A Freshly Cut Lawn..

...is as good as a haircut. Or...Lawn Mowers should be designed by wimmin! (more on this later!)

Being a bit of a lawn mowing fanatic...feeds my OCD's...I enjoyed today's outing in the yard despite the constant rumblings of thunder and ever threatening skies.
Waz weed wacked while I raked and then mowed. Visual peace is the objective here, never mind that it is an ongoing thing. Think of all the wonderful exercise we get, says she, when he observes that the ongoing thing is in fact going to be ongoing!

Being outside was a necessity today. Mostly out front with the gates all open, because we had received one of those most infuriating of messages in our mail box, to tell us we had missed a signature-required letter. Grr!! Waz found out how to get them to re-deliver it, online, and we said that we would be home to receive it this morning. I think there is a door bell in our immediate future, also!

Around 10am the Postie arrived, but not before we had made a significant dent in the hedge that threatened to consume the front deck, and the side (west) lawn that was so overgrown as to be unusable.
Well the lawn is still unusable until I get the hedge trimmers out and do some badly needed topiary cutting....notice I said *I*!
Well, maybe not. The hedge trimmer is heavy and my right shoulder is 'stuffed', so perhaps I will allow the Wazster to do it! ha! I see him licking his chops over this one:) Who knows what shape we will end up with!

I first heard the mower out front, and went out to investigate further. He was making nice on the roadside. My own efforts were supposed to be in the large bedroom upstairs, emptying the closets of stuff that we dont want. Plenty still to do in that department, but it looked like it would be more sensible to be outside while the fog was hanging around and it was cool enough to warrant a sweater, at around 16C.
It had rained overnight, and all the plants were looking perky. This single rose is out front on the roadside.

 Still foggy at 9am, and we still have plenty to do in these gardens. We cant expect to do it all at once, but we sure are trying hard, lol.

 I'm not the only 'neatnik' in the family! It looks so much nicer now, and lovely to come home to a place that is looking more lived in. That Wisteria grows in leaps and bounds!

 Meanwhile, inside the fence, I have attacked (yes, literally) the hedge that threatens to obliterate the fence....Waz had to reinforce the fence post before we left for Florida at the beginning of April, and we swore we were going to take the hedge out on our return. I decided to see what was inside the hedge, and if we wanted to take it out after all. The jury is still out on that one!
We actually have some wide steps down to this west side garden, which were unusable before I started chopping.
Yes, I'm anal about how I make piles of stuff too! All sticks have to go the same way...makes for easy pick-up!

 Not a pretty sight, but at least we can now get down the steps into the garden space below....well, we will when we cut those lovely trees back...the aforementioned topiaries.

As I said, 10am the Postie arrived. The letter is addressed to me...are you Monica? etc, and then the please sign here! Duly signed and delivered, we ripped it open. As suspected, it was the car registration! YAYAYAYAY! Finally! We wondered if we would ever receive it. It only took 3 1/2 months! We have been driving on a temporary one, which is only good for a month! sigh!

That done, we decided to get to Jarnac where we discovered is a branch of our bank. Yay! We had been told we had to validate our new Credit Cards at a bank machine, and of course the bank is closed on a Monday, but the machine was available, and we did as required. Phew! Another one down...how's that! Two in one day and all before lunch!

Now that it was 11.15am, we decided to see if a Grand Crème was available from one of our favorite bars in Jarnac (we have only yet experienced 2!).
We really like this medium sized town on the Charente River, with the Hennessey Cognac Distillerie in the middle of the town square.
We were remembered as Les Kiwis, by the bar owner who speaks excellent English, and we were welcomed as French Folks now! He was excited to hear that we are now permanent residents in his country. His bar lady spoke some English, but we insisted (as we do) on speaking French to her speaking English. Grand crème was most welcome, and we sat on the leather sofas to enjoy them. Fortified, we now needed to go to the SuperU supermarket down the road, for some groceries. We had run out! The lunch time menu  in the bar included Fish and Chips....lots of English reside in and near this town...and we were sorely tempted to stay.
We were disappointed by the small SuperU and decided to go to the other SuperU in nearby Chateauneuf sur Charente, on the other side of where we live. Just 13kms either way. Nice!

The latter one is large and has a much better selection of goodies. It also has some relatively (in France) nice toilets! Important, that!

We are always flabbergasted that we can get so much food for so little. A large shop for us is just around 115 euros, and that's about what we spent today, using our new French credit card...whoopee!  dont laugh...it saves us money on exchange rates!

We had intended to find some lunch out, but thought better of it and didnt want to drive the 13 kms back to Jarnac for the F&C's, instead settling on a cup of soup and some of that sliced Cereal bread we had just found at SuperU, once home around 2pm. Of course we had to finish that off with a dessert...as you do.
The raspberry tarte was exquisite! Fabulous flavor in the berries, and just 1,35 each. Later Waz told me we had been overcharged as the advertising in the mail box said they should have been 2,30 instead of 2,70! Merde! Never mind, they were delish!

 Such intense flavor! I wish you could all taste this! The sweet pastry was perfect too...highly unusual for supermarket patisserie.

Back outside with our outdoor gear on and Waz beat me to the week wacker. I spent time raking the long grass and throwing it atop the ever increasing pile in the middle of the lawn, and cleaning up the mess I had made in the morning, again, further increasing the pile.
Waz wants to have a bonfire! I want to call the Sapeurs Pompiers (firemen) and have them come and do this....there is an almost dead tree nearby that I dont want to end up as an incendiary device...Waz says we have a garden hose that would do the job if necessary! Hmmm.....Fellas and Fire!

