Thursday 1 May 2014

Happy First of May and silver grey brocante finds for Grey Dey Thursdey


What a beautiful, fragrant French tradition, the giving of 'muguet', Lily of the Valley, on the 1st of May. Today is a bank holiday in France, Labour Day, and also the day when people give each other little bunches of 'muguet' as a good luck token. I can't give you real ones, but perhaps the images will do the same and bring you all good luck. 

Everywhere I looked today, there were bunches of Lily of the Valley for sale, and their scent in the air was so delightful. Where did I see them? At a brocante, of course! Which brings me neatly to the second part of the post, the Grey Dey Thursdey bit :-). 

I almost didn't make it. We got into the car at 7am, bright eyed and bushy tailed, lol, and............ it wouldn't start. Flat battery. ARRGGHHH. Now as you know we live in the deepest countryside, very little moves on a normal day, and on a bank holiday, well, just about nothing at all, lol. And you can't just knock on the nearest neighbours' door at 7am on a holiday, lol. So my poor darling husband stood in what passes for the main road near our house ( about as wide as a country lane, lol ) and waited for someone to drive by. And waited. And waited some more. And finally, somebody did drive by, and eventually, 2 hours after the planned start, we got going. Hurrah. But I did find a few lovely old things, so it was all worth it. I'll just show you the silver grey treasures though, so that I can link the post to Petite Michelle Louise's lovely GREY DEY THURSDEY linky party ;-) -









And I'll leave you with another little bunch of muguet -

Thank you all for your very kind comments on previous posts and of course for stopping by today. Toodlepip xxx

9 comments:

Dorthe said...

Oh Liz ,what a bad luck, -how sweet that your husbond would stand there waiting for some auto to pass by ! I`m glad you got there at last, and found treasures ,also- if you found all these beautiful silver grtey pieces you ,in my opinion found LOTS of treasures!! Wonderful they are all, the religious piece very beautiful.
Here I got sun in the afternoon, and I just had my beach walk , cold but lovely !!
Hugs and kiss-
Dorthe

Jane and Lance Hattatt said...

Hello Liz,

Lily of the Valley is such a sweet flower. In Budapest, small hand tied bunches are in evidence on all the flower stalls and, perhaps best of all, from old countrywomen who come in to town to sell them. We have bought several lots and their perfume scents the room so deliciously.

And, it was worth all the aggravation with your car since you have some lovely treasures here. We have a toast rack exactly as this which we use for breakfast every day.

Elizabethd said...

I managed to find a few stems of Muguets in the garden to remind me of France!

Marci said...

Lilies of the valley are one of my (many) favorites. When I was a child we used to make May Day baskets out of construction paper, put flowers in them, then hang them on someone's door. Then we would ring their doorbell and run and hide. I had forgotten till your post reminded me. I don't know if children even do that anymore. Anyway, your treasures are beautiful and your husband must be a patient man.

Sophie said...

Guten Morgen, liebe Liz...
Dein Maiglöckchengruß ist gut angekommen.
Meine Maiglöckchen im Garten fangen grade an zu blühen.
Seit heute ist es hier etwas kalt geworden, das wird die Blüte sicher noch verzögern.
Ich liebe Maiglöckchen und Flieder, den Duft, aber sicher auch, weil ich im Mai Geburtstag habe.
Ich wünsche dir noch eine schöne Zeit mit viel Sonnenschein.
Herzlichst Sophie

Unknown said...

well lucky for you someone came by and jump started you or we all would not have been able to feast our eyes on these grey dey lovelies!!! ha ha. i adore your finds.....and am so happy you take the time to share them with us on grey dey! ;)

Rhonda said...

Oh Liz, talk about a woman on a mission! You made it happen and we are all glad you did.

Lovely silver and greys - merci for your beautiful post.

Betsy said...

Gorgeous silvers and such, LOVE the tray and the dove vase or cup, whichever it is so lovely, and the Paris Souvenir Tray is a favorite as well!
hugs,
Betsy

Laura Quaglia (Fun With This and That) said...

I to collect ,I'm doing better ,I have had a two auctions .I love vintage things and doing crafts I have a Etsy store now but I still have a lot more things to list . I have a few linens things packed away I just cannot sell them . your things are so pretty Laura