Monday 16th November

Up just before nine again, left ant sleeping, did the usual online stuff, then ant came down around ten and we sat and chatted for a bit. We packed up ready for Thursday, all outfits planned and ready to wear, made up the spare room for William's visit then had some lunch. I phoned Janine to ask if she would like to come over for a cup of tea, and set to making a cake. Ant had a bit of a tidy round and Janine arrived at three, we sat chatting about her holiday and other bits then Jacqui arrived and a little later Simon. The cake seemed to go down well and it was a pleasant way to pass the afternoon.
Due to the excessive cake eating i didn't feel like making the chicken pie i had planned for dinner so ant made some calamari and chips for himself and i had chicken and chips, very seventies, then we had a night in front of the tv. Just as we were settling in to the evening ants friend phoned and he was on the phone for over half an hour, which got on my goat but we got over it and had a couple of glasses of wine and watched the Enid Blyton story, what a cow she seems to have been. We decided to end the evening with a major disagreement with a couple of good old favorite recriminations thrown in for good measure and ended up getting to sleep some time after two thirty.

sunday 15 nov

Up at nine again, did the cafe and other bits on facebook, ant had a good lie in, then aunty m popped up on facebook so we had a chat and then she called me on skype. I had a good long chat with mum, it really was great to see you on the cam, lets have more of it!! I was a little disappointed mum won't be coming over before xmas but she has a lot to get on with at the moment so it is entirely understandable. Ant came down and had a chat with mum as well, aunty m was fooling on in the background, which was fun, loved the parrot! Ant phoned his mam and i had a bit of a chat to her as well.
We had a quiet morning after this and waited for the wood to arrive, i sat reading a book, Discovering Kendal, which i have had for a while but never bothered reading, it was full of interesting info i never knew. The wood eventually arrived at about four in the afternoon, so we got that sorted then i went over to Jacqui's to show the wood people where to deliver for her and to choose some cards for next week, we have a ridiculous amount of birthdays in November.
I made a fish pie for dinner, which went down very well but i am not sure i will do it again as the fish was a little too strong in flavor. We had an easy going evening in front of the tv but i then turned it off and read. It eventually got too hot in the living room, that fire certainly does kick out the heat and i retired up stairs where the bedroom was a little cooler, and finished off the book, then off to dream land.

fri and sat 14th nov

Up at nine, let ant lie in for a bit, did the usual computer stuff and had a chat with Mandy on Skype, ant surfaced sometime after eleven. We went down to David and Marks for coffee then on to Hesdin to check the bank and see Marion. We had a mega trawl around the shops and headed back home. An easy going evening with pizza for dinner and a bit of tv, we watched La Cage Aux Folles II, one of my favorite films then the new series of Beautiful People, which i found somewhat distasteful and not at all funny.
Saturday we did very little but in the afternoon the kettle broke so we had to head down to Hesdin to buy a new one, mid way there ant suggested a microwave instead, so we had a look at the various models for sale and ended up buying a hot water fountain, which gives boiling water in three seconds, we got this home and had many cups of tea to try it out. Another easy going evening, i made a beef stroganof and we sat down to a game of scrabble and a glass of wine. After the scrabble we watched Four Weddings and a Funeral then headed off to bed

Thursday 12th Nov

A busy day of housework today but when i got up the water was still off so i had to make a full milk coffee, which was less than pleasant, i had a bit of a session on line then set to. A few moments after my milky coffee the water came back on, typical. I gave the kitchen a good clean through then phoned my friend Andrew in Scotland to catch up, it has been an age since i spoke to him, though little had changed. I then phoned Sarah to see how they were, they were good and think they might come down to visit us in the lakes since i have had to cancel our trip to Glasgow whilst we are in the uk.
I got back on with the work, dusted and vacuumed the living room, plumped up the sofa then moped the floor, i vacuumed the hall, moped the kitchen floor, then moved upstairs. I sorted out and put away all the laundry, gave the beds a bit of a plumping, i will need to strip the spare beds and give them a wash since we have a guest arriving with us when we get back from the uk. Vacuumed upstairs and put fresh bedding on our bed. I gave the en suite a bit of a going over, we have not used the shower in a few weeks as we seem to be preferring the bath in this cold weather, but ant will insist on spitting toothpaste in to the sink and not washing it down, my life is soooo hard!! With the en suite sparkling i had finished my housework so i had a bit of lunch, just some tuna with mayo mixed through, then watched a bit of tv. Ant phoned about three so i got changed and set off to pick him up, this meant hitting the Brussels ring road at rush hour, which is very busy and the Belgians are crazy drivers, but it was quite exhilarating and gives me a chance to be an aggressive driver.
Ant was waiting for me at the drop and kiss so all went smoothly and we headed home, we stopped at McDonalds on the way home and had a bit of convenience food, i had an M burger which was actually really nice. By the time we got home it was nine in the evening, the dogs were extremely excited to see us, ant unloaded all the bits of rubbish he had picked up on his trip, including a couple of gifts to take with us next week. We sat and watched a little tv, Hugh at River Cottage, which was quite interesting, especially his pear pudding cake, i may have to get the recipe and give it a try. We went up to bed at eleven and i sat and read for a while then headed off to sleep.

10 & 11 November

On Tuesday i had the usual morning, then in the afternoon went round to see Jacqui and pick up the card for mum, very nice it is too. We sat and chatted for a while and then Simon came back from working and joined in. I headed back and had a gentle evening with the fire blazing and the tv on. A nice grilled lamb steak for dinner, i don't get lamb very often as ant does not like it so it is a bit of a treat.
Wednesday i rose and had the usual morning too, but i got dressed up ready for the Armistice day ceremony in the village. I had a long chat with Mandy on skype, she has booked another holiday so she was happy, then had a chat with gran, she is being mysterious about where she is taking me for lunch when i am in the uk and insisted i bring a suit and tie, so it must be swanky.
I headed to the church at ten to eleven, no one there, so i headed over to the Marie, no one there either. Back at the church one of my neighbors informed me it started at eleven thirty so i headed over to Jaqcui's for a coffee and a chat. At eleven thirty people were there, we had a short ceremony at the memorial, the names of men from the village who died in the two wars were read out and "Mort Pour France" was responded, followed by a couple of prayers. After the ceremony we headed round to the Marie and all sat with a glass of sparkling wine or two and chatted, people asked about the house and discussed the difficulties of selling and the sparsity of English money in the local economy, several people asked where ant was and when he was back.
In the afternoon i had a good session on the computer with Civilization, then ant phoned on skype and i realized it was after six, so i had a quick chat with him then set to making dinner, a nice duck stew in a tomato sauce, and getting the fire going, then an evening roasting in front of the fire. I was going to make a cup of tea at ten but the water had been turned off so i could not fill the kettle, this happens now and again and can be a real pain in the back. Off to bed and a good reading session, ant is home tomorrow so it will be a day of housework.

up to 9th Nov

I have received a couple of moans that the blog has been left undone so here is last week, many apologies to the thousands of readers who have missed it. On the Tuesday we took a trip up to Arques, a world famous chrystal producer that has a majoy sale of stock in November, we took Jacqui with us and had a nice afternoon, buying a fair few gifts, though it took us an age to decided what to get for Mandy. Ant was supposed to go to work on wednesday but was unfit so he phoned in sick. Thursday saw the demise of our lovely kitchen table, the woodworms finished off one of the feet so we had to take it out of the kitchen. We headed up to ikea to buy a new one, then when we got it back i could not find a suitable screw driver to put it together, there then followed a great deal of frustration and a little agro, in the end we left it. Saturday we headed down to town to buy a new screwdriver and some bits of shopping, then headed up to visit Jackie and Tony before coming home. I got the table up, it doesnt look too bad but it is a shame, then made a brownie cake as we went to Jacqui and Simons for dinner. She had done a selection of currys, which were very tasty, then we all played Wii games, very entertaining.
Sunday morning we had a conference call with mandy and mum, which was fun, then a relaxing afternoon, ant phoned in fit and was given a trip a couple of hours later. Unfortunately it has not changed his christmas rosta so i will have to drive to the uk on christmas day and pick him up. I took him to Brussels on Monday morning at 3.30 am then had a quiet day round the house. I set up a new currency transfer account and sent off the deposit for our aussie holiday home, so at least that bit of it is booked.

Sat and Sun 1st Nov

A day of housework on Saturday, though i did go for a walk with Marte and the dogs in the middle of this. On the way to Lille to pick up ant i stopped at a supermarket to get some bits for dinner, a nice cannelloni for a change, then picked ant up at five and we headed home. We had a nice evening of food wine and chat, we headed off to bed quiet content.
I was up by eight on Sunday, nicely clear headed, i read the post from Mum, which brought a tear to my eye, I am glad Aunty M is going to be there for her on Tuesday. The weather was truely fowl so ant and i had a day indoors, we messed on with computers most of the day, had a nice lunch, had a look at what we will do for our January trip, i sent an email off to a rental place in Morphet Valeto see if we could get a weeks rental in the Adelaide suburbs, but it still seems so far off at the moment, will probably leave the flights until January. I did a nice leek tart for dinner with potato wedges and baked beans, which went down well, then ant chatted to gran for an age on the phone, then his mum, and by the time he had finished it was nearly time for bed.

