Grenouille.................

You would not believe the noise in the garden! It is so loud we can hardly hear the TV!!! It starts at dusk and gets gradually louder. The bottom of of garden meets a small stream on the marsh and the frogs must be breeding................

The large male frogs called "crapaud" call out to attract the females and I am sure it is a competition to see who can call the loudest...................

Judging by the noise there must be hundreds out there......

So perhaps its good for them that we could never eat grenoilles a ail..........

frogs legs in garlic........but if they don`t pipe down and let us get some sleep tonight......

We might just try them!!!

Don`t you just............................

Don`t you just love blue shutters..............

Especially when they are Provencal blue............

And don`t you just love finding a cafe that serves steaming hot moules mariniere with huge chunks of freshly baked baguette from the patisserie opposite...........

and don`t you just love a bustling little family run patisserie where the divine smells of handmade chocolats, fruit tartlettes and warm bread caress your senses..............

and the handmade tarts glisten like tiny jewels....where no matter how tiny your purchase it is treated like a precious treasure and wrapped with ribbons and bows....

and don`t you just love a tiny harbour where the fisherman unload their catch and you can sit outside at a tiny bar with a cafe noir and watch the amazing choice of fresh fish.....

Don`t you just love Saint Vaast la Hougue?

Maison Gosselin.....................

Maison Gosselin is a very special shop on the coast in St. Vaast La Hogue...............

It has the most wonderful delicatessen and some beautiful home embellishments............ their window displays are always so sweet.............

But best of all is their delivery van......................

Its almost worth ordering a huge pile of deli goods just to have the van arrive on the drive!
The painting of the chateau here is well under way, it`s looking a little like an iced cake! Heavens! I hope its going to be okay!

A little 1920s amour.....................

At an recent early morning brocante I found the most wonderful set of old postcards all dated 1922 and written  between  Robert and his 'amour', Marcelle . Some were quite saucy and risque for the 1920s with divine boudoir lingerie on show!

Robert ended his messages with such beautiful words of love such as....

"soft and tender kisses for you my love"......

...."a thousand loving kisses from the one who loves you forever"......

.."your petit Robert for life".......and

....."I will be there soon and my first soft and tender kisses are for you".

I wonder how their story ended. Was it just a brief romance or did they stay together for a lifetime? Sadly we will never know..............

A tap at the window.......................

Another blazing hot day - wonderful!  Dan and Jenny hadn't slept too well as the inflatable mattress they used in the half-renovated attic developed a hole in the middle of the night! Apparently Jenny spent most of the night gripping the edge and trying not to roll onto Dan at the centre!
A breakfast of freshly baked pain au chocolat soon put everyone right !

Jenny then took a quick bath before the builders arrived. (The scaffolding is currently placed directly outside the bathroom window and there are no blinds!) As soon as she was in and we heard her splashing around Darren climbed the scaffolding to rap the window pane to make her think the builders had arrived early! Panic ensued to say the least!! I suppose that set the tone for the rest of day  - and things only got more hysterical when Mark grabbed some work boots and had laced them up before  realising he was wearing two left feet!
But..... the builders and painters were soon in full flow - and as they got to work on the walls....

Dan was digging the footings for a new wall in the old barn with.....

Darren on wheelbarrow duty!

Our two preganant girls did not escape a little work either ... and enjoyed painting a 19th century door before collapsing on the sun loungers for the rest of the day with an excuse that they were incubating!

With all occupied outside, I remained in the cuisine to prepare lunch;  caramelised onion tarts with endless salad concoctions to feed twelve hungry workers, Digger our Jack  Russell and Charlie the Baron, our apricot-coloured kitten.
As expected, both Charlie, le Baron du Breuil, and Diggers decided to checked that the footings  were up to the building regulations in their own inimitable way!

 So  - a long hard day for all with plenty done - but then despair! We opened a tin of the specially-ordered paint to check the colour of the French grey only to find it was much too light, hardly grey at all. So early tomorrow I will have to go and buy some pigment colouring  and deepen every pot before we start. It has to be quite precise so that each pot is the same shade. But I do want it to be right!!! 

  C`est la vie!!!

All systems go......................

Well it`s all systems go now! The scaffolding arrived for the chateau painting and the higher levels are being jet washed. I had no idea that when it was cleaned the old stone would come out a soft sandy red colour. Its almost tempting to leave it just like that but the specially-ordered paint has arrived today - so it`s too late now I suppose. But the difference is very clear to see in the photograph below if you look at the 'old' colour under the chimney compared to the washed section.

