tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53712102024-03-14T04:56:17.013+01:00Anji PatchworkMore of a scrapbook than a patchworkAnjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.comBlogger2084125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-57960123831185007782024-02-23T16:13:00.000+01:002024-02-23T16:13:37.853+01:00A special September<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiReMJG8za0YOqQXAGPvapJJ8Z15n2kh_34bOsJRBTOqaLlXrByVZn_CJe9RVJIG_BGJdgxWslO5oT1o-g7wnVlA6YuYWPVOXrvz1deTREuMjTUqVQ9K4M2gUwlAq4uBw0Dm56McxM5Yeb-EH19G4sZmVQVPFilCRILoGitlkU0mhxa3Rw6xp8fPg/s926/Olivier%20and%20Eva%202nd%20Sept%202023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="926" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiReMJG8za0YOqQXAGPvapJJ8Z15n2kh_34bOsJRBTOqaLlXrByVZn_CJe9RVJIG_BGJdgxWslO5oT1o-g7wnVlA6YuYWPVOXrvz1deTREuMjTUqVQ9K4M2gUwlAq4uBw0Dm56McxM5Yeb-EH19G4sZmVQVPFilCRILoGitlkU0mhxa3Rw6xp8fPg/s320/Olivier%20and%20Eva%202nd%20Sept%202023.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjbqBdn9LavA2rYNF8J5kO-d8QEsg3CTOYwDBX-R-EIwwyU6T5aw6B-lAnYI-w1yBK7RWkGtXWXAlzemE5Kxn83E-ur793q_DWVf4d3ADSvrIvzFwJ2agdF8dJSmsVf1gYgXDAq3ypP-UyN4rYInhxQVtx-yzfTSPQyxnre8_PEI0sQ4GO59kt8Q/s641/Olivier%20and%20Eva%20forest%202nd%20Sept%202023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="428" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjbqBdn9LavA2rYNF8J5kO-d8QEsg3CTOYwDBX-R-EIwwyU6T5aw6B-lAnYI-w1yBK7RWkGtXWXAlzemE5Kxn83E-ur793q_DWVf4d3ADSvrIvzFwJ2agdF8dJSmsVf1gYgXDAq3ypP-UyN4rYInhxQVtx-yzfTSPQyxnre8_PEI0sQ4GO59kt8Q/s320/Olivier%20and%20Eva%20forest%202nd%20Sept%202023.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVn4YMSNxRIgBmPGLj8RFuCRdspG-aBl7pvscSbbZy4MjrPJvGII3cDftMCSkZbHa8K_tWXtlxWbLsIgUbmg-zgUBD7Y72np7a0qKC5guewKliPwbttPAAaRZLiDVxLHDHRR_0E2zDEdVjOOVuNUA5B6Ub6u4gHKVq6HQEpiYQUQiD1flzZciUg/s645/my%20wedding%20clothes%202nd%20sept%202023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="258" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVn4YMSNxRIgBmPGLj8RFuCRdspG-aBl7pvscSbbZy4MjrPJvGII3cDftMCSkZbHa8K_tWXtlxWbLsIgUbmg-zgUBD7Y72np7a0qKC5guewKliPwbttPAAaRZLiDVxLHDHRR_0E2zDEdVjOOVuNUA5B6Ub6u4gHKVq6HQEpiYQUQiD1flzZciUg/s320/my%20wedding%20clothes%202nd%20sept%202023.jpg" width="128" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I even got to have my hair done on the day</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">At the beginning of September Olivier, our youngest, was
married. As his new wife is Czech they
were married in Czechia. The took over a
hotel in the middle of the Forest. It
was a magical place for a magical occasion.
Everything about the hotel was lovely; we could have stayed there a lot
longer than the two nights for the wedding.