Friday 30th Oct

Up at eight and had the usual morning, spoke to Mandy on skype for a while, she was looking forward to getting hold of mum. I went round to Marte's with the dogs at eleven and we went for our walk and i returned about twelve thirty. I made a cake again but it did not turn out so well, it collapsed in the middle and then refused to come out of the tin, so i ended up with a very ugly looking cake. Jacqui arrived mid afternoon and we sat and chatted for a couple of hours, she thought the cake was very tasty, so that was something. I had an email from Mandy saying she had had a long chat with mum so thats good.
I had a very long chat with gran mid evening, i couldn't decide what to have for dinner as i was not really hungry so i opened a tin of tuna and mixed in mayo and had that, not too bad. The evenings veiwing was a bit ropey but i enjoyed Benidorm, it seems a little better now than when it started. I had a chat with ant before going to sleep, he is home on saturday so it will be a housework day and a nice evening together.

Thursday 29th Oct

I arose at the usual time and filled in a couple of hours on the internet,i had the Adelaide radio on in the background, and had a look at fantasy properties for when we win 75 million on Friday. At eleven Marte arrived and we went in to Hesdin to have a look around the market, i also had a letter to post and needed to pop in to a tabac. I stopped in to say hello to Marion and Maggie, and then we headed back to the village. I made some lunch and watched an episode or two of Are You Being Served, then at two thirty Marte arrived again and we went for our walk with the dogs, Banjo was so annoying whining that i let her off the lead. We had a good walk down to Willeman again and were out for around an hour and a half. When i got back i watched a couple more episodes then had some dinner, i finished off the chicken and pumpkin curry from a couple of weeks ago, it had been in the freezer. After a very sparce tv evening and a bit of internet i went up to bed and read for an hour then went to sleep.

the week so far 29th Oct

For some reason my blogging has dropped off a little this week, so here is the week so far:
Ant and i had a quiet day on Sunday, we didn't go anywhere or see anyone, had a quiet evening then Monday i took him to Lille early for the train to work, i did very little for the rest of the day. On Tuesday i was unsure of what i would do with the day, so on the suggestion of Jacqui i created a website for the sale of the house and put it online, at lunch time Janine and Martè arrived, i had a cup of tea with Janine then Martè returned later in the afternoon and we had a long walk together down to Willeman and back, we arranged to have another walk the next morning. I had a quiet evening in front of the tv and headed to bed earlish to read.
Wednesday morning i got up and did online stuff, had a chat with mum on Skype, then got ready and went round to Martès with the dogs, we headed off for a walk. At one point i was yattering on, in french, about how i found Ruby's tail enchanting when she was walking, Marte was looking at me as if i was a little strange, then she explained i was talking about Ruby's arse not her tail, the words are very similar, so we had a good laugh about that. When i got back there was a message from ant so i phoned the hotel only to be told he had a do not disturb on his phone, i tried the mobile but it went straight to answer. There then followed one of those annoying situations where i tried to get hold of him and vice versa. He phoned while i was mixing ingredients for a cake so i didn't hear the phone. Janine phoned at about six to ask if i would help her load her flowers for all saints day in to her car, it is traditional here to put flowers on the graves of your relatives on this day, and when i was out he phoned again, starting to worry. I eventually got hold of him at about nine in the evening. Another earlish evening to be and time to read.

Our Loire Experience

Due to a generous birthday gift ant and i headed off to the Loire Valley for a week with the dogs, here is a brief outline of what we did:

Saturday; We headed off about ten thirty, as soon as the man fitting our new gates arrived and let us out of the garden. The drive down was relatively stress free and the roads were quiet, driving on the motorways here is very boring due to the lack of anything to see or do apart from drive. We arrived just after four, found the place really easily, we got out of the car and had a look around, found the keys and let ourselves in, the dogs explored the garden, Banjo fell in to the mill stream and i had to fish her out, typical!! The interior was very quaint and attractive, it had every thing we would need for the week, we took a load of photos before our bits were unloaded so it would look a little tidier. The owner arrived to welcome us and sort anything out we had issues with, she was really nice and stayed for a coffee and chatted to us for a good while. After our period of settling in i set too to make some bread, then we got changed into our pj's and had a night of champagne and pizza, chat and music, a most enjoyable day.
Sun; We headed over to a local town called Sille le Guillame where we had read there was a brocant, it was quite a decent size and we pottered about with the dogs, it was very similar to the ones we have here, except there was no food tent. We had a sandwich each as a kind of brunch, bought a book, Far Country by Neville Shute, then had a look around the town, quite a beautiful place with an impressive early Chateau. We headed back to the house before lunch and decided we would take the dogs a walk and have a picnic, originally this was envisaged as a ten km walk but turned out being more like 18, so by the time we got back we were both a bit done in, but we had enjoyed it. Set too making dinner, a pork stew and we had another evening of wine with games, ant almost won a game of scrabble, he is getting better at it and really gave me a run for my money but i just held on to my unbeaten champion title.
Monday; We had a day trip out to Le Mans, quite a big place famous for its 24 hour race, it was quite a beauty, the old town was very picturesque with many half timbered buildings in good condition, the cathedral was also quite a good example of a transitional Gothic building with a fine multi chapeled apse sporting many graceful flying buttresses. We had a good wander around with the dogs, from old to 19th century and beyond. After a good mornings walking we headed back to the house, with a trip to a supermarket on the way, and spent the afternoon with our noses in books. Ant cooked fish, chips and mushy peas for dinner then we had another games night, a game of Monopoly and then a Master quiz championship.
Tuesday; A two city day, we headed in the direction of Alençon but went straight through and went to Sées, a very pretty town with a very fine cathedral all in an early Gothic period, very fine features inside. We went to a small sandwich place for lunch and i had one of the best cheeseburgers i have had in ages, the dogs behaved themselves well, then we had a good wander around the town, a very pretty place. We headed back and stopped off in Alençon on the way back, again a very fine place, the birth place of St. Terese, a very popular french saint from the last century, naturally there was a shrine to her in the church, her bones however were doing a tour of England at the time so the shrine was bare. The town again was a beautiful mix of old and new with some very pretty 17th century buildings mixed in with some fine later ones, including a fantastic round market building. On return i set too on the dinner then relaxed with my book, then we had another evening of food, wine and games.
Wednesday; We woke to a grey rainy day, which was a bit of a shame as the weather had been good up till then, we could not think what to do with ourselves, i had finished my book and felt disinclined to start another, in the end ant suggested we go to a supermarket and see if we could find some dvds to watch, we did, and had to drive all the way to Le Mans to find anything. We bought four dvds and a jigsaw with Asterix the Gaul and the entire village on it, this was a bit of a sweetener for me to stop me grumbling. When we got back we set to on the jigsaw, little knowing it would take most of that evening and the whole of the next day, but it was good fun. We settled down to dinner in front of the dvd of Dungeons and Dragons, which was appalling, though Ant said he had enjoyed it!
Thursday; We spent the entire day working on the jigsaw, only pausing momentarily to eat, it was a bit obsessive but we almost finished it, only to find we were missing a pair of trousers, which Ant found calamitous. We had a very poor dinner as we had planned a Tuna Pasta Bake but there was no tin opener so i had to improvise with hot dogs, very unpleasant.
Friday; We decided to head home on Friday as the weather had taken a turn for the worst and the novelty of having no modern day conveniences had worn off a little, so we packed up and cleaned up and headed home. The return trip was far more enjoyable as we took the normal road home, passing through pretty villages and plenty to see, we got home by four in the afternoon and set too unpacking and settling back in to our home.

Thursday 15th Oct

I woke around the usual time and came down, a frosty morning, put the dogs out and had coffee and an online session, about an hour later ant surfaced. We had a bit of a internet morning, i had a chat with mum on face book, which was nice, then spoke to Jacqui on the phone and said we would pop round and visit later. Mum had suggested i listened to ABC Adelaide on the internet, so i messed around with that and it is playing now, i am listening to drive time with Lachlan Colquhoun as i type and spent a couple of hours listening yesterday morning. Just before lunch the postwoman arrived with a package from mum, two maps and a walking guide, thanks so much mum, i studied both maps with great interest and then had a look through some of the walks, which i am sure the dogs are going to love.
I eventually dragged ant off the computer, he is now truly addicted to cafe world and keeps asking me 'how do i do this', and we headed round to Jacqui's with our fish, she is sitting for us. When we were there i had a go on her Wii Fit, it was really good and i did twenty mins of exercise without even realizing it. After i had had a go, the machine said i was overweight but not obese so that was a little better than i had hoped, ant was at his desired weight but his Wii Fit age was fifty five!! We had a game of trivial pursuits on the wii then a game of monopoly, by which time it was after six so we headed home.
I put dinner together, spicy meatballs and taboulè, which was really nice, then we decided we would have a games night. We played a game of Monopoly, which ant won, then a game of Scrabble, which i won. We watched a little tv then headed up to bed, had a read for half an hour then went to sleep.

