Blog visitors come to call in Normandy!

On Wednesday afternoon some really nice folks came all the way from California for afternoon tea with us at the Presbytere!
Waveney, an artist, writer and interior designer, came to visit my blog "Normandy Life" during the Tartan Parade Party in March.
Click here to see Mr Ben watching the Tartan Parade if you missed that post.

My dear friend Sarah @ Hyacinths for the Soul and Waveney's friend Alison @thepolohouse were both hostesses for the Tartan Parade and as Waveney and Doug were planning their third trip to France, concentrating on the rural countryside this time, with a little antiquing on the side, she contacted me to ask if we were a B&B.
Sadly, I had to let her know that we don't take paying guests (just family & friends) but did say that if they were in our area and had some free time in their schedule we would love to have them call in for tea.
On the morning of their visit the Senior Partner went shopping for beautiful little cakes; eclairs and fruit tarts and some small, delicious quiches to go with the cucumber and cream cheese finger sandwiches that I made.
The weather was so changeable. First we had blue skies & sunshine then overcast grey skies and a chilly wind.
I dithered about not knowing if we should sit out in the garden or if it would be better to stay indoors.
After visiting our local church and photographing the grounds Waveney and Doug arrived promptly at 3.30 pm and we decided to head indoors.

In all the excitement of getting to know new friends I totally forgot to take pictures of the table before we sat down to tea in the dining room.
Waveney brought us a wonderful gift, a beautiful, vintage book entitled "The Cocker Spaniel by Ella B. Moffat which she inscribed:
"To Ben, from chums at Glendogal House. Doug, Waveney, Hank, Maude & Roslyn, 2012."

Hank, Maude & Roslyn are Waveney's dogs!

Click here to take a tour of Glendogal, their stunning home, when it was featured on Alison's blog.
It may take a little time to load as there are lots of pix but you'll be glad you took the tour, believe me.
After tea we took the dogs for a short walk, to work off some of those calories, before returning home for one last picture.

Of course, Mr Ben had to get into the shot, too. After all they had come all this way just to meet him!

Ben watching The Tartan Parade

Ben is sending lots of love and a picnic to share with Sadie

because Aunt Sarah @ Hyacinths For The Soul

 is hosting The Tartan Parade!

We're also visiting with the Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays,

after all it's not every day a chap gets to wear plaid!

And..........

since the letter T is centre stage at Mrs Matlock's Aphabe-Thursday this week

we're joining the party there too.

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.

The foyer/entry/hall back-story - circa 1997.

Last week I really enjoyed taking part in the Room By Room party, hosted by cottage and vine, with photographs of the hall here at the Presbytère.

You left me some very nice comments, merci!

After reading some of them the Senior Partner was overheard to mumble "if only they'd seen what it looked like when we moved in"!
Click here if you missed the "after" post.

So I thought it might be fun to show you what the hall did look like all those years go, in 1997, before and during the major house renovation.
We'll call this the "before" post.
I went through all the photographs that we took to document the work done and scanned them into my PC.
Those of a sensitive disposition may wish to look away NOW!

The original, white painted, front doors -  notice there's no lock or door handle.

The staircase and walls were clad in cheap boards and beading. The previous owner removed the wall and ceiling lights, when it went dark each evening we switched on torches to find our way about the house.

This is Sam one of the builders mates.

It was very dirty work getting them off and the walls beneath were in a dreadful state.

Can you see the loops of electrical wire just hanging down?

These wires were taped together and led from the junction box on the landing to the wall lights - very dangerous.

The entire house needed to be rewired. The wall was replastered where needed and battened for the new plasterboards.

The staircase was rotted through in places, serious restoration was called for.

With work going on in virtualy every room of the house simultaneously, tools and implements, not to mention, other things too, came to rest in very strange places!

What was stashed in the hall depended very much on what was happening in the rooms either side!

The underneath of the cantilevered staircase, which rises up through the centre of the house to my attic craft room in the eaves, had to be rebuilt and replastered.

Starting to look a lot better!

Walls plastered and painted, new central heating radiator (1 of 17) installed.

Mr. J Ribet, Artisan.

Jacques is adding the extra finishing touches. Bespoke plaster moulding for baseboards; dado; ceiling coving and interior doorways.

Finally the big day came, new doors!

The new outside lamps had been installed just a few days before.

There may well be bare wires and lightbulbs hanging from the walls but hey, the new doors are on!

Walls finally painted in pale yellow shades (tick), artwork and mirror hung (tick), new rugs and stair carpet laid (tick), 18th century original handmade terracotta floor cleaned and repolished (tick). Chandelier had yet to be sourced!

It took us almost 2 years to renovate this old house. During that time we had about thirty artisans working here, some of them practically living with us every day.

Builders; electricians; tilers; plumbers; master carpenters; plasterers; gardeners and tree surgeons.

I made what seemed like thousands of teas and coffees, the kettle was always on.

Two years ago we finally finished the restoration when we had the house completely reroofed.

Click here to see some more about that adventure!

Hope you've enjoyed the "before" post, it's been fun looking back at what we went through and maybe I'll do it again after next month's Room By Room party?

Linking this post to Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday party @ Common Ground,

 I always find great decorating ideas there.

Room By Room with cottage and vine

Rene @cottage and vine has launched a new monthly party this week

 which will feature our homes "Room By Room".

Do please come on in.

The first party is taking a look at entrys/foyers, or what we Brits would call "the hall".

Because the hall here at the Presbytère is a T shape with the staircase going up on the left and doors leading off left to the dining room, right to the library and at the back into the cloakroom, there isn't room for too much furniture.

The ornately carved chest of drawers and the mirror above are permanent residents. I change the objects on top regularly to suit the seasons.

