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Rosie’sFrenchAdventuresandIrish Shenanigans.com

~ Letting ‘Life’ show me the way.

Rosie’sFrenchAdventuresandIrish Shenanigans.com

Category Archives: New Paths

‘Life’ Prompts: At What Could Have Been A Devastating Time

31 Sunday Jan 2021

Posted by RosieJoseph in Belief, Irish Adventures, mental health, new adventures, New Paths, The continuing adventure

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

attitude of mind, Belief, calm, counting your blessings

There are so many things for us to sort out: bank accounts, house buying, paying French bills, social security numbers (you can’t do anything in Ireland without a social security number) but also, just to add to it, we need Irish driving licences because Ireland will no longer accept a UK driving licence because of Brexit! Add the pandemic into the mix, with half of the institutions you have to go to shut and it’s a joy. But, as someone said to us ‘you do like a big move don’t you?

And why not! Keeps us entertained 😂

Now since living in France, despite trying to get a social security number for five years I was never successful. We’re not the kind of folks who go to the doctor at the drop of a hat so no worries there, but due to the bureaucracy and lack of resources I was not able to get a referral to an eye consultant for the Glaucoma that I had developed at thirty-eight. Neither did I go to the opticians, because you can’t just go to the opticians in France you need a referral and two other hoops to jump through, so I gave up! I would also add to that how I kidded myself that because I was no longer staring at a computer twelve hours a day the Glaucoma had miraculously disappeared. The stories we tell ourselves sometimes!

So on arrival in Ireland the first thing I did was book an opticians appointment for us both. I had promised a lovely client of mine that I would, and she was very dear to me so I needed to keep my word. Also because we needed a report to enable us to get our licences, and the fact that my glasses were now nearly six years old, and I am officially myopic, the opticians appointments were my priority.

On arrival I was seen first. I knew I was in trouble when I could hardly see any of the field of vision test in my left eye. I had the photos of the back of my eye taken as well and halfway through my test the lovely optician informed my pressures were so high she was worried I was going to have ‘a bleed’ and that she was sending me as an emergency referral to the eye clinic there and then. Thank God they speak English, thank God we moved here when we did! She also explained that she believed I had already had a small bleed, that would not have necessarily affected my vision, but given that my pressures were dangerously high I need to go, and I need to go now. In addition she couldn’t sign off my form for my driving licence, something I had always feared since my initial diagnosis, that would no longer have the freedom that driving gave me.

Poor RD his appointment was cancelled and he had to drive like the wind to the hospital in the next county Sligo. On the way he was very quiet and confessed that he was really worried about me. I however was very calm, and explained to him that we could look at the drama, and the negative possibilities, and thereby build it up into a crises or, as I was seeing it, we could see our good fortune: that out of all of the things I had to organise ‘life’ had told me to book the opticians appointment first. That we had now moved to Ireland just in time, as it appeared, to save my eyesight; and that I was now in a country where I could speak the language (never under-estimate that). I actually saw myself as blessed.

When I explained it to him, RD commented that he hadn’t thought of it that way, and now looking at it that way his stresses were less.

On arrival at the hospital, after going through two road checks to ensure our journey was essential, off I went into the hospital. They were absolutely brilliant, no questions as to why I had let my glaucoma get out of hand, no judgement, in fact a lot of understanding. We were where we were, judgement was not going to help.

I was dispatched three and a half hours later with eye drops that make your eyelashes grow (always a half full girl) and we set off in the dark January night for our three hour journey home through the mountains. At this point I will introduce my other blessing that day: RD. He waited in the cold for three hours, walking the puppies who we had thought we could take for a walk around Donegal town, and had brought with us. There were no facilities in this pandemic time for him to even buy a coffee, luckily I brought him one out from the little coffee shop in the hospital, that I passed on my way out. He then drove home in the pitch black, a total of six hours driving that day, with never a word of complaint.

