Summer Time and the living was easy

It’s come to me that blogging takes a lot of time and if you’re like me and like not to have any gaps in your set of things, the omission of any significant part of your life, once you’ve starting blogging, is not acceptable (however boring the trivia of my life may be – but hey, it’s my blog). But (and it’s a big but) this means the longer you leave returning to your blog, the bigger the task.

I did really well while we were travelling last year but since then I guess I have been busier. There were a lot of good moments that now have been consigned to the unblogged past. We had a very happy Xmas in France despite the cold and an even colder January when the windows and doors were off being double glazed and the temperature dropped well below zero. There’s not much you can do in a French country farmhouse when you’re freezing to death. We got to celebrate Abby’s birthday with her in Valenciennes and we went to Germany to visit old friends just when there was a typhoon in the south of France and a tree blew down on our house, leading to a rather speedy trip south again before we took off for Hong Kong.

Back in Australia it was very comfortable to be back with old friends and we got some house renovations done and then off we went to Europe again. We saw Abby’s first ballet concert, shared Isaac’s first birthday, celebrated Gabrielle’s birthday at Bergerac and even popped over to England and Wales for a couple of days (had to renew the Schenken States visa).We had a great trip in May to Corfu and Portofino , via Venice, with Kathy who also helped us a lot to get the garden ready for the summer. We moved 20 tonnes of dirt in 3 days between the three of us – and as a result, this year we had a lovely relaxing summer around the pool in very comfortable and pretty surroundings. Our summer this year was wonderful with beautiful weather and lots of visitors (Tony, Gabrielle and Chris, Lesley and Don, and Kate to share the time with us (as well ,of course, as Clare and Ilan and our wonderful grandchildren).

I am skimming through the year so as not to write a book but one event encapsulates the happy summer..

One very hot day we were joined in the pool by our dear next door neighbours, Ray and Phyllis. Somehow we began a game of boys versus girls, throwing a plastic skittle to team members. A very simple game. Abby (aged 5) and Elliot(3) represented their respective genders from the side of the pool rather than swimming but the rest of us fought desperately in the pool for hold of the skittle, throwing to the junior members as well. It was one of those simple but memorable events – there were 8 people playing, ranging in age from 79 to 3 years old – and nobody could stop laughing. Memories are made of such moments.

We’ve made few changes to the house this year so for those who have been here, I’ve included a few photos. It’s a real effort organising to get work done here in France but we’ve made some progress although there’s still such a lot to do. Even as I write, Jack is robing in his protective gear to fight against the hornets nesting in our roof and as for the moles, despite our increasingly complex set of weapons, it’s Jack/Rob zero, moles 21 and still counting….

We leave on Tuesday so life is a bit hectic at the moment. Still it’s been a wonderful summer and it’s lucky to recognise that life is good while you are in the process of living it.