Lululiz in Lalaland

Eco Printing on Paper Part 2 :-)

2019-04-09T12:41:00.000+01:00

Here we go, part 2 of eco printing on paper, third batch! As I mentioned yesterday, I didn't want to dispose of the rusty iron water from the second batch, so I picked a few more of those lovely pink flowers from the bush which looks like a currant bush and a couple of other bits, and put them in the pot with the used water. The results were so rich and deep, but more deep rusty brown rather than the greys from the day before

You know, once you are bitten by a particular bug, you just want to do more and more. So of course I wanted to make a 4th batch! I had disposed of the used iron water and needed more rusty bits to add to the lovely clean once-rusty iron bits I already had in the post. DH to the rescue with these bits -

I think I added much more vinegar to the water than in batch 2 and 3. I loved the results.
I folded some of the papers this time, Rorschach test style :-)

I think this rose leaf print is my favourite -

although this one is really fascinating, too. I used just green aquilegia foliage, and I was so surprised to see the reds, and especially the glittery silver! -

What does one do, when one is supposed to tie the bundle up really tightly with string and doesn't have any string? One uses lace, of course!

The two very dark grey 'strings' ( net lace and sari silk ribbon ) were in both the second and third batch pots and went very dark grey. The other cotton lace was used only in the 4th batch and turned from a brilliant white into a very lovely light taupey grey. Definitely a bonus -

Now I can't wait for leaves to appear on the trees, and for more pretty weeds to grow in the hedgerows. I want to experiment some more :-).

Toodlepip xxx

ECO PRINTING ON PAPER

2019-04-08T20:12:00.000+01:00

Ever since I received the most beautiful card from my amazingly talented Aussie friend Suzy, using her gorgeous eco dyeing/printing, I wanted to try it out myself. It has taken me a long time, but finally, I got my act together and wombled down the lane and picked some weeds and bits and pieces. Not much growing at the moment, lol.

The first batch I made was an experiment with all kinds of lane greenery, sandwiched between water colour paper and boiled in a pot with a couple of teabags and used coffee grounds thrown in :-). The results were very light and mellow yellow muddy brown, but did show a few prints -

I asked my DH to find me some rusty iron stuff in his workroom for the second batch. A bit of chain, nails, screws, all sorts of lovely rusty things went into the pot with this bunch of vegetation -

The results were much more intense with better colours, lovely dark greys from the iron water I suppose and sharper outlines -

Hyacinth leaves and single flowers

Catkins from a tree in the lower field

tiny pink flowers and leaves from a shrub in the front garden, bit like a currant bush but without the fruit

Evergreen bush in the front garden, thick glossy leaves with tiny white flowers in the middle

I made a tag with one of the eco prints, to go on a birthday bouquet for a very dear friend and neighbour -

I didn't want to throw the iron water away, so I decided to pick a few more of those pink false currant bush things and a couple of other bits, and make a third batch. This batch turned out really rich and dark but more deep brown rather than the greys and charcoals from the first time I used the iron water. But that will have to wait until tomorrow. My doggies are giving me a hard time, lol.

A bientot, toodlepip xxx

I love old, really old, books

2019-04-04T20:00:00.000+01:00

This is one of my most favourite books. It is tatty, huge, a Greek/French dictionary which is pretty useless to me, lol, but just look at it! The front and back covers are so beautifully distressed, which makes for fabulous background images, and the pages have acquired such a delicious rich cream colour and foxing. I bought it to take apart and use the pages in my ephemera packs but I can't bring myself to do it -

Looking inside the spine -

Toodlepip xxx

Back in France, Hurrah!

2019-04-03T19:59:00.002+01:00

YES! Here we are again, back at the cottage, and this time for a few months, until August really, when we go back to the UK for Stefan and Ashley's wedding.

So whats been happening in the UK in between our France trips? Endless medical appointments for me, and a very scary period where we almost lost our darling Poppygirl to the most horrific hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. I restocked Etsy again, and was fairly active on IG, which is so much easier and quicker than blogging, bad me. I also did lots more research into the Bizouard family history. My goodness, what a story. I didn't bring the folder with me, but when I go back to the UK in August, I'll certainly do a long post about what I found out.

