I had a call from a lady down the road asking if I was interested in taking part in their summer exhibition. I did it last year and the standard is quite high. There are some lost wax bronze sculpture torsos, some Still life's of lovely French objects and a few other painters who were obviously taking their painting very seriously. It's a small village but it has a some committed people who put a lot of effort into community. I was hoping to be asked but I wasn't sure. It has given me new impetus to do some more oil painting, that and 3 games of Rugby today. The watercolours I was doing will be lost on the walls I might be able to do some framing to make them stand out a bit but framing is a bit expensive here so I will have to make my own. I think I shall be the only English artist. There are a few French people and more Dutch artist's. Anyway the organisers are all really nice and I shall look forwards to seeing them again. It's great also to feel like I'm contributing to the community and celebrating this lovely landscape. My neighbours can also see that I do do something too.

My husband bought this house (before I knew him) and took me to see it on our way back from the village below. It has lots of white quartz in the walls. Very pretty house and the garden carpeted in Hosta's and Primulas. He had to sell it but just look at it!!  

A new friend, Jou Jou she is 11 weeks old, a type of sheepdog. My friend bought her to keep her company. 

It's been 20°C during the day here, not in the evenings but it's been warm enough to work outside with a big cup of tea.

Started cycling again, only 10 kms just along the flat. I saw this lovely falling down house and Wild Hyacinth's and a new one on me here deep dark plum coloured Lungworts. I took photos of both but they are too blurred for the blog. My neighbour brought me round some Ransome or Wild Garlic when I got back from cycling. I miss seeing and smelling the Ransom's in the woods common in Herefordshire, UK. Now I can have my own, I think I may have to hide them from the geese though.

Ticking.

This weekend I spotted a brocante on at our local village/small town. It was an indoor one in a big shed. I usually shy away from anything too organised but....big but, I have been going stir crazy at home stuck in by the fire watching the rain. I went alone and so just went for the things that really interest me, so textiles. I bought 2 bits of ticking the fabric that covers a mattress normally. Its often this beige colour sometimes mixed with blue or pink stripes. The cloth is herringbone woven to prevent anything sticking through like horsehair or feathers as it's also used on bolsters. I should really have bought a bit more as I saw some lovely striped bits with pink in and some old patterned chintzy stuff. I did get the lady's card, although she's a little distance from here. One of the pieces is quite big and faded quite a lot. The other piece is brighter, thicker and a lot smaller. I just think you can use it for all sorts of soft furnishing from cushion covers to trims on curtains or for pouches and it screams French rustic. The last piece I rescued from a neighbour's fire was a really big beige and white stripes but huge and really clean. Unfortunately I spotted a horse hair mattress going to the tip and I didn't have the nerve to ask at the time.
I also bought this jar it's quite a narrow one and real heavy glass. The other thing I found was this 'Allumettes' box for matches it was dingy brown but it scraped up to this lovely enamelled beauty. 

It's still a bit wet, bit of snow too.

If you look up Nivernais, it is someone from The Nievre, the area that I live in. You find a lot of dogs called a Griffon Nivernais. They are often a bit lost as those long legs carry them to all sorts of locations. This one was in the farm yard when I got back on Sunday after the brocante. They do have a numbers to ring but their owners are normally out when you ring on a hunting trip. This one was called Blanchot and he was a charmer. He was so pleased to see me and as I tried to guide him back to a road where he would be found he howled back to me a proper wolf howl. The 'Chasse' now has 'fin'. Ending the end of Feb. 

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An Army of Frogs.

He's quite clever only one front paw. We found him as a tiny dot on a lonely road mewing. I think he'd been dumped as he had a limp leg. He'll be 4 in June.

Planting some Snowdrops I thought seeing as though they like to be quite deep I'd see what was stopping the dig, boulders are everywhere.

