….so you have a nice day now xxx

 Blog 14 /  June 2015

 

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 15^th 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 21^st 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.

 

 We have been home from our adventure in Canada for twenty days and we have the grass under control and the polly tunnel is starting to take shape. We did nothing in here in case the temperature rose and we were not home to open doors and soak with water but with a good priority list we have managed to get on top of all the May duties in 20 days and have done all the June stuff as well.





 


 The sweetcorn is looking promising and the pumpkins awesome. There is a hint of brussel sprout and spinach.  Next weeks job is to get the beds ready in the allotment , and the wonderful process of getting one job done and dusted, to get the next one on the to do list, begins.





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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 



Lovely Sunday day out

 Blog 13 / June 2015

We had a lunch date with John and Lynn this week, Monty’s previous owners, and it didn’t take too long for the chaps to get under the bonnet and have a heads together moment to discuss a point of interest. We enjoyed a leisurely pizza lunch at Carentan Marina to hatch up a plan to get the old cars out and on the road for the D-day celebrations and take part, as we have never done it before.

 

On the evening of the 5^th June, the night before D-day we took a ride out with Graham and Anne to be on the Pegasus Bridge to commemorate the first glider landing at 00:16 hours on the 6^th June 1944. The evening was filled with many re-enactors and many actual soldiers on parade. We watched Pipe bands march over the bridge and watched them march right back again, it was extremely entertaining and after we picnicked over a glass of beer in the beer tent we made our way to the original Pegasus Bridge which is now part of a museum. We sat in the garden area to watch a Yorkshire Police Brass Band present their best and not so best tunes but in that environment the atmosphere was wonderful and quite emotional.

 The whole concert was in English which I thought a little odd as much of the audience was French but there was a contingency of Australian Navy sailors there so we laughed at the jokes and the commentary but it was English northern humour which left us a little wanting, at times and I did feel a little bemused that there was no translation for our hosts.

 

 

 

The drummers turned up and gave a very impressive performance and we were truly entertained and invigorated as this is a rare type of music seen here in France, or where we live anyway.

 

 

 

 

We had chatted to a couple of the Australian  Sailors  and I was very touched when the band played their national anthem and they all stood up and held their hearts and sang out their love for their nation,  it was a very lovely moment.

 

 

 

 

We took Monty into Carentan on the 7^th and met up with other old car enthusiasts to join in the WW2 vehicle parade through Town. Mike painted Monty with Free French logos and we both dressed up in 1940’s  and joined the parade of over 100 vehicles.

 

 

We were really amazed at the enthusiasm of the Carentan people on the street, thumbs up and clapping and waving at us, yes us, in our little Monty dressed up as Free French, and I had such a good time just being happy and uplifted. We drove around the town twice and then all the jeeps and command cars and little tanks, period motorbikes and even push bikes parked up in the centre of town for the crowds to come and have a close up look. We met up with all sorts of people and a man from way down south of France insisted in showing me the pictures of his 1936 Renault that he takes out on rallies and I realised that these people are really out there,  doing as we have done today. Both Mike and I have hankered to do this for many years and are pleased to have found the in-crowd, at last.

I saw this 1940’s gendarme and I just had to get him in the frame, so I went straight up and asked if he would please be photographed with me in front of our Monty. As we set ourselves up to have a photo taken we were suddenly surrounded with clicking photographers. Mike was four cars down the row, saw the commotion and came up to find that it was me and my gendarme in a Hollywood pose lapping up the fame……

 

 

 

 

So Monty played his part in the 71^st D-day commemorations and we had a great day out to boot. We met up with two veterans who both thanked us for keeping the story alive, but I felt a little bit of a fraud as this is the first time that we have participated, but it is most definitely not the last

 

 

Then back to the ranch for a swim in the pool and a snooze in the sun …….

Lovely Sunday day out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

motivation enough to stay, and enjoy xx

 Blog 12 / May 2015

We are home from a month in Canada to visit our Daughter Georgina, husband Al and children Victoria and Alex. There is no way that I can use a blog to explain the fantastic time we had but I will throw a few pictures at you for  a clue as to what has pushed our buttons and made us so very happy that  we finally bit the bullet and went.

