OLD STUFF

 

Late last year we stumbled upon a brocante shop in Montrésor and bought a few bits and pieces.  I wrote about it here.  The shop is only open on Saturdays and with the weekend weather half decent we went back again a couple of weeks ago.  There are virtually no street markets at this time of year so it's nice to be able to find old stuff at sensible prices elsewhere.  It's now my favourite shop!

Montrésor is a lovely old town and it's good to go there in winter when there are fewer other visitors.  The château itself is currently closed for the winter.

We had a very nice coffee at the bar after a walk around the town.

We plan to go back another weekend for lunch.

And of course another visit to the shop to see if they have any new stock!

The brocante shop is housed in the old Mairie building.

This time I bought a glass topped side table.  It was very reasonable.

It replaces a wooden coffee table which came as a freebie from the déchètterie.

That table has been passed on to a friend who was in need of a coffee table!

The lamp on it was a brocante purchase a couple of years ago.

I bought this painted candlestick.

I also bought some lovely wine glasses, ten in total.  

I don't think they're very old but they are French and very pretty.

I also couldn't resist this set of eight linen table napkins for only 3€ and a lovely old English Denby "cottage blue" teapot.  I often wonder how such things end up in a shop in France.  Our UK home is not far from the Denby factory in Derbyshire.

My most recent purchase of old stuff was this small outdoor table.

It is probably home made.

All last year I looked for something like it at brocantes and vide greniers and found nothing.  Then last weekend we went to a "vide maison" where you find house contents for sale as a result of a clear-out.  Although the street market season is yet to start, vide maisons crop up every so often all winter as people can display stuff in their garage or barns.  

We were late in the day on day two so any good stuff had long gone but this table was still there.  It's exactly the scruffy little outdoor side table I had been hoping to find.  Nick has fixed the wobbly leg and it's just right for the job.  I might tidy it up and paint it - or I might leave it just as it is!

FOUR DAYS IN WINTER

On Sunday morning we awoke to a deep frost.

It was very pretty but bitterly cold.

The frost clung to everything making beautiful patterns.

On Monday we awoke to snow and an even deeper frost.

Frost upon frost.

It's unusual to have snow that lingers for more than a few hours here.

We're glad to have plenty of food in the freezer and plenty of wood in the woodshed.

More by luck than good management.  

This is the first time we remember such a long spell of frost and snow here.

It is very cold.

We have to keep both wood burning fires going to keep the house warm.

Later in the day on Monday, the sun came out.

It was all very pretty.

The roads were dry and perfectly safe to drive on.

We went for a drive to take some pictures. 

The moat at Le Châtelier was completely frozen.

There seemed to be quite a bit of warmth in the sunshine but not enough for the frost to thaw.

On Monday evening there was a beautiful sunset.

The next day, Tuesday, we braved the cold to go to the supermarket.

We left it until the afternoon when the roads had been used.

They had clearly been salted in most places.

We have been keeping the bird feeders stocked and the bird bath clear of ice.

The birds seem to appreciate it.  There are always plenty of customers.

Today, no pictures.  It's day four and we're glad we went to the shops yesterday.

We awoke to freezing rain.  

The roads were treacherous so we didn't venture out until much later when it all began to thaw, just enough.

During our confinement to indoors we have been tackling a very tricky jigsaw puzzle.

Yvonne is as always on hand to help.

It all brings back not so fond memories of winters in Derbyshire.

Time and again we would wake up to two or three feet of snow and would have to dig our way out in order to try to get to work.

The last person I worked for said that if I didn't get in before lunchtime I would have to take the day as part of my annual leave.

I replied that in that case I would stop digging and retired a few weeks later!

I absolutely do not miss the stress of having to get to work in the snow plus the worry of how on earth I would get home again.

SUNDAY ENTERTAINMENT

 

In our part of France (and probably all other parts of France) there is always something to do on Sundays.  Getting about is a joy here as the traffic is rarely anything other than very light and I can't remember ever paying a car parking or entrance fee at a village event.  

The village of Crissay sur Manse is a pretty place and every summer it hosts an event for local artists.

After weeks of hot, sunny weather, it was a bit iffy on the day!

There are artworks all over the place, in garages, courtyards and every possible corner.

We had never been inside the château grounds before.

It's part ruin, part habitable.

There were artists with their work everywhere.

In the grounds there were lots of old caves.

Some of the caves still had remnants of when they were inhabited, former troglodyte dwellings.

It's a very pretty village with a higgledy-piggledy arrangement of houses.

I liked this adaptation of the French letter box.

There was continuous musical entertainment (in between the rain showers).

When we turned up there was an excellent pavement swing band performing.

The thunderstorms on the day did not dampen people's enthusiasm and the crowds turned up for what was an excellent annual event.  It was our first visit but will not be the last.