It begs the question, are there enough pallets in Loire Atlantique to satisfy this creative man’s needs?

His latest masterpiece is finished and comes complete with an insect hotel which will be a great addition to the veg garden.     Lovingly crafted with lovely features such as the stable doors and shutters it’s just a shame we can’t take it on the road.    I wonder how many pallets have gone into his creations so far, what with the greenhouse, my workshop, the cold frames and mower shed not forgetting the playhouse and chicken coop and now the caravan, I imagine it must be quite a few that would otherwise have been dumped and burnt.   And on a day like today which started off very cold and frosty but developed into a glorious azure skyed, spirit lifting, afternoon I look at our  lovely gites and have to pinch myself that this is where we live.

To see these creations for yourself and get pallet wood tips from the master to perhaps create your own back home, just come on holiday here,  book one of our home away from homes  by contacting us here  .

This is as cold as it got so far this winter in Guemene  but not so cold as to affect our long suffering Mimosa tree.   Over the years I have seen these lovely trees in full bloom in gardens all over our area but not ours – so far every year it’s been affected by frost, half dead, no flowers and we’ve cut out the dead bits thinking that was an end to it.   Every year it’s valiantly sprung to life in summer only to repeat the previous years pattern, however, this year it is in bloom now – in January!     I have never seen one bloom so early in the year, I just hope we don’t have any really severe weather now and it finally comes into its own. .

I am also breathing a sigh of relief as I have finished the birthday present for my very dear friend Lindy and it’s on it’s way to the UK courtesy of some friends.   The last time I promised Lindy some Sashiko place mats for her conservatory’s table she had to wait quite a long time so I am very happy that this time I managed to delivery on schedule.   It should fit in nicely in her new Art Deco home. 

Even in the glorious Loire Atlantique you can get the January blues although this year there’s no logical reason for it as the weather has been so kind to us.

[Bekijk met PicLens]

   It’s like a kind of dolrums that sets in as it’s too cold to feel like doing much in the way of gite maintenance, too early to be planting anything, and there’s only so much time you can spend on the computer before you get stir crazy.     But … Ian rises above that sort of thing and the pallet king of Guemene Penfao is at it again.   Now it is a masterpiece entirely for his own pleasure – a gypsy caravan.  Purely static but amazing nonetheless,  it will be the centre piece of a small ‘Chelsea Flower Show’ type garden and will be his to create and enjoy.

Not one to be left out, I decided (a bit late in the year I know) to dig over and regenerate our raspberry patch as the originals have gone totally mad, sending out runners all over so that I have no idea where what is nor when it’s supposed to fruit and be pruned.     So while the mild weather was still with us I cleared the area and decided to do it by the book.  I found some great new varieties (I hope) and for only 3.50€ for a bundle of 5 bare roots I bought 3.    The trench took some digging, lots of lovely compost at the bottom together with some chicken manure all ready to plant …. then the frosts came.    This morning  was white as snow outside so I guess I’ll have to put it on hold for a bit and although I know we do need these cold snaps I hope it doesn’t last for too long.

We’ve also started taking long walks or at least I walk, Ian rides his bike as it’s kinder to his knees and I like to speed rather than saunter.   This way we are discovering lots of lovely tracks and trails (yes even after being here for years) which we can then recommend to the more energetic of our future guests.   So as we watch the setting sun and comment with glee on how much later it is than the previous day, we are counting the days to spring while counting our blessings in being able to live in these lovely surroundings.     You can enjoy our countryside too by booking one of our lovely gites http://www.loireatlantique.co.uk/properties/ at any time of year.

Perhaps Loire Atlantique could do with more rain as it’s been the hottest and dryest April on record but the garden’s produced some real beauties

I am so glad I bought some huge water storage containers and recover the rain water off our roofs – even the greenhouse one.  Looks like we’ll need every drop this year.  I’ve taken photos of my favourite plants and flowers and hope you share my taste.    I have to say that as a plantaholic, I am forever trying to find space for more and more plants and as Ian tells me, that creates more and more work but I love it.  I just wish time would slow down just a bit in order that I can enjoy the fruits of my labours a bit more.

On my birthday a couple of Sundays ago we went to  lovely old manor house called Pordor near Avessac which hosts a garden show every year.   The house is still undergoing restoration but is quite magnificent as it is with lovely gardens and lakes surrounding it.   Better still is the ability to partake of afternoon tea and cakes served by the owner’s charming family.   It was a very pleasant afternoon and of course I succumbed to a few temptations.   There was also an amazing display of flower arranging skills by the ladies of the area.