The weather on the day was good too; sunny but not too hot.<o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">When we returned to France we arrived at Bordeaux airport to temperatures in the mid-30s. What a contrast!<o:p></o:p></p></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p></blockquote>Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-30845652491535902262023-08-10T15:30:00.002+02:002023-08-10T15:34:04.683+02:00Life goes on<p> Rob is now retired. It's taking a bit of getting used to as I like to do things at my own pace and he is always on the go. It's nice not to have to have weekends free to do things. Shopping is done on Thursday lunch times. He even has his share of the list to do. He always finishes his part first.</p><p>We've got a new printer with wifi, it makes me jump when it starts printing on its own.</p><p>At the beginning of September Olivier will be getting married in the Czech republic. Eva comes from the Eastern part of the country. We'll be staying two nights. I wonder what a Czech wedding will be like.</p>Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-78661835409571327292022-09-12T12:27:00.000+02:002022-09-12T12:27:06.241+02:00<p> Although the Queen was 96, we were still all very shocked to hear the news on Friday. I've been listening to the English radio, watching BBC news on TV, as well as following the French news channels and CNN. There have been so many stories of people meeting the Queen and her (sometimes wicked) sense of humour.</p><p><a href="https://anjipatchwork.blogspot.com/2011/03/queen-saw-me-in-my-knickers.html" target="_blank">Here's what I wrote </a>about the Queen and school uniforms. The event in the blog post happened around 1967/68.</p>Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-50131976992672134712022-06-29T16:31:00.001+02:002022-06-29T16:31:21.494+02:002022 continued<p> In my last post I wrote about Olivier's birthday being on 22nd February. I thought that it would be a special year for him. This week he moved to Zurich. He starts a new job on Friday ist July.</p><p>I will miss visiting him in Prague. I love Prague, hopefully we'll get back there one day. For the present we have a new country to explore! I love visiting my children.</p>Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-92154299106825194212022-02-20T09:50:00.001+01:002022-09-12T12:29:09.094+02:00Time for twenty twenty-two<p> For Christmas 2019 Olivier gave me a ‘few lines a day’ 5
year diary. The first entry I made on 1<sup>st</sup>
January was that 2020 had a good feel to it.
I was very wrong. This year,
2022, has a good feel to it too. I hope
that I’m right this time. Olivier’s birthday
is on the 22 February, so I’m hoping that this year will be extra special for
him.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In October I became officially retired in France and the
UK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve been agreeably surprised by my
pensions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I worked in the UK for 12
years before coming to France.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
celebrated with a long weekend in Bordeaux.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s very strange learning how to use my time not governed
by a work schedule.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve had to learn
not to feel guilty if I pick up a book in the middle of the morning and just
read! I seem to be so busy doing this and that, inside and outside of the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve also developed a taste for jigsaw
puzzles. At the moment I’m doing the official jigsaw puzzle of the Queen on her
25<sup>th</sup> anniversary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rob brought
it with him when we came to France 37 years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had never been opened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The queen is standing in front of a red
curtain background which is really difficult – makes a change from sky and sea
I suppose.<o:p></o:p></p>Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-12496252143383291332021-03-27T14:43:00.000+01:002021-03-27T14:43:27.585+01:00Taking care of the bees<p> This post also appears on my Facebook page:</p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Last year our Japanese pagoda tree flowered for the first
time and was alive with bees, bumble bees, different types of wasps and other
insects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did put out a bowl of water
which mainly attracted the local wasps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This morning, on Facebook, I saw a photo of a bowl of water and marbles
put out for bees (sorry, I don’t remember where).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea is that the bees can drink standing
on the marbles and are less likely to fall in and drown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I seem to remember being told long ago that
bees like shiny things, so in theory they will be drawn to the bowl of shiny
marbles.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After doing a little research online I’ve learnt that the
water should be changed regularly to prevent mosquitoes from breeding
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t add sugar or honey to the
water, not good for the bees.<o:p></o:p></p><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTYP_RCg6BgifW2ijtEpDHUD-_WZNEhOlXvVyDD8r-p1qEuer569VHkmzz4bHb1EussFS_mW_9XFLu4bfmxVXo9DkdQV58inLjVWueBODLpAMPnkbohNBHbjlbj7V9az0Vv5-iIg/s2048/IMG_20210327_141310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTYP_RCg6BgifW2ijtEpDHUD-_WZNEhOlXvVyDD8r-p1qEuer569VHkmzz4bHb1EussFS_mW_9XFLu4bfmxVXo9DkdQV58inLjVWueBODLpAMPnkbohNBHbjlbj7V9az0Vv5-iIg/s320/IMG_20210327_141310.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-18422737745140903862021-02-09T16:02:00.005+01:002021-02-09T16:02:41.256+01:00... and that was 2020<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Well what a year we have had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It started in January when my mum was taken
ill at my sister’s house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’d been
staying there for Christmas. She spent a few days in hospital and went back to
my sister’s as they thought she was recovering well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She died on 8<sup>th</sup> January.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My sister and I both agreed that we were glad
she hadn’t died at home all alone, although she has good neighbours who would
have acted if she didn’t show signs of being up and about. We had to wait until
February for the funeral as the coroner had a backlog – nothing to do with