In the meantime, here is whats been happening in beautiful France since we got back a couple of weeks ago. The weather until yesterday and today had been absolutely glorious, sunny and warm, but the very strong winds blowing up the hill through our garden were still icy cold, so not much garden work had been done.

We went out for a couple of lovely meals, one in the bistrot by the lake -

to celebrate our wedding anniversary,

and one with our friend and neighbour Ad at our favourite little local epicerie/viennoiserie/post office/bar/bistrot/pizzaria, where Gil makes the most amazing, delicious pizzas -

This is the Arroux, which flows right through the village a few metres away from the shop.

Went shopping a week ago and found this really gorgeous, enormous quilt which is perfect for the cottage, I think. Well, Hector definitely approves! -

While I have the computer on ( doesn't happen very often at the cottage, lol ), I'll prepare another couple of posts I think. If I don't, I probably won't open the laptop up again for another couple of weeks :-).

For now though, toodlepip xxx

A snowy week in France

2019-02-06T12:28:00.000+00:00

We got back Friday night from spending a week at the cottage. We had gone to check up on the cottage to make sure there was no winter damage, no critters had taken up residence etc. and all was fine. And snowy :-). How we all love the snow in the countryside! Untouched, fields glistening all around us, looking so pristine ..... until our dogs start going bonkers in the snow. They love it.

It was very cold in the cottage when we first arrived, but once the heating was cranked up, a fire built and blankets distributed, it was so cosy. It was great catching up with friends, eating freshly prepared pizza at the tiny village bistrot/bar/shop/bakery, sitting by the fire after being out in the snow and just enjoying the peace and quiet.

We had some really beautiful sunsets and sunrises as well when we were not in the middle of horizontal snow storms or thick mist

A week of course was nowhere near long enough, but we had some important appointments to come back for, among them a masterclass in macaron making! But more about that in the next post :-).

Toodlepip xxx

Needlekeep

2019-01-23T21:34:00.002+00:00

I finished the little needlekeep with the vintage quilt scrap, avocado dyed fabric and lace a little while ago. It is very plain inside, just a couple of felt pages and in the middle a little vintage wool scrap with blanket stitch surround. I think I got it in a button box in France, but I am not sure. Arrgghh, old age is a bummer. The quilt scrap is really thick, so I couldn't really do too much with it. I used the avocado dyed fabric for binding the top and bottom, but used a lovely old net fragment for the sides so that you can still see the thick layers of wadding inside the quilt. It ties shut with a little bit of sari silk ribbon. It was such a pleasure doing it all by hand.

Toodlepip xxx

A little bit of progress

2019-01-18T13:57:00.001+00:00

Well, that horrid lurgy which seems to have floored lots and lots of people I know floored me as well, and for the last couple of weeks I did not do much more than coughing coughing, coughing and feeling like death warmed up. The last few days have been much better and although the cough persists, I am feeling human again, yay. So I picked up the avocado dyed stuff again, and searched through some antique and vintage quilt pieces to match it. Found one! It is really thick, but I didn't want to mess with it. Decided to make a little needlekeep with it. Nowhere near finished yet, but I thought a little progress report was in order :-) -

I am enjoying the slow progress of hand stitching, it is quite relaxing and somehow comforting. I might get this finished in a few days, lol. When I say slow, I really mean SLOW :-).

Almost weekend, have a great one wherever you are! Toodlepip xxx

Baby Steps

2019-01-03T18:46:00.000+00:00

As a first tiny little step towards making crafting part of my life again, I decided to do a little bit of avocado dyeing again. I had tried it once before, a long time ago, and the results were, errmm, not all that brilliant. But having made guacamole, I had skins and stones and didn't want to just throw them away ( no composting here, unlike at the cottage in France where we compost everything ). And this time, I was quite pleased with the result. It wasn't an earthshatteringly fabulous deep pink colour like some I have seen, but the cotton laces and the cotton/linen mix fabric turned a rather lovely blush pink. In the photographs, I have put a proper beige trim and the white laces/fabric next to the dyed ones to show that the colour really is blush pink. Yay!