Meanwhile, the fog has cleared...yes, it took that long (now 3pm) and the sun came out, making it a hot proposition out there. We sweated it out for a couple of hours before finally coming inside for a drink and shower just after 5pm. I'm a bit sore tonight, but enjoyed being outside making things beautiful.

Down the west side of the house Waz got the hedge trimmer out and made light work of part of the hedge enabling him to get the lawnmower down there, around the south corner of the house. The hedge is a mix of trees, and about 3 meters wide, requiring some serious chain sawing in the near future. We want to get this part of the hedge down to about 2 meters above the lawn, allowing for some privacy but also opening up our gorgeous views across the vines.
The tree in the bottom right corner is pretty, but this is one of three that needs some serious shaping with the trimmer.

 The front lawn has now had three mows and is looking 200% better. That dried arrangement in the center there is about to get the Waz treatment...outski! Too much stuff on the lawn that does not enhance it. You can see where the 'severe pruning company' has been on the hedge by the front gate. I did this at the beginning of April, and it still looks bad. We can at least open the gate flush, now! and dont scrape the car paint.

 At the bottom of the driveway....weed wacked and mown. It will need another mow shortly, but it rained again after we came inside, and all that grass will have grown another two inches before we get back out there, lol.

We will need some new gravel on the driveway, at some stage, but it is low on the priority list I'm afraid.

 You can see the fire pile on the right, covered in grass clippings. I had just finished raking the long grass up, when I felt the spots of rain. The tall tree in the background is going to have to come down, sadly, which means the pigeons will have to find another perch to coo on. The seat thingy at right is also about the be 86'd.

 Can you see the concrete line in the long grass there? Not sure why this is there, but it too will come out at some stage.

 Pyro pile! Yes, that is concrete underneath. This is where the swimming pool used to be places. Waz thinks we actually have two above ground swimming pools in the garage. Talk about buying a 'furnished' house!

 Doesnt it look nice now! Another day and all the long stuff will be gone, and we can concentrate on making irrigation work in the front garden and figuring out what the concrete in the middle of the lawn does. Not good for mower blades, I can tell you!

Now, back to the "Mowers should be designed by Wimmin' thang.

There is a catcher that goes on the back of the mower, as with most. On the right side of the mower (unless you know what you are looking for, you wont find it in this photo) there is a chute. One problem...there is no way to hold the chute open. It has a spring loaded flap...for what? To see if the blade is turning? hmm...
I got very frustrated with the catcher not just filling up, but the grass not clearing under the flap as well. I asked Waz to drill a hole in the flap so that I could raise it up enough for the grass to be ejected out the back. This was his immediate remedy!(photo)  It somewhat worked, but the grass still didnt clear underneath the flap. The poor machine struggles (as you would) when it cant eject the grass and it clogs.
I would prefer a mulcher mower, and this really should have that facility, but it doesnt. It came with the house, so we didnt get a choice in it's purchase.
I can see that the two of us will have to be a little bit creative here. I cant pull the starter cord because my shoulder wont do that, and if you let go of the handle, the machine stops. No way you can empty the catcher while the machine is running, the way I used to do with my most previous one. Safety eh! Humbug for those of us who need it to stay running while emptying the catcher. Waz had to stop what he was doing, to help me start it again.
Ok...if I had to design this machine....well...that would fill a book!

I cooked a rolled turkey roast for dinner with some steamed taties (potatoes), half a large tomato each and the leftover cole slaw from Saturday's lunch with our kiwi friends. Yum! Dessert was a cup of coffee and a sweet cookie...or two. I think we earned our sweet treats today.

Can you believe it, we have been here 7 days tomorrow, and so many changes we have wrought already. I have to find a Brocante tomorrow to help us get rid of some of our furniture. Our kiwi friends are taking some of it for their new home 1 1/2 hrs south east (Dordogne), but there is so much else to go before Wednesday 6th June, when our first container arrives.

I also need to stay inside and get rid of the stuff in the big bedroom closet. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff we have found:)

Well, it's goodnight from me, and I can hear HIM snoring on the sofa, already.

A bientot.

A Day Off was Required!

Occasionally we just have to down-tools and take a day off. Our excuse for not doing so usually goes something like this: When you are retired, every day is the same, so you forget when to take a 'weekend' off.
Any day can be a weekend day! We just have to hit the wall hard and fast enough to require the time to catch our collective breaths. Today was this day!
Going to the coast has been a priority for some time. We just never got there before this.

Waz picked the spot of which we had a choice...plenty of choices, actually. Our closest coastal town/city is Royan. Having not previously investigated this place in any way (unusual for us) we just set out this morning...him in shorts and me in jeans...big mistake on my part, but it was still only 16C at home, and overcast/cool. We also didnt pack a lunch, sunscreen or hats, but we did have water! phew! We sure needed it.

We will have to remake our 'car bag' for summer, I think. Right now it contains loo paper, paper towels and tissues. It also has some emergency rations in the form of some potato chips. Fat lot of use they are, but some small amount of calories, to be sure.:)

We had to post a letter first, so off we trotted down to Sonneville, the village 1km down the road. Parked in our usual space outside the Bar where there is a post box. Fortunately we had ONE stamp left for the envelope to go to the USA.

