Monday, August 25, 2014

Au revoir to Normandy

…for this year at least. The van is almost completely packed and I’m getting down to the final cleaning and tidying.  However, before the phone line is suspended, I just want to give you a few snapshots of this varied summer in France, with details to follow once we’re safely back in Wales.

It began with gardening 


and went on to involve making bread 


and jam (and, of course, socks).


It included a couple of fetes 


and a lot of awareness of the 70th anniversary of D-Day 
and the liberation of Normandy.


There were meals with friends and enjoyable chats with our French neighbours,
together with a gift of her lovely roses. 


There was some lovely sunny weather, but also rather a lot of rain.


And it wouldn’t have been a summer in Normandy without kittens in the woodshed 


and on the doorstep.


So until we’re unpacked and sorted out, I’ll say au revoir and leave you with the latest antics of Simon’s wonderful cat.



P.S. I’m afraid the dratted spammers seem to have latched onto my blog again, so until they give up and go away, I’ve reluctantly switched on word or number verification for the time being.

48 comments:

  1. Hello Perpetua,

    Oh, this is such a wistful post. Glimpses of summer with autumn already creeping in. Happy, carefree days with, also, a touch of sadness as to why you are leaving Normandy early this year.

    How wonderful your pots of jam look to be, all to be enjoyed in the lean months ahead. And, the kittens, well they are simply adorable. How they must miss you!

    Safe travelling and we await news of your arrival.

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    1. Thanks, Jane and Lance. Yes, I'm feeling rather wistful about the speed at which this summer has flown by and of course the reason for our early departure. But there has been much that has been highly enjoyable and we take the attitude that there is always next year.

      The jam is always delicious and the kittens adorable, but we've seen so little of the latter that they haven't had time to get used to our feeding them. If only they had appeared on the doorstep sooner...

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  2. Lovely memories, P! Bon voyage au Pays de Galles, & safe travelling - see you soon.

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    1. Thanks, Helva. It could be a lively crossing tomorrow, but at least the rain today hasn't been as bad as forecast. Safe journey to Bonnie Scotland and have a wonderful holiday.

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  3. Has it all gone as fast for you as it seems to me? It's lovely to see this round up here...lots of things achieved and some special memories too. Safe journey and looking forward to glimpses into yourlife in Wales. Axxx

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    1. We arrived nine weeks ago today, Annie and the time has simply raced by. Like you, I've not been very regular with blogging, but things usually get back to normal in the autumn. :) That said, this autumn will be particularly busy, but that's another story...

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  4. It seems only yesterday that you were arriving in Normandy! And how much you have packed into your time, even with decidedly unseasonable weather.
    Safe trip.

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    1. It's been just over two months this year, Helen, several weeks less than usual. I just don't know where the time has gone. But we've had fun and as always love being in this beautiful spot.

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  5. Thanks for sharing your Normandy summer with us, Perpetua. Safe travels back to Wales!

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    1. Thanks, Kristie. Glad you enjoyed it. Once we make it onto that ferry tomorrow morning, we'll relax and the rest will be easy. :)

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  6. Off already? Seems like it's been so short, but also full to the brim. Safe journey to Wales. :)

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    1. Than ks, Sarah. It's been a rather shorter visit than usual- just two months - but we've thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, as we always do here..

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  7. Safe ferry crossing and journey homewards Perpetua - I can't believe how quickly the summer is turning into autumn with berries, fruits and leaf change colours all showing themselves - it's not even September yet.

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    1. Thanks, Rosemary. We've certainly returned to real autumn weather - grey and chilly - and all the changes you mention.

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  8. Hari Om
    Evocative shots - look forward to the 'fill in'. Take care on the travels. YAM xx

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    1. Thanks, Yam. Now very tired after three days of travelling to and around the UK, but we made it to the funeral which is what matters.

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  9. Perpetua, I too feel that the summer has flown by and your stay this summer very short... but that's selfish of me as I love your pictures of the garden, the kitchen, the kittens, etc. and I will miss seeing more. However, there's always next summer. Have a wonderful safe trip home!

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    1. I'm glad you've enjoyed them, Rian. I plan to do at least one more-France-based post once we're properly settled-in again. Events overtook me, but I don't want to miss writing about what we did.

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  10. Safe Journey. It doesn't seem five minutes since you were in Scotland.

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    1. And now we're back it seems weeks since we were in France and not just 3 days! Time has a habit of collapsing in on itself, I think.

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  11. Your stay has just flashed by. However, as always you have filled your time with some lovely things....and clearly enjoyed yourselves. So sorry for the purpose of your early departure...but safe travels anyway. Looking forward to hearing from you again soon. Jx

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    1. Thanks, Janice. It was a lovely summer, despite the mixed weather, but went past far too quickly. Now home to very autumnal weather and very tired after so much travelling, but it was worth it.

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  12. Enjoyed the snaps of your summer. See you soon. Sorry about the spammers... :(

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    1. Thanks, Bonnie. I've more snaps to share once I’ve recovered from all the travelling. The spammers are a nuisance, but usually go away quite quickly, thank goodness.

