Monday Doorways

Joining Louis La Vache in beautiful San Francisco

for Monday Doorways  

with this stunning entrance to an elegant mansion 

spotted whilst touring Savannah's Historic District in 2010.

How I would have loved to look inside, but sadly could only capture the beautiful facade.

As Mammy said to Scarlett in Gone With The Wind

Savannah would be better for you. You'll just get in trouble in Atlanta.

Have a great week everyone.

A Few of My Favourite Things Saturday

The warm spring days we’ve experienced lately have not only brought out vibrant daffodils and wonderful bright yellow forsythia they’ve tempted me away from my cosy fireplace too.
Spring for me always means a return to my attic hideaway, where I can happily sit and blog and also create scrapbook pages without worrying about the mess, surrounded by some of my favourite things.

My Amish 9 star wall hanging which I bought at the end of a wonderful evening in Churchtown. PA. My dear friend Diane & I with other liked minded “tourists” had the pleasure of dining with a delightful Amish family. It was a wonderful experience and one which I shall always treasure.
Diane & I have seen many interesting places together, over the years, since we met in 2000 at the Quimper CIub annual meeting held that year in Washington D.C.

In 2008 we toured the Tutankhamun exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art, then wandered through the galleries, where I fell in love with John Singer Sargent’s “Portrait of Dorothy, 1900”

A few years earlier, with her sister Susan on the way from Texas to the QCI meeting in Chicago in 2005, we took a slight detour and visited the King at Graceland, Memphis, TN.
That was a fun trip!

My Texan Eiffel Tour (a souvenir from the Dallas 2009 meeting).

Last but by no means least my Keep Calm and Carry On notice, a gift from the QCI members attending the 2010 meeting in Savannah which I co-hosted.
I was also presented with a signed copy of Paula Deens book "Savannah Style" which the above mentioned Susan (currently serving at President of the QCI) obtained after standing in line to meet PD when at a book signing in Dallas last year.
Click here to go to the QCI blog and read Susan's hilarious account of that day.

The hub.

Hilton Head is never far from my thoughts.

Miz Geraldine, the rabbit that started it all.
There must be music.

Splendour in the Grass and Sympathique by, a favourite band, Pink Martini.
I have so enjoyed revisiting A Few of my Favourite Things with y'all today (there's that Texan/Southern influence coming through!)
Of course I'm joining Laurie for A Few of My Favourite Things Saturday with this post, hope you'll pop over and visit Laurie and all the other bloggers participating there this weekend.
I never realised before writing this post how many of them are linked to the QCI and the friends I've made through the Club.

HFTS & NL get together in Savannah.

The annual QCI meeting always provides us with a great way to catch up with old friends and make new ones too.
Sarah of Hyacinths For The Soul & I have been friends for many years since getting to know each other at a previous meeting.
We had hoped to be able to spend more time together this year but it was not to be as she was delayed in getting to Savannah and therefore missed a couple of events with us, which was a shame.
On our very last morning, before we all went our seperate ways, Mr B took a quick photo of us together.
Oh well!
There's always next year's meeting which will be held in Quimper, Brittany until then we'll just have to be satisfied with virtual visits courtesy of blogger!

E is for EXCITED!!!

As you probably already know, tomorrow Mr B & I are leaving on our long anticipated and planned for trip to the US, that is if the striking French workers allow us to travel.

First stop Charlotte, NC, where we will rest briefly after our trip, before driving down to Savannah, Georgia to co-host the 12th Annual meeting of the Quimper Club.



Savannah Square shaded by moss draped oaks.



We have a planned a fabulous 5 day extravaganza of tours, events with guest speakers, a ceramics restoration seminar, Riverboat cruise and delicious dinners in interesting and exciting restaurants.

Mrs Wilkes Dining Room

We're even throwing in a private Plantation Tour "a la Tara"!!

I think even Scarlett O'Hara would be impressed.

After all the madness.................two weeks R&R in our home from home on Hilton Head where days will be spent relaxing, reading and enjoying the wide empty beaches.

Building sand castles

There will also be plenty of  much needed retail therapy going on too.

My trusty pink laptop will be coming along for the trip, so I'll be able to visit your blogs, whenever I get 5 minutes and hopefully will also find time to blog about some of the Savannah activities over on the QCI blog and share some more magical Hilton Head shots here on this blog

Whilst we're off having fun, Mr Ben will not be neglected, not at all. His favourite sitters Leighton & June will be here to pamper him and make sure all is well in the home.

Beach boardwalk HHI

Joining Mrs Matlock once again this week for Alphabe-Thursday, click on the AT button on my sidebar to see all the amazing topics which begin with the letter E.
See you in Savannah!

Fall in Savannah, GA.

I'm joining in with Hey Harriet's Shadow Shot Sunday #125 with shadow shots taken last autumn whilst walking through the Historic District of Savannah, GA.
A simple wreath adorned with faux flowers and a pretty ribbon.
The way the foliage shadows stand out against the grey/black door fascinated me.

