Cocoon~I love my cocoon~

Our nightime temps  have tumbled..

I found I was craving a cup of tea or two in the afternoon..
about 20 yrs ago..I was still working..it was our 25th wedding anniversary and for some reason I felt we should mark the occasion..at that time I had my mom's china..that I love..paper thin..cobalt/ultramarine border..and a set of 12 Zeller's clear dishes..( 12 for $25.00 I think:)..
so being into gardening we bought ouselves this set.

Pretty pretty..and for 10 yrs I did use it..but the last 10 I have hardly used it..we just don't entertain..except family..and the boys are still young for fancy pants dishes..so I use clear mostly..and I confess to having started collecting dishes at that time..
so I have enough forever and a day and someone will luck out at a future garage sale..when I am gone .

All this to say I saw a tea cozy that reminded me of the dishes..I also found Kathleen on the Varage Sale part of Facebook..who knits on order.

and I asked if she could make it..she bought the pattern..and made me the cozy.
I see a lot of  future use out of the tea cups and plates:) 
So cute.
She is an expert knitter..and accepts custom orders.
If ever someone would like something knit perfectly..let me know:) my contact w/ her is through the mail at VS..we have met now also:)

Just wanted to show you how darn sweet it is.
I have another she made me..and it is unbelievably cute..you'll see:)

So the colder nights are making the tomatoes take their sweet time to ripen ..but when they are ready..they are pretty:)

On IG you get inspired..either the cookies..the painting..the crafts..the gardens..pretty towns..pretty homes..
one night Stephanie Fehrenbach was offering a course..for those flowers we see everywhere..have not watched the video but the PDF files show how to make those cute floral wreaths etc.."le fun"~♥
By the way.. use good watercolor paper..I used that GREY watercolor book from Winner's/TJ Maxx..

it's NOT watercolor paper.
I did not notice the paper is grey..



Mes filles continue to please me with their pretty faces ..quirky attitudes and their love of Kraft slices:)..they will be snowbirds come much cooler temps and reside at the best AirBnB possible and I will miss them:(  
Chez Alain~
Caramelle and Bécassine.

I made a small batch maple pecan scones..I added pansies..a touch..the recipe is not amazing..so I won't share..just make your best scones and add some pansy petals:)

but..hey..I love the box to give as a gift..blank..just watercolor..or do what you want on the template!

Just Google templates for pie wedges or scones..print on cardstock..or paper like I did..watercolor..and glue on cardstock..so cute!You can find some here.

I find Geraniums.. the Targaryens in a garden:)
Because now we have one more Targaryen..lol

I dislike Cersei with a passion..

I had to Google the spelling..
my daughter knows all the names..I know the faces and who I like;)

John Snow♥

And yes..Keurig happened..  we have a Cuisinart coffee machine  that grinds our beans..and yum:)..we have a Breville espresso maker..and Jacques loves it..we have a Nespresso frother and..wow..

I am always tempted by my daughters/son-in-laws..full on Nespressos..and at Costco..I sample and am tempted..

but ..I am a Hazelnut coffee lover..

we spent a weekend away with the whole family:)

And the Airbnb had a Keurig.
Geesh..  so EASY..for me.

so I came home and Googled and Amazon'ed..and sure enough Van Houtte had a highly rated Hazelnut Keurig Cup..
(add to cart..chaching.)

I have to admit.

Je t'aime Keurig♥

And it lives here now.

Coffee is very good for us..
Read up;)
As is green tea..
And dark chocolate ..
and a mediterranean diet.

And Jamie Oliver's 5 Ing new book..I found this recipe HERE.I love his blog..his pics..♥

This was delicious.
I thnk this book must be a winner.
Notes..I had NO burratta..I had soft mozza..but wanted a kick..I used Emmental..very different and easy omelet..

great tip..

...plating the heirloom tomatoes and herbs and oil and balsamic   before cooking the omelet..as an omelet waits for no one♥

So Good!


Take care~

Small towns..:)♥

I have said this so many times..I love this town.~

I do.

So maybe it's not Edgartown..or Gordes..or MV..
but I am in my place here and I love it..

Our Saturday..brocante....I call it that because it's not a flea market..look at everything..

tables and tables and tables of treasures.

I love her signs and hats and quilts..(first pic)..
I have a few signs..and have one I need to have made..

