This is now our second summer of living here and I am starting to realise that life comes “back to life”in France when the weather warms up, believe me,it really does, in every way! The shrubbery and grass grow like mad things, more and more people need help with their gardens and maintenance projects in the gardens, and time just runs away with you. (Add to that the odd glass of wine in the garden in the evening!)

I could not believe that I have not written my blog for so long, or, indeed, responded to any of the comments that people have made. My apologies to all and thank you so much for your lovely feedback; I love that you love my blog, even with all of its irreverence at times;  I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to welcome all of my readers, new ones and faithful followers, I feel that I have let you down to have left it for so long.

I know that some of the people following my blog are considering taking the plunge, opening the gate and living their life as an adventure, you are all welcome, and I will always try to tell you a true story, not rose tinted, but real;  sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes inspiring.  I also know that others are on the adventure, be it in France, Spain or other places in the world, and I hope that my blog will make you laugh, cause you to empathise and even, sometimes, to stand up  and think “do you know what? I did not go on this adventure to mix with arseholes and all their crap, so I am going to leave them behind, and sometimes even address their bad behaviour and tell them to “sod off.” (Other swear words are available!)

So on to an update…………..

Good news, Richard’s business is finally gaining some ground; not only is he getting more work, we have sorted out various other things, and, most importantly of all, we have lovely, friendly clients who give wonderful feedback and appreciate what he does. Finally! (See previous posts about some of the awful people we have worked for since moving here, “it’s time someone said something”).

I have been helping Rich in planning, and sometimes in what he is doing, and I also have the role of  the unpaid secretary of the house. We are knackered but it is all good, and we look forward to developing the business further as the time goes on, to pay into French taxes (no I am not mad!) and really live in France.

But, there is a but…. I don’t know whether it is an English thing, or just that people who are hard workers feel awful if they turn work down and allow time for themselves,  and those of you who have read my blog  know after my post recently (see for some people I know, a little bit more about me) I of all people should know better, and not push myself too hard, or Rich. It is a hard habit to break and I have had to remind myself of a quote from the 9^th verse of the Tao

“To keep on filling

Is not as good as stopping.

Overfilled, the cupped hands drip,

Better to stop pouring.”

From the book “Change your thoughts change your life.” By Dr Wayne. W. Dyer

So many people have got in touch recently saying how they are sick of living in the “rat race”, feeling as if they are stuck “in a rut” and I think it is important to remember to let old habits go if you take on an adventure, it is after all about seeing where life takes you, and not just moving to another country and living the same life as you were before.

So instead of worrying we both practice not worrying and we believe that things will come our way, if we just let go and let them sometimes. Although we need work to live, we have learnt that we have not come over here to work for people who are rude, and we choose if we want to work for some people depending on their behaviour. We believed that nice people would be sent our way and they have been.

Another quote that comes to mind is “Yes, others might judge you as unmotivated and call you an ignoramus, but your reward will be the strong sense of inner peace that comes from a direct knowing that you’re here as a guest who’s always being provided for. Yes, you may seem to be missing something, but the something is really only an illusion. You’re no longer living inside of yourself with a desire to be someone else or to gain something that seems to be omnipresent in all of those around you – you’ve traded in striving for arriving.”

From the book “Change your thoughts change your life.” By Dr Wayne. W. Dyer

When I look at the things that surround me that cost me nothing, but are priceless, I know I have arrived.

 

 

I have also been busy for myself because I am in  the process of setting up an Etsy shop, I will let you know when it is open.  I am busy researching the items that catch my eye at brocantes and vide greniers, and the season for both is now firmly underway with a vide grenier somewhere every Sunday. I love it, love old things and love that others love them too; I have the ability to source little French things out  for people who may never get the chance to come to France and I will find it rewarding that by sending them a little piece of France that they can have in their homes, they will get joy from it.

 

We have finished the chicken coop, and collected the chickens. They have half of the goats shed as their coop and I think that they are thinking that they live in the chicken equivalent of the Paris Hilton Hotel, because they don’t just have a bedroom they have the equivalent (in chicken terms) of a whole floor!

We have bought them hay and put in cardboard boxes (so that we can throw them away and replace) there is sawdust on the floor and straw, and they are rewarding us with eggs every day and have been since day one. They love the grass and their coop being under the trees, and even lay in the sun sunbathing.

They love me and respond to my voice (probably because I was always feeding them something! )My neighbours think I am mad because I walk towards them going “hear chook, chook, chook, chook” and then proceed to talk to them in chicken (I know no shame!) when they talk to me.

But sadly the fly in the ointment is called Wiglet the Welsh terrier. She is a murderess of small things    (as you know in the nineteen months we have had her she has had a pigeon, a rat, numerous mice, a rabbit and tried to murder two of the cats.!)

 

She is like a thing possessed and just spends hours and hours running round and round the coop trying to get in. She has kept us busy, dug a hole under the goats shed and managed to get her head in with them, has pulled up the wire so we have had to tether it down, and double it up and Rich is just about to get some chicken wire, and we also have to put on her on a long lead sometimes when she works herself into a frenzy.

Harley is bored with them now and the only times he barks at them is when the chickens front him out!! Seriously! They front the Welshies, and Harley then looks at them like “You what? Your f*****g fronting me out chicken?! Seriously! I am a f*****g Welshie and now I am going to murder you!”

Wiglet then encourages him and here they are trying to get in the gate.

But the chickens fight back, and have now started to peck Wiglet when she gets her nose to close and jump up and scratch her with their claws if she sticks her nose in the fence. We have ninja chickens! It could only happen to us!

 

The good life is still trying to get off the ground, (see my posts Ooh Matron we have gone all Tom and Barbara and Oh No! It’s gone Pete Tong.”) But still difficult as I bought some tomato, cucumber and pepper plants; then the frost came back and attacked one of the tomato plants, killed the cucumber plants before I had even planted them, and then the one surviving tomato plants, that had not been touched by the frost, got broken by Wiglet with the lead we are using to tie her up. (I swear she did it on purpose!) But I am not giving up especially with the cucumbers. In fact I might do a whole series of posts called the Cucumber Saga!! I have bought a huge one now,(cucumber that is!)  with established cucumbers already growing so look out for future posts. All of the plants will be potted in pots, as you know the potager turned into Armageddon and has now been put back to grass!

But more than anything in the past few weeks we have spent time with new friends (yes we have found the nice ones!) Last weekend we went to our small local bar and met some real characters, French and English, and had fun with our mad, and much loved, friend Jan. On Sunday we went to a BBQ at my friend Louise’s house and met more really nice people, and on Monday we were invited to dinner at our friend’s house. We can’t keep up!! We were knackered at the end of it.

We both feel that the adventure really is going now….. so look out for more posts, summer is on it’s way, twenty four degrees yesterday, raining today!

I would love it if you could share my blog with others, and also if you would use the star rating at the top of each post to tell me what you think…… but comments? Please comment, I love comments and so do the other readers.

Thank you

 

Moisy