Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Postcard from Normandy

Amazingly it’s already a week since we arrived in France and I simply don’t know where the time has gone. We have unpacked, cleaned, chased out spiders, bought groceries, dodged the rain and enjoyed a little sunshine and today I even managed to mow the first chunk of our big and overgrown garden. We have met up with friends, are enjoying having DH’s mother staying with us and have gradually relaxed after all the preparation and travelling.

Occasionally I’ve fired up the laptop and caught up with a few blogs, but the days have gone by at dizzying speed and it’s only now I’ve found enough time and brain power simultaneously to sit down and write. So what is the state of play here in the far south of Normandy?

Weather – mostly cool and damp, but starting to warm up a bit now. Summer may actually be on the point of appearing, so please don’t scare it away.

Fruit – after a dreadful spring, there are very few cherries and hardly any other fruit to come. I pity the poor cider makers when autumn arrives.

Flowers – the flower border doggedly dug last year by my indomitable mother-in-law has survived the winter and is responding well to my ministrations.

Most importantly for me and the cat-lovers out there, three out of four of last year’s kittens have called in to say hello and we again have kittens in thewoodshed. J In fact two of last year’s litter appear to have adopted us and we rarely go out of doors without one or other coming to investigate what we’re up to.

As I start to yawn and think longingly of my bed after all today’s mowing exercise, here are a few images of this year’s kittens, taken from a short video shot by DH through the bathroom window.




64 comments:

  1. So good to have you posting again Perpetua & to know you're safely arrived & settled in Normandy. Glad also to hear that the weather there is beginning to be more like summer. Here in Prague, after various false starts, summer also seems to have finally arrived with warm sunny weather for the past two weeks with only the occasional interruption by a thundery downpour.

    Love the photos of the new kittens. Congratulations to DH for capturing them on camera.

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    1. Thanks, Ricky. It's good to be here and settled. I'm pleased to be able to report that for the first time since we arrived there is no rain forecast for the next few days. :-) The promised storms have wandered furher north and missed us.

      The photos were taken with DH's new toy, a modern video camera with an amazing zoom facility. My little camera looks very antiquated by comparison....

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  2. How can anyone not absolutely adore these beautiful little creatures ?? They look so vulnerable yet streetwise at the same time somehow. It's heartbreaking to think of their perfect little paws and ears and nose falling fowl of whatever fate awaits them. If they were anywhere near me I would become a slave to their needs......mind you, Lulu might not be too impressed with that !!

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    1. I so agree, Jean. In fact these are farm kittens, as the mother is belongs to the farm next door and just uses our woodshed as a quiet place to have her kittens. We haven't actually seen very much of hem as they are already starting to roam and seem to spend much of their time at the farm, but we enjoy seeing them when they deign to visit us. :-) Last year's kittens are much more territorial about our garden!

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  3. It's so good to see you here again! I've been wondering what you've been up to -- a lot of the same stuff as The Man!!! It sounds as if summer may at long last be making an appearance in France, but I don't know if England will have much of a summer at all :-(

    The kittens are so gorgeous. I don't think we have any this year -- though The Man did find a skeleton when he was cleaning out the loft -- poor little mite. Meantime, I trust you won't work too hard -- sounds like time to put your feet up with a nice glass of wine!!!

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    1. Thanks, Broad. I kept meaning to dash off a post, but something more practical always intervened. :-) I do hope The Man isn't overdoing it, especially as it's probably much warmer down in the Lot than up here in Normandy.

      Sorry to hear about the little skeleton - nothing so sad here, thank goodness. Yes, the kittens are gorgeous, when we manage to catch a glimpse of them. They are off exploring almost all he time. The glass of wine goes without saying, evening if it isn't until dinnertime....:-)

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  4. Glad to hear from you, Perpetua. Sorry you've missed the fruit - or rather the fruit missed their season - what is still to come? The kittens are so gorgeous, I'd risk my allergy to get close - what absolute beauties! Hope the weather continues to improve though I wish I could share a little of our heat wave with others who find themselves short of sun and shine!
    Axxx

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    1. Annie, we have cherries, apples, pears, plums and damsons in the garden and there is only a thin scattering of any of them to be seen. The weather was just too cold and wet for most of the blossom to be successfully pollinated. Sigh....

      Yes, the kittens are really lovely and much less timid than last year's which is probably why they are already so venturesome. We haven't seen hide nor hair of them for the past two days, but I expect they'll pop across to see us again soon. :-)

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  5. It's good to know you are pretty much settled in (for the time being, that is) but I would echo The Broad's comment about not working too hard.

