For the Love of Textiles

Whenever I am in Paris one of the first things I do is taking pictures of balconies. French balconies are so elegant. So romantic. Sometimes made from cast iron long time ago. Different shapes and painted usually white. Simple ones and very complicated ones. Always beautiful to look at. Today I realized that till now I didn't make photo's of them. Tonight, while at a market in Saint-Cyprien I took some shots. Here is a small selection. And there was this strange looking balcony made from concrete and looking like a tree. And

Late in the morning we took the car to go to Bergerac. The city of Cyrano. The man with the long nose who fell in love with his beautiful niece Roxanne. Ofcourse he is visible in the city. There are two statues, but I liked this one the best. The city itself is pleasant, but not that special. We walked around. Had lunch with view on the Dordogne river. Visited some churches. As we passed a school I saw the words: Liberté , Egalité, Fraternité. Immediately my mind went of to the discussions this year in France when the politicians had to make a decission about the law which would make it possible for gay people to get married. One could see that a big part of the French society was at this point very conservative. And that: Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood had a very different meaning than during the French Revolution more than 200 years ago. What did happen during all those years? How could a part of the society became so strongly against i

Short notes on a calm day. Cloudy. Swimming after waking up. Cooler. Late breakfast. Writing postcards. Laundry. Sunshine. Swimming together. Downhill by car. Postoffice in Les-Ezys. Stroll among the rocks. Coffee at a terrace. Drive in the surroundings. Small road. Home. Wine. Olives. Cooking. Lovely meal together. Late night swim. Life is good to me. Life is good to us.

Rain when we woke up. Dry when we went swimming. Sun when we had breakfast. Cloudy while cleaning up. Dark clouds after shopping. Rain when Rik Jan and Ineke arrived. Dry when we sat outside drinking wine. Cooler when we had dinner. Rain when we had the dessert. Dry when I wrote this blog. Tomorrow has arrived.

We read about the "Festival des Epouvantails" in the little village Meyrals. It is the festival of the scarecrows.  Next to this there are theatre perfomances, a choir was singing medieval music in the little church. There are stalls with local produce. After doing some shopping at the lovely market in St-Cyprien we headed off. We had to park the car in a field. Immediately my eyes spotted garlands. Garlands. I am keen on them. Ever since I was a little boy I loved making them. And recently I have discoverd that I still do. One of my first memories which turns up in my head was when I was a 4 years old boy. My grandfather -who was a very strict man- was having his birthday in a few days. Me and some nephews had this plan to decorate the room with home-made garlands. The simple one's: a strip of paper sticked together with glue in to a circle and so on. But, because he was so strict, none of us dared to ask. I was the youngest, and perhaps he would say y

Today we went to the little village Les Arques in the region Lot. It was claudy and fresh when we left. A beautiful drive down south. The sun came out and it was warm, but very pleasant. In Les Arques is the Musée Zadkine with work by this famous sculptor. Ossip Zakine, born in  1890  Russia (Smolensk) has had his atelier for many years in Les Arques. He passed away in 1967 in Paris, and is buried on the graveyard Montparnasse. The museum is very small, but inside is a great exhibition from his work.  Sculptures from wood, stone, bronze, drawings, tapestry, ceramic. Is was just wonderfull, touching, moving and very impressive to see. He was one of the greatest sculptors of the 20th Century. Outside are sculptures too and inside the church one can see a beautiful Pietá. Here are some images I took. I am sure when I have the opportunity to go again I certainly will.

Artichokes. I love Artichokes. Before the 1st of January 2014 I had never eaten them. Jos cooked the first one I had at his place. Since that time I have eaten many of them. It is always a joy to eat them. Picking all the leaves and dipping them in a sauce. And eating the soft heart. Kind of luxury food. But the cooking of it is very simple. My dear colleague Riky has often asked me how to cook them. So, esspecially for her, but also for all readers is the recipe with our favourite sauce. Buy the best artichokes you can get. There are many varieties. Big one's, small one's, all over green, with pink ended leaves. It doesn't matter which one you choose, but if they are very small buy 2 per person. They shouldn't look dry, but fresh green. I usually buy two at the market in Amsterdam when we are together. Today I bought 2 at the HyperMarche in Le Bugue. Cut of the stem as close as you can next to the leaves. P