to be surrounded by lovely people all over again …….

blog 29 / October

I broke the news to Mike that the Poly tunnel needed closing and that meant a huge ‘mend’ job on the doors. We took the doors off in the spring in a tattered and sorry state and thought we had months to think about how to get them back into working order for the winter, and blow me down here we are already. Mike set to, as he does, clonked and bashed away whilst I was picking and prodding at the beds and in a morning’s work got the poly back together. Now all we need to do is re-cover it completely and we have months to go before spring, when that job will need to be done, and before you know it ….!!!!!!!






I know I have been bleating on about the odd unseasonal sequence of growth in the garden this year but a gladioli in flower on the front drive on October 16^th is ridiculous……but lovely. My only fear is that this bulb is now spent and will not make it into flower again next year, but I will just have to keep an eye on it and keep you informed.

 

 

It was my turn to celebrate my 60^th birthday and I wanted to sit around my table in the kitchen and just be with friends and that is exactly what we did. A very sing song evening not all in great tune but a funny and rowdy night is the only way to start the next phase of one’s life, and I was delighted especially as Mim and Dick had made the trip from the UK to be with us as well

 

Mark came with his violin and after a little home spun concert between us we sang ditties and told jokes and I laughed till I cried. Thank you all my friends for making a difficult birthday, for a lady, seem like a walk in the park……

 

 

And then after a day of rest I was sat in the garden with Shirley and Mark just passing by to say hello when a car rolled onto the drive and I stood up saying oh flip…. who could that be……..I had the surprise of my life to see our boy Chris get out of the driving seat and brother Billy closing the gate behind them. Chris, Sam, Billy and Maxine had started off at 5:00 that morning to take the channel tunnel and drove all the way to my house to take me out to dinner for my birthday. It was not good enough that I had Mim and Dick with us for the week now we were a family gathering and I was touched to the bottom of my heart that everyone around me including Mike had been plotting and organising to give me such a wonder full surprise.

 

 

I was whisked off to Grandcamp Maisy for a fab meal thanks to Billy and then everyone just went to bed, and I  realised just how much Mike had been up to, cleverly getting the spare room ready and warming up the camper so everyone had a warm bed.  Sam did make a comment that Napoleon the cockerel had to die, they were very tired and we all know that Napoleon starts his cockadoodling at 4:30 in the morning, and knowing we had guests made sure he was in full voice for the occasion.

 

 

 

Before I could appreciate the impact of this group of very special people being in our home for my birthday it was all over and the house was quiet and empty and ringing with the sound of happy people doing wonderful things for me. Mike was a brick and made sure there was no way I was going to miss my surprise but  I am now on my guard, as I don’t know what he is capable of in terms of lies and deceit, but  I love him to bits  for making  it happen. I am also amazed that Mim and Dick were able to keep their lips tight shut and not let the cat out of the bag and I am just delighted that this birthday was made extra special despite living on the other side of the channel…….

 

To avoid the sound and feel of an empty house,  I had planned  to get away for a few days in the camper. Every time we have company I go into a melancholy state and I am so glad I anticipated this trip as I was on a double dose with all our friends and family there one moment and gone the next. So we set off for a trip to Chatres to rediscover a bit of art I saw 10 years ago on our long leave trip of Europe

 

When we got to the cathedral I was reminded of the architectural marvel but was more excited about the choir screen that I had seen all those years ago and never really understood what I had I been looking at. I did my research so I more understood when in front of it again, and Mike walked me around the 40 sculpted deep relief panels dating from 1510 to 1720 twice. The rest of the cathedral is in the midst of a very French style restore and I took this pic to show the beautiful ceiling and vaults and the screen section already restored and I now await with bated breath for the screen to be cleaned and restored  like the rest of the building. Mike is a bit of a groupie as he has to follow me anywhere there is a statue as I am a complete nutter for an ancient figure in any medium as long as it is telling an ancient story ………

 

 

 

We took the guide book’s advice and found our way to a street where an artist had been let free to create this trompe d’oeil as they call it. The entire front of this building is painted and the windows were very convincing. We stood in front of it for ages and it seemed to me we were the only ones looking up but I guess it is out of season and the people passing by see it every day

 

 

Mike and I are discovering that driving through France is a hit and miss event. You just don’t know what is around the next corner and as all the regions only deal with what is in their region anything we picked up in Chatres office of tourism would not advertise interesting sites to see next door. As we approached our third way point on the gps on our way to Villiers Bocage we noticed a huge wall that seemed to go on for many kilometres and we became more and more curious about what might be behind such a wall, as  it went  the village of La Fert Vidame and out the other side until suddenly the road opened up and to our left was the ruin of a palace. The gardens were still outlined, the water features in place. We drove past but we knew we had to go back and parked up to take a look and this palace that had been derelict since the French revolution. In the 1920’s Mr Citroen bought the estate and built his development track in the grounds……well we were so very excited about this find that when we got home we goggled the village and found that this pocket of amazement is a public park open all year and just around the corner is a camp site that is closed now until May, but guess where we will be going as soon as the season starts…….can’t wait.