[Bekijk met PicLens]

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It is with great sadness that I write this as all those who met our cat Simba loved him as much as we did and he has left us.   Perhaps this is not what is expected on a holiday website blog but it is a part of us and what we are about and many of our guests will remember  him. 

Simba was diagnosed with diabetes last December, unfortunately the vet thought that at 17 any treatment would not really prolong his life enough to make it worthwhile and I agreed.   I did a little online research and was horrified to learn that the main culprit in the dramatic rise of feline diabetes  was dried cat food.  It contains 60%+ cereal which is certainly not a part of any cat’s normal natural diet – I have yet to see any cat enjoying a sandwich yet this is being sold as an optimum food for cats.  Although lengthy, this article makes hair raising reading http://www.felinediabetes.com/hodgkinsarticle.htm , but don’t take just one article’s word for it, google ‘feline diabetes’ yourself and see what comes up. 

Although I immediately took both Simba & Munchkin off dried food, for Simba it was just too late, he perked up a bit and went into remission for about 6 – 8 weeks but then started deteriorating rapidly, losing his mobility, balance and experienced huge weight loss so I made the hardest decision of my life and called the vet to come and put him to sleep.  He passed away peacefully in my arms at 10.30 on Wednesday morning and I miss him so much. 

He came into our lives in 1994 while we still lived in Jeddah, for years my youngest son Mish begged me for a cat but as I always felt transient there and knew of all the pets dumped by returning ex-pats, I resisted his pleas until totally out of character, I wondered into the pet section of a supermarket.   Happily I noticed that all the cages looked empty but as I turned to leave I was pinned to the spot by an enormous pair of orange owl like eyes gazing at me through the bars of one cage.   It was love at first sight and wild horses wouldn’t have dragged me away without him so I bought this Persian cross male kitten and made my son very happy.   I was not so happy as the first thing Simba gave me was ring worm but pretty soon he was a happy healthy cat who loved draping himself around my neck and (not a lot of people know this) developed a passion for nibbling my ear lobes. 

Unfortunately even the best laid plans don’t work out and I found myself leaving Jeddah and starting over alone with my sons in the UK,  the boys went off to the States on holiday with their father and flew back direct to England, I flew the cheapest way possible via several grotty airports & airlines – Simba flew BA direct to Heathrow, well I couldn’t risk him being neglected between flights could I?   I had arranged a quarantine cattery to collect him and dutifully visited regularly during his incarceration.  

Finally the great day arrived in January when I went to collect him and bring him home to Bognor Regis.  As he had always been a house cat – the streets of Jeddah not being very  hygienic or pleasant, I planned to keep him in until the weather warmed up and then slowly introduce him under supervision to our back garden  and it would have worked too had not a very dear friend (yes still) been a smoker at the time and left the kitchen door open after a quick puff. 

Simba was AWOL for 3 weeks and I posted ‘Missing’ notes on just about every lamp post in the area, appealed on the local radio and dropped leaflets house to house – all to no avail.  Then one day our neighbour greeted me in great excitement saying he’d locked Simba in our shed after seeing him in our garden – and what a mess he was.   A tangled heap of fur, very sorry for himself but so glad to be back.  He was a changed character after that, much more sociable and affectionate.  

His next challenge was when I decided to live in France, as I was going to stay with Ian at his cottage while looking for my own place, we decided the best home for Simba would be in Plymouth with Mish where he attended Uni (Mish not Simba – he was a clever cat but there are limits).   After getting used to being feted by all of Mish’s student friends and returning after another 2 week walkabout, about which I wasn’t told until after he’d returned; all went smoothly and he continued his pampered pet life. 

Finally the day came when Mish finished uni and I’d finished the gites so Simba had to come over to France.   I managed to find some lovely guests who were coming on holiday to us with Condor – the only Ferry line that didn’t ask for a Pet passport on a one way ticket and we were reunited once again.

I would like to think Simba spent a happy retirement with us in France, he never went walkabout here but loved sitting in the garden surveying his territory and I buried him in his favourite spot.  It will be a long time before I stop ‘seeing’ him around here, and after loving him for 17 years a long time before I stop missing him.     

