Every cloud has a silver lining ...

Yesterday morning we travelled to Birmingham to look for a bathroom cabinet for our newly refurbished bathroom, and to pick up a new lens for the camera. We didn’t have any luck with the cabinet, although in hindsight the city centre probably wasn’t the right place to go. We did get lucky with the lens - a good price, with some extras thrown in – or so we thought!

On our way home we decided to take a route via the new John (never knowingly undersold) Lewis which has recently opened in Tamworth. I love JL and could browse for hours! Again no luck with the cabinet, but we did pick out a voile panel and a couple of café curtain poles to dress the velux window in the bathroom.

I’m very disappointed that when I find one of those special bubbly de-corkers that Jean wrote about a few weeks ago, Tim thinks it’s another unnecessary gadget. Surprisingly I listen, and meekly put it back. So now I’ll have to make another journey back to JL to buy it!!

The difficulty with the bathroom cabinet is due to the sloping ceiling where the cabinet will be sited, over the sink. It needs to be the correct size, with a mirror and light. I would also like it to be made from oak. I have scoured the shops, and the internet, and can’t find anything that matches our requirements.

We arrive home, and after a late lunch get ready for a long walk to try out the lens. The lens in the bag isn’t the one we bought - something to do with image stabilisation! We quickly ring the shop, who firstly can find no record of us buying the lens, but then agree to get the lens sent, at their expense, to our local shop. They are also persuaded (aka arm twisted) to give us £25 vouchers ‘for our trouble’.

Last night we try for hours, unsuccessfully, to get our LoveFilm subscription to stream through Tom’s PS3. We kept being told that our user name or password were incorrect. Of course they were correct, but we gave up and watched Casualty instead. Another exciting Saturday evening!

This morning Tim put up the curtain rails and we find that the voile panel isn’t the correct length…

Still, every cloud has a silver lining. When I change the voile panel I can pick up a bubbly de-corker or two at the same time!

STOP PRESS - Jean's gadget is different, and probably better, so I'll wait until I can find one. Isn't it lucky that I allowed Tim to persuade me not to buy it ....

Hope it tastes better than it looks ....

Rhiannon reached the ripe old age of 26 yesterday, and I've just worked out that in three years time she will be half my age!

Rhiannon and Tom together in August

While Rhiannon partied with her friends, we were invited to a delicious supper with our friends John and Maureen,  back in the UK for the winter. We celebrated Rhiannon's birthday, at a distance, with glass or two of sparkles. Tom, in Boulder, raised a glass of Keystone Light.

Rhiannon will be visiting us later so I've baked a cake, which hasn't quite turned out as planned ... 

A large hole in the centre … which I filled with lemon curd … then remembered that it is Tom, not Rhiannon, who would kill for lemon curd!! Just where is Tom when you need him to eat a cake?

So I decided to cover the lemon curd with chocolate, which didn't really work either...

Then vanilla frosting …

If the chocolate ever hardens it will be covered with frosting as well.

In future it might be better to commission a virtual cake from Jean at Baking in Franglais ...

Starry, starry night ...

Tim has been experimenting!

The experiment involved a camera, a tripod, a thick coat and a very cold, clear night.

Q.E D…

A wintery Saturday morning ...

Today we plan to decorate the landing area at the top of the stairs, so will be busy filling, sanding and painting. I don't mind the painting bit, providing it isn't too fiddly, but I detest the preparation work! It doesn't help when Tim keeps banging on about preparation being nine tenths (it doesn't look right written in words) of the job!!!

Last night there was a heavy frost, and at dawn, a beautiful red sky.

I wonder what the day will bring? Watch this space …

A celebration and a full moon ...

Today is the one year (paper) anniversary of my first blog post. Whenever we have a celebrationTim's party piece is to make an origami bird, a talent (?) that he has passed on to Tom. 

It was a blog post that was never meant to be! Whilst Tim was away I decided to play around with blogger to design a page (without actually publishing) but scheduling for a later date. Then I noticed a comment from Antoinette and Niall! The rest as they say is history …

I have met some really interesting friends via the blog, both virtually, and in person. It has been a place to share happiness, sorrow, problems or sometimes just the latest gossip. I have learnt an enormous amount, about all sorts of things.