Until the next time, toodlepip xxx

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2019-01-01T11:59:00.001+00:00

I hope everybody had a fabulous Christmas and was able to celebrate the arrival of the new year in style. I wish you all good health and happiness for 2019 and beyond.

One of my New Year's resolutions - to start blogging again :-) ! I do love Instagram, how convenient and fast it is, but I am not that keen on writing on the phone, arrgghhh, I am pretty useless actually. So I don't usually say very much, lol, just a few sentences. Facebook I don't like at all anymore, I spend very little time on there. Instagram very conveniently posts my photos straight to FB without me having to go there, yay. If you have been following my currently sadly neglected blog in the past, when I was rather more active, you'll remember that I was somewhat of a chatterbox, lol. I do miss that, hence my determination to revive the blog and chatter away.

I am hoping that blogging will also help me to rekindle my love of crafting. I haven't been able to create for such a very long time, and it really saddens me. My head is full of things I want to make, but when it comes to actually doing it, I stare at all those beautiful supplies I have and thats as far as it goes. I need a little challenge!

On a positive kind of crafty note, my DH and I gave each other vouchers for a macarons making class, woohoo! I am really looking forward to that. I do love handmade French macarons, not the factory churned out ones you get in the supermarket. Hopefully there will be some classes towards the end of January. Watch this space for pics, lol!

I'll spend the next few days, while I am still feeling poorly, catching up on the posts of the wonderful people I admire so much on here. I must have missed so many beautiful creations, and god knows what personal stories I have missed and failed to react to.

So, here is hoping that 2019 will be a year of renewal for me, of friendships, of contacts, of creativity and of energy.

Have a wonderful year! Toodlepip xxx

Simply Neutrals No. 35

2018-02-28T13:29:00.001+00:00

Wen's lovely post about textures for Simply Neutrals No. 35 last week prompted me to post this photo. I took it a couple of days ago here at our cottage in France. We are quite snug and warm with the central heating and the fire going as well, but the radiator in the kitchen area is bust and for the last few days we got ice flowers on the inside of the window! Just little patches in the corners of the small window panes, so not a huge deal. The textures of ice on glass are endlessly fascinating, and although the ice was melting, it still provided some lovely textures. It was pretty dark outside, so the reflection of the kitchen light added a little bit of warm colour.

Please hop over to Wen's blog to see the beautiful neutrals photographs posted this week for Simply Neutrals Tuesday No. 35.

Toodlepip xxx

Simply Neutrals No. 34

2018-02-22T11:55:00.000+00:00

I am so happy that Wen from the AppleApricot blog is hosting the Simply Neutrals Tuesday linky party again, I adore all the beautiful creations and images shared by the participants.

We arrived back in France again last week, and I have finally unpacked my craftacase, sadly not in the craftavan but upstairs in our cottage. And I also have to confess to paying a quick visit to a French charity shop, Emmaus, and coming home with a little bit of lace and ..................

Tada, this gorgeous wax flower and bud couronne de mariee, a wedding crown/tiara

Please hop over to Wen's blog and take a look at all the gorgeous neutrals HERE

Toodlepip xxx

Looking back to Spring and Summer in France Part 3 ( June )

2018-02-11T12:07:00.000+00:00

June started with a beautiful misty morning

June was also the month when all the hard work on the veggie patches started to pay off. The veggies were growing like crazy, you could almost watch them grow. I had a huge amount of parsley, so I made a potato and parsley soup sprinkled with lardons ( small pieces of bacon )

The caulis were coming along nicely, as were the potatoes, and we started harvesting cavolo nero

Of course, the weeds and wildflowers grew like crazy as well :-)

Early June I also found a girlfriend for Gizmo, my son's family's dog, which they had adopted through Paws2Rescue. She came from Romania as well through Paws2Rescue. It was love at first sight, lol, they are inseparable

