Sepia Scenes Au Naturel

Today I wanted to find out what would happen if you turn a natural sepia,

.... into sepia.
I think I prefer the natural sepia. What do YOU think?


Find more Sepia Scenes here.

Sepia Scenes, An Experiment

For this week's Sepia Scenes I did a little experiment with this picture.


I wanted to see what kind of different moods the picture would get if I highlighted

... the people in the background ...

Or only the Ricard ...
Which makes it look like an advertisement, but I kind of like the effect on this one ...


Or the whole table ?
Which one do you prefer?


Find more Sepia Scenes here.

Photo Hunt "Hats"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "hats"


This picture was taken in Saint-Rémy, in France when we were on holiday there in June.
It speaks of summer .... I'm counting the days ...


Click here to visit more Photo Hunt participants

Photo Hunt " Wide"

This week's theme is "wide"

The water is wide

And I cannot get o'er;

Nor yet have I

The wings to fly;

Bring me a boat

That can carry two

And both shall row -

My love and I.

Down in the meadow

The other day,

Gathering flowers

Both bright and gay,

Gathering flowers,

Both red and blue,

I little thought

What love can do.

I leaned my back

Against an oak,

Thinking it was

A trusty tree,

But first it bent

And then it broke,

Just like my own

False loving be.

Oh love is gentle

And love is kind,

Bright as a jewel

When first it's new,

But love grows old

And waxes cold

And fades away

Like the morning dew.

There is a ship

And it sails the sea;

It's loaded deep

As deep can be,

But not so deep

As this love I'm in.

I know not if

I sink or swim.

The water is wide

And I cannot get o'er,

Nor yet have I

The wings to fly;

Bring me a boat

That can carry two

And both shall row -

My love and I.

I found a very nice version of this old Irish song by Vangelis. Just click on the radio to hear the music.

Discover Vangelis!

Wordless Wednesday, Christmas Fair

Christmas fairs are fun to visit this time of year.
We crossed the Belgian border to Lille, France last Sunday,
where I snapped this picture.
Click to enlarge it to see more detail.

Visit other Wordless Wednesday participants here.

Photo Hunt "Favourite"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "favourite".
I had to think about it, I have so many favourite things.
But it's got to be this one:
It was taken at the swimming pool of our favourite place to be,
La Provence France in Summer.
Summer is one of my favourite seasons, and my favourite footwear are flip-flops.
I wear them all year round!

Visit the other Photo Hunt players here.

Photo Hunt "Metal"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "metal".
I saw this wrought iron frame in Crestet,
a lovely little village in the south of France.
My husband and I were taking pictures
when the owner of this house arrived and started a conversation.
He even invited us in to show us the breathtaking view from his patio.
When we came out again, I took this picture.
You see, behind that metal frame, there is a mirror glass panel
which hides their swimming pool.
They can look right through the glass from inside the pool,
while on the outside -which is near the street-
all you can see is a reflection of this beautiful view.

I have a slide show with pictures of Crestet on my computer as a screen saver.
I had almost forgotten about this picture until I saw it appear on my screen.

Click here to view other Photo Hunt pictures.

Ruby Tuesday, Coeur de Boeuf Tomato

This is not just any tomato.
It's a Coeur de Boeuf.
My favourite kind of tomato, I always buy them when I'm in France.
They are huge, one tomato can easily weigh half a kilo.
I love the firm texture of the flesh and they taste absolutely delicious.
Just slice thinly, drizzle a little bit of olive oil over it
and a sprinkle of sea salt, that's all it needs really.
Don't worry if they are still a little bit green on the outside,
they ripen from inside out. Just leave them
at room temperature for a couple of days to get this rich red colour.

I was so happy I found one last week
(they are very hard to get here in Belgium)
that I just had to make it my Ruby for this week.






Visit Mary the teach at work of the poet for more Ruby Tuesday pictures.

Sepia Scenes, Music to my Ears ...

For this week's Sepia Scenes I'm sharing a picture I took
while on holiday in La Provence, France.
The first one is the original picture.
I usually try to avoid any disturbing items (such as street signs for instance)
when I take a picture. However, I did not have the nerve
to take this poor man's water bottle out of the way.
So I cloned the bottle out of the picture by using my Corel Paint Shop Pro x12.



There. It's gone!
Magical!



To make it look like this I used the photo effects sepia option.


For more Sepia Scenes, visit Mary the teach at Sepia Scenes.
She always has something interesting to show us.

Photo Hunt " Ruin"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "ruin(ed)"
(Click to enlarge and discover the carved details in the top wall.)


Every little village in La Provence, France has one ...
This is the ruin of an old church in Eygalières,
a small village not far from St.-Rémy.

Find more Photo Hunt players here.

Photo Hunt ...... " Lazy"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "lazy".
I know, I already published that one before,
but I really can't help it, it is my favourite one.
My husband and I took pictures from every possible angle,
and that cat never moved a muscle!
It's the cutest lazy cat I've ever seen,
and she was in front of a house in Goult ( La Provence, France).
I wanted to photograph this for my blogging friend Evelyn,
who rented this house once while on holiday there.

For more Photo Hunt pictures themed lazy,
visit the other players here.

Thirsday Thirteen ... Poppy's

Poppy's, one of my favourite wild flowers ever since I was a little girl.

Because they had a very wet spring in Provence this year
there were still a lot of them around.

It's a very fragile flower, one you can't pick or keep in a vase.

But it looks gorgeous on a picture.

As a single with hope for the future.


Twins ...


Looking good no matter where they grow...
Even when they whither

Opening Doors, Love at First Sight

I really should not throw this on the Internet,
but it's my very special "coup de coeur" in la Provence in France.


This doorstep tells of many visitors.
I would love to open it too someday.
It's a house that has intrigued me from the first time I saw it.
And I'm usually not wrong about "at first sight" ...
Honest, I never was ...







Join in, if you want to know how this meme works, just click here.
It's fun, it's simple.
See you!

Bridging the Gap The Notre Dame Gateway

This is the Notre Dame gateway in Pernes les Fontaines,
She bridges the river Nesque,
and she is a part of the old rampart walls, built to protect the old city.






This picture gives a good view on the gateway and the fortified walls,
this is what you see if you walk from inside the old city walls
towards the bridge over the water ...

and here you can see the bridge itself ...





I want to start another challenge this week called "Opening Doors" ...
The only thing I want from you is to post a picture with a door in it.
A door, a gate, ... even a detail of a door.
Old or new, it does not matter, as long as it is a door, right?
It does not HAVE to be a new picture, you can browse in your archives,
anything goes ...
This challenge will start on Monday September first and end next Saturday.
You don't have to join in EVERY day, if you don't feel like it,
I'll install a new Mr Linky every day, which you can sign when you participate.
I'm really looking forward to this ...
If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask!






Tomorrow there will be a Weekly Winners,( as usual)
and the final episode of Bridging the Gap.
Don't forget the others at Alice's blog!