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

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"!

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.

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 Sunday walk with a difference.

On a recent dog walk we were surprised to find ourselves

 sharing the lanes and tracks with some unusual traffic.

Bonjour!

Urban cowboy!

I don't know where they came from or where they were going.

Were they on the way to a competiton, in training, or simply good

friends out horse riding and carriage driving together?

What a great way to see the countryside!

Adieu!

All I do know is that it was lovely to meet them all,

 however briefly, on a Sunday morning in Normandy.

Joining Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday
and
Bunny Jean for Wednesday's Bunny Hop.

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

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.

Fete de la Pomme in Trévières.

The Calvados region of Normandy is famous for it's culinary heritage based on fine local products such as butter, crème fraîche, world famous cheeses and of course apples!

A visitor to our region cannot help but notice the multitude of small farms, each with an apple orchard or two, as they drive along the country lanes.

You can often call in and buy home made cider from the owners, sometimes you might also find Normandy's famous apple based brandy, Calvados, or the apple based apéritif, Pommeau, for sale.

Last Sunday we visited the small town of Trévières for the Fete de la Pomme where we wandered around the exhibition of apples staged by "la corporation Saint Fiacre de Bayeux" (gardening club of Bayeux).
We stood for a while and watched the ancient apple press being put through it's paces, over 1 ton of apples were crushed during the day.

Trévières is twinned with Stokeinteignhead, Devon, U.K. and delicious baked apple goods, home made by the ladies of the Association, tempted us.

We bought two small apple crumbles and a bowl of Teurgoule, which is very similar to an English rice pudding, for our dessert that evening.

Joining The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday # 73

 with this glimpse of life in rural Normandy.

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.

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!

Halloween in Normandy 2011

Here in France Halloween isn't celebrated as exuberantly as it is in say the USA, or Canada.

However, when I find this little slip of paper in my letterbox

I know that I have to get ready for Trick or Treat Night.

The night when wizards, monsters and witches chauffeured and chaperoned by their parents

 invade the lanes of our village.

In order that they don't haunt us for too long we are advised to have "bonbons" ready

 and an outdoor lamp shining.

If we don't want to play be disturbed we just leave all the lights off.

Monstres & Sorcieres 2011

To get us in the mood inside the house
a few Halloween touches here and there.

On the library mantlepiece - witches, ghosts and pumpkins.

HB Henriot Quimper plates
 on either side of the fireplace .

HB Henriot Quimper Witch Plate 2010

HB Henriot Quimper Witch Plate 2010

Joining The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday.

Click on the link or sidebar button to visit other participants,

I'm sure there'll be lots more ghouls and ghosties there.

Pink Saturday

Last week the Senior Partner and I celebrated 32 years of wedded bliss, aahh!

We marked the occasion with a little retail therapy

followed by lunch at a favourite restaurant in Bayeux.

We also purchased mouthwatering deli treats

 (tuna stuffed sweet peppers, artichoke hearts and onions; three cheese ravioli; buffalo mozzarella and sun dried cherry tomatoes filled with delicate ricotta cheese) 

from

 "l'oliverade" -  Epicerie Méditerranéenne

for a special "couch picnic" in front of the TV that evening.

Mr B - chef, gourmand, bon viveur and
 the love of my life

Joining Beverly @ How Sweet The Sound for Pink Saturday.

Click on the link or sidebar button to be in the pink, too.

Shadow Shot Sunday - Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux.

Joining Tracy for Shadow Shot Sunday # 179
@ Hey Harriet
this week.

A friend from Maine, USA. recently came to visit us in Normandy

 and together we spent some quiet time in the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux.

The stained glass windows created amazing shadows

across the Caen stone walls.

The simple cross panes of this window

created a checked pattern high up

on the vaulted roof.

A place of quiet reflection.

More stained glass jewel colours play across the floor.

Down in the crypt a shard of light breaks through.

It is an ancient site, the present Cathedral was consecrated in 1077.

A fitting memorial.

To the one million dead of the British Empire

who fell in the Great War 1914-1918

 and of whom the greater part rest in France.

I hope you've enjoyed this tranquil space as much as we did.
Click on the link to see wonderful shadow captures from around the globe.

There are new posts this week on my other blogs.
My October book reviews can be found on just books
and
there's a Quimper Witchy themed post on Collecting Quimper