By the middle of June, there were so many beautiful butterflies and moths around, the lettuces were ready for harvesting, the main crop spuds started flowering, the first cauliflower was ready, and we dug up the first First Earlies, :-)

We went back to the UK for a brief break for some appointments and of course to see the family. Mum was so happy to see us

The dogs are incedibly good in the car. Sometimes they snuggle up together, sometimes Poppy has to watch the world go by while Hector needs a cuddle from me, so he slides his head inbetween the front seats

What a difference ten days make, lol, we came back to many more veggies ready for eating, yellow and green courgettes, radishes, yellow and green climbing beans, potatoes and lettuces, so we were back to our favourite foods, veggies straight from the garden

Of course the flowers had also grown in that time

my dear friend Christine gave me this seed pod, which she had been given by a friend, weird thing, full of huge amounts of fluffy stuff and lots of small seeds, but I failed miserably, they didn't grow, sob sob

Can't remember whether I ever showed you this fabulous old sharpening stone wheel, such an amazing thing

Towards the end of the month, some of the yellow and white patissons were ready as well

And finally, we were able to dig up some beetroot as well. Btw, the beetroot leaves are sooo delicious, I treat them like spinach, so chop them finely and add nutmeg and cream. Baked beetroot, beetroot greens, home grown potatoes ( with pork steaks )

I was very strict with myself and didn't allow myself to go to many vide greniers / brocante, but this one at the end of the month was set in the amazing Roman amphitheater in Autun, and it called me :-). There was one massive stall which must have sourced their stuff from a science department at a school or something like that, there were so many weird and wonderful things to look at, I got totally stuck there

And the month ended with the most stunning view over the valley, a beautiful rainbow way below our cottage

July next :-)

Toodlepip xxx

Looking back to Spring and Summer in France Part 2 (May)

2018-02-07T13:03:00.003+00:00

It is bitterly cold this morning here on the Channel coast, so I am cheering myself up with another look back at France 2017. Done April, so its May next :-). Be prepared for a whole month's worth of photos, lolol.

May 2017, what a wonderful month it was. Our youngest son drove out to visit us very early on in May, he loves the cottage and being surrounded by all the peace and quiet of the countryside so much. The dogs of course, were very happy to see him

The mornings were often very misty and with an eery atmosphere

Our closest neighbours, the Charolais cows, were enjoying all the fresh new greens

and I was enjoying the first flower on my newly planted peony

while Hector was enjoying his first outing on his lounger

10th May, and we planted out some brassica ( and boy, did they turn out great! )

The weather was pretty good and by the middle of May, the grass and wildflowers were growing like crazy. I adore the daisies

Every day, the view from the cottage presents a different scene, always beautiful

and our Poppy girl loves nothing better than sitting in the lower field, admiring the view and watching the world go by

whilst Hector sorts out the settee and plays at being a couch potato

Mind you, they both like their creature comforts. They don't mind sprawling out on the grass

but they do prefer their very own outdoor beds, lolol. Hector has his own lounger, and we had to build Poppy her own sandpit bed, because she kept laying down on every bit of freshly dug ground in the veggie patch or flower beds

Flowers, aaah yes. I don't have a flower garden, our so called garden is more of a field, lol, but I do have a couple of new rose borders and I do love my flowers in pots and baskets. Some of the roses first

another newly planted peony

and my beloved antique flower trolly, flower bed and pot plants

My potted herb garden by the front door

One of the great delights of being at the cottage, sitting outside with good friends, enjoying food, wine and great views

oh, and being able to hang huge pieces of knotted lace on the washing line in the garden, can't do that at home in the UK

Love love love salads for lunch, of course eaten under the trees in the garden

Some of nature's beauty collected to be admired indoors

And I leave you with these amazing shades of green on one of our trees

100 Years ago

2018-02-06T17:37:00.000+00:00

One hundred years ago, ( some ) women were finally granted the right to vote. Without the amazing efforts and sacrifices of the Suffragettes this would not have happened and we owe them our undying gratitude and admiration.