Onwards towards our destination, and Waz laughed as I stopped the car, backed it up a bit and took this photo...and I hadn't even left town!

One of the village houses with a glorious rose bower over the garage doors. How stunning! Roses are everywhere blooming their heads off.

We were very much reminded of why we chose the Charente as our home as we drove west to the coast, 1 1/4 hours. A mixture of country roads at 90kph and highway at 110kph. Oak trees and Silver Birches gave way to coastal pines, broom on the roadside and more scrubby shrubs, the closer we came to the coast. We left behind hillsides covered with vines and wide open fields with new maize crops and barley ready for harvest.
Not far out of Cognac we entered the Charente Maritime Department. The temperature rose to 22C by this time and we were happy to take our sweaters off on arrival. I also turned up the bottom of my jeans, for a little cool. Silly me to wear black, today.

Setting off without thinking very far ahead made for Waz's comment that we had forgotten lunch...what were we going to do about it? Well, most of the supermarkets were closed, this Mother's Day Sunday but the odd Boulangerie was still open, before noon. We stopped at a lovely Boulangerie, where we were tempted to buy some of the amazing looking breads, but instead just purchased what we came for. Waz chose a Fougasse and a Pizza for me. Our dessert of choice was a Millefeuille for him (Napoleon/Custard square) and a tarte au Citron for me. I LOVE tarte citron!

We had a couple of hours before lunch, and still needed to find the beach. The city of Royan seemed to go on forever, with some challenging one way streets, before we eventually came to the Port de Plaisance and Port de Pecheurs. The Pleasure craft marina and the Fishing Port. Two distinct ports with different facilities and needs.
Looking down on the Port de Plaisance. Along the boardwalk are so many restaurants, setting up for lunch at noon. Per usual, nobody was there until on the dot of noon.

 Down at restaurant level. It was fairly obvious that the tourist season was just getting under way.

 The Port de Pecheurs was almost empty. Little fishing boats that we wouldn't dare go out in, not into that current at the mouth of the Gironde, where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. The water quality in the Baie de Royan didnt look fantastic.

Our walk around the Ports included a couple of conversations. One in particular made us giggle...two 'older' gentlemen on push bikes arrived at the same point we did, and spoke to us in French. I answered that we were NZ'ers, and their immediate reaction was ALL BLACKS! The NZ national Rugby Team are the current World Champions, and the French are rabid supporters. We both acknowledged that the French will be in NZ in June for a tour, and agreed that it would be worth watching:)

We had been rather desperate for a long walk over the past week, and here was our opportunity. I think we will pack our folding bikes into the car whenever we venture forth in the future, as we can see so much more by bike. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the stroll, found lots to look at and enjoyed the greetings of our fellow walkers and those we chose to engage with.

The Ferry had left the port, and we watched it make a hard starboard turn between the red lighthouse and the green buoy to port, making it's way into the seemingly shallow channel. We had watched families with bikes, walkers (and power walkers), cars, trucks et al walk and drive on, before it departed. The Ferry plies the estuary from the Port of Royan across the wide Gironde Estuary to the small Port of Verdon, on the other side. We will take the Ferry one day, with our bikes in hand. Only 23 euros for a car, and only 3.30 euros per person, another 1.30 euros for a bike.  I think we can afford that!

After our walk to the light house at the end of the Port de Plaisance, we walked back to the car for some much needed lunch and water. It was hot out there!
We chose a tree to sit under, and were delighted when passers-by wished us Bon Apetite as we ate. Merci!

Plenty of bikers and walkers this lovely day, and plenty to watch overlooking the port. Several small craft were stocking up and moving out the entrance onto the estuary for an afternoon of sailing or motoring. We wished we were joining them.

 The tide looks to be at least 12 feet! We wondered at this small vehicle venturing onto the muddy boat launch to put this  RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) in the water. We think we would want some cover on our own craft, when we find one. The sun was quite brutal, to be honest.

 The Ferris Wheel started up around noon. It is directly opposite the Ferry Port, and we think people waiting for the next sailing could probably amuse themselves with a ride on this.

Lunch over, we thought we would go down to the Plage ( Plaarzhe - beach) and check out some of the lovely older homes along the waterfront...well, across the road from the beach.
Along the waterfront is a concrete wall, and some rocks in places. Signs told us not to venture onto the rocks, which was a shame, as we quite like rock hopping:) Anyhoo, we stuck to the path, and learned very quickly that one half is for cyclists, and the other half is for pietons, or walker. I was yelled at to get out of the way of a cyclist, which I did. Fair enough too!:)

At the beginning of our walk we encountered this gorgeous Carousel. With an upstairs and downstairs and twirling potted plants (albeit plastic ones) we enjoyed watching the children with their parents sitting on the seats on the inside, and especially the paintings at the top of the machine. This is the Carousel de Royan.

 On the return journey around 1.30pm, we noted that the sign in the window said "Closed until 2.30pm!" Of course...Lunch time for all!

What a gorgeous green space alongside the port. Gardens newly planted, and rose bowers (far right) not yet in bloom.

 Those are the coastal pines on the left, that you find everywhere.

 Designated place to park and lock your bike, along the seawall.

 And if you happen to need to pump up your tires??? Voila! All thanks to the local council.

