Silent Night...Holy night...

...all is calm, all is bright

May the Joy, Peace and Love that comes from our Lord and Savior be in your hearts during this Christmas Season.

Love to ALL of you, my dear friends who email me when you read my posts, 

and thank you, to all who have become my dear NEW friends, through the blogosphere!  Your comments and your blogs have given me so much happiness this year!
Bisous amies,
dawne

Safe from the Storm...but not all were...

p a y s  d e  l y o n s - a n d e l l e

I shot this peaceful scene in the French countryside last month.  How different it is from the devastation that Irene wreaked on beautiful Vermont last week-end.

Here is a video shot by my friend and former teaching colleague, Bill Muench, showing just a small portion of the flooding in Manchester , Vermont

Aug. 28, 2011 Irene hits Manchester, Vermont from Bill Muench on Vimeo.

We,here on Everafter Farm, just across the border from Vermont, were not touched by the hurricane, thank God.  But our hearts, prayers, and support go out to those who were.

...and now we wait for Lee.

Have a safe, and restful Labor Day weekend

Dawne

Back From France...Part 2: Les Chambres

Night in the Marais [in Paris, naturellment! ]

Yes, we did get to Paris...eventually.  But that story comes later.  Today I want to show you our bedrooms at the Chateau.




We chose to stay in the Parma, mainly because it was in my favorite colors, lilac and lavender...

look at those dear lamps, that sweet bust...

the parrot sconces were special...

...our bath was pure luxe,

 and I almost drowned in the tub [ too short to reach the other end to brace myself!]

There's another chandelier [sconce] on the back wall. 3 in one bathroom! The silk pouf curtains made me want to play Scarlett, and rip them down and wear them to dinner...




But my favorite part was the tiny "chapel" that separated the bedroom from the salle de bain. I'm stunned that I didn't photograph the 

prie-dieu, with the antique Bible open to 1 Kings, but it looked a bit like this

You can just see the cross peeking up at the bottom of the image. [At the back, behind the gorgeous silk curtain is the cooler/bar. A chapel and a bar! whoa!] I did a video of this and posted it on my Facebook page, and at the time I couldn't remember what the Globes de mariée, "reliquaire d'amour" were called. I did

remember seeing, a year or so ago,[and becoming smitten with], a wonderful set of photographs
of these wedding bouquets on Flickr, 
photographed by Jean Boccacino, which you can 
see here.


Also the lovely blog Fete et Fleur has a post on the Globe de Mariage here.


Now, what I found interesting is that Jean photographed them at a market in Angers, and that city is but a hop and skip from the chateau.  I wonder if Bruno bought his in the same place?  As a member of a family of wedding photographers, if I could collect anything, it would be these!![ I do have a collection of vintage wedding cake toppers, but they pale in comparison.]


So, I had the lilac room, the chapel, the globes de l'amour, AND, while I was bathing for dinner, the FM station played one solid hour of "Amazing Grace", as performed by a variety of artists!  Was I blessed, or what!!! Merci, Dieu!




Our brother Bob stayed in the Blue Room

with the spectacular bathroom in the turret...

Here's another little "jerky" iPhone video of the room and bath.






Coming Soon:  The rest of the rooms!


Adieu, mes amies,
dawne

Back From France...

...Well, my body's back, if not my spirit.  I just keep looking around for a baguette. 

mont- saint-michel

This is the only image I've really worked on since I've been home, but it looked so "storybook" that I knew exactly how it would look after I edited it.  And indeed, it was a magical place, as was every single place we visited.



For once Paris took a back seat to quaint


medieval villages, a vast patchwork of wheat

and corn fields, and the romance of Mont-Saint-


Michel. I have many posts in my head, and I

will tell you all about the wonderful trip that


I took with my two favorite men, the Polis


brothers. But, I just can't wait to share this,


the highlight of our trip, the pièce de résistance,... our stay at 

 le Château de la Verrerie 

the allée

My heart was racing as we approached through the allée of plane trees. Had I built this up too much in my mind? Would this be as wonderful as I had imagined it?

the approach

And as soon as I saw those silver balls,I said "Uh huh. oh yeah." And I knew it would be.

the front of the Chateau 

If ever a chateau could be called "storybook", then this is the one. Just look at those proportions!  I had dreamed of this petit chateau ever before I saw it, and when I laid eyes on it, it was a true coup de foudre.

the view from our chambre window

The chateau belongs to Bruno Dujardin, and he and his partner bought the estate in 2000.  At the time, Bruno was living in Paris and was the still life photographer for L'Oreal cosmetics. Every weekend for 8 years he came down to the chateau to renovate and restore what was then an empty shell of a building. Three years ago he left his career and Paris, and moved down to run the Chateau full time as a bed and breakfast. Bruno is quick to say that he is a photographer, not a decorator, but it is apparent that he is an artist in both professions.  Every room has been uniquely painted and stenciled by his hand, and every piece of furniture is an antique purchased at local brocantes, antique stores and monthly flea markets in a nearby town.  His photographer's eye serves him well in the mise en scene that he creates in each room. Balance, harmony, coupled with whimsey and luxury, all combine to reflect the impeccable taste of a host who offers only the best to his guests. 

This is what greets you as you enter the reception hall.

Is it coincidence that Bruno and I both have  a goose in our foyer? [Okay. So mine is a plastic light-up goose and it's in our mudroom. And she isn't sporting a diamond choker. But we're both thinking fois gras bienvenue:))] 


Right off this room, in the lower part of a turret, is Bruno's office.  I'll risk a bit of humiliation and show you the little iPhone video I made of it. [ You might want to take some dramamine before you watch this.]

Tomorrow I'll try to post the photos of our bedrooms, où nous avons eu de beaux rêves!

Au revoir, mes amies,

dawne

...And a Happy New Year

                   May God bless us all and give us Peace, Joy and Good Health in this coming year

       For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways  Ps. 91:11

Aux Dames de France

I'm so proud of my daughter. She did her first Shoot for the Troops today. This is her own idea of how to support those service people who are going to be deployed soon. She and her friend Irene photographed 35 families today, and tomorrow they'll do more than that. Each family will receive an 8X10. She would like to get photographers from all over the country to pick up on this idea.

The photo compo above reminds me of my daughter, a true "dame de france." I photographed the bike and hallway somewhere in the 6eme, I think.  I need to take better notes!