Oh well, off to cut the grass before that really does becomes a crisis.

It's the beginning of another week and we still have no significant rain so the weekend was endless watering and tending. I needed to have a quiet day yesterday as the events of the past year have knocked me over and in the words of a friend (when sharing a gin and tonic in Antigua a few years back) , there is always trouble in paradise. A change in life style does not eradicate the pain and anguish of separation and loss and with the year up for our Australian Pearse family, the settling down of our Candian Joiner family and no news from Southampton it all got too much for me, so a distracted morning at a vide grenier was put on the schedule. In fact there were eight to choose from so we were able to do a round robin of three and still managed to avoid the D-Day hot spots.

Mike works a little every day on the window, Michael the builder popped in with a plank of wood he had for sale and as we are always in need of good wood we paid up and shared a cup of tea in our new court yard garden. Michael was adequately impressed with our progress, he is a good and genuine bloke and we are pleased to have made his acquaintance. All the plants in the herb bed ( which is actually an iron bed stead ) are doing fantastically well and the beds I planted during the window build have taken and we now await with anticipation the Lavateria and Poached Egg plants to flower. Mike is keen to instal a light in the court yard so that we can sit and watch the bats, it also makes that area an integral part of the lounge at night.

HOSS is troubling me with the sores on his back and I feel that a trip to the vet is going to be required if I can't crack the cycle of chew, lick, sore. He is waring an upside down lamp shade all day and all night, I feel so sorry for him and he feels sorry for himself.

No sightings of baby OZ and I found Mum eating her way through a rabbit this morning so no love lost there then. I should learn from her and just get on with life but chewing through a rabbit and 7:30 in the morning is most definitely off the agenda.

The Poly tunnel hit a staggering 92 degrees on Saturday, I don't understand how we are not harvesting cooked crops but all seems in control. I cut salad leaves and radish everyday and we will take courgettes for tonight, We have gone over board with melon this year after our success last season, I can eat a melon a day so there is little chance of wastage. The Strawberries are in full swing and a few meringues bought at our favourite baker in St Marie du Mont allowed us to delight in a truly wonderful Eaton's mess.

I here from Mum that Marc and Lucy's wedding went well and perhaps not being able to attend a traditional family wedding added to the 'crisis in paradise'...oh well, off to cut the grass before that really does becomes a crisis.

a little trip out to see the jeeps at the beach will do the job for us.

I can't believe a week has passed and I have spent next to no time at my PC, I have however been making great progress on my crochet blanket for the boat, watered the garden, sewn a plot of barley, picked strawberries and mowed the grass. I knew I was behind in my chores when I sat here yesterday and realised that I had not done any accounts for May not even set up the spread sheet, and I have not done a journal for May either. I write down every last Euro we spend to keep tabs on how we are doing and every month I realise we are on borrowed time here as we spend more than our income but it is all capital expenditure and everything that is over budget is to improve on our investment so we carry on and enjoy the ride.

We went up to Cherbourg on Wednesday and met up with John and Linda on their way back to Blighty after a three week sail around the channel islands. Moules and frites at Port Flamands sounds like it will become a regular event for us and we were keen to share the experience again. We slept on Beema giving HOSS the opportunity to prove he is still willing crew and all went well, Mike has had a fearsome headache these past few days so we decided to head on home and enjoy the weather in Brevands....there was no wind, so we couldn't have gone out to get the sails up anyway. We called Tellina on channel 16 to wish them safe passage, they left at five in the morning and I can no longer get up that early without a crisis to handle.

Before we left the marina we went into the chandlers to order a new water filter. Mike had been in on his own a couple of day before and showed the guys the item he wanted to purchase out of the catalogue but the straight answer was.. NON. I could not understand why they had not offered to order the item, we are regular customers and Mike did try his best French on them so I had to go and politely ask the boss man to order the filter then asked him why he had not ordered it when Mike was here two days ago. He looked very sheepishly at me and apologised that he had been a little busy, but we have decided after this event we will use the other chandlers who go out of their way to speak English to the point that it becomes a free English lesson, but I'm actually OK with that and at least Mike gets what he wants and not what I think he wants.

My baby cat Oz is still out on walk about and we now feel that she is a gonna, I am wandering around the field hoping that she will come bouncing across the field to see me but I must now believe she is gone, I am very sad and the emotional mix that I am going through has me on a bit of a downer despite the fantastic growth in the garden and the beautiful weather.

Mike is going hammer and tongs on the window and we have a completed installation, even the back step is finished and now we are attacking the room itself. We wanted to keep one wall of the original wall paper because it is expensive and quite lovely, but not on the scale that our previous owners used it, one wall with suffice and the room will then remain loyal to it's original design and we will have shed light on our new and fabulously bright new design.

It is D day tomorrow and we both feel we have done the celebrations before so a little trip out to see the jeeps at the beach will do the job for us.

