Cozy Homemaking

Aveyron March 2014 - part five

Today I'll be sharing the last photos from our trip, almost a month ago already. We were in Conques, a little village with a great charm. It is built on a hillside and has classic narrow Medieval streets. As a result, large vehicles cannot enter the historic town centre but must park outside. The town was largely passed by in the nineteenth century, and was saved from oblivion by the efforts of a small number of dedicated people. As a result, the historic core of the town has very little construction dating from between 1800 and 1950, leaving the medieval structures remarkably intact. The roads have been paved, and modern-day utility lines are buried.

The St. Foy abbey-church in Conques was a popular stop for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1998. There is so much to say about it, but too much for me to explain, so I'll let you read the Wiki article, if you're interested.

The French (and local, from Aveyron) artist Pierre Soulages  produced 104 stained glass windows for the Romanesque Abbey church St Foy. (below is one of them)

All the other photos were taken inside or just outside the abbey-church. I loved every detail. Very inspiring. The shapes, the colors, the textures. 

Aren't the stones colors just stunning ? Like a patchwork !

I hope you enjoyed all the photos from our trip last month. It was a pleasure sharing them with you. Wishing you all a beautiful week ahead !

ox

S

Visit this link if you like Pierre Soulages art !

snow much fun in Aveyron

During our three days long trip in Aveyron during the last school break, we were very lucky to find some snow left on our way. It was snow much fun for everyone, believe me ! We are not skiers, but very simple snowball fighters ! I know some of you in Northern America are very very very tired of the snow at this very moment, so please ignore this post if you're bored to death ! We, poor southerners, are simply snow deprived. We would share our summer heat with you if we could !

 ox

S

Aveyron March 2014 - part three

This trip to Aveyron helped me going back to the swing of taking outdoors photos. It'd been so many months since the boys went back to school & then the move, I had missed being outside so much, and taking photos just as much. (although I never stopped taking photos, I had not posted nature photos for so long, it felt like eternity !) Here are some that helped me make peace with my sometimes uselessly troubled mind.

How I love to look at all these plants that grow on top of ruins or castle walls. Noone sowed them, they grew by themselves & brave the elements without any help. And yet, hardly anyone really look at them. I know I do.

ox

S

Aveyron March 2014 - part deux

Let me share with you today photos from our little excursion to a little castle, the "Château de Calmont d'Olt". Perched atop a basalt dyke at an altitude of 535 m, it overlooks from 100 m the town of Espalion and the valley of the Lot. It provides a panoramic view of the Aubrac highlands. In 1987 the castle was bought  & was gradually renovated. From this date, with the assistance of Bâtiments de France and the regional archaeological service and thanks to the help of volunteers working summers with the castle team, the site has little by little been reborn. (source : Wikipedia)

Today I'll share with you photos of the site itself, tomorrow I'll share photos of nature growing on the site.

(seen from the castle)

This is a couillard, a medieval siege weapon, a type of smaller trebuchet. Instead of a single counter-weight swinging between supports on either side, it has a split counter-weight that passes on either side of a single support. Its maximum range was about 180 meters, and it could hurl projectiles of about 50 kg. It needed about 8–10 men to achieve a fire rate of 10 projectiles per hour. (source : Wikipedia)

Hoping you liked the short tour !

ox

S

PS : I loved these pinkish stones ! Some villages had houses built with these & they were gorgeous. 

Aveyron March 2014 - part one

We stayed three days in the département of Aveyron last week, and I have a bunch of photos to share with you this week.

Here are some random shots in the small village of Estaing, that we visited on the first day.

As you can see, I'm drawn to old (or ancient), weathered things. They sure would have so much to say if they could speak. But they tell so many stories already, simply looking at them ...

Wishing you a great start to your week. Hoping you are all doing fine. Vacations are over now, "regular" school rhythm will resume, even though we're slowly but surely making some changes, which I hope, will be for the best for everyone. {me included} Good news is that I'm feeling my mojo coming back, slowly but surely too ! Yay !