The following week we went back to complete our eye tests. I had religiously applied my drops every day, and I had never allowed my brain to wonder ‘what if?’ I know that what will be, will be, and negative thoughts can bring negative things your way, so I have strong enough processes now to stop my brain going down that road. By the end of the test my eyes had improved sufficiently for my form to get my licence to be signed off. When I asked the young optician (everyone’s young to me now!) if my pressures and eyesight had improved, or was that wishful thinking, he said he thought it was wishful thinking but would check anyway. In fact my field of vision had improved dramatically, my prescription has also reduced and my pressures had gone from dangerously high to within normal parameters, in a week! Even he was shocked. I wasn’t, I was just grateful.

Rosie

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Am I lucky? Or Can Anyone Be ‘Lucky’?

31 Sunday Jan 2021

Posted by RosieJoseph in coming home, Dream, Irish Adventures, Irish Scenes, Learning and Evolving, Making our own way, mental health, Mountains in Ireland, new adventures, New Paths, The continuing adventure

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Tags

attitude of mind, envy, facing fears, Irish Adventures, jealousy, letting go, lucky, positives and negatives, the road less travelled, The Tao, what is luck

Ever since starting this blog nearly six years ago it has always been my aim to encourage people to just consider something different, to think, to not be afraid.

I have been inspired by many books and philosophies over the years, and although now someone who tries to remind myself of the teaching of the Tao, and follow it where I can, if you asked me what book, to date, has inspired me the most then it would always be ‘The Road Less Travelled’ by M. Scott Peck. It was the book that set me on the path to read the other books, and I would not be the person that I am today if I had not picked that book up at one of the darkest times of my life, a time when I HAD to find myself all over again. (You would need to read my other blog at https://makingthisbetter.com to understand where I was, and why RD is now called RD)

I learned that I could not ‘go back’ and find myself, you can never go back, you can only go forward; and even now when I hear people say ‘let’s get back to normal.’ I hear myself say ‘you can’t go back, you can only go forward, and the ‘normal’ that you knew has gone.’

When I read this book I took on board so many of what the author had to say: how our life is mapped out for us by what we are taught in the early stages of our lives, but that as we grow older and life teaches us, or shows us happiness and sorrow, to truly live our life we need to have the courage to step off the road that was mapped out, and to face uncertainties and our fears, to truly live.

Ever the empath I learned how people project their problems onto you, the proverbial ‘monkey on your back’, or transference as it is known. Once I read that I could see so clearly when people were doing it, but, ever the empath, it was a big learning for me to stop when necessary.

It was because of that book that I was encouraged to look into philosophy, and try to ascertain a deeper understanding of life. I suppose that it taught me to face my fears, and not be afraid, thereby leading me to these adventures, and to quote M .Scott Peck, to understand that ‘someone else was doing the driving.’ I understood that no matter how much we think we are in control of our lives we are not, fate, or ‘life’ as RD and I call it, is.

I understand now that everything has to be a balance: bad things have to happen to enable us to understand the good things when they happen, and to not be afraid of this, or dwell on it, To just take the rough with the smooth. So many people focus on the negative things that happen to them, ask ‘why me?’ ‘Why us?’ and then they don’t see the really small good things that happen and so the negative things just keep happening because they have lost their ‘balance.’

So where is this leading? Well it was all of this that gave me the courage to go on these adventures, to know that everything changes, and to go with that change, to ‘let go of the rice’ (The Book of Awakenings. Mark Nepo).

Some of our garden in France

When we went to France we thought that ‘was it’. We thought that was where we were going to live forever, we felt we had to believe that, because we had sold up all our worldly goods and taken that chance on France, so therefore it HAD to work. Didn’t it? Of course it didn’t! I learned that ‘life’ is about learning and then moving on with the knowledge you have learned.

So we took our learnings from that adventure and we used them to go on to a new adventure. Lots of things were sent our way to help us make that decision, good and bad things, but one that sticks with me was when in 2019, someone who was moving back to the UK after living in France for ten years said that she thought that life went in ten year cycles and that then it was time to move on to pastures new. This was a time when both RD and I were considering whether staying in France was right for us, and her words resonated with me.

Since moving to Ireland I have joined some Facebook groups for the area, and about Ireland. One of them is actually called ‘I’d rather be in Ireland’.

