Here and Now: The Small Things I Love

16 Monday Nov 2020

Posted by RosieJoseph in Change is a coming, For the live of dogs, My family and other furry creatures, new adventures, New Paths, Simple things, sunrises and sunsets, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure

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adventures, being grateful, Blessings, Change, Contentment, counting your blessings, Dogs, Happiness, LIfe, Love, Simple things, Welsh Terriers, Welshies

Anyone who follows this blog knows that I have always loved the sunrises over the valley. I have shared them often with you, the photo above is todays sunrise and I promised more in one of my recent posts, I hadn’t forgotten.

At this time of year the winds can whip up quickly in the valleys, but despite their ferocity at times I have always loved laying in bed with my beloved husband and Welshies and listen to them whooshing around the house. and more than anything I love to hear the rain hitting the drawn down shutters. I lay in bed with all my blessings around me and I listen to that rain and I feel safe, and blessed to have shelter. It is a small thing to some, but living here listening to that calming sound has made me understand that it’s not a small thing, it’s the thing that people search for: a home, safety, love.

This week we were reminded again, to live in the here and now. Harley has been a little off colour over the past few weeks, and I noticed he was drinking more, and he had some accidents in the house. On Friday he literally wet himself in front of us, so I took him to the vet on Saturday morning. The outcome was that they wanted to test him for ‘Cushings’ disease. Of course I had already looked up possibilities of what could be wrong with him, and I knew that this possible outcome was not good. Harley is nine now, and I want him to live forever (tears in my eyes now.)

We booked the test for today, and we cried all day on Saturday, and I just kept saying my mantra ‘here and now, here and now’ over and over again.

I joined numerous Facebook groups to ask for advice. The outpouring of support from those sites, and our wonder Welsh Terrier Fan Club site was overwhelming. In these difficult times it was a joy to know that people are still good people, it appears thats especially where our beloved animals are concerned.

Our vet is a lovely vet, but he is an agricultural vet primarily and after much discussion, taking into account that many people who have had to deal with this disease advised to have his urine tested in a lab and a culture grown, that we are moving to Ireland in ten weeks approx, the complexity of dealing with the disease (if he has it) and the complexity of diagnosis (get it wrong and give him the meds with terrible side effects and it could kill him), and that he would have to be monitored we decided not to go ahead with the test. We feel that for now we have made the right choice. It would appear that Harley does too, as he has stopped drinking as much and has perked right up.

So that will be something to keep my eye on, because we have approximately forty days before we have to leave this house, and there is still so much to do.

A bientot.

Rosie

Living In The Here and Now- Small Moments

08 Sunday Nov 2020

Posted by RosieJoseph in a sense of community, Change is a coming, mental health, My home, Simple things, The continuing adventure

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Change, Contentment, Dogs, Happiness, here and now, LIfe, living in the moment, Simple things, Welsh Terriers, Welshies

Selling houses is stressful, there is no doubt about that. But more of that on future blogs. Just to say the Compromise de Vente (which means a commitment to sale) has finally been signed by our buyers, and we are due to sign next week. There will then be a ten day cooling off period for the buyers, fingers crossed it all goes well.

Due to the stresses it has been easy to forget that we only ever live in the here and now. So last week as RD and I sat in the garden in some bright autumn sunshine, I reminded him that we should make the most of our impromptu tea break because when we go to Ireland we are both going back to work, which means the time for impromptu tea breaks on any day will be gone. That we should treasure how much time we get to spend with the Welshies, because we won’t have as much time as this in the future.

Later in the week we lit our garden fire, and took two of our garden chairs to just ‘sit’ and watch the flames. We are both in the frame of mind that we just want to leave France now, but we should treasure the moments when we sit under some of our majestic oaks, with the dogs, and enjoy the peace and solitude that you can only find in nature.

Today we were invited to our lovely neighbours Manu and Lucie, for aperitif. We spent a couple of hours with them, playing drafts with the chess set we retrieved from our barn, a gift to our son many years ago and never touched. Trying to teach them,and us,chess with the language barrier was just too great! Their eight year old son loved it, and a relaxed fun couple of hours was had.

