Happy To Be Alive

In a week where we have witnessed the demise of two highly successful (on the surface) individuals, it gives us pause to consider what makes us happy.
I was gutted today, to hear that Anthony Bourdain took his own life. Kate Spade, another highly successful person (though I couldn't have told you what she designed, I did know her name) too her own life earlier in the week. Why? They appear to have everything!
But what is everything?
Good question!

I'm not going to speculate on the why's and wherefore's, but I did take time out today, as I scubbed the tile floors, to consider what makes ME happy.
As someone who is considered Clinical Depressive, and walks the daily 'line', as I call it....that 'normal' line which sees you going above the line on good days, and below the line on bad ones...I sometimes struggle with this very notion of what is 'Happy'.

Doing the things that give you pleasure sure help. Being outside, being actively engaged in making things beautiful, enjoying the feel of the warm breeze on your skin, the sun on your forehead, the sound of the birds in the hedgerow...all bring a smile.

Is pleasure the same as happy? Yes, I have to say. What gives you pleasure surely makes you happy. Just my opinion.

So, today's happy making centered around getting things clean. We have our first container arriving (from Florida) early on Monday morning. I needed to get the floors mopped (wooden floors just need a warm water mop) and today the sun was shining and the temperature hovered around 26-28C. Perfect for drying, with all the windows and doors flung wide. Secondly, I needed to continue my cleaning of the tiles in the entry, and of course that looked so good, I continued...but Im getting ahead of myself.

We started the day with breakfast on the terrace. No umbrella needed. Just basking in the glorious sunshine and the light through the vines.

 A tiny big of fog, but not as bad as some recent mornings. Somewhere close was the sound of a tractor moving through the vines. I love the sounds of enterprise, nearby.

 Yes, Waz joined me, and we sat for a while enjoying the noisy birds, laughing at how much they made the scene complete.

 Back to work! I already cleaned the tiles and grout from the front door to the left hand side of that door frame, top left. Next I needed to go all the way through into the small toilet under the stairs. The new brush works a treat, but there is still no substitute for getting down there with a hand brush, for the really tricky things.

 I had to spray bleach on the grout first, then wet it so that it had time to soften up, otherwise I would ruin myself scrubbing. My waistline should be slim as a girl's any day now! lol. You can see why I HAD to clean these!

 Voila!
Note to self! NEVER buy those rough edged tiles, though they might look nice! Pigs of things to get clean.

 Lunch was eaten on the terrace too....why not take advantage of the lovely weather/temps. This was my 4pm set-up...cup of tea and a pile of 2008 magazines, which I found in a cupboard, and couldn't bear to through out until I had looked through them all...many more to come!

 Waz's feet were sore, he said, so I encouraged him to put them up for a while. He had been wearing his sheepskin slippers on the hard concrete floor in the garage/wkshop, and as there is no arch support in them, he was suffering!
I promised to make him a cup of tea when I had finished the kitchen floor scrubbing.  He had a nap while I took my cup of tea outside.

We are accomplishing so much these days, it is challenging to keep track of it all.
With the household things gone, we can now start to clean up downstairs in the basement.
I was delighted to see these windows open and letting some warm drying air down into the basement.
Yes, those two critters came with the property!

 I thought I saw a large mushroom out on the lawn, but it turned out to be a rose that had fallen. Even in death it is beautiful.:)

 The California Poppies continue to bloom their heads off. I will get into this garden eventually, but in the meantime all we can do is keep the lawns mown and some semblance of order elsewhere.

 I have nowhere inside right now to put cut flowers, so I have to go out into the garden to enjoy them. These two old fashioned beauties beg to be smelled, dont they!

Isnt she lovely!

 I have no idea what this shrub is, but these blossoms look like they are going to produce fruit of some kind. Too bad, I just gave it a very severe haircut!

 I want the shrubs to be easy to keep, so this one got halved!. Love my new bag for clippings!

 Meanwhile, Waz had finished sorting the gazillion and fifty screws into metal and wood and put them where he can find them. We wont ever need to buy another screw in our lifetime, seriously!
The myriad little projects requiring his expertise often go unnoticed. He does them so quickly and quietly, Im not always privy to their being finished.
This one was major, however. It is the Switch for the boiler! It had been totally wrecked by someone and his task was to put it all back together, which he did in fine style, per usual. This included painting the backing board! Yes, we have a gazillion gallons of paint too...enough to last a lifetime!

