the best 60th birthday party ever…..

 

 

 

 

 Blog 19 July

 

 

Well it is official, we are 60 and there is no getting away from the fact… this pic was taken a week before our party at Shirley and Mark’s house and I am choosing to use this as our official 60^th year photo

 

 

 

 

Our week of celebration started with the arrival of Chris and Sam who stopped overnight then packed up our camper and took a few days off in Brittany whilst the rest of the family arrived. After all the preparation, the shopping and checking of lists our family arrived in warm basking weather and the  promise of a fun filled few days together

 

 

 

 Mike and I had planned to have lots of activities in terms of games and outings but we found we were all happier sat around the table just chatting and that was perfect for us, it is so rare to have relaxed time  to sit and chat, to  chew the cud …en famille

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our mobile homes were full, the house was full and the brave campers camped in comfort with all mod cons.  We added one more camper with the arrival of Mike’s cousins Colin and Jill who drove up from La Charante to join us for the big party night. 

 

 

We played Boule and walked around the garden and here is the moment of big debate to see who is the closest to the jokey and no matter how much  you try to play this game as a laugh it suddenly becomes serious and everyone becomes concentrated, at least until the dinner gong goes or the pop of a cork echoes across the gardens.

 

 

 

Every morning we all met on the patio for breakfast  and those who stayed on site met up again for lunch and every night was party night. A thunderstorm threatened on BBQ night and Billy suggested we should perhaps get under cover before the heavens opened and we were then entertained by nature herself with the most spectacular lightning and thunder display that kept us all awake most of the night after the party had finished.

 
 

 

 

 

On the night of the Party we had planned to be 25 around the table under the stars but as we made our little speeches to thank our family for making such a huge effort to be with us in Brevands there was a flash of lightning and a rumble of thunder and with 30 minutes to go before our friends arrived we decanted the whole party into the barn ……just in case……..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chilly and rice seemed a bit of a warm dish for such a hot and muggy night but the wine flowed and laughter and fun resonated high into our beautiful barn roof.

 

 

 

 

 At half time we all took a walk through the garden for a breath of fresh air and change of dinner partners before the sun set a chance to see the garden at dusk

 

 

 

 

 

And then the karaoke started and only those who saw it to the end  will live with the memory with a grin and a chuckle …………mmm

 

 What a fantastic time we had, a birthday party to be remembered and treasured, full of love and family, in our garden, in our home, here in France

 

  And then it is all over, and  everyone has to go home… glad to say parties left at different times, each goodbye a melancholy to bear… but there is always the next time and we hope it will be soon…..

thank you our  family and friends for the best 60^th birthday party ever…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

if you are not talking to your plants, then you are not a real gardener…….

 

blog 18 Blog

 I am a real sucker for the rogue and opportunist plant that shows its head just in time to be saved and appreciated. This little bunch of lobelia has grown from seed falling in a crack in the front step from the basket hanging above this place last year.  The seed has lain dormant all through winter and germinated all on its own to become this gorgeous and perfectly formed plant growing out of a slab of concrete.

We have a sun flower by the gate to the pond that has done exactly the same and is now being honoured and protected. There are also two sunflowers where last year’s patch was but is now the middle of a new path in the allotment but  they have shown themselves and they can stay and we will enjoy their life cycle with them

The allotment is coming on very well and we are already at the end of the broad bean crop and will make that bed the strawberry bed for next year. We had no rain here for a month and we have been watering most evenings and I was getting a little concerned for the sweet corn but then the heavens opened and we had solid and consistent rain for a day and a night and the sweet corn opened and bulked up in front of our eyes and now they have their feet firmly in the ground we can look forward to a healthy crop in August.

 

 

 

Our new Rose garden has been overrun with dahlia so we will have to put labels on these plants before we lift them for the winter to understand their size and colour so we can give our rose garden a chance to blossom and thrive next year. We planted a home propagated box hedge only a month ago and this week mike applied its first trip. I am fascinated with boxes of box hedge and wherever I can I plant a box of box for architecture and culture… Mike bought me a battery operated trimmer so I can get out there and trim and shape myself so this little hedge is set and established and after its trim it has understood it’s purpose and future and I for one am delighted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally we had to take the decision to lift an ailing Hydrangea and replace it with a new and healthy one but in my forever never say die to a plant policy I have re-potted it, trimmed it, watered and spoken to it with a firm promised that if it beefs up a bit I will find a place for it again next year…..that’s gardening for you, and if you are not talking  to your plants, then you are not a real gardener…….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

officially called nasturtium mound …….

