Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2017 End of Year Round Up 

2017 has been a troublesome year with broken friendships and lost loved ones, which only goes to show that there is always trouble in paradise. We are, however, very pleased to say that at this festive part of the year we are back on track and ready to move into 2018 with renewed vigour and the opportunity to develop our hobbies and new friendships that have flourished this year.  The garden is in its 10^th year of growth and we are in a phase of change. Last year I had promised never to start a new garden but this year we have two new gardens taking shape and have had lots of tasty veg out of the allotment.  We are taking our 1936 Morris out for a drive every month and look forward to the meetings and rallies already organised in 2018.  We are both in good health, in ‘our JUS’ as they say in France but I am still battling numerous food intolerances and Mike’s legs give him jip, on a bad day.  HOSS the dog is also troubled with weak legs and we are giving him spoilt boy attention in his 12^th year hoping to give him a comfortable hobble to the end….. We are back on a motor bike and have enjoyed the experience. Our friends enjoy a blatt in the countryside, followed by beer and BBQ so no complaints there. We have had many lovely visits to Brevands this year and have visitors organised already for next year which give us great times to look forward to.   We are still enthusiastic brocanteurs and I fill my etsy shop, maisonmamie, with tiny French trinkets and manage to sell two or three items a week which has developed into a productive little hobby that pays the petrol costs of going to buy.  We celebrated our 10 years in Brevands in August with a rip roaring Karaoke supper in the barn, it was so good to have the barn back in action with so many wonderful people sharing our achievement and happiness for our lovely life here in France.

We would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and prosperous 2018 xx  

There will be a 2018 blog if you would like to receive it please let us know as it will not be public anymore. 

a warm handshake and a bright smile .....

Blog 8 August 2017

Another summer month has passed and we can honestly say it has been a good one…..  August has been full of visitors and we have done interesting and fun things. Our mobile homes have been full from middle of July to middle of this month….that’s plenty.

Here I am showing off my new Spec Savers spectacles and the reason for putting them in the blog is to explain with amazement why we have to wait for a trip to the UK to achieve anything like a faire price for these simple essentials. In our part of France there is a 6 month wait for an eye test and then the cost of lenses and frames is staggering. My eighty year old  friend,  Genevieve in the village moaned and groaned  about her 700 euro specs  when I told her about my  purchase in the UK. A week to wait for an eye test and  then 2 pairs of specs for £69 and  I was lucky on the day I went because the eye test was  free but even at £33 I am quids in every time . I also come home with my prescription I can use in France so in an emergency I can have a pair of specs made up here. It is a win win situation and I am so very grateful that we have the opportunity to take the best from both France and UK.

Mireill and Christian’s visit in 2009

Mireill and Christians visit in 2017

Oh what fun, a lovely and lively visit from our niece Mireill and her grown up family. They stayed overnight and most of the next day on their way to visit my brother John in Brittany. We wondered around the garden and house glowing in their enthusiasm for our life here in France.  There is nothing quite like a bunch of people going Wow and asking how, when and where , it certainly did us good to open all our doors and share a bite to eat around the table. Come back soon, we had a good time with you lovely people.

Gregory Porter…..never heard of him… but our friends Mark and Shirley had, and encouraged us to buy our tickets to meet them in the Christian Dior gardens in Granville for a concert.

We sat in front of the adorable Dior house sharing beers and chips until the maestro came on stage as the light started to fade so the atmosphere was electrified.  As soon as he started to sing and his ohh, so, talented band struck up I grabbed our little bunch of groupies and went into the mosh pit. We stood for 2 hours engrossed and participating in a truly wonderful show in a genre Mike and I were not sure we liked and decided we most definitely did when, it is live and wonderful, in front of your very eyes.

I found an old sailing hat and took it along to be a truly committed groupie and we had fun and laughed along with the joke in the deliciously tiny, friendly concert arena we found ourselves in.

Our Gregory Porter outing was made even more memorable because we took the camper and parked overnight in the Granville Aire de camping car in the old part of town. We   spent a lovely day getting to know this interesting place and walked for miles to get our bearings and know where to go for the concert. There was a bus service but Mike put a brave face on and walked so we could get close and intimate with our surroundings.  HOSS came too, and after far too much walking for him , was happy to sit in the camper and wait for us to return at one in the morning from our concert experience. Life is so easy and fun with a bit of planning and a lot of organisation.