    I don't know how you cope with your nomadic lifestyle.

    The kits are lovely!

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    1. Thanks for being concerned, Ray, but I can assure you that only the cleaning was really work. The mowing is a form of exercise I really enjoy, thank goodness, given how much of it there is to do. :-)

      The nomadic lifestyle is still fine, though the transition periods get a bit more tiring with the passing years. One of these years we'll probably decide that it's all too much for us, but until then we'll keep packing and unpacking, especially if there are kittens at the end of it. :-)

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  6. Dear Perpetua - so pleased that you are now organised and settled again in Normandy. The lawn mowing done is a large task out of the way. You should now be able to enjoy the sun when it arrives. A definite improvement in our weather too, washing has been drying outside for the last two days running, morning coffee on the patio - such excitement.
    Your little kittens are gorgeous, so sweet. How do they survive when you are not there? Are they totally feral catching mice etc, or do they move along to another house when you leave?

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    1. Rosemary, you may be shocked to hear that I'm only a quarter of the way through the first big cut of our 1600m2 of grass. Once the big cut is done, it gets much easier and quicker, thank goodness. As it happens the sun has definitely arrived today and it is hot by Normandy standards, so any mowing will be done in the shade of the trees this afternoon....

      The kittens are farm cats and will survive by catching the rats and mice which are inevitable where grain and feed are stored. Certainly there are no traces of mice infestation in our cottage even after 9 months closed up. Last year's kittens are now fit, if lean, young cats.

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  7. So good to hear that the weather might be warming up at last...friends further south have said how miserable it is...

    Doesn't getting organised take a time...and you can't relax until you are!

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    1. Very warm and humid outside today, thanks, Fly, though pleasantly cool downstairs in the house. It's likely to be a bit less warm over the weekend when the wind gets up again. So close to the Atlantic coast we are rarely without at least a breeze.

      You're spot on about the need to get organised before being able to relax. Now that everything is in its place, I can slow down and enjoy being here, even if I MUST clean the windows when Mum goes home....

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  8. Great to hear that you're back in Normandy, Perpetua! It just seems so lovely there and I always enjoy your dispatches from the scene. The kittens are wonderful!

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    1. Aren't they just, Kathy, though we actually see more of a couple of last year's kittens. We're settling in nicely and now that the worst of the rain seems to have gone for the moment, I'm enjoying living a much more outdoor life than has been possible so far this year and will be out and about with my camera whenever I can.

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  9. It sounds like you're settling in to another part of your life - touching base with the familiar, adjusting and getting ready to enjoy.

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    1. Exactly, Pondside. It takes at least a week to really settle in and of course we've been occupied with having my mother-in-law staying with us. But I do enjoy it all, even the cleaning of this cottage we've renovated from something very basic indeed over the past 9 years.

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  10. To think you thought that the cats wouldn't remember you. They have brought their kittens, Elsa like, to meet the people who were so good to them last year. I hope you are now done with the major chores and can sit back and enjoy being back in Normandy. Summer has certainly arrived here in the Languedoc. It is meltingly hot. Chores in the garden have to be completed well before 8 am, or left until 8 at night.

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    1. I will admit I really did have my doubts, Janice, but two of them were there to greet us when we arrived after midnight! The mother of the kittens is the same tabby farm cat as last year and we hardly see her now, but the tortoiseshell from last year seems to have taken up residence in the front garden. :-)

      Summer certainly seems to have arrived here too but much more mutedly than with you, thank goodness. I simply don't know what I'd do with myself in the temperatures you'e experiencing....

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  11. Well, my comment last night seems to have mysteriously disappeared! So, here goes again...
    Glad to see you're safely arrived and settled in! I'm only a matter of a couple of weeks "behind" you so you'll be all relaxed and up-to-date by the time I'm hacking my way through the french undergrowth!
    Love the kittens! Reminds me of the little one I fostered after friends had rescued it last summer...

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    1. That's odd, CB. I've checked and it's not lurking in my spam box, so this will simply have to be one of life's little mysteries.

      Ah, the fellow-feeling of the second home owner without a gardener. :-) I like to think of it as my summer workout, helping to counteract the evil consequences of all that Normandy butter and cheese,not to mention the cider! Yes, this year's kittens are particularly cute, though Cleo, the tortoiseshell from last year, is rather beautiful too.

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  12. I'd gladly send you some of our intense heat Perpetua. Hope it warms up for you very soon.