My goodness me it is already the end of June and if it were not for the fact that the days end at midnight and the sun is beating down on us I just would not believe it….where has the time gone.  This is a photo of our visiting re-enactors who were with us throughout DDay week. They sent us this picture and a picture of their house way down in the South of France. Alaine  made us promise that we  would not sell up without letting him know as he wants to  live up here close to where his passion of dressing up as a Gi and driving about in his American command car is common place,  where nobody bats an eyelid at the spectacle.  I guess the picture was sent as first contact in case we might consider a house exchange in a few years’ time. We have Googled their area and it is hot hot hot and very dry but they have a pool and who knows how we will be feeling in a few years’ time.

I handed my job back and was thanked for all my efforts by the new owners with a lovely plant. Mike and I have been busy making flower beds this year as our garden is very much park design with no beds to tend just wild and energetic scrubs to slash down once a year and nettles and brambles to keep at bay so a new plant to place is a treat. I woke up unemployed with no anxiety as to whether the DDay tours I organised for that day would happen, not waiting for the phone to start shrieking to alert me that the customer was lost or a guide was lost or worst still the French trains were lost. And now, Mike and I talk to one another over breakfast and make a day plan and we have not done that in over 18 months, joy oh joy

 

 

A few years back I stole seed pods off a bush  in Carentan Marina because I liked the look of it . We had no idea what the plant   was called so we  just named it  Marina prickly plant until our friends Pauline and Ron came to visit and called it …. Broom. I grew these  seeds into massive shrubs and we moved them three times before we were happy with their position,  One autumn we were driving past the Marina and noticed that the broom had been pruned  to an inch on its life, just a collection of stumps in the ground and I moaned and groaned for days about the heavy handed way the French gardeners treat their shrubs…….but  this week I had to eat my words as I now know why every few years Broom needs putting back in it’s place because left unpruned  it  bolts in growth  and then collapses under the weight of the flowers  just as it is looking good and you  have visitors coming and you want everything to look right….so a touch of grannies rope knitting to hoist it all up so it will not damage itself even more. We now have a new line of the list of autumn jobs....give the Broom the Carentan chop…

 

 

 

And finally the nasturtiums I transplanted in May to the mound are looking good and healthy despite the lack of rain so we took down the rabbit protection and I have a splash of colour and this garden is officially called nasturtium mound …….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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and with the cost of bread these days, necessary……

Mike and I gave up the TV and an evening of work to go over to Apperville to listen to my choir perform in the church. They have a new choir mistress who has completely turned this gang of 50 songalongs into a serious and competent choir. I was sad that I can no longer be part of this blast of success but it was good to listen to a well-balanced program although the pews were intolerably uncomfortable which sadly makes sitting for an hour and a half a real challenge, especially for Mike who dislikes choirs and anything live.

 

 

 

 

I was working in the lounge engrossed in my things to do list when I heard a bump and a rustle, I thought nothing of it as I guessed HOSS was rummaging around in the kitchen. The day after I heard the rustle again and thought it was Mike walking about upstairs then on the third day Mike heard it and he thought I was rummaging about in the kitchen then on the fourth day we both heard it sat in the lounge and had our attentions focussed on the fire place and the realisation that we had a father Christmas in our chimney. Mike then set to taking the fire surround off and when he pulled the board out this is who fell out. We had prepared ourselves and left the double doors open and closed the other shutters so whoever Father Christmas was going to be, would just fly off and grab some fresh air,   but ohh no, our little visitor decided to stay on the curtain pole with no desire to move on, so we gave him time and ­­­had a chat and gently convinced him it really was time to go

 

 

 

 

Over the winter we bought 5 gunnera cuttings from a lovely lady we found on bon coin and then potted them up and here are three of them spending this summer in the bath ready to be planted out next year up in the garden, two of the plants are in the pond area but I really fancy a gunnera garden and if we can keep these happy my wish  will come true

 

One of my ducks died last week and when Mike described the position he found her in I was not happy as she did not die in her sleep. Mike took this picture of swanny and the remaining duck and it is clear that swanny has her by the neck and my suspicions were confirmed that in play, swanny probably killed her, but she was 8 years old and I think in ducky terms that is a jolly good innings but as always, swanny is forgiven again and again and again for being such a nasty piece of work

 

 

 

Mike and I were walking around the garden a few weeks back making a mental note of what needed to be done and the mound was a bone of contention. I wanted to plant some of my privet plants to develop a cloud clipping and mike suggested chucking a hand full of nasturtiums seeds but I dislike planting seed in place and prefer to be in control using  the sow and pot on method, so neither ideas were taken up. We were then working in the allotment this week and found that one of the raised beds waiting to be planted was full of little nasturtiums looking fab but in the wrong place.  Mike suggested I transplant them to the mound and there you go, without any effort Mike gets his way and in a mornings work the mound is now nasturtium corner and very nice will look too in a few weeks’ time

