A kiss of fall

There is the unmistakable end of season feeling in the air. The swallows have flown away, the grains on the hillside have been harvested leaving a golden stubble, a nip is in the air and soft breezes blow puffy white clouds around overhead. This is one of my favorite times of any year; this particular year it's one of my busiest as well!

We came back from vacation and hit the ground running. A few days of bright sun and sweltering temperatures soon gave way to chilly mornings and early evenings. We ordered fuel and scheduled our annual firewood delivery.

Our dear clients, and now friends, Wolfgang and Sabine from Mannheim, Germany, stopped over on their way back home from their annual three week vacation in Brittany. We have watched their children, Victoria and Roderick, grow up over the last several years. The family stays at the beach up until the last Saturday before the opening of school and spends one night at Maison Conti before driving back home on Sunday, cutting it all very close. They have developed this yearly routine which also includes the purchase of an enormous amount of fresh Breton fish which they drive to our home and share with us on the terrace for a huge feast. This year is was 9 oysters apiece, sardines on the grill, a huge crab for everyone. It spells the end of summer for all concerned. And what a great way to kiss it goodbye.

I came back from Slovenia very invigorated, and have tried to keep that feeling alive, although it is more difficult in the routine of daily work-a-day life. When possible we've been taking slightly more ambitious walks down the hill and through the fields and up the hill again. The circuit takes almost an hour.

It is very pleasant, especially this little portion of woods which is actually a narrow strip of trees separating two large corn fields. It's a kind of traditional bocage. Rick, who is reading The Discovery of France, tells me that farmers up until the early part of the twentieth century had secret tunnels like these to disappear into without a trace. Their entrances were elaborately woven branches which were impossible to detect by outsiders.

Last week we had an Australian woman staying with us. She is a friend of another Australian client who we became very fond of when she and her husband stayed with us a few years ago.  

Sue had been planning her European adventure for a year, so we had months to anticipate her arrival. She was on her own. On one of her days with us, she requested a tour of the local area from Rick, and I went a long for the ride, as she was our only visitor that day. We took her to the northern reaches of the Perche, Bellême and La Perrière, two villages with much to recommend them. On the way we stopped by the twelfth century chapel of Saint Germain-de-la-Coudre, which has been under restoration for years. We had never seen it, although we knew of its splendid reputation. The interior is quite extraordinary, with wood paneled walls, beautiful frescoes, vaulted wooden ceiling and rustically carved beams decorated with comical gargoyles.

 

We ate lunch at a restaurant in La Perrière, a beautiful spot to spend a few leisurely hours. The stone houses are quite picturesque,

 many of which have charming cottage gardens.

After lunch we walked through the little streets and enjoyed the sights.

 The landscape is bucolic

and the architecture elegant.

The fall season brings many lovely events which I will certainly share with you here. In the meantime, if you're interested in learning how to make digital dew drops, check out this Photoshop tutorial.

A Day at the Fair

La Perrière is one of the prettiest hilltop villages in our area. When friends come to visit we generally take them for tea at the charming Maison d'Horbé, an extravagant antique shop/tea room. Once a year there is a marché d'art in La Perrière where artists display their wares and thousands of people stop by to see what's available. For a quiet countryside like ours, it is a très big deal.

This year I submitted my work for consideration. Since moving to the area, I have wanted to participate. I was pleased to be selected, as there are a limited number of spaces and many more interested artists than booths available.

When we arrived, I was happy to find that the booth assigned to me was in the private garden of the priory, just next to the church. It was a picturesque location.

I brought my entire team with me: Emily and Quinn, James and Adric and Rick. We set ourselves up and waited for the crowds.

The unfortunate thing about the weekend was that rain was predicted, and instead of being warm and inviting, it was gray and threatening. Although it was pleasant enough to sit outdoors with the family, chat with people as they came by and take tours of the village ourselves by turns, the weather was a deterrent to the usual large crowds.

