Meg is psyched!!!!!!!!! Its Friday…Its another chance to eat her dinner and nap…..and she is super excited about  this new blouses I just listed on the site!!  Lillian was excited too but would’t stay still long enough for a photo.  She’s like a canine hummingbird!!

CLICK ANY OF THE PHOTOS TO BRING YOU TO THE PRODUCT PAGE AT THE WEBSITE

Each is one of a kind, hand painted and pieced together one element at a time!!  I am trying to choose a variety of garments which each will fit a varied range of body sizes and types.  If you have a request for any particular color combo or garment please feel free to ask!!!   Some gorgeous handbags are on the way as well with my one of a kind batik designs on themd

OHHHHHHHH Yummy!! This tunic below is a knockout too!!! Steve said when I finished it “you are gonna want to keep that”.  And he’s right….both of these pieces are so mouthwatering in the color combos I can’ t decide which I like best!!

CLICK THE PHOTOS TO ACCESS THESE ITEMS ON THE WEBSITE

If you would like to give one of these as a special gift I will be giftwrapping them to the hilt and adding little surprises in the packages.  I will also create a matching beaded necklace and/or earrings for an extra charge (holiday pricing) if you are interested in completing the ensemble with jewelry

AND ARE YOU PONDERING WHEN THE TRAVEL BEAD TRUNK SHOW WILL BE…MY MOMS DOG REDDI IS!

We now have an official date of Sunday , November 15 for the opening of the show!!   The LIVE aspect of the show will be in the later afternooon to early evening so most folks will be home and to be able to turn your volume on.   I will be sending out an official notice this weekend……but mark your calenders now for the 15th!!!! I’m so excited at all the wonderful goodies I’ve been able to get ready for you to consider!!

And last but not least…some wonderful scenes from around the hilltowns in Provence France.  A nice autumn  day to usher you into the weekend

I have oodles of photos of old beautiful buildings taken from the car

Here is another view of that castle in the middle of town I showed you…just amazing history here

A grand old tree given a haircut to allow for the semis to pass though

I loved the handpainted work on the side of this vineyard building

The only person we ran into that early morning in the Medieval hilltown was this sweet lady who took a shine to Steve (thank gawd someone liked him..this was right after the cat tryed to spray him….lol) ..She spoke just enough English for Steve to understand her

I love this shot above…so representative of the mood

And how gorgeous and simple is this??  As I leave you with these photos of our amazing time in French country, we will be heading down to our own wine region in Carlton Oregon for one of our fave events at SCOTT PAUL WINERY  called

La Paulée de Carlton

Originally the La Paulee  was intended to be  for the winemakers, the cellar workers, and the community dependent on the harvest. Each winemaker would bring along a few choice bottles and, with music, dancing and speeches.  At Scott Paul they have been very generous to include their patrons in the celebration and we wouldn’t miss a single year with this hard working and beautiful family celebration.  When we were in France we saw a few of the wine makers whooping it up with their own impromptu La Paulee’s

The camera is coming along so hopefully I will have lots of fun pix!!  Have a super weekend my dear friends

HOT FLASH FUSION!!!!  Of all the people who could have won this lavender oil , you are one of the blog readers who might appreciate it’s “source” the most from your own experiences in Provence years ago!!   This is  a totally random drawing so it’s always so exciting to see people get things that “fit” their personalities like Vonnies scarab!!!

If you read her comments , Vonnie really wanted one from Egypt badly!!  You will also see you are getting a tigereye scarab pendant HFF, which I attached to the vial!!

The oil was purchased at the base of this Medieval hilltown we were kicking around in…what a place!

HERE IS A USEFUL WEBSITE TO RESEARCH THE USES FOR LAVENDER OIL.

I’m waiting to ship this very primo vial of pure essential oil to you until I get my shipment of teeny vials with dispenser pipettes for you to divy up this treasure to share with friends if you like.  I found that a few drops in some unscented lotion or carrier oil, used at night will put you to sleep within 15 minutes if used on your temples and pulse points.  OMG I love this stuff!!! A little goes a long long long way!!!! The lavender was grown right were we were visiting north of Cassis

And above is a very fun video I’ve been working on to put as a trailer on my new GRAFFI-TV channel!! It’s up there now as well as here on the blog.  The song is SO fitting so I hope you can turn your volume on too!!

SHOPPING AT THE GRAND BAZAAR IN ISTANBUL, TURKEY

Some more lavender from the local market in Provence

And totally off topic…I wanted to show you all what I did with one of my Lotus Trader cami’s I hadnt’ worn yet.  The beige just wasn’t “me” so it’s been sitting in it’s shipping bag.  For some reason this just seemed to be the perfect solution!!  One of my new Turkish Evil Eye necklaces I made is on the neck too.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2677/4040924767_cea8013175_b.jpg

Steve in the outdoor lobby of our B and B in Cassis

Typical French Breakfast above…Tea or Espresso and a Croissant

What a whirlwind tour of the south of France this has been …..we just arrived back at our first B and B in Beune and are resting up for a great dinner at a restaurant we made our first visit a week ago.  The photo above starts where we left off….arriving in Cassis.  This is where we were writing to you from in the “lobby” garden of the B and B

Some goodies at the early morning Cassis Market…we get up about 6-00 to get in on the local market fun

This area was just phenomenal and I sure wish we could have stayed longer!!  We just have a great excuse to come back!  That boat photo you all liked from the Iphone turned out so funky cool didn’t it?  That was at dusk and the colors came up so surreal.  I do agree it would make a great painting.