covid yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our flight to the UK, for the funeral, was delayed by 5
hours because of high winds but we managed to take off eventually. It was windy
in the UK too and there were lots of people milling around the airport as
flights were on hold or cancelled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
nephew and his girlfriend were on the record breaking flight from the US –
blown over the Atlantic by the strong winds!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rob was told not to go into work mid-March.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We decided to treat him being home as a rehearsal
for retirement. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rehearsal went very
well. We got plenty of jobs done around the house and garden and as the weather
was good we sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In May there was a bad storm and the drain couldn’t cope so
eventually the steps down to the back door flooded and came into the
house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At 1.30 am I was madly mopping up
water while Rob tried to bail the water away in the garden in the pouring
rain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After I’d finished that, I tidied
up and slipped on a step inside the house and cracked a rib.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was quite painful for several weeks.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rob eventually went back into work for the summer, but for
shorter hours and then a four day week as we went into another lock down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lockdowns involved filling out a form every time
we left the house in case we were stopped by the gendarmes. At the moment he
goes into work once a week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re free
to go where we want, but being older now we like to know that there is a café open
so that we can have a coffee and use the toilets. All cafes and restaurants are
closed at the moment, except for take away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The curfew is from 6 pm to 6 am, which is okay at the moment as the sun
sets just after 6, as the days draw out we’re going to miss our evening walks
by the river.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We managed to visit Dom and J-M and the girls in September
for my birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was very strange,
everywhere in Lille seemed so quiet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
didn’t go shopping in the town centre like we usually do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We visited Ikea and it was so quiet – very unusual.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At the end of 2019 there was no way that anyone would have
imagined how life would change for everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We’re fortunate as all of our relatives and friends have been safe and
sound. I hope that yours have been too.<o:p></o:p></p>Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-16254023772268820702019-07-15T10:11:00.000+02:002019-07-15T10:11:45.289+02:00To and from Russia with loveDominique has been invited to speak at a conference in Moscow in the autumn. She’s had a bit of paperwork to fill in as you can imagine. She needed to know the exact dates of her last visit to Russia. It was a school trip back in 2004. I received a message asking if I knew the dates (I don’t even know what day it is most of the time). Fortunately, I remembered blogging about the trip, so I told her to look it up. As it happens, I had blogged about taking her to the bus at the start of the trip and I blogged about collecting her at the end. I was really pleased that I could be of help.<br />
<br />
If she’d have asked for dates from the last couple of years I’d have been no help at all.
Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-88850707436842775452019-01-15T15:25:00.001+01:002019-01-15T15:25:52.959+01:00The best laid plans...Don’t always come off as they should. Rob came home from work with a nasty cough one day just before Christmas. By Christmas Eve we both had dreadful colds and felt quite ill. We managed to have a traditional Christmas dinner but didn’t feel much like eating and we forgot to finish opening the presents! Fortunately, Santa brought us some interesting DVDs, which we sort of watched/slept through.<br />
<br />
Three weeks later we still have bouts of coughing. We were looking forward to Christmas in our new home so much.
I took down the tree today, always a little sad, but the sun is shining and the evenings are slowly drawing out again. There are some little sprouts showing on the lawn, could they be the crocus bulbs I planted or a surprise left by the previous owners?Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-3956833055966796362018-12-03T17:22:00.000+01:002018-12-03T17:22:41.592+01:00Moving onWe moved house on my birthday in September. We were sad to leave the village where we had been living for the last 7 years, but it was time to move on. The stairs were more and more difficult for me. <br />
We have changed village, department and region as we now live in the Vendée department.<br />
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A new garden</div>
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Christian helped us with the decorating, he is a slave driver, but has such a good eye and lots of ideas. After cleaning up and decorating the new house, packing up to move and cleaning up the old house I was exhausted. I lost a bit of weight too
The new house is not your typical house, I call it quirky. There are some steps and stairs but they are in small groups and not as deep, so I manage them quite easily.<br />
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The bathroom needed a change of colour! </div>
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Kitchen now comes with matching husband</div>
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I'm really pleased with what Christian helped us to do with the mezzanine, which doubles as a spare bedroom</div>
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Cosy living room</div>
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The corridor is wide enough to take a sofa bed. This is now the grand-children's area with games and books (for when they are old enough). It's really cosy and I like to snuggle up there with a book myself.</div>
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We have a slightly bigger garden and a terrace facing south which is closed in on 3 sides so we have plenty of privacy. I have a cherry tree and a fig tree.
