Simple Easter Decor

Easter decor around the cottage is minimal. In the quest to simplify, the knick knacks have gone.

These little chenille bunnies ~ too cute to let go ~ will greet visitors on the front porch.

My pair of large white china rabbits sit on the dining room table and will be joined by a pot of Easter lilies in the next day or so.

My sweet mother bunny and babies sit on the hearth.

Blessings to you all at Easter.

Household Chores

Last Sunday afternoon the memories flooded back as I stood at the ironing board smoothing DH's shirts and trousers for a business trip to California early Monday.

As a child, I always helped my mother with the ironing......and there was plenty of it! No automatic washers and dryers then. Clothes came in from the outdoor line, often stiff as boards on cold, Winter days, but soft and sweet smelling in the Springtime. Because my mother worked full time outside the home six days a week, Sunday was far from a day of rest. We cleaned house, cooked the ubiquitous English Sunday dinner, consisting of a 'roast and three vegs.' along with those British specialties such as Yorkshire Pudding for beef, or fresh mint sauce for lamb....................and of course desserts such as trifle, steamed treacle sponge or gooseberry fool! And we ironed for what sometimes seemed like hours on Sunday afternoons.

I find enjoyment in ironing once I get in the mood to unfold the board and plug in the lightweight modern iron with steam and spray. Nowadays, the French scented linen water in a pretty bottle, for me lavender or verbena, makes this chore a pleasant one. As the iron slides across the clothes I take the time to reminisce about those long ago Sunday afternoons. Once the stacks of fresh clothes and folded linens were done, the kettle was boiled and the tea things set out ~ time to relax and realize the pleasure of a job well done.

These days I iron in the kitchen looking into the back garden and enjoying the sights and sounds of Nature. Out there I see more chores ahead now Spring is here. The gazebo needs re-staining, the beds still have leaves to be cleared, the veggie patches need digging over and refreshed so we can plant on our return from England in early May.

Household and garden chores are never done. Ironing gives one time to plan. Do you enjoy ironing? Where do you iron? Do you have a view making this chore a pleasant one?

Growing Family

Introducing our new family member................Razzy the Yorkie. Held lovingly in the hands of her owner, granddaughter Jasmin. This little silky dog's future will, I'm sure, be full of fun and love.

Jasmin has wanted a puppy for some time and her wish was granted recently. DH and I are not really 'dog people', however, when this little bundle of energy comes to visit, have to admit life in the garden becomes active! We get lots of exercise keeping up with Razzy...... and plenty of puppy love licks.

Looking Homeward

This is my current stance, looking east wishing to see the ocean across which I'll soon fly.......................home.

These images were taken in the Autumn of 2007 on a lovely day in Lyme Regis, Dorset, just along the coast from my home in Devon.

If you have grown up by the water it's hard to spend months where it's far from your daily view. In the United Kingdom nowhere is really far from the sea. Living on a small island means you are either on the coast or just a short distance from it. The sound of the waves and the smell of the salt air never leave you and you crave them when far away.

Life on the coast is different, often revolving around the turning of the tides and kindness of the weather. Livings are made from the sea. They say riding the waves and casting nets is in the blood, passed down from father to son.

A fresh crab sandwich is already making my mouth water. Leaning on the old rail around the harbour, watching small fishing boats unload the daily catch costs nothing, makes one thankful.

Walking a pebbled shore, the beach huts still boarded up before the season opens, Spring and Autumn often the loveliest times of year on the coast.

Home can mean an awful lot and one often appreciates it more as the years go by. It may have been a simple life and a silent place compared to now but, oh, how wonderful it was!

Do you have a special memory of your childhood home? Did you grow up along a coastline? Are you far from the ocean now.......and missing it?

Winner of REBECCA

.................and the winner of my copy of REBECCA is California blog friend ...........................Sara at Much Ado About Something.
Please e-mail me your address Sara and I'll post it off to you next week. Hope you enjoy this novel...........it's a page turner with a difference!

I was interested in hearing that several of you have seen the movie - you lucky ducks! I've been trying to locate a copy and today found both the original American made Hitchcock movie (not available on Netflix) and the British TV version, so have ordered both. This was the only Hitchcock movie to win an Oscar for Best Picture. Released in 1940, it also won numerous other awards. Great reviews praise the acting of the stars, Sir Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine and Dame Judith Anderson.
I want to see this movie so badly!!!!

While ordering the DVD's I also treated myself to another of Daphne du Maurier's novels, JAMAICA INN. Also set in Cornwall, I will take this paperback along on my upcoming trip home.

Note: Yes, to those of you who asked.......Daphne du Maurier's scary short story, THE BIRDS, is the Alfred Hitchcock movie of the same name.

Darling Buds...........

Looking skyward just a week ago I could see our small Dogwood had started to open its dainty buds which appear before the leaves. One of the early blossom trees here in the South, they cover the landscape.

Today, after some recent rain, the Dogwood petals are visible.

Another dainty flower is opening, the Akebia vine which clambers up the potting shed.

Comparing photos from the past two Springs, I'm noticing that the garden is getting a slow start this year.

Notre Dame du Cros Part II

The interior of this rather plain looking church was a beautiful surprise. Because Caunes-Minervois is the home of the famous red marble quarry which I've mentioned before, the interior walls, altars and columns of Notre Dame du Cros are mostly cut from this stone.

From the exterior one would never expect to enter and find flying buttresses overhead, exquisite paintings behind the altar, and stone carvings looking down from lofty columns.

A simple but lovely banner against the old stone walls.

