New Year's Eve Poem

New Year's Eve in England

Sorting through the past

Holding on to what is new

Hoping it will last

Trying to be mindful

Grounded, not unkind

Working with a happy heart

to have a happy mind

The journey starts with clearing a drawer

Lisbeth has cleared out a drawer. It's not a lot but it's a start. The contents of this drawer is now transformed into a bag of rubbish; a box of stuff for the charity shops; a small selection of things to give away and a small bag of things for keeping. Brilliant. Go girl!

Letting go the old to make way for the new

It's certainly the right time of year to be going through this sort of exercise. I can't believe Lisbeth hadn't realised the significance of it, especially with New Year's Eve tomorrow. I know she's put off clearing out the English end of her life for many years. I am also sure that she understands why she hasn't tackled it before and how she keeps herself stuck. That being said, it still isn't easy to do what needs doing.

However, this time, I am confident that she will be able to make some progress. If you're sure about the big picture, I tell her, just do what needs to be done to make it happen. Or as Susan Jeffers' book title says "Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway"

Tackling 'letting go' and 'moving on'

Lisbeth's in full swing cleaning and tidying so that the house is more relaxing to be in and she feels able to start sorting. The activity itself is important because she has a tendency to slow down and get depressed on these trips to England, so keeping active is crucial.

This time, however, she has resolved to be different - or at least to manage it better. She is determined to make real progress sorting out her stuff from the past. By 'stuff ' I am referring to stuff she has accumulated over her life and then more stuff inherited from parents. All this stuff is stored in boxes and containers all over the house: in the cellar, under the beds; filling cupboards, even stacked up in the corners of rooms. She has had a real block about doing this because: 1) She's been a serious hoarder; 2) She doesn't know what to do with it all; 3) It represents the drawing to a close of her life in England. She's attempted to tackle it many times before. Many, many times! Yet the emotional stress of letting go and moving on has always overwhelmed her.

I don't understand it. If she can get herself to France, buy a house on her own (with no French); start a new life from scratch; be learning the language and dealing with all kinds of problems, why can't she sort through a few boxes?

Fiddling about with letters

Lisbeth's been fiddling about with the idea of having Mr dog write to me via the blog - which he did - and I replied. Now she has deleted both these letters as she believes it will become too complicated with two of us posting. (It took me ages to work out how to have a 'team blog' and make it so that someone else can post!)

I know life is very different in England, so I had anticipated something of a transition period for her to find her feet. She's been cleaning today. She hates it. Perhaps that's why she's changed her mind about the letters?

Today I are mostly listening to sheep

There has been no word from Lisbeth today. I suppose she's caching up on everything that needs doing after her trip away. I liked all the fun photos from her time in Wales and am hoping for more of the same.

To pass the time, I've been listening to this:
http://www.ics.uci.edu/~pazzani/4H/sheep.au

Just birds

So here we are: Two birds on plinths made by an octogenarian with a sense of humour and an appreciation of all things creative and fun. The small one (on the left) belongs to Lisbeth and is just getting some plinth-practice from it's larger cousin before leaving Wales with her for a new life in the North of England and eventually in France.

Birds and bottles 2

The neighbour is very creative and makes lots of things out of other things. The bottles get cut in half, then made into boats. On the left of the photo you can see an unfinished one. Just below is a small pile of halved bottles. The person on the right is holding one of the birds and there is another one with a large beak just behind the glass. These are carved in such a way that when the wood is burned a little down the bird's back, the grain looks like feathers.

The photo on the right is very intriguing. One person is holding what looks to be a home-made flying swan. Next to that is one of the birds on its mount - note the feathered effect - and behind is...................the world of the weird................?

Lisbeth has made me re-open this post and edit it. She says it isn't 'the world of the weird'. What I should have said is: "Welcome to a house where creative people live".

Birds and bottles

Lisbeth has sent this photo through. I'm posting it but can't say that I understand it. She says one of the neighbours gave her some wooden birds and several cut-in-half wine bottles while she was in Wales. I will have to get more information and more photos before I can talk sensibly about it.

Christmas in Wales

Lisbeth's back home full of her trip to Wales. She is tired after the journey as the traffic was terrible and it took ages to get back. Apart from that, she says she had a great time with lots of eating, drinking, laughing; catching up with old friends and meeting new ones.