Our new village is lovely, although very different. We are close to two rivers and canals and on a slope which used to be a vineyard. There is a vine in the garden so I’ve been reading up on how to prune it properly. We’ve been told that the grapes aren’t very good to eat, so who knows, we might make some wine!
Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-68191502878967850542018-11-04T12:57:00.000+01:002018-11-04T12:57:59.675+01:00Travelling and a growing familyI never thought that I would take a pause from blogging for such a long time. Since we visited Prague we haven’t stopped. We were mainly visiting towns throughout the west of France and after that, a couple of trips to England.<br />
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I really don't remember where this tree was</div>
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What happens when you run around the park without your shoes</div>
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A seashell penguin</div>
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Bridge we travelled over in Brittany</div>
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The trip we made to the UK in April was really special as we met our month old twin granddaughters! Dom never does things by halves. They are non-identical, I‘m sad that we can’t see more of them, but we get to see lots of photos and sometimes a video. Dom and J-M, Lise and Sofia moved back to France at the end of August. Unfortunately it’s more complicated to visit them and the girls than it was when they lived in the UK.<br />
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Their parents don’t want pictures of them on the internet so I can’t share with you how beautiful they are.<br />
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Like a lot of places we had a long, hot summer, excellent for hollyhocks.</div>
Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-56215042096952593922017-10-21T15:46:00.001+02:002017-10-21T15:46:31.129+02:00Prague at the end of SeptemberThis year my birthday started early as we had trains and planes to catch. We went off to Prague to spend a few days with Oliver.<br />
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Petrin Hill</div>
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There was so much to see. We spent a lot of time out of doors – the weather was really good to us. There are a lot of parks to visit that are not only beautiful but give you wonderful views of the town. We are walkers in our family so we spent a lot of time walking. We tried to avoid the very touristy areas – you wouldn’t believe how many people can squash onto the Charles bridge. We went early in the morning when there were fewer people.<br />
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Charles Bridge</div>
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Olivier also took us to the shopping centres; there are several and well worth a visit, though clothes are often the same price as the rest of Europe.
Food is important of course when you visit a foreign country. Restaurants are cheaper, but the quality and quantity of food served it very, very good. We also drank locally brewed beer which was excellent.<br />
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John Lennon Wall</div>
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The dancing House</div>
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The Time Machine!</div>
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View from the top of the Czech Monument</div>
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I didn’t want to come home. We saw a lot more than if we’d have gone there on our own. Olivier was a good guide and of course knows the kind of places we like to visit and see. There’s still lots left over for next time!<br />
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Even drain covers can be interesting!</div>
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Staircase</div>
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The famous clock</div>
Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-55029565401483374832017-09-21T17:24:00.000+02:002017-09-21T17:24:16.370+02:00Visiting our childrenLast week we flew to the UK and visited two of our children. First were Christian and partner. They’ve not long moved into a lovely house in a tiny village. Think Agatha Raisin or Midsomer Murders, a really charming place. I’m hoping that they don’t get murdered.<br />
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We also visited a super shopping centre in Sheffield and the city of York while we were at that end of the country. After being used to the French country side around here, everything seemed to be so green and the trees so big!<br />
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Moving further south into the Midlands we took my mum out to lunch and I presented her with a signed copy of my book! After that we spend a day visiting Hay-on –Wye via Ross-on-Wye, Christian joined us on this trip. Hay-on-Wye is very, very famous for books. We visited <a href="https://anjipatchwork.blogspot.fr/search?q=hay-on-wye" target="_blank">back in 2004 </a>when the children were small. Funnily enough, I am the book lover and was the only one who didn’t buy a book on this trip.<br />
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We finished the day eating at a restaurant which is special to our family. Rob ate there with his parents when he was a child. The first time I met his mother and step father we had a meal there and the last time Christian took his grandma out was to eat there too. It’s a very special place for us all.<br />
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On the last day we spent the afternoon with Dom. It was nice to catch up with her. We went to visit the <a href="http://www.bethchatto.co.uk/" target="_blank">Beth Chatto Gardens </a>near Colchester. Well worth a visit; you must look at the lovely pictures on the website. Topped off with a cream tea! To walk the tea off Dom wanted to show us Brightlingsea Beach and all of the lovely bathing huts. The tide was out, but it was a very interesting walk.<br />
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Next week we’ll be in Prague. I’m looking forward to seeing Olivier of course and there is that beautiful City to see and explore.
Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-72018659576632326372017-09-06T17:03:00.001+02:002017-09-06T17:03:42.513+02:00Visiting Monet's garden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Even in the rain the garden is beautiful! It really is a lovely place to visit, unfortunately the rest of the world thinks so too. There really were a lot of people. The village of Giverny is very beautiful and interesting to look around. I'd like to go back at other times of the year just to see the different flowersAnjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-34351350488927809082017-08-21T17:42:00.000+02:002017-08-21T17:42:18.801+02:00A few days away<br />
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We had a few days away last week. We based ourselves in Cognac which is a lovely old town famous for the drink of the same name. The old part of the town is beautiful and very interesting. François 1 was born in Cognac in 1494.
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We also visited Angoulême, another old town which is famous for its International Comics Festival. Indeed, there are many surprise illustrations on buildings around the town! As well as this statue.<br />
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Yesterday on the way home we visited Jarnac which is famous for being the birthplace of the late President François Mitterrand. If you like walking by the river this is the town. Absolutely beautiful!<br />
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All three towns are on the River Charente.Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-79795359468654908382017-08-09T14:36:00.000+02:002017-08-09T14:36:28.314+02:00Who'd have thought it?In the last week I’ve helped my husband change the Siamp valve/membrane (I don’t really know what it is called in English)in the toilet. I got the toilet flushing again.<br />
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I took off the old doorbell and replaced it with a new one that works. I’ve put new plugs complete with chains in the kitchen sinks.<br />
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Next up, retouching some woodwork where the doorways have got scratched by the vacuum cleaner etc.<br />
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I go on to youtube and see how to do things. Strange to say, I prefer the short silent clips to the ones where they go on and on about how they can save you money by showing you how to do things...Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-51924545571193663712017-07-02T16:42:00.001+02:002017-07-02T16:42:18.772+02:00Long time no postOoops, I didn’t see the time fly at all. An occupational hazard of getting older perhaps?<br />
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Recent highlights include very, very hot weather which has now turned into cold and damp.<br />
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Dom came to stay for one night as she had a conference in Poitiers. We do appreciate the extra travelling she did to be with us for a few hours. While she was here she rescued a baby hedgehog that was determined to walk in the middle of the road and a stag beetle that had managed to turn onto his back and couldn’t right himself. She also brought chocolate from England and some delicious Madelines from Poitiers.
Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-23649812020154668432017-05-07T15:39:00.000+02:002017-05-07T15:39:10.521+02:00Aqua Manda!I remember the spicy orange smell of the bath oil when I was in my early teens. It was our greatest wish for birthday and Christmas presents.<br />
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Just thinking of the name, Aqua Manda, transports me back to those years when my biggest problems were how to kiss and how to get a boyfriend to kiss. Discos and school and for some reason it’s always winter term in my memories. Perhaps I’d used up the Christmas supply by the spring?<br />
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I looked the perfume up a few years ago and found gift sets on eBay which had been carefully put by from the 60s and 70s. The sellers couldn’t guarantee the state of the product if opened.<br />
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I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while and guess what? Aqua Manda and Aqua Citra are back on the market, reintroduced in 2013!! I was looking for pictures and information and was very pleasantly surprised. I remember having some Aqua Citra, but I don’t remember the smell at all. I wonder how it would smell on me today, almost 50 years later.<br />
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I wanted to put a picture here, but don’t want to break the copy write rules so here is<a href="http://www.aquamandaperfume.com/" target="_blank"> a link to the website</a>.<br />
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Later, when I started work, I bought myself a bottle of Meadowsong perfume which smelled of freshly mown grass. I didn’t use it for long as I had a boyfriend (yes; I had found one by then) who suffered from hay fever and the smell was too much for him.<br />
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If this post has sent you on a trip down memory lane please leave a comment. I'd love to read what you have to say.Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-54015685667194830042017-05-03T17:07:00.001+02:002017-05-03T17:07:56.671+02:00A good year for Marigolds?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here I am typing away on the 3rd May wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt, roll neck sweater and long cardigan. Who would have thought it would be so cold? Even the sunny days have been spoilt by wind coming from Siberia.<br />
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It appears to be a good year for Marigolds as you can see. Last year I don’t remember them flowering at all.<br />
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Good news today; Dom is coming over to give a talk in Poitiers and can sneak in an overnight stay in the middle of June. It will be our 32nd wedding anniversary when she is here!<br />
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Olivier is still in Prague. We haven’t really heard much from him, so it must be assumed that he is happy there. I’ve had the occasional picture via WhatsApp at weekends so he’s seeing some interesting places.Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-70050616217713673932017-03-11T16:54:00.001+01:002017-03-11T16:54:56.646+01:00Violets and a special catYet another month goes by without me posting anything here. It seems to have been an ongoing theme here for a while.<br />
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Olivier is still in Prague – I think that all is well with him. He’s sent me pictures of impressive views, An Ice Hockey match and a ski slope. Oh yes; and he visited the British Embassy. He’s a real networker, I have a picture of him with the ex minister of education from a couple of years ago.<br />
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This week we’ve had some real spring sunshine. I spent around 45 minutes in the garden this afternoon, weeding. Everything is growing at a fast rate now, the birds are singing, it is lovely. We go for a walk when Rob arrives home in the evening and it is still light when we get back!<br />
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These violets appeared in February and now the lawn is sprinkled with them too. </div>
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This ball of fluff is the cat that lives at a local café. He/she appeared there a year or so ago, thin and bedraggled and in need of a good home. Guess who always bags the best seat in the warm sunshine!
Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-8191932814913804092017-02-15T15:43:00.000+01:002017-02-15T15:43:22.532+01:00The Summer of 1970... and other stories. Is now available in paperback, published on Amazon! It took me a couple of days to work out how to make a cover and line up the text neatly within the margins. Look for my full name; <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/by-Angela-knutsen/e/B0183J3M8G" target="_blank">Angela Knutsen</a> , on Amazon to find the book and other titles available for Kindle for the time being.Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-9876930525808856452017-02-03T14:51:00.001+01:002017-02-03T14:51:19.148+01:00Red Alert!Rob just contacted me to let me know that we have a red alert weather warning. Very high winds are forecast. I've closed all of the shutters and locked the gate. fingers crossed...Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-51252277460432215732017-02-02T15:59:00.000+01:002017-02-02T15:59:33.333+01:00January ends...Last week we were in the UK. I’d forgotten how cold it could be.
Our stay started with Dom’s confirmation in her village church. We met the Bishop who knew the village where Rob grew up, so if was very easy to chat with him.<br />
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Photobombed by the Bishop!</div>
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It was very sad to have to attend a funeral, but we met up with some of Rob’s family that we haven’t seen in years. I’m sure that Rob’s mother would have been pleased to see us all together.<br />
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We also got to stay with our two children in the UK. It’s always lovely to spend time with them. The week went very quickly.<br />
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We were met at the airport by Olivier who also prepared lunch for us! I think he was preparing me for the shock of all of the things he’s storing in the loft. He’s finished his banking job and last Sunday set off for Prague where he has a new Job. Yesterday was his first day of work; I sent him a text asking him how it went , the reply came back ‘great’. That’s all I need to know.
Perhaps this year we will be off to Prague for a few days – fingers crossed.
Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-17646016390614059912017-01-15T15:55:00.000+01:002017-01-15T15:55:09.931+01:002017 seems to be seeping in tooChristmas and New Year sort of slipped by a little too quickly – they get faster every year. Happy New Year to anyone who reads this; I hope that 2017 is a good one for you.<br />
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We had a quiet Christmas: Olivier came home for a few days and then went off to spend New Year with friends.<br />
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The good news is that Olivier will be starting a new job in February – in Prague! As his mum I am a little sad that he is moving so far away, though I’m really looking forward to going to visit him in his new country! All of this has brought back lots of memories of when Rob and I gave up our banking jobs and moved to France, 32 years ago.<br />
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We had sad news at the beginning of the year; Rob’s mother died at the age of 94. She had been more or less asleep since mid December, so it didn’t come as a shock, it’s still upsetting just the same.<br />
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I only wrote 21 new posts for this blog last year. Hopefully I’ll do better this year. The best year was 2005 with 336 posts – almost 1 a day!
Anjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371210.post-73988407275371125112016-12-19T14:38:00.002+01:002016-12-19T14:52:07.225+01:00My new book has arrived!I'm very pleased to announce the arrival of my third book, 'Beausejour'. It’s available for Kindle on Amazon. I’m not putting a link directly for my book here as it won’t work in all countries. The best is to go to Amazon and search for my name in the Kindle Store.<br />
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If you're interested you can visit my page at <a href="https://amazon.com/author/anjiknut" target="_blank">Author Central</a>.
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