Today was a day of contrasts. First thing this morning we headed off to Boussac, a lovely French provincial town just north of us with a chateau high up on a stony outcrop, to collect a painting by a local artist Pascale Lauwers. She hails from Belgium and had an exhibition of Chinoiserie inspired paintings last month. Tony and I had a private invite and over wine and nibbles, enjoyed some hi-brow conversation and I bought a painting. Turqoise is my favorite colour. I adore birds and one of my favorite flowers are hydrangeas. With the extreme dry weather right now, these wonderful blue and mauve pom pom headed plants are the only ones that seem to flourish. And they dry lovely for display in baskets and vases. The painting will be perfect hanging in our hallway at the farmhouse and I love supporting local talent too.

The gallery owner was the same lady who found Archie our kitten. He had been thrown into the street at just two weeks old and was struggling to find food. The gallery owner was returning to South Africa and Archie needed a home. Being the smuck English we are, we couldn’t say no.

Now three weeks later, Archie is a little podge and has five brothers and sisters to play with and the painting is wrapped and ready to be collected.Pascale had recently bought the library next to her town house. A lucky purchase as it interconnects via a tower and will be her own gallery. I am taking painting lessons with her next year. I can’t wait!

Next we unloaded our latest furniture find from our local favorite Brocante, Dynamo. It’s a large hanger full of furniture, brica-brac, China and fabric. The money goes to charity and I somehow end up there every weekend. Last week I was extremely lucky. I adore retro 1950’s to 1970’s furniture. My mothers’ G-plan sideboard cost about two thousand back in 1970 and now resides in my office. Snooping round Dynamo I found two sideboards and a drinks cabinet, just perfect for my sewing room. Price to me €220.00. You have to be joking! On the antique markets they are around €7000.00. I snapped them up straight away.

After a morning of pleasure, the rest of the day was a stark contrast. The house next to our factory ( future Attelier ) was full of the previous owners rubbish and unwanted possessions. People do hoard such tat!

We filled our van to bursting point and tomorrow it’s off to the tip. It’s a beautiful ride through the countryside and sometimes if your lucky you also find some real treasures kept aside by the staff there. Any good pieces are transferred to places like Dynamo and so the recycling here goes round and round.

So a day of beauty and of beasts. A good clear out and a clean slate for renovations. Productive and happy.