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  13. Safe travel, Perpetua, and much thanks for sharing your time in Normandy so beautifully here. I know your early leave is for a sad reason, but, what a joy to have shared such a long friendship.

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    1. Thank you, Penny. i haven't quite finished sharing our time in France, once I've recovered from all the travelling. I'm so glad we were able to be back in time to say goodbye to my friend in a most beautiful service which was extremely well-attended.

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  14. Thanks for sharing - it all seems to have flown by.

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    1. Like a flash, Susan, but I'm glad you've enjoyed it.

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  15. Safe journey home Perpetua. The time has flown but memories last.
    Methinks the bathroom door should have been closed to keep the cat out. I would have liked to seen the 'bathers' face when she realised the watch was missing.

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    1. Thanks, Shirley. I don't know where those two months went.

      i quite agree that no-one with a cat should shower with the bathroom door open. A cat's capacity for causing chaos should never be underestimated. :-)

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  16. I hope the crossing today was not too rough & wishing you a safe onward journey to Mid-Wales.

    As always, Simon's Cat is wonderfully true to life. Šárek has a great attraction to toilet rolls meaning we now have to keep both bathroom/toilet doors closed or remember to put the toilet roll beyond his reach.

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    1. The crossing as a bit lively at times and we were late arriving in Portsmouth, but with a cabin to sleep in the time flew by and we finally reached home just before 8pm.

      Like you I love the accuracy of Simon Towler's observation of his cats' behaviour. we never had problems with toilet rolls, but found many a towel on the floor at times with cat hairs on top. :-)

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  17. It looks like you had a wonderful summer. I wish you safe travels back home.

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    1. We had a lovely, time, thanks, Jennifer, but are also glad to be safely back home in Wales.

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  18. Your lovely Normandy summers have become something I anticipate sharing in your blog every year! So sorry this one came to an end a bit early, but in this phase of life, our seasons are often interrupted for happy reasons and for sad ones. Hope you have a safe journey back and that the sweet memories of summer linger.

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    1. Thanks, Kathy. I know you've always appreciated my Normandy posts and the cats and I have a few more photos to share with you when I've recovered from all the travelling and emotion of this week. It's certainly not summer any longer here in Mid-Wales with the log-burner crackling away.

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  19. I really enjoyed looking at all your last pictures of Normandy. I hope you could take all your plums with you? Now when you have a nice cup of tea with toasts covered with your jam you will remember you summer days in Normandy.
    That cat Simon is too much – so mischievous, like all cats…. You need to relax once you get to your destination.

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed them, Vagabonde and I have a few more to share once we're properly settled back in Wales and have recovered from all this week's travelling. We've brought back some frozen plums and lots of delicious jam to give us the flavour of Normandy during the winter.

      As for Simon's Cat - every single cartoon is a joy to watch. :-)

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  20. Wonderful photos. It's always a bit sad when things come to an end. Have a safe journey home. Our weather here has definitely turned a bit Autumnal - log fires are now the order of the day.

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    1. Thanks, Molly. We arrived back in Wales safely on Tuesday evening, only to be travelling on Wednesday and Thursday to and from my friend's funeral near London. Now we're home again with the fire lit, gradually sorting ourselves out.

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  21. Dear Perpetua, I hope your trip home goes well--no unforeseen problems. Thanks so much for the Simon's Cat video. Having chuckling over it, I'm still wearing a big smile as I type these words. Take care. Peace.

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    1. Thanks, Dee. We arrived home safely on Tuesday evening, only to set off again next day to travel across the country to my friend's funeral. I'm now very tired but so glad we were able to be there.

      I tio loved the video - Simon's cat always makes me laugh. :-)

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  22. If you are back you’ll have experienced a cool and damp homecoming.
    I hope the journey was/is being? pleasant and it’s not been too much of a wrench dragging yourselves away from La Belle France.
    Welcome home and next week the weather is to be better. They promised.

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    1. Thanks, Friko. It's good to be home, despite the weather since our return. It's always a wrench to leave Normandy, but once we're back we slip back into life in Wales as though we've never been away. :-) I think they call it compartmentalisation.

      The weather in France has of course improved as soon as we left, so I do hope your forecast is right for us here.

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  23. You had a wonderful summer. I envy that you can get away like that.

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    1. We did indeed, Sally, and we're very aware how fortunate we are to be able to do this. It took a lot of saving and planning to make it possible.

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  24. How lovely, Perpetua. Each photo told a story and I enjoyed following along…I particularly love the beautiful loaf of bread. :-) I would have really enjoyed being in Normandy this past summer for both the WW II Commemorations and also just the beauty! I was sorry you had to cut your time short, but it looks to me like you fully enjoyed the time you were there. I hope you get the Spam situation taken care of…what bother!

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed it, Debra, and I'm sorry I didn't post more while I was actually in France. The summer just raced by this year and of course we came back early. Now of course we're so busy back home that it feels like we've never been away. :-)

      The spam seems to have eased off, so I've taken off the word verification. We'll see how things go...

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