    The kittens are adorable. How lovely that they come to visit when you're staying there. Have a lovely time and don't work too hard in the garden. Get in some relaxation too xxx

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    1. I do hope you don't mind if I decline your very kind offer, Ayak. As I've just said to Janice, I really don't cope well with very high temperatures nowadays. Today's 27 or 28 is as warm as I like to get, which is why we bought in Normandy, rather than further south.

      Is tea in the garden relaxing enough for you? That's exactly what I'm going to do now, so that I can keep an eye on the woodshed to see if the kittens are back.....:-)

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  13. Aw, such adorable kittens to welcome you, Perpetua. We have one black cat, a visitor who comes to the doors and meows. We call him Midnight for he is as black as the night sky, and a bit skittish when we open the door, but comes back around for a lapping of milk.

    It is good to see you are settled in and that the flowers, at least, have persevered. We could sure use some rain here. I was up early watering things in anticipation of today's predicted 100+ degrees F. A scorcher it will be. So it goes . . .

    My day is a smile, though, as there has been a posting from Normandy.

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    1. They are gorgeous, Penny, and were amazingly untimid when I ventured across with my camera. They appear to have gone walkabout at the moment, but so did last year's kittens at times, so I expect we'll see them again at some point. Our garden adjoins the garden at the farm, so they can come and go through the fence at will.

      Your heatwave is surely beyond any kind of joking now, with the dreadful wildfires raging in Colorado. I do hope you get a change in the weather and some much-needed rain very soon.

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  14. A blue-eyed grey tabby with white bib and socks! Oh, what an enchanting creature. I'd be so tempted to kitten-nap it. But not practical since you are back and forth across the channel. The jabs, testing and vet checks would be prohibitively dear. To say nothing of the fact that kitten-napping would be very, very naughty, especially for a woman of the cloth...

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    1. Not pure grey, Baby Sis, as DH's camera tends to drain out a bit of colour in zoom mode, but rather a slightly sandy grey, at least around the ears and tummy. Sadly cats don't tend to travel well, otherwise I'd be even more tempted to catnap the tortoiseshell and white one-year-old, with Theda Bara eyeliner, who appears to have taken up residence on the doorstep, or the tabby twins whom Grandson#3 named George and Fred after the Harry Potter characters. :-)

      Our farmer neighbour kindly offered to let me take the whole litter of 4 home last year and I had to explain about the need for vaccinations and pet passports and all the rest of the system before declining her offer.

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  15. I'm way behind with reading blogs, so just catching up on yours. Pleased to hear you arrived safely. Also delighted to hear that last year's kittens remember you and are hanging around and being sociable!! Weather here is very changeable. Tuesday sunny and warm, today wind and rain....sigh.... hope your weather improves!

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    1. Sian, you can't be as behind as I am, as I have to snatch odd half-hours when MiL is reading or resting or talking to DH, as it seems so rude to be blogging when I have a visitor.

      Last year's kittens definitely remember us and seem happy to be here, even though they are still justifiably wary and ready to turn tail at sudden movements or noises. At least now that the rain has stopped we don't get wet whilst renewing our acquaintance with them. :-)

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  16. What a lovely post - so glad you are settled in for a spell in Normandy. The kitties look suitably gorgeous; how wonderful to see them once more.

    Hope you get some sunny weather and plenty of time to relax.

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    1. Thanks, Catriona. I'm glad to be settled for a bit too. :-) After being introduced to the world, this year's kittens are now playing hard-to-get, but last year's are proving very faithful. I must get my photos of them downloaded from the camera for another post.

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  17. The kittens are aborable!!
    Our Katinka is a rescue kitten from the area [asleep on my left arm as I type and hampering my movements somewhat :-)].
    Both our cats always come for walkies; although in yesterday's 32C heat they gave it a miss.

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    1. They are indeed, Antoinette, though all this attention is making them very shy and they appear to have decamped through the fence to the farm for the time being.

      All our cats have been rescue cats, either strays which adopted us, unwanted farm kittens or kittens from the Cats' Protection League and all have been totally individual characters, though we've never had one that came for proper walks. :-)

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    2. I think Katinka has some dog genes in her as she will actually walk in harness & lead...as they say 'go figure'. Ours do properly come for a walk [we wrote about it in a post called walkies, last October].

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    3. The nearest we had to that was a cat who would follow us into the field in Wales when we went out to check the well. I don't however think I could could ever have persuaded her to wear a harness. :-)

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  18. Hi Perpetua - so glad to know you've made it back to Normandy and to find the kittens times two! I love reading about your nomadic life. I do wish there were some way for you to take a couple of kittens over to Ray, as I think she would love for them to live with her despite her protestations.