 Glorious wide open spaces and sky, at the Plage. It is groomed by some large vehicles, which were taking their Sunday off, at the end of the beach.

One of the lovely old (perhaps 1900 - 1920's?) Charentais stone and brick homes along the beach boulevard.

 Similarly lovely homes were interspersed with modern and not so modern condos and houses. Mostly the former.
We loved the facilities provided for the general population. This is a public exercise machine.

 We stopped in the semi-shade to catch breath, before making the return journey back to the very hot car. The cathedral in the middle of the photos is really quite architecturally extraordinary. It will be on the list of places to visit next time.

 Share the space! A good reminder, especially to tourists like us! Pedestrians on the right, against the sea wall, and cyclists on the left next to the road. Nice wide walking and cycling tracks.

Hotels, condos and multi-person apartments fronted the water. Many still with their shutters down, and we thought we wouldn't like to be here in the middle of July and August, when the 'silly season' is in full swing. Not only will you not find a parking space on the waterfront, but there will be people everywhere.
Of course we had to sample the Ice-cream, along the way. One has to cool off somehow, right?
Waz had a waffle cone (no extra charge!) with two balls (3.50 euros) and I had a cup with one, 2.50. His lemon meringue tarte gelato with raspberry gelato was an inspired choice. I chose caramel pecan. A bit sweet, but only one ball sufficed.

On our way home across the wide open plains, leaving the ocean, we could well see why we get a good breeze/wind, at home. There is no mountain range or even hills to stop it's progress inland.
Entering the Etapes de Cognac (the steps/ hills of Cognac ) just outside of Chateaubernard on the eastern side of Cognac the city, we climbed up to the Capital of the Grand Champagne and our closest small town, Segonzac (Say gon zac). The road between Segonzac and home is windy and hilly and through some of the most gorgeous countryside, littered with distilleries (Cognac, of course) large ancient stone farm compounds, Maison bourgeois and 12th century churches, to name a few. Our orange roof can be seen from quite a distance away in the green countryside.

Home at last, and thinking we need a nap. A cup of tea put paid to that one...we were just thirsty, I think.

I had opened the doors in the pink room, out to the south facing terrace, and come back inside to make the tea. The umbrella was up again and I was looking forward to sitting outside under the shade with a cuppa and a book. No such luck. Between putting the brolly up and making the tea, the sound of thunder rumbling and appearance of dark threatening skies, had me rushing to take the brolly down and close the doors.

Yesterday when we had our kiwi guests visiting, we endured a large downpour which came straight through the windows (we now know that we need to re-putty the windows there) in the dining room and the kitchen. Many towels got laundered afterwards, so much water flowed down the window wall. One way to get rid of the horrid wallpaper!!!
I was hoping that last night's downpour that was thrashing against the bedroom window didnt cause a similar flood. All good, but we will go and closely inspect ALL windows now.

Time to put some dinner together. I think a Risotto might be in order. I have some left-over chicken and Poitrine de porc (yesterday's bar-b-q) to chop up and put into it. Yum!

Back to work tomorrow. The irrigation on the front garden needs fixing, and I have some bamboo to remove from there, and a new rose bush to plant in it's stead- kindly provided as a house warming gift by our lovely kiwi guests. Thanks Michelle and Richard!xx

Work, Work, Glorious Work

This is what we so craved! Work.
It sounds ridiculous that someone would 'crave' work, but we do. Being 'active relaxers' (some would call that a 'workaholic') we have craved the activity for our bodies and minds. Our bodies love (well, until the next morning! lol) the bending, stretching, over-reaching (carefully!) and the mental gymnastics of planning, sorting, learning and also speaking in a language not our own. THIS is what we came here for, and the simple life that we find all around us.

Waking to the sounds of bird life, the distant traffic noise (this is wide (emphasis) open countryside, so sound carries easily), tractors going by the house and the sounds of a countryside waking up.
We are only 100 meters or so from a forest, and we have large hedges (for now) surrounding the property, which encourages the birds.

The mornings are cool but not cold. Likewise the evenings, although they appear to be warming up into the late hours when the sun finally sets, around 10pm.

The morning terrace, so called because obviously the sun is on it! The previous owner told us that she loved sitting out here in the mornings, enjoying the view. We concur!

 Cant ask for much more than this! We may just replace the dark brown fencing around the terrace with something a little less intrusive on the view. Not today, however. I dont even think that is on the long 'priorities' list, somehow. lol.

Despite the urge to do so last night, we didnt go out and finish the mowing/weed whacking, but went for a walk through the vines across the road, instead. Of course I had left my camera behind, but there will be ample opportunity to document our walks, in days, weeks and months to come.
My body was telling me to stop work and relax. Waz had snoozed on the sofa for an hour prior to dinner, so his body obviously had told him to stop also. We aren't good at listening to our bodies, but I think we may have to make it a habit! We are accomplishing huge amounts during the day, with very early starts - even before the sun is up - with jetlag to thank for that. All in good time!

Yesterday we went through the house making a note of the furniture to sent to the Brocante (basement sale) folks. We have Kiwi friends who may be interested in some of it as they are buying their own home here, albeit it fully furnished also. I believe they need inside stuff as they have plenty of outside stuff. We are a bit in the reverse.

The need to complete any small projects is driven by the arrival date of our first container, early June. Lots to accomplish before we have the space to accommodate all the items that will be taken out of the container, on that day.

