Salut Everyone Some weeks just whizz by with seemingly not much happening, even though we have been busy each day – me mainly with work and admin, which is not something I want to write about each week, nor I am sure do you want to read about it! The lilies have all come into flower now, adding a delightful splash of colour to the garden. We were chatting the other night, after I had had an odd and quite sad conversation with our neighbour, when Max suddenly said something really quite funny about blogs on Life in France, of which there are quite a few! He decided they could…

Hello Everyone I started writing this in the midst of a violent thunderstorm here in the Tarn on Thursday between power cuts. Wow what weather and what a week! Do you remember I mentioned last week that things often get in the way of our plans? Perhaps I shouldn’t have said that as this week has been one of those weeks when nothing, and I repeat nothing, has gone according to plan – apart from this rose, which has done its best to produce the most beautiful blooms. Last weekend the weather was great, we swam and we managed to watch the Roland Garros final on Sunday between Djokovic and…

Bonjour to you all. Earlier this week, I was sitting in my kitchen after some hard work in the garden. The weather has been amazing and the pool beckoned that afternoon. As I was finishing the slate edging to another flower bed, I could see the water sparkling in the sunshine – very tempting to just spend the day by the pool. One day… Everyone who has ever renovated a house will know that sometimes you look at the enormity of the project and feel like you will never get there, or you will be 103 and doddering around paintbrush in one hand, clutching the walking frame with the other!…

Bonjour once again I hope you have all had a great week wherever you are? June has arrived and brought some sunshine and warmth to the Tarn and then lots of rain on Friday. The light on the fields (which are actually green) after the storm was amazing. However, during the storm, whilst we were out collecting our latest find (more on that later), rain water began to come through the ceiling again in the room my son is using as a study. The gutters were obviously blocked. On our return, Max was off to the tower attic to put the very homemade gutter cleaner to work! Quite hysterical to…

Hello everyone and thank you for taking the time to find out what we have been up over the past week. This week was insulation week (see post: Mysterious Objects). A van backed down the drive on Wednesday morning filled with fab insulation to make this house a little cosier – all part of the French government’s scheme to reduce energy waste. Kittens scattered and Bear had to be tucked away as he doesn’t really like people he doesn’t know visiting the house! (A bit of an understatement but we are working with him on this!). Attics had been emptied, Max had been toiling to fill holes in attic floorboards…

Mental Health Awareness Week Hello to you all I hope you have had a good week. Isn’t it funny that whatever the weather, we always want something different? Over here in France there has been a real lack of rain over the winter. At times it hasn’t felt like that but in many parts of France there have been water shortages. Now the weather is rainy and chilly for the time of year, we want the sunshine! Last year in May the weather was warm and we were longing to swim (see post Diving into la Piscine to find out why we couldn’t!). This year with temperatures around 16°C at…

Hello everyone I hope you are all well and have had a good week? Our week has included a delightful rendez-vous with an ex-mayor of our village – wine and cake in the afternoon – my kind of people! We also exchanged homemade preserves – they are trying our Clementine and Pink Grapefruit Marmalade, we are trying their Raspberry Jelly – very tasty. Our favourite boulangerie has re-opened after having a revamp – we treated ourselves to some of their delicious quiche for lunch on Wednesday and on Thursday I had the best news – I finally have an appointment at the préfecture in Albi for my carte de séjour.…

Hello to you all I hope you have had a great week? I have enjoyed hearing from some of you – your comments mean a lot to me. It is also very exciting to know that there are people out there reading this each week – the ramblings of someone trying to renovate an old house, make a new life, keep working and generally deal with all that life sends, and of course French admin. I have some amazing friends (you know who you are) who have been very kindly encouraging people to follow our journey through the Coffee and Chocolatines blog. This week one friend in particular, Susi, recommended…

Bonjour I hope you have all had a lovely week? The cuckoos are singing their familiar song and the sun is shining. For the first time in the last week (see below to find out why), I went out for a longer walk on Thursday. We are surrounded by fields of gold at the moment as the farmer has planted rapeseed – a glorious sight. We had lunch in the garden today as it was 24°C – perfect. A cup of tea or glass of wine with this view anyone? My very early flowering French lavender is buzzing with bees and, along with some beautiful irises (flowering for the first…

Hello again Welcome to our life in France, or welcome back if you are already following our story. Each week an update on all that life brings, as we settle into our rural ‘petit château’ in the Tarn département – the ups and downs and our long slow renovation of this beautiful quirky old house. A short (and late) post this week as I have suffered a little (actually a lot as it turns out) at the teeth of Raoul! More on that shortly, but it has meant my right hand is out of action – very annoying when right-handed. I am typing this with just my left hand and…