Why We Must Not Look Away

Lest we forget...

I took this photo in France;  it was carved on the side of Chartres Cathedral or Chateau de Chambord.  

Whatever side you are on about Syria (and believe me, I am all over the place), nations must stand together to let the evil despots and murderous dictators know this - atrocities using chemical weapons will not be allowed to happen without consequences.  In the 21st century, you can not slaughter the innocents with poison gas and chemical weapons and get away with it.

Never again.

Touring France

I have so many photos of my Paris trip that I haven't shared, so I thought I'd show some from our foray to the Loire Valley.  I loved it.  Wish we could have spent more than a day there.  It is located two hours from Paris.  We visited Chambord and Chartres.  I can't remember what is what so I'll just let you enjoy.  

Da Vinci himself designed this staircase.  After we left, I found out he lived his final years around here and is buried somewhere nearby.  I would have dearly loved to visit his grave site.

Some of the household accoutrement.

I loved the quaint villages.  I was surprised that the local roads were only one lane, though I don't remember meeting other cars.  Some of the towns were quite small.  We'd be driving along, and look through an allee of tree and there would be a huge, gorgeous chateau.

The bedrooms at Chambord were still decorated beautifully.  This was the bedroom of Louis XIV.

This tapestry, one of many, was huge.

Don't ask me, I wasn't driving.

Of course, the crazy bird lady of Peaceable Hill Farm was too busy feeding the birds to fully drink in the views.

A statue of the lady of the house and her shoes (and I didn't say this, but they were pretty big for the time period).  More to come.

Half Empty/Half Full

One of my favorite books is CANDIDE by Voltaire. While staying in St-Germain-des-Pres in Paris, I had to go aound the corner and have a look at the building where Voltaire lived and died.  It is on the left bank of the Seine. Just for a little backstory, Voltaire, the great French philosopher, amassed a library of more than 21,000 books with his favorite subjects being metaphysics, moral philosophy, physics, history, critical deism...  He wrote his satire, CANDIDE, in 1759, during the Age of Enlightenment.  It was considered his magnum opus.  

Voltaire rejected a common theory of the time, that "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds."  He argued that this theory of optimism was wrong - that if this were the best possible world, then it would surely be better than it is, citing natural disasters, war, catastrophes etc.  Thus, Candide was born of Voltaire's writings and discussions on this subject.

Candide did set out and travel the world, full of hope and optimism, looking for the good in man.  An epic journey, the end finds Candide returning home, "to cultivate his garden."  I won't give more away than that.

And, about another modern credo, the glass is either half empty or half full, I've always said, it's half.  Guess that makes me a realist.

Gargoyle At Chartres Cathedral

Crying out for rain and cooler temperatures! What a hellish summer we are experiencing yet again.  All of the new three year old blueberry plants I recently planted are scorched.  My new baby apple trees are losing leaves.  The new growth on my recently purchased avocado tree is toast and our grass is like the kind you find in easter baskets.  I could go on and on.  Did I mention that I am constantly watering?

This gargoyle photo was taken at Chartres Cathedral on a day-long foray into the Loire Valley; a two hour drive from Paris.  Decorative, yet functional, the rain spouts would be a welcome sight functioning around here.

You Can't Take Me Anywhere

Well, it's almost all Hallows Eve, or Halloween as we like to call it.  This is the scariest thing I could come up with (or it could be my parrot Birdie trying to pluck my eye out as I work on this blog).  During our 10 day trip to Paris this spring, we forayed two hours east of Paris, in the Loire Valley, and went to Chartres and Chambourg.  I really enjoyed this and heartily recommend spending a day or two around there to see how they live outside of Paris.  Tiny towns, or villages, dot the countryside in a patchwork mosaic of planted fields. Many of the homeowners also had large gardens.  I will show more of Chartres later, though I can't remember whether many of the pics are Chartres or Chambourg, but this old window was definitely in Chambourg.  Of course, you're not supposed to open the windows, so what did I do, yes, as my friends scattered, I had to lift the beautiful old latch and open the window.  Just inches away, on the sill, was this little bat.  It looked up at me and followed me with its eyes.  I looked up to see if it had fallen from the roof line, but saw no others.  Since bats aren't out during the daylight hours, I surmised it must be sick.  Rabies?!! Sorry little bat, I wish I could help you but I'm outta here.  I  took my photo, then gently closed the window.  See what you miss when you always follow the rules.  BOO!

