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Category Archives: My home

Rural living – Autumn

30 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by in Change is a coming, My home, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure, The seasons

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With the first of October nearly upon us autumn is here, but subtly this year. She is stealthily making her way in, lulling us into a false sense of security with her still warm days (some days last week were twenty six degrees, but out of the sun the breeze just had that slight edge to it, letting us know that autumn is really here) and cold nights.

We have still not lit our fire because the sun has warmed our old stone house up sufficiently that the cold is not seeping through it’s walls; but as is always the way with rural living we know that we have to prepare. So yesterday we spent a day in our garden, Rich tidying up the building site that is at the front of our house due to the new roof. (He is right he has to keep on top,of it or it will be a mammoth task!)

My main job was to start to collect the kindling that is all around the garden from the trees we chopped down earlier in the year. Natural kindling is the best and I am not paying for sanitised kindling when nature has provided it for me. One of my biggest lessons from living out here, I don’t let anything go to waste! I have five bags of twigs so far, and counting!

The wood from the sycamore tree that was pollarded earlier in the year is tinder dry and needs to be collected. So Rich and I spent an hour yesterday loading the wheelbarrow and moving into the log store. Eight barrow’s later and it is still not full

Looking at just the wood that has been cut we estimate that we have more than enough wood for this winter, and with all the other logs needing to be cut, and the cobnut wood that Rich cut over two years ago we probably have enough wood for the next two years or more. It feels good to be ahead of the game, and that is what you have to be if you choose rural living.

The plants have all been watered and are ready for extra feed before the winter kicks in, and they have been moved because our seating area, and the scene of so much hilarity and fun during the summer, has gone, my workspace has gone, the tables put away, or moved for the winter, the chairs put to bed.

Due to imminent changes we have also emptied and moved our water but, and you just have to be a little bit mad sometimes, and do what you have to do….

At six thirty we sat down at our table, now safely ensconced on the patio, for a well earned glass of wine, in the autumn evening sunshine, we looked across the valley at the changing colours and I said to Rich I was so happy with my life, and he said “So am I”.

So,today we are going to some of the last vide grenier of the season, they celebrate this time of year in a big way, celebrating the harvest, and there are numerous agricultural fayres and fetes, and who knows what treasures I will find.

Autumn, I love this time of year.

Moisy

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Changes – The Roof – The history of our house has started to unfold..

28 Friday Sep 2018

Posted by in Change is a coming, My home, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure

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Firstly I want to say a big thank you to all those who offered their advice regarding my question on my last post. A new blog will be set up early next week, it may shock some of you, but will show how adversity can, more often than not, bring about change for the good.

The roof is now well underway, as you can see from the picture above the old dormer window has now gone. We had to be realistic we were never going to use the small amount of storage space in the roof, and to keep it would have added additional cost to the work, so it had to go.

Continuing with the theme of change the roof started to help us understand the history of this house. We had always thought that our kitchen was a later ‘addition’ to the house (our house was built in 1812) but we now know that it had been an open ended stable, and the loft above it would have been used to store the hay for the animals. At some point it was bricked up and turned into our kitchen. You can see from the photo how the bricks were put in to create a doorway, and if you look to the left I believe that there used to be a window there also.

It also explains why we have such small windows (soon to be made bigger) in the wall at the side of the house, they would have just been open windows, the type you find in a barn.

The door to our living room from the kitchen is a beautiful, sturdy, solid oak door (shame about the wallpaper on it for some reason French people used to love wallpapering doors!) so we had assumed that this had been an outside door at some stage in our house’s history.

We also had our suspicions because it was clear that at some point the front door to our house was here, leading straight into what is now our big our living room. There is a concrete lintel in the floor under the window, which was a step at one time.

It was probably led into a small kitchen then, as you can see that our living room was originally two rooms, as there is a steel rafter across the centre of the room.

It’s been an exciting and busy time, the cats have loved investigating the old loft space, and our garden looks like a building site, but the first stage of the roof is now watertight and ready for the tiles next week.

We have been blessed with good weather, and I am counting my blessings every day. I realise as I write this now, how we are making more changes to this house, that will add to it’s history that, one day, someone else will uncover.