We had our monthly run out with our vintage vehicle friends and took a ride out to the abbey at Cerisy le Foret.  Eight vehicles made the convoy to the abbey for a picnic then a guided run out to a memorial for our interest and delight.

Everybody brings a contribution to the table which  becomes an object of feasting. Everything is shared and the event is just a wonderfully friendly afternoon out.

Monty had a very successful trip out with no slipping clutch or braking issues and we felt happy and content that he was behaving …. Old cars are a worry and a tool kit is an inevitable must, but that day all went well. Jay and Helen’s lorry, Beauty, decided to have a slow start and it took a bunch of blokes to look and wonder and with a bit of special handling she bounced back to life for the homeward journey.

We are a happy bunch of military and civilian vehicles owners and when we hit the road we are certainly a head turning, enthusiastically waving event for the people we pass on the way. A lot of fun and good camaraderie.

The smallest little restaurant in Normandy and it is just around the corner from home. They advertised sausages and chips and a free live band on a Saturday night so we donned our warm jumpers and sat out till it got dark in the company of a folk band keeping us entertained and plenty of beer to keep the evening oiled.

HOSS started to show signs of failing again and to try to not have to keep visiting the vet and filling him with medication we thought about what his needs were. Mike cut up a carpet he was saving for his garage floor and made a run way so HOSS could get to the garden without looking like the drive was covered in hot coals. This made a huge difference to his demeanour and then our friend Lisa linked me to a turmeric users face book site and I decided to put our boy on Golden Paste to help with his aches and pains.

I

gave HOSS the recommended dose in his dinner and within 5 days we had a revived and happier boy bouncing up his runway to the garden and asking to go out to play. I posted on the site that after 2 weeks we had our old boy back, showing signs of comfort and happiness in comparison to not taking the Golden Paste. I had 944 likes and 72 messages of good wishes and dog owner love . I recon if you feel low and in need of a lift  put a posting on the turmeric users site and watch all this love and caring  flow like a bubbling brook towards you. There are so many sweet and lovely supportive people out there.

Within the vehicle enthusiast group of friends we have found a gang of likeminded motorbike riders who have invited us to join them on their evening rides out.   This ride out was a 134 kilometre ride on wonderful roads into Granville for a beer stop and out to  Blainville Sur Mer for a meal on the terrace looking out to sea.

Moules frits and a good rose to wash it down with lots of biker talk and then we watched the sun disappear into the sea …..…what more could you want for, in great company.

You know you live in a lively and cosmopolitan town when you see a camel grazing behind the Carfour supermarket. On the other side of the road were the horses and other exotic specimen. The circus tent was in the supermarket car park and the whole entourage was a blaze of colour and fun…..  you need little people around  to buy a ticket  but it was good to observe and enjoy x

We have certainly sat around this table more this year, and our glass wall has served us well.  A paella cooked on the patio is a happy meal with good friends and we all enjoyed a good catch up in the garden….. al fresco.

The harvest has been good and I have filled the freezer with soups and sources for our winter menus. There is nothing better than eating fresh and then putting the spare away and it is why I love gardening and why it is all so worthwhile.

Mike is a happy chappy…. We are the proud owners of this beast and we are both very excited.  We have come to realise that we need a front loading devise and were going to try to afford an attachment to our Kubota but our friend Jay put this tractor on the market and although we know it needs a lot of TLC Mike is confident he can make it work for us. We can then sell two other pieces of equipment this one big beast will cover in terms of application… watch this space for progress reports ……

We had another fishing day out and Shirley won the accolade for the only catch of the day.  Mike got through two baguettes and Pat was using all his secret bait but it was Shirley who scored ……..so well done to Shirley and looking forward to the next gathering around the lake.…..

We all rush together to watch the fish being landed and record the occasion. Here is Elaine getting it all down on video for us to watch and laugh about on one of those dark, dark winters’ evenings.

To celebrate our 10 years in Brevands we invited a gang of new and old friends to help us mark the occasion and they did that in real style and full of fun

We sat 27 people in the barn and feasted on sausages in baguettes and salad with lashings of wine and cake and coffee.  As everybody relaxed and sat back Mike put his karaoke machine on and the evening developed into a rip roaring event

I can only imagine that we were singing ‘never walk alone ’ here as we all look very committed and we all know the words,  Jay and Kevin held the mics and every one joined in to all the tunes.  It became obvious that we all like a good old sing along so we will certainly arrange another night like this. Mike and I have been launched into our next ten years in France in style and surrounded with love and happiness. And for that we are very grateful.