La Perrière is a lovely place to spend a day. The views out over the countryside are magnificent.

The main roads, filled with artists booths are intersected by little pathways. It is enjoyable to take walks and peek into the cottage gardens that dot the village byways.

We had some very nice customers and made several sales, but just as the crowds were beginning to arrive, after the lunch hour, the sky opened up and rain poured down. Our nicely framed prints, hung on a stone wall, were in the path of a flood and several of them had water leak in under their cardboard backing. We were forced to take everything down, pack up and go home hours early.

It was a bit disappointing, but a good experience anyway. I'll probably try again next year, as it's one of the nicest art fairs I've ever seen. I'll request an indoor space the next time.

Once we arrived home a beautiful rainbow appeared out the window. Promise of happy times to come. Indeed the weather has turned summery again. In the storm a branch of our wisteria, which happened to hold a morning dove's nest, slipped down in front of one of the windows. We now have a ringside seat to watch the baby grow up. One of the eggs had tumbled out of the nest and onto our terrace, so this bird is an only-child. He's already about half the size of his mother.

Week 31: Christmas Pleausres

Our wintery neighborhood

We had an eventful Christmas week spent with our local family. So much was enjoyed and shared together that it would take several blog posts to recount all our adventures, so I will mainly focus on one of them. It was Quinn's second Christmas and he got right into the spirit of things. Emily spent a great deal of time making presents for everyone. Adric organized three wonderful activities for us to participate in. One involved taking photographs of stories we all acted out, another was a series of impressions we wrote about one another and the last was a crafts project we participated in together in the studio. He put all these mementos into a beautiful book and presented them to us on Christmas.

James offered us a Christmas eve treasure hunt/adventure that took us out into the snowy world. We came downstairs to discover an envelope which had a map, a quote, a comment and a clue:

Imagine a vast sheet of paper on which straight lines, triangles, squares, pentagons, hexagons and other figures, instead of remaining fixed in their places, move freely about, on or in the surface, but without the power of rising above or sinking below it, very much like shadows--only hard with luminous edges--and you will then have a pretty correct notion of my country and countrymen. Alas, a few years ago, I should have said "my universe;" but now my mind has been opened to higher views of things. --Edwin A. Abbott

We're all points on a map, when it comes down to it. Today our maps converge here. This morning, shall we chart new territory?

It's hard to imagine how all our maps crossed here. They just, well, they did. In this country of little hills and little towns with little churches. So many little hills, and so many towns and churches. It seems there's always time to discover more. This little church is in a little town which is not half as charming as the little church itself.

There was also a photo with a town name just visible. From this we searched the provided map and headed off to our first stop.

Emily and Rick discover our first destination

Quinn is dressed and ready for the adventure

We drove to an adorable 11th century church in a village we had never visited named St. Georges du Rosay. The church was turreted and had a lovely statue of St. George above the doorway.

Emily discovered the next clue nestled under the plaque mounted on the church wall.  James had gotten up early that morning and hidden clues along our way. Each one led to the next location. Each destination was something special and almost all unknown to us before this day and, as we came to realize, each also represented one of us.

Our second destination was a feudal motte. Rick found a clue hidden in the ivy nearby.

Next stop a snowy pasture full of horses. Quinn had a nice conversation with one as the others looked on.

By now it was mid-afternoon. Our next stop was La Perrière, one of the most charming hilltop villages of the Perche, where we had a wonderful long lunch in a place we love called Maison d'Horbé. It is a restaurant, salon de thê, fancy food boutique and antique store all in one.

Quinn was enthralled with all there was to see.

The shop is always overflowing with interesting knick knacks.

This time of year, beautifully decorated for the holidays.

Quinn tried on a lovely red hat.

After lingering well into the late afternoon, the waitress handed us another clue and off we went. This time to discover a prehistoric dolmen.

These stones were stacked together thousands of years ago and are thought to have been a kind of ancient communication point. For us they revealed yet another clue.