As I always say the only constant in life is change.

Keep reading, there’s more to come folks.

Moisy

Times are changing – The Wedding Fayre – our little endeavour

26 Wednesday Sep 2018

Posted by in Change is a coming, My home, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure

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Last week I was busy busy busy preparing items for out little enterprise of handmade products that we sell on out Etsy shop. We invested in a scroll saw for Rich so that he can get the cuts precision perfect and as a result I also came up with some new designs.

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I love them, and lovingly wrapped them and took them off to the wedding fayre on Sunday. Having finished reading Deepak chopra I was philosophical that if nothing came from it then it was life showing me the way, and that we would need to let this part of the enterprise go.

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I was pleased with the way the table looked and knew that our items looked good.

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The weather was not good (although as I write this we have lovely warm Autumn sunshine and temperatures of over twenty-four degrees.) in fact it was literally sheeting down with rain; but the French do like to get out on a Sunday afternoon and over eighty people came to the wedding fayre, and many showed an interest in our pretty little hearts.They appreciated Rich’s cutting of the wood more than anything (the boy done good) and knew that what he had accomplished was not easy; and they also picked up on the fact that many of the items would change colour as the day wore on and they loved it! It didn’t help that I had forgotten the word for the verb to make (faire) until the very end of the day, but I got by.

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More importantly I met some lovely people there, a lady who makes the most beautiful cakes, and who made me giggle throughout the afternoon; and a lovely lady who runs a shop in the town of Gorron where she stocks handmade products from artisans; I took it as a sign when she  came over and asked me if we would take some stock to her for her shop as she liked it and wanted to promote it for us. When I said how interested the French people had been she said that she had found that they seemed  to appreciate handmade products, and understand the amount of time and work that went in to them. So life did show me the way and I will be visiting her tomorrow, and Rich and I will branch out and make handmade Christmas decorations and angels in time for Christmas. (Although always remember an angel and a star are for life, not just for Christmas!)

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But, and there is a but…. Having read Deepak Chopra he says that we are all destined to do something, and you know what that ‘something’ is when time flies….

“When you’re doing that one thing, you lose track of time” 

Deepak Chopra – ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’ 

I know that really for me my love is writing, and time does just fly when I am writing. With nearly two thousand monthly hits, and counting, on my blog  it is just getting better and better. So I am going to give it one more try sending my book to agents; however if I am not successful I am going to turn it into a a blog – it needs to be out there, because I know it will help people. It went to board for consideration with two publishers so I knew I had something to say and from the blogs that I have read, and people I have spoken to, there is a need for it – I truly believe that.  As Deepak chopra says

“The third component of the Law of Dharma is service to humanity – to serve your fellow human beings and to ask yourself the questions. ‘How can I help’……

‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’

I would really value your opinion on this one folks shall I blog it?

Look forward to hearing from you.

Moisy

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Change…..Let’s start with the season this week

24 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by in Change is a coming, My home, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure, The seasons

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After an Indian summer, we woke for the first time since April to misty windows. Over the weekend the autumn started to blow in, and we lit the fire for the first time in five months, and then, after two hours took some of our layers if clothes off because we were too hot! Such is autumn, fools you with warm days, and cold nights, sunny days with cool breezes, and then, like yesterday, torrential rain.

I had a memory come up on FB from last year, three trays of Walnuts that I had harvested from our huge walnut tree.

I realised that the temperatures had not been cold enough to encourage the walnuts to drop, but today I noticed Wiglet running around with a walnut (she loves them) and duly picked ten up from the grass. Let the onslaught begin, we harvested over four thousand last year.

Changes are happening fast now, last week the materials for our roof arrived, and the scaffolding went up.

This week has started with a bang, more materials and a gaping hole in the roof which is being left for the night (we are trusting all we believe, that it won’t rain, and the weather forecasts of course!). After the torrential rain yesterday the roof had it’s last hurrah and the rain leaked in, one more night with a hole in our roof is nothing. I have learnt that now.

But finally it is happening, changes are happening over and over, and even the plans we have had for the past few months are changing again.

Look out for more posts this week.

Moisy

Warm autumn days, preparing for winter.

