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Tag Archives: Welsh Terriers

Spring: Blue skies, warm sunshine,babbling brooks and hope…

23 Saturday Feb 2019

Posted by in My family and other furry creatures, Simple things, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure, The seasons

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Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine almost always makes me high

Sunshine on my shoulders: John Denver

There is nothing like the warmth of sunshine to make you feel better; and there is nothing like the promise of spring to give you hope.

I am sitting here now with sunshine streaming in through the window, the warmth providing me with all I need – there are no heaters on in February! Spring has well and truly sprung over here and we are reaching temperatures of over twenty degrees on our patio. It has been like that all week, apart from a few foggy days (but let us not forget it is February after all!)

for those of you who read my blog you know that recently I have returned back to my old self: and part of that means that I can be quite driven (as my last post explained) read here

But the thing with that is I can also be hard to keep up with. Years ago (during ‘The War’) my sister told me that I was like a speedboat, I pick something up really quickly and I just run with it, leaving everyone else behind in my wake because they haven’t even got their head around the idea yet. It was a fair analogy, and we used it: so we likened it to me being in the speedboat and Rich on the ski’s behind desparately trying to keep up; and we had a safe phrase for Rich to use which was ‘whoa I’m on one ski! or ‘I’m in the water! When he said this I knew that I was going too fast for him and that I needed to slow down and go back and put him in the boat with me. If you would like to read more about that time in our lives here is the  link: click here

I think that Rich has felt like that recently. He does get down,( I have never hidden any sturggles we have had because I passionately believe that people should talk about mental health,)and he is not able to put into place the coping mechanisms that I can as quickly as I can, but bless him he does try. But last week I decided that I was going back to pick him up and take him with me. So on Saturday morning I said that we were not doing anything to the house or garden, despite all of the things that we have to do. It was a beautiful day and I said we were going out to another town for a walk.

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It is so easy over here to just keep working and working, wearing old working clothes and doing the same old thing and I believe that it is important that sometimes you just go ‘sod it!’ let’s just get out there and let life show us the way, in all her simplicity.

When we got to the pretty little town of Lassay Les Chateaux, only a fifteen minute drive away, the sun was shining, the sky was blue and the brooks were babbling.

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The town is steeped in history: during ‘Le Terroir’ (the French revolution) the chapel in the chateaux was used to interrogate people, and we found a tiny little alley that was probably a main thoroughfare,or possibly escape route,  all those years ago

It led us down to a small bridge over the babbling brook and out behind the chateaux.

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We walked around the chateaux, through the rose gardens, and by the church, and then just sat on the hill and watched the world go by. A simple thing; we didn’t spend any money, we didn’t even have a coffee (the price of two coffees would buy us enough chicken breasts for the week!) but we chilled.

When we got home Rich looked at me and said ‘I am glad we did that, I feel so much better.’

This week he has stripped wallpaper, cut logs, started to tackle the ditch outside our house which is still full of trees; and moved the door in our lounge. Just an afternoon taking time out in the sunshine, letting nature invigorate us, was all it took.

Take the time folks, and have a good weekend.

Moisy

When the cold, harsh winter has given its last breath,
When the sky above shows life instead of death,
When the claws reaching to the frozen sky become decorated with leaves,
When the animals -long in hiding- scurry from trees,
We know winter has ended.

Spring by Camille Gotera

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/change-of-seasons-spring

 

 

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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

Spring and winter

01 Friday Feb 2019

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

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I have said for a few weeks that I thought we were going to have an early spring. Despite it being only January my clematis have buds on them (they are being cut back tomorrow) and the narcissi and daffodils were standing tall. In fact the winter had not really been that harsh so the crocus were few and far between but that may change now!

We have been working in the garden, clearing the logs from the trees that were cut down last year; cutting back the brambles,and generally making some final headway for our plans for the future in our garden.

At times the sun has been really warm, and I said to Rich that I thought we were going to get an early spring, and I still do, despite this happening this week..

There is nothing like a Welshie in the snow to make you smile..

Harley, ever the poser. Wiglet, ever the Wiglet!

But there is still a battle going on, today the temperature had risen from -2 to 8 degrees; the snow has melted here but not in other areas, but tonight we are due to go back to -2.

I don’t care what they are, as I sit in our new seating area, with a Welshie asleep beside me, and the fire burning I am counting my blessings: not least the amazing supportive friends and family I have, including the cyber community that I interact with.

