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Tag Archives: life shows the way

As I sit here…..

17 Wednesday Oct 2018

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

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As I sit here this morning, with my first cup of tea of the day (I am English after all!) I have found the urge to write.

The picture above is my garden at this present moment that I am writing this. The view from the valley as you can see is totally obscured because there is a thick fog and autumn has finally rolled in. A complete contrast to just weeks ago..

For the first time this season we have condensation on our windows, and single figure temperatures outside, but our house is warm. The roof on our kitchen has finally been replaced (more of that to come in another post) and add to the mix our new front door and the difference it has made is immeasurable. I smiled to myself today when I looked at our doors, and there was no condensation on them.

Sadly they are nowhere near as pretty as our old door, but it had to go, it was beyond repair (and trust me I tried) the oak had split from the hundred years of driving rain and wind it had endured so it could not be saved. We have re-used it (as you would know we love a bit of old and vintage, and will repurpose where we can, you only have to look at our Etsy shop) as a feature in our garden, it now plays the part of a secret door into a fairy kingdom.

I know we’re mad! But helps in life sometimes!

I love the autumn, One of the biggest things for me about living here is the changing of the seasons. I’ve said it before and I will probably say it again; it is a constant reminder that things change, and that although they will come back again they will never be the same as the one before. Nothing in life ever is. For me the autumn is the most poignant because all the things are dying off, it is the end of something that you will never get back, and it is a reminder to treasure every moment.

As some of you may know I am sharing a story from long ago about Rich and I, it has taken off. It is a sad story, but remembering where we are now, it is a story of hope. It too is a story of something dying and then coming back again, but in a different way, it was never going to be what it was before. Perhaps it is apt that I decided to share it in the autumn!

For those who have read my blog over the years you will know it made us stronger, and gave us the courage to take this adventure; and despite the hardships we have had along the way they have never broken us, almost sometimes, but we have always got through.

We have learnt that money really does not buy you happiness, and material things may give you comfort but they don’t make you happy. Because despite having no water, no roof, a leaking cesspit, dodgy cars at one point, and at times been down to the last six euros to our name, things have always come through, because we are happy in our minds. We have the ability to laugh, sometimes at each other, every day. We lost our egos.

So yesterday we read a passage from the Tao and the explanation asked a question, to think about what you thought made you happy and then ask yourself if that were true. It was designed to help people realise that the material things they bought did not really make them happy. So Rich and I both thought about it independently and both came up with the same answer, independently: it was to sit in our garden and look out across the valley.

We love our life, we love the simplicity and we both agreed that even if we had enough money to not have to worry about spending it, we still wouldn’t go out for meals, our greatest pleasure would be to sit in our garden and look at the view, with each other. (And all the furries of course!)

We are blessed.

Have a food day folks, enjoy the small things.

Moisy

If you want to learn more about us you may want to check out:

Makingthisbetter.com my new blog

PetiteFrenchfancies @etsy is my shop full of eclectic (of course) things.

You can also find me on Instagram as moisfrenchadventure, and Pinterest as moisfrenchadventure.com

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We have some plans afoot….

07 Tuesday Aug 2018

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

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Today will be a busy day. After a day of relaxing in the garden where we all virtually suffocated in the heat (over forty four degrees on our terrace!) we are all geared up for what today brings.

We have some plans afoot, and to get them moving we have some appointments today, and a BBQ tonight with some of those that may be involved in the new stages of our adventure. (And that is not counting the kitchen!)

But first it’s off shopping, and a shoe shop may be involved!

Look out for more, it’s all top secret at the moment! So ask me no questions I’ll tell you no lies!

Fingers crossed folks, fingers crossed……..There may be a new and exciting blog to follow……

Moisy

Small steps, can make all the difference – as long as you listen and understand

08 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by in My home, Reflections, The continuing adventure

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A long while ago someone once gave me, at the most difficult time in my life, a good piece of advice; she said “Small steps.” At the time I did not understand her advice, but came to understand it over time, often as I fought against something I could not change, and tried to make things improve quickly, when only time, and small things would make the difference.

It was a lesson that I learnt well, and I am grateful every day for the advice my dear friend Avril gave me.

So fast forward to today, and we said goodbye to the hundred year old door, (see previous post with that title) and a new one has took its place; a set of UPVC French windows (or are they just double windows over here given that we are in France, and, thereby all the windows are French!)

As I said in my previous post we had no choice and had to be practical. We had a new frame built and to tie it in with the rest of the house we painted it blue, but decided to leave the door white to show that the house has stood the test of time and this is its latest addition.

Since having it installed we have had cold and windy rainy days and it has been a joy to stand in front of it and not feel a puff of the wind that was ferociously blowing at our house. The light it allows into my kitchen is fantastic and now when I stand cooking I look out at this…

I love it. But more than anything we finally feel as if we are getting somewhere, achieving and really starting to get our life on track in France. It is a small thing having the door fitted, but it is something that makes us warm and makes us feel empowered.

Another reason for my post was that someone asked me about my recent post, ‘it all depends on how you look at things I suppose’; She asked “how do you know that when bad things happen to you, that it means that life is not telling you to give up.” I asked if by that she meant was life telling us we should go back to England, and she said ‘yes it was.’ My immediate response was to explain that we could not go back even if we considered it (which we are not) because, apart from not particularly liking the way England is now, we would have to rent at our time of life, which would be a nightmare in England with animals, and our money would not last long from our house if we went back.

I have thought about this since then and have surprised myself that I answered her in such a materialistic way. In fact after considering it here is my answer…

When I say life shows you the way, I think it shows you the way and teaches you lessons to enable you to move forward; yes sometimes the lessons are hard but they are ALWAYS about moving forward (although we may not feel that at the time) and never about going backwards, after all what would be the point of that?