Wednesday 14th October

I got up about nine and left ant sleeping, came down and did some online stuff, then Marion phoned to say the roofer was in the office and was i available for him to come round this morning, of course. Camile the roofer arrived about thirty mins later so i had to get ant up, he had a look at the roof but could not see a problem so i had to take him up to the attic and show him the loose tile. He said there was nothing wrong with the tile it was just a bit loose, which i already knew, so he made the tile waterproof with silicon, fingers crossed this will solve the problem, he only charged us 15euros so it was a bit of a bargain. I decided it was my last chance to get the lawn mowed, as we had had a couple of dry days, so i set to mowing whilst ant got himself up and ready, the mowing was pretty heavy going, i should not have left it so long, but at least it is now done.
Once ant was ready we headed out to see Jackie and Tony, just a social call, they already had visitors so it was quite busy but we had a good time, played a game of ten pin bowling on their wii, which Tony won, he may have had a bit more practice than us!! We then headed down to Carrefour and did a little shopping then came home, there was a message from the people who own the holiday cottage saying they had my message and were expecting us at four thirty on Saturday, so that's a load off. I went back online and messed around with my new cafe on facebook, i sent ant an invitation to join, he doesn't normally have any truck with these things but got really in to it and could hardly be dragged off the computer, an ironic twist. I gave gran a call to see how she was, quite good by all accounts, and ant had a good long chat before we sat down with a beer to watch the film Milk, about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay political figure in the US, possibly world i am not sure.
I had read a book about his life some years ago and was quite intrigued, then the film came out and i had wanted to see it for some time. I heard on the radio on the way to Brussels that Arnold Schwarzenegger had decreed the birthday of Milk to be Harvey Milk day, such a turn around from the times he was actually in office. After watching it ant and i decided we would need to become more politically active on the gay rights stage, i used to march in the pride marches, and have never denied who i am but the placatory rights given to us by the uk government seem to have squashed any real search for equality, i know we now have civil partnerships and anti discrimination laws, but we still have a lot of homophobia in society.
Anyhoo, that's a bit of a rant for you, we headed up to bed after watching the dvd extra bits and had a much better nights sleep than the night before, now we are back in our room.

Mon and Tues 13th Oct

I got up and spent some time on line with my coffee, i seem to be loosing interest in the farmville app but am keeping it going. I had a bit of a fiddle about with the loose tile in the roof to see what i could do but it was clear i needed the advice of a professional so i gave Marion a phone to see if she could recommend someone, she could but didn't know his number so i had to phone Maggie, who gave me his number and i left a message, fortunately it didn't rain. I gave David a call in hospital, he said he was much better and had high hopes of being released so fingers crossed. I did a bit of sorting out of the house, still bits left from the party, and spent some time with the dogs. In the afternoon i had another session on line, then Mark phoned to say David would not be released today, perhaps not untill Friday, so that will please him.
A quiet evening in front of the tv for a change then off to bed for a read, i have moved to one of the spare rooms, which i don't really like as i am used to my own bed, but i got a good nights sleep.
Ant due home on Tuesday so i did the customary housework to get the place sorted for his return. He phoned mid morning to say he was home, which was good, then later phoned to say he had a seat on the flight, so i headed off to Brussels to pick him up, the usual humdrum journey up there. When i got there he was not stood at the kiss and drop so i circled round again, still not there so i parked the car and went in to arrivals. I stood about for about twenty mins and still no sign, i thought he was possibly stood in the wrong place so i went and had a look for him, no sign, so i decided to give him a call. He had been taken off the flight he was supposed to be on and put on the next one so i had a good hour to sit about and wait. I didn't mind this too much had a mooch around a couple of the shops then sat and watched folks coming and going in arrivals, airports are such unpleasant places.
He eventually arrived, apologetic and annoyed that he had been offloaded, we headed home, got stuck in the rush hour traffic on the Brussels ring road and then i took a wrong turn and had to double back, quite unusual for me. We finally made it home by seven forty, a whole seven hours after i had set off. The dogs were delighted to see us, unsurprisingly, and i set to on a cottage pie whilst ant sorted himself out. We had a relaxing night in front of the tv whilst ant slipped in and out of sleep, making the odd comment then snoring, a lovely evening. We headed up to bed by eleven and i sat and read for a bit, which ant took to signify i was in a mood with him, which may have held the tiniest grain of truth. When we settled down to go to sleep i was either too hot, or too cold, itchy for some reason, and just unable to get to sleep, eventually i gave up and moved back to our bedroom, read a little longer then headed off to sleep.

Sunday 11th Oct

It was a long weekend of hangovers or early mornings, so, sorry i have missed three days but here they are. We spent all day Friday sorting out the buffet and house for the party in the evening, we did manage to get a couple of hours rest in before the first guest arrived at seven. I think we both had a really good time and got to bed around two in the morning, every one seemed to enjoy themselves and most of the birthday cake went. As a result i woke on Saturday with an unpleasant headache and languished on the the sofa whilst ant cleared away most of the mess. Just after lunch we went down to David and Mark's and headed with Mark to the hospital to visit David, he seemed to be in good health and chatted away, though he was frustrated at being made to stay in bed. When we got back we settled in for a restful rest of day, i did go online for a little while but could not really be bothered, and the headache wasn't helping matters.
On Sunday we were up at three in the morning to get ant to Brussels for his flight to work, i was amazed how many cars were about at that time on a Sunday morning. It all went well and i was back by half eight. Needles to say i was a little tired so i did a bit of housework, cleared some of the washing backlog, gave the kitchen a bit of a going over, then settled down for a restful afternoon, watched season one of are you being served. I phoned gran later in the day, and as i was chatting went upstairs to find water dripping from the ceiling of our bedroom onto our bed, which sent me in to a bit of a flutter as i dragged the feather duvet off and got a bucket under it asap. I don't think it did too much damage, as i had the fire on i put the duvet in the living room and it has dried out nicely. I watched a bit more tv in the evening then went to bed by ten and read, Feral Future is a really interesting but also slightly scary book, i would highly recommend it.
So the birthday season is at an end, all over and done with, but from it we now have a lovely holiday to look forward to, in less than a week, the girls are being a bit funny about food as they got so much rubish off the buffet they are now turning thier noses up at normal food, so that will have to be nipped in the bud, and i have to find and solve the hole in our roof, i think it is just a slipped tile, or at least i hope it is, once i get it sorted i will have the ceiling to paint, so thats a bit of fun for the future.

Thursday 8th Oct

I woke to a happy birthday from ant, a little hung over from games night, and a little tired due to the dogs being in bed with us. We went down together and ant made coffee and i listened to the two messages on the answer machine, one from gran and one from Anne with birthday wishes. The rest of the morning was pretty normal, Tony and Jackie phoned to wish happy birthday, did the online bits then headed out to Carrefour to buy some extra bits. We had some lunch, Mark phoned to let us know David has been taken in to hospital, i don't know how serious it is yet.
Mums birthday card arrived with the post, perfect timing mum, ant is very taken with her beautiful hand writing.
We had a lazy afternoon, read for a bit, then watched some tv, made some vol au vent fillings, messed about on the computer, then finally got ready to go bowling. We headed down to Maggie and Mike's for seven then all loaded into Tony's Land rover and went down to Abbeville, Tony and Jackie gave me an aussie themed bar towel and a some aussie bumper stickers, which was fun. We easily found the bowling place and got set to sorting out shoes and balls. I didn't fair too well in the first game, but ant did well, then the second game i finally found my form, a little too late as Tony also found his and took the game. We had a really nice time, all good camaraderie and laughs, after the bowling we went to McDonalds for dinner, big Macs all round. We were home just after eleven, the girls were pleased to see us, we put them out for the shortest time then headed up to bed. A nice day all in all, friday see's the actual party but the thing i am most looking forward to from my birthday is the week we will have away together, thanks mum

wednesday 07th Oct

It was yet another rainy morning when i came down so the dogs lost out on another walk and had to content themselves with running around the garden and barking at every little thing they could. I went online and did some bits and ant finally surfaced. Ant gave Ian a call to wish him good luck with his interview, and i chatted to him for a while. Ant had read yesterdays blog so decreed that tonight we would have a games night, something to look forward to. We then both had baths and got ourselves ready properly.
We decided to get the cake iced and decorated, it didn't end up looking as good as i had imagined but it was ok, i bought some cute sugar animals to give it a quasi farmville look but now it looks more like a cake for a baby than for a thirty six year old man. At midday the postwonam arrived with a package and a birthday card, Feral Future by Tim Low was in the package, which i look forward to reading, and a card from Harry and Debbie.
After lunch we decided to head in to town to check the bank and get some little bits to make up the buffet on Friday night, we stopped in to say hello to Marion and had a mooch round Lidl and Aldi, where i found an automatic tin opener that i knew David and Mark were looking for so i got that and we headed up to their house to present them with it, we stayed for some time and chatted over coffee.
When we got home we realized the chicken we were going to make curry with still hadn't defrosted so that went in the fridge for another day and we had a quandary about what we would do for dinner, i was not really hungry so could not be bothered deciding so we left it. We had about an hour reading before the Simpsons, in the middle of which the phone rang, we left it to go to answering machine, it was Maggie. Once the Simpsons were over i listened to the message, Maggie was saying the bowling alley we had hoped to go to on Thursday night was closed for refurbishment so we would not be able to go unless she found another one. I phoned her back to the joyous news she had located another one in Abbeville and everything was organized and we would be picked up just after six thirty.
Finally we made a start on games night, i dug several of our large stash of board games out of the cupboard and set them up on the table, ant decided he wanted to start with Monopoly, so that is what we did, we had a couple of bottles of wine and had a great night, Pizzas, originally destined for the buffet, were cooked. I won at Monopoly, after a bit of a financial crisis early in the game which gave ant an air of superiority until i bankrupted him. We then played Masterquiz, similar to Trivial Pursuits but very hard questions, ant won the first game and then went on to win the second, just goes to show who has the brains in this house, even if they are hidden under a bushel!! After several hours of game play and three bottles of wine between us we decided to call it a night, we brought the dogs up with us went to sleep en famile.

