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Tag Archives: Welsh Terriers

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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Changes have blown in on the autumn wind…

11 Thursday Oct 2018

Posted by in Change is a coming, My family and other furry creatures, The continuing adventure

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It’s been awhile since I have blogged on here, we have been busy with the roof, and I have been even busier with my new blog. The response to it has been phenomenal, thank you all.

But as I have said the Moisfrenchadventure blog is my ‘home’ because it is my first blog and it is about the here and now; and our life together, now.

Sadly one of the changes has been that our two little Amigos, also known as the Princess and the Pea because they were so close, are now at each others throats, literally! We cannot even have them in the same room together on leads and blood has been drawn on a number of occasions; we are at the point that they cannot even go for a walk together.

I feel so sad about this, as I am writing this blog I am looking through the photos of the last year and them together and it is bringing tears to my eyes. Wiglet could do no wrong in Dylan’s eyes.

They played with mop monsters in the garden, Wiglet taught Dylan how to get the chicken’s tail through the fence and worried about her when she was riding with daddy on the mower.

They searched for rats and mice in the woodpile, and Wiglet taught Dylan how to dig her first hole. Wiglet was truly Dylan’s hero, they were inseparable.

But in the summer another dog was in the mix for a week, another Welshie, she attacked Wiglet first in our garden and Dylan got caught up in it and bit Wigs as well. They made it up, but the same dog then attacked Dylan in the rental property Karen was staying in and a week later the unrest began.

We hoped it would die down in the weeks that Dylan had been in England, but it hasn’t and in fact it has escalated.

I am so sad, it is the end of happy times, and I just hope against hope that as Dylan gets older they will be friends again.

But as I say everything changes, and we have to go with that, and autumn is blowing the changes in quickly now.

Goodbye Princess and the Pea, it was real fun while it lasted.

Moisy

Changes – Follow the trees and go where the wind takes you.

07 Sunday Oct 2018

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

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As I sit here on a rainy autumn morning, I am inspired to write in the blog that got me out there. This is the blog that is the sequel to the other one really (makingthisbetter.com) – even though I started writing it first – because this blog is about our next adventure, and in it I hope it shows all the things we learnt on that bomb strewn road that we travelled for so long.

So I am sitting in bed with my second cup of tea, looking out at my favourite tree gently swaying with the breeze and going with it, instead of fighting against it, and I am reminded, as the seasons change, that change happens every minute of every day; and you just have to go with it, bend like the tree, and understand that fighting against it won’t change anything.

Autumn is, for me, a particularly poignant time of year, the leaves are dying, birds are leaving, winter (and harder times) are coming, and the year is drawing to a close. But you can’t fight it, so why not enjoy it, because it is the season where nature puts on one of her most stunning dresses, and shows us how beautiful everything is, even in death.

Even this week, after being extremely busy with Rich doing the roof, and me being main caterer and house maintainer, I have changed our lives again; I have set up my new blog, a serialisation of my book ( The book currently has the title ‘I don’t think I can do this’) and put it out there for the world to see, and our lives have changed again. In less than six days it has had nearly a thousand views all over the world and counting. I know it is not only a good story, and that it would touch the hearts of many, but that it would also help people. We both knew this could make a change to our lives, but we are strong together now and know that it won’t change what we have learnt.

I have to say that it has been an especially brave thing for my husband to do, because right now, where the story is at the moment in his words, he looks like a c**t! I did reply that at that time he was a c**t but the important thing for him to remember is that he is not one now, and it is always the here and now we deal with.

So changes are still happening, we had planned to get out in the garden this weekend, to try our our new log splitter (the things that excite us now!); and to continue with the mammoth task of cutting our wood. But the rain came yesterday and we had to get the final part of the roof watertight, because it is not yet finished; and ‘The Livermore’ and Dylly Dylly have decided to make an impromptu visit and are arriving on Monday, this time with A.N. Other in tow, to see if they fit in with the pack ( see more changes!); and today we planned on going to a vide grenier, but the rain put paid to that.

So, going with the flow, we have spent a morning in bed with the two Welshie snuggle bums, later I will do a little housework and then blog, there is a big story to tell….

But remember folks, this blog, moisfrenchadventure.com is really the adventures of Moisy and Rich here and now, going with the flow, so this one is the one to keep you grounded when the other blog takes your breath away.

A big thank you to you all for your fantastic support.

Have a good weekend, and remember go with the flow…

Moisy

Warm autumn days, preparing for winter.

