Some of my favourite things.

I'm sure those of you who are getting to know me
a bit more will know what most of my favourite things are.

 I'm unable to look after my garden at the moment as I've just spent 5 days in the
 clinic again, having treatment for my back problem and now I need to take things easy.

With flowers all around our home I couldn't wish to be resting in a better place.

I can't seem to get back into my painting, so I thought I'd browse through my photo albums and pick out some of my favourite things to cheer me up.
Would you like to see what I've chosen.
Get yourself a cup of coffee or what ever your favourite drink is,
and if you love flowers I'm sure you'll enjoy these photos.

I love the coffee Mr France makes for me mid morning.
better than any Starbucks, not that we have a Starbucks near where we live.
As you can see Mr France has drunk his coffee before I've even tasted mine.

During the past few days we've had some stormy weather
with lots of rain, which was badly needed, but has damaged a lot of the flowers. 

Fortunately Mr France had noticed that the early flowering pink rose

had a few new buds on it. so he cut this one for me.

and now I'm able to enjoy seeing it indoors.

Along with some more pink roses, which I have now hung to dry.

 The first photo selected has to be the Lavender from my own garden.

After my visit to La Provence region.

I had to have a Lavender bed of my own.

and also I had to paint what I'd seen.

A few of the hanging baskets we have every year.
These were from a few years ago when we won First prize in the floral competition.

This year we planted some pendulum  Begonias which have given us
a beautiful splash of colour all summer and it's still looking good.

A totally different basket to the previous one much daintier
flowers, which hangs at our holiday cottage where the guests stay.

Now for a selection of flowers cut from the garden.

With it being so hot and dry this summer, I haven't had many flowers to cut.

Our new Pierre de Mansard rose has certainly bloomed well for the first year. 

Pretty Spring flowers in a dainty cup.

Summer pinks & blues.

A lot of you seem to be wishing for Autumn. not me I hang on to every sunny day
hoping summer will last another month.
Our two eldest grandsons, are moving on in their education next week
 which means they will be leaving home.
So a family get together around our pool is planned for tomorrow.

This was one of many get together meals, during this summer
 when our son was here from Denmark with his family.
We just love having our home full of family and friends.

Boys at work.

Pool waiting for the family, teenage grandsons and girl friends.
What better way to end their summer vacation before College starts on Monday.

Next week I'll be taking a break. revisiting the Atlantic coast region. 

Mr France has rented a tiny fisherman's cottage.

It will be such different scenery for us. I'm really looking forward to it.

 hoping the good weather will hold out and we can just stroll along the beach, 

 enjoy a nice fish restaurant, nothing too energetic.

 and take lots of photos, 

Maybe it'll help to get me back in the right frame of mind to paint.

I hope to see you again soon

 as I'll certainly be sharing my short break away from the countryside.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

Château Montbrun

These days when I open my post box

It's usually full of publicity or bills that need to be paid
so it was nice to receive an invitation to have a guided tour
inside one of the many Chateaux near to where I live.





As a holiday home owner the tour was gratuit/free and friendly.
I had to be very discreet taking photos inside as it's not really allowed.
However I did have the advantage of knowing the guide.

So follow me as we take a peep around and inside,
Chateau Montbrun in the Haute-Vienne. Limousin region.

This Château is privately owned by a Dutch man who lives there.
  Over the past 25 years the Château has had three owners
If you have euros to spare you could be the proud new owner
 of this Château as it's for sale for the sum of €20,000,000

We were told that Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt flew in by helicopter
 to view, take a look here  but apparently it was too near to the road.
Not secluded enough from the Paparazzi.

From the road you are not able to see these steps.

 We were told by the guide they led to a room that in days gone

 by was kept for the Château owners secret lover.

The rear view.

The original gateway into the Château grounds.
Too dangerous now to be used, as the tower is crumbling.

I could just imagine 'Richard the Lion-heart '
and his army of men on horse-back riding in through those gates.

 The pathway leading to the rear entrance

This would have been the servants entrance,
 where they would get their water from the well.

As it's privately owned and photos are not really allowed to be taken inside

I was only able to sneak a few quick clicks with my pocket camera.

This bedroom and the toilet.

If you would like to see more photos of the Chateaux
look here   For Sale
all the information of inside is given by the Immobilier/ estate Agent.

I hope you enjoyed stepping back in time.

with me at Château Montbrun.

If you missed my previous post of many other Châteaux

where I live  ...Take a look Here

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

It wouldn't be summer without sunflowers.