[Bekijk met PicLens]

As spring is springing yet again in Loire Atlantique, it’s time to put my virtual pen to virtual paper and get back to blogging…   

 I have no idea why it’s so hard during those dark months when logically there’s not much else to do – perhaps that’s why, there’s never much to write about.   So in a nutshell, my sons came over for Christmas but didn’t stay long as Mazin had to return to his pregnant partner (my first grandchild due in June) and Mish had to get back to work by 1st Jan as the Saudis don’t recognise New Year.   I did manage to spend a lovely day in Paris with him as his flight was too early from CDG for him to get to without spending the night before in the city.   Paris really pulls out all the stops with Christmas decorations and lights, pity they don’t do much on New Year’s Eve. 

Early in January we found out that Simba, our precious geriatric cat, has feline diabetes and due to his age not much can be done except keep him comfortable, lots of small meals and plenty of water until he starts to suffer and it’s time to for him to leave us.   I did some research online as to what causes this disease in cats and was horrified to learn that the worst thing you can feed your cat is dried food.   The content of most brands and flavours is 60%+ cereal which is not exactly a cats’ natural diet and apparently it plays havoc with its digestion over time.  Needless to say I immediately stopped giving ours any and they are on wet foods only from now on.   Simba perked up a little but I don’t think he’s got long to go now. 

On one of our days out, we drove through Loheac and noticed a lovely new addition to the village, by the church someone had the wonderful idea of covering an old car with a growing green carpet and the effect is lovely.  Very appropriate for a village with one of the largest car museums in France.

The pallet king of Guemene got going again and constructed a wonderful greenhouse with – pallets of course and a selection of donated old windows.  Now that I have somewhere to get my seeds going, there’ll be no stopping me.  The other thing that had to go was the old caravan, it had been leaking like a sieve for years and nothing we did seemed to make any difference and it was only a matter of time before I went through the floor boards.  Ian managed to cut it up, took the rubbish to the tip and sold the scrap metal on for 75€ which went towards any new materials (have to be some) for Ian’s next project…… a shed to die for!    Apart from storing garden tools and a mower, it’s going to have a porch and the theory is that after a long day in the garden, that’s where we’ll relax, catch the last dying rays of sun while sipping a glass of wine – yeah right.  Nice idea, hope we manage it occasionally.   In any case the shed will be a much nicer thing to look at than the manky caravan (RIP) it served its purpose well though. 

We’ve also indulged in some local walks on sunny days and we have a lovely one just on our doorstep which takes us past a gorgeous little chateau which has been extensively renovated since our arrival here, and through the forest, making it an interesting and varied circular route. 

I also had a bit of jet setting as I flew from Rennes to Portsmouth, then from Stansted to Bydgoszcz (Poland) and back again in January.  This was not just for fun (-15 in Poland) but to legally establish my status as my maternal grandfather’s sole heir – but that’s another story.   Anyone trying to get to Stansted from Vitoria, take my tip and use Easybus, going from near Baker St and soooo cheap.  A lovely service, quick, friendly and flexible. 

Now as it is warming up, the camelia which was already here when I bought the place is bursting into wonderful flower.  I never thought it would survive the drastic chop we had to give it in order to get at the wall behind it when we renovated the last gite, but survive it did and it’s flourishing now.   Loads to get on with in the garden, time for the first grass mow, clearing the winter debris, pruning and shredding, mulching and planting – are there enough hours in the day?

[Bekijk met PicLens]

Guemene Penfao played host to an Anglo/French Christmas Craft fair on Sunday  and of course I just had to have a go at selling my jams and chutneys

I had great success with my patch group who between them bought a staggering 40 jars of various products last week and I was very optimistic on this occasion.     Last year we held this fair in a beautiful barn attached to a French Xpressions member’s home, it had loads of atmosphere but limited space so this year it was decided to forgo the atmosphere but have loads of space.   The hard working organisers (not me) booked the local sports hall early in year and were shocked to find that it had been double booked for a table tennis tournament.   There must have been some raised blood pressure at the unGodly hour of 7.30am yesterday morning but somehow it got resolved and the table tennis was moved to the adjoining hall.  

By the time we (Catherine, Patricia & I) arrived to set up our tables the place was humming with activity and I was surprised to find that people did actually come in as it opened at 10am.   I think the French are sooo ready for Sunday shopping, you only have to see the car park of a store in Redon that opens on Sunday afternoons (Gifi).   

Catherine was selling her wonderful patchwork quilts and sold quite a few, unfortunately with such lovely things the price can never reflect the amount of work it took to create them but I hope they are treasured by their new owners.  Patricia had made a batch of shoulder bags and other bits and bobs to sell to benefit Breast Cancer Research as she had been diagnosed earlier in the year, has undergone successful treatment and been given the all clear recently. 