 We have an old Lavoir where the geese like to plunge and clean, the land here belongs to the commune and is also maintained twice a year by 2 men who come and strim all around. No one but the 2 geese use the lavoir anymore. I can't imagine where the future might be for such a thing. Perhaps one day the water will be diverted. It was tested for purity and it came out top grade clean.( we actually have a pump that sends water to the house to use for our showers and I like to water the garden with it too.)

Early spring Polyanthas.

After winter the first thing is cutting back brambles and for these old raspberries that produce very little I have been cutting them back to make way for something else.

Very little has changed here but as you know a trip to the second hand shop always throws up new  random things. This week I took photos too. A card of needles, a crinkled glass old shade that could do with a pulley and smaller bulb and a really nice basket with sturdy leather handles. In the basket are 3 house dresses in crazy fabric. Polka dot, paisley and a blue printed one. 

Polyanthus Stella

 A few new watercolours. I have a panorama button on my camera and I have started using it to squash more into the frame. I love to see little cottages in the landscape so at last I can get buildings all together so that you can see who is near who. Then I have tried painting in the style of these contorted images. It occurs to me now that I could exploit this. I have to piece together paper so that I can elongate my paintings.
Excitingly for me I have ordered a few art materials. I have included some watercolour pans, Chinese they seem quite cheap at £2.15 for large pans and the colours seem quite bright and a little bit unusual. I have also ordered some rough paper to paint on Khadi paper from India. Then more pens, the kind you can dip in ink and draw with as mine get worn quickly. I'm also going to try some new solvent for the oil paint, made from citrus oil rather than using a rather smelly white turpentine. It's quite difficult for me ordering stuff online. I do get free delivery on a £100 which is great but it also means I have to know for the future what I want to do. I can't afford to spend much as I am not able to sell anything from here. The other thing is, obvioulsy you can't just try something and then if it's pleasing go back for more. So I just end up buying a bit of this and a bit of the other. I might look at French mail order, might mean I can do smaller orders.

Driving to Semelay to a restaurant nearby. We found a great place to eat, Le Clos de la Bussiere. It's a quaint place that does an old fashioned menu right beside a C12th church. It had few people there, just a couple of guys on their own, having their working lunch. A few pastis drinking pension men who had a drink at the bar first before their meal. It's been so long since I went out I forgot you could do this. It normally works out a little cheaper too.

At this time of year we are either above or below the clouds. This bit here is where the deer are.

Terrine de Dorade was my main. For starters I had warm goats cheese in a thin parcel on a lovely fresh dressed salad. George had 5 courses I just had 2 a coffee and a pichet of wine or 4 small glasses. No I didn't drink all the wine that was shared 2 small glasses each! 31 Euros, so not hugely expensive. The attention to detail is the thing and the tasty sauces.  They do special events so might try and go out one evening you never know meet some people!

Semelay

I don't like going out when it's like this but had to go shopping.

Other days have been a total wash out but the moss is doing very well this year.

Lovely foxgloves. I hope they continue to spread.

Mossy pathway down to pond.

Above and below are the gardens I have been saving from wilderness. I like wild areas but we have a lot of those still including a swamp. Here I have tried to create a cottage garden type border so Foxgloves, Rudibekias, Sage, Carnations, Poppies, Sweet Williams and Aquilegias so far. There is still bracken and brambles that keep reappearing and today I started digging out Buttercups that take over everything. I have a bit of a virus so I'm feeling a bit tired. First thing I've had like this for a long time.
In the garden below I am putting in a few fruit trees in the bit beyond what you can see here. George used to plough it all but it became too much to maintain. I now have small veg plots easier to manage.

My geraniums have been over wintering in here. I shall be ready to do a bit more work when it warms up. As you can see the blue door needs stained glass that was broken before I arrived. There is a lot of work to do. Most of the things in here except maybe my orange owl box (George asked me what it was for I said owls, obviously.) won't be staying. The big Armoire will stay, probably in another room. 

New shoots appearing, might be a bit premature as it's normally a harsh time of year here.

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My cat investigating. He loves coming in here usually hoping for the trap door to be opened.

One of my Auricula's grown from tiny seed from my friend Dolly.