I gave her back one..the one we had in Florida..so many years ago..
"Away From It All"~
I worked then..and the sign was so appropriate:)

The collections and treasures abound..

..if you go often enough..seek and ye shall find.

I go early..9 AM..I have told you that..and only great perfect weather:)
I go alone..
I used to see a neighbour I liked so much..and then she passed..too young..too beautiful..too talented..

I see a vendor that must be British..his accent..his treasures..such a sad looking man..  he sets up one table w/ gorgeous English things..a window in his car is taped with that big scotch tape....he stays in his car smoking..until you ask a question..and stops smoking..and answers..still sitting:(:(
I sometimes worry about him..

and then you have the happiest sellers w/ lavender and linen..and preserves..and bio and organic and antiques and repros..popsickles..and art..a caning chair business..jadeite and milk glass and French treasures....and barns and gorgeous garden accoutrements..$$$$and LINEN.


and barnwood:)


Sometimes I spend nothing..sometimes $10.00 sometimes less..

I don't need the $$ objects of my desires anymore..
they will be sold in garage sales later;)

so I only buy fantastiques things..

I have Varage Sale now:)..lol..so I can seek and find from home also..more on that later..


In the stitching basket,I am going to try a small blanket for me.. for here for upstairs ..in the hearth room for this winter..
so I can stitch more!
I am using baby acrylic yarn and I should not;)It is so stretchy! Anyway..cela va suffire pou mon premier gros projet.

Painting wise may I recommend this Canadian store..

Articulations

I bought this..as my first purchase..and after reflecting...at length...because of my ability  vs cost.Outweighing...

You only live once..this is not a rehearsal:)
So I went for it..

I give this shop 5 stars.
I bought online.

Fantastic customer service..fast shipping..and Canadian funds.

I buy more art supplies than clothes.

That's my true story..


Signed up for a couple of art classes..this one seems challenging..apparently a novice can learn:)

http://jeanneoliver.ning.com/group/fancy-lassies
Looking forward to it!
Armchair classroom.


Football season full swing..Oli scored a touchdown and won some medals..Noah won some medals too..swimming and football..

Lucas cannot play..because he plays high school now..

Max's team..unbeaten last yr..is struggling..

poor Max..he loves to win..he plays to win♥

The best shot I go that day was of someone I don't even know:(

So a lot of salads..a few pies.. et la vie continue..

Craft wise..I am committed to try and make myself that  soft blanket for winter months..hope I have enough wool seems I may need over 240 squares!

I thought it was 80..no way José~

Also..I love making little books..I started w/ my daughter's for her 40th birthday..in 2015..

and then puttered along making different kinds different sizes..

you may remember I met Dorothy with the Disneyland Craft Room:)
I say that nicely..as she is very nice and very gracious and honest as can be.
I am happy to have met her and will see her again.

Anyway..I went back to pick up a few more stamps..and a darling little book was on her counter..I asked her if she made it..and she said..yes..using this stamp..

See the stamp?

Brilliant..you stamp..and the outline is your book..w/ tuck in margins and all!

So stamp the color you want on the paper you want..embellish..and do add cardboard inside too on front and back..I loved making this one and look forward to making more..this one..I made w/ watercolor paper..

just FYI in case this would tempt you:)

and the blanket is a Youtube tutorial..
It seems I can do far better watching a video..
I am so visual..;)
Take care everyone..my gardens are waning..QC is having a terrible tomato year.
My tomatoes are the prettiest I have ever grown..but our reckless summer has made them..stumped as to what to do..:)

Look how the Smurfs..ripen..the aubergine color and yellow..lead way to orange and red.
I do love these and trust me..the plants are GINORMOUS..even started and killed off indoors..they came back to life..and are unreal.
But we need heat.

I hope you are all good:)

This is what summer looks like to us~ Social wise♥

above..my daughter made this cake for Lucas..cool eh? I asked her to email me a photo from her phone so I could show you:)

That girl..above..can you see the sweetness?♥

Permission granted to try painting some of her homes..

Vintage shaving scuttle for a vase~

From June until September..

Max..Noah..Lucas..Adamo,Giuliana,Mylène and Oli..celebrate birthdays..

That's a lot of birthdays♥

That's our entire social life..honestly.

They are my friends and family.

We have the family gatherings..they all have one..or two..

and Jacques and I have the tradition of taking the Little out for lunch and gift.

I Love that day!

So all that happened..