It seems to have been a real food fest. Over the two and a half days they ate rabbit stew, pheasant casserole and roasted pheasant. There were roast parsnips and potatoes, carrots, swede, sprouts, red cabbage, apple sauce, cranberry sauce, chestnuts etc., etc. To drink, there was home-made beer and home-made cider, champagne, home-made liqueurs and lots of wine from France. There was home-made cheesecake, mince pies, Christmas pudding and Christmas cake. There were different kinds of breads; home-made garlic butter; various cheeses and home-made preserves. Before leaving today, they had breakfast of venison sausages, eggs, bacon, smoked salmon, cheeses, warm bread and preserves, coffee with frothy milk....... I can't go on.........

She says she's much more roundy than when I last saw her!

A couple of non-talking days

I've had a great couple of days to myself. No word from Lisbeth who's been in Wales. No talking, nothing to do and no stress: the perfect Christmas. She's due back later today so I expect I will hear all about it and we will resume our talking practice.

Christmas

So now is come our joyful feast,

Let every man be jolly;

Each room with ivy leaves is dressed,

And every post with holly.

Though some churls at our mirth repine,

Round your foreheads garlands twine,

Drown sorrow in a cup of wine.

From A Christmas Carol by George Wither

Lisbeth in England

Lisbeth left me just after 9 am and arrived in the UK just after 3 am the following morning. (Film on boat = The Devil wears Prada) She said she had to stop a couple of times in the early hours to sleep and that the journey was difficult and tiring due to the fog.

All quiet on the house front

Phew...........

The house is now quiet. Lisbeth is on her way to the UK and I can relax. It was so chaotic before she left. I feel quite exhausted. She says I'm not to relax too much as she wants me to keep up my talking practice! For the moment, though, there is nothing that needs doing. The weather is cold but sunny. I think I'll get on with some serious grazing on the web.

Coming out

I suppose I'm not the first blogger to have been doing it in secret. It's not been long: a couple of months, maybe? Anyway, Lisbeth thinks that I'm making such good progress with my talking practice that I should take the next step and 'out' myself as a blogger to our friends.

So...........Hello............. It's me talking.

Welcome to my blog.

Another present

Lisbeth has just come back from saying goodbye to more of her friends in the village. The monsieur walked back with her so that he could carry all the jars he has been keeping for her to use in next year's jam-making marathon.

They also gave her a Christmas present. It is a book about the history of a village a few miles away. It is full of pictures taken mainly from old postcards and includes photos of our village. There are even one or two of this house. It's a lovely book and she is very touched by their kindness.

Run up to Christmas

It's all a bit hectic around here, today. Lisbeth has tons to do before she heads off to the UK for the festive season. She's also got to find time for some social farewells before Thursday.

Last night, Mme Sage and Monsieur Pasperdu came for coffee and cake before Lisbeth takes the decorations down in the wood burner room. While they were here, Lisbeth opened the presents that they had given her last week. It was good that she hadn't opened them before as she was a little low after hearing some bad news. Hence, opening presents with friends was by far the best thing to be doing that day. Lisbeth gave them a small traditional English Christmas cake decorated with icing snowballs and birds.

In the back room I have seen another three cakes. These all have icing balls and birds on as well. I expect they are for other friends. Oh..........Lisbeth has just said that she made one very big cake in October and then cut it into four.

I have included this photo despite the fact that it's not very good because it captures the atmosphere of the room last night.

Did I say we'd got mice?

In the last couple of weeks, Lisbeth has begun to find signs of mice in the kitchen, the bathroom and in her work/store room at the back of the house. Being a bit of a Buddhist, she doesn't like to kill them, preferring humane traps. She then drives the little captives several miles away before releasing them.

Has she been setting humane traps? Yes. Has she caught any? No. They've been getting the food but not springing the traps. Hence, there has been much discussion (lots of talking practice for me) about what to do. Locals have said that the only sure way of getting rid of them is to put poison down, especially if we go away for some of Christmas.

What else can we do?

Sheep sing for Christmas

Enjoy my friends singing for Christmas

http://www.golakes.co.uk/xmasbaarmysheep/

Postman Pat SOS

Yesterday, feeling a bit bored, I went to the front of the house to see what was what in the village. Not a lot, I thought, until I spotted Lisbeth pushing at the back of Postman Pat which was parked opposite the house on a slight incline. She also appeared to be trying to gesture, with her leg (yes, her leg) to anyone who would notice her..........................