The Beach at Dunmore Donegal Ireland

I have shared some of our photos and how we have now chosen where to settle in Ireland and so many people from all over the world have commented on how ‘lucky’ we are. Of how envious they are.

Snow Topped Errigal Mountain Donegal January 2021

It really got me thinking. Are we lucky? Or have we faced our fears?

Or are we perhaps lucky that we are able to face our fears, or open our minds?

January Sunset, Donegal Ireland

Remember it as one of the most painful things of my life that brought me to this stage, and I can confidently say that the same can be said for RD. some people would look at what happened to us then and pity us. But look at where it got us: to a place where we know that in life there is nothing to fear, only fear itself. Enabling us to take these chances.

RD had never ever been to Ireland, but he had faith in me, enough to trust me, who would have thought that, given that years ago he thought I was waiting to take my revenge!

I suppose what I am trying to say is if you look at someone and think ‘I wish I could do that’, then your brain starts to put all different obstacles in the way, I am saying understand they are obstacles but you can do it.

January in stunning Donegal

It won’t be easy. Look at our recent experiences: Christmas was cancelled, sad to leave our home and our wonderful French friends, difficult journeys, saying goodbye to our beloved pets we had to leave behind because they had departed, working so hard we felt like we would drop, and still so much more to do…. but it can be done.

Lots to tell you, more to come

Rosie

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Inspired …Winter Walks In Ireland

23 Saturday Jan 2021

Posted by RosieJoseph in For the live of dogs, Ireland, Irish Adventures, Irish Scenes, mental health, Mountains in Ireland, new adventures, New Paths, sunrises and sunsets, The continuing adventure

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Donegal, Irish Adventures, Irish Mountains, Irish Sunsets, Photos of Donegal, Simple things, Welsh Terriers, Welshies, Wild Atlantic Way

Wild Atlantic Way, Kincasslagh Donegal

Since living here I have realised how little we actually walked when living in France. Having just under an acre of land the dogs had enough space to roam, our road was over 2km long, and after you’d done that walk often it became a bit boring. So we became a lazy, just sitting under the trees in our then garden, and looking out over the beautiful view.

The View From Our Garden In France

It’s been cold here since our arrival in Donegal in Ireland, so at times our walks have incorporated wild wild winds, or mizzle (a mixture of mist and drizzle, the name coming from Cornwall) or just bracing cold in bright sunshine, and sometimes in the setting sun.

A Wall of Wave on The Wild Atlantic Way Donegal Ireland
January Sunset On The Wild Atlantic Way Donegal Ireland
Welsh Terriers OnThe Beach In Donegal Ireland
January Sunset On Carrickfin Beach The Wild Atlantic Way Donegal Ireland

Now we are renting a house where the grounds are not secure, so we have to take the Welsh Terriers for a long walk every day. But there is no ‘have to’ to be fair, because when the colours in your surroundings seem to change every few minutes, and your scenery is mountains and beaches, and the ‘Wild Atlantic Way’ we don’t need any encouragement.

Snow Capped Mountains in January in Donegal Ireland

After every walk we come home with our faces stinging and pink from the cold; and despite often being sopping wet (this is Ireland after all) we feel invigorated. We have even downloaded walking apps onto our phone, and in the last week I have achieved over twenty five thousand steps and burned off over two thousand calories. It is good for me because I have an injury to a very small muscle in my arse, it’s chronic and I’ve had it a number of years, but the walking is strengthening my other muscles, although we have decided that I need a walking stick to help me get up the banks on the beaches, and to climb some of the dunes. Who would have thought such a small muscle could incapacitate you to such a degree! But I am undeterred, you have to keep going.

Eregal Mountain January In Donegal

Today the mountain range was covered in snow, which blew in last night. There we were on the beach looking at the snow covered mountains.

The dogs absolutely love their beach walks, and Wiglet who used to be terrified of our swimming pool in France, is in awe of the sea. She stands, like King Canute, barking at the waves, commanding them to go back. Then hilariously keeps jumping and looking back as the creep up behind her, as if to say ‘They’re following me!’

