Welcome back and bienvenue to new subscribers – it’s lovely to have you here!

Here’s some gentle reading for you… light-hearted stories, moments of escape and general all-round nonsensical balm as a little distraction from the mayhem of global events.

Let’s begin : )

Alethea x

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In rural SW France, early balmy temperatures mean it already feels like Spring. My camera roll is rapidly filling up with blossom (simply cannot help myself), the birds are out, bees awakening and people have already started the annual lawnmowing cycle. Meanwhile, I need to investigate the battery situation (apparently, you’re supposed to remove the battery over the Winter – I did not know this, doh) before joining them.

Everyone & their dog now has a newsletter…

…however, dare I say, not every newsletter has our distinct personality! This edition marks the one-year anniversary of Adventures & Ateliers, which feels like a big deal.  As I mentioned recently on Instagram (link here), most newsletters lose momentum, readers, or both and fizzle out long before they reach their first birthday. Yet here we are, on edition #25, still going… and growing 😃

It appears you lovely readers enjoy it (mille mercis!), with an average 64% open rate, which for non-analytics folks, is very high indeed.

So, this feels like a good moment to say thank you to all of you who read and engage with these ramblings… from me, and from this particular dog! When I say it’s lovely to have you here, I really mean it. I particularly love your comments and input, and am grateful for how many of you have shared A&A with family and friends – thank you all so much 😀

In village news…

There’s an upcoming election for the all-important job of Maire (mayor), along with the supporting municipal team. The Maire plays a critical role in rural life, and having someone competent, dependable and genuinely acting in the best interests of all residents makes an enormous difference to the smooth running of the commune.

Unfortunately, this particular muppet (moi), hadn’t quite clocked the voter registration dates and missed the deadline. I’m now relegated to spectator status and crossing fingers my preferred team win 🤦‍♀

In an attempt to redeem this admin-fail, I did at least manage to attend the recent Assemblée Générale du Comité des Fêtes. Since a new team took over, they’ve been much more proactive in organising more village events.

Aware that my name may still linger in the comité memory due to the car and fireworks incident (some erroneous parking on my part), I’m keen to redress this by contributing some of my events and (yes!) organisational competence. I’ve also developed a small bee in my bonnet about holding a vide-grenier in the centre of the village.

By the end of the meeting, I’d at least managed to add a vide-grenier and some communal pizza oven nights to the agenda and volunteered myself as the publicity bénévole (volunteer). Next year, once I’m full of energy again, I’m pitching for an actual spot on the committee!

I’ve also just returned from a brief trip to London which provided two highlights: seeing my lovely aunt, uncle and cousins, and…being reminded, amid all the London hubbub, that I’m most definitely a country girl these days!

The 2026 calendar for our perfectly formed little house is now open and filling up fast : ) Apparently one of the most loved homes on Airbnb!

Over the past year I’ve hopped about across the various aspects of this little Adventures & Ateliers world, in both subject and time, gradually creating some mini-series along the way.

For this anniversary edition, I decided to gather some of these series threads together. Initially it seemed like a helpful map for new subscribers, but in pulling it together it’s also been a rather useful exercise for me… highlighting where there are obvious gaps and stories waiting to be told.

None of these stories is wholly compartmentalized (and I haven’t even tried to group my ‘This week’ ramblings into these 🤦‍♀ ) but I’ve grouped some of them with links by their main theme to make wandering through them a little easier.

So if you’re new here, or simply fancy revisiting a few stories, consider this a small (not comprehensive) guide to some favourite corners of A&A…

Looking at it this way, I realise there are still rather a lot of stories waiting to be written!

Back to more Snapshots of the Domaine Les Plonges ‘journey’ next edition.

