Anyone for salad?

Here's the latest from the potager..................................the salad leaves are amazing I am serving my version of a mesclun salad every evening.
The name mesclun comes from Southern French mescla "to mix", I pick a variety of baby salad leaves red and green to which I add add baby spinach leaves & parsley.
However, I fear we may soon be unable to keep on top of them!!

The early and main crop potatoes are also doing well, I spent some time yesterday earthing them up to encourage growth.

There's a very old English proverb that says:
"ne'er cast a clout til May be out"

Wikipedia explains the proverb like this:

Advice not to change from winter clothes to summer clothes until June, as there is often a sudden cold snap in May. May here refers to the common name of the hawthorn bush, whose blossom indicates the arrival of summer, or warmer weather.
I recently listened to a gardening programme on the radio and the expert obviously agrees with the proverb because he said he would not be planting out his courgettes (zucchini) until June 1st.

Our hawthorn bushes are covered in beautiful white blossom and smell heavenly, but even though my cougettes and pumpkins look ready to go in now I think the folklore and the expert probably know best and I'll wait until 1st June too.

Shadow Shot: Château des Ravalet

Joining the Shadow Shot Sunday gang @Hey Harriets blog with a capture taken not by myself, but by Mr B with my camera, last weekend at the Château des Ravalet Flower show.

A Milestone.

Yesterday was a bit of a milestone day for me not only was it my 170th post but the number of people following Normandy Life reached 100 when Shakira signed on as a follower.

I find it incredible that 100 people scattered across the globe are willing to spend a few minutes now and again to read my "bucolic ramblings".

The most amazing thing is, that apart from a very small handful of family and close friends, most of my followers are people that I have never met in person and probably never will.

Despite that you are all very important to me and I feel that through your own blogs I have come to know you quite well over the past two years.

One person who's path would probably never have crossed mine in the real world is the lovely Kathy, otherwise known as Happy Mrs C .

Kathy was the winner of my 2nd Blogaversary giveaway last month and she recently blogged about receiving my package from France. She included some delightful photographs, of the gifts, staged in her garden amongst her stunning azaleas.
Kathy lives on Lookout Mountain, doesn't that sound like a great place to live, we met through Mrs Matlocks Alphabe-Thursday meme, a great favourite of mine.

So, thanks once more to all my wonderful cyber friends for helping this transplanted English rose in rural Normandy feel less isolated and thoroughly connected to you all.

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!

Fuschia Fantasy for Mosaic Monday.

Saturday was a holiday here in France; V.E. Day (Victory In Europe Day 1945) and as a treat we visited The Château des Ravalet in Tourlaville for the Presqu'île en Fleurs flower show.
We certainly enjoyed browsing the exhibits of 40 plus vendors, admiring all the beautiful flowers and plants on display and for sale.
I'll be blogging about this wonderful place more than once I'm sure because the grounds, the chateau, the greenhouses, plantings etc. are outstanding and I think you'll enjoy visiting there with me.

Today, a mosaic of mouthwateringly beautiful fuschias which I'm linking to Mary's Mosaic Monday @ the little red house.


Be sure to pop into the little red house and see all the other great mosaics gathered there today.

Sunday Favourites Re Run with Chari.

Happy Mothers Day to all.
Here's a chance to see how we dealt with a mini drama but really not a crisis, a couple of years ago when my surrogate child (!) Mr Ben fell in the pond!


Breakfast preparations came to an abrupt halt at 07.45 am today when as I briefly glanced out of the open door I saw our cocker spaniel, Ben, struggling but failing (!) to climb out of the pond in our front garden!
He must have walked around this pond at least 5 times a day since he came to live at the Presbytere (almost 8 years ago) and this was the first time he had ever taken a dip.
I don't know who received the bigger shock him or me, or maybe it was my other half, Roger, as I screamed "Ben's fallen in the pond".

Now, this pond isn't an attractive feature in the garden, the only thing pretty about it is that it's pretty yucky, so when I finally yanked Ben out of there he was in a very digusting state, not what you want to deal with just before your petit dejeuner.

I'll spare you the details, suffice it to say we gave him a very thorough bath using the outside garden hose & masses of doggy shampoo.

Roger then dried him off using my hairdryer until he resembled his former self.

The pix show just what Ben thought of that. Hope you're day get's off to a better start than ours.

Linking through to Chari's @ Happy to Design blog today and her Sunday Favourites Rerun meme, a super idea which allows us to revisit previous posts.

P is for Photographs and Paintings in Paris.

For many years Mr B was the photographer in the family, he was always up to date with the latest kit and each time he upgraded I received his cast off camera. Worked that way with PC's too, for a while! When I began scrapbooking I commandeered first his Nikon, and then the Lumix which is everything I need for blogging too.
I use Ashampoo Photo Commander to manage/edit all my Pix and Photoscape and Picasa to create the mosaics.
I blogged last month about our visit, whilst in Paris, to l'Orangerie in the Tuileries Gardens and my mosiac today, using Picasa, is of some of the wonderful paintings which we saw that day.


The painting in the centre is "Bouquet dans une loge" by Pierre August Renoir.
then clockwise from top right:
Portrait deux fillettes: Renoir.
Antonia: Amadeo Modligiani.
Paysage: Paul Gaugin.
Rue de Mont Cenis: Maurice Utrillo.
Deux fillettes: Renoir.
Le Boudoir: Henri Matisse.
Bouquet de Tulipes: Renoir.
Paysage de Niege: Renoir.
Le Chemin de Montbuisson: Alfred Sisley.
The header painting is by Picasso.
I'm linking through to Jenny Matlock's great blog Off On My Tangent for Alphabe- Thursday where the letter "P" is under the spotlight.