 

 

 

 

 Cock a doodle doo, my gorgeous cockerel doing his thing and keeping us up with all the local gossip as when one cockerel starts up they all join in and we know an event has happened somewhere in hen land

 

 

And then there is Napoleon our pet cockerel who now wonders around the garden at will. He joins us when we are eating on the terrace and when Mike goes on the field he runs over to greet him. We call him Napoleon because he is small, stroppy and French and insists on attacking the big cockerel just to feed his ego so  we may just rename the big cockerel …Wellington

 

 

The allotment is starting to look great and the construction work is finished, it is only filling the beds and planting them and that will finish before June smacks us in the face

 

 

And finally, I have been using an old stair case propped up against the wall as my boot store and as Mike had another set of steps in his work shop doing nothing I suggested it might be good to put them together to make a clever set of shelves and then the idea blossomed and underneath, could become a home for HOSS. In an afternoon of make it up as you go along I had exactly what I wanted and more. I can now sell his proper cage as he now sleeps in doors and does not need a full blown kennel. The other great thing here is that Mike built this from stock.  We try now and then to have little projects where we only use what is in stock and recycle as much as we can, very satisfying and cheap and with the cost of bread these days necessary……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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next year we will be millionaires, in garden terms of course.

blog 13 may

Mike hired a neat little bob cat for the day to get the gravel from the top car park to the barn and whist he loaded I raked  and in a few hours the barn terrace had a good 1^st coating of gravel. To safe the lawn Mike was filling up and trundling down the road to our main gate in a very noisy and rattily dumper on a French bank holiday when all the French were in with their families enjoying a day off but as soon as the pile was gone we shut down and shut up to give them all a bit of peace then our neighbour lit a bon fire and smoked everyone out  so we did not feel so guilty after all .

 

We had another 14 tons of gravel delivered to finish the top car park but took one look at it and decided to take a few days off and we packed hoss and his toys and broke free in the camper to Falaise. We did the tourist visit to the castle and actually found it very interesting and a jolly good morning out. We then hit the road into Swiss Normandy but it rained to the point of distraction until we decided to stop at a camper stop in Villiers Bocage where we ate roasted chicken finished off with ice cream which for us is a real treat, we have a camper with a freezer …bizzaar but fun

Whilst it rained on our little break we were content in our minds that the garden was being watered and that is always a worry put to rest until of cause when we got home we noticed that it had not rained a drop and had simply followed us up and we then had 3 days more than anyone else of high winds and nonstop rain. We lit the fire that is now behaving well and just take a look at what happened to my candles. Our friends Shirley and Mark came for supper and asked me where I got my funky candle sticks from, well we had to laugh and there they will stay as Brevand art forever

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wind were so fierce that it tore my beautiful rose off the barn wall, it had nearly reached the eaves and was just about to flower and tiimmbbeerr it came crashing down as mike was walking by and was very nearly rosed on in a big way

 

 

Mike hit his big  six ooohhhh  on the 13^th May and I was not going to let it go by without a party. Geoff came over to spend time with his brother on his birthday so I bundled up our gang of mates for a chilli and rice supper with crumble for afters then a darts tournament which, oddly enough, Mike won…..so someone was watching down on him on his big day. Canada and Australia came to wish him a Happy Birthday using technology we could not have dreamt of  60 years ago, then the day was over and Mike is now peering  into his 61^st year wondering what all the fuss was about. I kinda hoped he may turn grey to match me but alas no, he remains looking dapper and for those who know him well, not so good for 27, but a very passable 59.

 

 

 

 

 

We have set the barn up with all our left over sofas and arm chairs and it makes for a very jolly evening where we can all sit down chat and catch up  only having to get up to play in the tournament,  get a drink and find a new seat and a new chat

 

 

 

And here we are having just sang Happy Birthday we managed to stay in the barn until  11:30 before our old bones started to complain as the temperature started to drop. It is only May after all, and happily Mike had the foresight to light the fire in the kitchen and a few of us finished up around the fire until it was tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone for your best wishes for a very Happy Birthday…..and it was.

 

 

 

 

And finally, I did a slow walk around the garden with HOSS this evening, the first good evening in weeks and I wanted you to see the raised gardens in full swing, the broccoli cabbage and beetroot are all ready to go into the third bed and we are prepped up for the  the 4^th. The whole place feels more controllable and this time next year we will be millionaires,  in garden terms of course.