I was just a bit disappointed at only selling 8 jars in the course of the day but every little helps as they say and there’s another fair we’ll be selling at next Sunday at Bains sur Oust so fingers crossed.

Back on the home front, our new furry friend has settled in well and grows cheekier every day, poor Simba finds himself stalked and there was a cat flap standoff this morning with one either side of it and neither prepared to give way.   Munchkin entertains us with his antics and has finally realised he doesn’t have to eat everything in sight (hence his name) as there is more where that came from, I hate to think how much weight he’s put on since his first vet visit a month ago. 

We also had our first flurry of snow this winter, got quite heavy during the day but the ground was too wet for it settle so only a light powdering of it remained this morning.   That’s enough for me as I live in dread of having to drive on slippery roads since I ended up in the ditch a couple of years ago. 

[Bekijk met PicLens]

Loire Atlantique welcomes in 2010

Vingers gekruist Het zal beter zijn dan de vorige. Het ging om een vrij rustige tijd tijdens de kerstperiode worden chez nous, my younger son Mish arrived from Jeddah on the 15th and even having allowed himself 2 hours to get from Charles de Gaule Airport to Montparnasse, nog steeds zijn trein gemist dankzij een taxichauffeur die beweerde dat hij kon de Parijse spitsuur in de tijd navigeren. Yeah right, Het zal de metro de volgende keer zijn. Na de korte vlaag van sneeuw en ijs, hebben we besloten dat als de beste van onze vrienden weg of zal worden met hun eigen familie met kerst zouden we een ‘afwisselen’ viering en nodigde hen uit om een Winterzonnewende diner.

Ik besloot te doen een nacht curry als onze Franse vrienden niet vaak de mogelijkheid hebben om eten Indiaas eten en onze Engels degenen er evenveel van geniet als wij doen – een echte winter warmer. Iedereen had een mooie tijd en dat gaf ons wel een mooie start van het seizoen feestelijke geest.

On the 23rd I finally went to see a specialist for my ‘sacro-illiac’ pijn alleen te horen na een grondig onderzoek en röntgenfoto's dat het niet iets te maken met de SI, het was een zenuw gevangen in de laatste 2 veribrae. Dit betekent uiteraard dat de laatste 2 maanden wordt pijnlijk gemanipuleerd was een complete verspilling van tijd en geld. Great!Toch is het mijn eigen schuld om niet naar de eerdere spacialist, Ik had een afspraak op 6 November die ik geannuleerd omdat ik geloofde dat de Osteopaat in het Verenigd Koninkrijk en vond het steeds beter. Nu heb ik een 10 daagse cursus van steroïden en een steun in de rug gordel te dragen en ik kan het verschil al voelen.

We hadden een mooie kerst dag met andere vrienden Engels, brachten we de starters, kazen en desserts – ze deden de kalkoen en afsnijdsels dus niemand was te gestresst om de dag te genieten. Een wandeling in de namiddag zon prachtig afgewerkt off des te beter te kunnen lopen zonder pijn.

Mijn oudste zoon Maz kwam op de 28e uit het Verenigd Koninkrijk en toen hadden we net een paar dagen samen voordat Mish terug moest vliegen naar Jeddah op de 30e. Het nieuwe jaar was een zeer low key evenement als geen van de ‘bestuurders’ wilde om overal mee naartoe en thee totaal niet en ik heb nachtblindheid dus zelfs nuchtere zouden we waarschijnlijk belandde in de sloot met mij achter het stuur. Well, dat is een ander over kerst, I hope anyone reading this had a great time and we wish you the very best of everything in 2010.

We wish you a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2010

Wie zei slechte dingen komen in drieën…

Heeft blijkbaar nooit ontmoet mij. Ik denk dat ik zeker gegaan over de gemiddelde quotum hier. Tot ver in de ruimte van een paar maanden, mijn auto overleden, de droger gestopt drogen, mijn rug alleen verbeterd worden door nood agrivated een bus halte's in het Verenigd Koninkrijk, en nu is mijn laatste noodmaatregelen …

On Monday I noticed that I had a new floater, you know those funny virus shaped things that float around in your vision, only this one was more like a  greasy smear and I only realised what it was after several sessions of cleaning my glasses.    I got the message that it wasn’t on my lens when it followed my line of vision,  then that night after switching everything off and making my way upstairs in the dark I thought I’d left something on because I saw a light in the corner of my eye.   Turning my head to check – there was nothing, so then I just swiveled my eyes from extreme left to right and there it was again – a flash of light in my left eye.  

