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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

for me that is fantastic and probably well deserved.

Spring is most definitely in full bloom and whist working in the allotment I was just nailed to the ground and forced to wonder at nature’s way and the promise of fruit through flowers. It is rare that we look from this angle of the garden so now I am planning a sitting place in the allotment so we can just sit and look, but not with  a glass of wine.... and I will tell you about that later

 

 

 

 

The raised beds are going well and we are now ready to set about number 4. We need to have a huge bonfire soon and the moment the wind is in the right direction we can play November  5^th and rid ourselves of all this tree rubbish. We are having the area in front of the barn scraped to lay a hard standing and that will give us the soil to fill these beds but we are going to have to loam the pile first and have lovely relaxed soil for next season.

We finally got the man around to investigate our problem with a fire not drawing well and Mike struggling with a migraine headache as soon as the fire is lit and it appears that the tube had collapsed in the chimney and it needed to come out. Whilst our man was dealing with the tube and had the kitchen covered in plastic sheeting he did a 300 Euro chimney sweep and at the first thought you might wonder why so much, but I witnessed the apprentice with his head stuck up my chimney behind plastic sheeting pushing his little machine, up the chimney to scrape years of burnt on soot and then vac it all out.  There was outcry to stop little boys being sent up chimneys in the 1700’s, well I can honestly say that this young apprentice worked just as hard. He was very polite and happy to be working, with his black face, grubby clothing and not singing chimchimeny …….thank goodness

 

 

 

You would not think that his could cause so much anguish and cost so much to replace and put right , the invoice rolled in at 1 300 Euro but now it is done and we have the factures to prove it was done properly this time, if we ever get around to moving on and moving out we will need that bit of paper......

 

 

 
 
 

We did it again ……we visited  the gravel pit to look at prices and gravel  size, we  only went there to suss out a project and  mull over the logistics of it all  but before we knew it we had a 14 ton lorry load of 0/20 ballast being delivered.  Every year we have had a lorry deliver either gravel or ballast for some project or other but this pile felt like the smallest ever delivered and we can only guess that we have got blasé but I find this so very exciting.  Gravel or ballast is the start of something big and today we started digging out from the front of the barn, extending the top car park and moving non interesting mounds of soil to give us fillers for the raised gardens in the allotment

 Dean came with his digger and also brought his dumper so Mike took the role of labourer and between them they moved an astonishing volume of soil to the top carpark. They also flattened out an area in from of the patio to put the swimming pool on this year and then they attacked the top car park and moved a mound and pulled down three huge trees so that wecould double the size of the parking area.  All very good but you can never imagine just how much soil a day’s work can produce

 

 

 

 

We have more than enough soil to fill the raised beds, but cast your eye on the massive pile in the next garden there is tons of it and we will have to come up with yet another cunning plan to deal with it……laters

 

 

 

 

 

Dean has offered to leave the dumper here for a couple of days to help with moving of the gravel and the rest of the soil, we have a bobcat coming on Monday, Mike driving, so we do not have to use wheel barrows to shift the ballast but with the dumper as well we are well equipped in hard ware but where we find the energy and motivation is any ones guess

 

 

Mike is now much better and is having physio which if nothing else makes us both stop and relax for  45 mins twice a week. Mike’s physio lives in Brevands and I have been very happy to sit and  chat in French whilst he pummels away on Mikes back.

I had another session with my ears nose and throat specialist and he is stumped as to why I still have a sore throat after 9 months and why my hearing has not put itself right either……I could do his job I'm sure…….! but we are now at the point of very drastic measures and I have been forbidden to drink alcohol, caffeine and eat anything that I know throws my digestion into a temper. It is day three and I feel like I am coming off drugs, it is not funny and I am not having a good time but Mike is having a hoot dumper truck driving and is in full control of all the current projects so I can have a few days off and for me that is fantastic and probably well deserved.