The tale is this:
Having taken delivery of quite a lot of wine for her friend in England, she asked the delivery man to load it straight into the van. She signed for the order and the delivery van pulled away. On shutting the back doors of the van - you have to give them a bit of a slam - she felt the vehicle start to move towards her. Now we've talking LDV, here, not some fancy little runabout! It was clear to me, from my vantage point that, provided she kept pushing, the vehicle was just about kept in place. Should the pressure be relaxed, the vehicle would roll back across the road, gathering momentum, until it crashed into her house.

So Lisbeth stayed pushing. There's not a lot of activity in the village, so I can only imagine what must have been going through her mind. A van went past, but the driver didn't realise she was in difficulties. I couldn't help, obviously, so we waited: me looking out of the window, Lisbeth pushing. Not an easy task in slippers.

After what, to Lisbeth, seemed an age, a neighbour returned to her house next to where the van and Lisbeth were engaged in combat. Lisbeth managed to shout for help and her neighbour (the roofer's wife) came running over. Luckily she is a practical person and so was not unduly phased by the idea of pushing.

Now both are pushing: one in tatty work clothes and slippers, the other in a powder blue track suit. They converse. After some discussion and tests to see if it is still possible for one to hold it, Lisbeth, keys in hand, runs round to the driver's side, unlocks the door, jumps in and secures the vehicle.

Needless to say, Lisbeth was somewhat shaken when she came back in and took a little time to recover her strength and composure. Potman Pat now resides over on the square where it is flat and Lisbeth will be taking some pots of jam over to her neighbour today to say thank you for her help.

I must just add that, for me, it was riveting stuff and quite the most entertaining village-watch since I've been here. I hope her friend appreciates just what his wine might have cost her!

A sunny morning

It's such a nice day, today. It's cold, frosty and sunny. Lisbeth is in the garden desperately trying to catch up with the work she wasn't able to do when she was under the weather with her cold: another old tree has come down; there are dead plants to gather up; more leaves to collect and more roots to be dug out.

I'm inside keeping an eye on the wood burner, listening to Radio 4 via the web and making a list of things that need doing inside.

After the dinner party

It's been so hectic around here in the last couple of days. Last night Lisbeth gave a dinner party for 6, met friends in the market in the morning and went to a tea party in the afternoon. She also decorated the house with ivy, bunches of bay leaves, twigs and oranges and it looked fantastic when her visitors arrived on the dot of 7.15pm. The wood burner and the open fire were both lit and the table was decorated with candles and more bay leaves. I think every one had a good time. They didn't leave until after 1pm so that would seem to speak for itself.

The weather is definitely more wintry today. Lisbeth is working outside, as it's sunny, but I am glad to be inside.

We've heard nothing from the avocate which in this case is good news because, if we hear nothing, the rendezvous for Wednesday the 20th is still on.

A pat on the back

I hope you're impressed that I've been able to blog a utube video to my page. I've impressed myself, I can tell you. I really seem to be getting the hang of this web stuff. Now I know it's child's play for all you geeks out there, but for me everything has been, and is, a journey of discovery, so I'm feeling pretty smug this morning. And I've learned how to ping! Baaa-tastic!

Formal Talking Practice: English for the French

We're having a quiet day in today as Lisbeth is a little the worse for wear following a late night last night at a party. She was also out on Friday night for a meal, but said that that wasn't relevant when I mentioned it this morning! I think because I mentioned the fact that she's been out to eat three days in a row, she has reminded me about my Formal Talking Practice this week, so here goes..............

Mlle Paris is learning to sing an English carol and has been round to clarify some of the finer points of English pronunciation. Her first question was to do with the word 'the'. Why, she asked, do you say 'the cat', but pronounce the 'the' differently when used in conjunction the the word 'angel' - i.e. 'thee angel'? Lisbeth explained that we do change the pronunciation in circumstances such as these because it sounds better. (In actual fact, Mlle Paris said 'ze cat' and 'zee angel' and I thought it sounded very charming and I don't care if she says 'ze' or 'zee': they both sound really sexy!)

Anyway - the second question involved the letter 'y' called Y grec in French. She wanted to know why the letter 'y' is a consonant in English. Lisbeth hadn't really thought about this before and was interested to learn that in French, 'y' is considered to be a vowel. Ooh isn't language fascinating!

Well that's it for my formal practice. I have no more to report, because the French/English exchange didn't take all that long, moving swiftly on to aperitifs, nibbles and other topics of interest. Although Lisbeth has just said that I didn't need to tell you that, as it isn't part of this Formal Talking Practice session. Mmmm......

