Seeing GREEN

We are back in France at our beloved cottage on the hill! We got back a few days ago, but since then, have been so busy in the garden, I haven't had a chance to do much on the computer. 

While we were away for 16 days, our wonderful friends Frank and Christine and Peter and Andrea looked after our veggie patches and flower pots and watered almost every day. I am so very grateful to them, without them most of my little seedlings would have keeled over in the heatwave they had here for a few days, and died. Instead, we came back to an amazing sight, lush greens and veggies which were already starting to produce. Of course, the weeds enjoyed the regular waterings as well, lol, just look at the photos! I have been spending the last few days trying to get on top of them, and it is looking much tidier now than in these photos I took the day after we arrived -

This is the patch where we grow our climbing beans, a few different varieties of tomatoes ( hidden behind the beans ), and smaller stuff, like rainbow beetroot, cavolo nero, red onions, red brussel sprouts, and also a few yellow courgettes

The raspberries grow along the fence behind the patch -

I picked loads, along with whitecurrants, blackcurrants, wild strawberries and wild cherries ( from a tree at Frank and Christine's place ) and made a couple of oh so delicious English summer puddings.

The other vegetable patch has mostly big stuff. Well, plants that grow big, lol, and trail everywhere, like butternut squash, courgettes ( zucchini ), patisson, which look like little flat white spaceships, another variety of small squash for stuffing, name of which escapes me for the moment, doh, and cucumbers. Also a few peas, and rainbow swiss chard -

I also have a few chili plants sprinkled about here and there, we do love spicy food -

Both our little fig treelets are doing so well and their fruits are getting big! -

And the rose I bought a few weeks ago is flowering so beautifully -

Thats all for now, I need to get back to the weeding :-) ! But I do have some rather beautiful things to share with you tomorrow - a couple of things I ordered from two Etsy shops......

NORMAL BLOGGING WILL RECOMMENCE SOON !!! I really will try very hard, I have so much catching up to do, favourite blogs to read and comment on, Tag Tuesday tags to make ( omg, I have missed so many, sob sob ), and Kimberly's latest ATC swap to prepare for.

Toodlepip xxx

Whirlwind Days

Since we got back from France, it has been a whirlwind of appointments. Hospital, dentist, doctor, optician, vet, you name it, we had an appointment for it, lol. We tried to cram as much as possible into the 2 1/2 weeks we planned to stay in the UK. In between all the appointments for both of us, I am trying to get some of the brocante finds listed so that my darling son can post them from the UK when they sell. I looked at some of the photos I took in France, and realised that I hadn't even posted the last few brocante pics I took in the garden! Doh! So here are the finds from, errm, probably one Sunday 3 weeks ago, lol -

There are many more things I didn't get to photograph in France, and I probably won't have time to photograph them all this time round in the UK, so they might have to wait until September. But at least some of the items in these pics will make it into the shop :-).

Wishing you all a wonderful week and good news for all of you waiting for news of some kind. 

Toodlepip xxx

'My Own Style' ATC swap

Hmm, my own style, that was quite difficult, because I like different things, but in the end I just went with pretty images and bling. Definitely bling, lol, each ATC had to have some sparklies on it.

Here they are -

The are on the way now to Kimberly of ArtJoyStuff, THE most fabulous swap hostess!

We are enjoying a bout of lovely sunshine, which means we spent many hours in the garden, preparing more ground and planting out more veggie seedlings. I would be quite happy if it rained for a few hours now :-).

Toodlepip xxx

A few brocante finds

As I said yesterday, I have only photographed a fraction of the lovely new treasures I have acquired. These are mostly from this Sunday -



A dilapidated old typewriter -

A small journal full of gorgeous handwritten text -

THE prettiest duck egg blue thick glass bottle with porcelain stopper, I LOVE this one -

The most ornate vintage French sugar nips/tongs I have ever come across -

Fabulous hand crafted huge copper water scoop, apparently used in the olden days for rinsing off after washing -

Some pretty enamel lunch boxes, a couple of cheese molds, a small 1920s medical diary, tiny silver shot cups -

I fell in love with this primitive hand carved wooden ladle, it is awesome -

A sweet little basket - 

A set of 4 mid century Bonne Annee ( Happy New Year ) cards with envelopes -


And then there is this huge book dated 1869 full of the most beautiful engravings -

I particularly like this last one of Jeanne d'Arc.

Thats all I have to show you today, hopefully there will be more soon.

Toodlepip xxx