Take good care.

xo

S

and and about (again)

I didn't mean to be away for almost a week ... oopsie. Hubby & I were in Paris on Tuesday & Wednesday, and I must say that this short trip happened when I needed it the most.

I hadn't been feeling top notch for the last couple of weeks. Now looking back, here's why. For the last months, hubby had hardly been so busy, not working from home very much (when he used to). Leaving him with almost zero spare time, which in the end lead to a not really enthusiast or cheerful person (and that is normal). Add to that : 1) the move in November/December, and the different school schedules 2) no time or inspiration/motivation for making for the shop 3) foot injuries in December, January & February ... 4) we also haven't been in nature for months & months. Hubby & I hadn't been away only the two of us, for ages.

The result is that I had been feeling like (let's say it outloud) crap, like a failure. I was grumpy, silent, agressive (verbally), always on the edge. I'm not exagerating, really. I even couldn't stand to see my face in the mirror anymore.

(train stop at Nîmes)

This trip to the capital, as short as it was, did me much good. The train journey felt like a transition, and as soon as we were there, my spirits lifted immediatly. It was as silly as that. We hit favorite spots, and had time to talk & talk, and to enjoy ourselves, just the two of us. We went to the Japanese restaurant, grocery shop & bookstore.

(loot from Junku)

We also had a peach margarita & a strawberry daiquiri in a Mexican bar.

(yummy)

I went to Bercy park too, on a sunny Wednesday morning. And felt refreshed.

We went to the National Museum of the Middle Ages. Look at those :

(read more about the champlevé technique here)

Too gorgeous for words, right ? Beauty and inspiration can be found everywhere, even in the metro station, that's what Paris reminded.

(in Gare de Lyon metro staion)

(in Saint Michel Notre Dame metro station / 1985-1988  / Artist is Claude Maréchal)

Now we're back home, I'm caught up on laundry & all. And hubby just let me know we were to be on a short family trip next week ! Surprise ! Hubby's feeling probably a little less stressed & I hope his work load will be lighter very soon because I find it affects our lives too.

My heart is full again. I know I have no reason to complain, but I hadn't been feeling in the best physical & mental states for weeks & weeks. Sorry for the introspective post, but this place of mine is also a way for me to work on myself. I hope you liked the photos, though !

Wishing you well. Thank you SO much for the few brave ladies who keep on reading my little blog.

ox

back from Bec de Jeu

"Bec de Jeu" is the name of the place we stayed last week with my son, his class & another class of his school. We came back on Friday evening, so tired (he had been sick all Friday, and I had fallen on my tailbone the same morning) but oh so happy. We all had such a memorable week, I laughed so much, and met wonderful people.

yep that's my son here

wolf from "Les Loups du Gévaudan" park

I obviously took many more photos but I won't share them since there are children on each of them, and I will respect their privacy.

I hope you had a great week last week.

ox

S

Thoard is a little village in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, near Digne-les-Bains. We had stayed two weeks, not too far from Digne, back in July. (remember ?) Well, I haven't finished sharing photos from our vacations (can you believe ?). We went to the village of Thoard because we wanted to visit a lavender distillery. I'll keep those photos from next time, as today I'm sharing photos of some doors of Thoard. 

this is Thoard, seen from one side

Aren't they lovely ? I thought so. I'm a sucker for a good ol' weathered door. Are you too ?

Wishing you a wonderful start of your week !

ox

S

Musée Gassendi // Digne-les-Bains (France)

Snapshots from our visit to this gorgeous museum, that we visited twice during our vacations. (once with my mom & the boys, once only the two of us) Were exhibited mainly Andy Goldsworthy (57 y-o British sculptor, photographer, environmentalist, land-artist) & herman de vries (82 y-o Dutch artist) I'm so glad I took these photos to share with you & to keep as a personal record.

detail of the front doors of the museum

entire wall made of local clay & human hair

herman de vries' collection of pressed local flowers & plants,
made in memory of a local naturalist 

If you missed it, there was a shop update last Sunday. (buckets) See previous post here.