 

 

 

The first week was a 7 day tourist drive through the Rocky Mountains which no matter what sort of photographer you think you are  there is no way to convey the huge vista, smell of cold air and sheer enormity and majesty of the region. We saw a wild bear grazing on the side of the road, followed the Trans Canadian railway meander through the mountain passes. We took a ski lift in Lake Louise and sat on the top on a mountain in our European holiday clothes whilst all around us, the Sloan square and bondi beach snow boarders and skiers launched themselves in full winter garb with gloves, headbands and stretchy legware whilst we looked on in T shirts and sandals. Our road trip took us to Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Kamloops and Vancouver  1600 Kilometres of snow, sun, wind and rain but wall to wall silver topped mountains all the way. It felt quite comforting to catch the ferry to Vancouver Island which confirmed  we are true water lubbers but  took this short sea trip in the shadow  of snow covered mountains…. best of both worlds…

 

 

 

We joined the Joiner family on Vancouver Island and continued our Canadian stay doing as they do, the whole purpose was to settle in as a family and enjoy the next three weeks like we had never been apart since 2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So we went shopping and yes that is a real vintage tractor on display making the whole shopping experience that much more exciting for us. The cost of living is comparable if you are tea total and don’t want proper PG tips tea.

 

 

 

 

 

As a family, we took a tiny ferry to Newcastle Island for a picnic and Pumba the dog came too, Pumba is the tallest dog I know and we had lots of fun with him, his gentlemanly manners and savoir fair made HOSS look manic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took a drive to Tofino Beach on the west coast of the island via a stop to stare wonder and at an 800 year old Douglas fir tree still looking good. Then I stripped to my bare feet to paddle in the Pacific ocean, a once in a lifetime requirement which I have now achieved.

 

 

 

 

 

There are beaches all around the island all of them scattered with white bleached flotsam, tree trunks to fragments of worn and torn lost wood waiting for beach comers to come and claim. I collected a little bag of interesting bits to make a wind chime as a souvenir and in our quiet considering discussions about if we came what would we be and I always ended up being a beach bum selling white wood ornaments….

 

 

 

 

 

Mike had his 61^st birthday and the yellow point household laid on a pirate themed breakfast and we all sang happy birthday several times to mark his special day.

 

 

 

 

 

Grandad was the star throughout our stay, playing and joking getting to know these lovely children we are grandparents to, and everyday was a special and significant  day, without exception.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Georgina and I sewed.  In our twice weekly skype calls we had often spoken about her wanting to sew for her children as I did, so I offered to buy some fabric to make Victoria a new frock which I did, and enjoyed.  I did however have to break it to G that she really needed to buy a new sewing machine, which she did and when I used it to make Alex a Super Hero Cape  I decided I  had to have one for 130$ about £70. G and I can now chew the cud over our discoveries and achievements and it made for some awesome (Canadian term) bonding

 

 

 

We spent time in the beautiful city of Victoria, capital of British Columbia. It was Victoria Day weekend and we watched boat planes and harbour taxis busy doing their business and Mike and I took the children back on the cutest little ferry whist Mum and Dad set off on a stepping out walk back to the car

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then as we were getting into the routines and habits of life with the Joiners, once we had found the antique shops and the best thrift stores in Ladysmith and were still excited when we spotted a logging lorry with 20 full sized fir trees on board, it was time to load our souvenirs and sewing machine into our luggage and head for the airport. We chose to take an island hopper so our goodbyes would be local at Nanaimo airport and away from the hustle and bustle of Vancouver international. As we took off, three weeks of love and happiness just erupted in me and I cried like a baby until we hit Europe, I felt exhausted…….

 

Twelve hours later we were back in Bracknell, jumping about for HOSS’s joy to see us again and a quick and fabulous catch up with my brothers and sisters to close proceedings and get our, butts, (Canadian saying) back to France where, we now appreciate is every bit as beautiful as Canada at a fraction of the size.

 

 

If you are a Blog follower then you will guess the expression of astonishment we made when we saw what 4 weeks lawn growth looks like in May.  There are no Canadian words to even get close to our emotions and that very afternoon jetlagged and disorientated we both took a mower and got the first cut done before dinner.  We now realise just how much garden tinkering we do on a daily basis because when you stop for a month is it scary to see  how things  get out of control and in 6 months we would be looking for the lost gardens of Brevands …….….

motivation enough to stay,  and enjoy xx