Please come and help do the dishes.....................

The weather in Normandie is scorching and that is so wonderful as it has been a long, long cold winter here on the marshes! Every window, shutter and doorway is flung open and it is totally heaven!

 Whilst the weather is so good we held a dinner party last night in our garden overlooking the marsh. Due to the heat, the trusty old marquee came out once again and the table was laid for 18 . (Where were you Blanche? Being back in the UK is no excuse? Where were you Amy?......it was not too far to travel from Oregon USA for one evening?..............Tedandbunny......you could have done the back stroke over the channel from Dorset!!)

Mark spent the day sorting out the drinks, parasols, marquee, lighting, a huge punch bowl of cold Pimms filled with fresh fruit and sourced chairs from everywhere!!

I spent the day cooking and as I am without the doubt the Countess of Quiche I covered all of the possible variations. When I was just considering Jack Russell and caramelised apricot cat I realised it was time to stop. But undoubtedly my greatest success was my sticky lime chicken, which was more luck than judgement as I have never cooked it before!

STICKY LIME CHICKEN.

Into a bowl put the rind and juice of 2 limes. Add 2 or 3 grated garlic cloves, a good splash of olive oil, a good glug of clear honey, lots of fresh black pepper. Cover chicken strips and leave to marinate and roast when required.

It was a long riotous evening that went on until about 2am this morning! Diggers ( Monsieur Digbert Fanshaw-Brownshaw) my beloved Jack Russell knows how to work a dinner table and spent the evening under the table gently prodding knees with his paw and being secretly fed by everyone! I didn`t put his dickie bow on as I thought he would be too hot but he was still appealing without it judging by the amount of chicken I saw him eating!

Charles our three legged cat ( The Baron du Breuil) was hysterically funny. It is the first time he has ever seen such a large number of people and spent the night showing off darting and leaping in front of the marquee like an apricot lunatic! When he was totally shattered he hid under the cloth on the drinks table and spent the night darting a paw out at anyone who went too close.

and so the night progressed.....lots of wine and very good company......

and more wine......and more wine........Charles proudly entered the tent at about 1a.m. to show off the mouse he had caught in the field...exit me! I realised the bats were out in the garden so I very quickly returned under cover!

But .....................we left the table, dishes and cleaning up until this morning..how I wish we hadn`t...please come and help!!! I promise to reward you with quiche, quiche and even more quiche!

Just leave the sewing to the experts and move on..................

For some reason I have had the uncontrollable urge to sew!!! It has been SO long since my old sewing box came out, a box stuffed with 19th century ribbons, trims , lace, buttons and any morceaux of old textile I could not bear to throw away even if it is postage stamp size!

I thought it would be a good idea to try and photocopy an old cherub postcard onto a piece of stiff metis linen. Several attempts later and I am still trying to pull threads of linen from the workings of the printer!

I did manage to get just one copied but it has a nice printed crease!!! I give up!

 I`ll get it out of my system and the box won`t come out for another 6 months!!!!

A la prochaine...............

Johnny Depp came a very close second.................

I suppose the joy of being a brocanteuse is the fact that you can have exactly what you want ....even if it only comes to visit for a while..............................I suppose its one way for me to fix my shopping addiction for shabby chic treasures.

When I found this I did a nose dive, triple half pike and a somersault, grabbed it and there was no way I was letting it go......not even Johnny Depp beckoning me from a passing luxury yacht in silk Pyjamas would have made me put it down!

An alabaster angel so delicious!!! 19th century....dark with age....and the detailing is amazing.................this is why I throw myself out of bed at some ridiculous hour on brocanting days........

I have listed it for sale so I suppose it gets to stay with me on display for 7 days at least before it goes to a new home................

He was very folorn when I found him in a sellers box on the floor at the harbour on Sunday but I know that where ever in the world he ends up he will be adored!!!

Perhaps the new owner will be one of those buyers who waits until they have a box full of treasures from me before shipping..... so then he could stay on my dresser for just a little longer till their box is full!!!

But then if like I did they might want him immediately and he`ll be gone too soon........wonder if Johnny Depp is still waiting....where`s my water wings?!!!!

Old French shop signs....................

Up early and out into the already blazing sunshine today for a brocante in a tiny local harbour. The sunshine had obviously put everyone in a very laid back mood and the sellers were slow to unpack which made for a very leisurely amble around buying instead of the normal shoulder pads and shin pads scrum! We had strong black cafe and fresh warm croissants watching the little fishing boats bobbing about on the sea as the tide came in........most definately one of the best ways to breakfast on a Dimanche!
A young couple began to empty their battered old van with some wonderful old advertising cards. They told us they had rented a shop in Cherbourg and found them in the attic........................

All of the cards are in amazing condition and date from the 1920s to the 1940s..............

Just look at those luscious lips on this 1940s cigarette advert!

