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Tag Archives: The seasons

The leaning cherry, what tales you could have told

26 Tuesday Feb 2019

Posted by in My family and other furry creatures, My home, The seasons

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Nearly four years ago when we moved here we were told to chop down this old cherry tree. But she was covered in leaves and we didn’t have the heart. So Rich propped her up with a length of pine, and every year she came back, with her beautiful blossom under which we sat drinking wine

And her copious amounts of cherries. She fed the birds, she fed us.

Last year Rich set up the swinging seat I bought him (for 3€) for his birthday from it’s boughs. But when I look at it now I can see her leaves were dropping in July, and I believe she was dying even then.

Just last month I took a picture of it and you can see where the seat was. But then we noticed two weeks ago that if you decided to sit in the seat, your bum would be scraping the floor! The hooley from a few weeks ago had wreaked the final damage on her that she could take.

So Rich removed the seat and we deliberated on whether it was time to let the old girl go. She had some buds, but some parts had died and her trunk was sounding hollow. We didn’t have the heart to chop her down, but had a dilemma with the Welshies.

But as we considered what to do nature took the decision out of our hands. Yesterday, on a bright, warm, sunny day, as my washing blew in the wind

As we chopped and split yet more logs getting ready for our new venture, there was suddenly the sound of loud cracking and snapping. The Welshies stopped in their tracks and Rich shouted ‘that’s the tree’ as an almighty crack and the sound if splitting filled the air and down she came.

It was time to let the old girl go.

Poor Rich, he had just put his chainsaw away, after the chain became too loose, only to get it back out. More wood!

so in the evening sunshine we took two garden chairs up by the tree cracked open a beer, and said goodbye. We felt sad though, that cherry could tell so many stories, but nature showed us that sometimes things come to an end. It has changed the whole landscape of our garden. Everything must change.

Moisy

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Spring’s being blown in on a Hooley…

10 Sunday Feb 2019

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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As I sit here on a Sunday afternoon there are 80km an hour winds blowing around our house. They blew in on Friday and then subsided only to come back with a vengeance last night. I took this picture of our two chairs on Friday evening and now one is on it’s back!

The reason I took the picture was because the chairs had been positioned there last Sunday, for us to enjoy the warm sunshine after an afternoon of working in the garden. (We’re winning the battle with the tree trunks and gradually clearing the brambles)

It really was such a beautiful day, and as we sat there with a panache (shandy, a drink of lemonade,beer and a dash of lime) in the warmth it reminded me again of how all things change, and things go from bad to good and back again. As Rich said ‘there is nothing like warm sunshine to make you feel that all is right with the world again.’

I wrote only recently of how I thought that spring was going to come early (Spring and winter) and I was right. Although The Hooley is blowing it is not cold, in fact we’re into double figures and the forecast is we will hit fourteen degrees by Saturday, with sun and clouds all week. That is warm for February over here, and it is good to not have to light the fire really early every day, and to be able to leave the expensive electric heaters off. (They tax you on your use here and then tax you on the tax!)

So, after the lovely warm Sunday, winter tried to take a hold again; and all week we have had rain, mizzle (a Cornish word meaning a mixture of rain and drizzle, which is like a mist that makes you really wet!) Despite it all we have persevered with the garden because we have plans for the summer (more of that to come later: I told you I’m back!) I’m back! But some of the days it was just too wet, so I have been busy setting up a website, and finally took hold of all of our paperwork, four years worth!! All is filed away in relevant folders, every plastic docket is labelled, and every folder has an index.

I have also driven Rich (it easy to lose your motivation when you are down): So he has set me up a temporary light for my other light in my kitchen (been without it 2 years, so I keep forgetting to put it on now!) started to sort out our large wooden barn structure so that it is more efficient for storage and to work in;

And also started to strip the lining paper off our stairwell (a pig of a job) and has painted our fireplace; turning ugly to beautiful:

I think I told you, I’m back!

Where the weather is concerned Spring is winning this battle, and she is coming early: the crocus are now abundant in our garden, the narcissi and daffodils have buds and even in this hooley the rain is lashing on the windows one minute and the sun is shining the next. Persephone is coming back early this year.