Hey look…. more visitors, and a wonderful visit from sailing friends Wendy and Andy for their first look at our home.  These lovely people are great blog watchers and were up to speed with our life so we shared lots of stories over the table

We took a ride out in Monty into Carentan for a lunch stop which was a real treat and then back to the garden for a swim as the weather showed off and the afternoon was glorious.  We sat out until the sun started to show signs of fading and it was time for them to take the road for their ferry and home.  x

At the beginning of the year we cleared a space to have a bonfire site and the day came when we had collected enough and the wind was whispering in the right direction and away we went.  Within 45 minutes all the collected dechete is burned and gone and we have a tidy area again at the back of the wood.

Mike loves a good bonfire, the wonderful process of piles of cuttings that will not compost down gone in the space of a few moments as though they were never there. …

And for us now in our new bonfire site at the back of the wood the chance to spend some time in this special place. Wonderful.

The time came around again to have the cess pit emptied and cleaned. It’s a job I never look forward to. We, actually have nothing to do but watch, in utter amazement at how these men roll up in big Lorries and deal with your poo. They always approach you with a warm hand shake and a bright smile before they get to work.  We habitually ask about the state of our foss system and we are always told we are conforming and not to worry. France has a habit of changing the rules on cess pits and a change that puts us in a non-conforming state could be costly. Our neighbour fell short on his inspection and had a 10.000 euro bill to get legal, so it is a worrying issue. The cost of this visit was 200 euro so we have another 4 years of worry free use until the lorry arrives again next time with a warm handshake and a bright smile

My boy is getting old but remains happy and content x

 Blog July 2017

We have enjoyed our bountiful month of July but it slipped away from us in a blink of an eye. I would love to report that these fabulous cherries were from our trees but sadly they are not. We were shopping in Lidle, and in the pile of cheap boxes of out of date veg I found all of this gloriousness, for one euro.  OK, good to have, but, this 10 kilos of cherries had to be processed and I made a ton of jam, crumbles and we ate like romans emperor for over 2 weeks.

By chance, the cherry bountifulness was still on the go when we had a lovely bunch of friends around the table for supper …..You got it… we had cherry crumble for dessert.  Smashing!!

At last.. Mike got Monty back on the road. It all went pair shaped for us in June when Monty had a slipping clutch and leaking back brake seals but with our car enthusiast friends support and help Monty was mended and ready for his first trip into town.  What total fun, and we are now committed to take Monty out for a run once a week to keep all his bits oiled and smooth running.

Fishing season is apon us again and all the equipment that was left floundering in the barn came out for a polish and upgrade. We found a day in the diary to suit and cast the rods. Mike did really well and caught 3 beautiful fish all around 18 Ib. We love the quiet determination of the chase and the care and respect we like to give to these wonderful aquatic beasts. We had a picnic on the go, no time to abandon the rods and as the sun was starting to set Mark reeled in a whopper to finish the day at  21 Lbs x

Perfectly innocent and very quiet fun. Both HOSS and Ted the dogs came with us to add to the family outing atmosphere.  Applying patients and cunning rod work, the ‘right, secret bait’ and the will to land the big catch of the day these outings  are a perfect off site activity. We use extreme care to land these carp with dignity and no fish get hurt during our fishing days.

Then after a day of fishing a convivial BBQ evening at Jay and Helen’s to watch the sun go down over their fields. We talk about vehicles and horses, dogs and life, and the things that make our friendships here in France special and important

We had a customer free weekend, and decided to get away to a vide grenier in Cerence. We love these overnighters because we inevitably end up in a town we would never usually stop in. We walk through the streets the night before and prepare for our early start. We are out in the vide grenier at 7:00 in the morning and after an initial sweep of the Brocante stalls we have made a habit of going back to the camper to have a right royal, full English breakfast,  before we set off again to do another sweep and if required,  yet another.

Since Mike lowered the camper bed and has given us back our table Hoss has taken to spending all his time underneath it.  He loves crawling in and making himself comfortable supported on all three sides.  He is his happiest on our camper outings.  While we have customers in our mobilehomes in the garden we have taken to going out in the evenings to park up  cook a meal and come home as the sun goes down.  HOSS is happy to off site, camper cruising ….. HOSS style, under the table…..