So I had a wonderful birthday and I will put this week in the blog file as a truly memorable time and to add this to the rest of the year with Mikes birthday party in May and our family gathering in July here in Brevands,  I can now gather up an armful of happy memories to keep for every.

It is not all over though, we will close this 60 years with a new year party and the chance to be surrounded by lovely people all over again …….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a virtual market stall and see where it takes us.

Blog 28 October

 

 

Sometimes Mike and I are shot through when the most unexpected happens and especially when it involves French culture and the approach to a concept. Mike received a voucher to get into the international faire in Caen ( like an ideal home exhibition with lots for the garden as well ) We decided if one of us can get in for free then perhaps we could make a day of it, so  we queued with our voucher in hand and spoke English as we went up to the ticket office but I asked for one ticket and presented our voucher in French. The lady asked if we were foreigners and I explained that we were English but lived in France thinking that perhaps the voucher was not valid for visiting foreigners. The cashier asked if we had British passports and we said we did so she thrust a form through the window to fill in. We felt a huge bureaucratic situation coming on and huffed and puffed a little until she explained in her slowest and loudest French that all foreigners get free entry, so we filled the form in, using an English address and both of us got in for nothing  and it is written on the ticket gratuit  etranger…. Foreigners free…..what a turn up, and that is a concept gone silly as I honestly think that the offer is for visiting foreigners and not foreign residents, but who are we to argue the point so we  spent our entry fee on a little lunch and even smaller beer for the money….but we had a good time as we are committed to do a bit of home  improvements in 2015 and we made contact with a few companies for quotes and information so it was a good and interesting day out

Autumn is truly with us although the days are still balmy and warm, the ducks are enjoying a gentle entry into the winter season and as they are so young we are not too worried about protecting them, every day that passes in this warm and sunny October takes us nearer to winter in the nicest possible way. I had to rush back for my camera on my walk with HOSS in the garden as I saw that one of  our pear trees was strung with dew covered webs looking autumnal and crisp but at the same time there were four  unseasonal blossom flowers. We have daffodils showing their green leaves in the back yard and new growth on the apple trees, we need a cold winter to cleanse the bugs out but this  out of season growth effort is all going to go to waist….shame

We finally got around to laying out our stumpery and as usual Mike brought out his toys to take the effort out of the work. I always kick myself for giving him such a hard time when he was buying all this kit all those years ago. Every job we do is calculated for least amount of effort and it always involves a Mike have-to-have bit of equipment.

 

 

 

So the stumpery is in place, packed around the bug hotel in the damp and dark part of the garden. We now have a place to dump any misshaped trunks as this is the season for tree chopping, and we have earmarked at least 4 trees that will come down before the winter sets in, so we are well prepared, and I can’t wait, chopping trees down is such a lot fun and groundingly productive ……

 

In 1990 or there abouts I had a year of excellence. Mike trained me to take my motorbike test and I spent a year taking piano lessons to prepare for my grade one piano certificate.  I achieved both my ambitions and I rode a Honda 100 to work and played my piano every day. Mike then bought me a Honda 500 and I took it three times to the office and realised that girls just don’t look great with helmet hair and the prospect of riding home on a wet day left me cold and unnecessary. With a perfectly good family car sitting on the drive, it did not make a lot of sense . I can therefore, honestly say, I have not ridden a bike in 15 years so when I saw the moped on the drive having its run up, I bit the bullet, donned my very funky helmet, and went for a wiz around the block. Mike stood at the gate in horror as he is intolerant of my car driving and riding his bike just took the concept of unconditional love one step too far….. But it was fun, and I was forgiven
 

I have at last got my act together and have taken over HOSS’s old kennel room as my own. Up until recently it has been a  Beema stuff storage place  and slowly Mike has been reinventing uses for all this equipment we had on board. Finally, there was space, and I claimed it for my sewing room. Mike asked me what I really, really wanted for my 60^th birthday and I said without hesitation that I needed a new sewing machine as I had been muddling along with my 36 year old Singer and more recently I have been trying to make sense of Mike’s Dad’s tailoring sewing machine which does not have enough gadgets for my liking. We did a bit of research and It seems you get what you pay for and as I prefer to buy from a shop that I can go back to, if things go wobbly, we set off to St Lo to the Singer Sewing Machine Shop where I was advised and cajoled into spending much more than I expected  to spend, but Mike reminded me that I am launching myself into a little cottage industry and you can’t do it half-heartedly. So I am now busy every day on catch up to produce these unique one off cushions.  I have stitched  them, unstitched them and stitched  them again,  researched different backings, inserts  and closures and I am now happy with my end product, that  I would not hesitate to buy myself .

