France.......and Florida Friends

My Francophile friend from Florida, Terri, will be leaving for France a couple of days before me and will get to enjoy some time in her beloved Paris. She and her dh will then head South and arrive in the village of Caunes-Minervois just as we arrive following our flight into Toulouse from the UK. There will be no partying that night as I know we'll all be ready for bed - especially us having missed a night of sleep while crossing the pond.

Why the books? I have to tell you that Terri is an author with two wonderful books already published - I'm reading the second right now - and another soon to be on the way to my bookshelf. We are going to have much to talk about when we meet next week. Terri is from New England, and I lived there many years, so we know many of the same places in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. We talked on the phone this week and she already feels like a special friend. We've shared travel tips such as what to pack. I'm inclined to take too much but, by the looks of her small bag, she's got it down pat when it comes to traveling light. I've been able to share interesting places to visit in the Minervois region as I was there in 2006. She's invited us all over for wine and cheese. I just know we will have a great time.

Terri now lives on a tiny Florida island named Cedar Key. She also has a beautiful vacation property ready to rent if you need a break and want to live the island life. You just have time to stop by to wish her "bon voyage", tell her Mary sent you. Terri DuLong www.islandwriter.net

Village Friends in France

How exciting is this! Several months ago I discovered that a fellow blog friend, Terri in Cedar Key, Florida, was planning a visit to the French village where my family live. Even more surprising was the fact she and her dh would actually be arriving there the very same day as us! Needless to say, we have been in touch and arranged to meet for a chat and a glass of wine during the week they are there. When I told my sister-in-law where they will be staying, she said it was just a short walk.............across the square, past the fountain, under the plane trees to the tiny 'impasse' where their village house is located. Doesn't that sound like the perfect evening stroll?

Pull up a chair for a long-awaited chat with a friend.

Note: As I'm having major ongoing photo upload/post/save problems with Blogger, I'm hoping this will post. Is anyone else still having problems? It's been well over a week now and literally thousands of Blogger subscribers are cramming the message boards with complaints and threats of moving to other blog sites such as Typepad.
Edited: Seems to have posted but reverted to Sunday's date - oh well, hope you can see it - meanwhile the frustration continues.

Falling into Fall

To Autumn

Seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness!
.............J. Keats.............

With just over a week to go before leaving for France, I'm grabbing every little moment of 'almost Autumn' here in the Southeastern US. My favorite season............with the evenings closing in earlier, the mornings fresh and slightly misty as the sun peeks through. On Friday I felt a breeze as I left the grocery store and stood in the parking lot watching puffy cloud formations skid across a Carolina blue sky. At last, the air felt clean again and I felt energized.

Dancing on an Autumn breeze.

The goldfinch on a thistle head

Stood scattering seedlets as she fed,

The wrens their pretty gossip spread,

Or joined the random roundelay.

........Jean Ingelow.........

The Old Ways

Just two weeks from today I'll be on my way to the South of France via England - crossing the pond to both my true home, then on to where my family lives now, in this small village in the Minervois near the beautiful walled city of Carcassonne.

Arriving in the village.

It's always great to return to the place where you were raised, for me that was England. The memories flood back, you feel that sense of belonging even though you've been gone for years. It's also really special to have another place to visit where you feel surrounded by the love only given by your family. How fortunate I am to have this opportunity.

Village street.

The vineyards surrounding the village in Autumn.

If possible, I'll post again before leaving. On my return I hope to have photos of the many places I visit while in France - may even try to post some along the way! Thanks for all the good wishes from those of you who know where I'm going. I wish you could all come along and enjoy time in this lovely part of Europe. My wish for you is that you can take such a trip sometime in the near future.

Puttering on the Porch

Front porch clean up time. Long, far too hot, Summer, with watering restrictions which are still in place, required a lot of blood, sweat and tears to keep the outside areas of the cottage and garden constantly spruced up. With Autumn just around the corner, and being away for the month of October, I had to get out there last week and do some tidying, cleaning and a little something for seasonal decor. What would the neighbors think if I still had bowls of shells and the sailboat flag flying until November!

Too early for pumpkins, with these 90 degree days they'd turn into pie on the hot concrete. Did get last year's great gourds out though - they seem alright in the heat.

Morning glories, hummingbird vines, twisted and twirled into a green lacy curtain at the far end of the porch providing shade from the blazing afternoon sun. The hanging baskets with the huge Boston Ferns are still looking good - they usually survive until after the first frosts hit.

Cut chartreuse colored hydrangeas from the front bushes - love them when they turn this color and then dry out to grey-green and dusky pink shades later.
So this will be the porch decor until I return home from the trip to France - then it will be a mad rush to get Halloween decorations up.

Pink Saturday

Paris. Known for fashion over the centuries.

Paris Pink...............always fashionable

Hints of Paris pink and fashion spotted at SuzAnna's Antiques this week.

Stop over at How Sweet the Sound and visit with Beverly who has an ever growing list of Pink Saturday friends.

Decor Decisions

After trying other places, the decision was made. Display the sconce in the dining room where it just seems to be at home.

This room is visible when entering the front door. It's passed through as one way to the kitchen and, besides being a place to eat, is often my desk, a room to sit and watch the birds visiting the front porch...........and currently is even the French classroom.

I still have to find two candles for the holders ~ they have to be just the right type and I need to make them look old and used, with dried wax drips, perhaps faded or stained. Any ideas on aging candles appreciated.

When I finally decided to buy the sconce this week, I was really stopping by SuzAnna's Antiques in response to their phone call regarding these amazing books.

Found at an auction last weekend, they knew immediately I would be interested. The three large volumes of L'ILLUSTRATION Journal Universel were published in Paris in the 1860's and each is a six month compendium of a weekly illustrated newspaper. Each book has almost 500 pages, hundreds of amazing illustrations, and are in wonderful condition other than some wear on the covers.

Note: Anyone else having problems with Blogger this week? I'm so frustrated at trying to sign in and stay signed in, losing pics after uploading, being unable to SAVE a post, and even problems leaving comments on other blogs.