Tuesday 6th Oct

I woke to another grey rainy day, so i put the dogs out and went online, the new walking the dogs regime is not really taking off. Ant came down about an hour later and we sat and chatted over coffee, not quite sure what we would do with the day. We both spent some time on line then had some lunch. After lunch we made the cake, it went very well and smelt lovely before it went in the oven, four and a half hours of cooking time, quite an expensive cake to make. In the afternoon we put a fire on and decided to watch an afternoon movie, ant was asleep with in a little while so i went back on my computer and whiled away a couple of hours.
When the cake was done we took it out and it looks perfect, perhaps not as deep as it could be but that should make it easier to ice, we left it to cool on the rack and will look at decorating it tomorrow. We had a chat with gran on the phone, BA has stated they are looking to loose 1700 cabin crew, mainly through voluntary redundancy, so we wanted to reassure her we are ok, naturally it set off quite a flurry of discussion here, if we could just get a buyer for this place we could put in for redundancy and fill up our pot a little.
Another evening in front of the tv, i really should make an effort to do something more constructive, i know ant loves games nights but we don't seem to have done anything like that for an age. The tv was quite good, our 'Tales from the green valley' about a reconstructed 17th century farm, then the History of Scotland, which seemed to glide over the stupidity of Mary Queen of Scots and paint Elisabeth as a bit of a monster, then a design program, a family living in the age of the 1980's, plenty for ant and i to reminisce about, quite good stuff. We had sausage chips and beans for dinner, all it needed was a cup of tea and some slices of white bread with cheap margarine and we could have been on the Royale Family. We got off to bed and i finished a Short History of Australia, the end is a little disappointing as it only goes as far as the mid sixties, and i had not realised Australia had had it's fingers in the Vietnam war, well you live and learn. I am in a bit of a funk as i only have a couple of pages of Fatal Shore left, but then i have the illustrated history of Adelaide to get through and a couple of others expected any min through the post.

Monday 5th Oct

I woke about nine and left ant in bed, came down to a wet and grey day, so the dog walking was out, i went on line and did some bits. At eleven i went up and woke ant to say i was heading out to pick up my birthday pressie from mum, i headed down to Auchy Les Hesdin only to be told they didn't deal with western union so i had to go to Hesdin. The post office was not very busy and the woman was very nice and helpful, we sorted everything out and she wished me a happy birthday, which was nice. When i got back home i gave mum a call to thank her for her pressie, very extravagant, but very welcome, we chatted for a bit, then ant chatted.
I helped ant make a start on the birthday cake, but realized we were missing quite a few ingredients so we headed off to Carrefore and did some extra shopping. I had discussed with ant what i should do with the money from mum, it was too much to fritter away so i wanted to do something special with it. Half of me wanted us to go on a holiday with it, the other half wanted a nintendo wii, so when we got to Carrefore i looked at them but then thought it is a lot of money for something that will get less and less use so i decided not to buy one.
When we got home we realized the fruit for the cake should have been steeping in brandy over night, so that kicked our plans for making a cake in to touch, we smothered the fruit in brandy and left it to sit overnight. In the afternoon ant had his usual nap and i started a search for a place for a little holiday for us. Ant is on holiday for a week from the eighteenth so it is an ideal time. After an exhaustive search i settled on a place in the Loire, a converted watermill which accepts dogs and was within my price range, so it is all booked and ready for us to arrive a week on Saturday. The holiday will be something to look forward to, plenty to see and do in the area and it has central heating, which will be a luxury for us, so we may take a load of books and a few bottles of wine and settle in for a comfy week.
Ant had just woken when Tony arrived, he brought the details of a house they are very interested in and stayed for a good while chatting, once he had gone ant made a start on the dinner, meat balls and chips, quite an unusual mix but very nice none the less. After dinner we both had a good long chat to gran on the phone and then settled in to a bottle of wine and the tv, another design show on BBC4 and then Ross Noble again, he seemed to think that small town Australia would find it hilariously funny if he just insulted their towns, which they may well have done, but it did nothing for me. And so to bed, quite merry and all chatted out.

Sunday 4th Oct

I woke about eight, went down and made coffee and put the dogs out, i had to be out for ten to drive to the uk to pick up ant so went online and did bits. I had a good long chat to Harry and Debbie, who i haven't spoken to in a while, Harry used to be my head of department when i was teaching and we have been good friends ever since. I headed out at ten to ten and went into Hesdin to put some petrol in the car then drove over to the eurotunnel to cross the channel. Once in England i headed to Tesco in Ashford to get stuff for the party and the cake i am going to help ant make. I arrived at Heathrow a little too early so drove around a little then decided to park up and find ant, he was there in plenty of time and we headed back, after paying a rediculous price for parking all of ten minutes. We had a nice journey home and were back before eight, the poor dogs were desperate to get out when we arrived but the did not mess the hall so that was a blessing. After a bath each we settled down to some wine and pizza, this used to be a friday night staple for me, a little treat for the end of the working week, and we enjoyed it. We watched the antiques road show and some other bits before finally heading off to bed.

Friday 2nd Sept

a very early morning, up at four, but we did sleep so i was not too tired, after a quick get ready and coffee we headed over to David and Mark's as Mark had asked if he could take ant to work. I left them and came back but it was still pitch black outside so i went online and spent some time on the computer until daylight arrived. Once it was light enough i took the dogs out on a nice walk, the weather is turning a little now so it was less pleasant than the day before, but the girls enjoyed it. When i got home i did the farm and blog, ant phoned to say he had arrived safely, i messed around for a little longer on the computer then put the radio on and read for a while. At lunch time the post person brought one of my new books, Adelaide a Pictorial History, and i had a skim through that then fell asleep on the sofa. I woke about two hours later and watched a film, then spent a little more time down on the farm. At seven thirty, after the simpsons, i made myself a chicken stir fry with satay sauce and noodles, quite nice, then watched some tv, i got a bit bored with it and decided i would read some more. At ten i watched the first of the new season of Benidorm, it was quite good but did not seem to have the same appeal as the first two series, isn't it always the way, but ant will be keen to watch it when he is home. Off to bed by eleven and an hour with Fatal Shore, then off to sleep.

Thursday 01 Oct

Woke about eight thirty and left ant sleeping in bed, i came down, watched the news again and then headed out with the dogs, we had quite a nice walk but Banjo is getting more and more troublesome and needs to be put back on the leash. When i got back ant was up, i went online and did my bits, then we decided we would have a hunt through our wardrobes for things to get rid of, about an hour later we had a huge bag of things ready to go for donation, so we headed off towards Hesdin with them. We stopped in at David and Mark's and had a coffee with them, we were there for quite a long while, looking at old photos and chatting. When we got home ant went off for a nap and i sat and read, i am coming to the end of Fatal Shore now, but i have ordered some new books to take its place.
Just before seven ant came down, i made a quiche for dinner and we sat and watched the simpsons, ant had a bath a little later and we both chatted to gran on the phone. I sat and read for a good while longer and then we decided we would head up to bed by ten as we had an early morning again the next day, we sat and read in bed for about an hour and then tried to get some sleep, i slept much better this time, though was woken at one point by ant muttering and grinding his teeth.

Wednesday 30th Sept

I woke just before nine and came down, made coffee and sat and watched the news for half an hour, then in a change to the usual took the dogs out for a good long walk, which we all enjoyed. When i got home i did the online stuff by which time ant had come down. Once he was dressed and ready we headed out to David and Mark's, sat with them for a coffee and a chat then went up to Tony and Jackie's and sat out in their courtyard and had a chat with them. We headed back to Hesdin and did the shopping, it is the season of cheap wine deals at the moment so we bought two cases of red to stock our empty cave. We had decided i would be having a birthday bash so when we got home i rang round inviting folks, now i will need to sort out food and all that, ant was going to take charge of it but i will help him out a little. I sorted out the sky box so it is now downstairs and we don't have to bounce the signal any more, which is a bit of a blessing, and ant made dinner, cottage pie.
After i had cleared away my working equipment we put the radio on and read for a bit, then ant had a nap. Just before the simpsons i had a nice relaxing bath, then settled in to an evening in front of the tv, not quite so good as it was the previous evening, but you can't always win, ant decided to crack open a bottle of wine and we sat and chatted throughout the evening.
After a nice relaxing evening we headed off to bed, quite tired but i am glad i have broken my morning regime and hope to keep it that way;

Tuesday 29th Sept

I woke about nine and did the usual, dogs out, computer on, coffee made and then hours on line, ant slept in until eleven so i had finished by the time he surfaced. We had a chat about my malaise as i am getting worried that i am finding it harder and harder to get the urge to do anything, we decided we would go out for a day at the beach with the girls. We drove down to Berck, about half an hour away, parked up and found something to eat, then moved on to a quieter area, the nudist bit of the beach, where we could let the dogs run wild and sit to eat our picnic. After eating, with a glorious view of the sea, slightly marred by an elderly naked man who insisted on standing up and mooning us on a regular basis, we went for a long walk along the beach, then sat for a while and chatted before walking back. It was a really nice afternoon, the weather was good, the place relatively deserted apart from one or two naked folk, we were fully clothed, i don't like to be naked in front of the dogs, especially since Ruby is a big licker.
We got back from Berck at about five thirty and i started making the dinner, a beef madras, ant went for an afternoon nap and i had a little more online time. At seven we watched the simpsons, then the 16th Century farm program, history of Scotland, then a design program, the tv was actually really good. We headed up to bed by twelve, quite tired out and pleased we had had such a good day. I finished the day determined to get to grips with my apathy and get up the next morning and take the girls out for a good walk and then get on with stuff, a walk in the morning generally gives me energy and the desire to get on and do something. I have started to gain weight again and am a little worried i will get back to where i was at the start of the year, which is no good, so i need to nip it in the bud.