I have a large pewter collection which is usually only displayed during the autumn and winter months but some pieces I love more than others and keep them out year round, such as the bowl, jug and plate.

The clock and the chair are mainstays of the entry way decor too, the plant in it's blue and white delft jardiniere tends to wander from room to room, again depending on the season.

The antique oak captains chair was a gift from friends many years ago, the quilted cushions are vintage and came from an antique fair in Maine.

Some architectural details

A view of the garden through the double front doors

Thanks for taking my Open House Tour,

 I hope you enjoyed your visit,

and thanks too, to Rene for hosting Room By Room.

Click here or on the sidebar button to take more house tours .

Linking this post also to
Bunny Jean's Wednesday Bunny Hop
a new weekly meme.

Fresh Cut Friday with Rose Vignettes

I think I spoke too soon, those gorgeous blue skies are nowhere to be seen today, the rain came back with a vengeance during the night and it's grey and overcast once more.

White hydrangea, pink roses and blue hibiscus

Luckily I picked these colourful blooms from the garden earlier in the week and arranged them quite simply in a Quimper faience vase decorated in the same colours.

The decoration on the vase is known as broderie and is made up of tiny little dots of coloured glaze which are applied to the surface with the aid of a small tool known as a "poire", it's a bit like icing a cake!

Many different designs can be found on broderie pieces, they mimic the elaborate embroideries which we see decorating traditional Breton costumes such as the one that the Bretonne, featured on the front of the vase, is wearing.

The back of the vase is just as decorative.

I find that the coloured glazes contrast beautifully against the dark cobalt blue background.

Joining Liz @ Rose Vignettes for Fresh Cut Friday

 where everything is blooming wonderfully.

Did you ever have one of those days?

Did you ever have one of those days when things just don't go your way?
I'm not talking about a really Bad day (with a capital B) just "stuff" you could have done without?
Well, dear  reader, I had one of "those" days yesterday
I spent over an hour looking high and low through the house for my camera because there were pix on there that I needed to tweak before completing some blog posts.
Looking for it in places I knew it couldn't possibly be (under the dog bed; in the fridge) but looking anyway because it just wasn't to be found anywhere else.
Eventually I found it quietly sitting in a decorative Quimper bowl on a window sill where I had placed it earlier, before getting fresh sheets and pillowcases from the linen cupboard.
Of course!
Then when I finally went up to switch on my PC I discovered that the Velux window in the roof (my room's in the attic) had been left open overnight.
That meant that the rain which had been bucketing down all morning (literally bouncing off the pavement outside) had totally soaked everything on my desk beneath said Velux window, including above mentioned PC!

Before the rain!

Mouse, mouse mat, mug mat, blue cotton throw from Ikea that covers my table, note pads, pens, pencils, leather office chair, books, camera case (yes, I know, be grateful that the camera wasn't in it's case at the time!), dish of sweets and a teddy bear companion not to mention the rug beneath the desk and chair.

The rain went through the rug and into the floor tiles.

Every thing sodden!

After clearing up the mess and taking the rug down to the garage to dry out I gingerly powered up my laptop and all seemed well.

That is until I began to write this blog post, then weird things began to happen.
The number seven started to appear in the text 7777777777, and my Ashampoo Photo Commander went haywire.
Help!
I called the Senior Partner in for a consult, he knows a thing or two about computers.
His advice, use a hair dryer!
Strange but true. So that's what I did and after 15 minutes powered up again.
Still not right, so I turned it off and left it overnight to dry out and fingers crossed it seems to be o.k. now.
Has your computer ever gone on the blink?
It's a scary feeling to think that you might not be able to access all your "stuff" ever again.
I've learned my lesson, and will be making sure I back up to the desk top more often in the future.
(and of course that the Velux window is shut tight at the end of each day!)
Looking forward to a better day today, and wishing you the same!

July - Potager Update

Here's a quick update on how my garden grows.......................
This morning in between rain showers I spent some quiet time hoeing, weeding and generally tidying up the potager.

Dwarf runner bean"Hestia"
The seeds were a gift from Gay

Getting my hands in the dirt is my idea of fun, no gardening gloves for me, which is why I recently joined Sharon Lovejoy's Grimy Hands Girls Club.
Thanks to Pondside for pointing me in that direction.

Dwarf Haricot beans

Lynn @ Happier Than A Pig in Mud recently shared her recipe for Pickled String Beans, in a week or so I think these guys will be ready to be picked and pickled!

Top: second sowing dwarf haricot seedlings.
Middle: Spicy, peppery rocket..
Bottom left, just visible: Red oak leaf salad.

I think that this is my favourite time of the year, when all the hard work starts to pay off.

It is one of my life's joys, each evening, to carefully step between the rows and pick mesclun leaves for the salad bowl or a small handful of yellow and green dwarf haricot beans to go with a simple steak and frites.

Courgettes; round, green or yellow, (zucchini) get a quick egg wash and breadcrumb coating, before frying gently in butter, they go well with steak too.
Or I could make zucchini bread.
I came across a great recipe on Becky's blog " Not Your Ordinary Agent" earlier this week.

As well as cauliflower and cabbages I planted Chinese leaf a type of crunchy oriental cabbage, for the first time this year.

It has a very mild flavour and can be eaten raw in salads, steamed to serve as a side vegetable, or added to a vegetable stir fry for a quick and easy supper dish.

Today's potager produce; yellow and green courgettes; a handful of beans; chinese leaf for steaming
and
a pretty blue hibiscus flower.

Joining The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays

and

 Mary @ the little red house for Mosaic Monday.

Click on the links above

or on the sidebar

 to visit their wonderful blogs.