I do see life as a journey, my biggest inspiration has been ‘The road less travelled’ by M. Scott Peck, and as you learn things in life those lessons should make you stronger to enable you to keep going, and be able to deal with adversity in the future.

I suppose my friend was saying how do you know life is not telling you to change what you are doing, or where you’re going, and go back to what you know, how do you know life is not telling you that you have made a mistake? Again, what would be the point of that? I believe that if it is, then the lessons will become harder until you listen, but they will always be about moving forward and not back.

Importantly life does not only send you hard lessons, it sends you good things as well, to tell you that you’re on track and need to keep going; and I know from some of the lovely people we have met, and others who are now in our lives that we are on track. I listen to all my lessons not just the hard ones!!

As I said in my previous post it all depends on how you look at things; Do you look at it from a positive angle and ask what can I learn from this to carry on? Or do you look at the negative things to use as an excuse to give up, and go back to what you know? That is not an adventure my friend.

Where there is good there is bad, and where there is bad there is good. Everything goes in a circle, but if you just focus on the bad then that is all you will get because you fail to see the good, or allow it a way in. Negativity begets negative things. If we are being told to give up this adventure then we would not have been able to get the door. I know we will have the roof before the winter, I believe!

I will say this though: When you really want something badly and it does not happen then listen, because life is telling you it is not the right thing for you, no matter how hard it seems that you cannot have it. Something else will come along instead if you just believe and keep the door open…..

Moisy

You always need to believe if you are going on an adventure, believe you are a star.

14 Tuesday Nov 2017

Posted by in Reflections, The continuing adventure

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twinkle stars

 

So this week the same person (I would say bitch but I don’t want to give their sex away!!) who told me my Etsy shop was ‘crap’ told me that I was delusional and should stop writing my blog because it doesn’t make me money! Should I?

I want to write; I  have been told by many that I am a good writer, that I  have a way with words, that my words are ‘beautiful’; and having sent my book off to one publisher I know that I need to have a media presence, and that is what I have been working on over the past few weeks, relentlessly.

I have also been building a media presence for my shop, mainly because I need to build it and raise it’s profile, so as a result I did not do as many blogs last week as I should have done. But now I have been told that I am ‘delusional’ and ‘need to focus on what makes money’ my strong personality kicks in and I think f**k you!

So today I will be finishing my book for my ‘friend in the  know’ to read in it’s entirety, and then I will be sending it off to other publishers, because do you know what? Delusional or not, I do know that if I don’t do it I will never ‘make money’ from it! But more importantly, for me, I will not help people who are finding themselves in a situation we were in ten years ago, and who just don’t know what to do. Contrary to some people I do not believe that life is ‘all about making money.’

In addition I will continue with my blog because my reader content is going up all the time, and I love that people all over the world from Canada and America to Australia and Malaysia read my blog; I adore it when people react to it, when it touches a nerve for them, when it makes them cry because they can relate. What better compliment can a writer have to have touched an emotion?

I will look into advertising on it (or perhaps I won’t) and I will write because I want to. Good old ‘Delusional me’!!

Why am I writing this? Because when you go on an adventure like this, unless you have a massive pension, or pot of savings to take with you, you have to believe that things will work out. If you don’t you are lost. This negative person, is like J.K. Rowling’s characters in Harry Potter;  a Dementor, in that they suck all of the life out of you because they are not happy so they do not want anyone else to be.

If you are on an adventure take my advice, stay away from that crap because they will have you stop believing in a heartbeat. Do they read this, ‘no’ they advised me, they ‘do not read my blog,’ so how would they know or understand what it is about?

Do I feel better for saying this? Yes I do! I bit my tongue for too long, f**k i!! t I am not doing it any longer. If they read this post my message to them is that you said it, if you are offended ‘Suck it up!’

This morning I got up and my best friend had sent me a message through messenger saying ‘Believe’ with this underneath

STUBBORN HEART QUOTE

She know’s me well, I am stubborn when you push me. So here I am writing my blog, being delusional!

But really folks, especially those who want the adventure, my message to you is that you will never do it if you think about all the ‘what ifs’, and trust me all the people who too afraid to do the adventure will have  you believing the ‘what ifs’ in a heartbeat to keep you in your place.

For those on the adventure with us, and I know there are many who are finding it hard for whatever reasonm the same friend sent me this later today…….

FIND A WAY

And I will.

So here are some pictures of our new venture – I have always loved interior design and rustic, and original, so we are now making wooden ornaments for the home and garden #made with  love in our barn in France # a star is for life not just for Christmas.

*(Oops apologies for those I traumatised when I missed the ‘with’ out and implied we had been making love in our barn!! Have corrected now!!)*

We have our first order already, it is currently drying in my kitchen waiting for more decoration…..

SMALL SPARKLY STARSBLUE STARSRED STAR

If you would like to visit my shop petiteFrenchfancies I have included a link just click on the word …….petiteFrenchfancies

Then just now, as I always believe that ‘life show’s you the way’, a message popped up in messenger from an old friend in England who used to be my boss, and always believed in me, and in the message she said ‘how are you? Still fabulous I see.’ Wonderful!!

It is the small things, always better to be positive than negative (although the same person told me once that I was ‘too positive’! And as I am writing this I realise that I have to step away from that crap!!!) a positive word can do so much more, a negative word is only said to destroy something, there can be no other outcome.

I hope you have enjoyed this post, because, trust me, I enjoyed writing it! Rich’s new name for me is ‘Delusional Moisy’ !!! Let’s all be delusional together and ignore the others!!!

Another post tomorrow folks – no stopping me now – a witchy poo cook recipe as requested for my Sweet Chillie Sauce and Mexican Chicken.

 

Moisy xxxx