Taking Poitiers by storm...................!

Sunday just gone, saw us heading off to Poitiers for the 2nd Day of a Two-day International Championship Dog Show where we'd entered Esto in the Dobermann Intermediate Male Class-mainly for somewhere to go which wasn't too far away for the day,mainly to keep John's Parents entertained who have been spending the week here from Leeds in Yorkshire. They love dogs so had ample opportunity to wander to their hearts' content admiring all the different breeds present on Day Two including their own beloved breed the Miniature Schnauzer. We got two chairs set up at the Dobermann Ring and set about showing our handsome boy-we wern't quite prepared for the results though!He totally swept the board by winning-1st Intermediate Class Black Male,Best Male,the CACS,the CACIB and BEST OF BREED!WOW!! Our friends were there also showing their Intermediate Female who needed just 1 x CACIB for her French Champion Title and she won that too! So as you can imagine-we were the noisiest ring in the hall-screaming,whooping and jumping up & down for sheer Joy....so there were lots of smiles and celebratory drinks!! Not content with that,our stunning boy also got shortlisted later to the final 10 dogs in a huge Working Group so a great day was had by all and two very pleased Parents to see it all unfold before their very eyes!

This was the earlier view of the main ring from the stands where it was being prepared for the groups-our Esto running round on the Red Carpet-reserved for the Elite Best of Breed Winners!Ooooh........!

Unfortunately I had the camera on the wrong setting but thought the blurred result was kind of Artisticly Effective don't you think?........!

And here's one where we all sat still for a moment.....

We are so very proud of this handsome Junior Champion boy of ours who continues to excell in the Showring.........

And so back to the grindstone and John continues to take great delight at snapping away when I've got my arms full.........

......of Fabulous Vintage Textiles of course.........and they don't call me the bag Lady for nothing either,actually Packhorse might be more appropriate........!

Continuing to seek out treasure wherever we go-this was a day out with the holidaying inlaws but we still managed to stumble across a Brocante and end up filling the van with Treasure......!

Some lovely Images & Period Patterns this week on offer...

not least of all the Dragees which of course I get to eat later.......

There are such wonders to be found here ........and before we go,we took the parcels with us to Post out from wherever we ended up taking the In-laws for a tootle about in the van-how about THIS for a Post Office?!......

and to end on today......one of my favourite photos filtering through from the wedding.....the face of an Angel......our little Granddaughter Erin........

my little Cherub!

Positively Peachy.......and Macaroons!

Not often do we come across coloured Glass Shades for Wall Lights,they are usually translucent but the above Wall Light was an Exquisite  find -I absolutely loved the Peach Petal Shade and found it hard to part with but we search for and seek out treasures for all you wonderful customers out there-so it had to be done,painful though it was....! It is now on its' way to Japan where hopefully its' new owner will love it as much as we did! And earlier on a few weeks ago we found a beautiful Antique Chandelier with the most gorgeous Peach Glass Lustres which was unfortunately very damaged and unrepairable,so again,we were privy to some beautiful Peach coloured glass AGAIN!.....these make gorgeous decorations for Christmas Trees or Festive Table Decorations with a little imagination.....

It has been busy since our return from the Wedding in the UK....we have lots of new ideas brewing and have been busy putting them into action,meanwhile the Happy Couple have returned from their Honeymoon on the Greek Island of Rhodes........and back to reality of work and everything else that everyday entails!It doesn't seem possible it is nearly a month since the Happy Day!...

Aaaaaaaah!

Meanwhile the hunt for treasure continues and we've found some really lovely pieces recently.....including this Wonderful Art-Nouveau Jardinere which will be on-line later today....

A famous female Fench Warrior Figurehead.........

and a cluster of unusual Cherubin Garnitures.............!

Nothing ever surprises me as to what we find.......

Now THAT would keep me sorted for an evening-(maybe the next evening too)-filled with a nice Merlot!

and another  Hazard of this Job is using props, then having to EAT them afterwards.....well you wouldn't want them going stale now would you?!

Mmmmmmmmmmmm!

Anyway,I have to go and download the latest batch of photographs and get our latest tasty treasures on-line so for now,Au Revoir and Bon Weekend!

A New Champion and a Wedding...................................

 This past week or so has been an amazing series of events. We packed the van to the rafters with dogs,suitcases,and our work and headed off on the Saturday north-east through France to Luxembourg for the 87th Two-day International Dog Show held in Kirchberg. We travelled up on the Saturday and stayed overnight in Livange, meeting up with two fabulous friends Sandra & Serge who took us out for a wonderful Chinese Meal which was gorgeous. The next morning we made our way to the huge Luxexpo Centre to compete with our two babies Dita and Esto in the Breed Classes under Serbian Judge Blaz Kavcic-never in our wildest dreams did we expect what happened next. Esto has been extremely successful in the Showring of late, but on Sunday 8th September he did us the proudest yet by winning Junior Black Male,Best Junior and Best Male giving him his Junior Luxembourg Champion Title!!!

A little later,Dita went into the ring to compete and won Open Black Female,Best Female the Luxembourg CAC AND the International CACIB Award!-which meant she had to compete against the Best Male in Breed-which was our ESTO!!!! John handles both dogs in the ring which meant I had to step in and take Dita (my baby) while he handled Esto (his baby) and Dita won BEST of BREED! We literally swept the board with both of our dogs-we couldn't quite believe it-infact  a week later and we are STILL on Cloud 9!!!!

