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Post by breeze on Mar 20, 2015 21:28:01 GMT
Patrick, I agree with your take on the new Upstairs Downstairs and Downton Abbey.
I appreciated the breeziness of Upstairs but just didn't care much about the characters. I did care about the characters of Downton Abbey, till suddenly I had had it with the whole batch of them, for which I of course blame the writer.
Keeley Hawes was a pleasure to watch in The Moonstone (costume drama) and also in Wives and Daughters (also nice costumes).
Bixa, for lovely costumes of the 20s, the Phryne Fisher series from Australia is one to watch.
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Post by breeze on Mar 20, 2015 15:24:48 GMT
So it looks like all these buildings were built after the Champagne fairs ended (which happened after 1285; I looked it up). Even more evidence of wealth in Troyes, then.
I had the sinking feeling viewing these outstanding photos that if I ever went to Troyes, I would see about a tenth of what kerouac saw and photographed for us.
Thank you, kerouac!
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Post by breeze on Mar 20, 2015 0:39:48 GMT
When I think of Troyes I think of the Champagne fairs held there and a few other towns, when thousands of people came to buy and sell cloth, leather, furs, spices, and whatever. The fairs were well organized and secure, a tribute to the Count of Champagne and his bureaucrats.
You can see the wealth that poured into Troyes in these houses. Amazing that they have stood so long.
How long will those discount malls stand?
I am a sucker for half-timbered buildings too, lizzy. Before our last trip to France I found a website listing historic buildings and knocked myself out trying to map them for each town we were going to. Then we went to Bernay in Normandy and in one afternoon I saw enough wonderful buildings that the pressure was off for the rest of the trip.
Bernay is not a patch on Troyes for number of buildings, but the buildings in Bernay were in much better condition and most were in use.
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Post by breeze on Mar 19, 2015 19:00:43 GMT
I tried andouillette, in a restaurant I had confidence in. The smell wasn't horrible, but once was enough.
Troyes has some fine old buildings. Too bad some of these aren't kept up, but it's probably difficult to find a modern use for them, with their awkward interiors.
Are those leatherworkers about to break into song?
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Post by breeze on Mar 18, 2015 14:45:38 GMT
That was supposed to be Mick, Mick.
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Post by breeze on Mar 18, 2015 14:45:20 GMT
Mic, what's a Ruby?
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Post by breeze on Mar 18, 2015 1:11:19 GMT
You see things like that in a cold climate, where a tender plant is bent over and the top is partly buried for the winter. Supposedly that's how you get figs through the winter in Phila and Chicago.
It looks like there are leaf buds on the top of these roses, so I think these plants will be released to stand upright when the worst of winter is over.
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Post by breeze on Mar 17, 2015 0:00:05 GMT
Troyes has been on our list but we are so lazy once we get to France. Maybe your photos will make the decision for us one way or the other. No pressure, though.
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Post by breeze on Mar 10, 2015 20:08:08 GMT
Casimira, both those roses are beauties. The internet says Madame is nearly thornless. Now that's a trait I appreciate in a rose.
Tod, yes, I was thinking of the dog. We used to have a "helper" like that. He loved freshly dug dirt.
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Post by breeze on Mar 9, 2015 15:29:39 GMT
Casimira, what kind of climbers do you have in mind? Or is it a case of you'll know it when you see it?
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Post by breeze on Mar 9, 2015 15:26:32 GMT
Tod, I like your garden, and wow, you have two garden helpers. The little one looks more decorative than useful, but obviously feels he (or she) is good-looking enough to compete with roses.
Nice-looking soil, too.
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Post by breeze on Mar 9, 2015 0:39:03 GMT
Lizzy, I also fell for Venus when I saw it in a garden this summer. My note says it has the largest flowers of any Cornus. But $180, no way! So I looked it up online in the Forestfarm catalog--they have it at $69 for a 5 foot plant. I choked on that amount, but maybe you'll feel that $69 is a steal compared to $180. www.forestfarm.com/product.php?id=1433
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Post by breeze on Mar 7, 2015 1:43:24 GMT
Gorgeous orchids. Everything looks so well cared for.
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Post by breeze on Mar 6, 2015 3:34:19 GMT
You have cherry blossoms already, lizzie? What a nice thought. Wish I could reciprocate but all I have to share at the moment are icicles.
