France and how it started for us.

Tandem cycles

I almost forgot,
Cycling is a very much done thing here in france "the french take it very serious indeed"
Well yesterday when i was in the larger town i went to get some bit & pieces the farmers store didnt have,
Now this store i went to has all the cycles in, ie electric/ racing bikes/ Sit up and beg style/ little trailers for bikes and yesterday a TANDEM (two person bike,
Ive not seen a new one for years but they're back 490 EURO so they're not giving them away,

On the news bourd it was saying the latest cycle must have is a fold over mini trailer,"like a caravan for pushbikes" it's got lights , indicators, etc
very light and it folds into two sections so you just pull the section over to make a sleeping bed size for one person/ with cooker and washing sink.
So if your into cycling and you want a very light trailer to pull ??? "they're on the way."

My own push bike i bought seconhand and its a dutch make, it has brakes that are very much like you'd have on a motor bike ie they have brake shoe's inside the front wheel,
its a very relaxed riding possition and very smooth to ride,
do you think the trailer will catch on
 

One and one make two

Morning all,
A bit overcast here in france today, but the forcast is for sun later on,
So cant be bad.

im rubbing down the two gate post and paintng them black today and after yesterdays concreting of the gate stop plate the complete job will be finshed and boy what a difference these new gates make, it makes the opening look so much bigger.

Opposit the gates is the track leading to the farms etc and opposit this track are acre's of fields, plenty of room for cow's to roam out of site for miles "But" ive had two cows watching me these last few days doing this gate change over,
The older cow has signs of her being stitched up on one side and the little cow is the reason why this shaved area is on the mother cow,

The little cow seems fascinated by my working away and stands for hours watching me and then lays down for the rest of the day to continue to watch me,

A lovely site to see "just two cow's in a masive field all to them selves."
 
Snake in the grass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Evening all,
Once again the days been spent around at the gite carrying on doing improvements and keeping the place looking nice,

We've a french front door and shutters outside of all the windows and the rear kitchen door, (Wooden storm shutter's)
The french i must say are good at making the front doors, ours is made of oak and 3/4 of it is glass inside with 10 sections outside that have metal squares fitted,
the idea is that you can have the inside of this door's glass section open but still the door can be locked and because of these 10 metal sections its pretty safe from anyone opening the door from the outside,
All fine and dandy "until you remove these 10 metal sections to be painted, they look great with all the scrolling metal but boy oh boy when it comes to painting these scrolling sections "what a job"
But now im pleased to say they are re-painted and they go back tomorrow in the inner sections of the door (and stay there for another 5 years)

Now i needed to stop off in the village so i left a little bit early (read my meeting with a near deaf friend who's thinking of his funneral every time i talk to him)
As im driving along the track up towards the proper road i noticed this "SNAKE" twisting about and two young lads prodding it with a stick,

We do have a few snakes here that can give you a nasty bite and so i pulled over and said to be careful "that snake might be poisonous,

They said the builders wagon had squashed it and it was really dead "it was just acting to be alive" (Some kids have some strange ideas)

But as the tractor and a trailer full of hay rolled over it and squashed it until it burst open i dont think it will be attacking anyone.

But it just shows you you never know whats in the long grass do you.

But kids are not like when i was young, these two took out pocket mobile phones and started taking pictures to show their school mates,

Not like when i was a lad and we showed via hands the size of the one that got away 'it got bigger as the day got longer' still they do say the camera never lies so why not take a few shots? (They didnt want me in the shots:confused::confused: spoil sports)

But again its been one of those day's you feel glad tobe alive.

Hows your day been?????
 
There is lore surrounding mystery in the Missouri Ozarks, much of it concerning snakes. Many "locals" there actually believe that a snake cannot die, until the sun sets! My nephew's new wife, a "hill-billy" of uncertain origin, firmly replied to his contention it was an "old wives' tale" with, "Beliebve what you want. A snake never dies until sunset!".

I wondered about cloudy days! :) imp
 
Just a pottering sort of day

Evening all
I hope your well and enjoying the day,
Apart from going out for about an hour to the local supermarket, ive been in the garden all day,
The boys (dogs) have all stayed in the stable most of the day because its very cool inside and they're not keen on a day like to day "very hot"
Next week its forast to be even hotter,

The cucuumber and tomatoes are all doing well and give it about a week and the first tome will be ready for eating (can't wait) you just can't get better than home grown food.

Ive cut about 1/3 of the lawn and trimmed the edges but its just to hot, It's the flies that get me, as your working in the garden they attack you, stick to your legs or head and eyes "ooooooooooh i hate the things,

So this afternoon ive been top and tailing black currants while sitting under the shade on the patio, and then a dip in the pool,

Its an unheated pool and when i get out ive stiffend up and look like i did 20 years ago "but it dont last long in this heat, within a few minutes im back to flab:playful:

But "whats that saying when in rome do as the romans do? The french garden around 7am until about 9 am and after that its just to hot so they wait until 8 pm and do a few hours as the weathers cooling down and then its the patio, the wine and a long chat until bedtime.

Ive been ordered by "she who must be obeyed" to sort the fan on a stand out for the bedroom as its to hot of an evening and she's finding it hard to sleep.