So tomorrow we are back in the garden, it’s all part of the big plan now, we’re not going anywhere. As a dear reader said to me people would give their eye teeth to live where we do, problems an all. She was right, and I am thankful.

So, enjoy our winter garden, and the beautiful sunrise I caught this week; and look forward to seeing the spring photos soon.

Have a good weekend folks.

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

Let’s take time

04 Friday Jan 2019

Posted by in My family and other furry creatures, Reflections, Simple things, The continuing adventure

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My most favourite poems is ‘The Listeners’ by Walter de la Mare. I have loved it since I was very young, one of its themes being opportunity lost.

‘Tell them I came, and no-one answered

That I kept my word, he said…”

How often are we rushing so much that it is only when we lose what we treasure so much, that we realise we had not treasured it at all?

One of the other poems that has always inspired me, that I hear myself quote quite often, is the poem ‘Leisure’ by W H Davies.

‘What is this life, if full of care

We have no time to stand and stare?’

(If you would like to read it then I have added it to the bottom of this post.)

I also read a post today about social media, and how people take it literally, making them feel anxious and inadequate. In it the writer reflected on how years ago people had time for quiet contemplation, time to think without the bombardment of the world attacking them all the time. In fact years ago (many) when I was at school, we had a library session every week to just sit and read in silence. At the time I hated it, now I would embrace it!

All of this got me thinking and I realised that when I started to ‘plan’ in my diary/planner for this year I had not given myself any time to ‘stop and stare’. No time out, to just play with my puppies, even though I cherish every day because I know their lives are too short, and I should treasure every moment.

I also know that when I was ill that was all I was ‘allowed’ to do was stop and relax, because my brain had become totally overloaded, and I had lost the ability to stop thinking!

The wonderful Deepak Chopra tells us to set aside a little time each day to experience silence, and contemplation at the very beginning of ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’.

So I have crossed out my day chocked full of things to do, and I have written in between my jobs and aspirations, ‘play with dogs’, take dogs for a walk, sit in silence, and I have given myself ‘space’ each day.

Do you?

Moisy

WH Davies – Leisure

WHAT is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare?— No time to stand beneath the boughs, And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass: No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like skies at night: No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance: No time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

Off By Heart

bbc.co.uk/schools/teachers/offbyheart BBC©2008

Counting My Blessings: Day 7

30 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by in My family and other furry creatures, My home, Reflections, Simple things, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure

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This is Wiglet, my curly blessing; and I count her as a blessing for many reasons:

Wiglet came into our life three years ago, when she was two years old. She had been bought to show and breed; and she came from high ranking French hunting stock. But the problem was her tail would not behave; it was just too curly, like a piglet’s tail.

Due to this she would not win shows; so in the first year of her life she was operated on twice to straighten her tail! As you can see Wiglet is just a curl, from the top of her head to the tip of her tail, and that wilful little tail would not be straightened!

Wiglet didn’t help herself when she then killed one of her owners chickens, and she was kept in a pound with other bigger dogs who then attacked her (she has issues now around food, so it was at feeding time we believe). In the end she was attacked so badly that she had to have a new home and was shipped off to a chateau just outside Paris, with another male Welshie.

But the aristocratic who had Wiglet did not like her. We believe he wanted to hunt with her and she is afraid of gunshots; add to that the fact that she was now a vulnerable little Welsh Terrier who needed love and she ran away, in the middle of Paris!

So Wiglet was sent back to her previous owner, back to the other dogs who attacked her, and she had to be shut away from the dogs in a small room. This was now home number four for her, because she had been with so many people.

But serendipity stepped in, as she always does, and a friend of ours (the lady who bred Harley) suggested us to her owner, we knew Welshies, and we knew their naughty and extremely loving ways; poor Rich, when I heard of her plight I just called the owner and didn’t even ask him. ‘We can’t afford another dog!’ He said. Wiglet came to live with us two days later.

Do you think she is a daddy’s girl?

She is our blessing because she is so grateful to live with us. She loves her adopted brother Harley, and she is grateful for the love we give her, with her sweet vulnerable little face looking up at us each day.

She gives us so much love, and when she smiles her wonky little smile it makes my heart break for the suffering she had. When I bought her a new bed, her own bed that no other dog had had before her, she got in it and that was that, it was her place; and she lays beside me every night in that bed, snoring.