Good weather..bad weather..cold weather.

August has been our September.
I mean it.

Anyway..s?  Which is correct?

Last post I was 10.

This post I have a 42 yr  old.

How on earth did that happen?

I am.. surprised:)

Believe  it..time marches on.
It is true.



So during the summer..

I have become smitten w/ naked cakes..small naked cakes..the Wilton 6 inch cakes..

and so has one of my daughter's..

see the Smarties spilling over  cake?

How cute!

Lucas' 12th.


I have become smitten w/ Half Baked Harvest's Summer guacamole presentation..

I made Ina's guac...  NO CILANTRO..and I used LIME juice.
..but HBH's presentation?♥
..sooooo sorry I did not take a post blueberry addition photo..I had washed them..and put them aside to dry..

and added before presenting..

keeper..my girls said keeper...w/ all those gorgeous blueberries on top..quite a pic.


I have to make again..LOL..

I and everyone else..loved..
I made spring rolls with this sauce..Thanks CHRIS!!

EVERYONE loved it! Drinkable!

Mary Berry's mini cakes..  coffee and walnut..I made signs for the desserts..

The lemon layer cake was tart and delish..

You can see my naked cake and decorations above..
I made my own lemon icing found elsewhere..

and my microwave curd.

Anything cuter than Sprinkles? Apart from sweet 16 Giuliana?♥

And that white cake covered in flowers from our gardens..Ii's actually a real watermelon..cut like a cake and iced w/ vanilla bean whipped cream..

I found it on Instagram..I can't look at IG constantly..but when I do..inspiration abounds!

Too much!!

We need to celebrate darling Oli ..darling Oli..and that's it..for summer.


The gardens are kind of forlorn..not kind of..  :( I see pics of my friends' Susan's gardens and think..you have slacked off :) LOL I didn't at the beginning..it's once I harvested my garlic..all the bare patches!
Looking way more like September..and it's been cool.
The tomatoes are at a standstill w/ no ripening..

I swear I wish each day had 48 hours.

I think I just love too many crafts for one person.
Jacques:) of some trades..master of none.
There is so much I love doing..photography..stitching..painting..stamping..cooking..baking gardening..I have no time for reading.

I met someone who..is soo into crafting that it was joyful for me to see her areas of crafting.
Her whole basement is professionnally finished w...cabinetry and closets and countertops.
And her inventory is astounding.
She once owned a craft store..and is immensely talented.
I have never in my life seen so many stamps etc..papers..

so ORGANIZED..like treasures.
My art supplies are small treasures and I am so grateful to have some.
I was happy for her.
It is nice to see passion.
I haven't seen it a lot lately..not showing homes anymore as I did for almost 30 yrs..I  only interact w/ neighbours and family..
No one close is so into something..

Nancy was w/ paints etc..

I bought stamps from this lady I just met  and sticky tags.(Cavallini)..her personal inventory is top quality.
Such a feeling of peace in her areas..

I went to pick them up and stayed over 2 hours.Jacques could not understand it I think..
I couldn't leave..honest conversation and then the basement:)
Marie you would have flipped:)
Thanks again Dorothy!

On another note one of my girls was limping..we have a fox you see..I think the fox may have frightened her and she may have stumbled..
I Googled..and that blog I love came up..I don''t know anyone on earth who does as much as she does..
anyway..I only did the aspirin part..half a baby..and Bécassine is as good as new!

What did we do before Google?
And the internet?

Take care..that's it in a big nutshell for me these days..plus GOT ..and Ray Donovan..
a friend recommended a Netflix movie..Sophie and The Rising Sun..and I thoroughly enjoyed it..great cast♥Worth watching.

I watch tv one hour every night..that's it..the latter I watched in bed on my mini Ipad..:)You might like it~
Ok now that's really it:)

Childhood~L'Enfance~

There were parts of my childhood I loved..and some I didn't..maybe many of us feel this way..
I do remember being loved unconditionally by my mom and dad although my mom was the rock.
The family.
She held it together so beautifully and gracefully.
So that's a great memory.

A nice memory I have ..was a time in my life between 10-12 I think..
my BFF lol (we didn't say that back then..) was Gwen..
I mentioned her here on my blog..on a post..on a few posts actually..
she was Dutch..her yard bordered on ours..I think 3 yards did..we had small lots..compared to here..
we became friends at that fun age..still all innocent.
This was 50 yrs ago..
I did see her once..briefly..in '77 I think..and we lost touch.
She lived in the Netherlands.Email wasn't a thing etc..no FB..no IG..no US lol.