We left Luxembourg absolutely Buzzing and made the long journey through Belgium to Calais and the Eurotunnel-first time our babies have ever visited the UK! Out came their Petpassports-I think they both felt very important while they had their microchips scanned-and paperwork checked!!

Onwards we travelled through the UK and up into Yorkshire arriving around 8am Monday Morning-and absolutely shattered so after a welcome cup of Yorkshire tea and some breakfast we fell into bed at the Inlaws and caught up on some well deserved sleep! Later that day we had to go to the garage as the van was complaining & moaning very loudly at all the travelling we'd just done and it was discovered that the gearbox had given up the ghost.So instead of stopping for a few days we were stuck in Yorkshire until late Friday night when we landed with a few hours to spare in Staffordshire for my beloved son's wedding the next day!-talk about cutting it fine!!

What a Magical Day it was-a Beautiful venue in the Cheshire Countryside,a Stunning Bride and my proudest moment as a parent to see my son get married to the love of his life-accompanied by my gorgeous Granddaughter as Bridesmaid/Flower Girl........oh yes there were tears but of Joy,it was wonderful.

Everyone loved my hat........

......including John........

and we all danced till dawn.........yawn

And so it was a wonderful week despite the van, seeing and meeting up with treasured friends and family so as a result work is a little slow at the moment but we are catching up.......and still out and about searching for treasure though it's taking a little while to get back into the swing of things-but please bear with us-we'll be up and running and back to normal in no time at all! So until we meet again...au revoir for now!

Flying visit to the UK.....

Today I am just about getting back into the swing of things after a flying visit to the UK to choose my outfit for my son's forthcoming Wedding. Can't wait to wear my huge Jacques Vert Hat!! I somehow think I'm going to need some space either side of me on the big day or somone will end up with a Black Eye!!

It was wonderful staying with family and spending time with my princess Granddaughter Erin who filled me in on all the correct family members' names of  Peppa Pig . I also learned how to play shop,spent time colouring, moulding cakes with Playdough & various other activities such as reading Mr.Men stories etc-it doesn't seem so long ago I was doing the same with my own son as a youngster-my how time flies!

I was pampered by Lisa who just so happens to be a hairdresser (very useful as a daughter-in-law!) and had my hair all spruced up ready for their big day in less than three weeks. It's amazing how wonderful a hair

makeover makes you feel when you walk out of the salon with a bounce in your step AND in your hair!

Erin kept saying...Nana your hair is BEAUTIFUL as she ran her fingers through it time and time again.....well at least she COULD run her fingers through it,it hasn't been that sleek for ages!

....and as fast as I was there for five days,it seemed I was beamed back to France and up with the Lark on Sunday morning straight back into the routine of searching for treasure.....YAWN

I really wonder sometimes why I do it....oh yes,I almost forgot-I LOVE it! I love the thrill of searching through boxes & finding beautiful things...or glancing past a table to see a real eyecatching object-whatever it may be.....

This Church Altar Crucifix was one such object..............

or these Bronzed Ormolu Curtain Pole Holders........

or this delightful little Limoges Hand Mirror nwhich opened up to reveal an Exquisite Powder Compact inside complete with Paris Powder Puff!

and then it's off to the next Brocante passing through wonderfully pretty villages along the way....

breathtaking first thing in a morning as the sun is rising and we feel like the only people around.......

I simply forget how tired I might have been when crawling out of bed...especially when John distracts me with a freshly baked pastry from one of the Patisseries en-route......

I'm really into Tarte au Citron at the moment but will have to be very strong & resist for the next few weeks or else I won't fit into my dress for the Wedding!

Pup Idol leaves for his new Home & Life in the UK.........................

The Fields of Gold  gently sway in the Sunshine as I canter past in a blur on my early morning walk with Dita who pulls me around a circuit I have chosen to walk every day (to try and lose some weight for my son's forthcoming Wedding), with the vigour of a Sled Dog on her harness.Why she has to go so fast is beyond me but she's always in a hurry to get back,probably  frightened to death she's missed something whilst being gone!!

Me?-I prefer to wander and take in the early morning beauty of the sun rising and marvel at the scenery that surrounds us in this Rural Heaven......

and when we get home it just seems a little quieter than before without that darling little puppy IDOL who has now gone to live in the UK .......

He had a big sister COCO waiting for him when he got there.......

SHE HAD MADE A VERY SPECIAL EFFORT TO WELCOME HIM!!!!!

and so off we tootled to an International Dogshow at Brive two and a half hours south the next morning where our big boy Esto won his class,was graded Excellent and gained the RCACS Award. We did not exhibit Dita because she has previously won top honours from that particular Judge. But she came for the ride anyway.It was a lovely scenic journey and the venue was gorgeous so we had a lovely time.

Our Local Village Brocante had been on that morning so we had missed it,but being the curious creatures we are, we decided when we got home to have a stroll around very late in the afternoon...you'd think all the goodies would have been stripped bare first thing in the morning but all we can say is,people don't look very hard! We managed to come back with some real treasure that others had quite simply missed,their loss-our gain!

anyway-hope you are all enjoying this glorious weather because it will be gone before we know it.....but in the meantime our garden is full of butterflies.....

so I'm just off outside for a sit down and an Espresso.......Au Revoir for now!

(and we wish Pup Idol a very Happy & Successful life & Show Career in the UK-and simply can't wait till we see him in the flesh once again-hopefully in the not too distant future!)....