19 Wednesday Sep 2018

Posted by in My home, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure, The good life, The seasons

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It’s been really warm here over the past few weeks, some days have reached over twenty seven degrees, with a beautiful warm breeze.

We have taken advantage of the weather and Rich has been busy sorting some things out in the garden, putting a log stall in place at the side of the house and stacking the logs from the Sycamore that was cut down earlier in the year. Normally the wood takes a year to season, but it has been so hot this summer it is tinder dry and ready to burn. Over the past few years we have stored our wood in the barn, but given that we are now clearing that out, and that it is farther to trek in the bleak midwinter, having stock to hand just outside is better.

The rest will be stored in the old goat shed – the two remaining chickens are on the move (another job that is being tackled soon!) Along with chopping up the logs that are all over the garden (literally).

In addition we have a full log cupboard indoors waiting for the winter onslaught.

I too have been busy, I have signed up for a wedding fayre, or Salon du Mariage, for this Sunday and have been busy designing hearts (and some stars), they are not exclusively for weddings but do make beautiful Aisle decorations, table decorations and gifts; all bespoke all different.

As I have sat in my garden embellishing away I have stopped to look around, and thought there could be worse places to work each day.

I know when to count my blessings.

Here’s one of them, as I sit here writing this, he is laying beside me…..

Have a good day folks, remember do what makes you happy.

Moisy

The balloons

16 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by in My home, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure, The good life

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I had to share this, as I sit here in my garden on a balmy autumn evening, because I look up and this is what I see….

Balloons flying high in the sky all around our commune. What a sight to see!

Every year there is a balloon race in this area because of the hills and vales of the valleys they have somewhere safe to land, the first year we were here they crashed into our trees!

It is the things like this that help me count my blessings every day. So to celebrate the simple things we’ve poured a glass of wine and are sitting here watching the balloons go by.

What’s not to love?

Have a good week and smile at the small things..

Moisy

To always have hope – Feels like home

16 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by in Change is a coming, My home, Reflections, The continuing adventure, The seasons

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When we moved here, three years ago last month. our pampas grass was small and not growing well.

It was squashed between numerous pine tress that overshadowed it depriving the poor pampas grass of any light; add to that Harley would lay in it as if it was a little nest and it did not stand much chance. Despite this it continued to live, but no grasses would appear in September and stand tall and majestic with their fronds blowing in the wind.

I love pampas grasses. I always wanted it to grow, lived in hope that one day it would have huge grasses, the size of paddles, blowing in the breeze and framing our beautiful view. Well this year we choppped down most of the trees – we had to some were dead, some posed a risk to the electricity cables – and the pampas finally got the light that it needed.

‘It won’t grow’ said Rich when we talked about it one night, ‘Harley still lies in it and squashes it!’

But I held on to hope. I had started to get the vibe that this old French farmhouse, and it’s ghosts of the past two hundred years, had finally accepted ‘Les Anglais’ and realised that we loved the house as much as they had. Being French they knew that, although we had not had much money, we would do our best to look after it; and, suddenly, things started to go our way: The trees were chopped down, the front door was replaced, the gate was replaced, the water connected, we now have French vehicles, our roof will be done before winter. We have the support and help from good friends, some considered as family, and help from those who care, and as the year went on the pampas grass grew and grew.

So here we are now and this is our pampas grass

Things are changing …..

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin’.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’

Bob Dylan

Have a good weekend folks never give up, always have hope

Moisy

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Changes are coming: The crap we keep

10 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by in Change is a coming, My home, Reflections, The continuing adventure

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So here I am at 18.30, my time ,and I started to write this blog at 14.30!! That is what it seems to be at the moment busy, busy, busy…

As you know from my previous posts, with the titles including the words changes are coming, we had water fitted last week, took the pool down, met the bank manager, and decided it was time to clear out our barn.

That is one of the things when you embark on a major life change such as this, the crap you bring with you! Heed my warnings all you adventurers, you may have thought that you had got rid of all the crap you did not needm but guess what you haven’t!