Swap sheep for wine?

I was in on my own last night so have been surfing..........as you do........
I found an article in the Welsh, Western Mail entitled "Swap sheep for wine and say hello to the good life" (Dec 5 2006).

It would appear that some farmers on Anglesey have given up keeping sheep, replacing them with grapevines. They believe that their lives "have improved greatly as a result", although they don't say exactly how. It is also suggested that "if enough farmers become winemakers, on the island and in North-West Wales, the area can be formally declared a wine-producing region".

Now I can't see it, myself. You've only got to look at the windswept terrain to have some doubts. However, someone called Tom Barlow, who already grows grapes on the island claims that " Anglesey gets 60 more hours of sunshine than Bordeaux" and that it is "superb for growing grapes." In fact, he claims, he "doesn't get enough rain".

This same man goes on to suggest that the farming of sheep and other livestock might "turn out to be a historical blip for Anglesey", encouraged over the years by EU subsidies. Whereas proof of wine making can be traced back to Roman times due to the discovery, during building works near Holyhead, of vine roots from what appears to be a very large Roman vineyard.
Western Mail, Wales Dec 5 2006

To read full text, go to:

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/farming/farming/tm_headline=swap-sheep-for-wine-and-say-hello-to-the-good-life&method=full&objectid=18208915&siteid=50082-name_page.html#story_continue

The idea of being thought of as a 'blip' - historical or otherwise - isn't very nice at all. And I think that sheep are superbly fitted for the rugged landscape on Anglesy. And that it will be a shame if they all disappeared. And, what will happen to all the sheep dogs?

Eating (and greeting) the French way

Lisbeth has been to the Salle des Fête today for a meal: always a delight and so French. The start time was 12 noon, but people arrived in dribs and drabs over about an hour with lots of standing around talking and kissing on both cheeks. It really is a nice custom as everyone is in physical contact with everyone else and you get to speak to everyone either a lot or a little.

The kissing, as a greeting thing, can be a bit nerve racking and not just for the English, apparently. Our French friend from Paris says she that even she isn't always sure what would be appropriate in terms of how many kisses: two, three, four or more? In this part of France, with people you don't know, you usually start by shaking hands, then move on to two kisses (one each side). Although if you're female the men often go for the two kisses straight away. With some people (you're never sure which ones) it can progress (you're never sure when) to three. If you get to be really good friends, it's four (alternating sides) - but not always! But I digress. They sat down to eat just after 1pm.

The meal:

• A selection of Canapés with Kir (Cassis with white wine)
• Smoked salmon on a bed of lettuce
• Croque St Jacques (various small sea creatures in a sauce)
• Poire sorbet drenched in Poire Eau de Vie
• Sanglier (wild pig) with potato croquettes, roast apple and roast chestnuts
• Lettuce in vinaigrette dressing
• Selection of Cheeses
• Dessert - Lisbeth doesn't know what it was, exactly, other than to say it was a slice of a long gateau made with cream, ice cream and a fruit sorbet , either strawberry or raspberry or something similar.
• Coffee and chocolates.
• Brandy

All served with an unending supply of white wine for the earlier courses and red wine with the latter ones and as much bread as required.

The cost?...............Free, if you payed 11euros to join the club.

Do you really need to ask?

Mending with marmalade and talking

Lisbeth appears to be on the mend. She pretty much lost her voice yesterday but it isn't too bad today. She has been doing some cleaning (which I know she hates), and I note that there is another batch of marmalade on the go in the kitchen. Both activities are good signs of recovery.

However, she's very anxious about getting all the outside projects finished before she leaves for Christmas in the UK, but you can only do what you can do, I keep telling her. She says she really needs to finish digging out small trees and roots from near the good neighbour's fence so that she can plant some shrubs before it gets too cold. This involves more work with a pick-axe and an axe (to chop out bamboo roots) and you can't do that if you're not well.

Anyway, this afternoon we had a visit from a friend who was passing and we did lots of tea and talking by the wood burner. You know: men, religion, Enneagram (don't ask!) and stuff. Then we had a visit from her French neighbour to ask about an English carol that she is learning. She had some interesting questions re English pronunciation, which I will probably be asked to discuss in my next formal talking practice.