The Creance car show gave us the opportunity to take a pleasant rally ride out and to park up in the middle of a towns special fete day. There were over one hundred cars, tractors, vans and military vehicles all on show and gleaming. We all sat together on long tables for a complimentary lunch in the company of happy vintage car owners all with a tale to tell and a bumper to show off.

What a great bunch of people!  Mike and I only met most of these people on January 1^st this year on the new year run we were so kindly invited to, and we have not looked back. Our enthusiasm for Monty and getting out on the road has found a new purpose.

The sun shone all day and the happy banter shone all day as well. We met up with a lovely French upholsterer who is going to spruce up Monty’s  interior, and the chance to chat in French about our happy hobby was  a bonus.

Creance is the most floral displayed town centre I have ever seen though some might say they know of better. The variety in planting had me spinning and I took copious photographs to remind me how it should be done. What I would do to be an apprentice to this gardening guru for one season. Brilliant.

We had Janis and Mark coming to stay in their camper and it occurred to Mike the entrance to the garden was over grown with weeping willow so a Chelsea chop was in order. The two huge willows are due to be cut down by EDF because they interfere with the overhead lines and we have been waiting for the EDF crew for the past 2 months. But we cannot wait for their  job list to get to us and we took out a good percentage of tree to clear the way. We then dragged the cuttings over to the new bonfire area at the back of the wood and the entrance was clear and I love it.

Our garden became Janis and Marks next 5 night stop on a month long road trip in France.  I am very sure not the last trip either…

We spent hours around the table catching up as we had not seen each other in 15 years.   Janis and I worked together way back somewhere in the 90’s but we hadn’t changed and we started where we left each other and laughed a lot…..

We shared the fun with Shirley and Mark and discussed our different yet so similar life styles and there was talk, for a mega second, of all moving to Cornwall but then I looked at my garden and wondered how on earth I could ever leave Brevands

What a lucky break that we heard from Sara who has her ear closer to the goings on in Carentan than me.  Sarah messaged us to let us know that the US 2^nd armoured division re-enactor group were marching and parading their vehicles around our town. What a treat, people from all corners of the world here in France re-enacting the DDay route of so many years ago. I spoke to a couple of uniformed chaps who were old friends meeting up on this event and one came from Adelaide in Australia….what a coincidence and I was able to tell them all about our kids out there and it made for a jolly moment in time where distance had no consequence.

We then took our guests to take a ride on the C47 simulator at dead’s man’s corner. It is my second visit and I will do it a million times before a tire of it.  A simulated para flight giving a glimpse into the fear and courage that these young soldiers had to find in 1944. Mike is  here trying to make himself understood in the amazing village  church at  Montfarville  with its deliciously painted walls and ceilings illuminated for 12 minutes for 1 euro   …another of my favourite places.

A refreshing coffee in Barfleur on the quay   watching the world go by. We were so lucky with the weather, it was Bastille Day and the French were out en famille strolling along the water’s edge of this pretty fishing village.  Sadly,   before we realise it, Mark and Janis were off to get their ferry home, but we have renewed love and association and a huge promise to visit in the years to come, to share our love of life in our past and now more importantly, in our futures.

The crop is coming in thick and fast now. I have cleared the onion bed and this barrow full of red onions and charlottes will feed us throughout the winter. I have filled the freezer with my annual quota of French beans for the winter and I fill in the gabs with courgettes for stews.  This year as I have had a change of diet I have made litres and litres of courgette soup and whilst the crop is still prolific I  make a fresh soup for my lunch every day.

The problem with courgette is that they grow overnight and a pick of veg today does not mean you will find not find oversized specimens like these in two days’ time. we call these babies arms and they go straight to soup but the little ones go into our salads and although I do winge when I have a harvest like this I know I will miss it when the season is over…..thank goodness for the freezer …

Mike and I did a very interesting thing this month and went to an auction preview day of a little chateaux in Gonfreville.  The owners had died and the estate was for sale. I knew there would be nothing of interest for my little buy and sell hobby,  but Mike wanted to know if there might be anything architectural for the garden. We did however have a unique opportunity to see a little French stately home that had not been updated in 40 years.  We parked by the side of the house in a field and it was clear to me that this would have been park land with design and purpose. This was the home of a wealthy French family and the last of   them here for the past 40 years living unchanged and hopefully untroubled.  A glimpse into a world we are not familiar with, yet, understand. We live in our  farm house surrounded with similar décor,  leading a country life …all very interesting and thought provoking.