Waz just yelled down the stairwell that the trash guys took both of our trash bags that were left at the gate last night. Yay! We didnt know if we were allowed only ONE bag per day, as we are for the recycling.
Which reminds me...Yesterday when we were at the Brico (Hardware) store in Barbezieux, we visited the Decheterie (Tip, dump, trash facility, call it what you will) next door to the store, and discovered a whole other well organized facility run by women, it appeared. No men in sight, but the women were adamant about what could and couldn't be left in this place. Well done!

Where was I?

Oh yes, the impending arrival of the first container.
We will get the furniture placed in the house, but the boxes will be introduced one by one, I think, and be stored under the house for now. We need to shuffle the existing items to accommodate the new. Hard to decide what to keep when you have a complete and excellent library that came with the house, and now you have a gazillion of your own books to add to it! Merde! Where to store all the books without making the house cluttered. I want to be able to clean the house easily, and no more musty/damp/moldy smells, which books tend to harbor...esp. the damp!

The morning terrace got a small makeover yesterday with the need for some chairs to go with the table so that we could sit down there. While pulling them down from on high, we also decided to drag out the lovely green umbrella.
That's better! Shade!  Well, there will be when the sun is high. This is early morning, yet.

 I had remarked to Waz that the left hand corner of the terrace needs an L-shaped seating arrangement so that we can enjoy the breeze that crosses that corner. It really got very warm out there yesterday, and the warmth flowed into the 'pink room' just inside those doors. I ended up with a fan on, in the afternoon.

What a difference that bit of color makes in the scheme of things.
As we bought the house furnished, this came with the house. We have our own umbrella on the high seas, and two more huge ones downstairs. Hmm...where to put them all! My mind has been working overtime to 'place' all our things in and around the nice pieces that we want to keep from what is here already.
We have another incentive for getting things 'going' as it were. This is our first ever (in our 12 yrs married!) bar-b-q. I did take photos of the first view of the inside, but they aren't good for the digestion, so I wont post them! Waz took a long time to get the appliance clean in advance of our first cook-out of some pork ribs French style...well, not exactly...Mon-style, actually. I like to make an Orange/ginger/garlic Asian marinade, so our ribs are in the fridge in their yummy (I hope) liquid, ready for our Saturday lunch guests.

Barb-b-q is now cleaned up and ready for Saturday and beyond. This may well be our preferred method of cooking, during the summer months.


Looking outside from the pink room. That's a bottle of 'degreaser' on the step, lol. Works well!

Yes, it looks like NZ bacon. Well, it is, I guess. There is a rind on it, which I have left, just so that it all stays 'together'.

 Poitrine Fumee is the equivalent of NZ bacon.
These slabs are a bit thicker, but still from the same place on the pig, I would think. We will let you know how they taste.

After the dentist visit on Wednesday, we went up to our favorite hillside town in the north Dordogne, Verteillac. The draw card there is several-fold. We needed a post office - we had meant to post something while in NZ to an NZ address, but it ended up coming all the way back with us. We had also meant to post it from the USA< but that option proved expensive. We could have hand delivered the package, but forgot to take it with us! phew!  The USA wanted $12 to post a small bubble bag with documents inside - not heavy at all. France wanted 2.60 euros! Eh? And they say the USPS isnt making any money? Bah!

The other draw was a lunch at Le Calice, the English owned pub in the middle of the town. Owner Bex gave us a wonderful welcome 'home', and we enjoyed a chat with her before settling down to enjoy a beer (for Waz) and a Shandy (half 7-up and half beer) for me while we waited for 12 noon, when the Plat du jour would be available. Welcome back to France where you cant get lunch until Chef says it is ready:) Sit down at 10 minutes to the noon hour, and you will just have to wait! We also had to wait for Chef to go outside and have a smoke, before plating our lunch up! C'est France!

The church bells rang out to let the workers know it was time to quit for lunch, then they kept on ringing for another 12 minutes...and they were just across the square, so we got that message LOUD and clear! Not much conversation during this time, as you might imagine:)

We have been filling the pantry each time we have to go out, and little by little we are accumulating the necessities. Our freezer is now full, and the fridge also.

Our visit to Castorama in Angouleme on Tuesday (we arrived home on Monday) resulted in the purchase of a new toilet. We had yet to discover if the old one (upstairs loo) worked and more importantly, why it DIDNT work, but as we intend to create another two bathrooms back to back with the existing one, a new loo would be welcome no matter what. It is just a matter of having it on-site should we need to replace the existing.
Waz seems to have spent years with his head in toilet stuff...first on the boat, where toilets are an issue no matter the craft, due to the nature of the beasts and the environment they exist in...marine!...and now at home. We have a septic system, so this electric loo is peculiar to that. Making the journey downstairs in the middle of the night, having to wake up enough not to kill yourself on the way down in the dark, was getting old. This loo business was actually Item #1 on the priority list, but somehow got relegated to # 320! lol....well, gross exaggeration, but you get the idea.

Ok, I'm off to Angouleme to get our new Credit Cards and cheques. Yes, they still write cheques for everything here. NZ is almost cash-less, and paywave is everywhere. Love it! Now the rest of the world has to catchup...namely the USA and France. No matter...we will work with what there is available. Our new lives will not stress about these things...write that one down, will you!! lol.