Marc and Lucy marry today and we wish them well with loads of happiness and joy.

The invoice requesting payment by cheque in your grubby little hands.

I woke up this morning with a deep sense of foreboding. Today was the last day to get our tax return in and I was ill prepared and now in a state of shock. We had to wait for Mike's P60 to come from the UK and when it did I was not in an ambidextrous state of mind and played ostriches hoping the form would fill itself and the nasty French tax man would go away but we were now up against it so I had to make that call putting on my worst English accent to plead for help. There was nothing for it but to skip breakfast and try to get first in the queue as I presumed we would not be the only inadequate imbeciles needing help. As we drove up I could see a steady stream of people traipsing in and out of the tax office and feared the worst that we would be there all day. To my astonishment we were second in the queue, and at our turn we were gently smiled at and referred to the personal touch department, where we were welcomed with open arms and handshakes, our details checked and cross referenced on the computer, the p60's checked and amounts calculated into euros then there were more friendly smiles hand shakes and the sincere wish that we had a rest of a good day. I have no idea why I should have thought our tax return would have been a problem, I recollect last year was just as lovely and cuddly an experience, so role on next year but I promise not to leave it so, last minute.

We seem to have lost a cat, our baby who celebrates her first birthday tomorrow is nowhere to be seen and Genevievre who came to see to the hens while we were away commented she had only seen one cat. I am sad and upset and have walked around the field several times pretending to walk HOSS but really looking out for my little poppet, let's hope she's just gone walk about.

A couple of months ago I got a fast flowing phone call from Orange to say that I would save money if I put my France Telecom phone with them. Save money ...that sounds good, so I went through the ordeal of contracts and direct debit forms and all the bureaucracy that accompanies any change here. I was therefore confused when an invoice came last week inviting me to pay by cheque before the 27th May despite the fact that it only arrived on the 26th. However the point is that I filled in a direct debit form and needed to check that a direct debit was in force. It took three phone calls and when I did get through sure enough there was an agreement set up and I was advised not to pay by cheque as the money would be taken from our bank account. The reason for this story is that last year my Butagaz bill of one thousand euros came in the form of an invoice which also invited me to pay by cheque, I thought I had a direct debit set up with Butagaz but guessed it had run out and dutifully sent a large and expensive cheque by return post. I did my accounts a week later and found I was one thousand euros adrift, not only had Butagaz taken the amount through the direct debit which I thought was defunct but they also cashed the cheque and it took me three weeks to get my grand back into the bank. The moral of the story once again is, to be french you have to practise your telepathy, and know that your direct debit is live despite the invoice requesting payment by cheque in your grubby little hands.

We will pick them young, tender and cute looking and not wait until they are marrow size and ugly.

We have taken 5 days away from our to do list here at Brevands to adopt another to do list for the boat. We took my Mum to Cherbourg for her journey home and met John off the midday fast cat on Tuesday to escort her back. we drove out to Port Flamands where we have discovered a French version of the Beach Watch Cafe at Bembridge on the IOW. In a beach side shack we eat muscles and chips knocked back with a beer and finished off with an ice cream, it was fantastic. Mike and I were very tired and I was aware that we were not great company but a few days on the boat was designed to give us a change of atmosphere and routine and by heavens it has. In the past taking any time out has been an arduous mission, afraid of leaving our investment home alone, we have however calmed down or confedenced up and with all the systems we have in place leaving for a few days is so much easier. We left HOSS in the kennel and applied ourselves to get Beema ship shape and sea worthy for leisurely sails and holiday accommodation. Together we went through every locker and cupboard and filled the car up with all the trash collected over years of new season starts and shake downs. We have equipped our Cherbourg second home with a microwave and being a thoroughly modern milly I really enjoyed having a little cooking luxury on board at the expense of the marina. When I cook on gas we pay, but if I cook electric it is all part of the mooring contract, so guess where Mike's next meal is coming from.........from deep within the microwave.

We collected HOSS and took him to the boat for a day and night, determined to make him an ol'sea dog. He had a better time at Animolidays kennels this time. The french staff speak English with him and by the way the owner said her goodbyes to him I think he has becme a bit of a star, or could it be that I had just pre booked 5 days in June. That will be our last chance to be doggie less as kennels are full for July and August and I'm convinced you need to know the secret handshake or at least be a thoroughbred French family to get in at peak times, no worries for us though, our Doggie on board trial was a total success and HOSS was jumping on and off the boat and complained less and less about the 4 foot drop into the cabin. Mikes step invention worked well and needs one alteration after having spent time observing HOSS apply himself to the challenge, but he did look at me a little wide eyed this morning as a 4 foot drop is a 4 foot leap upwards, and very annoying, when you are busting for a wee.

