a traveller returns to Normandy

The traveller is returned from warm, sunny Cyprus 

where we were lulled to sleep by waves breaking on the shore

just metres below our balcony.

I have yet to sort through the many photographs 

which I took on that jewel of a Mediterranean  island

 but promise to share some of them with you soon.

Today we awoke to a very different morning, the garden glistening under a light

shimmering of frost.

After the sun came up and blue skies appeared 

I went outside, with my camera, to record the signs of Spring's early arrival in Normandy.

 pretty primroses

 daffodils in bud

delicate purple crocus with deep orange stamens

Mother Nature really knows how to make an entrance.

towering silver birch trees 

the trunks seem to glow in the sunlight

 the papery bark makes interesting patterns,

I've been playing with picmonkey again

this time using the out of focus bokeh technique

I like the effect but think I need to investigate further just how to use the feature correctly.

Joining Mrs Matlock for Alphabe-Thursday

where the letter N for Normandy is spotlighted this week.

and Karen @ My Little Home and Garden for
Sunlit Sunday

The wettest month of the year!

Usually the best way to check what the weather is doing is to look out of the window.

This month all we've been able to see

through the rain streaked window panes is

 water, water everywhere.

The average monthly rainfall in Normandy 

during January is 70 - 74 mm.

 This year we've had 117.6 mm.

But on Thursday,

 just for a nanosecond,  

the sun was spotted
 peeking through the trees

 the sky was blue
 white clouds not grey

 so I snapped away.

Linking to Sunlit Sunday

Grow Your Blog Party 2015 - la vie en Normandie

"Come party with us at the 3rd annual meet & greet blog party

 hosted by the delightful Miss Vicki @ 2 Bags Full"

Click here to see the full list of party goers!

Are you looking to expand your network of blogger friends,

 meet new people; travel to new places; discover new ideas and pastimes?

Are you sitting comfortably?

Then I'll begin........

First of all let me introduce myself to anyone visiting Normandy Life for the first time.

 My name is Maggie (that's me on the sidebar over on the right)
and I live here in rural Normandy, France with my husband (we've been married an awfully long time). 

On my blog I refer to him as "the Senior Partner or SP for short" 

simply because he's older than me!

We share our home with a beautiful, 4 year old, GSD - M'selle Fleur.

My first blog post saw the light of day 24/04/ 2008.

 Just words, no photos!

It was about the new vegetable garden that I was planning to start,

 it received 2 comments - both from friends of mine keen to show their support of my new ventures:

 creating a blog and creating a "potager".

Fast forward to now.

I've written almost 550 posts; the blog to date has had 226,148 page views.

 I'm thrilled to say that I have over 370 followers from around the world

 and it was one of those followers, a lady called Cheryl, who gave me the idea for today's post.

Cheryl emailed me recently to say that she and her husband would be visiting the UK later this year.

She also mentioned that they hoped to be able to make time to cross 

the English Channel and visit the WWII landing beaches.

She asked if I would be willing to answer their questions and I readily agreed.

 I always love to share our little corner of France with visitors,

 whether they come to le Presbytere as guests or arrive via cyberspace - it is my raison d'etre!

There is so much more to see and experience in the region
besides the D Day landing beaches and war cemeteries.

The city of Bayeux boasts the Cathedrale de Notre Dame which dates back to the 11th century.
Bayeux has many museums, my favourite is the Bayeux Tapestry Museum,
 a UNESCO World heritage site.
 If my visitors only have a short time to spend in the area the Catherdral and the Tapestry are the "must do" places to visit besides the landing beaches.

Sunday morning market @ Port en Bessin, Calvados region of Normandy and one of our favourites.

Each and every day of the week there are markets held in small towns and villages throughout Normandy, too many to mention but click here and you'll find a comprehensive list.

Normandy has long been a favourite destination for horse lovers,
click here for information on trekking holidays.

 So, I've gathered together some photographs of what Normandy means to me and scattered them throughout the post.

If you're already a follower you may have seen some of them before,

 to those who just might begin to follow me after visiting from the

 Grow Your Blog Party 2015,
I hope they might tempt you to come visit again soon, enjoy!

Jotting things down for Alphabe-Thursday

Jotting, (certainly not to be confused with jogging) a quick shopping list on the back of a used envelope; an appointment noted in a diary; a daily To Do List or a recipe taken from a blog or magazine scribbled in a notebook, is something I do all the time.

