Bicyclettes.........................

Okay - lets talk menopause! I am 52 (ouch!), my boobs hurt and my bicycles have stopped ( menstrual cycle-mens cycles-womans cycles = bicycles....come on keep up, I won`t wait for you again!!) So.... I did the quiz.
Q. Has your bicycle stopped?
A. Yes, then no, then yes, then yes, then no, then yes - and again, yes.
Q. Are you suffering night sweats?
A. How should I know, I am asleep!
Q. Do your boobs hurt?
A. OUCH!
Q. Are you suffering mood swings and are you emotional?
A. I don`t know. I am Cancerian and I cry at anything. I am still bereft from the start of watching Stuart Little and, after finding he lived in an orphanage, cried so much I had to switch it off.
Q. Have you lost interest in sex?
A. Get away from me!  I have a Victorian hat pin and I`m not afraid to use it!

So.... this last weekend I nipped back to the UK as gorgeous daughter was having a stand at Shepton Flea and we also wanted a girlie day shopping together. Whilst in Salisbury I nipped into the chemist ( still clutching the hat pin) and asked if they had a menopausal testing kit that would show if I was menopausal  - or simply in an evil mood.
I have just weed in my cup ( "up to the line shown". Are they kidding? My cup overfloweth. Do they expect me to stop when I have already started?) I have dipped in my paddle, waited 15 minutes and the results show........ "NO" . So, here is the dilemma................does "no bicyles" mean what I think?

1. Have the drugs I take (for the heart blip I had last year) affected the result? I know that you think I am a healthy voluptuous Raquel Welch look alike ( don`t even think of it...... I still have that hat pin!) but simply-chateau is in fact held together with a bit of old hemp twine, two darns,a rubber button, 2 whalebones, a French seam and a metis patch.

2.How shocked will Mark be? He had the vital chop before I'd met him - and I don`t think I could have got pregnant from the dream I had last week that I was trapped overnight in a Bedouin tent with George Clooney, Johnny Depp and Daniel Craig in a sandstorm. I wish!!
3. When I got home at the dead of night last night the marsh was in total darkness except for one large bright star, shining high above the chateau.
4. It`s Christmas soon and this morning I noticed that a solitary donkey has appeared in the field opposite.

So ...............so many questions.
Should I fill the manger in the stable with fresh straw or will it be more 21st century on Christmas morning to just start shredding newspapers in a quiet corner of the kitchen?
We are going to a nativity and carol singing tomorrow evening. Should I go in the car with everyone else or should I wear an old sheet with a curtain tassel and rope at the waist and ride that donkey onto the village car park?

Should I ask for a room at the local chambres d`hote?

Will someone knock the door with a gift of myrrh? (What does myrrh look like? W ill it come in a box or a bottle and why does it sound like a cat with a speech impediment?)

How will I be able to go brocanting at 5am in the morning with a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger on my back?

Just off to do a bit of paper-shredding in the kitchen.......................

French kisses..............

The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe or " le gui" does not take place here in France so I am sure that`s why so much grows here! It knows it is safe to grow here in abundance and live a quiet life.
It was gloriously sunny here today so I went wandering around the fields with Diggers at my heels to see what I could find.......................

There was no way I was going to shin up that tree! I kept searching just a little nervously as the hunters were in full swing. In an earlier blog I described their hunting hide in the middle of the marsh and even though it is now surrounded by water they are still using it daily. Oh well, boys and their toys and all that!

I managed to find a tree with low sweeping branches filled with balls of mistletoe heavy with berries. The tree had been used by the cattle for shelter so the base was ankle deep in gloopy mud!

So I waded in and filled my bag to the brim.

My feet were so heavy with sticky marsh mud it was quite an effort to get home! I looked like Elton John in platform wellies! I was so glad to pull the weight of them from my feet at the cuisine door. Diggers was much too involved digging for rabbits so he came home a little later.......................

...............It`s a shame he couldn`t slip those muddy paws off and leave them at the cuisine door too!! He was most disgusted when he ended up in a bowl of warm soapy water!

I wonder if French mistletoe means you only get French kisses?

A la prochaine mes belles.........