I did say to Rich that we should go for a walk, but he has just brought me a cup of tea and said ‘enjoy your walk and when you get back I ‘ll have a nice cup of tea waiting for you!’ Bastard!

So just like nature I have realised that you have to use all that you have to survive in life, and that my lesson was to understand that one of my greatest gifts is my strength and fortitude. I needed to get back the old Moisy, that did what she had to do, and sometimes fucked people off! I understand now, let’s see what this year brings.

I am off for a walk in my garden now, and will be settling down for a film and roast chicken dinner I think.

Have a good day.

Moisy

Motivation during the French winter

08 Tuesday Jan 2019

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

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I have written many times about winter in rural France. I have said how people dread it, how it can be very grey (although that is one of my favourite colours!), and how work can be scarce to the point of non existence; add that to what can be one of the most expensive times of the year with fuel to find, and it can be hard.

A new year – a time of reflection

So this year we are approaching winter with a different approach, in fact this year we are approaching a lot of things differently, but more of that to come over the year!

Firstly we have wood, in our garden, our own wood. So we spend at least one afternoon a week chopping the wood (don’t get me started on the log splitter!). I enjoy it, I enjoy working with my husband, with the puppies running around us, and I find it rewarding.

Secondly we have decided to focus on what we can do, instead of what we can’t do. I believe if you keep going what you need will come, so since the new year we have done the following:

We went for our New Year day walk around the medieval city of forgeres

I said we are going to enjoy the winter in my previous posts, and I hope by doing this I will inspire others to just embrace each and every day.

Rich has decided to use his time, and has painted our toilet, and hung the radiator on the wall. We have decided that this is the year that we will take control and this is one way to do it. To decorate the house, with the paint we already have, and to do it well and how we want it. This house will be unrecognisable.

He has also re-arranged our living room, so that we take more advantage of the log burner with a ‘snug area by the tv and fire. I love it, it has gone from this……

To this..(dog leg not included!)

He has opened up the seating area at the other side of the room, and we have decided not to have a table. We never use it! So it’s going up for sale and we now have a huge amount of space. From this….

To this

We have a long list of jobs that we want to achieve this winter, pulling all the logs from the overgrown dead grass around them, decorate the hall, paint our living room and kitchen ceiling white (the leaking roof has been fixed, properly this time without any odious little people in sight!) and decorate both rooms. I am sure in-between all this work will come Rich’s way.

And last, but never least I will continue to cherish the scenes around me, because they keep me here. So here are some winter sunrises and sunsets from 2019.

Sunrise Ambrières-les-Vallées January 2019

Let’s be positive, and honest with ourselves this year.

Moisy

Sunset Ambrières-les-Vallées January 8th 2019

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

The last weekend of the mad summer

17 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by in Change is a coming, Friends, My family and other furry creatures, People, The continuing adventure, The good life, The seasons

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Farewell my summer love, Farewell

And so it has come to the last weekend before Dyls and Karen go back to England, I won’t say home…….

So here we sit, with homemade mojitos, that still need perfecting, and my pink gin and lemonade, a big shout out to my dear friend Russell, and the detriments on the table of all the things that Dylan, the naughty dog, has bought out to the garden ; and we are sad, but also excited about what the future may hold.

The weather is reflecting the end of our summer and when we got up this morning there was an autumnal nip in the air; Persephone will be leaving soon I feel.

So here is to our last weekend, a bbq with friends, a vide grenier, meetings over roast dinner and plans for the future.

I am sad…..

Moisy

Farewells

15 Wednesday Aug 2018

Posted by in Change is a coming, Friends, People, The continuing adventure, The good life, The seasons

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‘Nobody on the road,

nobody on the beach

I feel it in the air

The summers out of reach…’

Don Henly..

A week ago a dear friend bought me these flowers from his garden. We had invited him and Matt our young French friend around for a bbq, we wanted them to meet Jenny and Karen and despite the thunderstorm that hit just as we were serving the food a wonderful evening was had by all.

But as with anything in life everything must change, and our holiday has been and gone, Jenny has flown back to England and my flowers have died.