Despite the long dry days we have experienced this year so far, on the night of the Carentan Marina Weekend of Water Extravaganza …..it rained, and rained. I put an all-out bulletin to our fiends that we would be going for beer and chips to watch a group of shanty singers but as the heavens opened and the prospect of a balmy evening in Carentan Marina seemed an impossibility our numbers dwindled to just us. In a moment of rain lull we put our coats on to show support and willingness to participate in our town event only to be washed out. The singers bravely sang on but the chip man went home and the beer man was  one the only tents and we could not get near it without getting very wet so we sang a few tunes, clapped very loudly and came home.

Here we are with the brocanteurs of Houteville at half time in Barfleur. Mike and I were there at 8:00 and did the first sweep.  A jovial natter about what we had seen and what we fancied next at half time over coffee, then off for 2 more sweeps for us… 

Mike found panel beating hammers I found tiny things and little treasures for my etsy selling hobby and  vinyl LP for a euro each ….we know that classic vinyls  sell for 10 euro each …we have seen them, so we are now picking them up when we can……needless to say, we had to buy a stack system with a deck to play them on but it only cost us  10 euro at a depot vends and now we are vinyl doods, man…

My blogger followers will know that I have a very soft spot for anything Tupperware and I found this set for 2 euro.  What a treat and I now have a very retro Tupperware cupboard   …todays Tupperware is tomorrows Wedgwood ……..just wait and see. !!

Every year the little town of Orgland present an outdoor theatre production with the most professional and gobsmackingly amazing presentation of a story relevant to the town. This year it was set in the time of the French revolution. The production was studded with live animals wandering in and out of stage, horse riders, horse and carts and a narrative that was on the limits of our understand but with such a visual impact the story told itself…..

The game is to turn up at 9:00, get the picnic chairs set up eat sausages in baguette, drink beer and wait, and wait, and wait for the sun to go down.  This production is a nocturnal event so as soon the sun goes down the crowds turn up and by the time the curtain went up this field of standing room only. To finish, we were treated to a very impressive fire work display and then home at 1 in the morning…..fab time had by all.

We had a very kind invitation to join Helen and jay and Tim and Chris for an evening ride out on our motor bikes. We bought our BMW 650 this time last year to trailer behind the camper. It was a fabulous experience to go out in a group into countryside we have never biked on and made a note of wonderful biking roads we will have to go back to. We stopped half way around for a beer and then back to jay and Helens for a BBQ

Lovely end to a fabulous ride out, then we wrapped up warm to ride home in the cool night air…looking forward to the next run very soon xx

Finally an update on my journey to good health.  3 years ago this month I started to feel unwell and as it was digestive I started to think about the food I ate and the portions. I cut out sugar and flour and by October felt worse and went to the doctor. On top of the irritation of digestion I was also angry, frustrated and just not right. I was offered all the scans, scopes and medication to help with anxiety and upset.  All of which after an entire year had no effect and put me no further forward.  Finally in November of last year I had hit an all-time low and decided to take my health into my own hands and deal with this myself.  I undertook a serious food illumination with the help of a food log  Ap on my kindle. I starting with no wheat, meat and caffeine.  Along with regular gym and sauna sessions and a good verbal download into my kindle voice recorder to log the changes and listen to my emotional progress. After three weeks I did feel better but still not right so I made the decision to take out dairy…..Bingo…after 5 days I felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders and I could feel a smile coming back to my face.  It has taken from November to now to be confident that cow’s milk is the problem and I now stick with goat products, or nothing. I try not to make a fuss   when I go out to eat as this not a medical seriousness but it has made such a difference to me as a person. France does not test adults on the NHS for intolerances and my doctor said I had single handily done all the testing I need edto do…..you are intolerant, she said, and need to get on with your lovely life, and be careful to replace the calcium, was the only medical advice she wanted to  offer me ..... so on with life we go

So guess who is drinking all the cow’s  milk now. HOSS looks forward to his little tipple at the end of the day but these days rather likes it when  that I plonk it in front of him so he does not have to disturb himself too much ……. My boy is getting old, but remains happy and content. xx xx