meet Jack...

Meet Jack he is gorgeous....well i think so, and everyone at his tea party definitely thought so. He is an eleven week old Main coon and he is all cute. He needs to grow into his ears and trousers and definitely his shoes...his paws are huge. Jack had a party which was very nice, he got loads of presents mainly mice of the fabricated variety! He is very social and definitely a party animal, he posed for all the paparazzi in all the right places.

Jack had made a lovely spread of nibbles, sandwiches and desserts.....purrliscious!

jack on the ball

Jack loves mice even if they only fabricated!

some of jacks guests

more of jacks guests

more adoring grandparents!

Martine with Jack, looking on Jacks proud new owner

jack has some pretty ping pong balls to play with

Jack looks pretty sharp on the ball and could definitely teach the England squad a few tricks

Jack opening a few  more pressies

i loved his bear, such a character....just like Jack

a bagful of mice was the icing on the cake for Jack

open gardens weekend dans toute la France

I am sorry it has been quite a time since i have written an entry, this does not reflect on how much is going on here.

The fetes and brocantes have started in earnest as it is the beginning of the summer season. A couple of weekends ago we had an open gardens weekend, which in fact we learnt later spread over the whole of france. 

We went to three very different gardens, i am a little biased on the firs,t as it belongs to good friends of ours.

The first was Antin Jardin, we have been a few times before which belongs to Gertrude and Hannes Reimers old friends of ours. Over the last five years we have really seen it evolve. It is an informal garden which i really like with some lovely interesting sculptures created by Hannes, a formidable team. Plus beautiful plants for sale.

The second is an Eco garden called jardin de la source.,where we have been a couple of times.

Jardin de la source is quite informal also, i have a few pics from the year before, as with Antin and the year before the weather was not so good that day.

i love this one, it's happy or sad

Beautiful planting with sculpture and humour provided by Guy and Catherine, a lovely couple whom we had the pleasure to meet properly the other weekend.

The third, that we have never been to before other than to it's pottery which is really good, the Le Jardin de la Poterie Hillen...this was a beautiful day, much bigger and pretty. Although they combine their pottery skills and integrate it with the garden i am not such a fan as i am with the other two, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The pottery in the workshop is absolutely beautiful, some of it in the garden foe me seems a bit too much. I love the garden, it is different from the other two, and aalthough informal in parts does not seem to have the same flow as the other two. But lots going on, plenty to buy

and lovely to see something completely different.

L'etranger

Samatan fete, renowned around here for it's extensive livestock market. They had all sizes here from quail to camel. Machinery from cherry pickers to lawn mowers. Independent stalls selling artisan crafts from leather necklaces to saucisse, wine and cheese, and a vide- grenier that we were yet to find.

Food and fun for all including a fair for the younger ones .

young donkeys observing the mayhem

interesting wildfowl

vast undercover market

Here there is lots to see, Doves, Pigeons, Guinea fowl and Rabbits all in different fanciful plumage. Some are definitely not destined for the play pen which is sad and some are just to cute.

it is fascinating for all alike, i did not imagine there were so many breeds of pigeon, hen and ducks

some very individual. This is the middle bit, shown above, on the outer rim we are flanked by  handsome horses, small and large. Camels and llamas and on the other alongside beautiful majestic cows and bulls

big boy's machinery

i am not a fan of poodles, but this one is to cuddly

Yes they even had a whole tent of gorgeous looking pups for sale including a Labrit. Arrghhh you hear me cry no more puppy pooping, the house is in shreds...but she is cute. 
One Labrit is definitely enough i can't take anymore destruction, just as well i love her. I can see small children hanging on mummies arm ( i was there once too) "can we have one, he /she is so sweet'...but for how long, having chewed their favourite possessions and yours. You need a lot of love and a lot of patience and tolerance.

majestic bull

wish i had eyelashes that looked this good

lovely horses, Hispano- Breton?

Belgian hare, pretty in chocolate

capturing the moment

some piglets are too cute

one of the many enticing food stalls

Apologies that the above shot followed the cute piglet, unhappily that it is the reality and the sequence in which it was photographed. However that is the one and only food stall because i now have a flat battery in my camera and have not remembered to take my reserve. 

Next we did the vide -grenier which wound it's way round some pretty backstreets. Fate came into play and peeking by two letters both author and title was a reading book that we had been asked to find

to read in our french class, in fabulous mint condition. Albert Camus, L'Etranger. It really made my day!