La poste and a little fleece...

The snow has now finally melted but, in doing so, has made the water level on the already flooded marsh rise even higher. But whoa......it still remains icy cold here!!!
The snow-cleared roads now enable us to drive out to our local 'La Poste'  with our Ebay and Etsy parcels . I have always described the building as Spring blue, but today it could easily be Ice blue!!

I love the latest set of stamps which I saw for the first time today.....a little Parisian 'frou frou' you could say. It does mean that I will now have to write some 'real' letters and cards instead of just sending emails!

We had intended to stop off for coffee at a friends house today  but, as you can see, the road up to their maison in Capponet was underwater and, with no flippers or snorkels in the car, we had to abandon our plans.

So, instead, we nipped into the local cafe - and enjoyed a divine cappucino - so full of cream that the spoon literally stood up in it. And to accompany the coffee, a little chocolat morceau......purely to keep out the cold of course!!!

And yes.....I am NOT sorry!!! I have given in and bought myself one of those large fleecy blankets with sleeves which I shall wear when I slump on the sofa at night. It`s rich chocolat brown and soooooooooooooo soft! I don`t care; no one will see me wearing it except Mark, Diggers and Charles - and they will all be sworn to secrecy!!!

I have just been told that the weather forecast for the next 24 hours is snow again! I now wish I had brought home a supply of those chocolat treats!

Add.....excuse me but how rude? I have just been told I look like Friar Tuck in my fleecy blanket.....am I bothered?....fleece?..blanket?...monk?....I aint bothered!!!!

Don`t bother to dig me out..............!!

The snow started falling and settling last Wednesday - and we rapidly became snowed in ........

...and the water flooding the marsh froze to a huge, grey glass sheet................

We were all set to stay snug indoors for as long as it took - but then tragedy; our TV stopped receiving its satellite signal. There was no option but to dig our way through the garden to brush off the snow and ice which had formed on the satellite dish. But - it was oh SO pretty out there.......................

My two stone griffins looked as if they were wearing very camp fur collars and hats!

 My favourite place in the garden where we sit out for early morning cafe.........just a little too chilly, the "cushions" of snow being about 12" thick.

And then Charles followed...................doing his own impression of a snow plough! I love the three legged tracks he leaves in the snow!!

I don`t really mind a few more days of being trapped at all!

A total triumph for Miss Bunny..............

Well of course  she did it - and we always knew she would!!! The gorgeous Miss Bunny of tedandbunny fame [ http://www.tedandbunny.blogspot.com/ ] was the organiser of the wonderful vintage fair that we attended last  Monday. [ http://vintagevillagehall.blogspot.com/ ]   I hadn`t stood a fair for over 15 years - so it took a very special person to drag me back over the Channel with my treasures!
 Firstly, for those of you who have not met her,let me tell you about Miss Bunny. She is a very modest person - but I think  you should know a few things about her. 
She is one of the most hardworking, inspirational and stylish people I have ever met! One of the very few people I can rely on to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth - however good ( or bad!) it is When other people are pandering to me with "Oh yes, that`s wonderful" she is the only one who will say "Take it off, you look ridiculous!" !!!!  If ever I need an impartial, realistic view I simply ring her because I know she will always tell it as it is. She will listen to me babble on for ages then give me her answer, straight, but in a nice way if you know what I mean!
She carries off vintage clothing with such panache that she makes me want to throw myself under the next patisserie van in dismay! We once attended a "ladies who lunch" vintage fair where she wore skinny jeans, a vintage sailors jacket with a matching sailors hat and she looked absolutely divine.
With her tumbling 1920s curls, she has a zest for life that makes you flop in a chair with exhaustion. Living in a deliciously stylish house in the grounds of a stately home with the gorgeous Mr Ted, she is also one hell of a horsewoman. She also happened to be my wedding organiser. She was determined not  to allow us to simply sneek over to the UK to marry and then return as quietly as we had arrived. Instead she organised the most memorable day for us - even down to baking us a fabulous lavender wedding cake. Honestly, if I didn`t love her so much I would hate her for being so capable! She is also the strongest person I have ever met , not physically (in the manner of someone running around in a striped leotard with a French moustache lifting dumbells - well she might in the privacy of her own bedroom,who knows? ) - but strong in standing up to and facing what life has thrown at her; and I can tell you that it has been thrown to her in huge dollops. Her resilience is truly remarkable.

