Back in Paris after an emotionally draining week. I won’t go into personal details but I can say the roller-coaster of highs and lows was productive. Family will always keep your nerves on a knife edge but we return home relieved. The Gare D’Austerlitz was quiet thankfully, as my head was pounding. Usually we chop… Continue reading Waiting for a train
I was always daddy’s girl and from as long as I can remember I helped my dad with everything – gardening, decorating and building work. Neighbours still on my mum’s estate from the 60’s, remember the little girl with the pony tail, sitting high up in the skip with her dad, eating sandwiches. I loved… Continue reading Decorating girl
Geese have personalities. Strong personalities. Returning from England to three what seemed very similar geese, in just two months, we have “trois enfant terrible”. The three seem very content with us and each other, a Trois Mousquetaires, where one goes the other follow. The expectation of a noisy haggle hasn’t materialized, instead a constant chirrup… Continue reading All for one and one for all.
Our resident moles have gorged on every meadow worm we had. In vain our chickens scratch and dig and keep their little beady eyes peeled. But no, not a wiggle in site. Unhappy chooks. So today I resolved. A bit like vegetarian meat substitute, a search in the pantry turned up spaghetti. Perfect. Long, wiggly… Continue reading Worms
They say two’s company and three’s a crowd. Well when it comes to water and a miniscule tray to dunk your hot webbed feet into…even two is bothersome. In this case sharing is most definitely restricted. It’s not a pool, it’s a large drinking bowl. Useless. So feeling guilty, we scoured locally, dismissing children’s pools… Continue reading Pool side
Smart little Plumb escaped from the chicken pen-again! An escapee on a mission and no amount of meal worms would entice her back. Two owners clucked and waved worms and occasionally were within fingers reach of that naughty chickens tail feathers, but she knew and smugly wiggled her way further into our overgrown forest patch.… Continue reading Chicken day
A quick observation triggered by the very helpful post from The French Village Diaries, regarding death by speed on French roads. Apparently France has a 31% level of fatal accidents due to speed. No really? Am I standing with my mouth open in amazed disbelieve? No. I am probably opening my mouth and shouting wildly… Continue reading French in the fast lane
Does anyone recognise this moth. Not personally as in its wandered far from home, set off last week with a case and a nectar sandwich , but what species of moth? Hot day and it was baking on my windowsill. I took it into a shady spot and hoped it would be ok. Very pretty… Continue reading Moth moment
Arriving back has been a roller coaster of catch-up. Mowing waist high grass, bonding with three young geese and spending time with the chickens. On top of this our barn is screaming to be worked on..we are very behind since time spent away but Tony has pulled out the stops and bedroom is livable. It… Continue reading Rubber shoes
Judi is going home but before she even tries to pack her bag, I want breakfast. Yes breakfast has to be priority because I am lazy and by 9.30am I will be snoozing again. So I howl loudly and won’t stop till I get attention. That can be exhausting so she had better hurry up!… Continue reading Feed me
I often refer to Tony in my posts. He is my rock, soul mate, breakfast and tea maker, solid sharer of life’s stresses and calming problem solver in a crisis. I haven’t met anyone who works as hard as he does nor with such enthusiasm. I am more tetchy and vulnerable to doubt. Hard labour… Continue reading Team soul mate – notes and plans
Well one week and counting. I can’t wait. My girls are all growed up and shortly to have swimming lessons. As you can hear Tony hasn’t got the names yet…goosies will do for a while but if one needs to go to the naughty corner…I need to wag my finger at the right goose! Typically… Continue reading All feathered up
I am stuck in Barts hospital in London. Mum got dehydrated so drip in place..yes I have a 4 hour wait. I was due to meet a friend to celebrate diagnosis of her medical condition. A landmark after many years of frustration. I spotted hedggie on my arrival. Badly sewn eye. As soon as mum… Continue reading Happy hedgehog
Only a few weeks and the three girls are growing daily. Big feet, feathers and a huge grassy appetite with ever louder honking, makes me think that somehow our garden won’t be quiet anymore. The chickens just ruffle feathers and ignore them, but the girls seem very curious about the chickens and often poke heads… Continue reading Growing geese
A quick skim through Waitrose magazine over a coffee in-store and a small article on getting out and learning a new skill, caught my eye. Arundel – Cheesemaking Not far by train..maybe a stay over in a hotel, a break from hospital visits and some me time. The course run by a very enthusiastic and… Continue reading Curds and whey
A little behind with goose update. But here is arrival. Already in just a couple of weeks feathers are growing, Tony is being honk, honked at whenever he dissapears from view and best of all my grass is getting trimmed. These girls will grow to 3 feet tall and being a heavy breed of goose… Continue reading Finally arrived
Alison is responsible for me getting chickens. It’s all her fault. She has two chickens. Her chicken comments made me laugh. The germ was caught. When I started blogging I was very nervous. I still am and trying to find my voice and subject matter is an ongoing journey. Alison was too and she commented… Continue reading Through Rose Tinted Glasses
Angst Its been a bad morning. I shouted at my mum, her illness has stressed me. Somehow in the UK dealing with cancer is a hit and miss affair and much of it just people spouting words. They don’t really talk with you, but at you. Cliche but true. But my point is, my mums… Continue reading Angst, rethinking and making a home
