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.