Then three years later, when you decide that perhaps you should go through those boxes of stuff that you thought were so essential you paid a fortune in storage for them, and an even bigger fortune in moving costs; the same stuff that you then leave in your barn for three years (obviously because it was that essential!) only to go through it one day and say ‘What the fuck did we bring that over to France for?!

So as we climbed over the crap, (treasured possessions as once was) we realised that we had a task on our hands.

 

 

As I have said before when we moved from England we were on first name terms with the little old ladies at the cancer charity shop (sorry I don’t give cancer a capital c anymore, it doesn’t deserve it!); so much so they all shouted ‘Rich’ when he went in with even more stuff that we gave away (like an episode of ‘Cheers’ only in Herne Bay in England!)

When we moved we thought we had been mercenary, we thought we had been hard, only to discover during this task, four boxes of our son’s stuff that we could not throw away ‘because he might need it one day.’ He needs it so much that he doesn’t even know it is here. Then there was the box with chipped plates, one random saucer that had not cup to go with it, and (I kid you not) glass jars that I used to put candles in!!

There were the broken lamp shades (it is safe to say not one surived the move), broken lamps, a plastic chair (which was weird because we have never owned plastic garden chairs), old cards ( I swore I threw them all away) old postcards, T.shirts, peices of random paper and even open envelopes!! There is no room for sentimentality when you do something like this, you have to let go of the old to make room for the new.

In addition a lot of the things we had brought over with us were reminders of people who stopped being in contact when we made this move; perhaps they decided that we were a bit too ‘out there’ for them, or that we made them feel as if they may be boring. (Yep, there is an irony there!) But let us not forget I was inadvertently told recently by someone that I was ‘full of hot air.’ At least I think it was inadvertent,other than that they were just being fucking rude!! But only if I gave a crap! (Oops there goes my hot air again! Better to be that than boring!)

So we went through everything (in one half only and it took two days) and let it all go (again)

 

We also discovered that other people had used our barn as a dumping ground and we had so many empty cardboard boxes (‘for Moira’s etsy’ they used to say) some with no lids and some with shit that other people had dumped in it!! Thanks one and all, and just to get it out there, I don’t want any more boxes. If I want them I will get them, I’m that sort of gal!!

But we did find our memory box, and, because we have changed we let some of that go. You cannot hold onto the past; I let my mum’s top go. I thought that I had let it go when we moved over here, I kept it at first, after she had died, because it smelled of her, it was her favourite top and she had worn it often;  I had moved it with me three times, because I thought it kept my mum with me but when we made our move over here I clearly remember saying ‘I need to let this go’; but I must have decided that, at a time I needed moral support, then I needed to bring it with me one more time. My mum died twenty one years ago, that top is not her, her spirit is free, not in a top from Marks and Spencers! So I have, now, let it go.

We did keep George, the wooden snake that Tom picked on our first holiday together as a family to Menorca; and Srog, his frog that I bought him from London Zoo, and there was some stuff we put back and said ‘Perhaps next time we go through this we will let this go then..’ We know that we are changing all the time you see.

There is stuff that needs to be researched, as I believe it has a value now, and it would be good to pass that money onto Tom, because most of the things are his after all, like is train set, and his action men still in their packaging.

I am going to sell Tom’s beautiful cherrywood cot/bed (yes can you believe I  moved his cot over here, because my mum bought it for me); but I am letting it go. I have learnt so much over the past three years, and one of them is that material things are not necessary to keep the memories. That is such a beautiful cot that I would rather a family who needed it, had it to cherish.

On Saturday we loaded up our new van and took half of the stuff to the dechetterie (the dump) with the other half to go on Wednesday. Most of the cardboard boxes are going on the bonfire (quick all those who say you shouldn’t have fires calle the Marie!) and our barn is tidy with boxes in there (also waiting to be burnt) and we now have less than half of what was there and a tidy organised room.

 

Now all Rich has to do is sort out this lot on the other side!!

 

You might have guessed, still lots of work to be done.

But most importantly my post is to say, let go, let go, let go, life is too short, let go of the crap and good will come your way.

Moisy

The water is flowing, and we are thankful for change

05 Wednesday Sep 2018

Posted by in Change is a coming, My home, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure, The good life

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So the water men arrived early, in fact they were digging up the field before the sun had fully risen over the horizon..

