CDP Theme Day – Rock 'n Roll

A somewhat difficult theme. This is not exactly rock ‘n roll, but about the closest I could find. The photo is taken on the banks the Loire River in Orléans. For other takes on this month’s City Daily Photo theme, click here. Un thème un peu difficile. Ce n’est pas exactement du rock, mais c’est …

The New Façade – La nouvelle façade

I posted the photo below about a year ago. Spot the difference! Jean Michel has just spent nearly a month redoing the façade of the barn on the right after our neighbour removed the awful lean-to on his side. Using traditional materials and not cement and concrete meant that it was time-consuming but I think …

Fiber's Coming – La fibre arrive

I’m very pleased to announce that we will soon have a fiber connection for our Internet and will be able to remove the television antenna which I feel somewhat mars the beauty of our house and weathervane. Not that we have a TV. Je suis très contente d’annoncer que nous aurons bientôt la connexion fibre …

The Renaissance Star – La Star de la Renaissance

I stole this expression from my friend Susan from Days on the Claise. François I lived from 1494 to 1547 and was crowned in 1515. He is considered to be the most emblematic royal figure of the French Renaissance during which arts and letters were at the forefront. The portrait above and sculpture below as well as the two …

The Wet Wart Plant – L'herbe aux verrues

In English, it’s not actually called a “wart plant” the way it is in French, although interestingly, it often has “wort” in its name. Chelidonium majus, commonly known as greater celandine or tetterwort, (although tetterwort also refers to Sanguinaria canadensis), nipplewort, or swallowwort, is a herbaceous perennial,native to Europe and western Asia and introduced widely in North America. Its toxic yellow-orange latex is used to get rid of warts – and I’ve …

The Solitary Leaf – La feuille solitaire

I walked out the door of the apartment we are renovating in the mediaeval, treeless part of Blois today and was surprised to see this lonesome red leaf among the paving stones. Lorsque je suis sortie ce matin de l’appartement que nous sommes en train de rénover dans le quartier médiéval sans arbre de Blois j’étais …