Herbal Infusion

Lisbeth is very croaky today and still not really able to do much. She is drinking many mugs of a browny-greenish-coloured liquid: an infusion of water and rosemary. She was given the herb by Madame Sage who told her that it is really good for the throat. Many of the old French people still make up simple infusions for self-medication. I think it looks horrid, but Lisbeth says it is surprisingly pleasant.

Ingredients for one day's worth of infusions:

One small bunch of rosemary (about the size of three fingers in circumference)

I litre of water

Method:

Bring the water to the boil and add the rosemary.

Boil for 10 minutes and strain into a jug

To Drink:

Pour hot liquid into a mug or cup (it may need straining again)

Stir in honey to taste

AUDIN: Artist extraordinaire

Audin is an artist whose life is indivisible from his art. When you visit his home/studio, everything, and I mean everything, is decorated in his very particular style. You start in his studio area (seen in these photos) and continue on into his private rooms upstairs. It is a delight to enter his world. He decorates all manner of objects: pans, buckets, lamps, furniture. He paints on canvas, old utensils, vinyl records, bits of wood, the walls and the floors. He makes two-dimensional cut outs of animals and large totem-like people. His art is intermingled with collections of things, some of which, if large enough, are also decorated. His style is childlike, yet strong, with a spontaneity that is life-affirming. I can't begin to tell you how much we enjoyed our visit.

Monday Poem

Monday in France and it's raining
Monday in France and it's dull
Lisbeth is still feeling poorly
And I'm the one wearing wool

Mouton Facts: Gabriel and the Pendulum

Did you know that Gabriel Mouton (1618 - 1694, Lyon, France) was a clergyman who worked on interpolation [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/interpolation] and on astronomy?

"He obtained his doctorate in theology in Lyon. However he spent much of his spare time studying mathematics and astronomy. He took holy orders and spent his whole career in St Paul's Church in Lyon where he was appointed in 1646.

...His most famous work Observationes diametrorum solis et lunae apparentium published in 1670 studied interpolation and a standard of measurement based on the pendulum.

...In this work Mouton became the first to propose the decimal system of measurement based on the size of the earth. He also suggested a standard linear measurement, which he called the mille, based on the length of the arc of one degree of longitude on the Earth's surface and divided decimally. He suggested divisions he called the centuria, decuria, virga, virgula, decima, centesima and millesima so that a virgula, a ten thousandth of a mille, was about the size of the foot. Mouton wanted a practical means to determine the length of a virgula. Certainly one could not measure the circumference of the earth, so he proposed a standard based on the length of a pendulum. He conducted experiments which led him to the conclusion that a simple pendulum of length one virgula would oscillate 3959.2 times in 30 minutes. Mouton stated that there was a marvellous regularity in nature which made a metric system of measurement based on nature fit in with human activity.

...Mouton also produced 10 place tables of logarithmic sines and cosines and an astronomical pendulum of remarkable precision. As an astronomical observer he made remarkably accurate observations of the apparent diameter of the sun."

All this is taken from an article by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson. (Lisbeth says it's important to give the date of this article, however, I couldn't find it.

Stored wood near Vire

Lisbeth isn't feeling well today, nor was she too good yesterday, so we are having a quiet time in by the fire. One of the things we are talking about is our trip to Normandy last year to stay with friends. They live not far from Vire and kindly took us to see some unusual stacks of wood in a farm nearby. Many people in the countryside still heat their homes with wood, so it isn't uncommon to see long stacks of logs, about a metre high, all cut to length and neatly stored under a strip of corrugated iron or other such protection, ready for use in the winter. Some farms and gardens have very long stacks, two logs deep, gathered over many years.

As you can see, from this photo, this particular method of storing the logs is unusual and attractive. We are just discussing how it starts. How the logs are placed to create a house-like structure and how it remains firm enough to enable the shape to continue to create a 'roof' of logs.

Sting sings Dowland

As you can see, I've been hanging around the web quite a bit this weekend.
Attracted by the word 'labyrinth', I have been reading about Sting singing the songs of John Dowland (1563-1626). Lisbeth knows this music quite well, so I was interested in her opinion. She said she didn't like the idea but, having heard bits of two songs, she is curious to hear more.
http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/special/?ID=sting-dowland

P.S. She wants me to say that the guy who plays the lute, Edin Karamazov is brilliant.

Ewephoric Art

A plethora of woolly friends at:
http://www.thesheepmarket.com/

It's time for Newe Music

Because I was so fed up last night, Lisbeth has found this excellent site for me to play with today

http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~nesson/sequencer.html