To celebrate, a couple of photographs of the full (or nearly full) moon, taken from our driveway.

Each day I get an update from the fantastic blog of Roy Burstiner. Roy is doing his very best to improve his, and my, French. If you are interested you can take a look at his blog here. I love this particular pic which last year I gave to my Y6 pupils during our Space topic. A very small effort at making a cross curricular link!

At the time of writing there have been 11,111 page views.

P.S. There are now 11,122 so there have been another eleven views in the time it has taken me to write this post!

Chez Francois ...

I love this shop which we found in Chatel, Haute Savoie. It offers a large selection of local mountain produce including cheese, pate, sausages, ham, chocolate, jams, honey, and liqueurs.

The cow has the Swiss flag on his backside and the French flag on his nose. The Swiss border is only about a kilometre away.

In fact we were so busy marvelling at the produce that we forgot to take a photograph, but it was a bit like this!

There was plenty of the Tomme, Reblochon and Abondance cheeses we like, which are great together in a fondue. Reblochon makes wonderful tartiflette.

I can almost taste it now. No such luck - I am cutting down on cheese until my next trip to France ...

A project .....

Calling all knitters out there - assistance may (will) be required!

I think I need a project to see me through the winter, although this particular project has the potential to run and run. I’ve decided to take up knitting again. I used to knit quite a lot, although it must be said, never terribly well. Anyway, in 1983 I found a pattern in a magazine for an beautiful Aran sweater which Tim persuaded his mother to knit for me. How I loved that sweater, but it has long since been consigned to the Oxfam shop.

Anyway,  when I was sorting through piles of stuff, ready for when we downsize in the UK - no plans, but we are so overrun that it will take YEARS to be in a position to do so - I found the pattern!

My project ideas have caused a variety of responses amongst my friends. Corrie laughed, Sue was encouraging, although rather sceptical, Lisa offered to help, Maureen has knitted Aran before and Sally has done nearly of the stitches. Liz, on the other hand was convinced that I could do it. So convinced that when she left to live in France at the end of last term she bought me a present ...

Everything I’ll need to knit an Aran sweater, including the wool and the knitting bag! I wonder why she’s  included a much easier pattern???

No matter, I’m starting with that one first! Watch this space …

A new year begins ...

We are back from our ski trip to the Haute Savoie where we had a really good time. We didn't ski every day, but, when we did, had excellent snow, brilliant sunshine and near empty slopes, without queues! More about the trip in another post, but just a single photograph taken on Christmas Day to whet your appetites!

Our journey home was relatively uneventful, apart from the first 100km when snow was falling. Still we managed it, possibly helped by a very early start, but you can see the conditions would have deteriorated.

En route we visited our friends Anne and Steve in Kent and had a lovely evening and breakfast with them. For the first time ever the M25, M1 and M6 were relatively quiet for the last leg of our journey home.

We arrived back to find that Gill, our very good neighbour and friend, had stocked our fridge with some delights from a local farm shop. Wonderful ...

Today we have taken down our christmas tree and decorations, and are invited to lunch by our friends Chris and Sally. I'll also need to pick up some fresh food as the only fruit we have is a lemon!!

Tomorrow it is back to work. I shall miss my colleague Liz who has resigned in order to make a new life with her family in Clermont Ferrand, where her husband, who works for Michelin, has been transferred.

To cheer me on my way a photograph of some beautiful hyacinths bought for me, before Christmas, by my friend Corrie. When we went away they were closed up, but are now in full bloom with a heavenly scent.

It's a pity you aren't able to smell them ...

Finally, Tim has completed his opus magna, aka our bathroom renovations. We're really pleased with how it's turned out, but you will have to be patient …

HAPPY NEW YEAR ...

With all good wishes for 2012 from
Gaynor and Tim xx

A haunting version of Auld Lang Syne by Eddi Reader and some fireworks from a display on Lac Leman at Evian les Bains.