Every morning she wakes me with a tap of her paw and a smile, waiting for a head rub.

She was sent to us, as much as we were sent to her, and she is a blessing.

Let’s share this series, lets get people counting their small blessings, they help to put things in perspective you know!

Moisy

Counting my blessings: Day 4

27 Thursday Dec 2018

Posted by in My family and other furry creatures, People, Reflections, Simple things, The continuing adventure

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As most people who read my blog know, one of my greatest pleasures in life is drinking a cup of tea in bed. I like it strong, with a little milk and half a sugar. So this is my blessing for day four:being able to drink tea in bed.

i have chosen this because I am blessed to have ready access to water (more of that later in my ‘counting my blessings’ series). I am also blessed because I have access to tea! And I am blessed because I have a bed, when so many people (even in the Western world) do not. For that I think we should all be ashamed. In England right now homeless people are dying on the streets. If I had the money to give them I would donate to Shelter, the Salvation Army, and Crisis to help them. I was so pleased and proud when my sister told me she had.

We have had a busy few days, so today we are having a day of doing nothing, apart from taking the dogs for a walk. Both of our Welshie pups are re-homes, and in addition I have Sophie the Sofa Loaf, who we rescued when we arrived in France, snuggled amongst the blankets next to me. You can read more of her story here….

A story of hardship, serendipity, and love -Sophie The Sofa Loaf

So I suppose you could say that we are doing what we can, when we can, and for that we are also blessed.

A big thanks to those who have stopped, and thought, and shared their blessings, the small things. But I know there are many more who haven’t, so lets start a trend, let’s share the small things and inspire others, in this world of excess.

If you like these posts please share, I have put links to the previous three days of this series at the bottom of this blog.

And last but not least I am always blessed to have this snuggle bunny in my bed! (He’s going to kill me for that!)

Moisy

Counting my blessings: Day one

Counting my blessings: Day 2

Counting my blessings: Day 3

Counting my blessings: Day one

24 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by in My family and other furry creatures, Reflections, Simple things, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure

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As I have got older I have started to find that we seem to have lost what Christmas is about.

Christmas was originally a pagan festival to celebrate the Winter Solstice, it was just taken over by the Christian faith and Christmas was born. It was meant to be a time for reflection on the year past and to celebrate the small things we have. I really believe have lost that along the way.

So this morning as I sit here drinking my tea in bed (yes it is one of my favourite things when we are not working, and I notice, a place of inspiration lately) I looked at my beautiful boy and came up with an idea: each day until New Years Day, I will post about a small thing I am grateful for. Here is todays…..https://moisfrenchadventure.com/2017/12/05/dogs-are-not-our-whole-life-but-they-make-our-life-whole/

My beautiful boy Harley, who we re-homed five years ago, after a relationship breakdown took place. He made us fall in love with the Welsh Terrier, and he is a mummy’s boy. We nearly lost him last year after he ruptured his disc in his back, you can read about it here…

Today this is my blessing: Harley.

I hope that in this time of madness and frenetic rushing about this may inspire some of you to just stop; and reflect; and then join me in sharing your blessings with us by telling us the one small thing that you are counting as a blessing each day over this time of celebrations and gratitude.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Have a good Christmas Eve folks.

Moisy

We’re having a Christmas break……

22 Saturday Dec 2018

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

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For the first time since we moved here we have actually finished work for Christmas. You know, a bit like that ‘ Friday Night’ feeling when work is over for the week and you ‘crack open’ a beer ( or in my case pour a glass of wine) we finished work last night and sat on the sofa and did just that; and it felt good, it felt as if we are finally ‘living a normal’, structured life.

I am now sitting in bed on a Saturday morning drinking my tea and pondering the week ahead, not least the day ahead. I have a few final things to get from the supermarket; we are having a simple Christmas with turkey, big sausages wrapped in bacon with honey and whole grain mustard poured over them, Brussel sprouts sautéed with smoked lardons (my favourite), roast potatoes and parsnips, assorted veg, Yorkshire puddings, and stuffing (and trust me that’s toned down from what I cooked in England!). We’re not doing presents, our gift will be watching the dogs play with their new toys.

When I get back today I am helping Rich cut logs and, yes you’ve guessed it! I will be log splitting! Tonight we are out for Rich’s ‘works Christmas do’ and it feels weird to be able to say that, but oh so good! I will even pull our some of my glamorous jewellery to wear!