A CHEESY TOURIST SHOT…i HAVE MY DAUGHTER TO THANK FOR THIS HABIT

We went up the coast for a few hours and stopped in some of the harbor towns and walked around.  The towns varied from quaint B and B sort of towns to upscale Yacht Club /Casino areas.  Those are a bit touristy for us but this time of year it was soooooooooooooo quiet.  The perfect weather in the upper 70′s and not to muggy.  The summers get brutal and that’s the height of tourist season.  I highly recommend going in autumn.  OMG it’s gorgeous!

ANOTHER MARKET FIND

The sky and clouds yesterday were so dramatic, it was hard to take a bad photo!! I chose a couple of fun ones here from the coast to show you but have over 3500 images to sort through…the best are yet to come when I get my sea legs back after we return home.

OUR B AND B ATOP THE HILL

Last night we arrived at our Medieval hilltown  B and B at dusk and after getting the bags up a flight of very scary cobblestone steps (it was fun nonetheless) we went out into the town to hike the alleyways and look over into the vistas as the sun set.

A STUNNING NEW KITTY FRIEND AT A WINERY ENROUTE

Oh you guys………………..this is my kind of place!! Hilltowns always make me hear voices…..in a good way I hope you understand…lol!! I can hear the laughter of children of Medieval times echoing down the cobblestone paths…the dogs barking….peasants chasing the cats away from the fish preparation area

THE VIEW FROM THE HILLTOWN

STEVE AT THE BOTTOM OF ONE OF THE SWITCHBACK COBBLESTONE STREETS

….the clip clop of horse hooves as the men return from a good day of patroling their hill and bringing home a hare or boar for dinner too!!

ONE OF THE RESIDENT DOGGIES

As night fell I can imagine as the children retired to their straw beds in the little niches of the stone walls, the hushed voices of the adults as they sat around the fires or the hearth to reflect on the day over French vin (wine…pronounced “va”)

THERE WERE FOUNTAINS ALL OVER THAT ECHOED THROUGH THE NARROW STREETS

Yes I have a very vivid imagination…just ask my mom…but this is the stuff my best dreams are made of and to live it out for even  just a single night was heaven for me.  I didnt’ want to leave!!

OFF TO TOWN FOR A  LITTLE PRE DINNER SHOPPING!

MINE MINE ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL MINE!!

ANOTHER MINE MINE ALL MINE MOMENT…STEVE JUST BOUGHT ME A NEW ARTISAN PANDA

AND JUST AS IM WRITING THIS POST..IN WALKES STEVE WITH A STEIFF PANDA FROM HIS WALK IN BEUNNE!! omg i LUB THAT MAN!!!

A new day dawns….today we wake up with the roosters on top of the hill to find ourselves completely alone in the town.  It was a slice of heaven!!

We decide to go down the hill and grab a pastry and coffee at an outdoor cafe in teh very brisk air, then off to visit an obscure hilltown off the tourist path called Crestet which was highly recommended if we wanted solitude and great photographs

We thought our hilltown with the B and B was perfect till we arrived at this storybook fortress perched on a high jagged peak overlooking the grape vinyards.  We were the only “outsiders” on the hill.  The families were waking up and you could hear the clanging of pans, the roosters crowing and even the echos from the ladies humming as they cooked breakfast…talk about a time warp.  This was REAL life in a REAL place .

BE SURE TO SEE THE NEW AUDIO BOO i POSTED FOR MORE DESCRIPTION OF THIS AWESOME TOWN

aT 8:00 am church bell starting ringing.  The echos bounced off the buildings and the other hills so loud you would have thought it was a symphony…just for us!!

To “discover” a stunning original mosaic like this hidden behind some scrub shrubs is a sight to behold.  It sent chills up my spine.  Who created this wonderful work of art from such tiny tesserea of stone and pebbles? I would have loved to have met them in person!

What more can I say….this hilltown was one of the many highlights of our 3 week journey

This photo pretty much sums up the mood , the chill in the air and just imagine the churchbell overhead.