OK..back home and stressing. First we arrived to pick up the Cr Cds and Cheques. Monsieur said only one credit card for us and it has Warren's name on it. I say "WHAAATTT?"...He says yes! Then he looks at the names on the card, checks the name on my passport and realizes that we dont have the same last names. In other words, if I had the same last name as Waz, I wouldn't get my own card? bah! He checks inside his filing system at the front desk...banks are a little different here....maybe a LOT different! lol. Sure enough, there is a card under my name. We sign in the appropriate places, card and forms and our checks and Cr Cds are released to us.
Open the checks on the way back to the car and find that our OLD US address has been printed on them! WHAT? go back into the bank, explain in limited French (he spoke no English so Franglais was impossible!) that our address was now here in France. Waz produces the business card we have made, and man goes to photocopy the card, explaining that he will now give the information to our banker who is with someone else.  Fine, but what to do about the address on the cheques? Oh, just cross it out. No new address required, as we understood it. I will check with our banker just in case I didnt comprehend the instructions! fine!
Phew!
Cup of coffee required, and oh look! Sweet treats! We cant eat dessert EVERY time we go for coffee, but it is sooo tempting!
Waz's Polonaise was a brioche bun filled with pastry cream and fruit, topped with meringue and almonds. He wouldn't repeat it.

 A Grand crème coffee and a Merveilleux for me. This was a couple of plain white meringues sandwiched together with chocolate ganache, covered in a chocolate ganache with chocolate flakes. Waaay too much chocolate and sugar! Lesson learned, but it was tasty if hard to eat!

Home again jiggety jig!

Small things to be done today. Feeling a bit out of sorts. Cant define it, but tired might say it all. We have slept in until 6.30am the past two mornings, but  it is light by then.
Small changes such as the towel hooks in bathrooms and certainly the one in the kitchen. Yesterday we purchased the new hooks and a towel rail for the kitchen so that I can hang the hand towel directly above the sink, instead of dripping water all over the kitchen counter, to wipe my hands. The hooks at the end of the cabinet are not only ugly, but useless. See the new railing with the pink towel on it!

There are nails sticking out of all kinds of places. This is something people do when they dont care about their environment, but this also speaks to the fact that this house has been a Holiday Let, in the past.
Yesterday, late afternoon I planted the tomato starts we had bought when we were at the hardware store. 7 plants in all! They will get all day sun here, but I had intended to put them in hangers off the Morning Terrace. I may transfer them there later on.

 This tomato is different to the others, with smaller and elongated (allongee) mini's. I hope they are tasty! The 7 plants cost just over 7 euros.

Yesterday was a big spend day.
Our hardware store visit was essential on a couple of fronts, as was the expenditure.
We need a hedge cutter/trimmer. All four sides of the property are planted in hedge. The other thing we needed was a chainsaw. The one that came with the house, Waz could have spent 50 euros on parts for it and spent an inordinate amount of time trying to fix it with no guaranteed results, so we made the executive decision to just move on and buy one that we know will work. He can futz around with the old one and maybe get it going...he likes to do those things for fun! but we need one that works NOW!

Yesterday we went around making note of all the furniture that is going. Some tough decisions to be made, but after listing all the furniture that is coming via two containers, we decided to go with the new entrants rather than try to make everything fit in. I hate crowded spaces, and one of the reasons we love this house is the large spaces, which we dont want to now fill with THINGS!:)

Ok, things we have plenty of, but storage is something we need. Some more tough decisions will be made and after the one year stand down on selling anything, we will see what we still 'need'.

I finished removing all the net curtains yesterday, and they were all laundered. What a difference! Now we have white curtains instead of cream with fly spots! :) I do need to get back up on the echelle or ladder and scrub away at the fly spotted window frames...tomorrow...or the next day!
Making do with what we have, and it wont be long before our own stuff arrives from Florida. We will have a filing cabinet...yahoo! I'm not keen on piles of stuff everywhere...apart from being dusty, it is not visually peaceful.

So, plenty accomplished in the past three days, and more to go. Watch this space.
Time to veg out and enjoy a cooler day with some showers.

A Bientot!

Never let it be said....

...that we lead boring lives!:)

Getting to our home in France was not what we organized, but we went with the flow, as you do.

Leaving a very wet Auckland...whoa neddy! Back up the horse....
All seated and pulled away from the Gate at Auckland International Airport, we were stopped. We thought we were waiting for another plane to land before taxiing onto the runway.
Announcements, announcements, anouuuuuuncements! (sing the song, it helps!)

"We will be returning to the gate as we have smelled a burning of some electrics. We just want to check it out with one of our engineers".

Deja Vu? This happened the time before last also! Crikey! Something about leaving Auckland...are we really supposed to leave, one could ask??

One hour later, all checked out, some water being distributed up and down the aisles etc...no snacks yet...this is almost 9pm, and thank goodness we had thought to have a pre-dinner dinner.... knowing we would be eating about an hour after take-off, as you do on these long-haul flights.

So, back to the runway and take-off this time. With a 13 hr flight to San Francisco ahead of us, I just wanted to take my 'mother's helpers' (two little blue sleep aids!) and nod off, but I knew I would be starving in the morning, so endured (not really) the evening meal which was delicious, coming from the AirNZ kitchens, and especially the Kapiti Ice-cream 'Lemon Shortcake'! WOW! If you haven't tried it, do it!
Auckland was pretty wet for our departure, which always creates it's own issues...turbulence isnt my favorite take off or landing. A fully laden aircraft lumbering into the clouds above the ocean...well, I dont look!
An Airnz plane waiting for passengers...raining much!