It is fair to say that as soon as they arrived they got stuck in, and did not stop. They had to dig a huge trench from the field opposite our house come under the road and up by our ditch (the one we had to climb into in our pyjamas when the naughty Welshies were chasing hedgehogs! See ‘The hedgehogs, the Welshies, the ditch and pyjamas)

But the problem was the huge pine tree that had been felled in February was still laying in the ditch, and it is so big our neighbour is going to have to lift it out for us with his tractor! (That is the problem when they knock on your door the day before to say ‘We’re coming tomorrow to do this huge job, see you before eight!’)

‘Oh no!’ We thought, but the lovely French man called us over and asked if it was okay for him to push the tree over towards our fence with his big digger. ‘Go for it!’ We said, so he did and now our life is easier because all of the overgrown weeds have been dug up, and the branches have been broken off. Result! We thought.

Nothing fazes the French!

In no time at all we had a huge hole in front of the house, and could not get out of the gate easily, our fence by the chemin was up and it was established that our wall would have to be drilled; that is when they called hubby over and told him he would have to do it (probably because of liability) handed him a huge drill, with an even bigger drill bit attached, and sent him on his way. God knows what they would have done if I was here on my own!!

We did not believe, at one point, that they would get such a big job done in a day, but they did and left before six, just in time for aperitifs.

Despite previous information, things I had asked for, and told I would have to fill in copious amounts of paperwork for, were just provided. I wrote a cheque and they drove off without it!

But, that is France as I said before!

So we have mains water, we have new gates, what’s coming next? Life will show us the way!

Moisy

Times they are a changing.. We’re getting mains water!!

04 Tuesday Sep 2018

Posted by in Change is a coming, My home, The background story, The continuing adventure

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One of the most frustrating things about living in France is the beauracracy – or lack of organised thinking. You go somewhere for advice and one person tells you one thing, so you do that, send it all in, and then another person tells you that is not what they need at all and, in fact, they need a hundred and one other things!!

I know that if all goes ahead as planned the next year is going to be filled with this frustrating level of pig headedness, people who want to be more important than they are, helpful people, and doing the same things over and over again. I have resigned myself to it and just say to myself now ‘This is France!’

So after the gate last week, we are finally having mains water connected to our house. They have to pick the pipe up from the middle of the field opposite and it would be an understatement if I told you that we will not be getting much change from a lot of money. But at least then our pipes will not freeze, as they did last winter when we went without water for four days when the ‘Beast from the East’ arrived; and in the summer our water from our taps will be cold and we will be able to drink it. This summer it was red hot until the water that was in the pipe laying on top of the land had been flushed through!

For those who have only just joined my blog I wrote last year of how our well had run dry and we had no water for eleven days in the middle of the hot summer. It was only thanks to the kindness of our neighbour, who allowed a pipe to be connected to his water and go across his land, that we have had water at all. The blog was called ‘Une leçon de vie atout votre eau’ it means a lesson in life, treasure your water; and trust me I do!

But it is one of many lessons that Rich and I have learnt, that you don’t need things immediatly, you can survive, as we have with only a tarpaulin on our roof for three years – yes the water has run in, poured in sometimes, but we have not died. It is a true saying: ‘What don’t kill ya, makes ya stronger’ (has to be said in an Essex accent! I am an Essex girl after all!!)

Rich and I laughed when we showered each other using our watering can- especially when I had to climb a step ladder to get above Rich, me a little five foot four inches, Rich a tall six foot one inch! And now I don’t waste water. I know some petty people we have known have said that we are just surviving, well give me survival any day if you are happy when you are doing it. A lot of people who don’t have to ‘survive’ often seem as miserable as sin to me!

So yesterday as  I was  corresponding with the water company about additional work we required, as is the way in France, the lady I was corresponding with was telling me I needed to this and that, and make a payment before the work could be done. Then there was a ring at the doorbell and a man from the water company stood there and said that they can do the water today including the additional work! I am just going with the flow, he said I can just pay him when they get here! Who knows what we will end up with.

Water I hope….

C’est la vie!!

Watch this space

Moisy

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