A joy of a brocante.

What a bumpy ride this would have been !

In a  little village near to us called Gouarec there is a lovely little brocante.

The shop is jammed packed full of treasures and upstairs the rooms are just as they were.

All ready for Christmas.

Outside at the back is a little yard, again full of treasures.

I adore old linen and use it on our bed - its a delight to get into.

The shop is only open at weekends but its well worth the visit.

                                       



When I was last there I met an Australian lady who was in seventh heaven.

She had three parcels all ready to go back home with her on the plane, what a good time she'll have unpacking her precious finds and remembering where she bought them.

Beauty from the vegetable garden.

Every year when I plant leeks some are always left to keep growing and flower.

Now, I need the space for more vegetables so up the leeks come, the flowers come into the house and what is left goes into the compost.

I really love the flowers, they look dramatic now and I will dry some to help through the winter months when there is a shortage of flowers.

The Tour de France comes to Mur de Bretagne.

Yesterday the Tour de France came to Mur de Bretagne.

We were very lucky to be given tickets to be in the main stand at the end of the day's final.

The weather sadly was rather unkind and we had several downpours but we were lucky again to be undercover.

The time before the cyclists get there is always good fun with lots advertising floats throwing caps, sweeties etc.

We so enjoyed the whole atmosphere and the sun came out just as the first pack approached the finishing line.

The caravan will have moved on now with all the cars, tv crews, lorries, support teams, the fun and the cyclists.

Our quiet little hillside will be peaceful and back to how it was in a few days time but we will certainly remember the Tour de France coming to us.

Such a special fromagerie.

In St Brieuc there is just such special little shop which sells just cheese.

The shop is always lovely with big pots of flowers outside and such attention to detail.

A delight to lift all the senses.

Pie on high !!

Pie decided that she wanted to be on a post.

She made that very clear by going on to the top of the cupboards whilst I was reading a blog.

She goes so well with some of the pots which amazingly she never topples. Oh, the agility of cats.

A birthday weekend to remember.

I had my birthday on Sunday and the weather forecast for the whole of the weekend couldn't have been better.

We decided to take advantage of that and also we wanted to do something different that we'd both enjoy.

So on Saturday, with a tasty picnic in the car , we went of to Vannes which is about an hour's drive from here.

Vannes is just such a beautiful town with a large medieval part which is right next to the port full of yachts. Especially so in full sun with a blue sky and over 28 degrees that we had on Saturday.

Market day in Vannes is a delight with so much life and so many different things to see, smell

and taste.

Wonderful flowers stalls, delicious foods and everywhere photographic opportunities.

At lunchtime we sat by the marina eating melon, Bayonne ham, salmon, fresh goat's cheese and crusty fresh bread, drinking water and Breton bio cider.

Whilst we were sat in the sunshine the winner of an extraordinary race around the Golfe du Morbihan arrived after running 177 kms, starting at 5 pm on the Friday and taking just under 19 hours to cover that distance. The run includes taking little ferries to be able to cross the sea from islands to coast.

Later in the afternoon we went onto Auray, another beautiful little town with a medieval part

right next to a little port.

Auray is very much a centre for artists and there are lots of small studios to visit.

We visited a few and spoke at length to some of the artists, most enjoyable.

The evening finished very late as we came home and watched Coldplay at Glastonbury, they were just excellent. I went to sleep with my head singing " Yellow" and woke up with the song still there.

After opening presents and cards, there were phone calls from friends.

Then it was off for lunch with friends who live near St Brieuc.

Gerard was celebrating his 60th birthday and and they'd included my birthday in the party so there were candles to blow out, champagne to drink and a magical garden to sit out in the amazing sunshine.

I had a wonderful weekend for my birthday and it will stay in my memory for a long time.

Some treasures in the window.

The weather continues to be grey with tiny patches of blue, windy and on and off rain.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon sewing by hand which I always find so relaxing.

Today I will do the same, creating more bags.

Sitting in the kitchen with Pie, Tortue and Samuel all deciding, with the wisdom of cats, to stay inside with me

Looking out of the window I look at some of my little treasures, no real value, but I love them even the little wooden puppet that has no strings anymore but has infinite charm.

A little bit of sunshine just peeped in so maybe this afternoon there may be more.

Hope your day has sunshine inside and out.