My French Fancy

  "Getting old is like climbing a mountain; you get a little out of breath but the view is much better!”  ~Ingrid Bergman Someone recently suggested to my Mother that she has a hearing aid, to which she replied "I don't want to look like an old granny" she's 86!  The problem is that we don't accept that we are getting old and one of the reasons is that although we look older we still feel young. How many people have you heard say "I don't feel any older in my head than I did 30/40 years ago" apparently, it’s called our subjective age or SA. Good grief! what chance have we got! My kids are constantly telling me that I have told them something already and I am sure that my hearing is deteriorating. Here is an example of a recent conversation that we had in the car: Me to Ellie (who was in the back of the car with me) "there's a really nice cafe down there that we must try." Tim (who was driving) " no my love, this is the right w...

    I wish that every day was Saturday and every month was October.” ―  Charmaine J. Ford. I agree as it's my birthday then!   What happened last Saturday   Saturday mornings here in Normandy are a bit different to how they were in South London. Last Saturday morning a snake dropped down next to me on the patio. Sid (that’s his name) used to have a piece of trellis to slide down but we have removed it so now he has to do a Mission Impossible fall. Tim got shouted at (by me) as he went to pick it up. I know they are not dangerous (apparently anything under a metre is a Vipère and is dangerous, the rest are grass snakes). Sid is over 4 feet long and is a light green colour so he’s a grass snake. I did not fancy starting the day at Urgence with a snake bite (not the drink!!) anyway, Sid slinked off in a huff and hide under the yucca plant and Tim did the same (but not under the yucca). How different were my mornings in South London, where the o...

  "If I had my way, I’d remove January from the calendar altogether and have an extra July instead." Roald Dahl July is hot here but the mornings are wonderful. I wander out with the cat, a cup of tea and just enjoy the sounds and smells of a fresh, new day- don’t worry I am not going to burst into ‘Morning has broken’. I’m not an early bird, I struggle to start work at 9am and I only have to walk to my study.                                                                                                                  Early bird    This morning however I had to be up early, as I needed to go to the market in Argentan.  French markets (Marchés) are delightful, you can find the obvious ...

"Mademoiselle où est Decathlon?? " It is truly glorious here - the roses and the rhododendrons are in full bloom (picture on my home page), the birds are singing and everything is looking very lovely. Tim and I are labouring in the garden before it gets too hot to do anything. It has been very dry here though, I can’t remember the last time we had any rain! I think I've got tennis elbow and I haven’t even been near a tennis racket. Did not help that I not only fell of my bike (I was being chased by my friend's dog), but I also slipped on the stairs (I know, I should not have been wearing flip flops in the house!). I’ve also had a riding lesson (didn’t fall off that though) and I’ve been using our local outdoor pool in Bagnoles de l’Orne which is heated. It is well worth a visit if you are in the area. Piscine (Bagnoles-de-l’Orne) | Bagnoles de l'Orne (bagnolesdelorne.com) Top Tip  Don't forget that the French are very strict about what men wear in a p...

                                                                                           Leaky waders- not helpful!   What are we doing at the moment? Tim has spent a lot of time in his waders this week- not a good look it has to be said but they are very effective even if they do have a small leak. We are replacing the decking by the lake and as ever, everything turns into a much bigger job than you expect. The concrete supports that hold the whole thing up had come loose so straps were attached to the car to pull them level again.  What are the French doing? Although the French get a lot of bank holidays (14 days per year) if they fall on a weekend then that is 'tant pis!' (too bad) whereas the UK has only 7(1 extra for the Coronation th...

  It's that time of year again!   Guess what we've been doing- We have had a few lovely days here so Tim and I attacked the garden like people possessed. It does look much better but there's still a lot to do. Some people (often men, it has to be said) become a bit obsessed about cutting the grass. Unfortunately, that is not the case with my dear Husband so I normally decide to go and do it myself whilst mumbling ‘who needs a bloody man anyway’ under my breathe -but I need Tim to start the mower as I can’t, which rather takes the wind out of my sails. I read a great article by Emma Pearson, Editor at the local France (www. the local.fr) entitled  " 6 things that are surprisingly cheap in France (and 5 that are shockingly expensive)".  They are the following and I have put them in order of importance to me: Surprisingly cheap- Wine- as it is made here there are no import costs - it’s cheaper than petro...

  Exciting times here in Basse-Normandie! We are working on the final room to be decorated. When I say decorated I  mean stripping fabric off of the walls and ceilings that has at least three layers (including a foam layer) and then sanding off glue that should have been used on the Titanic.  Overall it has been two and a half years of graft - Mainly stripping walls and using gallons of white emulsion (very good deal in Action btw) admittedly the main building work has been completed by others for the simple reason that we could not have done it.  I am always fascinated by the Escape to the Chateau/DIY as the people are so capable. We are no Dick and Angel that is for sure! but not even Dick and Angel are real, are they? I think they are aliens- who can make sloe gin and plumb in a toilet? but not at the same time- obviously!!  As I have mentioned before, Tim was in Print and I was an English Teacher and all I remember from physics is that Mr Brown is a liv...