To finish the last few days of Jenny’s holiday and to celebrate Karen’s birthday we visited the vide grenier at Evron on Sunday, and found it’s beautiful medieval church and monastery and a small little bar in the square, a rare thing in rural France to find a French bar open! We were so excited we sat there for a couple of hours drinking in the atmosphere, and ruby beer of course!

As you can see we had a typical French time, beer and baguette!

We meandered our way home and sat in the garden star gazing, and drinking wine (no! I hear you cry!) and had a supper of minted lamb chops, chips, peas and tomatoes …….mmmmmmmmm.

For Jen’s final day we took her to Fourgeries, I did say recently we have decided we should visit more often….. we are looking forward now to visiting this breathtaking city in all seasons, with the different colours that they bring to the old French buildings.

As with rural France in August everything shuts for the vacances, so our plans to eat were scuppered and I rustled up a mean spaghetti bolognaise and garlic bread with some help from the girls when we got back home.

And then that was it! After all the weeks of building up Jen was going back home; and we are left with the memories of the last ten days, with the laughter echoing around the garden. It really has been brilliant….

It is as if the weather knows that our mad, crazy, wonderful days of summer are coming to an end; the sun is not showing it’s face until the evening, and, although it is warm it feels kinda sad. Only six days to go and Karen will be on her way, where has that time gone?

But I know that, sad as I am, we have to let go to make way for new things, nothing can stay the same; and as if to remind me, my husband bought me some new flowers for our wedding anniversary yesterday, just as I let go of the old the new came in the door.

There is lots to tell you soon…… and there will be lots of change, so keep reading folks, things are starting to get busy…..

Moisy

The seasons – Autumn

12 Thursday Nov 2015

Posted by in The seasons

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As autumn draws to a close and the trees are now clinging to the last of their leaves I thought that I would share with you some of the images that I have captured during this season.

I woke up to an incredibly misty day today, the sun fought a valiant fight to break through but was, alas, not as successful as she has been over the past few weeks when we have had temperatures up to twenty-two degrees; Rich and I could not believe that we were in the first weeks of November as we planted out our bluebell and crocus bulbs for next year, one hundred and ten in all, but in our garden I fear  that they may still be a little lost. It didn’t help that I was being “assisted” by a Welshie who thought that he needed to dig them back up for me because I had lost them!

During the season we have visited the town of Mayenne on a number of occasions, lunching outside, having coffees and walking around the castle that overlooks the river Mayenne. On our last visit the swallows were gathering, swooping high and low over the medieval cathedral, preparing for their long flight south. They were a breathtaking sight, of course I took a photo to share with all my readers.

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Nature never ceases to amaze me, one week a tree with bright red leaves and the next with no leaves at all. I suppose that it is her way of reminding us that things can change so quickly, and we should cherish each day for what it holds, not constantly look forward to the next, because what you think will always be there may not be there in a blink of an eye.

I hope that you enjoy the pictures I have included in this blog they show the gardens in the castle of Mayenne and the views over the river and of the City. I have also included a picture of a tiny Hamlet called Le Ham where Rich and I provide some work.

I did try  to get our beautiful Welshie Harley to pose in the leaves, but as you can see, being a typical terrier, he was having none of it and just kept giving me the bum steer!!!

 

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On the subject of Harley look out for up and coming posts as we have some news about additions to our furry family, one of the reasons why we have been so busy.

I can honestly say I have not been disappointed with this season and will cherish it to the end of the season, and all it has to hold.

 

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IMG_20151022_133031I will be starting some new tags over the next few weeks, called “The Good”, “The Bad”, and “The Ugly.” I did promise some controversy!

 

Moisy

 

The seasons – autumn

27 Tuesday Oct 2015

Posted by in The continuing adventure

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With all the land that surrounds me, and now with the autumn upon us with her ever changing temperatures, and whistling winds I was waiting in anticipation to see the colours that she bestows on us, in this “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”

She has not let me down.

In our new home we are surrounded by farmland and woods and I have attached some photos to show you the land either side of our house. I have already explained the number of trees that we have but in addition the countryside all around us is just that, countryside, everywhere fields and woods. Rich and I still wake up each morning and cannot believe we live here. So here are some pictures of where I live, France in her autumnal glory.

