Our Last Night in Frontenay

Me shooting the spider

It's Tuesday, and the first thing I wanted to share with you is the wonderful photo above that Karla took of me.  If you look closely, you can see that I'm photographing the "French" spider that I posted a picture of on Facebook yesterday.  Super photo, Karla!  Thanks for sharing this with me.  Today is our last full day in Frontenay, and you could find our artists painting all around town.  Here's a picture of Lynn painting a courtyard scene just a few houses down from where we are staying, and a photo of her lush palette.

Lynn Gertenbach painting a garden courtyard scene

Lynn's beautiful palette

Julie asked us to all meet up at the church at 12:30 for a group photo.  Iren and I took a leisurely walk, and arrived at 12:30, only to find that no one was there.  Only the sound of bees buzzing and cows mooing.  Did we have the wrong church?  This town's not that big, so we figured we were in the right place.  In true artist fashion, one by one, they began to trickle in.  Karen made the most of the waiting time by photographing our profiles.  Hmmmm.....I wonder what she's got up her sleeve.  The group photo was fun and creative, and Julie took the shots, so you will just have to wait for the results of that!

Laura looks on as Karen shoots Julie's profile

After the group shot, I took a ride with Lani, Lizz and Kim to the neigbhoring town of Saint Jean De Sauves.  Lani and I went in search of a good cup of coffee, while Lizz and Kim continued on to find the local beekeeper.  I always find that when you walk around the towns here in France, it is filled with small delights.  I loved the metal detail of a figure that I've pictured below.

Metal window detail of a figure

I am also taken with the tiny cars here.

Adorable elderly little Frenchman gets into adorable little French car

And then we saw this red object.  Any ideas?  Maybe a fire hydrant, or a charger for an electric car?

Any ideas what this is?

Lizz and Kim came back to pick us up with excited stories about the local beekeeper and the many flavors of honey that they make and sell.  This may call for a field trip for the rest of us tomorrow morning.  Upon returning home, there was more painting to be done.

Lizz and Kim working on a still life out on the patio

And then, of course, came dinner.  Tonight was our last dinner here at the house, and I will truly miss the luxury of having someone prepare a delicious dinner for me on a nightly basis.  What a gift that was!  We had the pleasure of Tant Robert and Christiane visiting us once again tonight for apertifs, and we also had additional guests.  Annette, a shop owner from Richelieu and Daniel, her boyfriend from Paris, both delightful art lovers,  joined us for apertifs and dinner, on Cate's invitation.  We thoroughly enjoyed their company, and it made our last night here extra special.

Laura Wambsgans with her winning smile

Beef Bourguinonne

Dinner tonight was Beef Bourguinonne with fresh tomatoes, parsley potatoes, and squash.  And for dessert, our own Joan Brancale made us a delicious bread pudding with caramel sauce.    Tomorrow our story will shift gears as we head on to Paris.  But for now, I will say bon nuit!