Gloaming Designs

Recipe for a Sunday afternoon

Mix:

- plenty of dollops of rare sunshine

- a measure of bus ride with your love

- two rectangles of free passes to the Louvre

- a mix of sketchbooks and pencils

- two classic hot chocolates from Starbucks

- a heaping dose of time to sit in said café knitting and reading

- a large portion of photo-taking of the night at the museum

- finish with homemade White Spinach Pizza and a dusting of crazy dancing at home

and you've got a Sunday afternoon that will fill your soul up completely!

 

 

 

 

 

 

and the most important ingredient:

(almost all photos taken by him.)

Last Weekend in Paris - October 18

i tried for several frustrating hours to post last Friday but the internet was having none of it.

now it seems, we're back in business!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we spent a lot of time at the Parc André Citroën ont he west side of Paris - i finishing a knitting project an R continuing in his quest to read all of Agatha Christie.  It's lovely and a mix of different landscapes with what i call 'vignettes' of different gardens.  those berries are the most amazing i have seen - the colors!  but i have no idea what they are.

when we got back to our residence we were not allowed inside as someone had left a duffel bag by the front gate and the police were waiting for the bomb squad.  instead of pointing out how nobody cared about all the crap left in the middle of the boulevard just meters away and maybe the bomb squad should be called in every morning to scout out the new junk, we went to 'our' café and enjoyed a hot chocolate.  much better!

(it was just a bag of clothes.)

how was your weekend?

Last Weekend in Paris

 

 

 

::market treasures::

::knitting::

::reading::

::card games::

a late picnic of:

chevre with nasturtium blossoms and petit toasts - herb and new zealand spinach tart

watermelon - mocha brownies

homemade half & half (half lemonade, half sencha iced tea)

Last Weekend in Paris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

last weekend was just what i needed - starting friday night with a selection of French opera pieces that ranged from emotional to hilarious (a piece sung from the point of view of the microbes of Paris: "Long Live the Cemetery of La Villette!") all performed outside in the very windy, very cold corner of one of the National Library's buildings which, obviously, had to be followed up with hot chocolate and red berry crumble with friends.  brocante success (found just what we needed to stock up for the shop!  and so many exciting ideas!!) and a housewarming.  and finally a bike ride to and some time in the bois that i love with moments to search for horse chestnuts to keep in a bowl at home, a reminder of childhood and that fact that my beloved autumn is around the corner.

p.s. so many ideas are bubbling right now!  stay tuned!

Last Weekend in Orleans

~ in the garden with Ginger ~

 

this is ginger.

 

 

she likes being in the garden.

 

 

 

so do i.

Last Weekend outside Paris

it was a bit of a whirlwind weekend but it was lovely to be so close to a garden, have some kitten time, and have dinner with a wonderful friend.  sadly, we also started which Lost on DVD and are addicted.

plum tree

harvesting potatoes is uncovering a miracle! (and funny)

 

and we were showered with gifts from the garden, only some pictured here.  we came back with 4 round zucchini, 2 straight zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, new zealand spinach, a huge bag of rainbow chard (oh, j'adore!), reine claude, plums and here in our balcony garden there are both black and red tomatoes ready to be picked.  so much goodness!

and these two - are full of the dickens.

they still don't have official names.  translated, their names are Mine (on the left) sometimes called the Redhead and the Gray (in the middle).  but in two weeks they have already changed.  the photo on the right is them when we brought then to R.'s mom's home two weeks ago and now they are twice as long and more solid - losing that liquid puffball feeling that tiny kittens have.

and they climb everything!

after leaving sunday morning, which started nice and gray and cool, we headed up to two brocantes on the outskirts of paris.

then, it got hot.  and this is what happens when if gets hot:

 

we where so happy to get home yesterday night!

For all their Tomorrows

on the 4th we drove to Nantes where we were invited to attend the wedding of R.'s childhood friend F.-X. and his bride Karen.

french weddings always take place in the town hall.  you are free to have whatever religious ceremonies you wish after that so we went first to the Mairie where the civil service was held then walked to the church for a benediction.

after we drove to a neighboring village for the reception in a chateau.

champagne, foie gras, smoked salmon, champagne, lamb, ice cream, champagne, cheeses, and champagne.

and champagne.

we danced until 5 am. (still recovering, lord help me.)

and as the groom put it: it was a "weekend de rêve"!



les amis and because i find it so interesting, here are their occupations left to right:  (R.) electrical engineer in photovoltaic, midwife(husband?), gendarme, mechanical engineer, lawyer, chef, and illustrator.  a little of everything.  i think there was mention of starting their own sort of superhero agency.  (both Karen and F.-X. are doctors)



















me in my "ice cream" dress as maggie called it.  you can't really tell because the sun was so strong but it is light mint green.  i'm also wearing one of my linen blooms on the sash.











R. and Pierrot in my hat and fan.
of course.





and this last one is R. wearing Karen's rings.  the thicker band on top is her engagement ring and the thinner band holding the three diamonds is the wedding band.  isn't it wonderful the way they truly fit together?

the morning (ha! afternoon) after he wedding we were invited back to the chateau for a crepe brunch - savory with cheese, ham, egg, or smoked salmon; or sweet with applesauce, carmel, chocolate, jam, or sugar and lemon.  they were served by women in traditional Brittany outfits.  needless to say, i have no photos of that.  it was all i could do to walk straight in my heels and carry a plate of crepes!



so that was our fourth of july.

Last Weekend in Orléans

Last Weekend in Le Berry

so, i'm back in france and i didn't get sick from the flight this time!  not airsick, but the last 3 times (and plenty of others in years past) i've flown to France, i was sick within 3 days of landing - in bed, running nose, cold, stuffed head sick.  oddly, this has never happend flying in the other direction.

in any case, i've hit the ground running and my first weekend back was a vacation for us!  here in France, May 1st is Labor Day and eveyone has the day off (and if not they're probably selling lily-of-the-valley which is the flower of may 1st in France).  so we had a nice long weekend with R.'s grandparents (Anne's parents) and his mother in their tiny town in the Berry region of France.

highlights:  reading, sleeping, and learning to play chess in the grass.  chickens.  cows.  sheep.  a children's bike marathon.  an adult bike marathon.  vide-greniers (literally empty-attic) sales.  bike ride to find organic farm (not found.  hadn't asked grandparents who said "oh, of course, you just turn right and then right again and it's there").  old farm houses.  Sancerre.  ice cream.  trees!  sacavenging in the barns.

not so happy:  my first stinging neetle experience.  the endless fields of blaring yellow rapeseed plants which pumped up the allergy pressure in my head to unprecidented levels.  getting car sick because of the tiny roads and the stick shift on the way back (mix in the allegries and it's pretty miserable).

last weekend in Paris

 











well, that was nice!

we did a lot of walking and looking this weekend.  we discovered some new places (more on those to come), saw so much new growth, and discovered a great new fruit and vegetable source too.  that is something i'll be writing about later in the week.  stay tuned for that - it's not what you think!

how was the weekend where you are?