on not getting over excited....

OK, so the snow melted and I got a few mornings in the garden spotting signs of Spring - now we have snow again - very pretty I'm sure but tomorrow is February and it will be the third month with snow on the ground and we just aint used to it going on so long.

Now we have people who have come back for a second viewing, still love the house and say they want it. Sounds good yes BUT they have done nothing over Christmas and the New Year and they have only just started putting things in motion to put their house on the market - that means at least a couple of weeks to get the valuation, HIP and marketing done and who knows how long to get a buyer. (Just smile sweetly through gritted teeth susie!!!!)

I am continuing to add to the list of properties in France to view as a new year brings new places onto the market there. This at least is reassuring, the list is growing and includes some interesting possibilities. Maybe we will find the view, the village, and the pool with the house of our dreams!

Now we need to order more coal. We bought less than usual this year as we were moving and we concentrated on using up all of the logs we had stockpiled. It made sense but the unexpectedly cold weather has meant we have used it all and we are still here to endure the rest of a freezing winter. The boiler started playing silly b...ers this morning too - seemed to be needing a rest!

My fountain on the patio will never be the same after this either!



We need to move before anything else breaks!

Hope Springs eternal

I have to admit that my garden did get somewhat neglected in the Autumn when my mind was on other things and it felt like the adventure was truly beginning. This time last year I was looking forward to what I hoped to be our last Spring here and felt somewhat extravagant buying a witch hazel which I would only see in bloom once.

A year on and we are still here and desperate for another Spring to arrive. A tiny break in the awful weather got me inspired to start on a tidy up of the flower beds which are home to the early Spring flowering hellebores and snowdrops. And there they are, preparing to burst forth in all their glory and the witch hazel is flowering - how will anyone be able to resist buying the house.





This week has seen the first activity with regard to the house sale since before Christmas. A family came yesterday but did not seem likely purchasers. At the weekend another family are coming back for a second look. This should of course be a hopeful sign but their house is not even on the market so I don't even want to go there!! It did mean a good tidy up was in order - not such a bad thing as we hadn't quite got straight after the Christmas festivities.

I have to admit to recently having problems staying positive and more than once the possibility of forgetting the whole thing has crossed my mind - a suggestion smartly rebuffed by TC. He is still at the enjoying retirement phase and is keeping very busy but I predict he will be looking for something more if we can't get our French project under way soon. I have returned to the estate agent websites in France to keep an eye out for likely properties in preparation for the phonecall telling us Las Charretieres is sold. There are some interesting houses we could look at but we have no intention of doing so again until we are sure we can get on with buying it's just too stressful. They do say that moving house is one of the most stressful things we do in life - I have to say that NOT moving house is well up there on the list!

Unless we have a miracle and get an early quick sale our plans are now to return to Pavillon for our usual Easter visit and hopefully extend our stay. In the meantime I will look forward to seeing the snowdrops and daffodils once more. I need to stop thinking about my new French garden until I actually have one to think about - there is lots to get on with here.

On ice

The big freeze is on and beating the New Year blues this year has been made more difficult this year as a result of a total lack of activity regarding our house sale. TC is now officially retired and we had hoped to be frantically making final preparations for our move this month.

Still, so far it is not to be and we are in a state of frozen limbo.


We have been taking every opportunity can to get out and enjoy the snowy landscapes on some great walks and are loving the fact that every day is the weekend so we can just go out when our mood and the weather are right. Yesterday we were out all day walking along the frozen canal, through magical winter wonderland woods and across fields of deep virgin snow with clear blue skies above - fabulous!




The sudden and unexpected death of a friend just before Christmas has served as a timely reminder to us both not to forget to enjoy present good health and blessings as we plan for future dreams.

So we will carry on living "for the moment" and making the most of each day, our family and our friends until the thaw.