Anyway to make a long story short..(who am I kidding..short?)..
one day her husband Googled her name for some reason..and my blog post showed up..
she emailed..I emailed back..and forth..

and guess what?
They came to Canada for a visit and dropped by:)
Last week.
It was so nice to see her ..after all these years..
when we were children,her parents were also..so nice to me..
They would bring me back charms when they returned to Holland..
You can see the shoe in one photo and one of the two windmills in the other.
They gave me dropjes..:) And Gouda cheese sliced ever so thinly..oh I wanted to eat it all♥
Ollibollens..OMG..fried on their back balcony.And speculaas..I could eat all the tin windmills I wanted.
I loved everything about them..the family..

Gwen was so lucky..she had a sister:)
Not me:(
When they visited..they brought me dropjes and speculaas spice:)

But not only that..she brought photos I gave her in the 70's..

and she brought me memories..

How she remembered the FIESTA chip tin and how she begged her mom for some because I had some..
How she found me so lucky to have the Barbie Fashion Shop..and all my Barbies:)
How we had our message box out back and would leave secret messages to each other.Modern day Nancy Drews we were:)
She made me have tears:)
How she never remembered I was overweight.
Isn't that funny..she didn't ever even notice.
That's a BFF.

At what age do we start to notice differences and make fun of them?
Not all of us do..
But I had my share of those who did.
Notice.

She didn't!!

So anyway..all this to say..
it was so nice..she and her husband..so nice..Jacques and I loved our time w/ them here albeit short and rainy.
A gardener wants the sun to be shining so we can sit outside and see the blooms and the girls:)
We sat inside:)
They biked over..how neat is that..not from next door either..my friend and her dear husband are tall and fit:) Parents and grandparents like we are.
I am happy to report that every day..since they have been here after that day I think..the weather has been fantastic.


I made cookies the next day:)

I was going to leave the recipe..but although they tasted like speculaas..they were not..too thick ..too chewey..we still ate them..:)
It was found on the net..I'll test again.

The tin was a Varage Sale find:)♥It has a bell♥That was me ..and Gwen's mom handing me cookies:)

So feast or famine here rain wise..famine right now..for our area..anyway..

the Japanese Anemones are blooming..the dahlias..are starting their show in that front bed where my Tuscan hedge is;)

If you plant a Paul Farges clematis  get ready for a spectac show..but almost prohibits entering the archway;)

The Wave petunias..are ohmygosh florabundance!

Every couple of years I seem to have to tackle  removing some of the overgrowth on our many pathways..what a %^$#@^&*( job.

Done..that area is done.

I am addicted to crochet and dishcloths..liking to make sets..of course..

Our darling Lucas turns 12..we took him for his traditional lunch and shop day.
I am sitting with a very fine young gentleman now.
He makes my heart beat...burst..they all do..but when you have a grandson that now opens doors for you..still kisses you..even takes your hand in public..well  ..and he is almost as tall as me...it's a different beat..a teen age beat I guess!

Love those chocolate bars I first saw on Bridgets beautiful blog Bake at 350..I bought some when we went to the USA.
Perfect to add to cards.


That photograph book was mine grade 6..I know because it is written inside..I have 2 pics of Gwen in it:)

 Hello Gwen!.... And  hello Guido!

She was so cute..now she is beautiful..long curly hair..so tall..and slim..and nice.
I wish I still had all that stuff that was in my room..that bénitier..the little angel on the wall held holy water..a first communion gift I guess..pink wings w/ gold accents..the two bambis from when I was born on top I still have..it was a vase..and is:) I am sure that is my girl w/ the parasol in the middle china..and the flowers on her skirt were raised..where the heck is she?..that dresser had 2 sliding glass panels.I put my precious things in there..  my Comtesse de Ségur books and Nancy Drews..an eclectic mix;)
a long drawer..my Prismacolors and paper and pencils were in there..notes and finds etc.. 2 doors at the bottom..my clothes.
I want all that stuff back,
I want to look and touch and hold everything.
If even for a moment.

Have a beautiful weekend..week..etc..hard to post every week..
have to cut down..gardens..chickens..painting..stitching..birthdays...
so many birthdays!