RD has been struggling with everything that’s been going on, but when we returned he said ‘that has really lifted me, today,’ I looked at him and said ‘That’s what I mean about living in the here and now, we give so much focusing on what we want in the future we fail to see what we have now. We let it go, and we stop enjoying it.’ RD looked at me and said ‘I understand.’

Happy Sunday folks

Rosie

So Here We Are

28 Friday Aug 2020

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

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adventures, believe, Change, Changes, coming home, Contentment, enjoying the here and now, Goodbyes, Happiness, home, Hope, LIfe, looking forward, Moving on, remembering, Tears, vintage French statues

So here we are, having a glass of wine and a beer in our home. I am back in France.

We have just signed the documents agreeing to sell our home. It’s time to move on.

I have shed a little tear, I am sure there will be more to come. But for now, despite the stormy weather, it is good to be back in my ‘for now’ home.

Tomorrow we are having a BBQ for all our fabulous French friends and neighbours, and two English friends that we didn’t realise were there, all the time. Here is to a party to celebrate the last five years.

Just a little teaser, I used to swim in this river, right by the bridge.

And I spent many hours under a bridge just like this catching tiddlers in the glen that flowed down from the mountain.

Ireland has so much to look forward to.

Exciting times. But right now, I am going to enjoy the hear and now.

Rosie

Oh! Just to make you giggle our buyers thought we are religious! I think it may be my vintage bleeding heart statue of Jesus.

You can call us many things but religious is not one of them.

😉

Rosie

It’s flown by

16 Tuesday Jun 2020

Posted by RosieJoseph in Change is a coming, Goodbyes, Making our own way, new adventures, New Paths, The continuing adventure

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adventures, being grateful, cats, Change, Changes, Dogs, Goodbyes, Happiness, LIfe, life shows the way, Love, Love of dogs, Moving on, new adventures, Rural France, Welsh Terriers, Welshies

I go back to work tomorrow. I will probably be away from home again for three weeks. But I am enjoying my job, not just the money it brings, but the freedom, and also that it gives me back a sense of identity.

For the first two weeks the temperatures were over thirty degrees here. So we jinxed it: we put the pool up, and five days later it started to rain and has rained pretty much every day here since! Not just rained, but poured. Our ground is saturated ai think if we got the lawn mower out it would sink!

But on one of the hot, sun dodging, days RD and I were sitting in the garden chatting and I could see him just smiling at me. When I asked him why he said it had been a long while since he had seen me so animated about something. I realised he was right. I have missed working, I have missed interacting with other people, I have missed having responsibility. Since starting my job I have deliberately tried to stay out of any politics, and the beauty of this jib is that I have responsibility only for myself to do a good job, and nobody else. I like that.

What all this made me realise was just how much I enjoy working, I enjoy meeting people, and I don’t want to go back to not having that. Ireland will also offer me more work opportunities, (again it can’t offer me any less than here) and I can continue in my current role if I want to. Those are decisions to be made at a later date.

But it also made me think about just how much RD misses that. He doesn’t miss working for most of the people here, but he does miss camaraderie and ‘the crack.’ As winter draws in and I am not here it will miss that more, although he puts on a brave face and insists he won’t.

I have always said I will be honest and now is the time to say that although we all think we want out of the ‘rat race’ do we? Or do we want to dip a toe in every now and then?

We have achieved a lot, sorted out furniture in many rooms, ready for sale, and I have finally sorted right through our filing and admin. Didn’t quite achieve getting all of the ironing done though.

I have enjoyed by five weeks at home, but now I am getting bored with what we have here and I am ready to go back. I will miss my RD and my puppies and kittens, that is the hardest thing. But once I am there I will crack on.

I am back on Boaty McBoatface tomorrow, hopefully I won’t have to climb down the ladder!

Rosie

‘And Homes the Most Excellent Place Of All’ …..