Mike is there supporting me in my decision making, and when I see a needlepoint tableau I think I can use he always makes me stop and consider. The latest purchase is the three horses tableau that I have had my eye on in our local second hand shop for over a month and today, I offered the owner what I thought it was worth to me and he accepted with a huge melancholy sigh. I never pay top dollar for my needlepoint as I have a lot of work to do before I can sell on.  Mike and I are now using our car boot events (vide grenier) and our weekly visits to the depot vents with a much more open mind on interesting vintage  items,  We will soon go online to set up a virtual market stall and see where it takes us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

duckiwucks, they make me laugh…….

It’s been a week and a half since I frogmarched Mike to market so I could buy some ducks to fill the pond. We visited our duck and hen breeder who we have been buying from since 2007 and he always has a kind word and asks with interest about our French experience and is genuinely glad to hear we are happy and settled in France. I let him know swanny had passed over and he commented that at least now we can go in the pond area, such was swanny’s reputation that even the hen breeder knew of his antics. So I asked for three  female and one male duck and he plunged his hand into the cage and grabbed, in no uncertain terms,  what he promised were trois fille et un garcon, I even asked him to make sure and he reluctantly had a look and assured  us we  had what we had asked for.  Remembering however, that my four  baby hens ended up being a mixed coup  with one extra cockerel and one less egg layer, but hey ho,  we are obliged to  put our trust in this man, who then , threw my darling little ducks in the box, turned the box upside down and punched an air hole with his knife leaving me padding about like a quacking  mother duck complaining at his rough handling. I grabbed   my 16 Euro worth of traumatised, but cute duckiewucks and headed home

 

 

 

As always, I mentioned to Mike that the Babies will need a new home and in his wonderful way he revamped the old  duck house into a comfy house for four and I am hoping that we can train them to go to the house to lay their eggs. Now that we can use the pond area collecting eggs will be less of a life threatening event and duck egg breakfast is no longer a dream.

 

 

 

 

 

Mike and I went to the local vintage car show and spent an interesting morning  pottering down memory lane and I could sense that Mike would really like to  own a little honey like this, to care for, and take out,  on a Sunday afternoon, he has been on the bon coin ever since our little outing showing me  everything that is available …mmmmmmmm

 

 

We are making a real habit of sleeping on other people’s drives, and this has to be the grandest to date.  We were invited to a 30’s theme dinner with Ray and Marianne and we turned up dressed like lord and lady Bracknell with dog in garage, had a wonderfully long evening in palatial surroundings eating and drinking to our hearts delight,   then all we had to do, was throw ourselves to bed and sleep, sober up, and go home safety in the morning. ….. wonderful……

 

Our good friends Ron and Pauline came to visit on their annual Spanish camper holiday and stopped off to see us on their way home. Their camper has parked on our drive every year since we have been here and we always look forward to sitting at table and catching up with their news. In March this year we camped on their drive so we have set the scene for years to come and looking forward to our next camper fest 

 

 

 

HOSS is so used to having this camper on his drive that he let Ron and Pauline drive through the gate while we were out and then promptly felt he had the right to get in and make himself at home. He is a softy when it comes to campers and if I say… get in the camper… he is at the door before you can say …..only joking…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike and I have been in and out of the pond area clearing up and have now decided to turn on the fountain again. We are still not sure about the water quality but can’t see how it would be polluted as the top well is good and the water level is so low in the pond that we need the well water to top it up. Mike usually has to don his waders to go to the fountain but as there is so little water he donned his wellies and cleaned the fountain head which sent the duckywucks scooting off for the undergrowth until they got brave and then came out to play

 

And finally, all is cute on the pond, the old Duck has now accepted the young interlopers and is not quacking them off at feed time. By now, ten days later she is showing them the way to go, and they are an entertaining clutch on the water keeping me clucking around them.  They now  come waddling or paddling up to see us when we go past,  and I know I am a softy but I like waddling and paddling duckiwucks, they make me laugh…….