More Windows

I never seem to tier of admiring windows in France. There is just something so charming about the shapes & sizes, the shutters, the lace curtains, the pots of flowers.




I love how the French so cleverly place new windows into old openings, as in the arch below.




I love the old stone sills.




The window below, is theoretically a door, but it is clear that it is used as a window, with it's wraparound shutter & the wrought iron enclosure that prevents the door from opening.





I can not resist old windows in unique shapes with shutters to match.




Or the one below, that is indeed the window of the office of the red cross, but somehow takes you back to another time is history.




Flowers & windows just go together in France, as do lovely fresh white curtains with lace trim.




It seem that each window is there adding character to the building that it adorns.

In Pots

I like to see all the potted plants in France. There are always many, wherever you look.




No matter how simple the home, it seems that there will always be some sort of assortment of pots & plants, like the ones below.




I especially liked the arrangement of plants below, made level with the little makeshift board.




Or the three green leafy plants, below, on the old stone benches.




There was just something so grand about this pot of spindly begonias in front of this elegant old door.




Much less grand, is this clever use of an old metal upright toilet tank as a planter, filled with succulents.





Another interesting pot is this old copper container with spout that was once used in making the blue dye called pastel.




Where ever I go, I am drawn to pots & their plants, no matter how humble.




Even a row of potted geraniums is lovey to me.

Art Exhibit for L' Église

The exhibition of art to benefit the church took place last weekend. It was held in the lovely old building that was once the one room school house of the village. Many of the older generation remembered having gone to school there. In those days each child would bring one piece of wood everyday for the wood stove that heated the school room.




Today the old stone walls & large windows made a lovely setting for the exhibit, & provided a wonderful way for all of the artists of the village to share their work with the community.




In all, there were eleven artists & craftsman that showed their work. The opening reception was well attended & was a lovely way to share an evening with friends & neighbors.




I exhibited several still lifes as well as three larger abstract paintings. All of the art work looked especially nice hung against the stone walls. The exhibition was well received & we were able to make some money to help in the restoration of the beloved village church.

Outdoor Tables

Dinning outside is an age old tradition in France. It seems that everyone, with even the smallest of gardens, will find a space for table & chairs.




Every old country home has planks at the ready that can be set on folding legs & covered in oilcloth tablecloths to be put into use for gatherings of family & friends. Many farmhouses have open air barns which make perfect places for protected outdoor dinning.




Renovated country homes continue the tradition of dinning under covered barns, as well as the flowered tablecloths of old, only now with an air of sophistication.




However, if there is no barn, a table under the tress will do nicely.




Whether, with elegant wrought iron or simple wooden table & chairs, French homes are always ready for dinning in the open.





The table below is far too ornate for my taste, but the garden where it is placed is peacefully sublime.




I prefer this simple table set in front of a swing & a garden bench. It is easy to imagine a lovely breakfast of fresh fruit & homemade jams, being served here.





This photo gives the real feel of French outdoor dinning at it's best, relaxed family dinning under a covered porch, towels thrown over the backs of chairs after a day of swimming.

Outdoor Tables Part II

I just happened on this scene, like stepping back in time, the old classic folding chairs & tables, set up in front of this weathered old store front. It was a reminder of times gone by, & the centuries old tradition of dinning out of doors.




There is, of course, a long history of the outdoor café in France. Really what could be more French than sitting outside in a café?




There are also many classic French designs of chairs & tables made especially for dinning outside, many of which are folding, in order to be moved about easily.




The table below, is an elegant classic, set here in front of a stone bench under the trees.





No matter the style of table, however, it is the idea of the outdoor table that is classically French.




And no matter how tiny the outdoor space may be, there is always room for a small table & chairs.




Dinning al fresco is one of the things I love most about being in France. There is really no lovelier way to dine.

Doors

I realize I have featured a few too many food related posts. We have had a stretch of rainy weather, & what better way to keep busy on a rainy afternoon than to make jam or a big pot of soup. However, when the sun is out, I love taking photos & I have another collection of doors I wish to share with you.





The first door caught my eye, with the striking contrast of vivid color against the rich black background of the door.





I was completely intrigued by this blue door. It was built to fit exactly the unusual shape of the opening.




This is a very plain door, but if you look through the grape vines ( can you see the grapes?) you will see that there are lights above the door making this doorway very tall indeed.




On the other hand, perhaps you can tell by the comparison of the hollyhock in the foreground that this rustic green door is tiny, almost elf size.




When I happened on this magnificent doorway, two art students were sitting in front of it, with their sketch pads, busily drawing it.




Though simple, this entryway is just so lovely & peaceful in it's simplicity.




The last two doors are both examples of arched doorways. One is elegantly grand while the other rustically beautiful.

Soup From the Vegetables of My Neighbors Gardens

Twenty years ago when I first came to France, soup was an important part of the French menu. There seemed to always be some sort of rich creamy soup for the first course. This is not so true today, as lighter cuisine has become the popular mainstay.




Soups, however, are still traditional French fare, especially here in the country. So when my neighbor arrived with some lovely slices of pumpkin from his garden & said, "For the soup!" I, of course, knew that I would be making soup.




It was made even more certain, when another neighbor came by bringing a beautiful big round squash & herbs from her garden. The ingredients were almost complete right there.

There is not much to it, just peel & chop your vegetables. I peeled the green skin off the squash, because as you can see above, its inside is a lovely golden color & I wanted to end up with a nice pumpkin color soup.




I started to peel the pumpkin, too. However, I realized that the skin of these smaller, sweeter, French pumpkins does not need to come off & stopped while I was ahead.




I chopped some carrots & also a potato, which did not make it into the photo. Next I sautéd onions & garlic, then added the chopped vegetables, a bouquet of herbs & water to cover. I brought it to a boil, then simmered until tender.




Toward the end of cooking, I chopped & added one yellow tomato & one red, ever mindful of the final color of my soup. Salt & pepper & a little squeeze of lemon to freshen the flavor were all that was needed to finish.




It would have been a lot quicker if I had had a full size blender or food processor, but even with my little magic bullet sort of device, it did not take too long to purée the soup into a creamy consistency.





It was just a matter of doing it in batches, until the softened vegetable mixture was completely puréed & transferred into a second pot. I was trilled with the beauty of the color & the creamy texture.




Et voilà, the soup from the vegetables of my neighbors gardens was complete & tasted every bit as good as it was pretty to look at!