25 years ago today we arrived in France to live.

 With my two Labrador dogs in the back of the car

with loads of boxes & bags pushed in to make them safe.

I can still remember driving through northern France

 seeing fields of yellow for miles & miles.

Sunflowers.

It was such a feeling of what summers were going to be like. 

I hoped they would be growing in the fields near where we were going to be living.

and they were.

This is what I see whilst driving to our nearest Boulangerie

or on my way to the hairdressers.

Certainly a joy to see.

I still smile & pinch myself seeing such beauty.

To see so many flowers turning their heads in the same direction facing the sun,

 makes me think of a crowd of sunbathers lying on the beach getting a tan.

Soon they will be harvested and sent to make Sunflower oil. 

In the meantime I'll savour the sunny days.

Enjoy your summer whether you are at home or away on holiday.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

Market day

I haven't been to Piegut- Pluvier market for a long time.

It's rated as being the best market in our area and stall holders come

 from far and wide, it's always very busy especially during the summer season;
so we like to arrive early. It's about a 25 min. drive from where we live.

 Most times I go to the market with our visitors or a friend.

It's not very often Mr France comes with me, but as we were up early
 he came with me. Here he is with my straw market basket.

We started off buying lots of fruit.

The Apricots were almost as big as the peaches.

I needed to stock up on fresh garlic so searched out my favourite stall.

It's always much cheaper to buy them loose.
I only buy the platted strung garlic as gifts.

Next I wanted summer fresh vegetables.
I'll be making summer salads with the Haricot vert beans.

This is how I make a quick simple bean salad.
Top & tail the beans. bring a large pan of salted water to the boil
cook the beans just enough to still have a crunch, about 7 to 10 mins.
drain in a colander, then plunge them straight away into iced water,
this will keep them green.
Put the beans into a serving dish, and drizzle some good quality olive oil over them,
  add some thinly sliced spring onions, toss tog. season with ground black pepper.
If you make a large amount, they will keep for a few days stored
in a sealed plastic container, in the fridge.

I noticed a lot of the stalls I used to visit were not there anymore,

so I decided to look around to find a new source for good fresh veg.
I saw a queue, at a  stall I'd never seen before, this is always a good sign.

 It was all Bio vegetables, which is usually more expensive, but their prices 

were very competitive. I had a peep first and all their produce looked top quality 

so I tagged on at the end of the queue. I noticed most of the people had
crumpled brown paper bags in their hands, which I assumed were from
their last visit and they must be regular customers. 

So not only were the producers Eco friendly all their regular clients were too.
So I'll certainly be buying my vegetables from there again.

 I bought a kilo of plum tomatoes with the intention of slow roasting them,

but I made a tomato salad drizzled with olive oil & sprinkled 

with fresh basil with a crunchy baguette for lunch,
I wish I'd bought more. I'll have to buy more next week .

My last purchase were olives to have with our evening aperitif.

So many types so I left that purchase for Mr France to choose.

He chose Greek and Moroccan, black olives

 There were lots of wine stalls, we only looked this time.
maybe next week we'll try wine from another region.

 Vin Rosé seemed to be the most popular.

I was pleased with the fresh fruit & vegetables I bought.
 Here's my straw market basket full of all things fresh.

I hope you enjoyed joining me along with Mr France at our favourite market.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

Cutting my Lavender

Very soon after I'd been living in France and several weekly visits

 to the local markets, bringing back home the wonderful selection

 of fresh fruit and vegetables in plastic carrier bags.

I realized I needed the right shopping bag, so I bought my French

 style market basket, which as you can see is well worn

as it's been to many markets.

But early this morning before the sun had come up I used it 

along with my well used flat basket 

to carry the freshly cut Lavender from my garden.

I gathered it by the hand-full and tied each bunch with string, to hang

and leave to dry in a dark room hoping it will keep it's lovely blue colour.

 During the day I moved the bunches around the terrace

so that I could enjoy the beautiful aroma.

Each time I touched the flower heads, they release their oil so the scent

 began to float around the terrace, reminding me of my visit to the Provence.

I left a bouquet on the day bed.

Tomorrow I'll be cutting some more

and making some Lavender and ribbon posies.

I'll also be replacing this lavender from last year 

and using it to fill some small cotton bags I've made

 to hang in the guest bedrooms.

I love this time of the year the days are long,

 and the garden is full of

 wonderful perfume from the many different plants.

I'd love to know what you do with your Lavender.

I have a good crop this year so I need lots of new ideas, let me know.

Look forward to your ideas.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian