tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56487081059055623802024-03-09T11:13:12.811+01:00 Our French Life OUR FRENCH LIFE. The everyday ramblings of a francophile
our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comBlogger175125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-18342888940359931092017-04-02T16:20:00.002+02:002017-04-02T16:20:56.520+02:00Our French Life - Sunday Roast<br />
Hello Dear Reader,<br />
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Today is Sunday, our day of rest, I so look forward to my Sunday roast whatever meat it is, today we are having beef roast with Yorkshire puddings, this is not something we have very often as the beef here is very expensive if you want a nice tender joint but this time of year you will find some fairly cheap pieces as they are using the milk cows (they do this in UK too but don't always tell you and let me tell you there is nothing wrong with it in fact I find it a bit more tender than the usual Charolais beef.<br />
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Also the smell of Sunday dinner transports me back in time to when I was a young girl living in the rural English countryside, We always had to go to Sunday school, something I think is missing these days, my Granny was a staunch Christian (her words) but she never went to church in fact we used to go to a Methodist Chapel for our religious education, we had little envelopes that just fitted the few pennies that were destined for the collection box, I always used to think what I could buy with the money that was in there, something pretty for my Mum, ah well I would pick her some bluebells this time of year to sit in a jar on the table when we sat down for our lunch, as we were walking home we used to play a game of who could smell the dinner first, of course it would depend on where Sunday lunch was being cooked (our house or Granny's which was about 10 houses further up the lane) but I swear we could smell it a good half a mile away, There was always plenty as we had an uncle with a farm and Dad and Grampy always grew their own veg in vast amounts, the garden was very large both front and back, proper family homes not like the little boxes that people call home these days, when I was very young about 3 I would say I would help myself to peas straight from the pod and strawberry's etc, my Granny once put my reins on me and attached it to the washing line, I could walk the length of the garden but couldn't go either side to eat the produce.<br />
Sorry as usual I was so eager to eat my sunday lunch I forgot to take a picture except for the after effect of an empty plate.<br />
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Over to you, what are your sundays like? I wonder what the french have for sunday lunch.<br />
<br />our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-38018419219676433332017-03-31T18:51:00.000+02:002017-03-31T18:51:40.721+02:00Our French Life - I am back<br />
Hello Dear Reader,<br />
<br />
It is some time since I blogged and there have been many reasons why which I won't bore you with, the most important thing is I am back.<br />
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The kitchen beckoned this morning as a hearty home made soup was the order of the day, I must always make the soup as I am diabetic and can't have the over processed bought ones, for one reason or another my blood glucose has spiralled out of control, I don't normally talk about this but I have to lose a great amount of weight and it is only going to help me to do so if I own it and put it out there so,.. here it is, I chopped and boiled and stirred the cauldron (John's name for it) and I have to say it was delicious and very filling and satisfying,.. I also made some hummus to have as a snack and popped a chicken in the slow cooker for dinner.<br />
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once the soup had been slurped I sat in the garden for the first time this year drinking a cup of coffee and listening to the beautiful song of the birds, busying about their business, scratching about for the opportunity of a little bug or at best a worm, I espied a garden warbler and probably the very one that had been serenading me a few moments earlier, an energy came upon me that made me realise that the veil of winter had lifted to reveal new life all round me, I could almost feel and yes hear the buds bursting into flower on my Lilac tree, I absolutely love the heady smell of the lilac tree, It was at this moment that I knew it was time to shake off the cobwebs and get down to some serious gardening, there were the geraniums in the storeroom that I had so very carefully wrapped in newspaper in late autumn and popped into a cosy box in the hope that they would survive, although they look dead as long as when you cut them you can see green they should burst into life once they receive soil and water, bit like us really...... Our Olive trees (plants in tubs really) need re potting, we have got the new pots and new compost for this job, it is amazing how better you feel for the drenching of sun on your person, I feel so energised and inspired.<br />
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It is all a clear sign that Summer is well and truly just around the corner and I for one will embrace it full on.</div>
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What are you guys doing in the garden?</div>
<br />our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-87390628504003343162017-03-06T12:41:00.000+01:002017-03-06T12:41:18.449+01:00<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: #dddddd; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
How time flies</h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: blue;">Hello Dear Readers,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: blue;">This is a re post of a blog I did in January 2013 and is a follow on from my last post requested by Paulita from <a href="http://paulita-ponderings.blogspot.fr/">http://paulita-ponderings.blogspot.fr</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: blue;">It was like a comedy of errors believe me</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><u>Yes time really does fly when you are enjoying yourself.</u></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This week marks the 4th year of us leaving our life in the UK and getting on that ferry to France with everything but the kitchen sink, we gave so much to charity when we were trying to decide what to bring and what to leave behind and to this day I will search high and low to find something I know I have somewhere only to realise that I probably didn't even bring it with me, I find myself saying "what possessed me to get rid of that" but we have this saying, "if we haven't used it in the last year we most likely don't need it".</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We set sail with our good friends Fernando,Joy and (Gemma who was returning to France) who helped us load up and came over to unload for us and take back the hire truck, it was an overnight crossing to le Havre and we didn't have a cabin trying to save money but Fernando bless him treated us to a cabin as a going away gift, oh how grateful we were, when we reached Le Havre we said to Fernando wait for us before you leave the port so that we stay together and also as he was driving the van not to go into the tunnel as it is for cars only (they have this system whereby cars go through the tunnel and Lorry's above to keep them separate,) well firstly vans came of the ferry at a different gate so we had to leave the port and try and find them, which we did re-iterating to Fernando not to enter the tunnel as the flappy bits overhead detect you are a van and go rigid, so off we set, I kept looking in the mirror to check they were still behind us, we went through the tunnel and came out the other side waiting very for Fernando, Joy and Gemma to catch up, they never appeared, so I telephoned Joy on her mobile who said, "we went into the tunnel and now can't get out", so we said we would try and come back to them, we quickly realised that it was rush hour and the van was by now holding up all the traffic causing a very long traffic jam which we were at the back end of, Joy saved the day leaping out of the van and putting on the required yellow jacket, she started backing all the traffic up so that Fernando could reverse enough to get on the correct path, Joy doesn't speak french but it is surprising how much you can communicate by body language, luckily Fernando had stopped the van before it got stuck in the flappy things, they were now able to travel on the right bit of road, sadly we were now stuck in the long tailback caused by them, we eventually found each other.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It hadn't finished there though, you may have realised by now that Fernando is an accident waiting to happen (he won't mind me saying that) and we missed the services on the motorway to fuel up, we got a text message from Joy saying we have very little diesel, ok I say we will look for a garage (not so easy here) plus we didn't have a can to put it in..we then get the awful text ""we have run out"" I say put your triangle out with your yellow jacket on and we will leave the motorway to get some diesel, within approximately 10 minutes we luckily came across a carrefour with service station so we had to firstly buy a can then get diesel and get back to the van which involved a bit of criss crossing on motorways, by now we were starting to feel that someone was trying to tell us something, we got to the house eventually which although it was very cold we felt safe at last.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The journey back for Fernando and Joy was almost just as eventful, firstly after some considerable time they realised the sat nav was taking them in completely the wrong direction then they stopped at a pull in with toilets and Joy got stuck in the toilet, Fernando to the rescue.. there is more but I won't bore you with it now, thats for another time.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><i><b>Just as a little footnote - we would like to thank all of them for their wonderful friendship and help on that very special Journey also a very big thank you to our son Andrew whose experience at packing a removal van was second to none.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><i><b>If you have made the move to France let us know how yours went. we have been here 8 years now and still know it was the right decision.π</b></i></span></div>
our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-27642054728816745362017-03-02T15:25:00.001+01:002017-03-02T15:25:06.644+01:00Requested post<br />
Hello dear Readers,<br />
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Today I am writing a requested post for Paulita from<br />
<a href="http://paulita-ponderings.blogspot.fr/">http://paulita-ponderings.blogspot.fr</a> she is planning to move to France this year and wanted to know how we chose our house and why we came here.<br />
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After being here for a bit over 8 years it is not easy to recall why, the when is easy, we came in January 2009 after having made a visit at Christmas and making a very quick decision to do so, we went back and from then we had about 19 days to pack our house and belongings up and get over here.<br />
The why is not so easy as it is a very long story, we came here 25 years ago on a holiday with friends and fell in love with the country, from that day on we were hell bent on coming here to live, you know if you want something enough you can get it.<br />
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We had one failed attempt to come over as we had a promise of work which turned out to be a figment of a friends imagination, it was destroying to find that we had sold our home and came over with a promise that was in the head of someone who had mental issues, but we are survivors and went back to UK to re group, it was to be 14 years later that we came over on a visit to view some properties when we found this one, it was nothing like we wanted but it was so cheap that we thought we couldn't miss it and at least we could renovate it and then sell it on, needless to say we are still here and now wonder if we have left it too late to move now.<br />
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Our love of France as I have previously touched on was the instant love of the country, it somehow felt like I had come home and I have always felt at home here, also the peace and tranquillity that is rural France is so relaxing for us when we returned to UK it always felt like a rat race, there are places in UK that you can find this same peace and tranquillity but we would never be able to afford such a place, here we have a property which is well over 200 years old but we bought it for pennies back in the day when the French didn't know the value of properties, they have since realised and put the prices up but they are still not what you would pay back in the UK, I can't call it home as home is now here for us for as long as we are able to stay here.<br />
There have been many stories along the way which you can read through old posts on this blog.<br />
One thing that we noticed as soon as we got here were the seasons, we really hadn't noticed them so much in UK (too busy running the rat race) but now we embrace them one and all.<br />
Life in rural France is just as it was in UK 50 years ago when we were children, everyone speaks to you in the street, children are polite and family is so important, it is safe to let your children out to play, safe to walk the street at night, so as you can imagine it is very difficult to pinpoint a reason for coming here because it is lots of little ones that when put together become the reason.<br />
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My advice to anyone thinking of coming here to live, live in an area to see if you like it before you buy and really look at a house for a long time to make sure it is what you want. and learn the language it is so important to your complete happiness.<br />
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If you are making the move to France please tell us your reasonsour life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-68803804350426808502017-03-01T13:40:00.000+01:002017-03-01T13:40:07.643+01:00Our French Life - John's got a scooby doo<br />
Hello Dear Readers,<br />
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It isn't very often dear John buys anything, he is one of those chaps who doesn't need an awful lot, this is good as it means there is more for me because I need lots π,<br />
So Monday when the publicity came through the door and I heard him say, "I could use one of those" I thought I must take a look at what had taken his fancy, but before I reveal it let me take you back to last year in the Spring when John decided he was going to give the decking a good clean and he used the spray jet on his Karcher, now this cleaned the decking beautifully but our cream coloured wall now looked like it had been sprayed by a muck spreader and John has to then clean that but the spray just took the paint off, the only thing for it was to re paint the wall.<br />
John said he would have to get a proper attachment for cleaning the decking, (it does need doing after the winter as it gets slippery) these attachments are nearly as expensive as the Karcher so we have put it off,.... well you guessed it this is what he had seen in the Aldi MarchΓ© leaflet.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is John hiding behind a box</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the beast that will clean the decking without spraying the wall</td></tr>
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We are not skinflints but we hate paying over the odds for stuff and at 21β¬99 this was a bargain, it isn't a Karcher but it has lots of adaptors so it will fit on lots of different models,....result.<br />
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I love it when we find a bargain, John can't wait to use it, sadly it is raining and he doesn't do rain. π<br />
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Over to you, have you found a bargain, if you did please share with us and tell us all which country.<br />
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Look forward to your comments below.our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-37435389842997714722017-02-28T13:48:00.002+01:002017-02-28T13:48:47.199+01:00Our French Life - Flip it and flop it<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello dear Readers,<br />
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Pancake day is the day before lent in France it is called Mardi Gras ( Fat Tuesday) I believe it was celebrated on 2nd February<br />