Steve just told me it is going to be 45 degrees tomorrow AM when we head for the 3 hour drive to Paris..brrrrrrrrrrr…the coldest day yet and you can see the vines starting to change color in some of the photographs above

The cobblestones are all original and a beasst to walk on.  You wonder how the Medieval residants ankles held up.  Was it Elise that mentioned ankles earlier???  Maybe Vonnie???? I can’t remember but it does a number on them at any rate..lol

But DANG the cobblestones do make the most artistic photographs and I am looking at them 85 percent of the time to prevent falling with my bad vision.  I see floors first…scenery second.  I have to literally stop,,,take my pix, then move again on this kind of footing.  No snapping as I walk like I do other places

That warm morning light……………it’s worth getting up early when the camera loves it so much

So until my next blog post when we arrive home, check out the Facebook updates to the right as well as teh audioboos in case I get a WIFI moment at the airports to say a quick hello and update again

Thank you all so very very much for following our adventure.  I truly hate to see it come to an end but there will be another coming up in February as my friend Gayle and I set off on our Thailand /China journey to visit the pandas, moonbears and Asian Elephants in Chiang Mai

You all made this trip extra special and we appreciate each and every comment.  You all put so much time and thought into your posts….we talked about that a lot.  We are very blessed to have so many wonderful friends on this big beautiful planet.  As soon as I get home I’ll start getting together the treasures for my drawing so stay tuned!!

Love always,….from Sandra and Steve, Bling,Humphrey,Beaune, Beau, Mini B….and the new Steiff panda to be named soon!!!

Omg we r staying in a hilltown and have the entire castle to ourselves. No wifi. No tv. Steve and I have to actually “talk” to one another ?????

So for dinner the choice for restaurant in town at the bottom of the hill was a prerequisite of wifi access. I’m typing fast because my gambons are on the way

We took some of the most phenemonal photos of our entire trip today. Torrow we will be back in beune at our first hotel and we van post all the awesome pix!!!!

For now we relax and you can enjoy a twee iPhone tidbits from today. We are sitting next to a couple from the uk by the street at a cafe and having a jolly good time

Man…what a challenge this blog post has been to get up !! Bad WiFi is the theme of travel blogging and we’ve had some real issues here getting a connection.   On to the good stuff!! We are in Cassis and having such a great time!  I could stay here for weeks.  Too bad we need to move on today   but it gives us an excuse to come back again soon

The drive through the mountains heading to the coast was spectacular!!!  We kind of had the road to ourselves and the day was beautiful.  A few sprinkles but then it cleared up again.  Last nite we got a rock concert of a thunderstorm at about 2:00 AM which woke us up.  Check out the Audio Boo to hear the rain and thunder….its the first rain we have seen on our whole trip and was actually very refreshing

Here’s another striking bird we need to indentify.  Anyone want to help??? Check out IBird.com and look in Southern France if you have time….I can’t spare the Wifi going bad to check right now but am dying of curosity!!!  They are very “magpie” like.  The other black and while bird in Istanbul turned out to be a “Hooded Crow”  These kids were so elegant and very long tails and legs!!

So we gets to Cassis and lo and behold we find a roadside market which was on a side street…basically a locals shopping place and not a tourist market.  We were the only shoppers that weren’t French.  Steve spots the jools first and bought me 2 gorgeous necklaces (below)

These aren’t the necklaces I got but were equally beaituful

The vendor packing up my goods!!! She was so darned cute and sweet.  See that blue glass one going in the bag? Ohh yummy and these necklaces were only 5 Euros each!!!! Under 10.00 usd

Here’s another monster necklace I got from her

So far these are the only sunflowers we’ve seen…none in the fields yet.  I am not sure where they are planted or maybe they had an early harvest.  We’ve been on main drags and off road too and not much of any farming other than the grape vines

Look at the gorgeous imprinted pattern in all the Cobblestone in Cassis.  I love these little details!

This was our lunch menu they brought to tableside.  We had to wing it bigtime!! No English spoken which made for an entertaining and exciting lunch

i ended up with a spicy blood sausage , salad and potatoes and Steve got a bizarre fish with really big spine and bones.  Both outstanding in every way!!

Live doesn’t get any better than this…a local French Bulldog comes to our table to beg for bits of goodies.  His name was “Rasta” on his tag.

Rasta really was such a sweet boy!!!! He knew how to melt the customers hearts

We had no room booked for Cassis so we grabbed a cute hotel room on the waterfront at a great price.  A typical teeny European room but it did have it’s own toilet which is a BIG bonus

I feared for Steve this morning whether he was going to be able to get out of the coffin sized shower!! OMG he looked like a big caterpillar emerging from his glass  chrysallis.  I was laughing so hard.

And then there is the shopping in Cassis.  HFF…I see why you loved it here so much!! I’ve taken some special photos for you I’ll show you later

That shirt is MINE!!!

Another short burst of rain and we were under the cafe awning for a quick cup of tea

I love this photo of Steve…I can’t wait to do it up right in Photoshop

These  Flowers were everywhere and really glowed

Well I am not going to push my luck!! I’m posting this while the internet is still connected and need to grab  some breakfast!!! Will catch up with you all later today!!

ABOVE IS MY HUGE DESIGNER STERLING NECKLACE i GOT IN ST REMY AT THE ART MARKET

And I put a comment in the sidebar about those “bee” things a few of you have asked about.  They are so cool!!

Hugs from Cassis…Sandra and Steve