The weather is glorious. A wonderful hot sun and no breeze across the marsh - perfect for the work to be carried out. I just hope this weather lasts all week. And so do the family who arrived from the UK this evening! Our son Dan and his wifeJenny and one of our daughters, Katie, has arrived with her husband, Darren. Both girls are expecting summer babies, both their first babies - and that`s a good excuse for the sun loungers to come out for the girls whilst the guys get stuck in to the renovation work! I suppose this will be the last time we will all be together before the new family additions arrive.

We had a long lazy supper at a long trestle table under the trees in the last of the day's warmth. I love the riotous banter that comes so naturally when we are all together and I laughed till I cried at the hysterically funny impression that Darren did of Louis Spence ( of recent Pineapple Sudio TV fame) as he tried to dance ( but it was actually more of a mince) around the garden doing high kicks!

But tomorrow I have it planned like a military operation! As soon as one wall is painted and the scaffolding is still in place someone will paint the window frames whilst the other fits the shutters! Sounds good in my head but will it work for real!!!

This week also sees the footings being started for the extension into the attached workers cottage which will be opened up from the main house to add a large salon with large double-arch shaped  French windows opening onto the marshes.
I will keep taking photographs as the week goes on.............

Simply-shat-on.....................

Well that`s it.......today I change my name from simply-chateau to simply-shat-on after two swallows used me for target practise within an hour of each other! Someone told me it`s supposed to be lucky but puh-lease!!!!!!

After the 5 brocante marathon yesterday I should have changed my name to simply-shattered but when I looked at my pile of finds this morning it was definately worth it!
Here are just a few of my vintage treasures to be listed this week.............
An antique church banner............

A beautiful old spelter figure of Jeanne D`Arc......Joan of Arc......

Some old enamel plaques...........

Some stunning 19th Century Paris costume pieces.........

A  gorgeous boudoir trinket box....................

So after the weekend and looking at my latest batch of truffling treats I suppose I am simply-shatisfied!!!!

More from the chateau............

Up at 5.30 this morning and we managed to fit in 5 brocantes that meandered around the streets of Normandie towns and villages! We stopped at noon for moules and frites.......heaven! Summer starts here!!! I found some divine pieces and the kitchen table is piled high with vintage shabby chic treasures ready to list this week. Needless to say I am now in a crumpled heap and my feet are killing me! So a very quick blog with more pictures of the gorgeous chateau from yesterday.

The ceiling in one of the salons is just divine......

Would anyone have noticed if I had slipped that gorgeous mirror and matching console table into my bag?.....................

This chandelier was huge but looked quite small in one of the enormous halls!

This charming group of strolling players were mingling with the crowd. The young man, second from the right, wore an amazing costume that had been made up in 19th century embroidered silk that was probably once a religious vestment. Needless to say I grabbed him to examine the textile closer and much to the amusement of the rest of the group he was mortified as only a teenage boy could be! Poor soul! I have probably traumatised him for life!

Bonsoir and a la prochaine.......................can you hear me snoring from there?

Journee des plantes...................

Was up very early driving into thick fog towards a vide grenier/brocante - and was delighted to truffle out some delicious shabby chic finds! By the time we returned home the fog had cleared and the sun was blazing - perfect for a visit to the  'Journee des plantes'. Once a year a local chateau holds a  plant sale over two days in the grounds. The chateau opens its doors and I always spend a fortune on plants!!!
The chateau grounds were full of visitors and there was so much to see like...... ( click on the pictures to see them larger!)

...a display of quirky moss sculptures.

The chateau looked so beautiful in the sunlight...........

Too much to choose from.....................all so tempting!

But pure delight was a stand of full architectural antiques.Now that did prove expensive to say the least!!! Perhaps it`s a good thing this event is only once a year!!!

A little bit of heaven..................

Yesterday when I said "The restoration work here is chaos" what I should have said was " Tomorrow, I suspect it will look like an explosion in a mattress factory!".
 Well tomorrow is here - and just look at the state of my 'salle de bain' now. The bath is disconnected so I may have to go and use the trough in the neighbouring farmer's field!

But I can now see it all coming together. The 19th century marble-topped dresser has become a washstand and is such a feminine confection. A bit too " ooooh la la" for Mark - so I suppose he will have to have his own washroom!

And as for the light fitting, very over the top I know but it just had to be done!

Charles, le Baron du Breuil, had had enough of  all the banging, drilling and crashing - preferring a nap in the bath....

And as for me? Well, I am saved; a little bit of heaven! The postman has just arrived with my favourite monthy glossy interiors magazine. I am going to stuff some cotton wool in my ears, hide somewhere where no one can find me and read it from cover to cover!