Wiglet Commanding The Waves

No matter how cold, both of them run in and out of the surf, and stand facing the wind, ears on alert. It really is a simple thing that we love in these difficult times.

We love living here.

Rosie

Winter Sunset Carrickfin Donegal Ireland

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Like Kids In A Sweetshop

17 Sunday Jan 2021

Posted by RosieJoseph in coming home, Food in Ireland, Ireland, Irish Adventures, new adventures, New Paths, Recipes, The continuing adventure

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

food from home, Irish beaches, Irish Food, loving Ireland, Soda Bread, White Pudding

From the moment we arrived in Ireland and we went into Aldi for essentials (we know how to live), like milk and bread, because of the bank holiday the next day, we have been like kids in a sweetshop that has long been closed to us. Since then we have been enthralled by what is available and at the price of things. I can honestly say, as someone who has lived in both countries; Ireland is cheaper than France!

So on that short trip into Aldi (remember cats and dogs in the car) we found ourselves running round going ‘Bloody hell! Look at the price of that’, or ‘Really? Is that all it is? Or ‘Oh my God mince pies! We came out with milk, bread, biscuits, jammy cream biscuits, mince pies, Quality Street, tomato soup, oxtail soups (I cannot tell you how much I detested French soup, and was craving cream of tomato and oxtail soups) toilet rolls and strawberry cider (I know but essential for RD after the journey from hell!)

Since then the love affair with produce has continued: crumpets, baked beans, steak (so cheap), rashers of bacon, not round slices, sausages, cakes, black and white pudding, meat pies, fresh vegetables, so expensive in France, especially scallions, and celery that we love. I have actually got RD to eat fresh veg every day! We could not have afforded those items in France. Soda bread, mango chutney, lamb shanks, lamb chops, suet for dumplings…..

Irish Soda Bread

When you move country you have to basically rebuild your basics again: flour, salt, cornflour, ketchup, Nacho chips, sugar….it gives you a heart attack when you pay the bill! But …it’s all part of the adventure. Who ever knew that food shopping could be such fun?

We’ve calmed down now, thank God! And thank God we take the puppies for a walk every day or we wouldn’t be able to get out of the house!

Walking the beach, in the mizzle

When we lived in France we loved Brie, Olives, garlic, I will always love garlic and probably blow the Irish’s heads off with it! But make no bones, you always miss food from ‘home’, and trust me, you always will.

Good job we’re ‘home’ then! Lots more to come folks. You want to hear what we’ve bought next!

Rosie

Wiglet on The Beach as the Sun Sets

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Atmospheric Ireland. Winter Skies and Glens

10 Sunday Jan 2021

Posted by RosieJoseph in For the live of dogs, Ireland, Irish Adventures, Irish Scenes, new adventures, New Paths, sunrises and sunsets, The continuing adventure

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

a moment in time, a place for reflection, Atmospheric Ireland, Irish Glens, Irish Sunsets, Welshies, Winter Irish Sunsets

Late Evening in Donegal

The last time I came to Ireland I was twenty-two years old. I came with my family. I remember the craic, I remember the scenery, I remember how welcoming Irish people are, I remember walking up the Knockmealdown Mountains and looking out at more than forty shades of green, but I realise now I was too young to really appreciate the atmospheric scenery, and just how magical this place is. It really is a magical land.

We are finding our feet, as is always necessary when moving, let alone changing countries. Add the dreaded C-19 into the mix and it is difficult, but we can still get some shopping, and on Friday we went to the local larger town near us, Dungloe, to stock up. Of course we took the Welshies with us, they are still too insecure to leave them, I mean the cat’s haven’t even come out of the bedroom yet, other than to eat and hide in cupboards!

So off we set on yet another charabang outing which also involved taking the Welshies for a walk.

One of my all time memories of Ireland are the freshwater glens that run down from the mountain. I promise I will write of them often, not least because I have promised my Welshie furry son that I will show him the sunlight sparkling on them. Since he was ill late last year it has been my motivation through all this change to take Harley on the Irish beaches, and to the glens up the mountain. But on Friday we found a pretty little part of the town where a glen ran gurgling and bubbling into the open arms of a small bay.