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Post by breeze on Mar 6, 2015 0:35:00 GMT
2015 has been anow. Snow. Snow. Ice. Snow. Ice. Snow. Time to check the forecast and see what surprises are in store for us tomorrow.
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Post by breeze on Mar 3, 2015 19:41:22 GMT
That agapanthus is an unusual blue. There aren't enough blues in the flower world as far as I'm concerned. kerouac, I did not know that about humans improving many of the blue flowers. Mick's photos from Kew show quite a few lovely blues that developed their blueness all on their own.
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Post by breeze on Mar 3, 2015 0:58:44 GMT
Those dendrobium are perfection. I say that even though I've never seen one before that I'm aware of, and I only know it's a dendrobium by the label.
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Post by breeze on Mar 1, 2015 1:47:30 GMT
Lucky you. You'll have fun putting everything in place, especially if the plants have been kept separately.
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Post by breeze on Feb 27, 2015 22:00:30 GMT
It looks so tender. Kew takes good care of their little ones.
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Post by breeze on Feb 27, 2015 12:56:57 GMT
I wish I lived near Kew, but this is the next-best thing. Thanks, Mick.
Those purple irises are knockouts. Even if the chipmunks left me a few this year, they won't be that perfect.
Could that delicate little thing in the next-to-last photo be a hellebore? It's so dainty.
If this were a catalogue, I'd be placing an order.
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Post by breeze on Feb 27, 2015 1:53:28 GMT
Yesterday our seed order came in and I sowed strawberry seeds in a flat. At this time of year my garden is perfection, in my mind.
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Post by breeze on Feb 27, 2015 1:51:27 GMT
Mick, the one I mean is in the ninth photo down (or fourth photo up from the bottom.) It's the yellowish striped plant kind of in the middle, behind a purple bulbous iris. I thought the label for the striped one said iris, but the leaves don't look very iris-like. Maybe I'm trying to read the wrong label.
Everything is so fresh and delicate.
A lot of these look like rarities to me, but maybe they are widely available in England?
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Post by breeze on Feb 25, 2015 18:28:20 GMT
Signs of spring, albeit thousands of miles from here and under shelter, but I'll take what I can get.
These are like little jewels, better than jewels to me because they are alive.
I can't make out the label on that little striped one. Is it a Russian bulbous iris? Such pronounced stripes. Very nifty.
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Post by breeze on Feb 17, 2015 15:44:04 GMT
Provins is a place we'd like to go but I figured it is always swamped with visitors. You've shown me that on a foggy Monday in February you can beat the crowds.
I'd be interested to see anything about its past as a Champagne fair town.
If the loi Macron is passed, he will be the modern-day equivalent of those Counts of Champagne with their eye on improving the economy, to their benefit, of course. Not that M. Macron will personally benefit from longer Sunday hours.
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Post by breeze on Feb 17, 2015 2:09:47 GMT
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Post by breeze on Feb 17, 2015 2:07:44 GMT
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Post by breeze on Feb 17, 2015 2:04:55 GMT
The garden village of Chédigny is on a French gardening show this week, Silence ça pousse. It’s available to watch for one more day (Tues. 2/17 is the last day). pluzz.francetv.fr/videos/silence_ca_pousse__,118298639.html The Chédigny segment starts at about 28:00 and ends at about 35:00. Usually I can get English subtitles for this show but not this time. Too bad, because I could have used some help.
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Post by breeze on Feb 16, 2015 20:14:26 GMT
Such evocative photos. Everything looks lush, green, and swampy--Homosassa Springs is everything PA is not right now.
On the plus side, we have no alligators in our hills.
Please reassure me that there's chainlink fence between the photographer and the alligators.
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Post by breeze on Feb 16, 2015 19:19:45 GMT
Thanks, htmb. I remember now that I read this thread at the time, but I wouldn't have thought to look it up before our upcoming trip. On the way back from Florida, yes, I'd remember it.
Your pictures show why we go to Florida. One of our best previous experiences in Florida was visiting Wakulla Springs, and Homosassa seems to have even more of interest. I'm emailing our friend, hoping we can put this on the agenda.
That clear sunlight on sparkling water has me glued to my screen to avoid looking at the unrelenting white outside.
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Post by breeze on Feb 15, 2015 22:43:09 GMT
Yes, Mossie, apologies for injecting Florida into this nice thread and for putting images of palm trees in your head. You put images of English woodlands and sunken roads in mine, so I hope we're even and happily so.
htmb, thanks for the advice.
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