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….