Hoping you are all doing fine ! Thank you for stopping by !

ox

S

(auto-posted blog post while I'm away)

My last series of photos was not taken in the pond so to speak, but in a tiny water space, like a micro pond, if you want.

There, grows duckweed / lentilles d'eau (aquatic plants which float), which I find very beautiful.

And my eyes got caught (once again !) by something floating above these duckweed. It was a butterfly, and sadly, it was not alive anymore, and its position made me think (once again) of John Everett Millais' Ophelia painting.

I should be back home tomorrow, I hope you had a lovely time while I was away. Thank you for stopping by, always.

ox

S

(auto-posted post while I'm away)

Still around the pond, I had the opportunity to take some shots of a dragonfly that was doing rounds & rounds above it. When it finally stopped by a leaf, I snapped away ! I think I have identified it as being a Keeled Skimmer / Orthétrum bleuissant / Orthetrum Coerulescens.

I couldn't resist added cropped photos, so you can see a little more details of its beautiful wings !

ox

S

(auto-posted blog post while I'm away)

In my last post we were around ponds, and I spent more time exploring them with my camera. Many little characters attracted my attention, but one in particular, which wasn't scared one bit ...

I'm so grateful he/she let me approach her/him ... Her/his eyes looked like they had been painted with gold, it was so pretty to see ! (it didn't simply look like yellow, it was truly golden !)

He/she then jumped out of the pond & found a shady spot to rest for a while. I must add it was a truly hot day (like 34°C in the shade), therefore shade was a necessity for everyone !

Again, he/she didn't leave as I was approaching a little closer with my camera. I tried not to scare him/her though, and was moving slowly & silently. I must have read too many Beatrix Potter's book, because I think I can see a smile on his/her face (in the last photo) ...

I was very honored to meet you & see you closer, little Cretan frog (Pelophylax cretensis) ! It makes me sad though to learn that you're an endangered species, and that you are threatened by habitat loss. (maybe not in the botanical garden, but your fellows)

See you another day, little Cretan frog !

Have a lovely weekend everyone ! Thanks for stopping by !

xo

S

(auto-posted blog post while I'm away)

Happy Monday everyone ! I hope your week is off to a great start. When this post will auto-post, I should be having a break from routine, which is refreshing. In the meantime, here are more photos from Sunday 07th at the Botanical Garden. I like to call this small series "pond reflections". (because that's what they are !) I think I could have stayed looking at those all afternoon. I understand better how poets or painters can be (or have been) inspired by such visions of everchanging colors, shapes, feeling & perception.

Oh, to be a dragonfly & to fly around these papyrus ...

ox

S

I'm so glad you're enjoying these photos from last Sunday at the botanical garden ! Here are some more, and I'll be sharing more while I'm away, so that I don't feel I'm late sharing those photos. Therefore there'll be a couple of "pre-posted" posts (don't be surprised)

tansy leaves (Tanacetum vulgare / Tanaisie commune)

a type of Rudbackia

Aaaah ... since May & June were relatively wet & not as hot as usual, nature, included at the botanical garden is not completely dry & burnt by the summer heat. And really, that's a pleasure & a joy to see !

I've been pretty busy preparing our stuff for the trip. My goodness how long does it take !! What an organization ! Phew. We shall be going to a much cooler weather & I won't be the one who'll complain about it ! It's been a warm warm week & a break from it will be welcome. Plus the house we're renting is at an altitude of approx. 1000 meters, so it'll be quite a change from ... approx. 0 meter of altitude LOL

The shop is now closed, at least until July 28th. Then I hope I'll have a handful of new things to share with you, early August. (besides photos from the trip !)

