Hello Again Mes Amis

Back again after a long break, both health problems and personal problems
really stopped me doing what I love doing - and that is writing.

Starting blogging regarding LittleFrenchOwl at this time of year is a little difficult
as the vide greniers, special brocante sales etc., have not started so it is very quiet, a time
to put items in our shop we bought last year and haven`t had chance to photograph them and wait until the spring when we can start our dawn travelling every Sunday again.

I thought I would give everyone a glipse of last summer when I met some lovely Parisiens
with their dogs at one of the larger sales of the year.

Not quite triplets

Her Babies Though

And Less  Trouble in the Pram

We have quite a few new things in our shop now, please take a minute

to have a look.  Don`t forget to ask if you would like to see something

not shown, of course with no obligation whatsoever.

You will be helping me if you could.  It is difficult to always know what

you are looking for.

 

www.etsy.com/shop/littlefrenchowl 

Take care and keep warm and I will see you again next weekend.

Barbara

(Ollie)

Hello Again Mes Amis

Well summer is well and truly over and I`m wearing a

jumper for the first time in months.

I have decided to try and lose weight but doing it on

your own is really hard.

Tried French weight watchers  -  no good  -  they talk so fast

 I can only catch every other word.

so hubby said he would help

We have been busy putting down gravel

to try and stop the cats bringing mud into the house every time

it rains.

Spent a week on it but the pile of gravel doesn`t seem to be going down.

Henry looked as though he wanted to help me but

just walking out of the house and into the barrow

was really hard work

Jack didn`t even try

I have quite a few things to put on my shop so I had better close.

If you have time have a quick look  -  I must admit I do like the

papier mache pencil holder (on front page)

www.etsy.com/shop/littlefrenchowl

Before I do go though -  I thought I would leave you with this

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Until next time - take care of one another

Ollie

Hi - Me again

I know I only did my other blog a couple of days ago but I

wanted to show you more items from the show.

It was a great day out - I took lots of photos as I know

it will be quite a while before I have another.

I didn`t realize there were that many varieties of tomatoes

 blacksmiths - it was really hot in there - didn`t stay long

All kind of shops with comical sellers

Threshing (or should I say thrashing) the corn by hand

It took a whole day to do one field - An hour or so nowadays

Having a chin wag before work

In the Lavoir - My washing machine doesn`t get clothes this white!!!!!

I have a couple of nightshirts like this one in my shop

 www.etsy.com/shop/littlefrenchowl

The poor old girl after doing her washing she has to

go and pick the potatoes

 WELL SOMEONE HAD TO CLEAN UP 

AT THE END OF THE DAY

So that was my day out - a great one with lots of

laughs with the locals.

Speak again soon and please,  if you can,  have a look at my

little shop at littlefrenchowl

www.http:/etsy.com/shop/littlefrenchowl

A bientot

Hi Everyone - c`est moi encore

Haven`t done much this week as we went out at the weekend instead of going around the markets,
but there again I did go to a house sale where I did get some gorgeous things.
You will have to wait for those to go on, but there are two gorgeous compacts in the items I bought.
One is a compact shaped like a camera with  a lipstick tube and on the reverse a complete manicure set.  The whole thing is in faux shagreen (shark skin) it is absolutely gorgeous.
The other one is just out of this world - a jet black compact, I would say pre war which is so
elegant, and definitely for evening.  Wait until you see them !

Anyway back to my weekend off - we went to Frimbault Les Etangs which is a gorgeous village with
A huge lake.  Every year they have "Fete" - a whole weekend on the theme of farming, work, old cars etc.  After seeing this you might not moan at putting laundry in the washing machine.

                                   I think I have sat on more comfortable motorbikes in my time

                                         Women of course had to wash their clothes in the "Lavoir"
                                         Special "huts" built on the side of the small rivers so they
                                         could wash their "smalls" whilst having a good old
                                         chin wag   -  Really hard work.

 
                                          A brilliant band played in the street  accompanied
                                          by a female singer, who sang like a bird, singing songs like
                                          Lili Marleen.  I could have listened to her all day. 
                                          .

                                                                  The Lone Piper
                                         Well, what can I say about this guy - he thinks he`s lovely
                                         without me adding to it.

             I have more pictures but I`ll leave them until next time.  Until then take care of one another.

                                                                 Love to all

                                                                 Ollie   xxxxx   

House Hunting and all that Jazz

Hi Everyone

I`m sorry I haven`t been around for AGES and there really is no excuse apart from being very
busy at Etsy (which I am every so glad of) and even going on a weeks holiday.

I say holiday, but in fact it was to try and find some little house that is in our budget further down
south of France.

