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…

Welcome to February, where did January go? On the other hand one more step towards warmer temperatures in the house! I love seeing the evenings gradually getting longer, knowing Spring is on its way. It is so nice to look out of the kitchen doors and see it is still light after 6pm now. The weather has felt a little more like Spring for some of this week, although we have also jumped from one extreme to another. On Sunday we got caught out in very heavy rain showers, whilst walking Bear – we got soaked and he was not that impressed. He is not a big fan of the…

Welcome back, or welcome to the blog if this is your first read. How has everyone’s week been? We have had a marmalade filled week – more on that shortly. The weather has warmed up a bit outside but with it we have discovered a new characteristic of our French home. It is so cold inside that the windows steam up from the outside! Quite funny really. What with that and experiencing chilblains for the first time in my life – we are truly living the dream! I did, however, find our first hellebores and primulas have flowered – a lovely sign that Spring is on its way. This week…

Hello from a very rainy Tarn today. I hope you have all had a lovely week and enjoyed the introduction to our local town Cordes sur Ciel on Wednesday? Yesterday was my eldest son’s birthday. He is staying with us at the moment, studying for his degree online due to the ongoing pandemic. As a surprise we had a Zoom meal with his younger brother Alex and his grandmother. Alex cooked the exact same food at his flat in Manchester – great fun. We also realised it was the 21st day of the 21st year of the 21st century – quite a day! The house is still really cold, but…

Bonjour everyone What a week of contrasts weather-wise – hard frost, snow, rain, mist and sunshine and so cold. Winter in the Tarn, so many beautiful and differing views each day whether out on walks or from the kitchen windows. I have it on good authority from locals that it hasn’t been this cold here since 2014! A good time to have no central heating. We are racing through all those logs we neatly stacked for the winter. It will be a miracle if they last this month! More wood stacking to come I suspect – at least it keeps you warm. We have been treated this week to lots…