live for today and enjoy every moment….

It was my plan to have pots and troughs in red white and blue to reflect the patriotic theme for this year and I did succeed to a degree, but sadly nearly a month too late. Oh the agony of gardening, how the Chelsea gardeners get it so right, so often, is a skill I will forever aspire to. But, here they are and I have many pots all growing in the same theme but alas I fear I may lose the alyssum and the white will fade into a brown mess but the principle is there and the power of photo proves it.

I was quietly ironing the other day in deep contemplation, I like ironing so no need to sympathise, and I had a feeling of being watched and found this little fella at my feet making his way through the house. He had rings on both legs so we knew he is a homing pigeon and obviously thought he had made it and was looking for his little home comforts. It is not the first time we have had a ringed pigeon visit,  but, indoors just pushes the boundaries.  As he does, Mike fed and watered said pigeon and showed him the front door and pointed in the direction of the sky and said, go, but  not this guy, he stayed with us for over a week and sat on the drive with Cat and HOSS and Napoleon as his buddies . We went away for a few days and when we got home he was still there. I am pleased to report that it has now been a few days and it seems he got his GPS on line and hopefully he is now home and happy.

 

 

 

 

We packed up the camper and headed for le Loire valley to see a chateaux or two and made it to Amboise. It was a funny few days away  as we were not that impressed with the chateaux having spent 30 euro to visit and came away hankering for a bit of history we could relate to but the gardens threw a few inspirational ideas about and for me that is the reason to get away.

 

 

 

 

 

I took one look at this gravelled wood and crooned ….ooohhh we could gravel over the wood, take a picture so I won’t forget this moment……Mike dutifully takes photo of me but I know he would never agree to gravel  over the wood …..not even a little bit…..

 

 

 

 

 

When you see a statue like this you just got to sit on it and what a treat to get close up and familiar with a bit of art like this.  I am not going to describe what I was sitting on but this fella was in proportion and you can just see the shiny brass where millions before me have stroked him in wonder. Art like this should be on every street corner for us all to enjoy…

 

 

Because HOSS has now taken possession of the garage to the point that we now call it, Kennel, we decided to fit a bike rack on the tow bar so we can at least take our push bikes with us. We did have a nice little bike ride much to the disgust of our legs and backs for a few days after, but if you don’t use it you will lose it and this is our half-hearted attempt to stay fit, but the rack looks good and gives the right impression but if you were wondering when the next ride out might be…..can’t be sure

 

 

 

Our little outing was not without drama . As always I took my work away with me but came up against the frustration and upset of not able to get on line and the guides not respecting the fact that I am away and called with queries and problems I was not able to deal away from home, so I took the opportunity to send them all 2 weeks’ notice and I am freed up to be more creative with my time and find something else to do that does not involve a 7 day a week commitment regardless of what is going on in our life. Mike was delighted I have finally realised what a tie the job had become and although we are now back to pauper status we are happier and can’t wait for the end of the month to hand over the computer, commitment and responsibility back. Needless to say no one is indispensable and they all got on and managed without me,  I did not want to shorten our holiday to get home and on line so Mike drove the camper into the garden and we spent our last night in the best camp site this side of the English channel….chez nous

 

 

And Lastly a spontaneous moment and a phone call later and here we are sat on a blissfully peaceful evening with Shirley and Mark to celebrate the longest day 2014.  Food, drink, a patio heater with a lot of laughs eased us onto the other-side with our days now getting shorter, so live for today and enjoy every moment….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

project to challenge my artistic flair

Blog 15 June

 

It is DDay time and our region has been a WW2 military vehicle car park for the past week. It is the strangest experience trying to get around and being confronted by 1940s vehicles and people, it is a real time warp and possibly a little distressing for those who were actually there, but the energy and passion that goes into keeping this world famous event alive is extraordinary

Mike and I have a deep founded fear of traffic jams and getting cornered in a place you have no control of getting out of, so we have as normal avoided all the big gatherings because we live here and we can catch up on new memorials in peace, after the go home period.  We did however step out at the moment the sun went down to share the coordinated firework display along the DDay beaches. We went to our local spot at Brevands point and were astounded by the crowds already there at 10.30 but managed to park along the road and walked in but as we waited for the spectacle to start Mike and I were clocking the continuous flow of cars down the one car wide road to the now full up car park and as the fireworks started and the flow of traffic was still flowing, we waited for the last stragglers to treble park in the car park and made our way out. The fireworks were too far away to make us want to stay so we did our great escape and will wait for a report from a local about how they were stuck there until one in the morning.

 

 

There was one event I did want to do and that was to see a vehicle parade but from past years’ experience they never happen when they say they are and you can end up on a town street corner waiting for hours as these events are not organised but spontaneously created by a gang of owners in the mood for a cruise. I did however get my wish come true as we made our way out of Brevands to go shopping.  Mike pulled over to let a Jeep through and we were cornered for about 5 minutes as 100 military vehicles ranging from motorbikes to petrol tankers and lorries swung past us on a round trip through catz and up through the Brevands  Avenue back into town. I did all my waving and clapping hands and Mike was happy that I was happy without the discomfort of standing around on a street corner.

 

 

 

We went into Carentan early on Saturday to get parked up and have a look at the Military car boot called a bourse Militaire and realised this is no way the last time this will happen,  it is big business and the quality of 2^nd hand anything to do the with the world wars was amazing and for sale…..we took a walk around Arizona camp which is a live museum where all the participants dress, eat and sleep as though they were at war….with the fear and upset, blood and guts left out. The hobby of collecting is fascinating but the dressing up and playing soldiers is a little harder to fathom, but good on all those who did show up in there 100 thousands keeping the DDay story alive.

 

 

 

 

The weather was fantastic all week and our pool warmed up nicely, our re-enactor customers had packed  their uniforms and set off home having lived their dream of being here in 2014, and we got our garden and privacy back.  We slopped about in the pool for a whole day, well not a whole day as it was lawn cutting day as well,  so we finished off with a grass cut and weed killing session

And finally yet another lorry of gravel to put another layer in front of the barn and to cover my Italian garden. Mike hired a mini digger from our local goat farm and spent all day moving 14 ton of sand and gravel into place. It took as long as it would have done by hand but the energy saving was immeasurable on our bodies and for that I was delighted. Now we wait until next year to put a final dressing and the job is done. Getting the area in front of the barn gravelled has been on our wish list for 4 years and now it is done

 

 

Ok then, the pumpkins are in and we are on our way to being the pumpkin growers’ champions for Normandy.  Our friend Shirley got the notion to start a competition to grow the largest pumpkin and Mike and I were in there before she had time to get her own seed sewn. So we have given over a whole raised bed and we are determined to get a gong on this one

 

 

 

 

 

The Italian garden is my little madness as it will need lots of attention but I am in the process of potting up my garden so one day when we do need to leave we will be able to take some of it with us. So now vide grenier Sunday is an opportunity to buy cheap pots and architecture to make this work. Mike  has installed our water cart so  that I have a constant source of water……I am so excited and as I have discovered that I love plants in pots and this is a real  project to challenge my artistic flair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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