The Third Week of Advent

Today is the third Sunday of Advent

we are counting down and

now there are only ten days until

that most magical night of the year

Christmas Eve.

On Friday December 5th

I posted my parcel of Christmas gifts

to my family in France.

I've had enough of the crowded shops

so it's a good thing I have only

a couple more things to get.

I hope you are enjoying this wonderful

season and having time to

listen to some good Christmas music

such as the Downton Abbey CD.

We are having our work Christmas lunch

tomorrow

and I finish for the year on Tuesday 23rd.

I can't wait!

I'm joining Donna for
December Photo Challenge 
and Judith for

Mosaic Monday

Thank you for all your comments

Take care and

be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt

Shane

Giveaway Winner and Pierre de Ronsard Rose

My new rose

Pierre de Ronsard

is giving me so much pleasure.

I planted it at the end of last summer

and it has now reached to the top of the archway!

It's just as I anticipated it would be

only better!

I'll show you more photos soon.

Now to the winner of my 

French Market Sac

Giveaway

          Random number generation / Random Numbers

Generate a random number between and  = 25 CONGRATULATIONS Pamela of the lovely blog http://playingwithmycamera.blogspot.com/ Pamela, please email me with your details! Thank you to everyone who entered. Take care and be kind to one another Merci à bientôt Shane

Christmas Slice in a Jar

HAPPY DECEMBER!

Where have the last couple of months have gone?
I know I've been busy making up my
Christmas parcel for my family in France.
The last day for posting is
this coming Friday 5th December.
I have found something lovely for each
VIP person in my special family!

Christmas Slice in a Jar
makes a delicious gift for friends.
We've all got our favourite recipes
that everyone loves.
What could be easier!

Thank you all for your visits and kind comments.

Don't forget to enter my
GIVEAWAY here

I'm joining Judith for Mosaic Monday

Merci à bientôt
be kind to one another!

♥ Shane ♥

 

Giveaway - French Market Sac and Goodies!

While shopping recently I found

this fun market bag 

which reminded me

of the lively markets I've visited in France.

I thought it would be perfect as a

GIVEAWAY

for you my wonderful followers.

I'm particularly grateful to my regular followers
who faithfully pop in and leave me a comment
each time I put up a new post.
You know who you are - thank you gals!!!

Tucked inside are some bits and bobs
one would find at a market...

 a french themed notebook

some gorgeous soap  

Great Barrier Island Bee Co hand cream

and....

of course something yummy to eat!

I will add more items over the next two weeks...

This is for followers of my blog - both old and new

so please leave me a comment

it's open to everyone - world wide.

Feel free to let your followers know too!

You have until Sunday 7th December to enter

and I will announce the winner on

Monday 8th December 2014

Bonne Chance!

Take care and

be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt

Shane

Tea cups and a Magazine Swap

I'm so grateful my dear mother lived in the days of

Tea Parties

this was the time of gracious living.

She gave me her precious china which she loved so much.

There is only one cup left in this particular set

along with four saucers and plates.

I have the plates on the wall in a bedroom!

But I use the cup quite often

it is such fine china and lovely to drink from.

The gold is fading in parts

this adds to the aged patina that I love.

It shows that it has been used

and not locked away in a cupboard.

This cup and saucer were made by
Hammersley & Co. Longton, England.

It's at least 80 years old, maybe even more.

I would love to know the name of the pattern,

 if anyone is able to enlighten me.

I googled Hammersley, but this particular pattern didn't come up....

 Now for some other tea time treasures....

Back in September

Judith of Lavender Cottage

Yes... Mosaic Monday Judith

and I had a magazine swap!

I initiated the swap after drooling over the gorgeous

photos of tea related magazines on her blog!

I've read the two lovely magazines from cover to cover

several times - thank you so much Judith!

We don't see these magazines in New Zealand.

You can read Judith's post about our swap

here

I'm joining

Judith of Mosaic Monday

Sandi for Tea Time Tuesday

Ruth for Tuesday Cuppa Tea

and

Bernideen for Friends Sharing Tea

Take care and

be kind to one another

...oh just before I go it's Giveaway time

come back in a couple of days

and I'll tell you all about it!

Merci à bientôt

Shane

French Shutters and Flowers

There's something I love about

opening my shutters in the morning and letting the light in...

... the same goes for the evening

when closing the shutters is like saying goodnight

to the world!

Everywhere one goes in France there are shutters -

in small villages

and in big ones too like Paris.

Shutters are everywhere and the same goes for flowers.

Even the large apartment buildings always seem

to have window boxes beautifully planted

with seasonal plants.

Shutters are part of what we all love about

french architecture.

I'm joining Judith for Mosaic Monday

why don't you come and join us

here's the link.

Thank you for your visits

Take care and

be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt

Shane

Photo Challenge - Trees

Each month I look forward to taking part in

Donna's Personal Photo Challenge

the topic for November is trees.

I have an affinity for trees 

you could even call me a tree hugger!

On my walks I take loads of photos of trees.

The photo above represents

'trees are fun' 

Children playing on it could imagine it

being a pirate ship - what do you think?

Trees can be a window to the sky.

they frame long vistas

and provide beautiful floral displays

 like this glorious Jacaranda.

Thank you Donna for hosting

and providing all the technical info you source for us.

Wishing you all a happy weekend

Take care and

be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt

Shane

Pretty Vintage Finds

Last week I popped into our local Hospice shop

and I found two pretty cups.

Sadly, there were no saucers - only two cups.
I would love to find two matching saucers!

Meantime I've teamed them up with two floral saucers.

There is a stamp on the bottom of the cups

Royal Winchester English Bone China.

Can anyone enlighten me on the name of the design please?

I googled it, but couldn't find a match.

This pretty bowl belonged to my Mother

she used it almost every day and

it has very fond memories for me.

I'm joining

Judith for Mosaic Monday

Sandi for Tea Time Tuesday

Ruth for Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Bernideen for Tea in the Garden

I hope you all enjoyed a relaxing weekend

and wishing you a happy new week.

Sweet Wendy of Apple and Apricot
has created this darling heart as part of her
GIVEAWAY
beneath it is a dutch magazine 
"Petite Brocante"
and part of the giveaway too, it looks fabulous!
Just visit her blog and become a follower to enter!
Bonne Chance dear friends!

~~~~~

Oh and don't forget Marie's
GIVEAWAY HERE!

Take care and

be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt

Shane