Monday 28th Sept

Up about nine this morning, i checked everything online then made a start on the house work, got the kitchen and downstairs bathrooms cleaned, and the hall, it gets very hairy from the dogs. I had a short break to harvest and replant the farm then started on the living room and dining room. Ant phoned to say he had landed, i asked him to pick up a couple of bottles of new world wine at duty free. I got the bedrooms done then tackled the en suite and that was the house finished. Ant phoned to confirm he was on the flight to Paris, so i had an hour to kill before heading out, i had some lunch, watched a little tv then got ready for the off.
The journey down to Paris was fairly straight forward and ant was waiting for me when i arrived, a nice change, so we loaded him into the car and headed back. He had bought three bottles for aussie reds so that would make the evening swing. The motorway seemed to be full of ignorant idiots boxing people in behind lorries so the air was blue all the way back up to Arras, but we made it home in decent time. We both had baths, i watched a new episode of the Simpsons again and then sorted out dinner, sausages with mashed potato and baked beans, a real stodgy delight for ant, and i think he really enjoyed it.
We settled in to a night of relaxation in front of the tv with a few glasses of wine, the Aussie reds are so much easier to drink than french, younger and fruitier, and it is difficult to buy them here so it was a nice change, and i really enjoyed the Aussie cab sav. We watched a couple of programs about design on bbc4 then Ross Noble, a north eastern comic doing a trip across Australia, which had far to much Noble and not enough Australia for my liking. After this we went to bed, poor ant was hanging on by a thread at this point but he can have a nice long sleep in in the morning.

Sunday 27th Sept

Another Sunday bloody Sunday, it is amazing how Sundays can be the most boring day of the week when you don't work on the other six. The day was a haze of doing nothing highlighted with conversations with people on the phone or internet. It is my own fault i know for not getting out and doing something, even mowing the lawn would have been a start but no from rising until late afternoon i spent sat at the computer. So Sundays highlights were a very nice cheese and tomato sandwich with some organic Red Leicester and Janine's home grown tomatoes, a very nice beef stew with some home grown veg in it, two conversations with Ant on skype, a long chat with Mandy on skype and a phone call with gran.
The rest of the day was an all too familiar melange of farm ville and other facebook applications, a session on Colonisation, the Antiques Roadshow and some Floyd memrobilia on BBC2. Ant is home on Monday so hopefully i will get a kick up the backside and get on with doing some stuff, it is not good for a man to cabbage so early in life.

Sat 27th Sept

I woke at a decent hour considering the day before and came down for coffee and farming, again it was a day with little shape but i had decided i would visit David and Mark, and Jackie and Tony to do a couple of bits. I went online and did my farm and blog, had a chat to mum on facebook, her farm has suddenly rocketed up the levels, not likely to catch you up now mum eh! I had a phone call from Mike to say our new gates should be arriving some time this week, only six months after we asked for them to be done, so about right in timing.
I headed out to see David and Mark to sort out the trip Mark is going to do on Friday, he is taking Ant to work then going shopping, when i arrived Mark was out so i decided to head up to Tony and Jackie's and then return. When i got to Canlers they were doing the cleaning of one of their gites, i gave Tony a hand making one of the beds then had a look at Tony's new Applemac, very fancy it is to. I stopped and chatted for a while then headed back to Le Parcq, by which time Mark had returned home, so i sorted out the tickets for him and had a coffee on their terrace, it was a beautifully sunny day, and very pleasant.
The afternoon held little of interest, farming and messing about online, and somehow it got round to evening, i had bbq ribs with sweetcorn and fries for dinner, not very healthy but quite enjoyable, then watched The Two Towers, i had a chat to Ant on skype in the middle of this then headed off to bed once it had finished. I read for a little while in bed then headed off to sleep.

Thursday and Friday 25th Sept

We woke with little idea of what we would do again on Thursday, i had to go fill the car in readiness for our early start on Friday morning but had little else on the agenda. After the usual morning i phoned David and said we would pop in on our way back from town and ant and i headed out. We spent a pleasant hour or so with David and Mark, we arranged for David to come with us the next day as he needed new glasses and they are terribly expensive here. We headed home and had a do little day, ant read and i messed about with bits and pieces. Pizza for dinner then an early night, i went upstairs and read at about nine and ant came up an hour later, we set the alarm for three and tried to get to sleep. By Twelve in the evening i realized i was not likely to get to sleep so left our bed and went into a different room, read some more then fell asleep about half an hour later.
On Friday we were up at three, David left a message to say he didn't feel well enough to come with us, so i phoned him back to say it was not a problem. We headed off three thirty and got to Heathrow by six thirty, not bad timing really, the notorious M25 was busy but moving swiftly. I dropped ant off then headed back and made it back to Folkestown by seven thirty. I did a long shop at Tesco's, the checkout guy must have thought we had a pack of dogs as my trolley was laden with dog food, it is cheaper and better in the uk. Then i headed to the bank and sorted out a money transfer, this procedure is normally done by the unfriendliest bank teller in the world and takes for ever but this time i got lucky and had a nice woman so it didn't matter that it took so long.
After the bank i headed back to the euro tunnel and got an earlier train back to France, the car in front of me was full of screaming kids, as per usual, so i put the cd player on in the car, something i normally don't like to do in case it drains the battery. I got back to the house by one in the afternoon, released the hounds, poor things had been in all that time, but they did not make a mess so i was very pleased with them. There in the hall was the chronopost envelope i had handed over to the passport guy in Paris, inside of which was my lovely new Aussie passport, and very fancy it is too, an epassport, with a special page that will let me go through the automatic immigration thingies, and each page has a different Aussie picture on it, animals, birds, scenery and that kind of thing. I looked at it for a while, i don't think my uk passport ever got the same attention, but this one is special , and valuable, and bloody expensive.
I had an easy going afternoon, did the farm, messed about on line, watched some tv, had a nice bit of lamb for dinner then an evening of tv , nothing special, then went to bed about ten thirty and read for the shortest time before going to sleep.

Wednesday 23rd Sept

Up for nine this morning, then the usual time on line, the farm is really coming on well and i am getting back in to it with a vengeance. Ant came down about half an hour after me and started on with his own things on line. I had a bit of a 'what are we going to do today' moment, Ant decided we would go out for a good walk with the dogs so off we went, and it was really enjoyable. Whilst we were walking we talked about all sorts of things, his head is firmly in the future, new job, new life and all. I decided when we returned i would sort out our November trip so it is all done. We got back and i booked us a ferry crossing for the 19th November, returning on the 30th, in the midst of which we have Ant's birthday, Elaines birthday and Mandy's birthday and Mikes, it is going to be a busy week, so yet again it will be less of a holiday than a round of social obligations.
I had a chat to mum on facebook, which is always nice, then had a little look at property in SA, not much new there. In the afternoon i read more of Fatal Shore, Ant put a fire on and we had a cosy afternoon around the home. At six i phoned gran and outlined our plans for November, again she asked me what i wanted for my birthday but i have no idea, so she is going to take us out for dinner, which will be nice. I made a chicken casserole for dinner, which turned out nicely, and we watched a bit of tv, new Simpsons again, Ant got a little upset over the news, then the Liberal Democrats had a party political broadcast which made me really mad as it was just a whole bunch of folks saying the liberals were great and everyone else was rubbish, i can't believe they cant do better, and now with their first chance of achieving something they are throwing it away with stupid proposals and the blandest leader they have had in years.
By nine i was bored of the tv and said i was going upstairs to read, the living room by this time was too warm for comfort, that wood burner fair packs out the heat, so i had another couple of hours reading before bed.

tuesday 22nd Sept

I awoke about eight thirty and left ant in bed to lie in, came down and did the usual, then tidied up the kitchen and living room and settled in to a good read until ant came down, he eventually surfaced at twelve thirty, telling me off for letting him sleep so late. We had no particular plans but i needed to get the tyres sorted on the car as the drivers front was practically bald. We decided we would head over to Arras and get the tyres done there and get some fleecy tops for the onslaught of winter, so off we went. Four new tyres were purchased and we went to Decathlon to purchase some fleeces, i had hope there would be some new colours from last year but i was disappointed, i bought three, one black, one blue and one orange. Last winter i was hardly ever out of these so i am pleased i have a new stock.
We had a bit of a mooch around Leroy Merlin and bought a new shower head for the downstairs bathroom and went back to Naurauto to pick up the car, it is amazing how differently it handled. We drove back the picturesque way and were home by five. Ant decided to give me a hair cut so i look a little less scruffy now and then i had a bath. We read for a little while and then watched the simpsons, another new episode, channel four is really outdoing itself. I made a nice quiche for lunch, which we had with some taboulé, quite a nice meal, then we watched some tv before heading off to bed.