Shows my age…Genesis. And like the great band who pioneered sound and modern rock music, today at our little French homestead we had our pioneering moment…goslings. A whole new adventure after the big chicken learning curve. We were expecting older geese. Tony sent me a message…”They are green!”. Yep tiny bundles and as I am… Continue reading And then there were three
Soap of the south – Marseille Soap There is soap, day to day oval bars slightly perfumed. There are French soaps, angular with the words Savon de Marseille struck on them. But there is also a very special group of soap makers who can genuinely call themselves Marseille soap makers, who have the provenance, passion… Continue reading French soap from the south
Our garden had been planned to some extent…an outdoor kitchen, a herb garden, a pergola, a grassy space to lie down upon and watch the clouds scud by. The old over grown bramble patch been reclaimed by pasture and with mowing and tree pruning, the structure of the garden was on its way. But. You… Continue reading The feathered dozen
The eggs keep coming. My husband has sent panicked emails asking me what to do as the girls are laying so well. Many forums are airing concerns about the opposite…chickens won’t lay. But the girls are healthy so it’s normal and mother nature knows best. Hopefully in Autumn the girls will moult feathers, slow down… Continue reading Eggstrordinary
Go to work on an egg… a UK 1970’s maybe advertising strapline before the Brits panicked about cholesterol and stopped eating an egg a day, but then realized how silly that was and it was typically politicians playing games, as usual, with the publics well being. Well I think we need to go to work… Continue reading Go to work on an egg
Chicken platters. Hand cut, diced or chopped. Natural ingredients and I think from the rapid beak pecking, the haute cuisine is being appreciated….even if rather quickly! I will putting up a post soon on chicken food. We have only just begun learning about feedng and I still need to explore the local area for seed… Continue reading Michelin Star dining
I am reading chicken books. Tonnes of them. I am a new mother of 12 and like every new mother I panic about everything…feeding, behaviour, friendships, squabbles, toes and in my case feathers and beaks! I am back and forth to London hospitals this week, so a short post. Tony is being mother hen while… Continue reading Book for a chook
Technology has never been my bag. I lag behind generally, then burst into the latest product with a momentary glimmer of being informed. Then I lag again. So to the point. I do not have access yet to my blog email, so all your lovely posts that I follow may not get comments until: I… Continue reading Whilst away
I am following Leigh Tate’ s great blog and just purchased her self published book “5 Acres and a dream- The book” as I am starting a new journey in France when I return. Homestead has a wide conitation of ideals and already we have our list that is priority to us: Simplification of life… Continue reading One acre and a dream
Quick post as on my way to London. Tired of dodgy French hotels..say good bed but the bathroom looks liked they knocked a hole in the wall to access the dirty hotels one next door! Or visa versa. Tiled bathrooms but probably hiding critters behind the grout, but suspect bed. Or view of the air… Continue reading Paris Hotel
When we should be renovating our barn to live in, we instead settle twelve chickens into a lovely coop! Its been a hectic month and blog posting had to set aside in pursuit of building our girls a home. Our first eggs after just a few days was a great reward. I have to go… Continue reading Twelve feathered chooks
Quick post as I am still on chicken coop duty, chief painter and trying to get a flower bed prepped for wild flowers. Saw one bumble yesterday as weather warm nut as yet flowers sparse. But a question for you, for all you gardeners. I have a criteria: Plants to grow to a maximum height… Continue reading Plants for pollinators
I have been scouring the internet for common sense tips on bringing up chickens, from coop building, run maintenance to favouite foods to foot problems. I have learnt a lot and with a huge dollop of common sense, the garden is now chicken heaven. But along the way I came across this wonderful book by… Continue reading Homestead highly recomended
Arriving back from England was another shock to the system. Leaving your home for a month seems to throw your well being out of kilter for quite a few days. Maybe exhaustion from the the two day journey including a cancelled train and a detour to another French town didn’t help, but London is as… Continue reading Taming the wilderness
I evidentally have holes in my brain. Lots of them. The French tester politely explained that I knew words that were advanced, but fundamental parts of the French language were missing. God knows what I had been replying to his questions, but sometimes he looked confused and at other times plain shocked. My neighbours back… Continue reading Gruyere French
“Je dois avoir une tasse de the” is probably the only words in French I felt were necessary. In fact, given I cannot function without said cup of tea in the morning – “must have” is still one of the only methods of getting me out of bed. In this very cold patch of winter,… Continue reading Tea and sympathy
He is not fond of other cats, although the “girlfriend” visits every day. Sometimes its a standoff, noisy, other times polite circling and then a fast run back into the safety of my mothers home. HE is a bit of a cowardly custard – needs toughening up I think. Indie came from a cat home,… Continue reading This Is Indie
Its only short and our first attempt, but here is a little film of our snowy lane and La Petite Maison jardin.