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    1. Thanks, Penny. It's great to be back, even though the weather could be better, but that's what comes of a maritime climate. It seems that this year's kittens have followed their mother back to the farm next door, as we haven't seen any of them for the last few days. Perhaps they objected to having their peace disturbed by the sound of the mower. :-) We're now feeling lucky to have seen them at all.

      If Ray wants kittens, any branch of the Cats' Protection League in the UK could offer her a bewildering choice from my experience. Our last cats came from there and were two beauties.

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    2. Well, the thing is, Ray might have to be given a kitten. You know, sort of like the iPad. :-)

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    3. LOL, Penny! I know just what you mean. The only problem is that the penalties for animal smuggling can be quite severe.;-)

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  19. Ohh, utterly gorgeous. What is it about kittens that reduces us to squeaking puddles of sentiment?!

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    1. I don't know, DB, but whatever it is, it works every time on DD and me. :-) These pictures have even got her thinking longingly of adding another kitten to the household. I do think this kitten is particularly appealing, which is why it's so galling that they all appear to have moved out of the woodshed. Sigh....

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  20. You seem well settled in and no doubt the weather will oblige eventually. Enjoy your stay on the other side of the Channel.
    Did you know Helva came to visit?

    The kittens are adorable, I hope they are well looked after by their owners.

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    1. Yes, we're feeling pretty settled again, thanks, Friko, and the weather is giving us some glimpses of the sun between the showers. Helva rang me before we left to say that she had met up with you and it sounds like you had all had a good time. :-)

      The kittens all seem very fit and healthy and being farm cats there will always be food around, though they will never be house cats.

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  21. These little kittens are so cute – though I have never seen an ugly kitten, they are all adorable.
    Settling in Normandy – that sounds so nice! I wish we had your cool temperature – here today it was 114 degree F (almost 45 degree C) and it takes all the energy away.
    Your post is called Postcard from Normandy. You know I collect postcards, mostly vintage ones, but when I lived in France I received so many postcards from my friends when they went on vacation. Postcards are sold everywhere in France, and other European countries. Here in the US I never receive postcards, well I do receive some but from my bloggy friends in France, that’s all.

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    1. Vagabonde, I wish there was some way of sharing the weather more equally between areas. Here the temperature is struggling to reach 60F on July 1st and there is a strong and very chilly wind, so that we can't sit outside, even though the sun is shining. It doesn't feel much like summer....

      Your vintage postcards are wonderful and I really enjoy seeing them in your posts. Here the tradition of sending holiday postcards is still alive and well and my mother-in-law has just posted off a dozen. :-)

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  22. Oh, my gosh, the darling kittens! Glad they've found you.

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    1. They are lovely, Linda, but sadly seem to have abandoned us and moved next door to the farm. The woodshed seems very empty without them.

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  23. Dear Perpetua, thanks for catching all of us up with what's been happening since you got to Normandy. As to the kittens, I just always smile, somewhat tenderly I suppose, when I see the looks on their faces: wonder and puzzlement mostly. Life is new to them and they feel the urge to jump and leap and play. And so to capture a kitten in repose--but note, still alert--is a gift. Peace.

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    1. Dee, I knew the photos of the kittens would appeal to a lifelong cat-lover like you. They are at the most attractive age, full of bounce and curiosity, though sadly they now seem to prefer being next door at the farm, rather than in our woodshed where we first saw them. I keep hoping for another glimpse of them, perhaps when I've managed to cut the rest of the grass and they don't have to bound over the clumps. :-)

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  24. Cute kittens! Someone or something has frightened the weather away in the UK!

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    1. Aren't they just, Sue. What ever has frightened your weather away hasn't sent it in our direction I can promise you. Cool, damp and windy continues to be the order of the day, though not as wet as you've had it at times.

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  25. I think you have done well to sneak in a post. Holidays are meant to be just that, and a holiday from the internet is often a good thing. Always reminds me of what life was like before it was around. Better in many respects - grumpy old person syndrome here.

    So enjoy the rest of your hols - or at least your summer in a different location - and don't worry about posting, commenting or even reading.