I guess it was the last chance to eat fatty/sweet things before the fast, historically a fattened ox was paraded through the streets of Paris to give a reminder not to eat meat for 5/6 weeks or until Easter.<br />
In England we call it Shrove Tuesday, Shrove comes from the word Shrive, meaning to absolve, are you with me so far?<br />
Well you might have guessed what we are having for dessert this evening, YEP, lovely scrummy pancakes, You might also have guessed that today (28th Feb) is pancake day in UK, I always make mine in advance ( if it's good enough for the french it is good enough for me) I then pop them in foil and re-heat in the oven, not the microwave as this will make them chewy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrPmokyHPa4Il9YeMbQeIsVLxyKyi2UXElFNTBn5TcRCRlECCI1jmy8H3om2WMvFN1nv-VZcpVN2_tPtDCDUDIpvZHZMwRCneeYG1TM5J6RkbKT0i0Ccqt8o3FMV5yJlfNZvyt8juaSr0/s1600/20170228_121408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrPmokyHPa4Il9YeMbQeIsVLxyKyi2UXElFNTBn5TcRCRlECCI1jmy8H3om2WMvFN1nv-VZcpVN2_tPtDCDUDIpvZHZMwRCneeYG1TM5J6RkbKT0i0Ccqt8o3FMV5yJlfNZvyt8juaSr0/s640/20170228_121408.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The batter is made.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
Here is my recipe which was my Dad's handed down from his French ancestry, and he made them so thin and delicate.</div>
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8 ozs plain flour</div>
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pinch of salt</div>
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1 pint of milk</div>
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2 eggs</div>
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butter to grease pan</div>
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Whisk all together and let stand for 30 minutes</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9SvmuEd5WnjTQ7Jhyphenhypheni5ntQzdec9tLIbznRfSflZg6mqU5pOj9R47_yAL6_yB9dokL_qVGxmhYObRuPwdVF-HuRY9aiZbIp_Aa0RI8NEgd7XfcqudZ9q9IRYdHzZ4EKRcACnfoYnwxUE/s1600/20170228_121438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9SvmuEd5WnjTQ7Jhyphenhypheni5ntQzdec9tLIbznRfSflZg6mqU5pOj9R47_yAL6_yB9dokL_qVGxmhYObRuPwdVF-HuRY9aiZbIp_Aa0RI8NEgd7XfcqudZ9q9IRYdHzZ4EKRcACnfoYnwxUE/s640/20170228_121438.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is how I butter the pan, picked up from a french friend</td></tr>
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It is half a small potato with a fork stuck in it then dunked in the butter and butter gives you the little brown specks which gives the pancake the correct look.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here it is in action</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZqhfxOI180GIRfB5-Cvezm_aBC3SMX3EKw8eh8DI67R6RDPVLPP6vHNevdYFkK-kVKezvX_s5Vqy0Wire5AStmpQZqGMagOGvdy-HMshViiXr1HMaI0tbtTRuYhZLI0nANr7uiDZN3_8/s1600/20170228_121428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZqhfxOI180GIRfB5-Cvezm_aBC3SMX3EKw8eh8DI67R6RDPVLPP6vHNevdYFkK-kVKezvX_s5Vqy0Wire5AStmpQZqGMagOGvdy-HMshViiXr1HMaI0tbtTRuYhZLI0nANr7uiDZN3_8/s640/20170228_121428.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I use two pans. to do them quicker<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7xAuebmdHq3MI1YhYrX-nT0hwJ3lRcYnBIgmicj15TqkxBv7kvxUl6-kfpVymDxdKj9Tv7bA3_K6EK0Ty71Wkns5EtacTVTBBhfEIX2lZF21hHMpSlquCW497XiMkJEhiSwsYzd-uB5c/s1600/20170228_121733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7xAuebmdHq3MI1YhYrX-nT0hwJ3lRcYnBIgmicj15TqkxBv7kvxUl6-kfpVymDxdKj9Tv7bA3_K6EK0Ty71Wkns5EtacTVTBBhfEIX2lZF21hHMpSlquCW497XiMkJEhiSwsYzd-uB5c/s640/20170228_121733.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The first two are in</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRdnR35aGNlktxyrxh3e9ineUC3HQAuxNCrTdnEf3QBqdsRkZ3va4wTPEzkhKK3pUYQ43AhxxITL0cHJYDXkC3-FMxLhoaZvOGpO1qNQWlElX9equilgH2dsGIpT8D3njNBzXZBLFE9mQ/s1600/20170228_123027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRdnR35aGNlktxyrxh3e9ineUC3HQAuxNCrTdnEf3QBqdsRkZ3va4wTPEzkhKK3pUYQ43AhxxITL0cHJYDXkC3-FMxLhoaZvOGpO1qNQWlElX9equilgH2dsGIpT8D3njNBzXZBLFE9mQ/s640/20170228_123027.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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8 lovely moist soft and fluffy delights</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbSmd3jJc7wRkUXf1TO6-jOeg1RuiyHGiRs_7zI6w0wf7CRwBwx4RyFZBpwRn9eQ_N4LhG24HDhapiIbV4jAo-q6CunTdYUCBeEZheMirAaAMVTRB4oN0DFwwH_gVLVe_vhOcFIW0TVnk/s1600/20170228_123129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbSmd3jJc7wRkUXf1TO6-jOeg1RuiyHGiRs_7zI6w0wf7CRwBwx4RyFZBpwRn9eQ_N4LhG24HDhapiIbV4jAo-q6CunTdYUCBeEZheMirAaAMVTRB4oN0DFwwH_gVLVe_vhOcFIW0TVnk/s640/20170228_123129.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I like mine with Lemon juice and sugar and John likes his with maple syrup,</div>
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Over to you, how do you like yours.</div>
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Please leave a comment below and I will always answer you.</div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Nimbus Sans L, Arial, Liberation Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-63233898227730237402017-02-27T17:50:00.002+01:002017-02-27T17:50:15.874+01:00Windy or What<br />
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Hello dear Readers,<br />
<br />
I woke in the middle of the night with a start, what was that I thought, you know how you suddenly wake up and wonder whether you actually heard a noise or if you had been dreaming (I do a lot of that) so I lay there waiting for it to happen again and hoping it wasn't going to, bang, there it was again, John was well into a very deep sleep so I thought I had better get up and investigate, as I got downstairs I realised the wind was blowing a gale and the rain was coming down in buckets, this is not good news as our little house has a very shaky roof and when the wind is in a certain direction accompanied with very heavy rain then it can only mean one thing, we have leaks and sure enough there were leaks, we need a new roof but it isn't an option as it is too expensive, but we live in hope and do the Euromillions every week, well someone has to win and why shouldn't it be us.<br />
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A Horseshoe for good luck<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBC6XrYlp27OmmzBv3yyPLa2xqLMG8SHzVH2VAdwIjhvOrrFQRtUbWHoOrEKKYM8rltYIxNm-mk0ILynFo-VFoJ9K4hhp_aG_gsL8LdtEsx_2xMeQCSBVrMhgrAAM23rnpF05R4pbvNDw/s1600/20170112_202804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBC6XrYlp27OmmzBv3yyPLa2xqLMG8SHzVH2VAdwIjhvOrrFQRtUbWHoOrEKKYM8rltYIxNm-mk0ILynFo-VFoJ9K4hhp_aG_gsL8LdtEsx_2xMeQCSBVrMhgrAAM23rnpF05R4pbvNDw/s640/20170112_202804.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We have two rooves and the one that is leaking is just over the kitchen and dining room and the lovely new bedroom John created, I do hope it won't be ruined...</div>
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Until next time dear friends</div>
our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-50582100295022902012017-02-21T14:29:00.001+01:002017-02-21T14:31:47.837+01:00Our French Life - Brighter days to come <br />
Hello dear Readers,<br />
<br />
It really feels as if spring is starting, everything is bursting out all over and it is so refreshing to see things coming to life, there are also new baby lambs dotted about in the fields, sadly I was driving and couldn't stop to take a photo of them, I am sure this time last year it was really cold, I would say even frosty so I hope this isn't going to be a faux ami.<br />
<br />
Around the garden there are so many signs of new life, but due to being tied up with other things over the last few weeks and the fact that it is happening so early this year we haven't begun the great garden clean up to sweep the winter away, are we being a bit premature, I hope not.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTgcQHj_mp71fb0eCsFZQ-eN_X1GcNj8EECd4jDPIZgzAhLjf_o9D5sGbnEWNWaCeZrA3dtwRDUyKxg3ZZy2NJWUH_BotOD_NwAxC40UCvCFFg-NbJE4tetZX3QVke0LY-bq8lyOPNdI/s1600/20170221_135759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTgcQHj_mp71fb0eCsFZQ-eN_X1GcNj8EECd4jDPIZgzAhLjf_o9D5sGbnEWNWaCeZrA3dtwRDUyKxg3ZZy2NJWUH_BotOD_NwAxC40UCvCFFg-NbJE4tetZX3QVke0LY-bq8lyOPNdI/s640/20170221_135759.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Daffodils are waiting to burst into a lovely display of much needed colour</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHw9CFbMthckbuo9A58NNa_SxP2_kSDTPWqoTKT_llVFahR098u4FAZeE_SNuiw0J_D-wWbAiC85MX6rLwQRgi3io0zHnJ5PTZErWKmNMZU0gTJK2T9xSAu-hpD8NfloN-xLWcQM8LuvM/s1600/20170221_135726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHw9CFbMthckbuo9A58NNa_SxP2_kSDTPWqoTKT_llVFahR098u4FAZeE_SNuiw0J_D-wWbAiC85MX6rLwQRgi3io0zHnJ5PTZErWKmNMZU0gTJK2T9xSAu-hpD8NfloN-xLWcQM8LuvM/s640/20170221_135726.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camellia also with their delicate pinkness are fit to burst</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECjCMhjov3LdfA7a5O6fXeSICLWCPPeSh1gOjHrJmX_UeyQ9VJmqrbtQjIrenJhOfzSaYXQEFwxkskA42i11UFFMPS9_6t-4T6MWnK-GEdG2f_qi9fJKNf74MQxTPWjL7q6wggiMO5Dg/s1600/20170221_135820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECjCMhjov3LdfA7a5O6fXeSICLWCPPeSh1gOjHrJmX_UeyQ9VJmqrbtQjIrenJhOfzSaYXQEFwxkskA42i11UFFMPS9_6t-4T6MWnK-GEdG2f_qi9fJKNf74MQxTPWjL7q6wggiMO5Dg/s640/20170221_135820.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These beautiful crocus, my favourites, so tiny</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQtIZvD-1KhVtS5h8prYc5rVEpG91jFgcTKmAw2pzrw9X5imil_35qKLFo8C1XvJUzD2FKEWBFady9y5ZhDG_OzsDlMXQYRmIOhT2slZl0VZAivH9T0rtGi4UlLu8af6ZU1pLab4yL-I/s1600/20170221_140000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQtIZvD-1KhVtS5h8prYc5rVEpG91jFgcTKmAw2pzrw9X5imil_35qKLFo8C1XvJUzD2FKEWBFady9y5ZhDG_OzsDlMXQYRmIOhT2slZl0VZAivH9T0rtGi4UlLu8af6ZU1pLab4yL-I/s640/20170221_140000.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hundreds of buds on the lilac tree, my favourite perfume of the garden</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQLy5ODzoMnwLzatR_mm5miG9O4NTOFsW_wzmZXX5yQgb3RBygeb87FWcNiblhT-q2zimMiO8GeU73ZniHaJoKhKr2TrdbKg2ZvMqIZ6-Y6ZtsVDWuDlB-O3mueV3F2UGMUCHWH3htD4/s1600/20170221_135855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQLy5ODzoMnwLzatR_mm5miG9O4NTOFsW_wzmZXX5yQgb3RBygeb87FWcNiblhT-q2zimMiO8GeU73ZniHaJoKhKr2TrdbKg2ZvMqIZ6-Y6ZtsVDWuDlB-O3mueV3F2UGMUCHWH3htD4/s640/20170221_135855.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this little border, it flowers despite being in the shade</td></tr>
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It is so nice to see and it really lifts our very low spirits at the moment, I always think the garden looks so sad during the winter months but I guess it is a bit like me and hibernates, I noticed that a field not so far away has the dreaded mole hills, I do hope they march on by and leave my little green spot alone which is looking as if it is ready to be cut but is it too early yet, it is certainly growing at a rapid rate<br />
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This post is linked to my friends blog <a href="https://moisfrenchadventure.com/">https://moisfrenchadventure.com</a><br />
<br />
Until next time dear friendsour life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-43959658142693114112017-02-18T21:57:00.001+01:002017-02-18T21:57:40.888+01:00Our Life in France, your help is needed<br />
<br />
Hello dear Readers,<br />
<br />
This blog is a cry for help as I am experiencing real problems with my blog, I really am a bit of a technophobe, my blog has been running perfectly ok since 2009 and now I am having problems with comments, it seems that only people who comment via Google + can be seen on my posts, therefore I am not getting comments from some of you and cant answer, I hate the fact that some of you dear people are commenting and thinking I am not answering, I have tried everything I can and it is not working, I am tempted to open up another blog with a different provider but hate the thought that I would lose everything from the original as it is like a diary to me, if any of you dear readers are able to offer any help please feel free to do so, it will be very much appreciated, please could I ask you to send any help to my email at<br />
messageangels@gmail.com<br />
I await any help I can get as the alternative would be to shut this blog downour life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-69752179770205593712017-02-14T23:15:00.000+01:002017-02-14T23:15:18.834+01:00Our French Life - Sad times<br />
Hello dear Readers,<br />
<br />
Our life in France has been an adventure and along the way we have met lots of people some have come and gone, my Mother would have called them fair weather friends, the sort that are always around while the going is good but as soon as it gets difficult they are nowhere to be found, and some stick around and become best friends forever, for the last eight weeks John and I have been supporting one of those forever friends, he was told a week before last Christmas that he had cancer, previous to this he had no symptoms, he felt unsteady on his feet and went to see his GP who thought he had experienced a stroke and sent him via taxi to hospital 45 minutes away to get a brain scan, he was diagnosed and offered treatment but it started spreading too quickly and and at 3am Monday morning he lost his fight, 8 weeks from diagnosis. R.I.P. John Fitter, a Father figure, good friend, great comedian, great company and such a great soul, we are devastated .<br />
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See Big John you made it to my blog, take care on your new adventure xour life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-24543994123904524932017-02-06T23:41:00.001+01:002017-02-09T12:23:33.759+01:00Our life in France - Little Betsy is broken.<br />
Hello Dear Readers,<br />
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I could blog today about all the silly things that were challenges at the weekend but I don't want to burden you with my woe's, Our little baby car is broken but hopefully we can fix her, she is a wonderful little Rover Cabriolet whose little engine purrs as we tootle along in the summer sunshine, roof down, the wind in our hair, sometimes we have a cd playing that we sing along to, old songs that we know the words to, maybe a little country and western we tap our feet to, we tootle off to places new and sometimes take a picnic, oh how I dream of those lovely hot sultry days of summer.<br />
I always wear a large brimmed sun hat when we have the roof down and I once said to John, ''do you think people think I am a film star" and he said yes Lassie.<br />
So I now need to concentrate on happy things. like this wonderful toad in the hole we had for tea, yumsy x<br />
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We bumped into a couple today when doing some shopping who have bought a house in the next village to us, I had picked up a small pocket torch and the man of the couple said " you can get that for a pound in England" I remember when we first came here to live full time we used to compare prices and feel appalled at how much things cost but I guess after 8 years we accept it now, so I answered but we are not in England we are in France and that is what it costs here. and yet another couple who voted to leave the EU, it beggers belief, I struggle to understand the logic.<br />
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Thanks for popping by and please leave a comment.<br />
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<br />our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-89895982700070227822017-02-02T15:09:00.000+01:002017-02-02T15:09:08.772+01:00Our French Life - out of the gloom.<div style="text-align: center;">
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Hello Dear Readers.<br />
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Well February is here and sorry I haven't been on here much but we have just about managed to get through January, life has been somewhat different since just before Christmas what with me having bladder infection one after the other, a dear friend finding out they have cancer and the disruption that something so life changing brings, then John has the flu or La Grippe as it is called here in France, such a fitting name I always think as it does grip you for sure, My birthday came and went without any celebration as I was of course playing nurse to John, we will of course do the celebration bit at a later date when John is better<br />
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It is all of the above that has made me think how really lucky I am to have my John and just how much I rely on him and how much he actually does for us both and friends too, even though he struggles to walk with arthritic knees, when he was staying in bed with the flu and it felt like I was alone it gave me a glimpse of what life would be like if I was left on my own or indeed if he was left on his own, I certainly now know that I must take some of the strain, it's a wake up call. The good thing is John will recover from his flu so in the grand scheme of things it's not so bad.<br />
As for my bladder problems it seems I have a prolapsed bladder and will need surgery, not looking forward to that but glad it is in France and not the UK.<br />
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The very good news is that as I go out and down the garden path I can see that everything is starting to come back to life, all the daffodils, tulips and crocus are all up, little buds popping out from everywhere, after the really hard frosts we have experienced it is hard to believe these tender little souls have survived, it is like they are all waking up and stretching after a very long sleep.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turned the Calender over for February, this is the one we get from the Pompier (firemen)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Camelia in full bud</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tulips dafs and some weeds</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is my tree peony, it was hidden in a hedge and we re planted it, lots of buds</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sadly I left this pot out and the frost has broken it.<br /></td></tr>
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So we are trying to remain positive and certainly looking forward to the better weather.<br />
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<br />our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-36536109579666601322017-01-20T13:51:00.003+01:002017-01-20T15:41:12.398+01:00Our French Life - Just when you think all is good.<div style="text-align: center;">
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Christmas had come and gone and if I am honest it hadn't been the best we had experienced for one reason and another but as the saying goes "things can only get better" with no big expenditure in sight I thought I would be able to save a little to get ourselves a set of those new (plastic) rattan style patio sets for the summer, well they say don't get too comfy don't they... First of all my very old hairdryer that I must have had for 30 years melted, so I couldn't finish drying my hair properly so instead of going out with wet hair I decided to bake a cake, got the scales out of the cupboard and promptly dropped them on the tiled floor, of course they did not survive that impact and I think I will be finding bits of them for months to come, needless to say they have both gone to the tip or as it is called in French La Decheterie.<br />
ok so yesterday I had to bite the bullet and go and buy new versions of the afore mentioned articles, we drove to our local biggish town 30 minutes away (nothing is close here), went to Intermarche a large supermarket and we were looking through the hairdryers, well these things do so much these days I thought I only want to dry my hair but some of them do the housework too, I spied one which took my fancy and looked at the price underneath it, it was a Remington and only 19,98β¬, I was a little surprised at this so asked a very nice shop assistant was it right and she looked and said non non non and pointed out that this one and the one next to it had been swapped around, so when I got to the till I would have been paying 59,00β¬ bit of a difference, so be careful when buying these items and check the ticket for correct details.<br />
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Phillips is a good name in fact it is probably better than Remington.<br />
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Right next door is Action so we popped in there to look for some kitchen scales, they had several but I chose these, I wasn't going to have digital but these were so good as they could be changed to lbs and ozs or Grams, liquid measure and a built in timer plus they hang on the rod in the kitchen so well pleased with them and only 7,92β¬<br />
Result<br />
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We then went to another shop to get some cling film (Gifi) I like their particular cling film as I don't end up looking like a cling filmed mummy after using it, I spied this little gem for the bathroom.<br />
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I hope you can read it ok, if you have a man In your house it applies π<br />
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Thanks for popping by today and don't forget to leave a comment and click the follow button πππππππππ over on the rightπ<br />
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<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/6520047/?claim=waexras59w9">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-4270489007817775732017-01-18T22:16:00.000+01:002017-01-18T22:17:12.142+01:00Aims to aim for<div style="text-align: center;">
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First let me start by making an apology to you all, I have been playing about a bit with my blogs look and I am sure everytime you clicked on it there was a different colour or had a different header, well I think I have settled on this one so normal service will be resumed, thanks for being patient.<br />
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As I have said many times I am not one for making new years resolutions and anyway it is too late now by my reckoning, but it was a fellow blogger who made me realise that it is good to have aims for your year and be able to reflect on them, thank you Moira, you can find her blog here take a look, <a href="https://moisfrenchadventure.com/">https://moisfrenchadventure.com</a><br />
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I think it is good to do this otherwise you are bumbling aimlessly through your year and it is 18th January already just to put it into perspective, 18 days where you had no real plans now that scares me, we have not pets to give us purpose although we often say we would like another dog but sadly neither of us would be able to take it for long walks so that's out,<br />
Right lets look at what I would like to aim for. I know a lot of french but still struggle to hold a meaningful conversation, the main problem is the understanding part, so I guess I must get cracking with that, the language problem also brings another and that is integrating into our village life or should I say the lack of it, when you struggle to have a conversation the easiest thing is not to put yourself in that situation and I guess that is what we have done, so now when we go to our local tabac to get the euromillions tickets we stop and have a coffee, we have promised to take some English tea next week as John prefers tea, it helps us and helps them.<br />
There are still some jobs around the house that we need to knuckle down to, especially finish the downstairs toilet, lay carpet on landing, decorate our bedroom.<br />
We also need to get a bit more exercise.<br />
Well I think that will be plenty to keep us busy.<br />
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<li>Improve my French language skills</li>
<li>integrate more into village life</li>
<li>Finish the jobs.</li>
<li>Get more exercise</li>
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It will be good to look at it all at the end of the year and see how well we have done</div>
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What are your aims going to be, let me know, <br />
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thanks for popping by β</div>
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our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-945495032454717892017-01-16T18:01:00.000+01:002017-01-16T18:02:05.374+01:00Pretty memories - our life in france<br />
As this week See's the end of a rather nasty run of virus's for me and I haven't been able to get out and about to get pictures of anything interesting, plus the weather is just awful with rain and more rain and we are in for some really low temperatures later this week so as you can imagine I am going into Hibernation mode, well it got me thinking about the things that I have around me that make me happy and thought I would share them with you.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lovely glass cake stand with freshly baked scones<br />
and they were scrumptious, The tray is made by the mosaic method by an old friend.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9-zGMz2X2jz_uVn9R_ktJ2UasLzojb-tFMjZT1bWesDgaS4YWXDs-zo7zveos7ucWvqwHKoB_EC0vdOvdg1GiuHQFvOzlcvNc5ZU1mCQnokYyMvnc1eZL_c73UHFky-D81fyqjPWo-k/s1600/20170116_130310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9-zGMz2X2jz_uVn9R_ktJ2UasLzojb-tFMjZT1bWesDgaS4YWXDs-zo7zveos7ucWvqwHKoB_EC0vdOvdg1GiuHQFvOzlcvNc5ZU1mCQnokYyMvnc1eZL_c73UHFky-D81fyqjPWo-k/s640/20170116_130310.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A plate made specially for a loaf cake, I will put the lemon drizzle I baked earlier on here as it is John's favourite, mind you it would seem that every cake is his favourite.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAQ2ybcuuCuE1Zwx_cQeQNI_eDaXtCGqwhWLwKk5buCUKY-ZOLdZKz_TcPBoP5PuOQgDi6ck1BL5hnX1JZEsXdZH4Cbob0KjHw33et4i8MRj2j7JQLdBkVrIjNkBbqK08Sqq9jK8OpAk/s1600/20170116_130756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAQ2ybcuuCuE1Zwx_cQeQNI_eDaXtCGqwhWLwKk5buCUKY-ZOLdZKz_TcPBoP5PuOQgDi6ck1BL5hnX1JZEsXdZH4Cbob0KjHw33et4i8MRj2j7JQLdBkVrIjNkBbqK08Sqq9jK8OpAk/s640/20170116_130756.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are two pretty cups that my dear Mum used to drink her tea from, she treasured them but I use them every day as I don't see the point of hiding things away to keep them safe. the one on the right is one I bought her for Mothers day many moons ago and the one on the left is the only one left out of a set sadly, the milk jug I got from a vide grenier here in France and I often wonder how old it is and who used it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2vVjLWhUAU_x6-QBorO9nd9OoTlKvDva7CXiYXfA1KNLuhSdN1WX6ikbEr08_j7udb9v_2_WUJJ-Qie35hXxv_gBrcNHD3W0k_w3YFlfXHb_tnbuhyphenhyphen3357y3Y8dXStofShN6FoBi0U_E/s1600/20170116_130654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2vVjLWhUAU_x6-QBorO9nd9OoTlKvDva7CXiYXfA1KNLuhSdN1WX6ikbEr08_j7udb9v_2_WUJJ-Qie35hXxv_gBrcNHD3W0k_w3YFlfXHb_tnbuhyphenhyphen3357y3Y8dXStofShN6FoBi0U_E/s640/20170116_130654.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A vase of used corks that I will make something with once I get the inspiration</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEislUMsxZ9sUYlH-kSi5RkmoLZ4CDrKewL1tcyN0zg5vTPTTjKYZ5BVPeHg7aIKA0Aai41qoMsFzcS677pokKuEwwWKwPnNL0etWN5Prd62NOuhKaQVmeP3Ej01jo5Vkk8OR1qWy_ThaIY/s1600/20170116_131143.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEislUMsxZ9sUYlH-kSi5RkmoLZ4CDrKewL1tcyN0zg5vTPTTjKYZ5BVPeHg7aIKA0Aai41qoMsFzcS677pokKuEwwWKwPnNL0etWN5Prd62NOuhKaQVmeP3Ej01jo5Vkk8OR1qWy_ThaIY/s640/20170116_131143.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another little jug from a vide grenier with a pretty candle that I just cannot light and a lovely little crochet brooch that a friend made me her company is <a href="http://www.crochez-moi.com/">http://www.crochez-moi.com</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7dZoTYG98reKkZH3r8Y1efoBYf6TV5i0q5YbSk7FpP2bjqPInCfGL72iVKSQsIyDoVFNWZFqoF03g0j8NUPUAfv3-1VwpXg-jMUFkTiOctKSfCpM7lkq8paPO8jt5cVCzoDL0z1iXK4Y/s1600/20170116_131038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7dZoTYG98reKkZH3r8Y1efoBYf6TV5i0q5YbSk7FpP2bjqPInCfGL72iVKSQsIyDoVFNWZFqoF03g0j8NUPUAfv3-1VwpXg-jMUFkTiOctKSfCpM7lkq8paPO8jt5cVCzoDL0z1iXK4Y/s640/20170116_131038.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and what it is all about <br />
HOME</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-74963010037680867192017-01-12T20:33:00.001+01:002017-01-12T20:33:38.548+01:00Our French life - Vendredi 13th<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u><b>Vendredi 13th Janvier</b></u></span></div>
Hello Dear Readers,<br />
<br />
Yes tomorrow is Friday (Vendredi ) 13th unlucky for some or so we think but not so the French, they think it is quite the opposite or at least the ones I have spoken to, here in France we have 13 my millions to be won tomorrow with the Euromillions, you have to be in to win as they say, who knows, someone has to win why not us hey, here are a few more superstitions the French have but it is only hearsay and could quite possibly change from one area to another,<br />
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<u><b>Horse shoes</b></u><br />
I am used to hanging it like these below<br />
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but the French hang them upside down over the door outside. how do you hang yours?<br />
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<u><b>Twiddle a French sailors red bobble, Don't mind if I do/</b></u><br />
Apparently if you see a french sailor in uniform you should touch his red bobble for good luck, this good be why every girl loves a sailor.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Lighting cigarettes</b></u><br />
I might not have this one quite right as there were conflicting ideas and it is from WW1 but this is sort of how it goes, never light 3 cigarettes with one match as the first one alerts a sniper, the second tells him how far away the target is and the third light gets the bullet, I think the answer is not to smoke in the first place.<br />
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<u><b>Female/Owl</b></u><br />
If when pregnant you want a girl the french superstition is that if you set eyes on an owl during your pregnancy you will have a girl/<br />
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<u><b>The last supper</b></u><br />
The French are renowned for their dinner parties but they will never have 13 people around a table as they believe it will bring bad luck, as a Catholic country they believe it hails from the last summer and 13 people around that table one of which was Judas Iscariot who turned out to be a traitor.<br />
<br />
Well these are but a few, so take it easy out there and stay safe/our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-1375418200723571822017-01-07T21:44:00.000+01:002017-01-07T21:44:46.448+01:00French life, how it's done<br />
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Galette des Rois - The French tart with a charm<br />
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Hello Dear Readers,<br />
<br />
I write to you today about the Galette des Rois, this is traditionally a frangipane cake which always includes a paper crown, it is usually eaten on 6th January for Epiphany, this however is not a bank holiday so the actual feast day occurs on the first Sunday of January (unless it falls on the 1st,) then it goes to the next Sunday.<br />
So you guessed, it will be tomorrow.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZpidkxvb1MgP0Ln310Q3-7HWPgtH0s5yxCpPKMNJa4V_FJiHbZu9frZP-u4_NgCjE90BdE8rt0yT99X75eqvqmYjDPAIrBFDA3yrkcllt2alRN2gnhKNurRuCRzwLyzwsHBljWdHIkFA/s1600/20170107_180516.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZpidkxvb1MgP0Ln310Q3-7HWPgtH0s5yxCpPKMNJa4V_FJiHbZu9frZP-u4_NgCjE90BdE8rt0yT99X75eqvqmYjDPAIrBFDA3yrkcllt2alRN2gnhKNurRuCRzwLyzwsHBljWdHIkFA/s640/20170107_180516.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Normally this galette it made from Frangipane and puff pastry ( Pate Feuillettee)<br />
But the one in the picture is brioche with bits of chocolate, so I guess it is more like a giant pain au chocolat, yummy yummy.<br />
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According to tradition the cake must be cut into enough slices so that each person gets a slice and a few more in case of unexpected guests, Here they have a gadget that you sit on top of a cake or gateaux and it allows you to cut equal sized slices, there will be a small figurine baked into the cake and the person who gets this figurine in their slice will have good luck for the year and becomes the king or queen for the day, wearing the crown provided, it is a good party game and the French love their party games, in order for it to be fair a child must sit under the table and shout out the names of everyone there and a slice is presented to that person. it would be very unusual for there not to be a child present as this is a family affair and the children are always involved as they are always well behaved, maybe this is why they grow up into such nice rounded people. when you think about it, if you send children to bed while you are having fun what does that say to the child, interesting.!<br />
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Here is a video link so you can see how its done.<br />
<a href="http://www.commeunefrancaise.com/galette-rois/">http://www.commeunefrancaise.com/galette-rois/</a><br />
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Happy l'Epiphanie to all.<br />
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If you haven't already please click follow - over there on the right column β’β’β’β’><br />
then you wont miss a blog.<br />
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until next time peepsour life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-78096408018489038252017-01-05T14:33:00.001+01:002017-01-05T14:33:57.884+01:00Life changes<br />
Hello dear readers,<br />
<br />
I have been doing some thinking about our life here today as someone asked if our lives had changed since we made the move, I used to think there was no change in fact I would have said there was no difference in our cultures but over the years we have realised that there are some, but nothing that is insurmountable, we came to France because we loved the fact that here in the rural countryside they seem to be at least 50 years behind England, life is just like it was when we were kids, safe to run around outside without getting robbed or attacked, people especially children still have respect for others and elders, don't get me wrong, it is starting to change now sadly and as you travel closer to the big cities you will see the graffiti some of which I find very artistic, the french in some areas are getting wise to it now and growing trees instead of concrete walls, I very often see council workers trying for hours at a time to clean it off but I feel it would be much quicker if they painted it, I wonder why they don't invent a surface that rejects paint in the first place,<br />
Here are a few differences we have found<br />
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β Children behave in shops<br />
β Everyone greets you even if they don't know you<br />
β men kiss men to greet them (usually family)<br />
β food and the way we eat is different<br />
β The French are creatures of habit<br />
β If you buy the barman in a bar a drink he has to buy one back until neither of you can leave or at least that is what it is like at our bar. and of course the wine is so cheap.<br />
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That's just a few for today.<br />
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<br />our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-52131731956825228562017-01-04T13:42:00.001+01:002017-01-05T15:15:32.854+01:00New Year Resolutions<br />
Hello dear readers,<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhreOcLYudW7CHfb5Edlslr2KRyRZ3oMh31cgWmjU-D2FDiqZhh08zHUrgQqik_lqG_ijdttXBglyEWk9aLFU9GVaUH7-o6UMCW694TLJofsvqQbiDlKQ1tE2BXH7CQJs8z_XwrvL_xIB8/s1600/20170102_193303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhreOcLYudW7CHfb5Edlslr2KRyRZ3oMh31cgWmjU-D2FDiqZhh08zHUrgQqik_lqG_ijdttXBglyEWk9aLFU9GVaUH7-o6UMCW694TLJofsvqQbiDlKQ1tE2BXH7CQJs8z_XwrvL_xIB8/s640/20170102_193303.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We always have a trifle for any celebration and it is always made in Mum's cut glass bowl<br />
God knows what we would do if we broke it</td></tr>
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With A New Year comes new years resolutions, we all make them and we all break them, some sooner than others, I guess there are some people who make them and see them through to the end successfully, sadly I am not one of them.<br />
So with the new year upon us, do the French make them too, the answer is yes....<br />
(Les bonnes resolution du nouvel an).<br />
My neighbour says it is always to lose weight well if you could see her she is so slim, tiny in fact and I tell her "you don't need to lose weight" and she replies " that's because I am constantly on a diet" or Regime as they call it here.<br />
The other one or two are to give up smoking or drinking alcohol, have you noticed these are all the things we love, perhaps not the smoking we gave that up 34 years ago but we do like a drink and we love our food, Well I got to thinking there must be an easier way to do this resolution thing, when you really think about it you don't have to give something up completely, right...why not learn a new language, in my case improve my French so that my poor friend and neighbour Jossette doesn't have to struggle so much with understanding me, you could cut down on something rather than give it up altogether, I am all for that, I am no good with diets, the minute I say I am on one I constantly think about food and can't last longer than a week so I thought I would cut back (not cut out) the snacks between meals and perhaps change some of the snacks for healthier options like fruit, yes that sounds good.<br />
I won't make so many Trifles therefore I won't end up like this β§<br />
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Please let me know what you are doing for your New Years resolutions. β‘<br />
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<br />our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-80715713576937285482017-01-01T14:09:00.003+01:002017-01-01T14:09:52.574+01:00Winter Proper - A Winter Wonderland <br />
Hello dear readers,<br />
<br />
Winter has hit us with a bang and we have what is called a Hoar Frost, this is a frost on steroids where crystalline frost forms on vegetation and forms beautiful shards of ice and icicles to make such a beauty of nature, I could look at it all day, as we drove to do some shopping it was like being in a proper winter wonderland, pure white for as far as you could see and oh so magical as if nature was preserving the old year in time and dressing it perfectly to welcome the new dawn,<br />
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This was our red robin shrubs with just a touch of frost all around the edges of the leaves,<br />
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<h1 class="page__title title" id="page-title" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: #fcf9f9; font-family: "Poets Electra Web Italic", "Poets Electra Web", "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 38px; font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: -2px; line-height: 1.20301em; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px;">
Hoar-Frost</h1>
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<span class="field-content"><h2 class="subheading" itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-family: founders_grotesk_textsemibold, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 2.10526em; margin-bottom: 1.05263em; margin-top: 1.05263em; padding-bottom: 15px;">
<span class="node-title"><a href="https://www.poets.org/node/45515" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(211, 211, 211); color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_top"><span itemprop="name">Amy Lowell</span></a></span>, <span class="date-display-single">1874</span> - <span class="date-display-single">1925</span></h2>
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In the cloud-grey mornings<br />I heard the herons flying;<br />And when I came into my garden,<br />My silken outer-garment<br />Trailed over withered leaves.<br />A dried leaf crumbles at a touch,<br />But I have seen many Autumns<br />With herons blowing like smoke<br />Across the sky.</div>
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The little chapel is just out of the back of our garden<br />
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This is to the side of the chapel where the village children play, it was too cold for the today<br />
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This is our tap outside which had been drained, I do hope it will be ok,<br />
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I haven't seen icicles for a few years,<br />
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Where does the poor spider go when this happens, maybe he is very hardy and can walk on ice<br />
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Last summers flower heads, left on to protect the plant from such cold but given a last blast of beauty,<br />
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This ornamental grass frozen in time, will it ever be able to get back to its glory ever again, Nature is such a beautiful thing but I think so much more so in the rural countryside.<br />
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Cobwebs on the gazebo made even more beautiful, the crystals allow you to see how amazing they are.<br />
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Well dear readers it is the end of 2016 and I have opened the back door to let it go and opened the front door to let 2017 in, all that remains is to say<br />
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Good Health and Happiness to you all </div>
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<br />our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-55396293653480683712016-12-24T22:14:00.000+01:002016-12-24T22:14:58.479+01:00Glad tidings we bring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Merry Christmas to all my dear blog readers<br />I hope you are all safe and well and looking forward to tomorrow with exitement, I also wish for you everything you wish for yourselves where ever you are in the world.<br />Thank you for reading my blog over the years and I sincerely hope you will continue to do so over the coming years.<br />My wish is for Peace and love and understanding in the world</span></h3>
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A very Happy Birthday to my wonderful hubby John for Christmas day</h2>
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our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-19380120493282353652016-12-20T14:44:00.000+01:002016-12-20T14:44:17.559+01:00Nearly Christmas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello dear readers<br />
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Christmas is almost here and am I ready, sadly not yet, there are 101 things to do before the big day, we have dear friends coming on the day to help us celebrate the season and John's birthday of course, There are beds to be made ready in case anyone wants or needs to stay over, Presents to be wrapped andthe house must be cleaned and all the last minute tinsel and glitter added to every nook and cranny, There are the beef bones to roast and boil to make the most delicious gravy, the red cabbage to be boiled down with lots of nice flavours for an accompaniment to the wonderful joint of meat we will be having on Christmas day, not to mention the mince pies and sausage rolls to make plus the last minute shopping to do, oh my will I ever get it all done π yet somehow it does all get done, it is only one day after all.<br />
Christmas for the French of course as I understand it happens on 24th December, in theory the whole family gets together on the evening for a grand feast which is normally fish / seafood and you will see them at the very last minute on Christmas eve in their droves in the supermarkets collecting their pre-ordered Oysters,lobsters, prawns etc; all to be washed down with oodles of champagne of course, this feast will start at approximately 9pm and somewhere thereafter the children will be allowed to open their gifts ( this I think is a far better way to do it feed the kids until they are fit to burst get them very tired, let them open their gifts and then they are ready and willing to go to bed) result βΊ<br />
The grown ups of course can party for as long as they want to in fact I have known them to still be eating at 5am, at midnight they go to midnight mass or if you are in our village they have stopped it and now go at 8pm, no wonder they sleep most of 25th.<br />
We are just off to give gifts to our local Pharmacy and the receptionists at the Doctors surgery as they are so good to us and help out a great deal.<br />
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so a very Merry Christmas to you all and a very prosperous and Happy 2017<br />
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<br />our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-14195926683883589952016-12-17T13:40:00.000+01:002016-12-17T13:45:10.736+01:00Tis the season to be merryTra la la la la la la la.<br />
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I seem to have loads of Christmas songs in my head and just blart them out at random, to John's amazement but I am really in the seasonal zone right now, for those that know me this is so out of character but long may it last.</div>
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My dear John has his birthday on Christmas day and it always gets lost in the excitement of Christmas in fact he very often doesnt get many cards as people will just add it on in Christmas cards but he is used to it now, so, yesterday we decided to celebrate his birthday a little and he was allowed to open a present.</div>
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I got it from a proper jewellery store and they really packed it up nicely for free</div>
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A lovely box within a bag ribbons and all<br />
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oh the excitement<br />
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And yet another box, he was so pleased with his watch as he had been without one for so long and I couldn't get him used to looking at his phone for the time. A happy bunny.<br />
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Thanks for reading dear friends </div>
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our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-12483199651086993202016-12-14T15:24:00.001+01:002016-12-14T15:24:13.891+01:00Christmas is coming<h3>
The Goose is getting fat, Please put a penny in the old man's hat,<br />If you haven't got a penny a halfpenny will do,If you haven't got a halfpenny, God bless you.</h3>
OR as my friend Moira says "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" see her blog here <a href="https://moisfrenchadventure.com/">https://moisfrenchadventure.com</a><br />
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As usual the festive season is almost here without me being organised, I say every year, just after Christmas that I will be organised next time but of course I have to go through the doom and gloom of the onset to winter which I hate but then I seem to come out of the mist and start to get excited and focused, I must say that I have bought the beef for Christmas dinner (I nearly fainted at the price) but it is a lovely piece from the English butchers in Gorron, you can find them here <a href="http://www.elliottsboucherie.com/">http://www.elliottsboucherie.com</a> they are a traditional butchers and they have some well hung meat also lots of goodies like homemade sausages, Scotch eggs, which John loves (I can't eat eggs) proper gammon steaks and homemade pork pies to mention just a few,<br />
I have also posted my Christmas cards to all 4 corners of the world although I believe there will be a postal strike in UK so hopefully they will reach their destination on time.<br />
yesterday we put up our Christmas tree and other bits<br />
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and for the first time I actually enjoyed doing it, maybe it was the fact that we had Christmas carols playing while we did it that cheered it all up but of course once you sing these songs they stay in your head, now I can't stop singing them, dear John just looks at me when I burst into song and says "you are a happy little bunny"<br />
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How are your preparations going?<br />
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<br />our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648708105905562380.post-51720268361427432952016-12-08T19:45:00.000+01:002016-12-08T19:45:07.568+01:00Quertily Queer<br />
Hello Dear Readers.<br />
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Today my dearly beloved bought me a wifi bluetooth dear little keyboard for my tablet.<br />
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As you can see it is a Azerty and not a Querty keyboard, so I pair it to my tablet and start to type with it then realise I am typing rubbish, ... although it is on the face of it a azerty it is typing as a querty and nothing I can do will change it .... I have unpaired it and reinstated it, turned off the tablet and turned it back on, all the the usual but it will not change, don't get me wrong I am coping with it in fact it is a bit of a challenge, it keeps the old brain working.<br />
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If you have any ideas do please let me know, until next time.<br />
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<br />our life in francehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10199969087758740830noreply@blogger.com