I was so excited to find it, and it was absolutely stunning to watch as it ran into the sea, so beautifully lit up by the late evening winter sun. And just to make things really perfect we had a lovely chat with Finnola, who was so excited to tell us it was her birthday tomorrow.

The Glen Running Into the Arms of the Sea

We just stood at this bay, watching the light change, and as it did so everything else changed, as if a faerie was painting the land and sky in front of us.

Sunset in Donegal Ireland

On the way home I asked RD, who trusted me and came here having never been here before, what he loved. He said the scenery, the atmosphere, the friendliness of the people, being able to just chat to people and on and on. Eventually I stopped him and asked what didn’t he like, he immediately responded and said ‘nothing.’

Rosie

Sunset in Dungloe Donegal Ireland

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Ireland: The New Adventure Begins. A Little Taster

04 Monday Jan 2021

Posted by RosieJoseph in For the live of dogs, Ireland, Irish Adventures, Irish Scenes, Learning and Evolving, My family and other furry creatures, new adventures, New Paths, Simple things, The continuing adventure

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Beautiful Ireland, Change, Dogs, Ireland, Irish Mountains, LIfe, The Emerald Isle, Welsh Terriers, Welshies, Winter In Ireland New Life, Winter Walks

Our Daily Walk. Ireland Truly Breathtaking

We arrived at 2am on New Years Day. Moving countries is exhausting, as someone said ‘You do like a big move don’t you?

Well if you’re going to have an adventure you may as well make it a big one!

I have lots to write about, but right now I have to take the dogs out as we cannot let them run free. So I thought I would share with you photos from our ten minute walk to the beach yesterday….breathtaking

The beach, surrounded by snow topped mountains
The Wild Atlantic Way
We’re going on this beach today
The Walk Down To The Beach
We Are Surrounded By This Mountain View
RD walking into the clouds
Sunset On The Beach In Beautiful Donegal
A Happy Man

I think it’s fair to say, I have a knack for finding a view! But that’s not hard on the beautiful emerald Isle.

Rosie

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A Little Bit Of Paddy Has Finally Come Home.

03 Sunday Jan 2021

Posted by RosieJoseph in Change is a coming, Ireland, Irish Adventures, new adventures, New Paths, poignancy, Reflections, The continuing adventure

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

coming home, Ireland, Irish history, Irish memories, memories, mental health, my dad, poignancy, Tears, Welsh Terriers

The View From The Boat As We Docked
In Rosslare Ireland

I have so much to blog about not least the journey to our current home in Donegal, Ireland (such a nightmare, but also funny if you have a sense of humour). But first I want to write about my dad, who was a big factor in how we ended up living in Ireland.

It’s taken me a while to write this because I wanted to pay homage to my dad, and every time I thought about what I was going to write my eyes would fill with tears; they are now, but here goes.

My Dad was Patrick Joseph Walsh, you couldn’t get a more Irish name than that! He was a Tipperary man, the youngest of a large Irish family. He lost his mother early when she was sent away due to a sanatorium for mental health issues.

My dad Paddy was a clever man, but education was not an automatic right in the forties in Ireland, and further education was not available to everyone. But despite that my dad won a scholarship to go on to further education, it was a huge prestigious opportunity. Sadly whilst the education was free the uniform and the books needed were not. Despite going cap in hand and asking for help nobody would fund my dad, so terribly disillusioned he left Ireland and set sail for England where he boarded in my nan’s boarding house, met my mum, and the rest they say is history.

When my Irish grandmother (who I never met) was sent away to a sanatorium it was my Auntie Maureen who became my dad’s surrogate mother and so whenever we visited Ireland it was Auntie Maureen that we went to. I still remember today her breakfasts of Irish herby sausages, eggs with the brightest yellow yolks, and her homemade soda bread. Of how she would listen to me (a small gobby child) with a half smile on her face, but she would always listen, a little bemused. Looking back now I realise that perhaps she could see my dad in me, and that is why she always listened. I was always full of ideas, the difference with my dad was that I was more confident than my dad and have always had the ability to not show that I cared what people thought. As I’ve got older I now just don’t care.