19 Wednesday Sep 2018

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

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It’s been really warm here over the past few weeks, some days have reached over twenty seven degrees, with a beautiful warm breeze.

We have taken advantage of the weather and Rich has been busy sorting some things out in the garden, putting a log stall in place at the side of the house and stacking the logs from the Sycamore that was cut down earlier in the year. Normally the wood takes a year to season, but it has been so hot this summer it is tinder dry and ready to burn. Over the past few years we have stored our wood in the barn, but given that we are now clearing that out, and that it is farther to trek in the bleak midwinter, having stock to hand just outside is better.

The rest will be stored in the old goat shed – the two remaining chickens are on the move (another job that is being tackled soon!) Along with chopping up the logs that are all over the garden (literally).

In addition we have a full log cupboard indoors waiting for the winter onslaught.

I too have been busy, I have signed up for a wedding fayre, or Salon du Mariage, for this Sunday and have been busy designing hearts (and some stars), they are not exclusively for weddings but do make beautiful Aisle decorations, table decorations and gifts; all bespoke all different.

As I have sat in my garden embellishing away I have stopped to look around, and thought there could be worse places to work each day.

I know when to count my blessings.

Here’s one of them, as I sit here writing this, he is laying beside me…..

Have a good day folks, remember do what makes you happy.

Moisy

A murder in the henhouse

06 Thursday Sep 2018

Posted by in My family and other furry creatures, The continuing adventure, The good, the bad and the ugly.

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It finally happened! After nearly eighteen months, we were down to two chickens and Claude, my beautiful cockerel…..

Wiglet the Welshie got into the henhouse! After eighteen months of barking, digging, chewing at the fence, watching, and, occasionally getting hold of a chicken through the fence by it’s arse,she finally got her wish. Here’s the story, is life showing us the way?

We had no idea how old the girlies were when we got them, we just wanted to give them a good home. But over time four of the girlies have died, and the others had stopped laying.

We were in a dilemma, we have to demolish part of our old goat’s shed, and utilise the remaining half, so the chickens have to be evicted. But we decided we couldn’t give them away to someone who would ring their necks, especially that of my beautiful Claudy, as his days would be numbered for sure. But we were not sure what to do, build a smaller chicken run and house perhaps?

Over the past few days we have been clearing out our barn ( but that us another story) and were not in the garden. One of the remaining girls had been off colour and Wiglet, the huntress, knew it. It was the same poor chicken that she had tried to pull through the fence by her arse on a number of occasions, I suppose her days were numbered really. And today that day came; as we were in the barn Wiglet chewed through a weak piece of fence and was in with the chickens!

We heard the commotion and screaming and clucking but by the time Rich got there the chicken was dead, and Rich could see Claude being dragged into the henhouse. He thought quickly, Wiglet does not like loud bangs so he banged loudly on the henhouse wall with a lump of wood, and threw a rock at it, all the time we could hear Claude screaming, but as Rich took action Wiglet came running out.

Rich had told me not to go up there, and I was so sad for my beautiful Claudy, I did not want him to go into the pot, and now he was in Wiglet’s jaws and I cried.

I knew that I had to face it, and as I walked up to the chicken enclosure Rich was beside himself; the hen lay dead and Rich was convinced that Claude had been mortally wounded and that he would have to put him out of his misery. He went to get a bag for them whilst chasing Wiglet off, and I stood guard at the gate.

But when he entered the henhouse he found Claude hiding, and after checking him over, apart from the loss of his beautiful blue tail feathers he was okay!

So now a temporary fix is in place, with the chicken wire we had bought for the new enclosure, Wiglet has been scared off by a banger firework, and change of plan for the weekend: Rich will be building the new enclosure.

Let’s see how Claude fares, but we cannot be angry with Wiglet for long, she is only doing what nature intended.

It’s all go here…….

Moisy

Changes are coming – The Gate

03 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by in My home, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure, The good, the bad and the ugly.

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I said earlier this year that I felt it, deep inside me, that change is coming; and it is, in fact it has started already. So what better way to mark that change than to change our old and very very worn out gate – a new portal to allow new things to come our way.

When we moved here our gate was tatty but okay, however nobody had been living in the house for at least three years and, therefore, apart from the odd visit from the owner, nobody had been using the gate – unless the goats and chickens that were resident then felt the need to open it!

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But as time wore on, and the wind battered it, and the tornado assaulted it, and the Welshie’s bashed into it, the gate started to fall apart. Rich repaired it with any old bits of wood he could find – times have been hard and that is the price for the simple life we have – with blue wood, and any old cut offs just to stop the dogs getting out.