Enjoy

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We we also have a chemin (lane) that runs between our garden, it is private and only ours to use, and it is lined with trees, crab apple, cob nut, oaks. It is truly beautiful.

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There are nuts, nuts everywhere, the aforementioned cob nuts, walnuts, so many I cannot harvest them all as we cannot eat them all, and I am sure that others are in the same boat as us, and will not want ours, so there they lay carpeting our lawn at the front of the house.

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We have toadstools galore, like fairy kingdoms, sprung up to keep the little people warm in the winter, they are growing on the various old tree stumps that we have, I sometimes think I will look at and see little lights twinkling in them at night.

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As the season draws to a close the colours become more vibrant, so look out for other posts coming soon. I hope you will enjoy.

moisy

The seasons – autumn

24 Saturday Oct 2015

Posted by in The continuing adventure

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With all the land that surrounds me, and now with the autumn upon us with her ever changing temperatures, and whistling winds I was waiting in anticipation to see the colours that she bestows on us, in this “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”

She has not let me down.

In our new home we are surrounded by farmland and woods and I have attached some photos to show you the land either side of our house. I have already explained the number of trees that we have but in addition the countryside all around us is just that, countryside, everywhere fields and woods. Rich and I still wake up each morning and cannot believe we live here. So here are some pictures of where I live, France in her autumnal glory.

Enjoy

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IMG_20151014_134122

We we also have a chemin (lane) that runs between our garden, it is private and only ours to use, and it is lined with trees, crab apple, cob nut, oaks. It is truly beautiful.

IMG_20151014_134507

IMG_20151014_133903

There are nuts, nuts everywhere, the aforementioned cob nuts, walnuts, so many I cannot harvest them all as we cannot eat them all, and I am sure that others are in the same boat as us, and will not want ours, so there they lay carpeting our lawn at the front of the house.

IMG_20151014_134008IMG_20151014_134020

We have toadstools galore, like fairy kingdoms, sprung up to keep the little people warm in the winter, they are growing on the various old tree stumps that we have, I sometimes think I will look at and see little lights twinkling in them at night.

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As the season draws to a close the colours become more vibrant, so look out for other posts coming soon. I hope you will enjoy.

moisy

New experiences – the seasons

25 Friday Sep 2015

Posted by in The continuing adventure

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After living by the sea for over 12 years and experiencing all of the seasons in that environment I can honestly say that I was never as excited as I am now about experiencing the seasons as part of my new life. For me it is going to truly be a big part of the adventure.

Rich and I were talking the other night, over a vin rouge as is the norm, (of course we live in France!) about how excited we were with regard to the changing seasons. It will be like seeing them all again for the first time, because our environment is so vastly different. This is for us one of the most amazing parts of the adventure, seeing things that we have seen so often before in a completely new way; whether this is because our life is so different: simple, careful, considered, that it makes us look at everything in a different way, which is something that we love.

(I know that there are some people who will read this and think “but that will wear off” so I would ask them this question it took me 52 years to get bored and disillusioned with my life in England, what makes you think it is going to take me less to do that in France. -Sorry to those who do not think that but I have always said that my blog is going to say it like it is, and lets be honest we know that those people exist.)

But back to my post.

Admittedly I have already had the sizzling summer, where at times the temperature was 37 degrees at 9.30pm, and where even I, a confirmed sun worshipper, did not feel the need to sit in the sun. But this was not in my new home, so I am looking forward to all 4 seasons over the next year, in all their glory, and to share those experiences with you, especially the disillusioned that may be thinking of taking that chance and making that change.

Lets look forward to Autumn, who is already circling us with her misty mornings (I live on top of a hill in a valley so the mists are truly something to behold), the odd red leaf turning red and gold, the cob nuts, walnuts, and abundance of crab apples in my garden, (deadly if they hit you on the head because trust me they come down with an almighty thwack!!), the light breeze quickly turning into a whipping wind, and her smell each morning. We all know that sometimes although you cannot see Autumn you can surely smell her, and feel that autumnal nip in the air.

So Rich and I are preparing. The logs have been delivered, dumped on our drive (you have to save money where you can over here) and stacked by Rich and myself. No mean feat but “think of the calories” is what I always say.

Come on Autumn bring it on…….

log pile 2015