Things that make me smile...

Mrs Goose has three eggs in her nest. I am hoping yet again that she will hatch some goslings this year. She carefully covers them up each morning before leaving the nest and they are both very protective. I will keep you informed. Only one duck egg so far and no sign of a broody hen. I always hope for fluffy balls but will leave it to them!
My crochet along blanket is almost finished. All 115 stripes are done. Today the final edging part will be published and I will finish the blanket over the next few days. I think I will give it to a friend who needs a hug just now! The next blanket is waiting to be started!
I must get the sewing machine out again soon and finish the cotton skirt. The fabric for my petticoats should arrive today and I want to get those made too. I am beginning to think about warmer weather and cotton skirts and t-shirts! I am trying to reduce my possessions and have decided four skirts and tops , two pairs of shorts and two pairs of jeans will be enough. The jeans will do for all the seasons. As far as possible I will make my clothes. I would prefer to have natural fabrics as part of my bid to ditch plastic.
All the bulbs are showing now..just waiting for some flowers. The snow drops are everywhere and I love to see the white flowers poking through.
Using the weekends for doing our house is working well. My utility room is now framed out and most of the insulation is in. Tomorrow the first fix plumbing and electrics will go in. That really does make me smile. Before long we will start on my kitchen. Exciting times!
I have been given a bundle of blackcurrant sticks. Hopefully they will take as it will top up my jam store and also enable me to make cordial. We all love blackcurrant. I want to increase the fruit we grow so that I can bottle more for winter.
Very soon I will get going on the veg! My wild flower seeds have arrived so I want my mini meadow sorted by the end of March. Lots to look forward to.

Spring has sprung

The last few days have begun as thick fog and by lunchtime has turned into blue sky and sunshine. There has been warmth in the sun too. The bees are out and about again and have returned laden with something.  I love meeting them for a chat whilst Inwork in the garden.Lots of snowdrops are coming up which are a joy to see. The flowering cherry has blossom starting. The trees are budding. My camellia trees look ready to burst into colour.
Winter is hard here and always makes us feel we should go back to England and rejoin life. But when the sun shines like today I do not want to go anywhere. We live in such a beautiful area, rolling green fields and small woods where deer and wild boar hide. The birds are singing again, such a lovely sound. Before long I will start planting seeds. Flowers and vegetables. I also think about chicks, ducklings and goslings. The ducks and geese have not started laying eggs yet but should start soon. As always I hope they will all hatch some young this year. They are such a joy to have around, watching them grow.
Today we have almost finished doing the electrics for the other two Gites. It had fought us but apart from the final connection is now there. We also finally took apart the old duck house. A bit more cleaning up to do and then I can prepare the area to become a mini wild flower meadow. This is next to the pond. I am going to make it a wild life area. My bees will love it!
I love this time of year, all fresh and new. It is a feeling to hold onto through the depths of winter.
Gite bookings are still down but we live in hope! We have to make a bigger effort to motivate ourselves to get the remaining  Gites finished. As bookings are virtually non existent we ask ourselves why bother. But we will plod on and eventually all the work will be done!

Zero waste

Beginning to think it is impossible whilst living here! I do not create very much rubbish myself having a green Johanna and two compost bins. I upcyle and recycle and do not buy unnecessary things. I have reduced greatly factory made food but cannot remove it altogether. This is where the problem lies. Manufactured food has too much packaging that ends in land fill. I am always searching the Internet for ways to reduce further what I throw away. Most of the ideas come from America who have embraced this concept far more than France has. We have good recycling facilities but no such thing as zero waste shops where you take your own containers for filling. I live in hope it will come but given my rural part has only just started stocking a small range of vegetarian and vegan products, I do not think it will come any time soon.
Work is coming on well. My shell of a utility room is almost framed out. This coming weekend should see that finished. It has been agreed that work will be done on our house at weekends. It means it moves very slowly but at least it is going forward.
I am on a mission to simplify further and thin out possessions. We have far too much. I read a very good piece about decluttering that stated ' you do not need to keep grandmas thimble to remember when she mended your trousers '. I am applying that to many things now. It concerns me that if I were  to keel over I would leave a lot for my children to sort through. I do not want that to happen. I will try selling some things to add to my savings, some will go in the charity bins and some will be thrown. I do not want to put things in land fill but may have to for the last time. In future I will think carefully about what I buy. The rule will be if something comes in something will have to go out!
I have done a lot of soul searching about becoming vegan. I have listened to all that others think on both sides of the arguement and have decided it is important to me to be vegan. I will not use weird ingredients like liquid smoke but will make things myself using real ingredients. I know I will settle into it making it easier as time goes on.