We put additional bolts on it to stop it blowing open in the howling winds that you get when you live in a house on a hill, but eventually  the slats started to fall out, and the bottom had started to rot and fall off, and we knew that the gate would not last another winter.

So last week the time had come to take down the old gates….

and dig out the old rotting posts, which were, as Rich and our French friend Matt found out, were buried a meter into the ground. Even with a Kango, pickaxe, and brute strength it took them over four hours to get the posts out, and all of the wood that remained.

I can honestly say that the air was a certain hue of blue up here that day!!! After six hours the boys were exhausted.

But they triumphed in the end and the next day new posts were buried, a new farm gate attached and a smaller gate made by my enterprising husband, including chicken wire to stop any little Welshies called Dylan, from escaping when they visit.

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This weekend Rich finished it off with a lick of preservative and our garden now looks completely different, and as if it is now ours. Our wonderful neighbours all gave us the thumbs up, probably because it no longer looks like Mr and Mrs Skank live here!!

But for me this was a symbol, we were putting in something new that represented a new portal that would let new things into our lives. We have let a lot of things go this year, including some people who we dropped off from our mini bus when we realised that our lives were going in different directions; and that, perhaps, some of them were having a negative impact on our lives.

We have also let some clients go, and Rich has had a change of direction with his career. We realised our worth! Not least where abusive people and people who don’t pay you are concerned, and since then things have only looked better and better.

Let go of the negatives in your life folks and good things will then come your way.

Look out for more posts – times they are a changing….

Moisy

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

Another birthday, and a reminder that the summer is slipping away…

12 Sunday Aug 2018

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

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Summer soft

Wakes you up with a kiss to start the morning off

In the midst of herself playing Santa Clause

She brings gifts through her breeze

Morning rain

gently plays her rhythms on your window pain

giving you no clue of when she plans to change

to bring rain or sunshine…….

Summer soft, Stevie Wonder

And we are home. The weather seems to feel the sadness that is touching the edges of our world now it is overcast, and the sun is struggling to get through.

We always knew that our little holiday, that seemed so far away, would mark the downward spiral to our mad summer ending; and that Karen and the Dylly monster would then be going home; and now Jen leaves on Tuesday and Karen and Dylly Dyls will be leaving the week after next.

Yesterday we decided to leave Saint Gilles Croix de Vie behind and forego our sardines because you simply could not move for people. All of France tends to holiday in August and all of France seemed to be heading to the Vendee! We thought that we would find a little village to have lunch, but only armed with sat navs and no maps we could not find a route through any pretty villages and eventually headed home.

What we all realised when we got back was how much we had missed the peace and quiet. Dylan had missed doing zoomies around the garden because as soon as she was let of the lead she just ran and ran.

It was good to be home.

We all agreed though that we would return to the Vendee but for three nights next time and earlier in the year, before French holiday season kicks in; and that our favourite part of the trip had been the day in the beach bar; even the dogs were chilled.

But today is a new day and a new adventure is waiting. It’s Karen’s birthday and we are all of to a vide grenier, and the little treasures that will be waiting there. Followed by an afternoon and evening in the garden with mojitos, prosecco, minted lamb chops and chips!

I know, live each day, and don’t think about the end, it may never come!

Enjoy your Sunday folks.

Moisy

Time flies when you’re having fun

11 Saturday Aug 2018

Posted by in Friends, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure, The good life

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I cannot believe that we are on our last day of our sojourn to the Vendee in France already; or that Jenny is now a week into her stay.

Our first night in the Vendee was just a bit too busy for us, so yesterday, after numerous coffees and a chaotic breakfast, we prepared for an adventure to the beach, or Grand Plage.

The temperature has cooled slightly, it only hit thirty two yesterday! But we walked to the far end of the beautiful promenade and found a boho beach hut and bar. Shabby, welcoming and not many people going past we spend a blissful five hours there. The dogs were chilled, the ambience was chilled, the cocktails were great

We were on holiday for the first time in four years! The vista was breathtaking, and the breeze was cool; and boy did we catch the sun!

After lunch of mango curry chicken burger, we made our way back to the hotel and relaxed by the pool, drinking wine, and having nibbles. It was such a chilled day we finished it off by eating takeaway Pizza on the terrace.

Superb!!!

More to come, I am off to enjoy sardines by the beach.

Moisy