Home Again Soon.

My next trip was slightly more exciting as I managed to buy a car ! This meant that I flew to UK via Brest, with a welcome lift there from friends, and drove back from Plymouth, so as well as the excitement of a new car, I was able to load up with the groceries and those goodies we miss - we miss them more now, as we get them more often !

We bought a Toyota Rav 4, which is a bigger car than we had before, but one that we felt was more suitable to our lifestyle here now - more robust, more stable, and with more room in the boot - which was always an issue with the Volvo.

While I was away this time, Craig had the misfortune to lose his wedding ring in the field. He had an idea where it was, but despite extensive searches on his hands and knees, he was unable to find it. Luckily, he tracked down a metal detector, and found it within minutes ! So, we were able to thank our friends for the loan of it with some Duty Free goodies on my return. We were very grateful, as of course a ring has such sentimental value.

We have often visited the Emmaus warehouse near to Morlaix, and discovered various treasures there. It is a charity, run worldwide, that accepts donations of household items and clothes, for resale. There are sometimes, but not always some great bargains to be had, so we decided to visit another branch near to Quimper, as a change. Quimper is a lovely city, about 40 minutes drive from here, and we like to walk along the river, visit the shops, and sit outside with a coffee watching the world go by. It's a completely different environment to our more local town of Carhaix - it seems almost cosmopolitan !

We also visited, as we try to do every year, the Roscoff Onion Fair. This celebrates the red Roscoff onions, and the Roscoff Johnnies that used to pedal (literally) their wares across the Channel in the UK.

We were relatively lucky with the weather, and managed to buy a few strings of onions, and garlics too. Previously, we have bought a sack of onions, and I have strung them myself, but time precludes on our schedule this year. Craig built a new hanging rack in the Utility room to hang them on.....

A visit to the beach is one of the nice trips that we choose to do as regularly as we can (not as often as we would like to though!), but this month, August, is not ideal to take Arthur the dog. There are a number of beaches that do not allow dogs, and some of those that do, exclude dogs during the holiday season, which is a shame as he loves the beach, as I'm sure I have mentioned before.

My French lessons are suffering due to the new work schedule. Obviously, when I am here, I can continue, but I notice that I am not as fluent, or capable now that I have more time in the UK, and am not immersed in the language as before. My teacher has been very patient, and tries to accommodate me as much as she is able to, between her other commitments, by giving me extra lessons too.

My home visit is coming to an end again, so we have the seemingly endless round of shopping, washing, visits to the tip, the DIY shops, and stocking up the cupboards to keep Craig fed, and busy !

Au Revoir France and particularly Craig and Arthur, I'll be back in a couple of weeks.

Summer is Passing Us By.

It's slightly disappointing to be travelling to and from the UK now so often, as obviously this wasn't what we wanted from our move, and our new life. There are of course compensations - one being that I can collect supplies - either DIY type things or grocery supplies. However this latest trip was made by plane and train, so my return perhaps may not have been so eagerly awaited, as my luggage allowance was a lot more limited ! I hope this is not the case (and I know it isn't really !!).

As I have said before, I am always full of anticipation, to see what jobs have been started, and sometimes too, those that have been completed.

While I have been away this time, Craig has started, and is in fact over halfway through, putting the slate on the gable end wall of the bigger extension. You may remember that he has already completed the smaller end, so this is another big step forward.

This bigger end is tough though, as it is so high and exposed to the elements - and Craig isn't a great lover of heights remember !

It's strange to slip back into our routines when I return too. The division of jobs is quite distinct, and the animals and the dog walking fall back to me, as is only right. There are so many things that I can't do, that I know that those things that I can do, must be passed straight back !

A big item on the agenda this time, is of course to buy a new car. The Insurance company paid out, so we can start looking. But where ? We visited a few garages locally, but the price of second hand cars here made this a pointless exercise. The locals here, (and the French in general, I am led to believe), do not hold store for possessions particularly, and do not see them as so much of a status symbol as we Brits do, so they drive their cars until they die. This means that the second hand market is very strong, and the cars hold their value. The difference between the price of a new and a second hand car is very little.

We kept an eye on local Forums to see if there were any cars for sale, and also on the internet auction sites. Finally, we decided that we would have to buy in the UK, which meant that we had to factor the cost of re-registering the car into the equation. Of course, me travelling backwards and forwards meant that I would be available to collect a car on a trip too.

My time here has become very precious. I am not here as much as I would like, and we need to get a lot done while I am here, and we need to spend time together too. Sometimes I feel that visitors 'popping' in intrude on that time, but I am pleased to see them, and it means I can catch up on all the news, as Craig isn't a very good gossip, and forgets to tell me the interesting snippets that I could miss out on. I do appreciate those people who call on Craig while I am away though, as he can get quite lonely. Thank you Guys !

It's high summer, and while we should be enjoying the weather, and each other, instead we are rushing round busy, busy, busy.....materials to be ordered to keep Craig stocked up, food to be bought, cleaning to be done (I like to get the house, washing, ironing up to date, although I know full well, that Craig will keep on top of it. I just FEEL better leaving it all in order !), animal feed to be collected, and paperwork to be completed. All too soon, it's time for me to go back to work - I don't like this - It's hard !