 WOW! What a lot of space we have now that the huge chest freezer has gone! It is replaced by the little drinks fridge which will house the wine that needs chilling and the water for when we are outside in the garden.
What are the two cylinders you ask? The one on the right with the jacket is attached to the boiler and is our water in winter, heated by the boiler. The one this side without the jacket, which will soon get a jacket, is the summer electric hot water tank.  Nice to have the two. Wish the second was solar!

 Meanwhile, back in the garden, my first tomatoes are on their way! Exciting! I had to resort to slug/snail pellets, unfortunately, because the curry powder remedy for what was eating them, disappeared with the torrential rain. I hope these tomatoes dont taste like curry!

 Waz felt the urge to mow the lawns. We have more rain forecast in the next few days, and the lawns had grown again, as they do. Nice and neat looking now. Still some long grass to cut, but we pick up the weed wacker parts tomorrow, from Cognac, so that should be taken care of soon.

Thank goodness for leftover curry! Add some frozen peas and heat. Nice to enjoy our third meal of the day out on the terrace.
We had promised Ben at the Bar in the village that we would stop by later today, and check to see whether we could watch the Rugby tomorrow morning, 9.30am. NZ All Blacks playing Les Bleus...France, in NZ! Eden Park! woot! We will win, of course. Home territory and all that.
Anyway, some friendly rivalry is promised tomorrow...early! I told him I would take scones with jam and cream if he supplies the coffee! We pay for that of course.
This is the town square just outside the bar. The old 12th century church is on the left. Love the well kept look of the town.

The sun was still shining when we left the bar, and having had our evening Grand Crème....well, we couldn't go to the bar without having a drink, could we? Might be bad manners!

So out on the road again, and we had often said..."I wonder what is down there..." and this time decided that it was still lovely out, so we would go and find out what was down there.
We see the signs for La Magdeleine, in these parts, and it is only 4kms away, but we have never been there.
So we went. Then we said "Lets go to...Creteuil!" That's another sign we have seen every time we leave the house on the main road....this time we stopped in the middle of the tiny town and walked around. Absolutely enchanting, and the heady smell of roses completed the almost magical air of the place.
The church only looks old...it is relatively young in these parts, being 15th century. Most are 10th through `12th. Not well looked after, this one and lots of foliage growing everywhere. Shame! There is a movement away from the church in France. Older folks will still turn up for Sunday services, but the young are inclined to use it only for their celebrations, if then.

 What a delight to find a stunning looking restaurant. .We will have to book a Rendez-vous here.

 Opposite the restaurant is the Mairie, and low and behold, is that what we think it is??? Yes, The Union Jack is at the bottom of the flag pole! Must be a commune with plenty of Brits, living here.

 Looking through the archway into the restaurant patio with the church in the background. Gorgeous!

 From outside the wall of the restaurant. Holly hocks along the fence were lovely. Note the palm tree!

 So, where are we? Not too far, in actual fact. Creteuil is only 4ms from Lignieres! We came home via Ambleville, into Lignieres and home.

 The roses outside the Mairie in Creteuil were stunning...and the smell was wonderful. I had to smell them all, of course:)

 The church is like most others...it has had changes made over the centuries and some like the clean looking archway, as late as the 19th century.

 Some young men were learning the art of Boules or petanque, in the shade.  The tree in the foreground is how the one in our yard should look, but alas ours is sick and dying. It will come out eventually

 Turning around from watching the boules, these roses are magnifique!

 Back in the car and on the way home. I drove slowly, big smile on my face, enjoying the warmth of the evening, the sun, the crops...new fields with sunflower plants, which will be stunning in a couple of months!...and vines as far as the eye can see. Red poppies populate the roadsides and in the middle of the Barley and Wheat, almost ready for harvest.

 A large Chateau on our left. I turned into the skinny road leading to the main gates and peeked through. The windows and doors were shuttered, but the row of trees leading to the front door is very romantic.

 Almost home, and I took this photo as we came into Lignieres (Lin years) our little town. So clean and tidy!

 I was quite taken with how our home is now looking like someone cares about it. The front garden has been tidied and vines pruned (at 9.30pm last night), and waz mowed the lawns this afternoon. :)

Small steps!
Well, we cant wait to have a cup of coffee with our own mugs, made in our own French Press with steamed milk made in our own milk fluffer. We cant wait to sit in our own comfy chairs and relax, at our own desks in our own desk chairs that dont give us sore butts.
Lots to look forward to, and this is only the first container! woot:)

Night night. Time to join Waz and have some reading time before bed....and I need to find a blackout drapery for our bedroom...it's still light at 10.30pm and again before 6am!

A Bientot!