snow, snow, snow....!

winter has arrived here in the heart of france.
we awoke this morning to four inches of snow ! 

the cats were out and about early exploring the winter wonderland.
someone left little paw prints by the barn.

 

kipper was enjoying it

playing in the deep snow

beofore sitting quietly awhile at the barn door contemplating the snowy scene.

parsley, our norweigian forest cat, loves snow and was dashing about, diving and shoving it about. amidst his excitement, he posed briefly for a photo.

is it snowy where you are ?
if so, i hope you have the time to enjoy it.
a quiet walk in the snow is good for the soul.
 
a bientot....






 

christmas in the heart of france

we spent a peaceful christmas day after a fizzy christmas eve !
we had a drinks party in our farmhouse here in the heart of france on christmas eve...champagne and nibbles - tapas style.
smoked salmon, caviar blinis, patés & charcuterie, cheeses, and luscious food like that.
set out on our old comptoir cupboard...out of the reach of lewis our french scenthound !

here he is dazzling in a tinsel collar...ready for the party !

we had the fire roaring and candles lit everywhere and tealights peeping out from holly and fir tree branches on our big old mantlepiece.

it was such fun preparing the house for christmas.

bringing in holly from our fields...

gathering mistleoe...

we hung a great big ball of mistletoe at the entrance to welcome our friends...

...sooo christmassy.

as darkness fell our friends arrived, everyone was in great form.
champagne and kir royale made for a buzzing and happy atmosphere, stories were told and gifts exchanged...a delightful way to start the season.

hope your christmas season is full of fizz, fun and most importantly family and friends. 
wishing you joy.
a bientot...







 

cranberry sauce

as promised, further to my mini christmas at mum and dad's last week...
 
i have always loved cranberry sauce and for the last long number of years have enjoyed making my own. 
normally i add fresh clementine orange segments and zest for added zing, liberally adding port also.
this year, i decided to do something a little different as dad had all sorts of goodies in the fridge. 
my punnet of cranberries and a couple of spoons of water were heated until the cranberries popped, then i threw in lots of sugar (i never measure anything - must be about a small cupful). to this wonderful red concoction i added blueberries and cherries, then a generous glug of amontillado sherry.
i tasted it and thought it deeelish. the cherries were especially good.

served up in a heart dish....

my theme for the table was black and white with touches of crimson

the dinner, complete with the sweet chestnut stuffing...

and for dessert, christmas pudding. i can't give you the recipe as it is my grandma's and is a bit of a secret. it is rich and dark, full of fruit and so moist.
we served it in black bowls for a bit of drama.

the meal was accompanied by chablis and a fine cotes du rhone villages....
a little bit of france in ireland. we really enjoyed it.

how are your preparations for christmas going ? are you having a mini christmas ? whatever you are up to i hope you are filled with the excitement of the run up to christmas. 

i can feel something special in the air.
a bientot...

sweet chestnut stuffing

as the song goes,
'it's beginning to look a lot like christmas....everywhere i go'.

i am just back after visiting my parents where we had a mini christmas which was delightful.

my memories of christmas as a child are magical and the highlight, after the mountain of presents, was the christmas dinner...all made by my dad. 

we always started with escargots, snails in garlic butter - unusual in ireland ! main course was, of course, turkey, ham studded with cloves, roast potatoes, brussel sprouts and honey roasted carrot and parsnip. the turkey was accompanied by five different types of stuffing !

i really enjoyed helping dad prepare the meal last week and i'd love to share the recipe for his chestnut stuffing, our favourite, with you.

it comes from his beloved, well read and slightly battered, good housekeeping's cookery book, dating from the 1950's.

 and here is the chestnut stuffing recipe...

it is sooo easy. dad uses a tin of puréed chestnuts as that is easier and quicker.

here he is mixing away...

he makes it all look so easy, after stuffing the neck of the turkey he covers it with a layer of streaky bacon to keep the moisture in.

here is dad posing proudly beside 'the bird'.

i look forward to sharing some more of my christmas at mum and dad's and will continue it in my next post. 

is it beginning to look a lot like christmas where you are ? i hope so.

a bientot...

   

nightstands...

while my dear husband is painstakingly pointing the walls in our farmhouse here in the heart of france, i thought the nightstands (bedside tables, or, in french...chevets) were tooooo turquoise and needed toning down, big time, to match the soft neutrals of the newly repointed wall.

before...

so, if got my paint out and 'washed' the turquoise with a bit of white.....what is ever better than white ??

white, with a peep of blue underneath, so fresh.
here are the two colours side by side....before on the right and after on the left...

both colours are pretty but to match our 'newly repointed look', the more neutral suits.

here is my 'painting station', i.e. our kitchen !

lewis was, as ever, 'helping' !!

to be honest i think he nodded off. in the background is little zsa zsa on their giant bean bag. she took no interest whatsoever and snoozed throughout the whole thing. 
don't you love it ?!

what have you been up to ?
hope it has been good.
would love you to drop by again soon as i would love to share our renovations progress with you.
whatever you are up to have a great day.
a bientot....

another week, another wall

we are keeping the pace up in our french farmhouse.
after the success of the repointing of the wall above the fireplace we have also really enjoyed having the open fire again. there is nothing like the relaxation sitting in our big chairs looking at the flames.

one of the large logs had a hole in the middle of it and i loved the way the flames peeped through it.

keeping up the renovations momentum, husband has started to repoint an unfinished wall upstairs. it is a laborious business and takes hours. can't wait until it is finished to get the bedroom back in order again !

husband at work...

lewis (our ariegois) 'helping' !

when the wall is finished we plan to paint the rickety floor, freshening and brightening the whole space. all on a shoestring budget - i love it.

i am off now to repaint the bedside cabinets. i painted them a lurid turquoise and want to tone the colour down. will post pics tomorrow.

whether you are working or relaxing today i hope you enjoy every minute of your day. thanks for dropping by. call again soon.
a bientot...

repointing a wall

we are so fortunate to have a beautiful large stone fireplace in our kitchen; it is about 5 feet wide and 4 feet high. 
husband decided to repoint the wall above it (one of many cosmetic jobs outstanding in our farmhouse). 
we were very excited and so cleared the candlesticks, etc off the mantelpiece in preparation.

here it is before the repointing started....

the pipe of the cuisiniere can just be seen in the above photo - more about that in a minute.

the photo above shows a close up of the old narrow french bricks with spaces inbetween needing repointing...and below, work starting...

and half-way through...

later, we took the cuisiniere out and reinstated the open fire with a basket grate. 
just have a look at it now ! 

husband plans to clean and repoint the inside of the fireplace which will be stunning. i will, of course, post photos of that when it is done.

stay cosy and i hope that you will drop by our french farmhouse in the heart of france, for a little more of france romance.

a bientot...