The best laid plans…. I seem to be writing that a lot these days. The last month has seen its fair share of unexpected events and the whole range of weather on offer – near enough. We have had winds, snow, ice, fog, sunshine and finally some rain. Of course when the rain came, it really made its presence felt, so much so that our cellar flooded. As I am sure I have mentioned before, our lovely old petit chateau was built at a time when foundations were not a thing, so we are planted solidly on the earth. When we had the tower roof done and contemplated further guttering,…

Bonjour everyone I hope you are all well and enjoying the slightly lighter evenings. I love the fact that we get a little longer before the urge to dash around the house closing all the shutters and settling by the fire. On the subject of shutters, look out around mid-February for a post about the ubiquitous shutter – a feature of many a house in France. We love ours, which is just as well as we have a few – more than 70 – quite a job when we decide to open them all (and then close them). So what have we been up to over the last couple of…

Hello from a freezing cold corner of our renovation project! Winter has well and truly arrived, with cold rain earlier this week followed by snow, ice, sleet and hard freezes at night. Max and I drove back from Toulouse in blizzard-like conditions last Thursday – it only lasted an evening but we had lots of snow for a while. Some of the hills around us have not thawed at all so it is a little like living near mountains. Snow does transform the landscape, making it quite magical. The wind is bitingly cold now, as are many parts of this old house. 6 layers of clothing today, a blanket over…

Hello from a rather damp corner of South west France. The last week has whizzed by as usual amid a return to work, the annual vet’s visits for the 4 rescue cats – not something they enjoyed at all (nor us for that matter when trying to get each one into a cat carrier)! We visited a different market this week for a change, as well as the rather long trip to the supermarket. My mother loved all the variety in the supermarket but as it is the size of a football stadium she found it quite tiring too. We have had some lovely mild weather during the week, which…

Bonne Année / Happy New Year I hope you have had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year? We have had a quiet time, albeit non-stop food and drink service for Max and I! As a new year begins, and one in which I have a rather big birthday, it is inevitable that we look back at the year gone by. As the title of this blog suggests, it was not the year of this blog. I made many plans, many promises and that was as far as I got. Life decidedly got in the way last year. Each week, often each day, something happened that took all our attention –…

Bonjour Everyone We have had rain, (and a storm with the loudest thunder I have ever heard) with more forecast! Until a week ago the temperature was still around 22°C. I even have flowers on my once dried out strawberry plants, partly due to the sun but also the arrival of water. We have been contemplating one last swim as the pool looks so inviting, but as the nights are chilly now and the water is down to 15-16°C, I had decided I was not quite brave enough! However on Thursday we took the plunge – literally. We closed the pool last week so in a moment of bravado we…

Bonjour I hope you are all well? Those proverbial buses did not run according to schedule (see blog post Another Month Bites the Dust) nor did I turn over a new leaf. In accordance with normality here, other things came along to divert the process! I started this post in late September and here we are at the end of October with nothing posted for an age, apart from a recipe at the weekend! I returned from a trip to the UK a few weeks ago to unseasonably warm weather which has continued. It has been up to 28°C and today was 26°C. The roses are putting on a third…

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 –…