Music on a Monday...The Piano

This beautiful piece is from the soundtrack of one of my favourite films...The Piano.
The music is composed by Michael Nyman and its haunting melody very well suits the dark love story portrayed in the film.
Holly Hunter plays the beautiful Ada, who communicates only through her piano and using sign language which her young daughter interprets.
Her husband, Alistair Stewart (Sam Neill) tells Ada there is no room in the house for her beloved piano and trades  it with Baines (Harvey Keitell) for some land.
Baines becomes infatuated with Ada and offers to trade with her, one key at a time,for the return of her beloved piano.
To find out how this happens I am afraid you will have to go and watch the film.

Enjoy!

Love Maffy x

My Wild Flower Garden...and Missing Special People

I have just returned to 8 La Commune having spent a week in the UK with all my special people.
It is always one of the hardest parts of living here in France...when you have to say goodbye, again, to the people most cherished.





Back here though the summer has finally arrived and my little wild flower patch has truly bloomed!This small area of the garden was only planted this spring and already it is filled with colour and doing its job attracting wildlife.
At the edge of this patch is my vegetable plot, or potager. It has been partially successful but, on reflection, is in the wrong place. Next season I am going to let the wild flower area take over this space and plant a two or three fruit trees as well.
I may put a series of small raised beds down one side of the grassed area but due to circumstances beyond my control these will have to be narrow and pretty uniform, not really my style, but hey!
As we have a constant supply of vegetables, salad and eggs from our lovely neighbour Jean Claude it will suffice my need to grow to keep just a small area for fresh herbs and salads.

The little meadow

bees are loving it!

wild Sweetpea

The potager

looking back at the house

WEEDS!

S'amuser au soleil!

Revenez bientôt

Love Maffy x

Twice in One Day ...Getting There!

No time for a long post but thought you might like to see some of my weekend purchases.
These little beauties will be in my Etsy Shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/ElleQuiVend? very soon.

heart shaped biscuit moulds... Mignon!

Interesting balance scales

Pretty rusty tin...but with cute doll decor

yet another religious icon!...might have to change the name of my shop!

vieux papiers...livres

I know someone who will want this!

Si la musique être...

la nourriture de l'amour... jouer !

bloc ephémérides ...old calender pages

1946  & 1949

Tomorrow I will take you to the Vide Grenier...Veuillez vous joindre à moi!

Love Maffyx

Music on a Monday

Not much to say about this beautiful piece of music, except

I LOVE IT!

It is the primary aria from the tragic opera 'Norma'.
In recent years it has gained popularity due to its inclusion  in the Jean Paul Gautier perfume ads.
Just a little ad on note here

My FAVOURITE perfume!

Here it is performed by the stunning Maria Callas



                               

Casta Diva Italian Lyrics

Casta Diva, che inargenti

queste sacre antiche piante,

a noi volgi il bel sembiante

senza nube e senza vel...

Tempra, o Diva,

tempra tu de’ cori ardenti

tempra ancora lo zelo audace,

spargi in terra quella pace

che regnar tu fai nel ciel...

Casta Diva English Translation

Pure Goddess, whose silver covers

These sacred ancient plants,

we turn to your lovely face

unclouded and without veil...

Temper, oh Goddess,

the hardening of you ardent spirits 

temper your bold zeal,

Scatter peace across the earth

Thou make reign in the sky...

Enjoy!

A Work in Progress

This is how it's coming along!

8 La Commune

There are a lot of 'works in progress' here at 8 La Commune.The house is looking a mess with bits half done...but it's coming along!The dingy brown paintwork is gradually going green, the cracks are being filled ,the gutters are still overflowing...but not for long.The garden is starting to take shape but just as it does, as is the norm and my prerogative as being part of the female of the species, I've changed my mind about the layout.The veg patch has been partially successful with the Betterave (beetroot) et Shallots doing very well but the beans and potatoes scoring nil points!The wild flower garden is looking pretty for it's first year...but what grows best in my garden are weeds!But hey! Seed Balls http://seedball.co.uk/ inform me, and they should know, that "weeds are wild flowers too...in the wrong place.This is a rural house with a pretty wild garden...pretty wild owner too!...perhaps that is how it should be.

unfortunately...not today, today tis still raining.

windows...before

windows...after

love these little people

sore subject...best not discussed!

lavender hedge coming along

beans nil point!

potoatoes :(

betterave et shallots

wild flower garden

belle fleurs

plus de jolies fleurs

I like wood piles...hazel

My first attempt at a woodpile...not bad I think?


I love to see you come back soon!J'aime vous voir revenir bientôt! love Maffy x

Music Monday on Time for a Change!

I will get the hang of this blogging routine!


Apparently iI haven't yet found my blogging voice, but

I will!

I have an inspirational daughter (D1), some might call her a bit of a task master, encouraging me.

Actually I have three inspiring daughters, all of whom love music as much as their mum. It is one of the positives they inherited from me I think.


My upbringing was odd to say the least, another story waiting to be told, but my first special memories are of song...and music. For that I will be forever grateful. 


My grandmother sang all the old songs and opera...my mother liked to dance around to Elvis and Glen Miller. I am lucky that all my daughters, like me, shed their inhibitions and dance like crazy at any opportunity, we like to jive, we like to tango, we like to jump around and just play the fool. (D1 is an expert in this area).


Natalie or D2, as I sometimes refer to her, is my slightly nutty daughter, She introduced me to the music of Nirvana, Placebo and more recently, as she has got a little more surfy, Ben Howard. 


Now I have rambled on and gone completely off track so let me stop and play my song choice for this Monday. 


This is my favourite Nirvana tune:



Well, writing this slightly disjointed blog post has given me lots of ideas for future posts so come back and read more.
You are always very welcome!
(Vous êtes toujours bienvenu!)

Love Maffy x

Music Late on a Monday!

Short post (due to visitors) sorry!

Lovin' this!

Turn it up and dance like crazy!
(Turn it up et danse comme un fou !)

Love Maffy x