I have no idea why because I knew no one with it but ‘detached retina’ came to my mind.  In the morning I looked it up on the internet and went into a total panic, all the symptoms were there alongside warnings of imminent blindness and advise to get to a GP asap.   I didn’t need to be told twice, Ian took me to my doctor at 12 to see him after his last patient and before lunch – I needn’t have been so calculating, he took one look at my face, heard my anxiety about my eye and ushered me in immediately.    His brief look at my eyes didn’t reveal anything but he wrote a letter to a specialist and his receptionist phoned to make an appointment.   I was at the eye clinic in Redon at 1.30pm, was given 3 separate examinations and sat before the specialist for yet more tests by 2pm.   Although she spoke no English and my French is still sadly lacking especially in such a specialist language, she was patience personified and explained that I had indeed got a small detachment in my retina but not to worry as it was nothing that required immediate action.    She said that I should have a 6 monthly check up for the retina and the early stages of a cataract (boy, when you start crumbling…) but that if there was any deteriation in my vision before then I should come to the clinic immediately as an emergency case.   From beginning to final diagnosis was under 3 hours and cost me 70€ of which I shall have a 60% refund – what a fantastic medical service this country has got. 

I also had my first encounter with a French osteopath/kiné and that was certainly different to anything I’d encountered in the UK.   He looked like an aging hippy and scored 0 on the bedside manner scale however, he seemed to hone in on the problem immediately and after some eye watering manipulations asked if everyone was now OK.  Frankly I’d been in too much pain for too long for the recovery to be that quick – my name’s not Lazarus.   I said as much (omiting the Lazarus bit) and looking a tad petulant he set to on my back again.    This time he didn’t ask me anything and just said he’d see me again next Thursday.  I left feeling somewhat disappointed but in the morning I felt reborn and with more bounce than the average spring lamb.   We went out for the day to La baule and had a lovely lunch in Pornichet, watched the kite surfers in the howling gales, had coffee and a stroll in Croisic and went home in high spirits.  

Of course the following day – I had to overdo it didn’t I?   The one thing the osteopath told me was not to lift anything so what did I do?   I set to making mango chutney and beetroot chutney for the local Xmas fete on Sat.   Nothing like heaving huge pans of ingredients on and off the cooker to get the back agrivated again.   Still I got it all done and swore to take it easy until my next appointment.   The fete was nice but a bit disapointing, that’ll teach me to give my recipes away.  Hey ho, every man for himself I suppose, still I managed to sell 40€ worth and there are still a few more fetes before Christmas.   The photo is of Ian’s friends who came to visit him at the beginning of the month and who he hadn’t seen in 30 odd years.  A great time was had by all. 

[Bekijk met PicLens]

Het is verbazingwekkend wat een mens kan doen met pallets en enige tijd op zijn handen…Eerder in het jaar Ian ingesteld op het creëren van een kippenhok die geheel uit hout pallet, Dit was ten dele om me rustig als ik had te maken ‘Ik wil kippen en verse eieren’ geluiden en deels omdat hij zich had opgehoopt grote aantallen pallets op zijn supermarkt rondes. Hij begon op zoek naar voor hen aansteken, maar merkte al snel dat ze waren gewoon veel te goed om te branden – that and the fact we had enough kindling to last for the next few years.   We just couldn’t get over the sheer waste of wood as most of the pallets he’d rescued were destined to be burned in the supermarket’s delivery yards.   Of course some were not good for much else but most were very strong and yealded plenty of wood after de-nailing.    So now we have a delightfully different chicken coop sitting at the top of our land by the apple trees, hopelijk worden bewoond door charmante kuikens in het voorjaar.

Ian Vervolgens richtte hij zijn hand naar het creëren van een Wendy huis voor onze jongere gasten, natuurlijk is dit geen gewoon speelhuis – dat zou te saai en eenvoudig, dus het is in de vorm van een schuur Sussex – wat anders?Het moet gezien worden geloofd, compleet met dakkapellen, shingledak en dubbele deuren voor-en achterkant en alle gemaakt van pallets. Het is nog niet helemaal klaar, maar ik weet zeker dat het lang zal duren tot onze volgende seizoenen’ gasten arriveren. Ik denk dat het volgende project gaat een tuinhuisje dus let op deze ruimte worden….

[Bekijk met PicLens]