Green and bling are compatible

Well in my life they are! As you know I have been working for some time trying to be 'green'. I have come a long way over the last few years and have totally changed how I live. I have greatly reduced what I buy and what I throw away. Some of it has been easy some difficult but I will not go back to the materialistic life style of a decade ago!
But.......a girl has to have a bit of bling! Starting later this month I will have delivered a small but pretty box each month. It might have a bit of a shine to it but there will be no precious metal or gem stones........I have signed up to a thing called 'Little box of crochet.' Each month the box will contain all I need for a small crochet project. All the wool is ethically sourced which suits me. Included each month is a crochet related free gift. Free is always good. This will be something that is completely frivolous and just for me. It is my version of bling!
I have felt for sometime that I needed something happy in my life. Don't get me wrong, the way of life I have chosen does mostly make me very happy but it involves a great deal of giving. Sometimes the tank needs refilling. This little box will be my fuel that keeps me going. I have not told him indoors yet but I somehow think he will understand. I have a small pension that is for me and I have chosen to use part of it for this new venture.
I will let you know what is in the box when it arrives.
Spring is in the air at last, a few more weeks and it will start properly. The bees are venturing out again but I am not sure what they are finding. I must check soon how much fondant is left. That may need replacing as there is not much around for them now!
My crochet along is coming on but I have not felt the love for this one. I have realized it is because the colours are too sombre. It is based on the Yorkshire moors and starts with lots of brown and green, I am currently on the heather which has more purple and violet. The last stage is the sky which I long to be as there are some lovely blues involved! I am currently behind with it, being on stripe 58 when this week I should be doing 81-100. I will get there though as I do not like to abandon a project.

Just sometimes....🤔

Just before it was light this morning a tractor pulled up at the top of our drive with head lights on shining into our house. Morning all! Hadn't planned on such an early start today but no choice. The dogs were barking and him indoors was still asleep. As soon as the sun started rising and a bit of light was evident the tractor was joined by a digger. They have spent the day digging out new ditches by the side of our access road, and digging up the road itself. This is just one section. We hope this means our access road is going to be resurfaced at last. We have had no notification! It has been difficult getting in and out today especially in my mini as there are large pot holes! As it is Saturday tomorrow I do not know if the road will be repaired before next week. We will probably have a weekend of trying to get in and out without damaging any of our cars.
Then we have been trying to sort out the insurance on the Corvette which runs out this month. We were given a price that is double what it was last year even though is has been off the road all winter and no claims have been made. We started trying to deal with it two weeks ago but the chap who runs the insurance company has declined to respond to any emails, phone calls or visits to the shop. The secretary tells us each time he will call us but he never does. We have now started investigating changing company but to do this, even just for a quote we have to provide full documentation. Copy of driving licence, ownership document, current contract and probably a blood sample too. All we want is a quote! No wonder the French never shop around.
It is always officialdom that makes me want to head for the ferry port. Why does everything have to be so complicated?
When we went for the X-ray yesterday of him indoors painful shoulder they asked for our phone number as they wanted us to complete a questionnaire. Fine, but could we not have it writing as we know we will have no chance understanding it over the phone. It was difficult enough making the appointment for the X-ray! Once home there was a message on the phone, spoken at speed about the questionnaire. We have not bothered returning the call. I really think I do not belong here. I have tried  the Very French shrug but that is not me. I challenge officialdom which they do not like. I ask questions about my options so I can make informed decisions. Apparently I am just meant to accept the 'experts' opinion.
Just as I think maybe I can make it work living here officialdom gets in the way.

Not a normal sort of day

The yellow blob in the back of this photo is an enormous digger type of machine. It has a giant claw with a big blade at the base. It grips onto trees and cuts and lifts them. Am amazing thing to watch. Today the two fields at the back of us has been cleared. This is all part of land management by the farmer. The stumps are always left so the trees regrow. It will probably take 10 years for them to get to full size again. This is how the wood store is replenished. Most of us around here have wood burners to heat our homes. We buy our wood from the farmer who has had the trees cut down!
We can now see right across the fields which will be lovely when spring and summer are here. From my lounge I can see much more sky. I love watching the big machinery working. There is now a lot of work for our neighbour to get the trees cut up and stacked. One very good thing about this is it is now not possible for a fox to sneak in!
This morning I went shopping. First to a clothes shop I like as I needed new jeans. Apart from being tatty mine were too big. I have gone back down to a size 12 (UK) which makes me happy. I bought three pairs for €23, pretty good! Then we did the food shopping and found some vegetarian burgers and mince! In over seven years of living here I have never found such things! They are soya based! I have now stocked up my freezer and am feeling very happy. I had heard that quorn was now being sold over here but so far have not found any. Sometimes things work out well here!
Operation my house begins on Saturday when him indoors will start framing out the shell of our untility room. With that done he can put in the electrics and plumbing and I can move the washing machine in there. Closer to getting my kitchen done. Another happy thought!