The other most astounding event that happened in the 5 days we were away was that it rained and the garden took triffid proportion leaps in the growing stakes. I just wandered around the garden and poly tunnel with my jaw scraping the floor. All my planting is strong and purposeful and I even picked some salad leaves, radish and strawberrys for supper tonight. Oh, and be warned anyone hoping to visit...the courgettes are up and tomorrow I will pick the first baby veg. Now that I understand how fantastically prolific this crop is we will pick them young, tender and cute looking, and not wait until they are marrow size and ugly.

How very European and jolly hockey sticks.

John and Lorna came by on their way back from a 3 week trip in their camper and it was good to see them. Brother John visited us when we moved in three years ago and stopped for a few hours last year I felt he and Lorna were excited at our progress and what we are achieving. I have mentioned before that having an audience is very appreciated, perhaps we are more the performer than we ever imagined, and having people here to discuss our plans is always fun and satisfying. We managed to eat outside again on Friday but as soon as the sun started to lower I could see that Mum was feeling the chill and we decanted indoors for coffee and tart naturelle, with creme fraiche, which John insisted was only for cooking but is the only thick cream we can buy to dollop onto our deserts. We pay homage to double fresh cream only found in the UK every time we open a jar of creme fraiche.

We had afternoon tea at the Somer's manoir yesterday. There was a wicked chill in the air which is seasonally acceptable for May but both Sarah and I felt a need to wrap Mum up in a windless corner so she could watch us play croquet which we all confessed to being an expert 25 years ago but without a stable knowledge of the rules played a sedate and friendly game until Peter and Mike decided that we were not playing by the rules and after a review of the 'how to play book' it all became tactical, malicious and aggressive, and much more enjoyable. For one glorious afternoon in May, we were in a french garden listening to french church bells eating scones with jam and cream ( creme Fraiche) drinking tea and paying croquet, how very European and jolly hockey sticks.

The offer of help from mum and baby kitty cats just made his day

Mike finally got around to mowing the grass yesterday, without any sight of rain the ground is hard and the grass is starting to show signs of stress, which in May is a little alarming but at least we are not having to panic to keep up with the growth. Mike is on a short fuse so I got onto the lawn boy and whizzed around the trees for as long as I could to help out, we had company invited for aperitifs and I really needed to be sat in a relaxed state before they arrived or there is a worry that they would feel they were intruding despite the fact that they are invited...all part of the French Culture...be prepared. Unfortunately HOSS had left a few parcels on the lawn that I had missed and Mike's utter revulsion to doggie poo just sent him into a rage and HOSS is now banned from the field until he learns to poo in his bags or I am with him to pick it up. I actually agree that HOSS should not have a free range of the garden unattended as he is a bit obsessive and scratches at the lawn and does a jolly good job of scarifying even when it is not required, so new regime, HOSS stays on the drive until we walk the field and that will make me get out to possitivley walk the talk of doggie ownership and organise HOSS's outings. We are watering the crops daily and the poly tunnel is dry and hot, no complaints there as the tomato, melon and courgettes look good and healthy.

Our cats left us three lovely prezzies this week in the form of moles caught fresh and active from the field. To any gardener the mole in all it's innocent and cute aspects is a pest and nuisance. Mike has waged battle on the colonies in our gardens for 4 years now so the offer of help from mum and baby kitty cats just made his day

We all found ourselves around the table with a bottle of cider in the bat of an eye lid.

Although there is still a chill in the air I am thankful that we have not had the frosts the UK have experienced these past few days and nothing in the garden is lost, so moving south albeit to foreign shores has it's advantages....not to mention the cheaper wine and easy life style which today nearly back fired on us. We were busy building the back step and Mike had the shuttering measured and squared up to give a bit of a water fall and all that kind of technical stuff. I was pottering around site when I heard the comforting sound of the cement mixer announcing the next phase and I attended just to be there to hand over tools clear floor space and just generally act as apprentice. At 11:30 Mike decided he was short of sand and the panic then set in as to whether we could get all the cars moved the trailer dragged out of the garage, hooked up and on the road in time to beat the the deadly midday shut down. We were both beside ourselves as a Renault four driven by a geriatric looking for somewhere to eat poodled and hesitated through the village and by the time we reached point P , our most disliked builders merchant it was dead on twelve o'clock. There was no way I was going to be turfed out so I said in a very loud voice...because I was being ignored so close to lunch shutdown...J'ai un grand urgence.....the three cashiers and the warehouse man all stood there waiting for the magical moment of shutters down, stopped in their tracks and to my utter amazement asked me what I needed, I babbled that I must have sand and cement or they die and before the invoice was printed and the card thrown through the pay machine Mike was being loaded with sand and cement. It was the fasted and most efficient service we have ever experienced and wonder if this is the secret french way to get things done, turn up on the cusp of lunch time. So despite a nail biting, speeding with a trailer trip into town, we had a momentous mission accomplished and the step was complete and ready to cure before lunch. My Mum quietly prepared the lunch table not knowing just how long this finishing process might take but we all found ourselves around the table with a bottle of cider in the bat of an eye lid.