Wishing you a lovely end of the week & weekend ahead !

ox

S

Days are pretty full right now, though I'm pretty sure it's the same thing for everyone ... I haven't visited many blogs lately, I surely owe a visit to many of you & I apologize. I cross fingers & toes that I'll catch up with you all this weekend, at some point.

Here are the second & last part of the photos from a week ago exactly. (though extra photos will be part of other posts)

this is Briza Maxima / Rattlesnake grass / la Grande Amourette

Cytisus scoparius / Scotch broom / Genêt à balais

this weird little thing is Cytinus hypocistis / Cytinelle
It is an ant-pollinated species of parasitic plant of the plant Cistus salviifolius

aren't these real little suns ?!

hubby helping me pick immortelles for dyeing

Echium vulgare / Viper's bugloss / Vipérine commune

and this is amazing plant is Ophrys apifera / Bee orchid / Ophrys abeille

I hope this post finds you well, and that you're off to a great weekend ahead. Thank you so much for stopping by.

ox

S

I didn't get a chance to share with you the last photos from our little 2-day trip earlier in May. Here they are today !

Yes, this is a slug's back.
I thought the pattern on its back was worth sharing.

star shaped moss

layers

hairy

hills covered with broom

Equisetum arvense / Common horsetail / Prêle des champs

I hope you've had a nice month of May (since today is the last day), and that June will smile to you as well.

If you missed it, there was a shop update yesterday, with many pouches, bucket & pincushions, made with Liberty of London prints & organic cotton twill.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend ahead ! May you be well & happy !

ox

S

I have more photos from the Lac des Pises (near Mont Aigoual) I'm so glad you liked yesterday's drops photos !!

I don't think I had seen this flower in the past,
I haven't identified it yet though

soft soft moss

I loved how pretty these leaves looked !
Fully grown, all pleated & tucked out before popping out of their buds ! Amazing !

we unfortunately came accross this unlucky little creature
we really didn't know what had happened :( 

Lac des Pises is a glorious place for all kinds of lichens growing altogther on same rocks !

wasn't this white one incredible ?! I cropped the photo (below) so you could see more details !

that mustard one is so delicious ! I'm a real sucker for yellow lichen I admitt.
But all kinds of lichens are simply mesmirizing !

I only have a few more photos from our two days around Mont Aigoual, next week !

I'll be sewing new pouches this weekend, with the most delicious fabrics (looking forward to sharing them with you !) But for now, you can get 15% off all the pouches currently available in the shop, using code 15POUCHESMAY242526 at checkout, until Sunday midnight (Paris time)

Have a delightful weekend ahead ! Thank you so much for stopping by !

ox

S

Back to the photos from two weeks ago. I'll admitt, these photos today are my favorites. I don't have often the opportunity to shoot drops, specially ones coming from fog, and boy did I have fun with these !!

It felt a bit like being in a fairy tale, specially if I add that we were alone there, that it was super foggy & super silent (except some birds, including a yellowhammer that greeted us).

On a totally different note, I have made & listed a midnight blue linen mug rug, matched with yesterday's coasters.

Thanks for stopping by !

ox

S

Very foggy and therefore really wet. That's what it was around the Lac des Pises, on May 10th. As we never get fog in Montpellier (too dry for that), fog feels as special & magical as snow, for us. (don't laugh) I have lots of photos from that day, I'll be sharing them over the next few days.

view from our hotel room in L'Espérou, in the morning

around the lake

mesmirizing, isn't it

ah yes, wet it sure was !

I felt so energized, with all that moisture ! (and it was cold too !)

this is U (9 in August)

We always love to go back there when we go to Mont Aigoual for a couple of days. It never fails.

Here is a video (NOT made by me, I precise !), which is so very beautiful. It's a bit long, but you can always fast forward a bit, and enjoy morning foggy views from where it is.

ox

S

Mont Aigoual - May 9th-10th // part three

Arboretum de la Foux

wasn't this tree pretty amazing ? It looked like twirling !