Puttin' On The Ritz

Sorry, this was next door to the Ritz. Nevertheless, we attended a function at the Ritz Hotel in Paris (more about that later). Here are a few shots I took from inside. It was beautiful. I think this patio area was my favorite place in the hotel.

One of my partners in crime, Mary Kay, in a large seating area.

Merci Beaucoup!

I've really gotten into French Country furniture/decorating lately. Back in my day, they called it French Provincial. I guess I like it because they love the painted furniture thing with distressed surfaces and the colors are great. There is a store in Tulsa that has a lot of dealers of French stuff. I think they have it shipped over the pond in crates. Therefore, the prices are a bit stifling (which means I can't afford it.) Since I'm a bird nut, I love this grouping of old prints. This is only about half the wall as my camera couldn't get the other half.

Though the setting is way too formal for my tastes, I did love this chair.

I also love this settee, minus the chair pillows and pad.

The scale of the furniture pieces are massive. I would love to pull out all these textiles and look at them, but then, I'd have to run. The ones that I like were too expensive. Isn't $330. a lot for a full/queen bedspread? Maybe, I'm just cheap.

Another massive piece of furniture, with very expensive french pottery. I can't remember the name on them, but they must have been made with diamond dust. I don't know why the pic is leaning. I must have been standing on one foot.

Finally, I covet these chairs; I can't tell you how badly I want them. They look antique. The splats look hand carved and the checked pillows are filled with down. These chairs are slightly over sized and you sink in them. No, I don't really have a place for them but I'll find one. The price is high but maybe I can talk her down, though I'm sure they would still be too high. I don't understand me sometimes. On the one hand, I think I have to start getting rid of stuff and then I'll spy something like these chairs.

Blackberry Sauce in Framboise

In this part of the country, wild blackberries grow in abundance. The only drawback are billions of 1/4" thorns curved backward in an arc. Because of these killer arcing thorns, one can go in for the biggest and plumpest berries then not be able to pull your arm back out. It has happened to me too many times to count. When we first moved to the farm, I'd go berry picking in the summertime in my white cotton dresses that billowed out in the wind and immediately become impaled. I never learned - just kept sticking my arm in with my summer dresses plastered to the bushes wondering how long it would take for someone to find me.
A few years ago, we fenced in an acre or two and planted thornless blackberries and grapes. Why hadn't we done this long ago? I wouldn't have permanently embedded thorns and scars aplenty. Nevertheless, we now get gallons of big, juicy berries. What to do with so many said berries? We eat lots of them fresh. The rest we freeze for cobblers. We also eat them in a bowl with sugar and cream; when you pour the cream on the frozen berries they look like little snowballs. I also juice them and store the nectar in the freezer and sometimes make jam though we don't often eat toast etc. I also make a blackberry liqueur which is very good and potent. This year I tried something new. I canned a blackberry sauce(syrup really) with Framboise in it. The sauce is a sweet/tart topping for ice cream and is very good. It is a delicious way to remember the abundance of summer on those long winter nights.

Blackberry Sauce in Framboise

4 c. blackberries
1/2 c. Framboise
3/4 c. sugar
1 TBS. very fine lemon zest
1 TBS. lemon juice
1 pouch liquid pectin

Wash blackberries; drain. Combine berries, Framboise and sugar in a saucepan; let stand 2 hours; stirring occasionally. Add zest and juice and bring to a boil. Stir in liquid pectin then return mixture to a rolling boil (this is a boil that cannot be stirred down). Boil hard one minute, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Remove from heat. Ladle hot sauce into jars leaving 1/4" headspace. Adjust 2 piece caps. Process ten minutes in a boiling water bath.

This recipe is easy to make and even better to eat. If you want to skip the canning, just invite friends over and there won't be any left. Or, hide it in the frig and have it all to yourself. Serve it puddled under a scoop of vanilla ice cream or drizzled atop puddings, pies, cheesecakes...