We were packed in more closely (sardines doesnt really describe it)!than usual it seemed. Waz was pissed off that he had a leg support in the middle of his foot area, and our knees touched the seat in front, especially when they reclined their seats, in front. Older plane? Our trip TO Auckland had been fantastic, with heaps of leg room in Cattle Class.
While the little blue pills helped somewhat, it was a restless night for both of us.
I dont normally watch movies, preferring to sleep on the overnight flights, but I did end up watching a couple. Dont ask me what I watched, I cant remember any of it, lol.

During the flight we made it known that we would now be missing our connection in SFO, to Paris, being an hour late with an already tight layover. The airline staff were fantastic, and booked us on the only flight to available to Heathrow, now flying with British Airways instead of Untied, and onwards to Paris from there with BA.

It is 37 years since I landed at or left Heathrow, London, and I hoped it would be a LOT different to my memories of  the over-crowded place it had been. Silly me! It was as crowded as I remembered, but more modern and attractive...but crowded. I think someone who doesn't frequent the airport must have designed the spaces around the gates/restaurants, which all blend into one. I object to having to find a seat in a restaurant when most of them are taken by people who are no longer eating or drinking, but hanging out waiting for flights because there is no other space to sit.
The food was expensive (spending British pounds, now) of course, and not frightfully imaginative, and the English Breakfast tea we ordered came with milk...no question about whether you wanted it that way, lol...you got it the way the English drink it...and we haven't drinked it (deliberate grammar error) that way for a millennium. But it was hot, so it was ok!

Eating at regular times when the body tells you to eat...well, I'm not sure the body was telling me anything other than go to sleep, at this stage, but we ate anyway. Dont ask me what we ate, coz I dont remember! sheesh!

Onwards to Paris. A 45 minute flight on an aircraft (inter-European hopper) where, to get a cuppa you had to fork over about 2.30 pounds. No such luck mate. We asked for water, which came from a tap on the aircraft...warm. lol.

Arriving in Paris, you notice the lack of toilets immediately. At least the Heathrow toilets were clean. We always fail to understand what the French dont get about keeping bathrooms clean...but that could fill a whole book, and I dont want to go further into that. Those of you who know French loos will know all this! lol.

We were only 5 hours behind our previous schedule, and checked into our favored Ibis Styles (ee beece steels) Hotel at the Airport...Terminal 2, Roissey-Pol stop on the shuttle....Always comfy beds!

They didnt have our booking, claiming that we were booked into the hotel 20 mins down the road. Eh? I didnt have the confirmation printed out...for lack of a printer, but they accommodated us, and upon seeing that we are indeed multi-repeat customers they gave us a free drink at the bar. WOW!


We also had a room on the 8th floor which meant we had a fabulous view over Terminal 3 activities, out the huge window. Nice! This cloud formation was like no other we had ever seen.

As it was 5.30-pm by this stage, and I was fading fast...lack of sleep and good regular food will do that for you....we decided to stay at the hotel and eat our dinner there. Food being a necessity, by this stage, but not something to remember...I think I ordered the Smoked Salmon Salad. Not memorable, but I needed veg/salad, and a pick-me-up...being the rolls with butter while we waited for the main course and copious quantities of water.
What delightful American table mates we had, this evening. Always a pleasure to communicate with those who travel and find out where they have been and where they are going. My blood sugar level had obviously risen, as Waz had to drag me off to bed....to sleep! 8 pm and the light was OUT!

4am and the light was ON! Yep! 8 hrs of sleep later....and we were up and dressed and waiting for the buffet to open downstairs which it does at 4.30am.
Plenty of other people out and about at that hour, similarly sleep challenged, I imagine.
We heard what we thought were kiwi accents across the way, and of course I had to enquire. Nope! Aussies, but hey, we all come from the lands downunda, right? They joined us at our table and we learned a heap from these delightful people. I love hearing where people are from and the fact that it is such a small world, we knew the same people from their hometown:)
Joan and Peter (mother and son) were off to the D-Day beaches and St Malo/Mont St Michel for the next week before flying to Germany to connect with their cousins there. As Limousin Cattle breeders in Australia, they return to the origins of the cattle each year (being France) for selection of sire sperm (AI or Artificial Insemination) and to get together with other breeders worldwide, of course.

A walk in the cool morning air followed our first breakfast...we have a circuit around the hotel that we favor, and we enjoyed the cool but not cold air. This is coming up summer here! yay!

Paris was a warm and lovely 26C yesterday. What a pleasure to see all the green leaves on the trees, and for us the anticipation of the vines being in full leaf.:)
We decided, at about 7am to have another breakfast and stash some food for our trip on the TGV to Angouleme. They dont seem to mind...in fact, we are always encouraged to eat as much as we like and have numerous breakfasts if we wish.
So with our hands full of hard boiled eggs, thick slices of Pain Cereal (Grain bread), some fruit and a couple of pouches of pure apple sauce, we went back to make final departure preparations in our room. We were due to leave the Airport on the TGV, via about three stops, to Angouleme, arriving around noon. We did in fact arrive at 12.15pm, but as the Car rental place was closed for lunch (who does that!??? small towns, that's who!) we had to wait until 2.30pm for them to re-open.
eating our lunch in the main hall of the newly renovated Train Station, we spent time observing people, various doing word search in French (Waz is getting really good at this!) and finding more food. Our small selection of food from the Hotel failed in most departments, but the greatest flaw in the meal was the lack of cheese! How could I have forgotten the cheese??