I noticed this little one, and observed it

crazy iridescent colors ! (it wasn't dead, I precise)

P found a heart shaped piece of tree bark, how sweet !
(I kept it & it's part of my nature treasures now)

such grace

I found this leaf particularly interesting as I thought
it looked like pleated grey velvet fabric

I take so much joy taking photos in nature, and so much joy in documenting our trips here. I hope you also enjoy the photos. More to come this coming week.

I shall be adding a special zipped pouch tomorrow to the shop. I'll be away from home most of the day so I'll be blogging about it & listing it at my return. Hand embroidered on both faces, with naturally dyed silk threads, on naturally dyed linen, and lined with organic cotton twill. If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen glimpses of it.

I hope you've had a lovely weekend. We've had March weather, which is super unusual. (rain, wind, sun, wind, rain, and chilly) This coming week is supposed to be sunny but not warm, and I'll take it with open arms, it'll be too hot soon enough.

xo

S

Mont Aigoual - May 9th-10th // part deux

Arboretum de la Foux

The arboretum was created 1900-1910 for experimental introduction of foreign species into France. Scientific efforts ceased in 1963, and it has subsequently been maintained for educational purposes by the Office national des forêts. The site is on a southwest slope between 900 and 1500 meters altitude in an environment very conducive to forest vegetation; some trees reach heights that are records for Europe.

 

more photos from the arboretum on Monday

ox

S

PS : if you want to help Kathreen Ricketson's children, this is the post telling how to do. I donated with Paypal.

On this very gray day, let me share the first photos of our two day trip to the Mont Aigoual (May 9-10th)

We left on a relatively warm day, and as we drove up the mountain, it got cooler & cooler.

And as we arrived on top, it was foggy. We never have any fog, down in Montpellier, way too dry for this.

We enjoyed it very much, as well as another typical characteristic of Mont Aigoual ...

... there were still snow patches on top of the Aigoual, which was highly enjoyable for snow deprived people like us !!

Spring does take its time over there, and everything is so much late compared to Montpellier, despite the fact that it is not that very far away ! There were small (wild) daffodils just about everywhere, such a beautiful sight to see !

And what takes the cake is the view you get from there ... On the photo below, you can see the Mediterranean sea, in the very far background. Can you see it ?

Back soon with more photos ! Have a wonderful day !

xo

S

I've been wanting to share these photos with you, because I think they hold so much warmth and fragrance. It was the first time I've seen Lavendula stoechas / French (or Spanish, or topped) lavender / lavande stéchade, growing wild, abundantly in the area. We had already spotted another kind of lavender, but not this one. And it was so fragrant, and the bees were so very very busy picking all the pollen !

Enjoy the photos, as much as I enjoyed taking them !

Have a fragrant (rest of your) day ! Thanks for stopping by !

ox

S

We're back from Paris, happy & tired, and always relieved to be back home. It started great (sunny Paris !), but ended not so nice (phone died in the train). Oh well. Let's move on.

A week ago already, hubby & I were hiking (you know that already if you follow me on IG), and it was the perfect kind of day (weather wise : cloudy) for taking nature photos. I'll be sharing them in several posts, as always, since there are too many of them for one single post.

We hiked almost up to the top of Pic de Vissou (480 meters high).

these (above & below) were what we could see from our picnic stop

March rains really did good to nature !

Happy May ! Healthy, joyful & creative month to everyone !

ox

S

Here are the last photos I'll share about our day out on March 31st (a little over a week ago), in nature.

Genista scorpius / Genêt scorpion , starting to bloom

a beautiful Cicindela campestris / Green Tiger Beetle / Cicindelle champêtre

violets on the ground

... and these are for you !

lichen covered branches

Ranunculus ficaria / Lesser Celandine / Ficaire fausse-renoncule

Artist : Carl Axel Magnus Lindman . Source : Wikipedia

and ... clearly, a fairy !

In other, and totally unrelated news, I am very happy to be part during this month of April, of Poppytalk's Mother's Day & Eco Market, that you can visit here. To this occasion, I have made a bunch of new reversible buckets ... stripes, flowers, polka dots ... and even Liberty of London !

