Hello everyone and a belated Happy Easter Firstly apologies this is rather late – I got distracted by clearing overgrown flowerbeds, wildlife in the house and by my new garden helpers: Plus a very special garden visitor on Easter Saturday: Easter Day was chocolate day for me (I gave it up for Lent, lifelong habit) – I have been looking forward to it. I love dark chocolate, the higher the cocoa content the better. Max is less keen on anything over 70% but I love 100% – so bitter and delicious. What is your favourite chocolate treat? Some friends gave us some yummy chocolate eggs which we are enjoying. I…

Hello to you all It is officially Spring. Butterflies are out. My amazing double narcissi have flowered. Some of the fruit trees are in blossom, some are heading that way. The scent as you pass the plum trees is heavenly and the blossom is full of bees. As we near the end of March, the weather here is trying to warm up. We have had some gorgeous days with temperatures getting over 20°C but the nights are still pretty cold. I am looking forward to the end of the hot water bottle ritual, which is performed every night. 3 bottles to be filled and pyjamas wrapped around them so it…

Hello everyone A little late this week (sorry), but I hope you have had a lovely week wherever you are? Our week has included a birthday and 2 visits to brocantes, a luxury – firstly to go out and secondly I do love a good wander around a brocante. We have also had a UPS nightmare, still not resolved but to counter that Max is finally in the health system. Hooray!! To crown that his Carte Vitale arrived on Friday morning. Finally a tick can go against that job! We also did some very satisfying pruning but much more exciting, we have unearthed a slight mystery in the garden. A…

Is Max terminated or not? The story continues… Hello to you all This week we went to our rendez-vous at the local CPAM (health insurance) office to discuss the state of termination Max is suffering from. (See last week’s post: ‘Sometimes you just have to dance‘ for more information). To recap briefly, the saga of getting into the French health system continues. For Max it should have been easy but NON! After security clearance, hand sanitising and wondering why so many people can’t manage to wear masks properly (I’m becoming quite grumpy), we were called into Boite B (cubicle B) on Tuesday morning. Max is learning French at the moment…

Hello again March is a lovely month, the days are getting longer, the mornings lighter, we have even had a few sunny and warmer days. We made it through another unheated winter! The skies have continued to be stunning, especially at sunrise. What a great view to wake up to – once the shutters are open of course. We also got to see the February full moon known as the Snow Moon – really beautiful. I got my son Alex, who is back in the UK, to nip out and look too. It was lovely to think we were both looking at the same sight at the same time –…

Hello everyone I have just realised that this is my 20th post (along with 13 recipe posts and 2 places to visit) – I am feeling a little proud to have been doing this for 4 months already. I would love to hear what you think, if you are enjoying it? This week I am having a look at hidden signs of the house’s history but before that another moment of celebration: We are completely in the French health system now – hooray! I have a social security number, a social security online account (compte ameli) and my top up health insurance (mutuelle). I am just so French (almost)! It…

Bonjour everyone How quickly the weeks are flying by. How did we get to half way through February already? I am convinced time is speeding up – or maybe it is a symptom of my age! At last the weather here has improved – it is still February but the days are warmer, we have had some beautiful sunny afternoons and the garden (and house) are slowly beginning to dry out. There are signs of Spring everywhere now. It makes me want to be outside all the time – not that compatible with work and a house renovation. I have started planting some seeds in trays – so far some…

Bonjour to you all Sadly no snow here this week but great clouds and skies, frequent downpours of rain and some lovely sunny moments. The garden is very squelchy – our potager is quite waterlogged – I hope my bay tree, that survived the move to France on the back of a removal truck and being transplanted into a new garden, can cope with sitting in a puddle for a little longer! We had to do the dreaded trip to the supermarket this week. I used to really enjoy going to large French supermarkets – something to do with loving food and wine I expect. However since the pandemic I…