Our last destination of this memorable Christmas eve was a beautiful château, which we reached through a narrow forest track. The windows were aglow, another family gathering to celebrate the season.

Our last clue took us back to Maison Conti. The sun was just setting as we turned our car towards home, with even more fun and adventure in store for us.

Whenever the family gets together, a great deal of cooking and eating always takes place. We all dream up our favorite meals and take turns sharing them with one another. Everyone helps out. Our week included some exceptional meals. Adric cooked up a traditional Filipino feast, including a delicious fresh shrimp and mint salad, chicken adobo and tilapia followed by pineapple upside down cake. Jos made us sauerkraut and German sausages one night and a fabulous minestrone another. Rick made a particularly delicious roast beef. I offered homemade bagels with lox and cream cheese for one breakfast, eggs Benedict for another and New York Goodwich sandwiches for lunch one day. Christmas dinner was a platter of shellfish, fresh from the sea served with Rick's excellent potato leek soup, accompanied by a memorable bottle of Marsannay (from Jos) and finished with a box of Mont d'Or which had been nestled in the coals of the fire until it was as soft as fondue.

Quinn was amazed and delighted by Christmas. He was quite surprised to find an electric train running under the tree on Christmas morning, and the stocking he had hung by the chimney with care the night before was magically filled up with all kinds of wonders.

Holidays over, family departed, the sun rises this morning on another snowy week. Our last one in this wonderful year.

Métiers d'Art

Last weekend we had a stand at an art festival in La Perrière, a lovely village not far from our home. It is the first time we have participated in something like this. Art markets are quite common in France, and not just at Christmas time. People enjoy seeing handmade items and these events can be quite well attended. They expected 1500 people to visit the one we were part of. In June there is a Marché d'Art where painters, sculptors and fine artists of every persuasion bring their work. This entire little village is crowded with stands and parking is held in large fields. It's almost like a rock concert or a ball game. When we attended last summer we found it phenomenal that so many artists and spectators came to this litte out-of-the-way village to participate. When we went to the tourist office to gather more information for possible participation in next year's event, they told us that in September, they hold another marché, but this time for crafts people, rather than fine artists. We felt that we probably fall somewhere in the middle of those two categories, but decided to give it a go for the September event. Certainly the crafts market was not so well attended as the June event, but it was lots of fun nonetheless and we met some interesting other crafts people. The woman on one side of us made painted porcelain jewelry. On the other side the woman made theatrical costumes. There were several wood workers, furniture makers,people doing trompe l'oeil, potters, clever toy makers, jewelers of every description and some embroidery artists. It was a very diverse group of people. We received some publicity as two newspapers featured our photo and wrote up a bit about us for their local circulation. We weren't the only English-speakers featured at the market, but we were the only Americans. I guess we're a novelty and so make a good focus for an article. Rick had a lot of people interested in our photogravure process. The idea at the festival was to give demonstrations of our crafts. We brought our little letterpress and ran off some cards which we gave away to children. We did sell some prints, but our books and cards were the biggest hit. La Perrière itself is a really charming village, well worth a visit if you're ever in the neighborhood. We have enjoyed lunch or tea at the chic Maison d'Horbe many times. It is a magical place, overgrown with vines, alive with bubbling fountains and birds, richly decorated with statuary and potted plants. Tea is served in mismatched antique tea cups with antique silver spoons. They have a boutique with a gourmet food section, selling their cakes, creams and jams and an antique section where they sell all manner of little knick knacks. We have several photos of La Perrière up on our website. La Perrière is perched on a hill and the view of the Perche countryside all around is unspoilt. The view from most of the residences is spectacular. Since the Perche is close to Paris, lots of Parisians have second homes in this area. La Perrière is a particular favorite, because of its charm and location. It makes the village prosperous and well-tended. As we left town after our weekend as artist/merchants, we took a new road and discovered this pretty château just outside town. It's a pleasure to discover something new around an unexplored bend in the road.