Possibly you found your way here via Instagram? @domainelesplonges? If so, an extra Bienvenue! You’ll already know I love a good visual. So here I’ll share others and a little more context behind the images…

Whether it’s discovering unique work by artists and designers from near and far or rummaging through vide greniers, brocantes, and hidden treasure troves, I’m always on the lookout! I’ll be sharing my favourite artists, designers and sourcing spots together with more prosaic general things I find useful here 😄

With early warm Spring temperatures, it’s time to ensure Summer preparations are in place and in order. As I’ve become more aware of the seasonal rhythm of life here, I’m slowly improving on my preparedness – no more foolish scrabbling about in May! At least, that’s the plan.

Moustiquaire human entrapment

During my first week of becoming acquainted with ‘Madame’ I methodically went around the property inspecting every corner, notepad in hand as I began the first of many, many lists. Opening one of the second-floor windows then required releasing the accompanying moustiquaire (mosquito / fly screen) in order to peer out and inspect the zinc. Additional effort was needed to release the catches at the base of the shaky old frame until finally the net pinged up only to yank my hair with it. Ouch.

My attempts to wrangle free merely resulted in a fetching net head wrap and defunct moustiquaire. This entrapment served its purpose, neatly alerting me to the somewhat frayed status of all the existing screens. Many had long ceased effective functionality given they were littered with multiple mouse-sized holes so this job suddenly jumped to the top of the list. 

It’s important to state at this juncture that we are not horribly plagued by mozzies here, but, as in most warm climates, they are about and I’m keen they are discouraged as much as possible from setting up shop at Les P. 

Installing moustiquaires on all windows, both replacing the old ones and adding new screens where there had been none, initially felt relatively simple. Measure, order, fit, job done (by someone much more competent than me). However, it soon became clear that ‘Madame’ was not a fan of these additional window dressings, making each tailored window fitting a frustrating, curved edge experience of man versus ancient uneven stone :) Initial attempts led to being thwarted by millimetres of inclining stone, invisible to the naked eye but sufficient to render several cut to measure frames impossible to fit. Aargh. 

Once all the window screens were in place (and no buzzing flies or midnight mozzie search parties were required) attention turned to the main doorways. First-up came a sliding insect screen for the kitchen doors. I believe this lasted exactly one day before the puppy (Digs) charged straight through it 🤦‍♀ Next up was a chainmail style door curtain, not aesthetically pleasing, but quite effective. Romy, however, was scared of it and I got fed up of it tangling in my hair so that didn’t last long either. Now, in Summer, I simply (rather frequently!) remind everyone to shut the door both for the bugs and heat. 

Perhaps touch wood, but I don’t seem to be one of those people mozzies particularly favour and I’m ok with that! However, two years ago the whole region had a lot more mozzies than usual, and unfortunately for her, my sister turned out to be their favourite dish that Summer. So, since then I have significantly upped the ante on deterrents. 

First up were the Thermacells, not that I’m obsessed! These little diffusers are pretty effective, supposedly creating an 20m2 insect-free zone and are perfect for dotting about unobtrusively on terraces. However, with the recent advent of tiger mosquitos across southern France, I upped the ante further and invested in two Excellium mosquito-control machines. Thoroughly researched by a friend, and now adopted by several properties in the commune, we’re slowly creating an invisible village wide mozzie protection dome, with each machine supposedly protecting around 500m2. While I wouldn’t say they are one hundred percent efficient, they are remarkably effective. 

With a rather overgrown fountain and pond, awaiting its renovation turn, I have also become evangelical about Bleen Bio Anti-Moustiques granules. Chucked into any areas likely to collect stagnant water, or shady parts of the garden, and totally safe for animals and birds, these disrupt the mosquito breeding cycle. I’ve also taken to casually adding them to nearby abandoned ponds on dog walks! 

With a healthy population of natural mozzie predators here (lizards, bats and frogs) and some judicious planting (citronella, mint, lavender, lemon verbena etc) it’s altogether becoming a less welcoming environment for these pesky creatures.

A practical Q this edition for the gardener’s amongst you…

Simply put, for two key reasons:

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