So, enough of that (or she may not be able to get her head with its perfectly formed curls through the door)  - and back to the fair. Miss Bunny  had rung me in the Summer to say she was thinking of organising a vintage fair with very carefully selected dealers whose wares would all compliment each other - and would I be interested? Without a second thought I told her to count me in!
We arrived at the village hall last Sunday afternoon direct from the ferry where it was obvious that she was fully  prepared and had thought of absolutely everything;  and I mean EVERYTHING!!! We soon had the hall decked with beautiful homemade, brightly-coloured bunting,  the tables for the exhibitors placed out and the kitchen prepared for the home-baked delights. She had even thought of putting out lavender and soft hand towels and even a large mirror for the ladies facilities which doubled as a ladies changing room for those customers wanting to try on  their vintage clothing. And to cap it off, putting out wonderful vintage tea cups and saucers so that even the teas were befitting of the day!
I spent the whole afternoon ribbing her saying : "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh what have you done?.......oooooooooohhhhh what have you done"!!!! But I knew it was all going to be fine as she had worked SO hard in the weeks beforehand promoting the event,  distributing leaflets when and whereever she could. Even road signs were made and painted (but I will just say  one word to Mr Bunny regarding the shape of one of his arrows painted on a sign ....PHALLIC! ].
I was sure Miss Bunny wouldn`t sleep that night worrying whether  anyone would turn up. I, too, found it difficult to sleep - and I almost sent her in text in the middle of the night saying "oooooooooooh what have you done?!!!!". When we arrived at the hall early the next morning she confirmed that she hadn't slept at all the previous night and, like me, had almost sent me a text at 4.30 am! Great minds and all that.

Miss tumbly curls Bunny in the background as we prepared the night before...............

Although it was a cold and frosty morning the sun was bright - and the hall looked divine with all the other dealers in place. Everything was set for the 10am opening and Miss Bunny, I might add, was looking as chic as usual wearing grey tailored wool shorts, woollen tights, a gorgeous knitted sweater, boots and with her trademark 20`s curls perfectly coiffed!

Her efforts at publicising the event had clearly paid off. People  began arriving early and by 9.45 a large queue had already formed. Miss Bunny gave us all a 5 minute 'warning' and then, at 10am, the doors were opened and, within seconds, the hall crammed full of eager visitors. I had had no idea what to take with me to sell but, ooooooooh la la, I really wish I had packed more!

It was fabulous to see some of the other stand holders who I haven`t seen for many years - and a particularly nice suprise to meet Tracey again   http://vintagebothy.blogspot.com/ who I hadn`t seen for well over 15 years!!
It was such a pleasure to meet other bloggers too especially Denise and her husband  of http://abuncandance.blogspot.com/.
Overall, a fabulous day.  Many, many congratulations to Miss Bunny; and I am so much looking forward to the next fair you are already planning in the Summer.
A la prochaine mes belles from a snowed-in petit chateau in Normandie!

Just in time....................

We arrived back in France very very late last night and just in the nick of time as the snow closed in behind us and closed the roads. So, we are snowed in!! Charles le Baron du Breuil was too small to go out last year and had just has his little kittens paw amputated so this year is his first time in the snow................

What on earth is this stuff in the garden?

I`ll just sit and check it out............................

Actually.......................it`s quite fun..............................

Whey hey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I`ll let you know all the news from the vintage fair tomorrow.
A la prochaine mes belles.....

All packed and ready.............

I have spent the last two days getting ready for the first fair I will be standing for over 15 years!
Vintage at the village hall looks as if it`s going to be a wonderful event!! I had no idea what I should be taking and hope I have packed the right treasures. I wanted to have something very special to display and I found this divine angel figure on my travels last week.....

I am secretly hoping she doesn`t sell and I get to keep her!

I`ll let you know how it all goes when I get back from the UK next week.

A la prochaine mes belles...............