Tomorrow I am cleaning the bedrooms, ironing and, you guessed it, log splitting! It’s all part of rural living.

On Monday it will be the final countdown, which means I change my bedding (there is nothing like a clean bed) and moving furniture to accommodate a record player (yes we can play our vinyl!) that we were gifted, and then we are off to a shindig with some friends.

Then we have the big day, for us it will be a relaxed day of snuggling, late dinner on our laps (we are totally chilling it down) and tv. late in the night I will make cold turkey sandwiches with pickles.

On boxing day (which they don’t celebrate in France) we are off to another get together, a buffet lunch at a dear friends.

I am really looking forward to this Christmas with new friends, it will be a simple Christmas full of it’s real meaning: spending time with good people and those you love, only this time it will be the new friends we have made on our adventure. As I write this I realise that is our Christmas gift.

Have a good weekend folks, look out for more posts.

Moisy

I’m back! You can’t keep me down for long.’

18 Tuesday Dec 2018

Posted by in My family and other furry creatures, My home, People, The continuing adventure

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Someone said to me on Saturday that she had missed my blogs recently; and guessed after my last blog that I was,perhaps, struggling with life out here; but that she hoped not because I gave her hope.

I wasn’t necessarily struggling with life out here, I was struggling with my belief that life would show me the way, and that despite all the crap good would come.

If you’ve been reading my blog you know I follow the teachings and philosophy of the Tao; I know that where there’s bad there’s good, and where there’s good there’s bad; that you may have a lot of crap come your way but if you hold onto your faith good will come; and things over the past few months were making that hard, I was struggling to believe.

But over the past few weeks so many people have supported me, helped us, and they gave me hope: my sister sent me a medicated mouthwash and mouth gel, my friend Saveena called to say the assessor was coming out for the roof, and both she and my sister contacted me almost daily to check I was okay. It all helped but I still struggled.

So on Thursday I looked up and asked for help to regain my belief; because I knew that good things would not come if I could not believe. An hour later my IPad pinged and what I needed started to come my way. By Friday my faith was back; and I started to see ALL My blessings: good friends, new friends, our son, our family, our animals, the stunning place where we live, and not least our love for each other.

I had worked hard all week creating pretty Christmas stock to sell at a craft fair on Saturday at a beautiful old French Mill half an hour from us.

But when Saturday came it was minus six degrees and thick ice, with icicles were hanging off our garden table, and when Rich wound down his window there was another window of ice in its place! The roads were treacherous. But we trundled on, with the van skidding everywhere in the sleet, and set up our stall.

Sadly in the end, and understandably given the weather, only about ten people visited the fair. But we still had a wonderful day. We met two lovely, kind people. They too were doing what they could to keep their dream alive, and we laughed all day. They had spent all summer making these wonderful reindeer and you can find them on Facebook as la petit Cretouffiere.

At the end of the day we all gave each other something: cakes, key rings, angels, chocolates,

And my dear, kind friend gave me this stunning lamp, which now takes pride of place on our stairs (walls to be decorated next year!) projecting stars all over the stairwell

Stars are a big thing in my house, a star is for life not just for Christmas! So I decided to keep my newest design for me – twinkle, twinkle! It now takes pride of place in my bedroom, twinkling in the twinkly lights…

It can be replicated if required by anyone…

At the end of the day we all helped each other load up and tidy before the night drew in. We got home to a freezing house (gotta love that stone!) that took three hours to warm up! But we changed into layers of fleecy pyjamas, Snuggly socks (two pairs!) opened the wine and watched the Strictly Come Dancing final; with a roaring fire, four sleepy cats, and two snuggled Welshies.

I know that we are blessed, we have each other, and we fought tooth and nail to keep that; no money in the world can buy what we have. We have no presents (but the dogs have one) and we don’t need them. Our Christmas present will be snuggling in bed with a cup of tea on Christmas morning, and eating our dinner on our laps, not caught up in all the hype! My happiness is complete with our Christmas decorations, that I have collected over the years.

We have now been invited to various shin digs and I am busy. This morning I woke up to this stunning sunrise and I thought to myself ‘all I had to do was believe.’

And I do, my belief is strong, nothing can take that away, it may wane but it will never leave me.

I’m back!

Moisy

You may want to read my other blog

https://makingthisbetter.com