    What's interesting about looking rude is the difference between the internet and say, reading a book. Interacting on the internet looks like you are having a conversation with someone else (which you are I guess) that is excluding the other people in the room. I would find it frustrating if someone was faffing around on a keyboard and ignoring me :D

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    1. I snuck it in while MiL was upstairs, watching a DVD on DH's computer. I would never sit at my laptop, which is in the living-room, when she or anyone else is about, hence the snatched short periods of blogging when no-one is in the room. I found myself blogging much less last summer too, though the weather was better then and I was outside in the garden a lot of the time. With our current weather gardening is out of the question. Sigh...

      Still, I have jam to make, so that will take care of the morning....:-)

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  26. So, you won't have noticed that my blog disappeared then? I've had to reopen my old blog as I haven't been able to access the one you would pop in to visit. I also lost the link to this one and have spent days looking for you ....yay! I found you again and have 're-followed' you (if there is such a word). I felt like I'd lost a friend. I'm so glad to see you again.
    Sue (Maa)

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    1. I'm afraid not, Sue, though I'm sure I'd have noticed before long. My backlog of blogs to read is reaching epic proportions, but now my dear mother-in-law is safely home again, I should have more time to myself.

      Thanks so much for taking the trouble to track me down. I would have been so sorry to lose touch and have already been across to your blog and re-followed too. :-)

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  27. Dear Perpetua, I was going to e-mail you again, but I've got a mega problem with my server. Something's gone beserk with it since last weekend, and although BH has sorted part of it, and I can receive e-mails again, I can't send them. Grrrrr..... He's going to have another go, but as he hasn't been able to sort his (we're both affected) I doubt whether he'll get mine up and running again. Fortunately it's only e-mails that are affected, and I can still get on to Firefox (thank the Lord - it could have been disastrous with the on-line marking I'm doing!) Glad you had a good time with MIL - we had a great week last week with BH's daughters staying for his 80th. We joined together to get him a digital SLR camera, with which he was delighted. When I've finally finished the marking (& prepared a couple of services for this month, the Vicar being away!) I will try to get my blog going - I've promised Friko that I will, although she was a tad sceptical, I fear (she must have sussed my procrastinating propensities!!) LOL to you both.

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    1. Sorry to hear about the server problems, Helva. We too have been have some computer hiccups with a ot of deep scanning going on yesterday because of a very dodgy email someone sent us. All now seems to be OK thank goodness, except for the weather. :-( Still, we are counting ourselves very lucky, given the forecast today for the UK.

      I'm not sure summer is the best time for starting a blog, as even seasoned bloggers slack off then. Perhaps when the nights start to draw in properly....? :-)

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  28. I missed this! Those kittens are so cute!!!

    Hope the sun is still shining where you are :D

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    1. They are indeed, Annie which is why we're rather sad that they appear to have deserted us for greener fields at the farm next door. :-(

      The weather is nowhere near as bad here as you are all suffering in the UK, though it is far from summery nonetheless. I really don't expect to be wearing a vest and a fleece, as well as 2 other layers in July.....

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  29. Ah! I have finally caught up with you, Perpetua! And I see you are leading un bon vivant in France! *sigh*
    I sure miss my blogging.
    There's been a lot of crazy city-wide activity related to many teaching positions here in NYC, which is why I've been too busy to do my personal blogging!
    Those kitties are lucky to have so many good homes to visit...your home and the farm next door.
    See you later!

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    1. Good to see you, Nerima, and glad you've managed to find time at last for yourself. You've been missed. It's lovely to be back in Normandy, but life isn't quite as idyllic as you might imagine, thanks to all this cold, wet weather. It doesn't feel much like summer when one is stuck in the house in winter-weight clothing....

      Sadly even the kittens don't seem to want to venture across to us. We haven't seen them for a fortnight. Sigh.... Still, it does give us time to get on with some interior decoration. The bedrooms need painting. :-)

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    2. Ah! So you are still commenting (or at least you were a week ago) even if you aren't blogging. I was starting to think Normnady had been sawn off the rest of France and towed out to sea.

      We had a bid on the house last week, which we accepted, but it was then withdrawn. It's a long story but I won't clutter up a comment box with it. We are back in mid-Wales after ten days in deepest dampest Dorset. It was only warm enough to sit out in for about seven hours in all that time, but I used every single one of them!

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    3. Sorry to hear about the withdrawn bid, Baby Sis. So disappointing after having had your hopes raised. The housing market is just as bad, if not worse over here, with nice houses almost being given away.

      I had an email from DD a couple of nights ago, saying much the same thing about my silence. Somehow my brain has gone on strike or turned to mush with all the rain and I only seem to be able to respond to others' thoughts, rather than gathering my own. I think they call it blogger's block....:-)

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