Monday 21st Sept

A straight forward housework day today, and it felt good to have a good go through the whole house, i don't think i have done this properly on my own since we came back from Aus. So the morning was spent thus, after this i settled down with a book, back to Fatal Shore now, and waited until it was time to pick up Ant. He phoned just after twelve to say had had landed, i had some lunch then read for some more then at three i set off to pick him up. When i got to Lille i made a quick trip to Carrefore to get a box of wine then awaited his arrival. He arrived on time, as usual, and we headed back through the Lille rush hour and were back by six thirty. Ant had a bath and i made dinner, spicy meatballs in a pasta bake, not bad, much saucier than the last couple of times i had done it so i must remember to buy the same sauce again.
We had a couple of glasses of wine and watched the tv, Ant intermittently dropped off to sleep, I used this chance to catch up on a little farming and checked my emails. At ten i watched Persepolis, a film i had considered buying a couple of times as it is an animated film, it was quite good, and very informative on the development of Iran since the fall of the Shah. We headed off to bed, climbed in to the fresh washed sheets and fell gently asleep.

sat and sun 20th sept

i got up on Saturday determined to do something with the day, had my usual time on line and then sorted all the rubbish in the bathroom in to the car and headed to the tip. After i had dumped our rubbish i went shopping for food in hesdin then returned home. I nipped round to see Chris and Allan to see what was happening on Sunday, but they knew as much as i did, Chris showed me the work they had had done in their house and it looks very good. They invited me over for something to eat in the evening with Simon and Jacqui, i was feeling a little anti social but said i would come. I got back to the house and messed around for the afternoon, I phoned Janine to see if she knew what the arrangements were for the fishing day but she was unsure as well, but we arranged to go in my car and meet at ten. I headed out by seven, it was a pleasant evening, some very nice bespoke sausages from the UK, and we ended up sitting outside as the evening went to bed, it was a very nice night and as i walked home the sky was a profusion of stars, one of the beauty's of this place i have not seen for a while. The first day ant and i moved in here we had terrible problems with the electrics, no furniture, no cooker and it was freezing cold, and we though 'what the hell are we doing' but we went outside and the sky was absolutely stunning. I got back by ten and watched a film before heading off to bed.
On Sunday it was the village annual fishing day, i sorted out the car and picked Janine up at ten and we headed off to a little village where there was a caravan park which had artificial ponds for people to fish at. Several people were already there when we arrived so we made our rounds of bonjours then set up a place to sit. I had taken my book with me as i didn't intend to fish, and sat and chatted to people and read. A little later Alan and Chris, Simon and Jacqui arrived and they settled in, Alan is a keen fisherman, though this was a long way from what he is used to. There was a bit of scandal at the lack of organization, normally for these organized events the comitè de fetè provides the meat for lunch and everyone else brings a dish of some sort and everyone sits down to a right good feed accompanied by plenty of booze and conviviality. This time that had not been arranged as there was a restaurant on site, however it was shut, there was such a worry that some people would not get fed, so they clubbed everything they had brought together and in the end we all got a very pleasant lunch. In the afternoon i tried my hand at the fishing and caught four, Simon was having a great day and reeled in eleven by the time i left, Chris and i sat next to each other and chatted on about all sorts of stuff, and the afternoon was incredibly pleasant, good weather and all. By half five i decided it was time to head back, i had left the dogs in all day and was feeling incredibly guilty, so i packed up the car and Janine and i said our au revoirs and headed home.
Remarkably the dogs were fine when i got back and the pools of wee and poo were nowhere to be found, so i set them free in the garden and had a bit of a play with them to release some of their pent up energy. I had a nice relaxing evening, spoke to gran, watched the antiques roadshow, spoke to ant on skype then headed upstairs early as i was somewhat tired, then read for another two hours before finally going to sleep. Busy day of house work to follow on Monday as ant is returning.

Thursday and Friday 18th Sept

I woke on Thursday with a slight headache from the cheep wine, not feeling great i had a relaxing day as usual, ant painted the second coat of the stairs and i did very little, a night of tv then an early night before an early morning, bit of a nothing day.
On Friday we were up at ten to five and on the road by ten past, i had to go in to Lille station with ant to get his ticket and then headed home. I went on line when i got back and chatted to mum on facebook for a while till i lost connection, also started to get in to farmville, it is nice to start at the bottom again as it is not so time consuming as the heady heights of farmtown. I had no plans for the day so decided i would have a tidy round then picked up 'A Town Like Alice', i had started it on the way down to Paris the other day, i was gripped and read all day, i found it quite an emotional experience and was damp eyed for quite a bit of the book, i must have been feeling the loss of ant, any hoo give it a read i highly recommend it, you will know all about outback life and the trials of cattle ranching in the forties, well worth it.
After i had finished the book i started on 'Despised and Rejected' a book we had found in a tiny bookshop in a tiny mountain village in the langue d'oc, which had surprised me as it was a pink press release. It was first published in 1919 and is about homophobic prejudice, so sounds like it will be a ripper!! I got a little way in and lost interest, so made dinner and fed the girls then watched a bit of tv, a brand new simpsons, which is always a treat, then nothing of great interest so i went back online and tried to beat my score on whiteboard tower defense, a highly addictive game on face book. After this i went back to the tv and watched a bit of the movie 'Dodgeball' which was ok but didn't really keep my attention, then i went off to bed and read some more, the book has yet to get interesting but i am hanging on in there for a few more chapters.

Wednesday 16th Sept

I woke just before the alarm at eight, got dressed and had coffee then at half past went round to the Mayors house to get my photo signed again, i had a short chat over coffee with him then headed home. Ant came down a little later and eventually got dressed and we headed out in to Hesdin to buy a stamp and post the photo off. While we were in Hesdin we dropped in to see Marion at the estate agents and had a chat with her then made a detour up to see Tony and Jackie. When we got home we had some lunch, i made some curried pumpkin soup and a beef stew for dinner then we settled in to a relaxing day, ant snoozed and i played on the computer. In the evening we had dinner then ant was on the phone all evening whilst i watched tv and drank some wine. Unfortunately the combination of wine and a feeling of neglect led to some harsh words and a bit of a sulk so we fell out and had to make up again before heading off to sleep.

Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th Sept

Sorry i missed a day again but i did have a bit of a hectic day yesterday!! On Monday i got up and left ant in bed to get some extra sleep, went on line and did the usual until eleven thirty when ant got up. We decided we would have a do nothing day as ants ankle was still a little sore and he was a little worn down. We had some lunch together then he had a nap all afternoon whilst i played on the computer. In the late afternoon i phoned Janine to check if the Mayors office was open in the evening but she could not understand what i was saying on the phone so she came over, we had a cup of tea and a chat for a bit then she left at about five thirty. At six thirty ant and i headed over to the mayors office and got the paperwork and photo's signed for my passport application, on return i looked into the trains whilst ant made dinner, a chicken chasseur with roasted potatoes. I decided i would phone the embassy the next morning and make an appointment, and with that relaxed into a nice evening with ant.
Tuesday morning i was up early to phone the embassy when it opened, i spoke to a very helpful person who checked i had everything i needed over the phone, he said it was not necessary to make an appointment, so i decided to get the ten to twelve train to Paris from Arras. Once i had decided i had to rush about the place to get myself ready then i could not find my keys, so ant and i had a frantic search which came up blank, i did find my spare car key though so headed off to Arras. I got there in just enough time to park, leg it to the train station and buy a ticket and get on the train. I arrived in Paris in plenty of time, went to the nearest post office to the Gare Du Nord to buy the special envelope needed to get the passport posted back then found my way, through a maze of tunnels, to the right metro station to get me over to the place du concord. The aussie embassy is close to the Eiffel tower and was shut between twelve and two, so i found my self a boulangerie and got a sandwich and some pop and had munch over looking the tower. I got in to the embassy in plenty of time then gott to the desk, the man, the same one i had spoken too, went through all my paper work, there was one slight problem, the photo's had only been signed, it needed to say "this is a true photo of ..." so he would not let me away with it but said i could post the new photo to him, thank god. That done i headed back to the gare and bought a ticket on the next available train, i had a two hour wait, in a station with very few chairs and lots of people, i whiled away the hours reading 'A town called Alice' in a cafe with a hot chocolate, so not too bad, then got the train home. When i got back ant and i had another frantic search for the keys, to no avail, then had dinner, pasta bolognaise bake, very nice it was too. I managed to get hold of the mayor and arranged to visit him early the next morning, then we relaxed again and had an early night, both a little tired out by the day.