A few years ago, I bought a beautiful fabric and lace book which was dedicated to the Suffragettes and I thought I would share it with you today to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of that momentous day.

It was created by a lovely lady called Chris Flynn and I bought it from her Etsy shop My Irish Gipsy, the only fabric and lace book I ever bought other than the exquisite creations by Suzy Q. ( from her Etsy shop suziqu ).

I'll let the photographs speak for themselves -

Toodlepip xxx

Getting back to blogging in 2018

2018-01-31T12:39:00.000+00:00

Really, you say? Heard it all before. Sigh. I know. It is just so easy to take photos on the phone, do a quick post on Instagram, push one slider and they magically appear on my FB page as well. I can do simple tasks like that on the phone, lolol ( but thats about it, apart from actually using it as a phone, lol ). No need to crank up the computer, try and remember how to edit photos lol and try and do a write up. And no need to log on to FB every day either, woohoo.

How much have I missed though by not being in blogland? Or on FB? I hate to think. It was only by accident that I saw some info about the revival of the Simply Neutrals Tuesday by sweet Wen on appleapricot. I used to love that link up so much and was so sad when it came to a halt. It is all because of Wen that I decided to get back to blogland, so blame her! :-).

So, first post of the 2018 ( and hopefully the first of many, errmmm ) is for Wen's Simply Neutrals Tuesday. I had taken a pic of some tiny treasures I had found in a teeny box in my sewing basket of all places yesterday, and they are all pretty neutral, so thats my pic for the link up -

Thank you so much, Wen, for getting me back to blogging!

If you are also a lover of neutrals, then please do join her linky party on her blog HERE.

As this is a rather boring time of the year, and as I am not crafting, just filling box after box after box with my French treasures for storage so we can sell the house one of these days, I might just revive my " Looking back to Spring and Summer in France " last year. Might cheer me up, seeing the glorious views, blue sky and sunshine, and family and friends again.

Toodlepip xxx

Looking back to Spring and Summer in France

2017-10-18T21:23:00.000+01:00

It is probably a bit boring for you, looking back over the last six months to Spring and Summer, when we are hurtling towards Christmas, but I would like to keep the blog going as a bit of a diary for myself. And some of you may even enjoy the photos of life in France :-).

Lets start with Spring then and a little drive in the countryside. I think we were on our way back from lunch at a little restaurant in Poil and decided to drive to Luzy for some shopping. That took us past a little village called Larochemillay. I had always been fascinated by the beautiful large house high up above the road and so we decided to drive up to the hilltop and have a look -

Most of the actual house was hidden behind tall walls and very large trees though, so we couldn't really get a proper look at it, just the gatehouse

The little village had some lovely old properties

A statue to the men of the village who lost their lives during WW1

Wisteria clad houses of course

Love this large double fronted house

The GR13 is one of the major pilgrim walk routes to Santiago de Compostela, and it goes right past our cottage. We get pilgrims coming past, sometimes with their donkey, and have often fed them, even sheltered them overnight. To do the whole route takes quite a few months.

On the way to Luzy we came across a couple of interesting properties, one below the road

and this beauty next to the road

The French countryside is full of surprises.

And to finish off the post, a couple of pics of Poppy and Hector of course, enjoying the Spring sunshine

Toodlepip xxx

Surprise!!!

2017-09-29T16:33:00.000+01:00

Yep, its me, and it seems I have almost forgotten how to blog, lol, couldn't even remember how to do a post. 4 months. Bit of a long dry spell. Well, I blame it all on France :-). Seriously though, I never feel the urge to crank up the computer when I am at the cottage. Somehow cottage, countryside, peace and quiet, friends and good neighbours don't go together with computers. But that doesn't mean I don't think of my dear dear internet friends all the time. You are always with me. Plus, the internet is slow at the best of times, and the last few weeks there, it was so excruciatingly slow, I gave up trying to upload photos to Artyah altogether.

