergic to wasp stings it wasn't long before the swelling went from elbow to fingers.
As I'd had the same thing happen last year I had antihistamine tablets and cortisone cream in the cabinet so after a couple of days the swelling was starting to recede.
That was until this afternoon (Thursday) when I got stung again whilst in the garden getting some fresh air.
Same arm, just higher up!
Taking no chances I went to see our lovely Dr B-B who loaded me up with more tablets, cream, compresses, alcohol (to cool the arm, not to drink!) and bandages to hold the compresses in place!
I look like the walking wounded and have to stay this way for 10 days.
So, I need some fresh flowers to cheer me up, more than ever which is why I'm ..............................

Joining Liz @Rose Vignettes once more for Fresh Cut Friday.

Even though they are past their summer pink gorgeousness now

 my hydrangeas are still bringing me pleasure.

I'll let them dry out here in the dining room and

enjoy their faded charm for many more months to come.

Joining Beverly too for Pink Saturday @How Sweet The Sound.

Please click on the links to join both of these lovely ladies for gorgeous flowers and delightful pinks, me, I'm staying indoors with a good book until all the wasps have gone.