I shall be listing them this week after I have had a few days to enjoy them!!

A little shabby treasure.....................

This wonderful 19th century bird cage must have been a divine confection for a cherished song bird .........................sadly now all that`s left of it is the front, but its has wonderful shabby paint and old twisted wirework.

I did bring it home to list on my Ebay site.....but.....I could always find a space for it in the garden...............

Or I am sure it could slip in amongst my pictures in the hallway! It may now be just a cage front but its still too lovely to discard.

The weather here is scorching hot and after the long hard winter it is very very welcome. All of the doors and windows are flung open, Charles le Baron du Breuil is alseep under the hazlenut tree, Diggers is sunning himself on the steps, the hay on the marsh is already being cut and baled and all we can hear is bird song and croaking frogs!

Off brocanting this weekend and I`ll let you know what I find!

A la prochaine...........................

Chauve souris.........................

Just come home from the most wonderful relaxing picnic by the river and now I am furiously typing this blog sitting at the old patisserie counter in the cuisine. Typing with a tea towel on my head in a huge panic because a bat has just flown in through the cuisine door, done a few laps and flown off up the stairs. Mark has searched for it ( whilst I hid in the pantry!) but it has disappeared! I know it is in here somewhere and I am TERRIFIED of bats!! If it lands on me , hits me or gets in my hair I will simply die!!!! The French word for a bat is a "chauve souris" which translates as a "shaved mouse".......believe me that mouse will get more than shaved if it comes too close. What if when I get into bed and turn off the light it lands on my face in the night? What if I sleep with my mouth open and it dives in?

But back to the relaxing picnic! The riverside at Les Moitiers en Bauptois is simply divine. We arrived before the others so dressed the table with a long 19th century linen cloth, monogrammed napkins and of course a candelabra! ( as any self respecting antique textile dealer would....I do have my reputation to think of you know! ) A passing French lady said it looked beautiful and  " typiquement Anglaise!". We were even joined by a  tabby kitten!

The river was motionless and we watched the sun as it gradually set across the marsh.

Wonderful company, wonderful setting and wonderful food. It doesn`t get any better than that!

Perhaps I should go to bed in a balaclava or crash hat?

George the chateau girouette................

George is the 19th century zinc weather vane "girouette" that sits on the roof of our tiny chateau....................He is fixed with a rod that comes in through the roof and is secured in the attic with a huge hand forged bolt. He has turned silently in the wind coming in from the marshes since 1838 and he is also the first thing you see when you drive down the lane.............. ( Must get someone on the roof to remove that plant from the chimney!!)

I have always thought he was a dragon but the grandson of the old lady that lived here for many years tells me it is a hippo? NO surely not!!

What do you think?

The Friday confession.........................................Pants !!!!!

Isn`t it amazing how just a glimpse of something can take you instantly back to your childhood? Passing this shop window today made me smile......it was the pants that did it!

I hate pants with a passion..............pants, knickers, undercrackers, smalls, drawers whatever you call them I hate them!!! I cannot bear to have to wear them and if I do have to wear them I can`t wait to get home and take them off!!! I wear them if I have to go to the doctors and I wore them in 1987 when I was pregnant with my daughter Kate in case she popped out whilst I was shopping! I tell all my friends that should they find me in a crumpled heap they have to put some pants on me before the ambulance arrives.
So there is my confession! But that shop window today reminded me why I hate them so much and I do feel I have an excuse!

When I was four or five years old we lived in an old house that still has the old world war two dome shaped, corrugated iron air raid shelter in the garden. (Okay.........I`m not that old honest...don`t be so rude it was 1962) It was held together with huge nuts and bolts and was next to the washing line.
My elder sister Pam used to help me climb up on top so I could slide down the side and use it as a dare-devil slide. I can remember squealing with glee at the excitement of being so high up.
One day Pam sat me on top and went off to see her freinds. I was quite happy up there on my own until I slid off the side. My knicker elastic got caught on one of the huge bolts and I hung there for at least half an hour shouting for help but no one came. I was too small to hoist myself off so had to dangle until someone heard my cries and saved me.
So.....I feel I have an excuse. I am obviously emotionally scarred by this incident!
Pants...................................NEVER!!!!!!

1950s recycling!

I just love this old photograph! An English friend Leighton who lives here in France remembers sitting in this container when he was about 12 years old.
He thinks it was one of the earliest recycling banks for glass bottles!
I have told him he was a pioneer!!!!!

My secret store...............

I have been hiding a wonderful panel of antique faded roses textile for a long long time...........I could never bear to sell it or use it! But today I gave in and used it in my bathroom vitrine.......................

I am so glad I finally used it as it looks divine!! There is still a little morceau left for me to put back in my secret store!!!

Perhaps I should be a little less possessive about my secret treasures and put them on display!