Artyah. Well there you have something new. A fairly new marketplace I have opened a shop on. Two actually, one for my beloved eclectic French antique and vintage finds collected over many years ( https://www.artyah.com/seller/lacroixrosion ) and one just for lace, trims, buttons, fabrics etc (https://www.artyah.com/seller/thevintagefrenchsewingbasket ). Now that I am back in the UK, I will be listing more regularly, and as always, if there is anything you are looking for which you can't see listed, just ask, I might have it stashed away somewhere :-). I am transferring stock from my closed Etsy shop at the moment as well as listing new items.

This was the last Friday morning just before we left the cottage to return to the UK -

I did bring back a whole lot of things which I had been hoarding at the cottage, I'll be listing them over the next few weeks on Artyah and start showing them on my lululizinvintageland blog like I used to do. But I have to confess, these days I find it so much quicker and easier to take photos with the phone, post them on instagram, which also sticks them onto my Facebook page straight away. Works a treat, lol, and saves lots of time. ( I am under lacroixrosion on Instagram btw, in case you would like to follow me there :-) ).

I am having France withdrawal symptons at the moment. I miss being at the cottage so much. Our dogs do as well, they are so much happier there. And I miss the doggies at the shelter where we go twice a week. A few in particular, which we love so dearly. These are two very special dogs Andy and I work with -

Boulet

Bumbotte

They are problem dogs, and we have taken a special interest in them. Boulet is a great big shaggy dog, the most loving dog you can imagine, but so used to the life in the shelter, that he thinks of it as his proper home. Adopted twice, once returned and once he returned himself, just turned up at the shelter gate one day. He is very scared of cars and therefore was almost impossible to take out for walks. People just didn't bother to take him out in the end. It took Andy a long time to built up the trust so that most of the time now he can get him to go out on walks and once he is out, he is soooo happy.

Bumbotte is my special case. She is incredibly shy, has never been walked as she won't budge, and it is impossible to touch her. Again, she is the sweetest dog, not a bad bone in her body, and I just can't bear to think what must have happened to her before she came to the shelter to make her so afraid and shy of humans. She and Boulet share a large run and get on so well. Nobody ever seemed to spend time with Bumbotte as she couldn't be walked, so I started spending time in her run, just being there. Eventually, she would take little tidbits occasionally, before hiding in her cubbyhole again. She spends most of her time in the cubbyhole, pressed into a corner. So I took the plunge and just sat in the cubbyhole with her. And slowly, she would let me touch her, and then cuddle her, and now, we snuggle up together in her corner, she eats from my hand and sometimes purrs like a cat when I stroke her and tickle her. I miss her so much, and I am so upset that she might think I have deserted her. We will be back in France in a month's time, and hopefully, we can pick up where we left of.

I brought back lots of butternut squash from our veggie batch, and just had a fabulous butternut squash, chick pea and carrot soup for lunch. Delicious. My DH has also found some great sounding butternut squash curry recipes, so that will be next.

I took tons of photos with the phone of course over the summer, of the 'fete de voisins', of the family visiting, of the veggie garden, our furbabies etc. and I want to put these on my blog and treat it like a diary again. Might take me a while though :-).

Enough for one day though. I hope that some of my dear friends are still around in blogland. I will make some time to visit their blogs as well.
Take care and have a great weekend,
toodlepip xxx

The End of an Era

2017-05-30T21:15:00.000+01:00

I feel quite sad right now. Tonight, my Etsy shop, which has given me so much pleasure over the last 6 years, will be suspended by Etsy for non compliance with their demands to change from a Paypal Only shop ( which still accepts all credit cards through PP without a PP account ) to one which accepts the Etsy Payments system. I really don't want to go into the whole story again, but I have my good reasons for not wanting to to accept an Etsy Payments system which had and still has many problems and security issues.

So what now after 1230 sales on Etsy? Eventually, when I get back to the UK, I will grovel, bribe and charm my boys to help me set up my own website. A new adventure, yay! In the meantime, I will try my very best to be much more active on here. I had prepared some new listings to be sent from France, a couple of days before Etsy sprung their 1 month notice of suspension on me, and I will post them on here within the next few days.