I hope you're all having a beautiful start of the week ! Rain, sunshine, we've had it all today !

ox

S

I bet we all need some kind of color fix at this point of the season. I know spring has taken its time for showing up in most parts of the northern hemisphere, so I hope these sublime flowers (though already declining !) will bring some color & sunshine & warmth to your day ! (PS : I had already shown this flower to you two months & a half ago, here -end of the post-)

Globularia alypum / Globulaire buissonnante

the bushes were in the shade, which allowed me
to take not saturated (in sun light) photos

as you can see, they were starting to fade away

but the color ... oh my !!
(I only resize my photos & add the watermark, nothing more)

I have some more photos to share on Monday, but until then I will wish you a very lovely weekend. That'll be a very busy one for me, I'll tell you why next week. On a side note, everyone here has cold, coughs (hubby has bronchitis), and let me tell you, it is a very bad timing. Oh well.

ox

S

Here are some more photos taken on our Easter day little hike. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them !

you won't believe that this is a ... ford !
it usually never rains enough for getting such a beautiful show !
not this year ! it's rained SO much in March ! 

euphorbia characias / Mediterranean spurge
(its sap is highly toxic)

blooms blooms blooms !

helleborus foetidus / stinking hellebore / hellébore fétide

All parts of the plant are poisenous. Yeasts colonise the nectaries of stinking hellebore and their presence has been found to raise the temperature of the flower, which may aid in attracting pollinators to the flower by increasing the evaporation of volatile organic compounds. It was the first species in which this effect was discovered. (source : Wikipedia) 

I know not everyone will see beauty in this, but I do

I'm not 100% sure, but this may be a Polyommatus icarus / Common Blue / azuré de la bugrane

And this was a vineyard totally covered in dandelions ! How awesome, right ?! I have two more blog posts about this day, and tomorrow will show some of my most favorite photos, I can't wait to share !

In the meantime, I need to tell you that there is a bucket giveaway on Facebook, which is open until tomorrow evening. (French time, that is) Now back to my scissors, thread, etc !

Be well !

xo

S

I've been talking business for so many posts, I apologize for not talking about anything else. Thing is we hadn't had the opportunity to get out in nature before last Sunday, which is really sad, I know. But the last school break, then my mother-in-law's accident just threw it all apart !

So, at long last, nature photos, I will be sharing them over the next few days.

the perfectly round fruit of Ruscus aculeatus / fragon faux houx

It ws such a sunny & warm day, contrasting with all the grey & rainy days we've had in March !

More photos tomorrow ! Have a great middle of the week ! And don't miss out my friends Arounna + Geninne's collaboration here !

ox

S

So here I am, back with photos from January 06th. Today I chose to share those that were water/river related. So refreshing !

I was pretty mesmirized by water & its surroundings ... we picnicked by the river, and I took most of these photos above right at that moment.

I tried to make a video, it's short & simple, straight out of the camera.

Yesterday was cold but sunny, today seems to be grey & who knows what this weekend will look like ? From tomorrow, I'll be officially a soccer mom & a volleyball mom. I hope the boys will enjoy themselves & will learn some things from team sports.

⨳

Totally unrelated, I'm offering FREE SHIPPING until Sunday 20th midnight for orders over 25U$, simply use the code JAN13FREESHIPPING at checkout. There are a bunch of lovely things in the shop right now, and lots of them on sale as well !

Wishing you a cozy weekend, ladies. Thank you for stopping by today !

oxox

S

On Sunday 06th, the weather was glorious, and hubby & I headed to a place we had never visited : Saint Jean de Buèges. Our goal was a long walk in nature, but before sharing photos of the said walk, I'll share photos of the surroundings & of the village itself.

French bureaucracy & (some, ahem) French people can be so awful, but French villages can be so lovely ...

I hope this post finds you happy & healthy. Take care,

oxox

S