Divine petite pantoufles............

These are the divine little antique French textile slippers I discovered on my travels last week.............

.................never used and just packed away for years...............

....................simply adorable little textiles treasures with a little corsage stitched onto the frou frou frills.......

.........................................from a more elegant era............

As I type Tartellette is in the air mid-flight back to the States. She told us she has always wanted swans in her garden at home and just before she left a pair arrived on the marsh near the house! She grabbed the nearest footwear and like a lunatic ran out to photograph them.......

Its a good job she found some wellies before my toile pantoufles!!!

I am gradually catching up with my listings and for some reason ( due to someone being mid air?!) the chateau is once again a haven of calm and quiet!

Gorgeous daughter Kate has listed a few delicious little vintage French fripperies on her own Ebay site now ( Huh!!! I am no longer required and it appears that having been raised in a house constantly filled with my brocanting treasures she had a very good eye and can run faster than me at the brocantes!!! Note to myself.....lock the armoires!!!.) Her Ebay name is passionatelyparis.........not so much a chip off the old block as a tassle off the old portiere!!!!

A la prochaine mes belles.

Visions of macaroons....................

I am finally home after a whirlwind week and I must confess I feel as if I have been run over by a steam roller!!! The house is crammed with not only my weeks worth of treasures but also Tartellettes that we are frantically trying to package as she leaves for Paris today.
Lisieux was fabulous despite the early rain and as usual the car was crammed to bursting point. My favourite find of the day? A box of little boudoir slippers that date from the early 1900s, three pairs in all ... unused.............. so delicate and beautiful.
But sadly the temptations were not just of the "brocante" kind as our hotel sat above the most delectable "open all night" chocolaterie and patisserie.........................

How is a woman supposed to get any sleep..................................

.......knowing all those hand made delights were below..........

What is that little ditty?.........Oh yes.......I remember........

May visions of macaroons dance in your head......and you simply chateau....stay firmly in bed!!!


Over the next few days I am going to try and get back to normal ( whatever that is?!), get some treasures listed on my auction site and get ready for next weekend when we leave to stand the first fair I have done for well over 10 years.
So what do I chose first to photograph?

Save me.................save me....................

This week has been an absolute whirlwind and everything has gone to rats with my Ebay listings but I simply have not been here at all!!!

We arrived home after two huge trade fairs late on Wednesday, spent all day Thursday preparing some divine fripperies with a Marie Antoinette theme for the Vintage at the village hall fair I am attending next week ( see link left) and yesterday we hit the road truffling around all the local brocantes.

Last night we hosted an aperitif party in Tartellette`s honour and it ended up a very, very raucous affair and we all got to bed at about 2am! 

 I was very wicked to Tartellette and told her that we had invited "The Countess D`Amfreville" to meet her and we were amazed and honoured that she had accepted the invite. As there is no such person we had arranged for a good friend Lynn to glide into the party in a fur coat looking as regal as possible. I told Tartellette that she had to be very respectful and if the countess should offer her hand she should lower her head and kiss it! She was to be polite and not touch her or speak to her unless spoken to! Of course we were all in on the joke and when "The Countess" arrived we all fell silent as her chauffeur ( her husband John!!) removed the Countess`s fur and I could see the terror on Tartellettes`s face as Lynn approached her. How Lynn managed to keep her face straight I will never know!!! She greeted Tartellette regally in French and put out her hand, Tartellette took her hand solemnly bowed her head and in her very best French said "Bonsoir.....Comment Allez Vous?". The whole room exploded in hysterics as I told Tartellette that we had set her up!!! Needless to say that was how the rest of the evening went!!!

So today we leave for Lisieux, 2000 + stands of brocante through the streets starting at 4am tomorrow morning. It`s always a very very hard one to do as it`s so large but it never dissappoints and we usually come home with divine treasures year after year. The local townsfolk empty their attics, small time dealers bring out their stock and top notch dealers unload what is not worthy for their high class stores ( It`s always more than worthy for me!!).

I promise to get back to normal (whatever that is!) next week. Tartellette is threatening a guest blog on here before she goes. Heaven help you all!

Bon weekend mes belles!