14 Thursday May 2020

Posted by RosieJoseph in a sense of community, Belief, For the live of dogs, Friends, Goodbyes, laughter & giggles, Learning and Evolving, New Paths, People, The continuing adventure

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beautiful views, being grateful, cats, Change, Contentment, counting your blessings, Dogs, Happiness, Heartlight, home, Jersey, LIfe, Love, Neil Diamond, small boats, turquoise seas, Welsh Terriers, Welshies

The sea is the most beautiful turquoise blue today, and this view never ceases to take my breath away. I have made new friends, despite being at work; and I have giggled every day. Drunk more hot chocolates than I normally would, seen nearly every beautiful beach in Jersey. But I am not home, and in the words of Neil Diamond from the fabulous song ‘Heartlight’: ‘

‘Cause everyone needs a place
And home’s the most excellent place of all’

Thirteen years ago Rich sang that song, and he cried as he struggled with where we were at that time. I have loved that song ever since.

If you love good music thus is for you…Heartlight

I go home tomorrow in a small boat, to my home, and I cannot wait.

Thank you all for your positive thoughts

Rosie

Taking every day

09 Sunday Feb 2020

Posted by RosieJoseph in Change is a coming, Goodbyes, Learning and Evolving, My family and other furry creatures, My home, Simple things, The continuing adventure

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adventures, being grateful, believe, Blessings, cats, Change, Changes, Contentment, counting your blessings, Happiness, letting go, LIfe, Love, Moving on, new adventures, Poignant, Reflections, Rural France, Simple things, Small things, The seasons, understanding, Winter

We are going to move, our mind has been made up. But more of that in a other post. Because of that we are savouring our moments in our house.

Today France has been lashed by storm Ciara, and the winds are getting stronger, with the rain sleeting down. We have embraced the French culture of doing nothing on a Sunday. Last week we sat in our wingback chairs in our picture window reading blogs and Mark Nepo, so RD, after a week of hard work, asked could we do the same.

So here we are with the cats (this one is Diddies) watching the storm go by, and cherishing our time here.

Taking each and every day.

Rosie

We laugh, all the time

07 Friday Feb 2020

Posted by RosieJoseph in laughter & giggles, mental health, The continuing adventure, Us

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Contentment, crying with laughter, Happiness, laughter, memories, Simple things, Us

I thought I would share a quick story this Friday (Friday? where the hell did this week go?) something that I hope will make you giggle.

I recently wrote about my aunt who had recently died well my sister sent some photos to me that my aunt had in her keeping; and the above photo is one if them. It is a picture of my sister and I on holiday, probably somewhere like Clacton, or Margate.

I casually passed the photos to RD when he got home from work, he didn’t have his glasses on and I hadn’t really looked at the photos in depth, and he asked ‘is that a real donkey?’ !!!

What made it worse was I said yes!

He the said with incredulity ‘ Well! I’ve never seen a donkey that looks like that!’

I then looked at the photo! I couldn’t breathe for laughing, so much so I had to stand up!

Still giggling today.

Here’s to a good Friday.

Rosie

Belief. Life’s messages

25 Saturday Jan 2020

Posted by RosieJoseph in Belief, Learning and Evolving, Making our own way, mental health, People, Reflections, Simple things, sunrises and sunsets, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure

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a little place to sit, being grateful, Belief, believe, birthdays, Blessings, contemplation, Contentment, count your blessings, counting your blessings, Dogs, Faith, Feeling blessed, French sunsets, good times, Happiness, Helping others, home, Inspiration, kindness, learning, LIfe, life shows the way, Life shows you the way, memories, mental health, positivity, Reflections, Rural France, sanctuary, Simple things, Small things, Tears, tranquility, understanding, Welsh Terriers, Welshies

This is the Table beside my blue wing back chair.

It is a place I sit often to write, manage our life, and just look at life; and this table holds many things I use: my journal, my diary, my iPad, my book, books I am reading, currently Mark Nepo ‘The Book of Awakenings’, and ‘The Road Less Travelled and Beyond’. It has become a little sanctuary to me, as I look out on my garden, often with a Welshie sitting opposite me.

I took the picture of my table last night because today is my birthday, and as I placed the flowers that RD had bought me on my table (where else would they go?!) with my cards, ready to open this morning, I realised how much this table encapsulates my life, and just how blessed I am.

