Himeji Castle from Japan.

Hello Friends!

Last night my husband completed his daughter’s Birthday present he received in May. The “ Himeji Castle” from Japan 🇯🇵!

Well, let me told you a little story about the castle.

I went three times to Japan, two on my own and  one with my husband I always wanted to   visit the Himeji Castle, so when we went together we booked a trip to Himeji.

It should have been the following day of our arrival, but as we had to take a taxi to Paris, the plane to Osaka and a Tain to Kyoto it was a long journey and we forgot to put the alarm clock on our phones and we slept and slept…the next day we had forgotten everything… except that we missed our trip and visit to Himeji!

Returning home our children asked us how was the visit?

But we  (did not tell the truth it was so stupid) we told that it has been cancelled.

Now our children know about it, this is why he received a Lego Himeji Castle to build!

I hope we can return and really visit it but for the moment we have it in small! 😂 

Lego is making some nice adult constructions next I think it will “Neuschwanstein castle” before we go and visit it in Germany! 🇩🇪 

Yesterday I finished my Ratatouille at least!

Today, I must use some pears and make a pear cake.

This afternoon do some watercolour. Today it is all gray 19 C and windy some rain is arriving soon.

Thank you for coming, have a good day!
 

Like a Tuesday…

( source:ZZZOe)

This morning while cleaning 🧹 I found these sock, toy helmet and water gun. Remind me of our grandchildren!

Nearly three weeks they left…

This is a gift of a hand embroidered table cloth that fitted exactly my round table.

I did some paper craft this morning tried but not satisfied 

This one I did last year

I did not remember  that I started this one.

Today I must finish my cooking , cook some zucchini for my Ratatouille and peppers 🫑 then add the tomatoes and cook the eggplants all with onions garlic and Provence mixed herbs. I will bake more chestnuts cookies to put in the freezer and then  relax ☺️.

Our daughter will be leaving by the end of the week, she and her husband are going to the Alps and do the Mount Blanc tour for 10 days and our son will fly for Monaco on a business trip ( but big flooding in the south of France and general strike ) and he should fly to Paris… I hope the planes and trains will work??

So, it is a bit stressing 😣 and as a mother  I will have to relax 🧘‍♀️!

Somebody asked asked asked me for the chestnuts  cookies recipe.

So here it is:

 115gr half salted butter 

80gr soft brown sugar

65gr white blond sugar cane

120gr wheat flour

60gr chestnuts flour

2gr baking soda

1egg

Pieces of cooked chestnuts. 

Cut butter into small pieces mix with the 2 sugars add eggs and 2 flours until smooth ( I used a food processor)

Divide into 8 balls ( I did 10)

Put them on a baking tray covered tray covered with a baking sheet. Insert chestnut pieces into the balls. 

Bake for about 10 minutes oven 180 degrees Celsius ( electric oven)

Enjoy 😊!

( source: Marie Claire idées magazine)

Hello September !

 (Source: ZZZOe)

Hello Septembre !

I am glad to be in September, because the temperature is much better for me ( i don’t like heat) finish the cold ssalads… it’s time to cook winter dishes!

In my monthly magazine I find a recipe of chestnut 🌰 cookies. This morning I drove to the supermarket to get chestnut flour ( gluten free) I am not gluten free free but I also use rice flour which is a very light flour for baking cookies.

This afternoon I have to cook «  ratatouille » with my new Greek olive oil.

Cooking apple compote

Macaroni cheese

Apple pie

During our son’s stay, he ordered all the Hercules Poirot collection and every evening we watched two of them with him.

Yesterday afternoon I worked on this watercolour I will finish working on it this evening. ( from the book in my previous post)

Today, the French children are going back to school !

I am  having a little rest, before cooking my « Ratatouille »! Another patient gave my husband some vegetables from his garden! 

Hope you’ll have a very nice September !

When going to the vet and ended to the same!

(From this book)

Hello Friends !

What do we do during our weekend ???

Well, we started yesterday morning by driving to get some food for our dog from the vet 12 kms away… then we went to have lunch and do a little shopping for my husband. We ate the most terrible lunch we ever had! Horrible !

Then we suddenly decided we didn’t want to go home! 80 kms later we were by the sea!

No more tourists as the school begins on Monday they were all in the supermarkets.

It did not rain and the temperature was nice, it was another nice day in our lives!

I found a new woollen scarf ( very warm and thin woven one)

I am now working on on a Christmas shop window from Paris.

These are the cliffs which are falling down unfortunately 

With the climate change.

The river is the smallest river of France and it is joining the sea

There are four       Stages      Of beach cabins along the shore.

The wooden pier.

A nice tea room.

Now on Sunday we are resting, reading and watching tv.

Today Maxime will be free of his arm cast!

By the way on the 11th of September we are going to have a big general strike in the country. No train, no planes, roads blocked, hospitals, schools… better anticipating !

A good rainy day!

( my watercolour is from this book. Where you find some of the nice shops in Paris. Laduree is a famous bakery which specialities are «  Les Macarons »)

 Today, for a long time it is a rainy day, good for Nature!

The temperature in the morning begins to go down 12 C

But i don’t complain as i like Autumn best!

What did i do today?

As I did all the housework yesterday, today I relax!

This morning I did some watercolour which is very relaxing then I had a quick lunch and a coffee with a rose and a lemon loukoum. I love rose loukoum it is so tasty.

One of my husband’s patients went on holiday to Greece and brought us olive oil, olives, almond.biscuits and loukoums! So generous!

This is my interpretation.

It is not quite finished and I changed the colours I thought pastel colours would be nice with the shop .

I’ll finish my watercolour and look after the laundry 🧺 

All is dry and I have to put it away in the different rooms.

I hope you’re having a nice day. Thank you for your visit.

This afternoon I’ll visit blogs.

Daily life.

Hello friends !

Today, is not a good day… the boiler has a problem and is out of order. It’s only a four year old boiler and I did the yearly clean and control in June! They are coming this afternoon.

The weather is cooler, but as we hardly had winter there is a wasps invasion ! It is difficult to to open a door or a window. The whole garden is very dry because of no rain but fortunately the rain is arriving tomorrow tomorrow for at least the rest of the week.

This week was Maxime’s first day of school alter nursery.

He goes to aBritish  school so he has to wear a uniform ! 

He is happy to go to school!

These are the news.

I am reading and sorting out the rooms, yesterday I gave vintage items to have less dusting to do!

Let me show you my new bike 😂 as I still have a problem with my right foot I don’t have the choice if I want to walk outside! I chose it with a seat  so I can rest when it becomes painful. I’ll take it on holiday because I like to walk.

No choice!but I’ll be okay !

Thank you for visiting!

A relaxed weekend by the sea

Hello Friends!

Children and grandchildren are all gone after three weeks and this weekend we decided to have a break at the sea in Dieppe. I went there the week before with the family and we had lunch at a restaurant but my husband was not there, so during our stay we had a lunch there.

This is a view a little further on the coast after Dieppe.

We also relaxed on the beach where you can borrow a book and read by the sea.

This is the Canadian second WWar monument 

The Scottish monument 

And US one. They are all along the promenade to “remember”

Then we had one of our lunch outside, “Good food”

And nice people there!

 I had my favourite sweet! Milk chocolate shell, white chocolate big pearl with vanilla cream inside…SO  Good!

We are now declutterring the house , giving to the thrift store and to a vintage shop who just came this morning to get some items for her shop

Before we prepare our soon coming holidays by the sea in the Netherlands! 🇳🇱 

Thank you for coming!