Sadly my dad never returned to live in Ireland. My mum wouldn’t go, she wanted to stay with people she knew, no matter how vile some of her family were to her and my dad.

One of my awful, ignorant arrogant uncles would call my dad stupid (let’s not forget he was a ‘Paddy’ after all!) you can probably tell I am not a fan of my mum’s family (with the exception of one aunt). I know now that was insecurity on the uncle’s part, because my dad could see through him, and knew he had more intelligence than the arrogant uncle would ever understand. Ever the ‘quiet man’ my dad said nothing, because he also knew that was the only way to deal with insecure idiots.

Looking back now there was my dad, highly intelligent having to put up with those arseholes, how he must have longed for ‘home’.

So on New Years Eve as the boat was docking in Ireland all those travelling with their dogs were asked to wait on the dog deck, and there we stood with the Welshies, watching as Ireland became a reality. As I stood with RD I could feel a lump rise in my throat and my eyes brimmed with tears, I felt such an overwhelming feeling that I had finally come home. RD looked at me and just got hold of my had, he knew.

It’s hard to explain that feeling, it was so totally unexpected. The last time I visited Ireland was in 1985, when my dad brought us all over for a family holiday. I knew it was beautiful, but I was too young to appreciate just how beautiful it really is.

As I stood on deck I found myself hoping that my dad was standing beside me, with a smile on his face, approving because finally a little piece of him had come home, in me.

This one’s for you Paddy.

Rosie

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On the Boat to A New Adventure in Ireland

03 Sunday Jan 2021

Posted by RosieJoseph in Change is a coming, Dream, France, Goodbyes, new adventures, New Paths, poignancy, The continuing adventure

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

A haven, a moment in time, adventures, adventures in France, Ambrières-les-Vallées, atmospheric skies, au revoir, Auld Lang syne, leaving France, pastures new, Reflections

I wrote this blog on New year’s eve, but the dreaded internet got in the way. I thought it was appropriate to say a final farewell to France. Of course I am now writing this in Ireland, but this is the final farewell. There will be a flurry of posts this week, so much to write about…..

31.12.2021

So we did it! I suppose if you’ve done it once it gets easier. We said goodbye to France due to arrive in Ireland at 3.30pm Greenwich meantime.

    View from Deck

    I have limited internet, so here are some photos of Ambrieres les vallees on our last day there. It was a very pretty town, and affluent, as indicated by the Marie’s office. But despite its affluence the town was still struggling to survive, as were many in France.

    Enjoy the photos more to come from Ireland

    Ambrieres les vallees, taken from the town that’s cut into the rocks
    I fell in love with this weir and little bridge
    The weir
    The Marie’s Office in Ambrieres les vallees

    Rosie

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    Taking A Moment: The Last Sunday Morning Snuggle in France

    13 Sunday Dec 2020

    Posted by RosieJoseph in Change is a coming, For the live of dogs, Goodbyes, My home, new adventures, New Paths, poignancy, Saying Goodbye, Simple things, sunrises and sunsets, The continuing adventure

    ≈ 3 Comments

    Tags

    adventures, being grateful, Blessings, Change, Changes, Contentment, Dogs, Happiness, LIfe, Simple things, Small things, Welsh Terriers, Welshies

    December Sunrise Ambrieres les vallees 2020
    Welshie moments

    I often write this blog on a Sunday morning/afternoon as we sit in bed having our fourth cup of tea, snuggling with the Welshies. It is one of our treasured moments, a simple thing, counting our blessings.

    We have been mega busy dismantling our home, and today will be the last Sunday that we will have the opportunity to do this in this home. The weather has lent itself kindly to us doing this given that the rain is pouring down, and every now and then a spurt of wind whips around this hose on the hill.

    Once I get up my sparkling lights will be taken down, and off the bed.

    Our Bedroom, a place of sanctuary

    The 1860’s French dressing table will be emptied, ready for the remainder of our furniture to be moved on Tuesday.