My brother in-law lives in the USA. SCotsdale "phoenix- arizonia and boy it can get really hot around summertime.

Yes the hot weather is a welcome thing but i couldn't live in a hot country all the time,



Well im off for a nice cold drink and then an hour in the garden "just Pottering" (what a smashing life to live) And then one more dip in the pool,:welcoming:


Talk to you all soon,
 
Drizzly, foggy and mild here in west Scotland. I'm ready for some real heat. Supposed to get a heat wave in the UK but of course it's going to skip our area. Supposed to hit 19C next week and that's fine with me.
 
Evenings about to start

Evening all,
A dull morning but just after 12 noon the sun decided to shine and stayed all day,
Ive not been off the property except for early morning "walkies" with the dogs" so ive not used any petrol and ive spent all day in the garden planting flowers and tidying the borders,
Ive a new way of weeding now, instead on one large bucket to put the weeds in i now use two buckets, the extra one is for stones etc,
Ive a new concrete base to lay next week and im using all the old rubble etc as hard core so the extra buckets really do help and its amazing how quickly you can fill this extra bucket up.

It's now 10-10 pm and im knackard, i'll sleep tonight thats for sure.

Tomorrow is Sunday and we're going to a fete (this ones has a carboot sale in the grounds) so i'll have a look at the rusty counter to see whats on offer.

Its forcast to be a nice hot day, So its shorts and T.shirt weather.

Anyone got any plans for "sunday"?
 
Sounds like you had a lovely relaxing day Whisteria. (we're an hour behind you as you know)..so it's 9.25 now I've only been home from work for an hour and a half.. I have no plans for Sunday except to rest my back. I was at work for 12 hours today, and it was over 80 degrees today no AC in there so had to rely on having all the doors open to let a through draught in...

I do have to have my rear offside tyre repaired cuz I have a slow puncture and the garage is only open 'till 12 on Sundays , but other than that...maybe Sunday lunch in the pub garden if it's another hot day otherwise R&R for me..
 
Do you think as you get older

Evening playmates,
Well i hope those who went to church enjoyed it and those like me who went to the likes of carboot sales also enjoyed them,
I got three really good buys today 2x old outside wall lamps and 12 tomatoe growing metal stakes the total spend was 13 euro so that cant be bad,
both lamps work and one needs a re-paint, But when these are up and wired they'll add that french look to the outside area of the gite.

I enjoy doing these sorts of re-vamp's to bring things back to life again and the older i get the more i tend to spend time doing such re-vamps,
Do you think its because we're getting older ?
 
whisteria said:
...I enjoy doing these sorts of re-vamp's to bring things back to life again and the older i get the more i tend to spend time doing such re-vamps,
Do you think its because we're getting older ?
Click to expand...

Like you, I enjoy revamping very much, and have been doing a lot of it lately, but not because I'm getting older, because I have more free time now.
 
It's a very sad day for some today

Hello folks,
Im not going to talk about the smashing day ive had today but instead i'd like to talk about those who died in Tunisia.

These people who have died through gun shot by a memeber of this I.S group.

All these people died because they we're in the wrong place at the wrong time "just enjoying" a holiday "thats all" a holiday.
They'd done nothing to anyone, they didnt carry any weapons,
But they we're targets "very very easy targets who couldn't fight back .

I ask myself what the hell is going on in the world today??????
Is it safe to go any place?

But the question comes into my mind when is this crazy killing going to stop??

Like many people I was looking forward to the day i wouldnt need to work anymore, the day i could feel free from alarm clocks and having to be here or there, the days we'd have no debt of any kind and the freedom to go out without any fear,
Im now starting to think twice about any distance traveling involing plane/Train/ private car because of crime.

When i see people as i did tonight on the BBC News trying to find out if their loved ones are dead or alive it really breaks my heart.

I didnt once feel retirement would have to take into account the way the world has become.

All i can say is goodnight folks and i hope you sleep safe in your beds tonight
because those who have died in Tunisia wont.
 
Boy has it been hot today,

Hi folks,
Well it's been a scorcher today "ready sticky and hot,
It's the dogs i feel for when the weathers like this after all they're all wearing fur coats and it can't be very nice for them.

Ive not done a lot in the garden today due to the heat and so its the cooler inside work in the workshop thats kept me busy today,
Ive stripped the two outdoor lights i bought and re-wired them & sanded the metal work ready for painting,

They'll look good when they are finished and mounted to the wall.

Now tomorrow's forcast to be even hotter so it's going to be luch the same as today "try to keep cool"

Whats your day been like?
 
111`F at 3:30 PM, and not as dry as we like it! Oh well, that's what you get with the "Monsoon" season. It still remains debated whether the Southwest Desert summer phenomenon is really a monsoon, or not, the term originating in India, long ago. imp
 
Hi folks,
it's 37deg her today, great as we dont have very very hot weather all the time, "But to be honest" thats enough for us, you cant really do much when its to hot except hide in the shade,
Im a do'er and like to move about a lot, some folk like to lay around sun bathing but thats not for me, even the dogs are staying in the cool stable,

The tomatoes and the peach tree are doing really well thanks to the sunny days and warm nights.
 


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