Holiday snaps

Oh no I hear you groan, not someone elses holiday photos, can there be anything more boring? Well probably not but you are going to get them anyway. Just to prove that we actually went. It seems like an age ago, a month actually and we have been busy with diy since our return, but more of that another day.

I have to say the photos are not as good as I had hoped and I have decided that I need to upgrade my camera. I know that old excuse, but this time it's true. Anyway for what they are worth, starting in Verazza Italy, then Sienna, the Piazza del Campo and the Duomo, then Pisa, lunch overlooking the Med, Volterra where we stayed for 4 nights then Saint Maxime [opposite Saint Tropez] in France and a rather angry sea. It was very windy and I couldn't keep the camera still.

We had a wonderful week, the weather was fabulous, sunny and hot so I was able to swim every day. We adore Italy, it's even more laid back than France, with good wine, gorgeous food and amazing architecture everywhere you go. Somehow it's good for the soul and we definitely recharged our batteries.

On the return leg of our trip we stayed two nights in the Var region exactly one week before the area was devestated by floods, with considerable loss of life. We felt very lucky indeed that we had not been involved and very saddened by the tragedy.

Hope you enjoy the photos.

Holiday whoopee!!

We are off to Italy today for a weeks rest from DIY. We are going to the Ligurian coast and are so looking forward to seeing the wonderful rugged coastline and the beautiful fortified towns. The food and wine is not bad either!!!
See you when we get back.

Late snow and central heating!!!

We are probably one of the few people to have central heating installed just as the winter finally bows out. Although I have to say that the snow we had at the beginning of May was a surprise to say the least and we thought we might ask the plumber to get a move on as we needed the heating now!!! It has been hectic and chaotic with seemingly every room taken over by the plumber and even more mess than usual. And just as the plumber left the gas board started digging up the road to bring our gas supply. However all the work going on in the house meant that the OH had some time on his hands so he set to and built a Hen house and we are now the proud owners of 4 hens that are currently laying 2/3 eggs a day. It is so good to have our own supply of fresh eggs again.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to concentrate or find a quiet corner to write or blog. But i shall try and get back into some sort of routine again. I am so easily distracted, any excuse will do. Now I need to give myself a talking to especially as the sun is shining and it is finally getting warmer, and I always feel more energetic when the sun shines so a photo of our new hens and then !!!!! Back to digging the trench across our front garden to take the gas pipe, we thought about getting in a man with a mini digger but decided it would make too much mess so we are playing at 'navvies' for a few days. It's hard work but probably good for the muscles, although I'm not sure about the hairs on my chest!!!!

Back to the wip tomorrow or maybe the day after ..........!

March 2010

It's very nearly the end of March omg where has the month gone? Sorry I haven't been round to other blogs much but I will try and catch up with everyone soon.

Well it started with more snow in one day then I have ever seen. The scenes are taken from our house and are what we woke up to on March the 8th! We had to drive to Carcassonne that day[about 45mins normally] as we wanted to order our new kitchen while it was on offer. With 30% off we couldn't afford not to go and it was the last day of the promotion. Luckily we have a four wheel drive car and got there no problem. Ordered the kitchen, delivery end of April, not that we will be ready for it then, and then left for home. The return journey took us 90 mins mainly due to very slow moving cars in front of us[not 4 wheel drive] but we made it. And apparently we were lucky because not much more than half an hour after we had travelled there were cars and lorries littered all over the road and friends took 3 hours to get home. We had a week of freezing weather and then the wind changed and we now have lovely sunny days and temps of around 20degrees. It's such a transformation. We have the doors and windows wide open and my spirits have lifted. I do love the sunshine, it gives me energy and enthusiasm hence the new addition to the sidebar. I have started Novel 2. Admittedly only a couple of pages but I have ideas floating about that want to get on the page.

All I have to do now is keep up with the second draft of Novel 1!!!!!

We have also made progress on the home front. The utility room [in the extension] is finished and we are now using it as a temporary kitchen. It is decidedly better than the old kitchen even though it is quite small. A definite improvement and we are getting on with the new kitchen, although this is being delayed by a problem with our four wheel drive car, we can't get to the wood yard with the trailor, but we'll sort that out soon.

So although March is nearly over we are making progress. And tomorrow there is a big wine event in a nearby village which should be very enjoyable. And we can walk there so no problems with over indulging not that we would!!!!!

Now it's time for a run, and that's going well too. Always easier running in the sunshine.

Blogsplash

This should be the first page of Fiona Robyn's new novel but I haven't managed to copy it so I will just give you the link to her blog. You can read THAW here .

Please do go and read the first entry of Ruth's diary[Thaw] and then follow events as they unfold daily over the next three months. Take advantage of this amazing opportunity.

There once was an Ugly Duckling!

Well a duck actually. As you can see he/she is different from the other wild ducks. They are on the River Aude where I often go running/cycling and just before Christmas this unusual duck appeared. I have tried looking in my bird book but cannot find the species so if anyone out there recognises it do leave a comment. I have named the duck Dab Dab after the duck in Doctor Dolittle and have taken to feeding them when I cycle along the river.

The locals probably think I'm mad as the only reason they would feed the ducks would be to fatten them up ready for the pot!!!

At last the weather here seems to be warming up, we have already had two lots of snow this year and it has been really cold, down to -8 deg C overnight and not much warmer during the day. Not what we expected when we moved south!!!!! However over the weekend the temp reached 16 deg C with lovely warm sun so fingers crossed that it stays like this. I always have more energy and enthusiasm when the sun shines so am intending to start on the second draft this week before I forget what the novel is about.

Isabel Allende and me!

Before I tell you what Isabel Allende and I have in common [apart from writing] I want to thank P&D from TW for acknowledging my wearing of and dancing in High Heels on New Year's Eve, see comments in last post. However the OH wants to know what you mean by S&M, was it just a typo or is he missing something!!!!!!!!

In my last post I didn't make it clear that it was in fact my Blogiversary on the 8th January, three years to the day. I think I have mentionned before that I get an e-mail every day from The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor. It has a poem and gives the birthdays of poets and writers from around the world along with interesting facts about them. It was from this that I read about Virginia Dare[see previous post,btw how can I put in a link to a previous post can anyone advise me?] Anyway in the e-mail for the 8th January there was a piece about Isabel Allende, already one of my favourite authors. On the 8th January 1981 she heard that her beloved Grandfather was dying so she sat down to write him a letter, it became the novel 'The House of Spirits.' Since then it has become a sacred day for her to start a new book, apparently she gets up early and goes alone to her office and lights candles for the 'spirits and muses'. She surrounds herself with fresh flowers and incense and meditates then tries to write the first sentence in a trance as if somebody else is writing through her. That first sentence opens a door into an unknown world that she must explore with her characters. She doesn't have an outline and doesn't look back at what she has written until the first draft is finished. She starts a new novel every 8th January!! She carries a notebook with her at all times and constantly takes notes, keeps interesting newspaper articles and writes down stories other people tell her, then she looks at all her notes for inspiration.
Oh if only I could say that my 8th January was as productive, but reading about how she prepares herself for a new work is inspirational and instructive. I have read many of her books including Paula, a memoir she wrote for her daughter who lay dying in hospital.
On a lighter note we have atleast one other thing in common a love of food and cooking, and cooking for love. Her delicious book 'Aphrodite, a memoir of the senses[1997]' is a cookery book with a difference. It incites the senses with its beautiful language and sensuality and the recipes are to be prepared with love for lovers. Even without the recipes this is a book to savour again and again. That book was published in her 55th year and she is still writing amazing books. Such a talented lady.