    Our Antique French Dressing Table lovingly painted by me.

    This bedroom will no longer feel like ours, and this time next week we will be moving to a gite in anticipation of handing the keys to our house over the week after.

    One of the lessons we have learned as part of this adventure is that we make our homes, it is RD and I who create them, and make them into places where people like to come, because they are welcomed.

    I know I will create a new one, in some ways I am looking forward to it, but I started this blog all those years ago to encourage people to step outside of their comfort zones, to broaden their horizons, and to not be afraid of doing so. So I am writing about this move because yes, it is scary, yes it is poignant, yes you can recreate again, but yes you should live in each moment.

    I asked RD the other day if he felt afraid, he said ‘Yes’.

    Despite it all we know we are doing the right thing. Life has showed us that over and over. But right now we are procrastinating, or perhaps just treasuring this moment because we know it will never come again.

    Rosie

    December Sunset Montaigu Ambrieres les vallees 2020

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    Diary Of A Move: A Winter Move. What Fun!

    07 Monday Dec 2020

    Posted by RosieJoseph in Change is a coming, new adventures, New Paths, Saying Goodbye, sunrises and sunsets, The continuing adventure

    ≈ 7 Comments

    Tags

    adventures, Change, clearing out, emigrating, French Countryside, French Sunrises, French sunsets, moving home, packing up, Reflections, Welsh Terriers, Welshies, Winter

    A Memory From Christmas 2017

    Normally at this time of year I would be doing my favourite Christmas thing: decorating my Christmas tree. But this year we’re dismantling our lives, so this one from 2017 will have to do. I chose it because it was the first time our son Tom came to visit us in France, and it was truly a magical time.

    Christmas 2019

    For us now Christmas isn’t about material things, it’s about the people, the simplicity and the memories we make. This year the memories will be vastly different from all others.

    Our First Christmas in France 2015

    We are on a countdown now, and I am not going to lie it is a little bit frightening, and trust me I chose that word carefully; because as we dismantle we know that we will not have our own place for some time, and those little voices can kick in and start whispering the ‘what if’s’. Over the years of living here and reading philosophy, psychology and the Tao I have become a lot better in closing them down, and mantras have become my saviours.

    RD has been working so we have a limited amount of days we can clear out the two ton (sometimes seems like more) of crap we have accumulated in our lives, which involves many trips to the dechetterie (dump). Add to that the fact that the dechetterie is only open three half days and one full day a week and it all becomes ever so slightly desperate!

    So on Saturday we had no choice: dechetterie it was! But the weather has turned decidedly cold here, and on that dictated day we also had the pleasure of freezing rain and sleet to contend with. There we were, in our fleeces and waterproofs, putting metal here, plastic there, electrical goods somewhere else, wood in one container, dirty wood in another container, whilst contending with the driving sleet in our faces. Let me tell you it was a joy! Luckily we had the dechetterie controller ‘Stig’, as he likes to be known (a la ‘Stig Of The Dump’) to help us. By the time we got home with the rain and snow still driving into our faces and soaked through despite the waterproofs, snd we decided to call it a day.

    RD cleared out the cellar weeks ago, but he isn’t as definitive as me when it comes to making decisions to let things go, and asked me for help. I knew this meant that he wanted me to go with him and boss him around. So yesterday I did just that and the cellar was sorted into a pile for the dechetterie (yep here we go again) and the rest was loaded into the van and taken to our friends, who have kindly let us store our worldly goods in their outbuildings. It was all done in an hour. I am very methodical with things like that.

    So having said that I have to go to pack up some more, and sort out our paperwork, which will be complicated because I need to ensure we have the basics to start our new life in Ireland, on our initial trip, because the rest will have to remain here until we can collect it in a few months time. We cannot take it all, not with two Welsh Terriers, and two cats, and clothes, food, and so much more, the van can only carry so much.

    But before I go the cold weather has provided us (because I know my readers like them too) with some fabulous sunrises and sunsets. Here are some to enjoy…

    Rosie

    French Sunrise from my
    garden December 2020
    French Sunset from my Garden December 2020

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