I am also going to have stern words with myself every day and make sure that I post every day - yikes! - on instagram ( lacroixrosion ) and on facebook ( Liz La Croix Rosion ), gulp. Well, I will try, thats for sure, however, the mind is willing but the flesh is weak, sigh. I hope that some of my lovely customers will start following me on IG and FB and keep in touch, hopefully they will get diverted to my About Page on Etsy which has all the relevant info on it, when they try to go to my (now suspended and showing empty ) shop.

It is not the end of the world, just the end of a lovely period in my life. But hey, I am in France, in our beautiful cottage on the hill, with my DH and our doggies, growing veggies, having aperos with friends, volunteering at the animal shelter and soaking up the beautiful atmosphere and wonderful views, thats what really matters to me.

Toodlepip xxx

Learned something new today!

2017-05-14T20:05:00.000+01:00

As most of you know, our home in France is on a hilltop, in the middle of nowhere really, right in the heart of Charolais cow country. The region is famous for their Charolais beef, and our property is surrounded by fields usually full of those gorgeous white Charolais cows which belong to our closest neighbour, farmer Thierry. But a little while ago, a brown and white cow appeared amongst one of the herds, and I was pretty sure it was a milch cow.

This afternoon, Thierry and his son Corentin came to the gate with a lidded bucket for me. My first thought was, omg, they have been collecting big juicy snails after the rains and are going to offer some to me.......... You can imagine my relief when they told me that it was milk fresh from their new milch cow! I had to chuckle, he was practically supplying the whole neighbourhood because his cow was giving sooo much milk ( thats the fabulous fresh grass she nibbles on all day long :-) ). OK....... raw milk.......... what do I do? I knew it had to be pasteurised, but how? Thank goodness for the internet! I read a large number of articles and it turns out that making milk safe by pasteurising is not at all difficult. I didn't have a double boiler, so a smaller saucepan inside a larger one did the trick, and apart from that I just needed a thermometer, and the wine and beer making thermometer was fine for that.

I wanted to take pictures doing it, but didn't have enough hands, lolol, had to keep stirring with one hand and keeping the thermometer in the milk with the other hand, but somehow managed to take one with my phone, lol -

Bottled it after rapid cooling in icecold water in the sink, and just had some. OMG, it is so deliciously rich and creamy and shoobydoobydoo!

I love living in the countryside.

Toodlepip xxx

Has it been a whole month again?

2017-05-11T18:47:00.000+01:00

Is it because I am getting older that time seems to fly by so much quicker, is it the much more relaxed French lifestyle which keeps me away from the computer and blogging? How can it possibly be over a month again since I put up a blog post?

I should have posted the following photos ages ago, sigh. I received the swap ATCs from Kimberly's Springtime In Paris swap, and they left me speechless. All three of them are stunning, and the bookmark which Kimberly sent along as a gift from her is simply gorgeous ( and already in use in a 1859 French Magasin Pittoresque :-).

In no particular order, the first ATC is from Kimberly (ArtJoyStuff) herself -

The second one was made by Sylvia -

The third ATC is from Sherry -

I was blown away, not just by the ATCs themselves, but also the gorgeous packaging -

Kimberly really is a most thoughtful swap hostess and always sends along a beautiful, thoughful, theme related gift. This altered paper clip bookmark is so lovely! -

Thank you ladies, for making this swap such a joy to take part in!

Toodlepip xxx

Spring at the cottage

2017-04-03T15:32:00.000+01:00

I love all the seasons, but Spring is really special. Seeing everything coming back to life, the first hints of green in the hedgerows, the little wildflowers eagerly opening up in the first warm rays of sunshine, the wonderful clouds of white blossoms on the wild cherry trees and the hawthorns, thats magical.