Sunday 13th Sept

I woke at eight this morning and had the usual get up have coffee thing, then got dressed in readiness for a walk with Marthe. Mandy came on line at nine thirty so i chatted to her on skype for about half an hour, I told her of our plans and she was all for it, she is getting herself sorted for her upcoming holiday to Corfu, it was raining a bit outside so i thought Marthe might not come, i had just finished my call with Mandy when Marthe arrived. We had a good two hour walk up round Humieres and back, and i felt a little better for having got back in to it. On my return i did a bit of house work in preparation for Ant returning, had a late lunch then settled down to wait for his call to let me know he had got back safe. He had warned me he would be a couple of hours late as their flight had been delayed. I phoned gran to see how she was and pass a little time and he phoned in the middle of this. He had dropped a large bottle of mineral water on his foot and was in some pain, i didn't quite realize how bad this was until i picked him up at the airport.
So he got a seat on the flight to Paris and i set off to meet him, another long drive and the roads were surprisingly busy considering it was a Sunday. I arrived at the airport about five mins before he came out, being wheeled in a wheelchair!! He got out of the wheel chair and limped to the car, he showed me the bruising and it was a little shocking, he is such a clumsy muffin head sometimes, but nothing was broken so that's a blessing. We headed home, making a quick stop at Quick, a french burger chain, i was disappointed, as usual, when the Giant i ordered was considerably smaller than the supreme cheese ant had ordered, i never learn. When we got home we sat for a little while with a glass of wine then headed up to bed, the poor thing was tired out and in some pain, hopefully it will be better in the morning, i read for a little while then we went to sleep, it is so nice to have him home even if he is injured.

Saturday 12th September

I got up about nine, must have been a little tired from the day before, did the usual, coffee on line, then thought 'what the hell am i going to do with myself today' it can be a little hard getting motivated when you have no structure and no one around to call you a lazy sod. I got off the computer and went into town, stopping for a coffee on route at David and Mark's, chatted to them for about 30mins, then down to Carrefore to do some shopping, we had run out of almost everything. I got back, put everything away and started on making dinner, a beef stew for one, the dogs got all the trimmings so they were happy. I chatted on the phone to gran for a while then settled down with some lunch and watched a bit of tv. I soon got bored of the tv and played on the computer for a while, then back to the tv, then the computer, i was hoping to catch ant on skype, but to no avail. Marthe and Janine popped over late afternoon for a chat, Marthe wants us to do a walk again in the morning so that will be good.
At about seven i had my dinner, not too bad, then watched more tv, i did catch ant on skype a little later on, checked the lotto tickets and we had won, a whole 6 pounds, so i advised him to put it on for the next four weeks with the winnings, who knows lightning might strike again!! I went to bed just after twelve and read for a little then went to sleep, all in all a very uneventful day.

Friday 11th Sept

We woke at four forty five and got straight into our routine, i dressed, came down and made the coffee and ant got himself ready for work. We hit the road just before five thirty, and took the dogs with us, and headed for Brussels, making a brief stop at Arras to get some petrol. I got ant to the airport in plenty of time for his flight then returned, a five hour round trip but it seemed less stressful than the last times we had done it. On returning i waited for the mayor to come round, did the blog, phoned David to ask if the vets had a drop in that afternoon, which they did. The mayor still hadn't arrived by one twenty and i was just about to go into town with the dogs when he phoned to ask if i would be here at two, i said i had to go to the vets, the girls have been scratching themselves silly and we have seen a couple of fleas, he said he would try to catch me at a later point.
The vet gave both girls a shot of something as he said Banjo has taken an allergic reaction to the fleas and it was best if they were both covered, then four months of flea killer, at least it is sorted now. I got back and went round to the mayors but he was not there so that is another day wasted. In the afternoon i did very little, went on line for a bit and then sat down to Laurence Olivier's Henry V, which was quite good. I decided it was a little chilly so i made a fire with the new wood, it was incredibly good and long lasting. I didn't really bother with dinner, just some ham and some of the many tomatoes i have been given over the last week or so. Then an uneventful evening in front of the tv. I did have one mad spot where i went online to see what we might buy in Adelaide if we won the lottery, but it was a little disappointing. At ten i watched Little Miss Sunshine, i was surprised that i enjoyed it very much as i had thought it was not my kind of film. I went up to bed around twelve and read for a little then went to sleep.

Thursday 10th sept

We woke at a normal time this morning and didn't have much planned for the day, i had hoped to be able to get my photo's signed by the mayor and head down to Paris to get my passport sorted but it was not to be so we had a relaxing morning, looked at a lot of property and found one we really liked in Hackett West, ant is buying a euro millions lottery ticket on Friday so who knows!! Ant phoned in ready for work and was given a Vancouver on Friday, so it will mean an early morning trip to Brussels airport, and the awful Brussels ring road. I finally managed to get ant to sort out all his banked leave, well i ended up doing it for him, so for the next few months he has a lot of time off, which will be great for us, and i managed to get 22 days in January/February, so we may get our holiday/scouting trip to Adelaide after all.
We chatted to aunty m for a while on skype which was nice, then ant got dressed and we headed out to Hesdin to sign some paperwork at the estate agents. We had lunch at a cafe on the square in Hesdin, nothing much just a sandwich each and a beer but it was nice for a change and the weather was good. After lunch we headed up to see Tony and Jackie, we didnt stay too long but had a coffee with them then headed home and had a relaxing rest of afternoon. I made a chicken pot pie for dinner, filled with all sorts of veg, which went down well and then we watched a bit of tv. We had an early night due to the five am alarm call but i didn't sleep too well, often the case on these early morning do's and my mind was racing away on the house i would have built in the Adelaide hills if we won 37 million pounds, silly i know but everyone can dream.

Wednesday 9th Sept 09

We woke this morning with no clear idea of what we would do with ourselves since the house is now on the market, there is still work to be done but we wanted a day off. We had our coffee and went on line and chatted to mum for a bit on skype then were just about to get ourselves organized when David and Mark arrived. I quickly threw some thing on and ant ran upstairs to get dressed, David had come to do some more work on the garden for us, Mark didn't stay, so i made a coffee for David then he made a start.
I decided to make in roads into sorting out my citizenship, so i phoned the Australian embassy and was told i didn't need to prove citizenship since i had my birth certificate, all i needed to do was get my passport, which could be done in Paris. I filled in the form and printed it off, i needed to get photos for it, Marion informed me this could be done in a shop in Hesdin, then Jacqui R arrived so i chatted with her for a while. Ant had been out on a walk with ruby during this and returned home so i informed him what needed to be done, then only thing i needed now was a person of authority to sign the photos and the form.
I made us all some lunch then headed off in to town to get the photos, very quickly done, then headed back and tried to get hold of the mayor to sign them for me, but he was not available all day. Then i had a look into what we need to do to get ant organized, it is a very long complicated process and incredibly expensive, eight hundred pounds!! but as i said to him it must be really worth it if they make you jump through all these hoops. So we filled in the forms as best we could, we need my aussie passport still to finish it, and looked at the rest of the documentation we will need, proofs we are a committed couple, statements from each other, two statements from aussie residents!! will need to bend mum and aunty m's ears for those, so anyho a long drawn out thing but we will get it all sorted.
I took David back home, he had done a great job in the garden but wants to come back to do a bit more, so that's good, he really is a hard worker, made me feel a little guilty and very lazy. On return ant and i chatted about stuff then got on with a bit of work. Ant made dinner, sausage, roasted potatoes, peas with lardons and shallots, and carrots, he really pushed the boat out!!. We sat down to dinner in front of the tv, watched Vanity Fair then headed off to bed, read for a bit then went to sleep.

Tuesday 8th September

A big clear up day today as we were expecting Maggie round at four thirty to put the house on the market. We started with the usual coffee then i headed in to Hesdin to get some cleaning products and some flowers for the living room, meanwhile ant made a start. I was back within the hour with all sorts of bits, including a box of wine for the evening. We started with the kitchen and worked our way through, the place looks nice after all this work, it is the first time it has had a decent clean for about three weeks. After the clean up i put up some pictures to finish off a couple of the rooms and take away attention from the nasty wall papering job in the hall. At twoish Tony dropped by for a coffee, so we stopped and chatted to him for a bit, Maggie phoned to say she would be a little early so Tony headed off and a couple of mins later Maggie arrived. She didn't say all our work was terrible so that was good and thought the stairs looked much better, she took photos and asked us some questions, then put up the for sale sign and the house is now on the market. She said things had started to pick up and she would anticipate a fair bit of interest once the house goes on line, so we will need to be on top of keeping the place clean.
After Maggie had gone there was a little emptiness in the air, we did a couple of bits but didn't really know what to do with ourselves. Ant had a bath, i spent some time on line then we watched the rest of dinner ladies. I made us some dinner, cottage pie, and we tucked in to a glass of wine or two and had a nice relaxing night, we watched the best little whorehouse in texas, one of ants favorites, then headed off to bed, a little merry and happy the place was finally up for sale.
Now i need to concentrate on the other things we need to do, getting my citizenship sorted out and making sure ant has the right credentials for emmigration, and then getting the dogs sorted with the vet. Catch you soon

reno pics

hope you like them

Monday 7th Sept

Up early again, usual coffee and blog then we set to, ant worked on the hall ceiling and i made a start in the garden, i moved all the remaining wood to the wood store then started cleaning up the piles of weeds ant had left the previous day. After this i hoed out all the weeds in front of the front wall, quite a task as they had run rampant, then started humping gravel from one bit of the garden to the other. Ant made a start painting the stairs, and we had Jackie Rowe for a quick coffee, which provided for a short break. I had to make a quick dash to Mr Bricolage to buy some more gravel and by the time i returned ant had finished so he helped me finish off the front. The stairs look quite good, they need a second coat but now they are a uniform shade.
After we had finished off the gravel we called it a day, we both had baths and relaxed in front of the tv with some Victoria Wood delights. Meatballs and chips for dinner, which was quite nice, then an early night with the dogs in our room again. So we are pretty much done now, a couple of little finishing off bits to do, Maggie arrives on tuesday so we will have a big clean up and get the place sparkling.