Let me back-track a day or two.
Our final day in Auckland was spent cleaning the apartment, finding that we did indeed have a mouse under the sink, and it had an affinity for the dish brush...eh? I left the mess there, as I had not been provided with a vacuum cleaner.

 Cleaned up, we decided on breakfast at one of our favorite if pricey restaurants at Silverdale. We had enjoyed a meal here with friends the previous sunday.
Our Eggs Benedict were pretty and tasted great. They should have at $19! Love NZ bacon! Waz likes his bacon super crispy and eggs hard. I like mine lightly cooked (eggs) and bacon average. The pesto as a garnish was excellent, as were the pea shoots.

After breakfast we made final preparations for departure, leaving the apartment around 10am.
A visit to the Mother Unit was in order, and having worked with her all the previous week to make some big changes to her diet, I was determined to make sure she had enough food to last her a while. Getting her feedback is important, and we made a couple of changes, which necessitated Waz and me going to the grocery store. That complete, Waz and I enjoyed our last lunch in Auckland and headed back to Mum's to make her some lunch. She was still in her night wear, not feeling 100%, and she was most grateful for some tender loving care.
It is tough to leave our elders when they aren't feeling well, and I dont know when I will see her again. We do what we can for our family when we can, but it never seems to be enough. Mum's mental state has deteriorated, and I have been grieving over this since we left. I have no idea what state she will be in the next time I'm home, and I fear that she may be in an even more compromised situation and possibly not living independently any more. Tough calls to make! We three siblings are determined for her to live a quality life as long as she is able, in her own apartment within a retirement complex. There is no elder care available there, so thank goodness for socialized medicine in NZ where she can get help in her own home from Govt. agencies!

The car had to be returned by 3.30pm, and we were glad it was the weekend in Auckland. The traffic is lunatic no matter the day, but slightly less on a Sunday.
A stop for fuel and a coffee before returning the car and being driven to the International Terminal.

We did our thing at departures and passed through security so that we could enjoy some quiet time before the flight boarded just after 7pm. I was feeling pretty emotional about Mum still, and found tears flowing without having much control over them. I let them flow!

Oh, now I remember...I watched the movie Lady Bird. This of course was exactly the wrong movie to be watching, about a mother - daughter relationship, at such a time. Just as well the cabin was dark inside!

Back to Angouleme: Finally the car rental shop opened and we found we didnt have a booking with THIS depot, but with one up the road some 2kms. To heck with that! They did honor the booking (same company) and today when we returned the car, he insisted on showing me on their website, which depot I should have booked under. I swear it wasn't there when we booked!
Anyhoo...we had to rent a car to get home, the half hour drive from Angouleme. We booked the car for a day (not inexpensive, I might add...we need to figger this out a whole lot better!) and returned it this morning. Our Depot manager was very personable and we managed to laugh at our jetlagged logic (or not) together. He was most understanding.:)

Waz followed me into Angouleme in our car, this morning. We had set up the GPS so that I wouldn't get lost (he is normally the navigator) but once I found the signs to SNCF Gare, I followed those. Good to know my brain still works on jetlag! ha!
When we picked up the car yesterday we had stopped off at Auchan in La Couronne, a suburb of Angouleme which is closer to home, and did a food shop. We wont have to be buying food for another week hopefully! Too much to do. The car was pretty packed full of suitcases and food, and it took a while for us to unload when we got home.

Speaking of home...WOW! All the green everywhere. What a delight to be driving the familiar roads which in winter were in a less verdant countryside, but this time we are surrounded by vines with leaves, trees with leaves and fields with green crops. Gorgeous!

The house wasn't too dusty after 5 weeks away, and we felt inclined to get to work straight away. With our first container due on June 6th or thereabouts, we are feeling the push to complete so many small items on our long list.

I think I have finally 'hit the wall' tonight. Since the middle of the afternoon, I have been pushing myself to complete projects, but not really had the wherewithal to do so. Waz is a bit of a machine too, and completed a fair number of projects that were outstanding. Only at my insistence did he not go out at 7pm and do some more. They can wait.

Im off to bed now. Cant keep the eyes open a moment longer.
What a dry post, lol...sorry! Im sure there will be plenty more in coming days.
Some photos for you to enjoy. Garden and lawn are a total mess, but they can wait!

Night night.

I had pruned heavily before leaving in early april, and now everything is overwhelming.

 What a glorious surprise!

 Good thing I pruned and cleaned the lavender up, before leaving it in early April.

So many grapes on this old vine that climbs up the side of the terrace out back.

 Fresh food and favorites for lunch.

 Stunning bronze Iris came out this morning.

 Love this gentle colored iris.

 A single white climbing rose. What abundance!

 Waz is checking out the sprinkler heads which were more like fountains.The Columbines in the foreground are almost finished blooming. it is hot out there.

 I discovered a clematis which I then encouraged to climb over the front gate trellis.

 A lovely red rose blooming it's head off in a back corner of the hugely overgrown garden.

 Waz re-anchored the gates so that they now shut without having to manhandle them into place. Yay!

That's it folks.
 xx