Its not as you might think that

A)  I want to be in with the incrowd
B)  I want to drink Martini in the sun.
C)  I want as many free grapes as I can get my mitts on.
D)  I want an all over tan.

No, dear friends, I am fed up with the winters here in Mayenne.  They are long, cold, damp, sunless (is that all one word) and my Rhum.Arthritis is getting worse.  The Doctor told me stay around the north to mid france and you will definately get arthritis, flu, chest infections and piles with sitting on cold floors (no he didn`t say the last one)  Go to the south of france and you will get forest fires and floods.
I`ll take my chance.

Going back to the few days break to the Languedoc area to look for houses.  We had to do it on the
cheap and went camping.  The first morning we were there we went looking for houses and in the afternoon decided to stay at the campsite have a sunbathe and read.
The next morning I was covered in a horrible rash from head to foot - Pharmacist said I was allergic to something and gave me pills and lotion.  Couldn`t go anywhere looking like that.  The next morning my stomach started rumbling and I had to do a 4 minute mile to the toilet block.  I have never had the runs like it before, and the toilets being at least 50 yards away, I had a terrible time.
stayed at the tent again. 
The next day it started raining so hard it thundered and lightened all day and night.  Being where we were in the campsite it was between mountains in the Pyrennes  and the lightening was flashing from one mountain to the other - it was blinding.  We stayed in the tent again.
The next morning a terrific noise woke us all up.  The automatic machines that go inbetween the vines next to our field started watering at 4.00 in the morning.
We came home.

Needless to say - no photos but I`ll write again soon and hopefully will get some for you.

A bientot  my friends


Love

Ollie     (Barbara)

www.etsy.com/shop/littlefrenchowl

 Bonjour

I`m sorry but there are no  photos this time as there is something wrong with the camera.

I have finally had my weekend in Paris and for once had great weather for this time of year.
At least its getting warmer now which of course means more work in the garden - did I say garden?
I meant fields.
I bought some GORGEOUS things there - a very old metal hanging matchbox holder  - blue and
white - cost me the earth but these things are getting rarer and you know they are original.
Also some  bone salad servers with Art Nouveau silver plated decoration on the handles. I could go
on but some of the things I don`t know whether to keep - like a little olde worlde dolls pram complete with doll who has a porcelain head and a body filled with sand.
What with very pretty glass inkwells, enamel jugs and goodness knows what else from the top of my
head the car was very nearly touching the ground.
I have also decided to sell my angora fibre from my rabbits which I have had to sell as they really do
need a lot of looking after.  They have gone to a good home which is only just down the road a couple of villages away and the new owner says I can visit them anytime I want, which is good.
I have 860 grams of gorgeous white angora fibre which is over 30 ounces.  I`m looking to sell the lot
which will make a couple of nice items very cheaply - maybe 3 euros an ounce.
Please contact me if you are interested.
As I said great weather here and Henry, one of our two tabbies,  is always the first out to catch the rays - he`s lying out in the garden on his back with his four legs in the air - its a pity I can`t get his photo for you.

Well I had better go now and put the items on Etsy.

Take care of one another and I`ll speak to you soon.

A bientot mes amis

Ollie

Paris in Springtime

Hello again my friends,

Well the birds are squabling and the squirrels are chasing each other around the gardens so I guess Spring is finally around the corner.
I have even seen the sun today - I think it was the sun - I haven`t seen it for such a long time.

At my grand old age - lol - you would think nothing would surprise me anymore, but I did get the
shock of my life when hubby suggested we go to Paris soon again for a long weekend.
Then when I came down to earth he said we could visit all the markets - hum - talk about a busman`s
holiday.

Talking of Paris though, there are a few sights I still haven`t seen. All the normal tourists places
don`t interest me anymore - what I do like are statues, the more interesting the better.  The thumb
is quite good which is outside the Hilton.

I can never tire of going to the Pere Lachaise famous cemetary which is situated on the top of a hill
overlooking Paris.  It is HUGE and anybody who was anybody is there.  I have it in my minds eye, on a lovely sunny balmy evening they come back to life and give shows to one another.

One of the few men I would have loved to have met - Oscar Wilde. Surely no man could have packed so much into his life.

Finally Jim Morrison - his fans still come to visit him in their hundreds.  I had better stop there or I`ll fill the computer with their photos.

The cemetary is 110 acres - not the biggest - but the most interesting.  I did want to show you
Geoges Rodenbachs memorial but I couldn`t find it - maybe next time.

 I`ll go to the markets if hubby will spend the day with me at Pere Lachaise and I`ll show you some of the goodies I bought.

Take care - keep warm (or cool) depending on where in the world you are at in this moment of time.
Speak to you soon.

Love Ollie xxxxx