I've noticed recently that I've started to take photographs in a "jotting" kind of way too.

on our walk yesterday we had to turn back as we came across another flooded road

I don't possess a smart phone, much too techie for my needs, but usually have my Panasonic Lumix camera with me so that if a particular scene catches my eye or I see something out of the ordinary I can "jot" it down for future use when blogging or scrapping.

In early January I bought a Kindle Fire HDX. 

It has a built in high res camera which came in very handy yesterday morning for capturing a quiet January sunrise from my bedroom window.

This morning when a very light snow lay on the ground I couldn't resist - do you wanna build a snowman?

Joining Mrs Matlock once again for Alphabe-Thursday

click here to see who else in joining in this week

Inondation - we need an Ark!

Inondation - translation - flooding.

It has been raining it seems non-stop for days and my small corner of Normandy 

is under water to an alarming degree.

The garden is soggy.

The daffodils are drowning.

Lakes, ponds are appearing where there shouldn't be ponds,

 in our driveway

and the field next door. 

Roadside ditches are overwhelmed.

Entrances to fields are quagmires.

Adult dogs become water babies once again.

But, spring is on her way.

Joining Mrs Matlock for Alphabe -thursday

where today the letter I is centre stage.

Twelfth Night - Epiphany.

Quite a sad day today as we take down the Christmas decorations, un - decorate the Christmas trees and pack everything away again for another eleven months.

I know many of you did this chore last week but I always like to wait until Twelfth Night - Epiphany, the Christian feast which marks the visit of the Three Kings to the baby Jesus.

google image

I think it harks back to our time spent living in Bavaria when on this day a group of children from the village, known as the Sternsinger, would visit our homes

 dressed as the Three Wise Men collecting donations for children's charities.

They would sing us a song or recite a poem before inscribing

the year, C + M + B in white chalk above the front door. 

 " 20 C + M + B 15".

For a long time I thought the letters represented the names of the Three Magi

 Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar 

but they really stand for the Latin phrase

Christus Mansionem benedicat 

 "God protect this house"

As a treat on this special day I thought I'd take the opportunity to sample some delicious
Downton Abbey tea with a slice of "galette des rois", the traditional French cake eaten on this day.
The tea was a recent gift from my lovely friend Sarah who like me is a big fan of Downton Abbey.

Will I chose "butler's pantry blend"  -premium black tea with essence of honey.
a favourite of Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes or
mrs's patmore's pudding tea - with caramel and vanilla which Mrs P & Daisy prefer?

A delicious confection of puff pastry and frangipane the cake of kings
 contains a small porcelaine figurine and whoever finds it in their slice becomes king for the day.

The Senior Partner and I don't care for frangipane so we ordered a galette des rois with an apple filling, well we are in Normandy after all!

Are you a tea drinker or would you prefer a cup of java with your slice of galette?
I'd love to know.

Bonne année et bonne santé !

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is called “New Year’s Day” ~ Edith Lovejoy Pierce.

(1904-1983. 20^th century peace activist and poet)

Breaking with our New Year's Day tradition of walking on the beautiful beaches of Normandy our footsteps today led us down a small country lane which we hadn't explored before.

a first glimpse through the wood

Although the village of Castilly is just a few minutes drive away from where we live we did not realise that the beautiful 18th century Chateau Castilly and the even older l'eglise Notre - Dame de Castilly were waiting there for us to discover.

The Chateau is surrounded by a moat and has a magnificent park and gardens.

It is a private residence and sadly not open to the public.

Come, walk down the lane with me............

The Chateau of Castilly dates from the 18th century and is listed in
the "l'inventaire des monuments historiques"
which corresponds to a UK Grade ll listed building.

A pair of information plaques standing by the church wall briefly describe the area's history.

These plaques, part of the "Mon Village se Raconte" tourist information initiative launched several years ago, can be found in most of the small villages in our region of Calvados.

In every village you will find a Memorial such as this one 

to those who lost their lives in the two World Wars.

This old house next to the Church is empty and neglected, a great little "fixer upper" perhaps?

Do you like the net curtains that the previous owner left behind?

Quite a lot of work required before this home is habitable once more.

The Chateau visible through the trees in the overgrown garden.

At the church we turned to retrace our steps - pausing for a moment to gaze upon this statue of an unknown Saint which stands alone in the midst of this peaceful and tranquil place.

Happy New Year to all my friends in blogland.
May 2015 bring us all Peace, Good Health and Happiness.