As the summer months draw to a close, so too I hope will my inability to get a blog post out on a regular basis. I keep starting and then something comes along that completely hijacks my time. We have been feeling a little challenged by circumstances, which can make it hard to write about all the things that have happened in ‘notre vie en France’. Don’t get me wrong, we love being in France – definitely not changing that, just daily life sometimes gets in the way, including a calf breaking into the garden last Tuesday to eat the Bay tree. However, this may be a moment when my…

Hello from the Tarn I hope you have all had a good few weeks? It has been eventful here – when is it not? We have covered many more kilometres than usual however! But first gorgeous news. Our little owls have nested in one of our attics. They usually nest in the tower but were clearly ejected from this spot last year and picked a spot under the apex of the highest roof. Two babies did not make it, perhaps forced out of the nest as happens sometimes, perhaps due to a fall from a great height. The attic they are now in is our storage attic so generally peaceful…

Bonjour to you all from our little corner of the Tarn We have finally had some rain, much needed by all, and a break in the very high temperatures that we have been experiencing. From 40°C to 20°C – quite a contrast, and even worse swimming pool temperatures dropped from 28°C to 22°C – quelle horreur! Achingly hot days, cocooned in a cool darkened house, shutters and windows closed tight against the heat have been replaced by fresher damp air, shutters, windows and doors flung open to catch any passing breeze. Duvets have reappeared on beds, nights seemingly chilly by comparison. Days change quite suddenly, yesterday 30°C, today 16°C –…

Hello Everyone Finally I’m back. May was a challenging month, with little spare time. We have had exams (my son’s finals), tooth dramas, pool dramas and, for me, confirmation of an eye problem. Perhaps this post should be No Blog May! Exam time is over at le petit château. Now the anxious wait for results but in the meantime a small celebration to mark the achievement that getting to the end of the degree is for my son. For him really against the odds. After the stress of the exam period I was counting on catching up with jobs both in and out of the house, as well as some…

Hello Everyone A beautiful morning here in the Tarn, the birds are singing, the air is warming up and the lake is glistening in the sunshine. Coffee and chocolatines on the terrace – how lovely. There is a promise of warmer days ahead, so once again we are behind with our pool opening. Each year has been the same. Chilly days and nights do not encourage thoughts of swimming, we forget that we need time to ready the pool for this. Suddenly the weather changes and oops, we are not ready. Ah well – there are definitely worse problems and this is truly not a real problem! We have reached…

Hello everyone Apologies, Coffee and Chocolatines has gone a little AWOL recently, not helped by a massive malfunction of the site, now partially fixed. Promised posts have not appeared, all underway I assure you, but none completed. This was my end of April post, now beginning of May. Happy May to you all. Don’t you love the colour of these tulips, always the last to show in the garden. The white flowers are called Boules de neige (snowballs), part of the Viburnum family and utterly gorgeous. They bring a smile to my face. We were given them by our neighbour to thank Max for fixing her lawnmower. Another one for…

Bonjour à tous We have warm weather! I am finally out of my thermals! Today I am even sock free! Too many exclamation marks but oh my goodness, you can’t imagine the joy. It is tempting to rush and open the pool, but I think the warm days are not yet here to stay! Max and I have taken up residence in the garden, trying to get on top of the myriad jobs that now await us. As you can see, we are being overtaken by dandelions – the flowers are great early nectar for bees, and the puffs are so beautiful – apart from when you realise that each…

Hello everyone I hope you are all keeping well? Well the cold snap was as bad as predicted! What a weekend and early part of the week. The night-time temperatures got down to -5, we had snow, frost, sunshine and more snow. The snow settled a few times but in snow terms was no more than a light dusting. We had to smile on Saturday morning as our neighbour rang to see if we should go to the market. The car had about an inch of snow on it and the roads were clear! I don’t think that they are that used to snow here. At the market, much reduced…

Hello Everyone and Happy April March has flown by and suddenly it is 1st April. April Fools’ Day is known as Poisson d’avril in France where the custom is to play jokes on each other, as in the UK. This dates back to 1564 when King Charles XI moved the start of the year from around 1st April to 1st January. The traditional day of giving gifts at New Year also had to move to 1st January. Old habits, however, die hard and people continued to give gifts at the beginning of April. This gradually changed to fun gifts, mainly food focussed. The fish originates from the fact that 1st…