45 days to go.......

Peace and tranquility. Copyright alice Franklin

So it was an entertaining week last week and in the spirit of the festive season it contained.....5 rendez- vous's, 4 trips to Chalais, 3 broken cars, 2 morning markets and one de-livery service. All in all a busy and expensive week. More expensive than I had been planning on as once again I discovered that insurance is never what you think it says on the tin. Even though the pick up from the side of the rocade in Bordeaux was fast, efficient and competent, the effort involved with repatriation of a vehicle to its home is exhausting, annoying and expensive. We believed that the towing of a vehicle was partially covered by our insurance policy, but in fact if your car breaks down on its own without being in an accident, it is not covered. 500 euros later we have our car back home. Gavin thinks it is not terminal, and will be writing to the ombudsman about the lack of clarity with the policy that we have. Oh to be super rich and only have to cover yourself for public liability, third party and maybe legal assistance. But that is the fate of the lower incomes, pay out a whack of money all the time to cover you for something that in fact you don't actually have. 
If our current circumstances had been different, we could have hired or borrowed a trailer to tow our own car but with Gavin unable to drive and the other 2 of us so busy it just was not practical nor even cost effective. So chalk it up to experience (again) and move on (again!).

"So Helen, what have you learnt most about yourself in your 50th year?" Hmmmm, that is easier for me to be pragmatic when I have shouted so hard at someone I have blown several gaskets in my own internal combustion engine.

Sunshine and cobwebs. copyright Alice Franklin

In other news the boy sheep are with the girl sheep this week, so may there be many baby sheep in about 5 months time. Let us hope for some lovely warm, grass growing weather in the next few weeks so the winter period is not short on the grazing front. So that the sheep are fat and content and all our lambs are strong, fit and healthy when they hit the ground with my repaired husband, who with any luck will be running around come lambing time. Though possibly with a little less stamina than in previous years.

The elusive new sign for the stand

Yes I know it is going to be a strange and perculiar Christmas for everyone, to go with the strange and perculiar year. However the practicalities have to be dealt with unless we are going to be ostriches and bury our heads in the sand, which, by the way is a complete fallacy because they don't, they sit on the floor and lie their heads and necks along the ground so they look like big rocks. Or they put their heads in their nests on the gound to roll their eggs, and then I suppose their heads may disappear behind their eggs because their eggs are easily bigger than their heads. Such a dim bird. One of my least favourite encounters during my farming life......
......I digress.....
Don't forget to order your gammons before this Saturday 15th November. Be warned please, that I may not be able to squeeze you in this year as a late orderer as I have done in the past.

Creamy,cheesy,leftover mash and leftover ham

And so lovely people, go forth with a song in your heart and have a lovely week.
I will see you all soon
Helenx