The house next door was unadorned but still very interesting to me with dappled shadows on the old bricks of the pavement and walls.

This home is very close to Mrs Wilkes Dining Room where I shall be joining 87 other members of the Quimper Club International for dinner on Monday evening 25th October.

Q can only mean ...........................Quimper

The subject of this weeks Alphabe-Thursday assignment is the letter Q and for me that can only mean Quimper pottery, a tin glazed earthenware which has been produced in western Brittany, France for over 300 years.

An assortment of Quimper cheese dishes.

Many of you will know that I also manage the blog for the Quimper Club International .

I am blogging over there this month as part of my duties as co-organiser of this years Annual Meeting October 24 -27 in Savannah, GA.
We are thrilled to have the renowned Breton artist Philippe Lalys as one of our guest speakers at the meeting, the collage below is of some of his wonderful pieces.

But this post is all about the pottery not the meeting, so for your delectation a selection of Quimper eye candy.

The croisille decor is one of my favourite border designs.

I know, it's all gorgeous isn't it?

Or maybe it isn't your cup of tea? Either way I'd love to hear from you. If you love it or hate it, leave me a comment so I'll know.

Now scoot over to Mrs Matlock's class and hand in your homework or you'll get a detention!

St Patrick's Day Parade, Savannah, GA. 2006

"May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you
In the palm of his hand."

Traditional Irish Blessing.

Since Wednesday is St. Patricks Day all of my blogs this week will have an Irish theme.

The ever gracious Mary @thelittleredhouse's Mosaic Monday meme starts off the week. Do head over there and visit all the other participants sharing their marvellous mosaics today.

In 2006 whilst visiting Hilton Head Island, SC. we decided, since we had never experienced one before, to head over to Savannah to watch the St Patrick's Day Parade, which apparently is the second largest in the United States.

I never knew there were so many shades of green!

Come back tomorrow when I'll be joining Cuisine Kathleen's 2nd Annual St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl.

Log fires, tea & books, oh my!

A lighthearted quiz I saw recently asked what do you do on a wet & rainy day?
My answer was, of course, curl up in front of a log fire with a good book and a cup of tea.

Well, that's the kind of weather we're experiencing here in Normandy this week and it will probably stay like this until Spring next year.
Books are on my mind a lot at present and a few days ago I shared with you some of my favourites from 2009.
The one keeping me in front of the fire this weekend is "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows and I'm enjoying reading it very much.

So, for Chari's 31st Sunday Favourites @Happy to Design I'm recycling a post from April this year. Chari is a sweet lady and graciously hosts this Sunday gathering so that we can enjoy blogs we may have missed in the past.

"A friend, Sarah from Texas, commented recently on a book which is sitting on my Shelfari Book Shelf at the side of this page, "The Constant Princess" by Phillipa Gregory, a novel about the life of Anne of Cleves.
I have read most of Phillipa Gregory's historical novels and have to agree with Sarah that this is one of her best.
Today I added two new titles to my book shelf, "Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil" by John Berendt and "More Than Mercer House: Savannah's Jim Williams & His Southern Houses".
I'm sure some of you will have heard about "the Savannah book" even if you haven't yet read it, and if you are considering attending the QCI meeting in 2010 then you must read this book!!
The book introduces us to a variety of Savannah "characters" the most interesting, in my view, being Jim Williams an antiques dealer who saved and restored over 50 houses in a career that began when he was 24 and which spanned 30 years.


He is however, best known as the only person in the state of Georgia ever to be tried four times for the same crime - the alleged murder on May 2, 1981 of his assistant, Danny Lewis Hansford, in Williams's home, Mercer House.
Jim Williams was finally acquitted of the charge and continued to live at Mercer House until his death on January 14, 1990.

Construction on Mercer House, situated on Monterey Square one of Savannah's prettiest, was begun in 1860 by General Hugh Weedon Mercer the great grandfather of the songwriter Johnny Mercer.
After the Civil War, circa 1868 the house was completed by it's new owner John Wilder.



Recently we were lucky to have been able to tour the Mercer Williams House, as it is now known, and it is an absolute jewel of a house.




On the cover of Berendt's book is a picture of "The Bird Girl" statue which once resided in Bonaventure Cemetery but can now be seen in the Owens-Thomas House, a part of the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah. "

Since I wrote this blog we have been back to Savannah, with our co-hosts Nina & Tom, searching out the best places to show to the QCI members when we gather together there 24 - 27 th October for our Annual meeting next year.

Whilst in Savannah we bought copies of both of these books at E Shaver Booksellers and they were auctioned off at the QCI Farewell Dinner Auction in Dallas last month. I'm not sure who the high bidders were but they do have a treat in store when they open their books.

Bonne dimanche.