Week 5 2023

Hello!

Did you know that the Catholic holiday of Candlemas, on 2 February, is a feast to commemorate the purification of the Virgin Mary and the presentation of baby Jesus. In France, this holiday is called la Chandeleur, Fête de la Lumière, or jour des crêpes.

Not only do the French eat a lot of crêpes on Chandeleur, but they also do a bit of fortune telling while making them. It is traditional to hold a coin in your writing hand and a crêpe pan in the other, and flip the crêpe into the air. If you manage to catch the crêpe in the pan, your family will be prosperous for the rest of the year.  There is also a train of thought that suggests you should keep this well flipped pancake on the top of the wardrobe for the year to doubly ensure good fortune…

Enjoy your pancakes and whatever you do this week in the Gironde and Dordogne regions – keep warm and safe and have a great week.

Best wishes,

Helen

notjustfortheholidays@orange.fr

Week 5

Holiday pottery - make a clock

Coming up...

And finally...

Last installment of the ceramic mosquito coil holder (or as I fondly refer to it... operation death to mosquitoes!)

I'm delighted with the result, so full scale production is underway.  Find them in the boutique in Sauveterre in the near future.

Week 4 2023

 Hello!

I just can't keep up with the weather.  Last week we had snow, but this week I spot a daffodil growing in the centre of the village.

Looks like we have some cold weather ahead of us though.

Whatever you do in the Gironde and Dordogne regions, keep warm and enjoy yourselves.

Best wishes,

Helen

notjustfortheholidays@orange.fr

Week 4

Coming up...

In Sauveterre at the Maison des Artisans, all these workshops are available.  Follow the link below to find out more.

https://www.les-ateliages.fr/stages/

And finally...

Here's an update on the mosquito coil holder.  This is what ceramic pieces look like when they are glazed and before they go into the kiln for the second firing.  Fingers crossed (and a quick message to the kiln gods) that all will be well.

Week 3 2023

 Hello!

Something magical happened this week... it snowed!  I hadn't realised how long it had been since the last snow, but we had children coming into the Maison des Artisans yesterday who had never seen falling snow!

Here's a photo of Sauveterre-de-Guyenne in the snow...

Whatever you do in the Gironde and Dordogne regions over the next week, keep warm and have a good time.

Best wishes,

Helen

notjustfortheholidays@orange.fr

 

Week 3

 

  Coming up...

And finally...

It's early days... but things take a long time to come to fruition in the pottery studio.  Last summer we were plagued by mosquitoes, so I've been developing a mosquito coil holder because anything is more beautiful and more sturdy than those little metal stands.  What do you think?

Week 2 2023

 Hello!

In case you missed it, Friday 6 January was the last day of the Christmas season and traditionally the day Christmas decorations get taken down and packed away for next year.  The 12^th night is the day that the 3 wise men arrived in Bethlehem, taking gifts to the baby Jesus.

The French celebrate this day with a special cake called the ‘Galette des Rois’ (the King’s cake).   

Note the plate with numbers to ensure it's divided equally!

This frangipane filled cake is served up according to tradition on 6^th January.  A lucky charm – known as a fève (originally a bean, but now more often a little porcelain figure) is baked into the cake.  As story goes, the cake is divided into enough slices as people present, and one extra, for the first poor person that passes by.  The youngest person in the group decides who has which slice, and the person who finds the fève is crowned king or queen for the day.  When you buy a Galette des Rois it usually comes complete with a paper crown.

 

You can still find them in the shops and the bakeries, and each year more exotic flavours are added to the recipe, a hit this year was the chocolate chip brioche style galette!

 

Whatever you do this week in the Gironde and Dordogne regions, have a lovely time.

Best wishes,

Helen

notjustfotheholidays@orange.fr

 

Week 2 

 

Coming up...

And finally...

 

 

The Winter sales 2023 have been set by the préfecture for a period of 4 weeks starting on Wednesday 11th January at 8h00 until Tuesday 7th February.
During the sale period, shops are usually allowed to open on a couple of Sundays. 

So, now's the time to bag a bargain...