My Mum and
Dad had Calla Lilies at their wedding and I have always had a soft spot for
them. Mum and Dad would have been married 70 years on 15th May this year but even though they are no longer with us we
still think of them. You can imagine how chuffed I was when we bought this lovely
home in 2007 and found Calla Lilies all over the place and this year has been a
particularly good year for them and I am delighted.
We never
actually had them at the front gate but they have seeded and found a good place
to grow and flourish. I am also a bit chuffed as this picture was taken at
21:51 on 21st June, our longest day, and here I am still out in the
garden watering, taking pictures and shutting down the polly tunnel. These long
balmy days are just the best thing ever, and whilst Mike catches up with a film
I have no interest in I am out here keeping up with summer before it is all
over again for another year.
I did a
terrible thing when we got back from Canada and stupidly got my French sewing
machine plug and connected it up to my beautiful new singer do- it-all
machine but it made a very ominous futt sound and I knew at once that I had done a bad
thing. Mike started to look at the situation and a light bulb lit up in his
brain and we realised that we had not taken account that there are still
electricity power differences and I probably had just blown the circuit board.
Mike did what Mike does best and took the machine apart to scrutinize the
circuit board and announced that the little blue component that was black and
blown up was the power protection bit on the board and with any luck it did its
job. He ordered a new component from e bay (we needed to buy 10 and it only
cost 3 quid + post) and by golly he got it to work, with a charmingly large
yellow 110 amp transformer that he happened to have in the shed. 
I am so
excited but the garden has taken all my time and I can’t wait for sewing
Wednesday to start again.
I
took myself off to Carentan Theatre last weekend to watch my old choir
celebrate their 30 year anniversary. I no longer sing due to my hearing loss
but was an alto for 7 years and I was delighted that they were still singing
songs that I had sung with them. They still sang a little off key, and still
needed to have their heads in their words, but the enthusiasm and commitment
they showed made for a great night out and their standing ovations were
plentiful and deserved.
Mike and I
have decided to get the best use from the camper we need to set off for 2 or 3
night so that we can leave the house without needing to get help in. We set off
to Dinan in Britany and found a lovely little camping Municipal with next to nobody there and set up camp for a 2 day stop over. The idea of these breaks is to get away from
the to-do list and take in some culture and new vistas for our brains to relax.
I was a bit
peeved when I was jogged out of a yummy afternoon sleep by the sound of a lawn
mower racing around our camp plot. I got
up and sat out with HOSS and for a change we watched somebody else mow lawns,
it felt a bit like a busman’s holiday but it smelled nice and we had a bit of a
chuckle at the irony
We walked
into Dinan through the botanical gardens and found this wonderful specimen of a
Genera and I just can’t wait for ours to find their feet and look like this. I
am always impressed by these gardens that are run by the Marie and offer the
locals and tourists the opportunity to walk around beautiful plantings and
garden architecture that spill over into the town making a visit all the more
interesting.
Dinan is a
fabulous old town that we have visited several times, but each time we see
something different and appreciate a new angle on the History. You can see that
HOSS came on our walk and we have been very impressed with his behaviour since
spending a month with Geoff in the UK. HOSS has at last appreciated the benefits
of walking slowly on the lead and when we tie him to a pole and ask him to wait
…he does…. so well done Geoff.
I was
really impressed with the way the Marie has taken charge of these old and
delicate buildings as a living museum for all to see. In the 1920’s many of the
buildings were derelict and whilst the rest of France were knocking them down
Dinan Marie bought them up renovated them and now they are here to stay for as
long as we care. The oldest house was built in the 1200’s and I was reminded that
we visited a Douglas fir in Cathedral
Grove in British Columbia Canada that would have been a seedling when this
house was being built, call me old fashioned, but I find facts like that
fascinating. Dinan is a tourist
attraction but it is faire to say not a trap as we sat for a lunch of moule
frite on a pavement table and paid less than we could buy a Pizza in our home
town Carentan.
And finally
we are happy to be back on the ranch doing what we do best and using our
retired life styles to gain skills and stay occupied, but we are still sorting
out the photos and the souvenirs from our month long trip and we talk about our
adventure every day. We have spoken to Georgina and the kids several times
since we got back and we now know who our grandchildresn are and how Canadians tick
….so you have a nice day now xxx
And finally
we are very happy to be back on the ranch doing what we do best and using our
retired life styles to gain skills and stay occupied, but we are still sorting
out the photos and the souvenirs from our month long trip and we talk about our
adventure every day. We have spoken to Georgina and the kids several times
since we got back and we now know who these children are and how Canadians tick
….so you have a nice day now xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment