FAMILY LIFE IN A FRENCH COUNTRY VILLAGE
I’ll be straight from the start. This is not a tear jerking love story which will have you reaching out for the tissues and leave you feeling all mushy inside. I haven’t caused a scandal and committed adultery and we haven’t suddenly felt the need to renew our wedding vows. Read more
When I first set eyes on our house, the moment I set foot inside the large entrance gates I fell in love with the driveway lined with a flowering hedge and the sweep of lawn and garden beyond. But that day I fell in love twice, the second time was with the front doors, and both have been love affairs that have not lessened in the slightest, each and every day I still get the same feeling every time I come and go. Read more
Happy hens = lots of eggs. That’s my theory and it seems that ours are thriving once again. It may be cold and wet, as winter has us firmly in her clutches, but our girls are laying contentedly. Oh and our daffodils are about to burst into flower even though we are currently shivering and snow covers much of Europe. Talking of the white stuff, I am sending our warmest thoughts to anyone in Chicago; I cannot imagine such cold.
I’m a little bit all over the place with this post today. Until I started writing I had no organised theme and no pressing subject. I had just snapped away with my camera all week. This would be our life in the Charente Maritime in the depths of winter as seen through my lens. Read more
A couple of days ago I grabbed my camera and drove to a village nearby, determined to take a few photos for the blog with the wonderful light that we have at this time of year. It was truly the most sublime day, with clear skies and a sun hot enough to actually make a difference; it was not quite sunbathing weather but for the depths of winter it was not at all bad. A day when one simply had to be outside to appreciate it. There was no wind, and the the rise of mercury had not been too impressive, just reaching double figures – a mediocre 10˚ Celsius. However, it felt like heaven just to feel the sun on one’s back, and that’s the trick here, even in January. If you can find a sheltered spot you really can sit in a t-shirt and feel the sun providing some vital winter vitamin D, its rays actually have some strength to them. Read more
Life in a very old farmhouse can sometimes throw up some unusual challenges. In our case one of the biggest ones is getting large items of furniture up and down the stairs. Read more
Days turn into nights and before we can blink another year has passed. The holidays seem to have flown by far too fast. I meant to post my Christmas story, I have a list of things all planned out but somehow they never quite came to fruition. Read more
