Death of a teapot

Not quite . . .our fave teapot from, can't remember which V.G lives again. It's lid knob has been re-glued about eight times, and the superglue cost versus saving teapot equation was no longer valid. two corks and a piece of wire . . .ta dahhh!

Holy holy holy

No big deal, a colander, but I was so pleased to meet it at the last V.G.and then take it home . . . Reminiscent of a B movie space satellite, it makes me feel cheered every time I see it. The fact that it cost fifty cents was even more gratifying.

Yes . . !! vide grenier season for real!

So far they have been a bit drab. Now the cold waether has gone (maybe) there is a new air of delving deeper into forgotten cupboards. This morning's finds: an 'abs improver, this stunning tureen, a pruning knife, two pairs of dangly earings, a book, and a lovely water bottle all for ten euros . . . yeeha.

Take me to the river . . .

To our local source actually. We have been filling bottles at the source for about nine years now. A friend told me the other day about the risks of storing water in plastic bottles . . .no surprise really. So, now we are using mostly old glass ones. These come from Parchemin (recycling heaven store) and furnished with new rubber seals (easy to find in our local supermarche).

Bath water irrigation

New exciting development after the bathwater butt was put in.
Huge length of swimming pool hose (found in the garden) and some other hoses that were knocking around, joined with a length of discarded downpipe, which reach around the house and over the terrace. Turn water butt tap on, and then have fun making little channels and damming them appropriately for each line of plants.
I think Mark is getting worried about water recap obsession chez moi!

Resting place

This is my bike that came from the tip about seven years ago, I upgraded it when I bought a fancy newer one from a Vide Grenier a couple of years back. It has no gears and is monstrous heavy—Jane Austin had one just like it—I took it to the bike shop in town to have its pathetic breaks repaired. I know it just sat there for a week, it was exactly in the same place in their workshop when I went back. He charged me five euros for garage space and I took it squeaking and grinching back home, where it sat sadly, propped up against the back of the house—sadder still when I started riding the new one down to get bread.
I steeled myself to take it back to the tip and then thought maybe it could become a post mat feature of the garden. Had to buy a non P.Mat can of spray paint, but it will be only once.
Now it lives on in its new blue incarnation against a quince bush, giving me happy memories of trips to the market, the bread shop and nearly getting squashed under a articulated truck on that awful junction near the fire station.

Make your own . . .earth!

I made a huge pile of weeds in this spot two years ago as I didn't have the energy for another tip run and it was too wet for a bonfire. When I took a more recent layer of weeds away I discovered, not a lost mosaic or the skeleton of a previous gardener, but . . .lovely loamy soil, really GOOD stuff. This my Post mat stone sifter, which I think was a bottle carrier in its previous existence: we have a circular, smaller holed one somewhere, which will no doubt come to light after a garden clear up.