Sunday 06th Sept

We got up, did the blog and headed out in to the garden by ten in the morning, we were expecting a delivery of wood at eleven, in the mean time ant pulled up some weeds and i hoed the veg patch. The wood arrived just before eleven and we started shifting in to the wood shed, in the middle of this David and Mark arrived, they have thier car back now. They helped shift some of the wood and i put on a coffee and showed them what we had been up to. About ten minutes later Marthe arrived to take us to see her brothers vineyard so we had to get sorted and say good bye to David and Mark and head off.
The vineyard was very impressive, as was the house, we had an apero and then we were invited to lunch, a special local sausage, and all the produce used was grown in their own garden, so we sat on their terrace overlooking their beautiful garden and had a very nice time. After lunch Benoit, Marthe's brother, said he wanted to take us out for a drive, so we loaded ourselves into his car and off we went. First we visited the house that their parents had owned, a lovely Manoir, sadly now sitting empty. After this we headed to see one of Benoit's friends, but he was not in, so he took us to an illegal pub, this was a very strange little place, in an old woman's living room with a couple of tables, where we had a couple of glasses of not bad wine. After this we went to see a couple of other big houses in the area and then the farm that their grand parents had owned, then headed back to St.Pol. So we had a bit of a whirlwind afternoon and headed back home for seven, when we got back we put a bit more of the wood away and then left the rest for the morning. We settled down for a relaxing evening and ended up watching tv in bed before going to sleep. Another busy day on Monday, ant will finish the hall ceiling and the stairs and i will carry on the work in the garden.

Sat 5th Sept 09

Up earlyish, coffee and computer time with ant, we looked at a couple of houses together before he lost interest, then we started work. Ant filled in some of the cracks in the ceiling then made a start on the scrubbing of the stairs whilst i tackled the garden. I mowed the lawns, and cut down the huge weed patch round the trees leaving a circle of wild flowers in the middle. Marthe came round and had a coffee with us and invited us for an apero in the evening. After Marthe i used round up, a weed killer, on all the drive area and the little bit outside our front wall. I finished about three in the afternoon but ant carried on till about five, he has nearly finished the stairs. I had a lovely soak in the bath, a shave, then got dressed in something nice, ant did the same, then we had some sausage and frites for dinner. At seven Janine arrived, she was going to the apero too, and we all headed over to Marthe's. A little after we arrived her brother and his wife and a friend of theirs arrived and we had an evening of french conversation, i was quite impressed with how well i coped in both understanding and conversation.
Marthe's brother has a small vineyard at St.Pol, which was a big surprise for me, he invited us over on Sunday to have a look at it, so that will be interesting. We headed home about nine thirty there was a message on the phone from gran so i phoned her back, then we relaxed and watched the rest of season two of Early Doors. So Sunday holds a delivery of wood at eleven, which we will need to stack ourselves, then a trip to a St.Pol vineyard, should be fun and a day of relaxation from the work.

3rd and 4th Sept 09

Sorry i missed a day yesterday but i got carried away doing other things so here are two days. On the third i got up and did my morning things then sorted out the new light fittings i had bought for the bedrooms, they look ok. Then ant phoned and i suggested i drive down to Paris to pick him up at the airport so that took up about six hours. When we got back he went to bed for a nap and i made us a nice beef en daube, i woke him about seven thirty and we sat down to dinner and chatted the night away.
The next day i woke and went on line with the intention of writing up the blog but got chatting to mum on facebook and then had to go out to do some food shopping and nipped in to see Marion. We sorted out a delivery of wood for winter and got some bits and pieces for finishing off the house. When we got home we had some lunch then ant wanted a restful afternoon so we settled down on the sofa, he napped and i watched a film. We also put the wood burner on for the first time since winter, and it was roasting. After a while ant decided to get up and do a bit of work so he started on the stairs, he has managed to get five stairs to the point where we can paint them through a combination of heat gun, sander and wire brush, so good on him.
By six thirty i decreed it was time to stop, so he cleaned up and i sorted out dinner, burrito's for a change, it was a kit i bought from Carrefore, which wasn't great but it was ok. After dinner we watched season one of early doors that ant had bought 'for me', which is a bit like me buying him the top gear dvd, but we enjoyed it any way. Then to bed and an earlyish night, another busy day on saturday, i will tackle the garden whilst ant does some work to the house, hopefully the stairs will be ready for painting and the ceiling will be done.

The Big Push Day 14

Up early again today, did the blog then messed about online for a little while, spoke to ant on skype, and Jackie and Tony asked if i wanted to go to Arras with them in the afternoon, i said i would. I chatted to mum on face book for a short while and until she had to go see to a neighbor but we said we would skype a little later on. I made a start on the stairs, trying to get the glue off with a solution but it did not work so it is back to the drawing board for that one. I decided i needed to give the house a bit of a tidy round as it was starting to get me down, so i cleaned through the kitchen. I phoned Marion and Maggie and had a chat with them and arranged for Maggie to come over on Tuesday to get the house on the market. Cleaned through the living room and hall and the place looked a lot better.
I went back on line for a while in the hope of catching mum on skype but we missed each other as Tony and Jackie arrived. We went to Arras to look at carpets, unfortunately the soonest they would be able to fit a carpet for us would be in a month, so that will have to be a very last resort, i cant belive there is only one carpet place within half an hours drive of here. After the carpet shop we went in to Arras and had a subway, very nice for a change, then headed back, stopping at Leroy Merlin on the way, where i bought some new light solutions for the bedrooms and upper landing. When i got back it was half past seven so i released the hounds and sorted out their food, then programmed my tv viewing and sorted out some dinner, just a steak and onion baguette tonight, but very enjoyable. I watched Princess Mononoke, another studio ghibli classic, then went up to read.
Ant is home tomorrow, not sure when or how as yet, but i can't wait for him to get back, this has seemed like the longest trip in ages, and i am sure he will redress my fears that the place looks worse now we have messed it about than it did before we started.

The Big Push Day 13

Up at eight thirty this morning and back off into Hesdin to check the bank, the money had not come across so i did a manual transfer, hope it goes in tomorrow. When i got back i made a start on painting the ceiling, this was a bit of a paint in the backside but i got it done eventually, it looks pretty shoddy so i will have to try and patch the bits that look bad. I spoke to ant several times on skype, he is stuck in Hong Kong for an extra day so i wont have the pleasure of his company till Thursday! After the paint job i settled in to a relaxing afternoon and watched some American Dad dvd's. Sausage and chips for dinner and then an evening in front of the tv again then an early night, another day of scrubbing and painting tomorrow!! I have to say i am getting a bit fed up with the work now and the house being in a state constantly and just want it finished and done with, but these things take time, one more major job to go then it's just little finishing touches. At least when ant gets back it will be easier to deal with.

The Big Push Day 12

I awoke reinvigorated from my lazy day yesterday and got straight into the swing of things, i had my coffee and did the blog as usual but only allowed myself 30 mins online before heading off out to Hesdin. I checked the bank to see if the money was in, it wasn't so i will need to go in on Tuesday as well, then went to Mr Bricolage and bought three tins of paint and some weed killer. When i got back i started on the second coat of the stairs, masked everything off so ant would not have to cut in and got painting. I had just finished the cutting in when Janine arrived so i stopped and had a chat to her, she had brought me a courgette and some tomatoes so i sent her away with a cabbage and a cauliflower. Whilst Janine was here mam in law phoned, so i said i would phone her back once Janine had gone, which i did. The i made another start, again just as i was getting into it the phone rang, it was ant. A member of the crew he was working with had died on route and he was a little shaken by it and had to speak to me, so we chatted and he seemed a little happier, the only thing is we now don't know when he is going to get back.
Eventually i managed to get the painting finished, it doesn't look too bad, but it could look better. After this i headed over to Chris and Allan to say hello, i hadn't seen them at all over the weekend and i didn't want to be rude. They are having work done in their house too and Simon was there so we all sat with a cuppa and chatted for a while, then i headed back. On returning i decided to try and tackle the hall ceiling, i managed to mock something together and just hope it doesn't look too bad when it has been painted, then i called it a day.
I cleaned the house and myself up, planned the evenings viewing, then made dinner, lowly pork chops with brussel sprouts, peas and chips tonight, not very appealing but very welcome as it was the first food i had had all day. The tv was drivel as usual and a bit later in the evening i went on line to catch ant on skype, we chatted for a while then he went off to sleep and i went back to the sofa. By nine thirty i was watching ace ventura call of the wild, what a croc of rubbish, so i turned it off, put the dogs out for their evening constitutional and went back on mine for a while, then headed off to bed and read.