La Dorat, Bellac and Limoges

•September 10, 2010 • 1 Comment

This is a compilation from these three towns, a taste of the countryside.

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Sannat

•September 9, 2010 • 1 Comment

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On the outskirts of St Junien Les Combes is a century old chateau still the family home of the Count and Countess de Sainte Croix and open as a boutique bed and breakfast. I was lucky enough to take some photos of the grounds and buildings. The location is superb with a commanding view of the town and valley, and the chateau itself has the air of a historic yet well loved home. The kitchen garden would delight any gardener with its array of heritage plants and the layers of colour, you can tell its been created with love.

St Junien

•September 7, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Only three and half hours from Paris but a world away is the tiny village of St Junien Les Combes. My dear friend Michelle welcomed me to her delightful home – nestled in part of an ancient barn on the estate of the Sannat Chateau. It was like stepping into another life, each view was a picture inside and out. I felt like I could live there forever. How to describe the french countryside?…I don’t know, each turn of the road on the rolling hills was charming, the villages, the towns, the oak tree lined roads, the hedgerows, the copper colored Limosin cattle, the gorgeous vistas, sunsets across the orangrey, starlit evenings with the sky so full of stars you could keep looking at layer after layer forever. So quiet, so peaceful, so friendly, I felt at home, almost as if I would fall alsleep and wake up speaking french.

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Journey Of Rediscovery

•September 6, 2010 • 2 Comments

Journey of Rediscovery

Where do you go when you are trying to find yourself, where does a journey of rediscovery take you? What would be on the ticket? Is it an express or a slow train with many stops, is there a destination or does the journey never end? I have no idea, I just know that the journey has already started and its time I got onboard with it. My last two months of hibernation on Bainbridge have allowed me to build the courage and energy to step out into the unknown. For now the ticket reads France with a small detour to Vancouver Canada on the way. It is a bittersweet start, part of my heart stays in Seattle and Bainbridge with my dear friends and those I consider family, yet the excitement and promise of the journey pulls me forward.

So on to Paris, just stopping to change planes in London I arrived on Friday afternoon to a lovely welcome from a very old friend Jose who I have not seen for 26 years. My dream for many years now has been to come to Paris with my camera and just explore and allow myself to absorb the ambiance without an agenda or plan. To get the chance to see France from the perspective of a local and to connect with people is just perfect. These photos are from my first days in Paris.

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I took this as a sign :)

•August 4, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Update

•July 27, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Well its been a while since I made a post, I blame the lazy summer days when its so much nicer to be outside than working on the computer. I am back on Bainbridge Island for a while and what a perfect time it is to be here, best summer weather I have ever seen and I have my wonderful friends to keep me company. I am housesitting a lovely home and I have charge of a delightful dog named Uno. 90% angel and 10% terrorist she has me wrapped around her little paws. Yes she has just one eye, a rescue dog from a puppy mill, she knows what she wants and she is a survivor.

June 30

•July 1, 2010 • Leave a Comment

So today is the last of the edge series, lots of flowers, I can’t seem to resist the colors and textures and especially the light through water drops. My final photo is “living on the edge”, shot from the boat tonight as a man and his dogs row out to their home on the water. One of the off the grid people living aboard boats in the passage into Eagle harbor.

June 29

•June 30, 2010 • Leave a Comment

June 28th

•June 29, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Geranium edge

june 27

•June 28, 2010 • Leave a Comment

living on the edge – the best burger I have ever tasted – from a roach coach.