We have been quite busy these first couple of weeks. The 'garden' was covered in what seemed like a million branches and bits from the trees surrounding the cottage. Apparently there had been some rather severe storms just before we came out to the cottage. It took my DH days to clear them up. Then the warmer weather arrived for a few days and you know what happens then...... the grass goes mad and you can almost see it growing while you watch. Not the best time for the mower to break down, lol, but my wonderful DH is Mister Fixit :-). Planted the First Early Potatoes, got the greenhouse put up again and planted lots of veggie seeds, stocked up my herb pots by the front door and started clearing out weeds.

We were so happy to get back to the Refuge ( http://www.refuge-adpa-gueugnon.org/ ) again and walk the doggies twice a week. We have missed them, they are our babies as well. I try not to think too much about how long some of these beautiful dogs have been in the shelter, it breaks my heart that some of them have spent almost their entire life there. Little Sam, for example, came to the Refuge when just a year old, such a wonderful little dog, absolutely loves to play with toys, is obedient, walks nicely on the lead, and loves to be loved, yet nobody has ever shown interest in him in, what, eight years! I would so love for him to go to a wonderful loving home, even though I would miss him.

Anyway, enough ramblings, I'll just show you a few random pics from the last couple of weeks :-) -

My precious box full of my treasured gifts from friends. They travel with me between the UK and France all the time

Rain day sorting through an old button box

Morning walks

Spring flowers inside and out

Seeds planted

Loving this vintage bust of a young woman

Sorting out some small religious pieces to list on Etsy

My little herb 'garden'

A freshly laundered, beautifully delicate lacy bedspread drying in the soft Spring air

And of course plenty of time spent with our dogs

Toodlepip xxx

A new ATC swap!

2017-03-15T07:03:00.001+00:00

Kimberly from ArtJoyStuff is hosting another swap, yay! The theme is Springtime in Paris. I am enjoying Springtime in France right now, but not in Paris, lol, we are back at the cottage, and one of the first things I did was organise my craftavan again so that I could finish the ATCs I had started before we left the UK on Saturday night. And here they are, photographed amongst the gorgeous little wild violets which grow everywhere round here at this time of the year -

Wishing you all a lovely warm and beautiful Spring, toodlepip xxx

A bit of upcycling

2017-02-27T11:49:00.002+00:00

I have used sooooooo much sellotape in the last few months, sending out items from the jewellery auctions I had been running for a an animal charity and of course posting orders from my Etsy shop, I ended up with a huge amount of empty sellotape rolls. Time for at least one more little tubby, lol! The others I made were very much Tim Holtz/steampunk inspired, this one is a bit more Spring-y, flowery, bird-y :-). With a teeny bit of bling, of course :-) -

Toodlepip xx

My ATC swap package has arrived!

2017-02-07T19:46:00.000+00:00

Shipping from the States was really quick this time, wasn't expecting it today at all, so it was a really lovely surprise when the postman handed the envelope to me.

And as always, opening it and taking out the swap ATCs was such a pleasure! Everybody in the swap really did their best work, all the ATCs ( shown on Kim's ArtJoyStuff blog ) were awesome, and I would have been delighted with any one of them. As it happens, I received an ATC from Kimberly herself, from Lynn Stevens (trash to treasure art ) and from Terri Wilkerson ( junqueseeker ) -

From Kimberly -

love the wonderful details and layering

From Lynn -

a blingy heart, what could be better

From Terri -

the back is as pretty as the gorgeous front

Kimberly is a fabulous swap hostess, and always includes a sweet little gift. Love the lace on the peg she sent this time! Thank you, Kim, for yet again hosting a wonderful swap, you're the best!

Toodlepip xxx

About time!

2017-02-05T20:49:00.001+00:00

It has taken me ages to list new things in my Etsy shop, life sometimes has a way of interfering with the best laid plans. But I have finally done it and filled at least one shelf again :-). Here is a little collage of some of the things which have recently gone into the shop -

And now I'll go and have a cuddle with my doggies. I love taking photos of them, this is a pic I took earlier today of Hector, looking all sweet and lovely -

and this is a pic my DH took of our darling Hector 5 mins ago, lol, what a tart -

That is one relaxed doggie!

Toodlepip xxx