I have no religion, or ‘God’. Perhaps my ‘God’ is life. I truly believe that life does show you the way, if you have faith. But as with all faiths sometimes it is hard to hold on to them. I will do another blog to show how life has shown us over this month to believe in it, and ourselves, but today I want to share a gift I was given by our client.

I have often written about the awful people we have worked for, but yesterday our client paid their bill and then gave us a tip on top! A tip that will enable us to buy wood for the rest of the winter. But it was not the actual tip that was the biggest gift, it was the fact that it reminded me that there are good and kind people out there. It bought tears to my eyes because of that, because of their kindness, and because it gave me a lesson, and it gave me faith.

I think I will chalk that up as one of the best gifts ever, along with my son turning up at Christmas: spiritual gifts not material ones.

Rosie

You can read our other story by clicking on the link at the top of the page.

Making This Better the book is now available including the journal entries for the first 5 years of our recovery & the whole 21 days of ‘The War’. Available internationally in paperback and ebook at Amazon and Barnes & Noble also available at Xlibris and Apple Books for iPad and Waterstones Bookstores for click & collect

Winter days: Sunshine and Welshies.

23 Thursday Jan 2020

Posted by RosieJoseph in Change is a coming, For the live of dogs, My family and other furry creatures, Reflections, Simple things, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure, The good, the bad and the ugly., The seasons

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at one with nature, being grateful, Blessings, Change, Changes, Contentment, counting your blessings, Dogs, French Countryside, Happiness, LIfe, memories, Nature, Reflections, Rural France, Simple things, Small things, Welsh Terrier, Welsh Terriers, Welshies, Winter Gardens, Winter in France, winter sunshine

As I have said before I am trying to take the opportunity to spend time outside with nature, and my two beloved dogs.

It has been bitterly cold this past week in our rural area of France, and the thing with old stone houses is: they may look pretty but they are bloody cold if left without any heating in these kind of temperatures.

I have been working with RD this month, assisting and bossing him about. (I do the snagging in our business because I am a picky bitch!) So we have been freezing cold as we have not been lighting the fire until later, with the house eventually becoming warm and toasty just as we are going to bed!

But the job is coming to an end, so today I am at home, literally keeping the home fires burning. So the fire was lit this morning, and the house is warm, I have filled the log cabinet and RD can relax when he gets home.

Although cold it has been beautifully sunny and I have taken the opportunity to sit in my garden, at one with nature. Well as one as you can get it when accompanied by two Welsh Terriers!

But seriously the time I have with my dogs is never going to be enough; and being someone who always gets caught up in ‘the doing’, I need to remind myself daily to take a moment and enjoy the simple things in my life. Like sitting in the winter sunshine, with my dogs.

We pretty much know that our time here will be limited, and that we are likely to move to pastures new. So I need to enjoy this beautiful place whilst I can, so that I have memories to take with me, and no regret.

Enjoy it all, no matter the weather, breathe it in….

Rosie

You can read my other blog by clicking on the link abive. It may surprise you.

Making This Better my book is also available in all good bookstores including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple Books and so many more.

Endings and beginnings

30 Monday Dec 2019

Posted by RosieJoseph in Change is a coming, sunrises and sunsets, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure, The seasons

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beginnings, being grateful, Blessings, cats, Change, Changes, Contentment, count your blessings, counting your blessings, endings, France, French Countryside, French Sunrises, Happiness, Inspiration, LIfe, Nature, Poignant, Reflections, Rural France, Simple things, Small things, Sunrises, sunsets, The seasons, understanding

One of things I adore about living here are the sunrises and sunsets. They often inspire me for the day, or remind me why I am grateful for my life. So I thought I would share some from this year.

For me each sunrise is the start of not only a new day, but a new adventure, a new life, new opportunity……

As I sit here tonight,with my old cat on my lap, I know she will be leaving very soon, and it reminds me that each sunset means endings, the end of the day, and the promise of something new, but only for some. Each beautiful sunset that I see reminds me to count my blessings for each day. I do.