Raphaël celebrated his tenth birthday today.  This is the first time that he hasn't received a toy.  It's bittersweet.  As his personality and tastes develop, it's nice to finally give him more practical gifts that he needs and wants.  Amongst a few other things, he had a new watch, his first alarm clock, a book, a music album and to his delight, some funds.
As a treat, his daddy took him on his first canoe trip.  We met them at the river for a picnic.  I'm constantly reminded how beautiful this area of Normandy is, the scenery is breathtaking.

In other places, I so loved this article about the Village .

We love our local park.

 

 

Vintage fabrics for Anya's new bedroom.  The monogrammed antique linen sheet was a lucky find, it has her initials.  It will be used to make curtains.

I love flowers and plants.  We rebuilt our garden when we moved in to our home nearly 2 years ago.  There is still a lot of work to do but a lot has been done.  There are many young plants which need time to grow, we have to be patient.  The first image is our "Pierre de Ronsard" climbing rose which I hope will one day grow high.  The second image is a rose I brought back from my grandmother's garden this year.  I think she would be happy to know there is a part of her in our garden.  It's probably my most special plant that we have. 

We took a camping trip to the West coast of Normandy for the long weekend.  I love staying in our tent, we're reduced to such simplicity and to living outdoors.  During the summer, it's too hot to be inside the tent and we spend lots of time on the beach where it's cooler.