I have to go to London and Tony is staying to look after our nest and create a new nest for our future feathered friends. Chickens and geese are due in a couple of months and I do hope I will be back before they arrive. Snow this week and who could resist playing. Us… Continue reading Before being parted
With Brexit, President Macron and Trump all making the news so often, my other half was inspired to go political for a change. Our French Euro having a spat with the English pound and Trump, well probably thinking about his next Tweet. Find many more characters at Chaps, Sods and Fellowettes.
From last March, I have been stalking round my neighbours farm, snapping nervous cows, yapping dogs and farmer too. The seasons brought work to the farm – feeding, ploughing, hay making and calves to birth. Its a lonely job being a beef farmer and most days Christian is on his own, doing what he does,… Continue reading Project Farm
Beautiful snow laden land. Out with the new phone testing the results. Enjoy.
I have a growing passion for cheese as much as I have a growing passion for France. This year I moved to France permanently and as many Brits I arrived via Euro Star into the Gare Du Nord, Paris. I had a couple of days before my next train, to my future home in Limousine,… Continue reading Cheeses of Paris
Taking photos on the “big camera” as I call the Canon Mark III is quite time consuming. It’s a heavy camera, especially with the 70-210mm lens to get close-ups – eyelashes of cows for example, and if stability needed, I need to lug the tripod too. One solution for the blog was to get a Tamron… Continue reading Technology in the countryside
Our tiny little commune is known as La Nourrice, meaning wet-nurse. It is a strange name and I have yet to delve into its history, but in essence a wet-nurse breast feeds another woman’s baby. It was common practice in days gone by, but I am not so sure today, well not in this neck… Continue reading La Nourrice affinage
Rubbery feet actually, not little pinkies – so no baby showers please. I have to thank Alison of Through Rose Tinted Glasses for this post. We were commenting back and forth about my long cathartic post about changes in my life and she mentioned chickens. I read her post, link above, and given she is a… Continue reading The patter of tiny feet
This post. It is a little long, but the thoughts had to come out. I have been away for a month. Summer heat stroke and a visit to the hospital, along with some physically hard work pointing up the barns exterior walls had impinged on my health and being slightly presupposed to depressive moments, I… Continue reading Change and hope – past and present
Plans are afoot for 2018. Whilst in London I have had time to reflect and know that my new life in France is going to be rewarding. Many bloggers this season have regaled us with humorous stories, tales of Christmas books, making seasonal decorations and walks in winter forests. Its been a delight to read… Continue reading Happy New Year
The hedgerows are quiet and in winter slumber. The ivy is still feeding the last few little pollinators who haven’t realised yet its time for bed. The hedge near our house still has pink pillow berries and the nettles never ever notice winter at all, and continue to menace even in their frosted coats. When… Continue reading In flower for 2018
The time for good cheer and charity, Christmas is on its way and I am slightly childishly excited. I am heading for London and a month to indulge myself enjoying Oxford Streets lights, Selfridges window displays, a visit to the London Museum as I have found that Tony loves history as much as I do… Continue reading Abandoned
An abbreviated article appears in this seasons The Good Life Magazine. On a cold, crisp April morning, with numb fingers, two seemingly mad English, with an almost feverish determination, searched for buttons; muscling locals aside to pounce on another matching set, or to accumulate a whole euro bag worth of those lovely cute orange ones.… Continue reading Paris – Material Girl
A French Creative Life 