Thank You Esso!

This trip would not have been possible without my husband being sent over here to France to work for all this time. Thank you ExxonMobil for the opportunity!

Cobblefield Road Start

I'm taking the American Needlepoint Guild's cyberworkshop Cobblefield Road - a Jean Hilton design being taught by Ro Pace. I got my kit just a week before coming to France and I didn't want to start it until I finished another project, so I was just able to start it this week. The colors are beautiful greens and blues and purples - my kind of colors. Hopefully, with the big geometric stitches, it won't take too long to do.

Chateau Views

I decided it'd been a while since I posted about where I am living. It's the Chateau du Mont just outside of Beuzeville. This top picture is between the lines of trees in the front garden. There used to be three lines on this side, but the caretaker took out the outside line just before we got here.

This next picture is the view from the front door.

The fountain is supposed to be turned on Sundays in the summer, but it's got a leak, so it's only been turned on twice since we've been here. My husband took a lot of pictures last time it was on - on the Fourth. Yes, it's about the size of a fountain you'd find in a public plaza.

This is the view of the chateau from the first gate - yes, there are two. The first gate separates the property as a whole from the road.

The view of the chateau from the inner gate. It's rather imposing. Driving down the driveway's fun, especially right in front of the chateau. It's covered in about six inches of pea sized gravel.

I've liked living here, mostly. The grounds and house are beautiful, even if some rooms really need quite a bit of work. It's just hard dealing with the lack of privacy outside of your room. I like having a private dinner with my husband and son, and sometimes we get interrupted by people coming in and just talking to my husband, ignoring us eating dinner and ignoring that he's not alone. It also happens to me frequently when I'm listening to a friend and talking on the puter or listening to the news on my puter with my headphones. Someone will come in and just expect me to drop everything else I'm doing. Without those things, the place would be idyllic.

Birds Flying Away

I managed to finish the calendar round robin I've been working on for a few days this week. I'll be mailing it out on Monday before I leave for Paris. I've got a couple of other things to mail. This makes number two on my twenty-five project challenge. I've been -really good- this week about not buying stash. Maybe I'll get back on track. I'm not sure my suitcases can hold any more.

Tea

I'm one of those weird people who drink tea instead of coffee. On Wednesday, when I was in Deauville, I found this tea and spice merchant with bunches of wooden bowls filled with great smelling stuff. Needless to say, I bought. The teas are beautiful and this picture - well, it wasn't one of my husband's best photographic efforts. Anyway, I bought four kinds and they all smell and look wonderful. One of the other people with us said I should take it out of the bags and use it as potpourri because it smells so good and looks so pretty.

Honeydew Again

I managed to get a bit more of this done, with the honeydew colored Waterlilies. It looks good stitched in, but to me it's a boring color and there's so much of it in this part. At least I'm past the top of the first point, so I'm making some progress!

Last Bit of Stash for the Week

I told you I'd bought a lot of stuff. This bit includes a Bibendum kit (which is the single most expensive purchase I've made), a sampler with astrological signs, Seaside from DMC (given free by the shop owner), a Japanese Embroidery book in both French and English, some small charts, and two kits - one of a bookmark and one of a tiny fountain.