A handwritten prayer was left on a table ~ my poor French only allows me to translate enough to say it appears to be related to Easter, which is quite timely.

This was a special place. I would like to return to attend a service to see the local villagers filing in..........perhaps for a wedding, or a Christmas service when this building would definitely be warm and glowing in the candlelight.

Notre Dame du Cros Part I

Toward the end of another busy day taking in the sights and scenes of Southwestern France, my brother drove us through the hills to visit a beautiful little church, Notre Dame du Cros. The church looked plain and simple from the outside, similar to Spanish mission style, it's golden stone and tiny belfry glowing in the late afternoon sun.

By then the colors of October were changing to gold.........leaves were collecting in corners around the lovely church grounds.

Behind the church was a large area used for picnics and gatherings. A small brook trickled along, its clear water diverted through an ancient stone trough for drinking or refreshing oneself on a warm Summer's day.

Stone steps leading up from the picnic area.

The priest's house nestled against the church, more golden stone with sun-bleached aqua shutters and a pergola heavily laden with wisteria. We neither saw anyone nor heard a sound except for birds twittering in the trees...................it was so peaceful.

Tomorrow I'll show you more of the church's stunning interior.

Would you like to read a great book?

Sometimes I would like to return to the past. Live in an age when life was much more simple, people were kinder, and life was less about money and possessions. Or was there ever such a time? Perhaps there was never such a time?
Books can take us back in time and there's nothing more exciting than being gripped by a good novel....even one loaded with vivid characters who weren't always kind!

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again........"

I have just finished reading, Daphne du Maurier's amazing classic 'REBECCA'. The Boston Herald hit the nail on the head when they stated in a review that this book had "The relentlessness of a vivid nightmare".

The rough, weather beaten Cornish coast, the quintessential English country manor house with beautiful gardens, the housekeeper, servants living the 'downstairs' life, calling cards, house parties, costume balls, sports cars........come to think of it, they still live on today in parts of Britain today.
Manderley was drawn from Du Maurier's own home in Cornwall, Menabilly, an Elizabethan house which she rescued from total decay during the later years of WWII.
'Rebecca' was the winner of the Anthony Award for the Best Novel of the Century. Du Maurier penned 37 books. Among her more famous works are Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, The Scapegoat, and the short story The Birds.........all of which were subsequently made into films. She was made Dame of the British Empire in 1969. She died in 1989 at the age of 82.

Perhaps you would like to read this book. If so, leave a comment on this post only. I'll draw a name on Thursday then pop it in the post to the winner.

Lavender Friendship

When sweet friend Vanessa of Vanilla Lavender returned from her recent trip to Italy, we planned a get-together. An hour at Starbucks over coffee enabled me to look at her fabulous photos taken in Rome, Florence, Pisa and Venice. I was thrilled that she and her husband had such a wonderful trip to beautiful Italy, and were able to see so many places in just one week.

Traveling with only a backpack (oh to be young again!) was definitely a plus when hopping on and off trains, but of course limits one from bringing back large European treasures! Imagine my surprise when Vanessa handed me this charming gift from Venice - the tiniest lavender sachet with VENEZIA and a gondola with gondolier embroidered in the lace - a truly lovely thought.

Accompanying the sachet was this gorgeous card made by Vanessa, and this perfect silver tray she found locally at a vintage shop - it will be great to serve a couple a glasses of sparkling champagne......to celebrate friendship.
Thank you so much Vanessa.


Vanessa & Ryan at Trevi
Fountain in Rome.

Tilting at Windmills

Scenes from a Sunday drive in the Minervois last October.

Leaving the historic village of Minerve, we drove out of the valley up to high ground above the vineyards and woodlands.

The land became stony and dry, plants had adapted to their surroundings and, as we went higher, took on a rather ethereal look in shades of grey.

There were tussocks of lavender, the purple flowers already dried on their stems, and they rubbed off easily into ones hands yielding that amazing fragrance impossible not to recognize.

The windmill stood alone and silent on the top of the hill and, as we walked up to it, the feeling of stepping back in time surrounded us.

This is a 'tower mill'. Built with a fixed body of solid stone, only the top cap turns around to make the sails face the wind. This is done with the tail pole which you can see on the right.
Windmills ground grain for flour, animal feed and crushed oil seeds to make essential lighting oil before petroleum.

Of the thousands of windmills once operative across France, many still remain, a few are operational. Towards the end of the 19th century, the naturally powered stone-grinding mills began to be rapidly abandoned. Forced out of business by new technology, massive new mills in industrial cities were powered by coal-fired steam engines which could run day and night. Many were in ports where cheap coal and supplies of imported grain from newly opened farming regions like America and Russia were easily accessible. Flour was delivered all over France using the network of railways and canals, rather than the horse and cart.

This windmill was not abandoned, there was even an occupant when we opened the unlocked door.....a large rat scuttled across the floor, eeeeek!!!!

Not being familiar with the interior workings of a windmill, we were surprised to find this amazing carved horse's head which was apparently part of the mechanism for the grinding stones. How we wished a French miller had been available to show us how everything worked!

A proud rooster weather vane surveyed the surrounding countryside from it's perch. During war time, because of their location on hilltops, windmills made ideal lookout posts. Some have now been refitted as vacation rentals and must be fun to stay in if you enjoy windy hilltops with stunning views.
Returning to the flat land brought more vistas of the vineyards stretching for miles in every direction. The grapes had just been harvested, the green leaves were starting to turn red and gold........within another two weeks we noticed a huge change in the color of the landscape.