Saturday - Part One

Saturday, Oct 4th. my last full day in France was a God send of a day. Thursday and Friday were unreliable predictors, and French meteorologists ( TV weather folks) are much of a par with their peers around the globe ..   A "Crisp" morning making personal clouds of expelled breaths, clear blue skis (white clouds in late afternoon) and NO Rain ... perfect for a lap around:


The village of; Sury-aux -Bois Bellegarde:...
Old farm buildings in Nesploy:...

An Englishman, an Italian & a Swede went into ......

Actually: three Englishmen, an Englishwoman, an Italian, a Swede and a Scotsman, were in the book store .. Spending a great deal of time in airports and at 30k feet, I read more than my share .. for me whodunits/mystery type stories provide chewing gum for the mind.
My present PILE of novels: Silks; by Dick and Felix Francis (Two Englishmen) Very enjoyable .. like a comfortable sweater
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo; by Stieg Larsson (Swede)
Interesting, my first mystery by a Swede, great main characters, well developed easy to identify with .. a little weak towards the end .. overall a good read.

Merde Happens; by Stephen Clarke (3rd. Englishman) With Merde in the title, that says it all.
The Shape of Water & The Terracotta Dog; by Andrea Camilleri (Italian)
Both, most enjoyable, fun cast of personalities, well developed with interesting back stories

Exit Music; by Ian Rankin (Scot) GREAT (all of his stuff)

The Lighthouse; by P.D. James: GREAT, be prepared to have your lexicon taxed.

What Sean found

Sean and some friends went to Monterey (N.Cal) at the weekend (correction see comment) and sent these pictures .. though it might work in the tea room ... thx for the Pics Sean. Construction details:...
Might be a wee bit on the large end of the scale for tea pots ... but we have lots of other "Stuff"

Paris - Boston to LA

Sunday- is an all day travel day .. a heavy gray sky covers all of Paris with moderate rain in most parts. Its a about 27 hrs all in before I get home ... so sit back and relax.
I have a new pot of Oolong ready for the flight .. bring on the hot water ..

Outside door #11 (my home in Combreux)Dramatic lighting across the Loire river
Moss on a high wall
Resting in an old barn .. not everything is a diamond in the ruff .. this old 2CV will never see the roads again ..?

Vendredi, c'est gris, Friday gray skies in the Loiret

Vendredi, le ciel est gris ou il pleut.
Friday with gray skies and intermittent rain, I'm not holding out for nice day Saturday, but one lives in hope.
Attending; Irvine Royal Academy, Secondary school:......(a quick reminiscence)
(wish I had stayed awake) French lessons started with the basics .. on the weather front all we needed (In Scotland) was: the sky is gray or its raining. The Golden Orb was "the stuff that dreams are made of ....."

Memories of Irvine, the Academy: by Margaret Hubble.....
Crossing the moor. My secondary education was completed after spending 4 years at Irvine Royal Academy. The school was broken into two buildings known as the old school (pictured) and the new school in Kilwinning Road. Classes were conducted between both buildings and often meant crossing the moor to and from either building. This was fine and considered a great time waster in good weather but was a pain in pouring rain and ice & snow etc.

The old school was a beautiful building which was loaded with character and that also included some of the teachers who could be characters in their own right, ("The Lug", Q-Ball, Stasher) the older of whom wore the black robes and generally carried a belt for discipline, although I never saw one used. (I did, ouch) The classes were split following the results from the 11+ exam and we were taught according to capabilities. I loved it.

I loved the old building, the character, and the learning (although the exams were a bit stressful). However we survived and although that beautiful building is still standing proudly it did not survive as a place of learning but now houses various businesses.

A home in; "Sury-aux Bois" with its foliage changing colours....Fishermen wait for a bite: ...

Autumnal equinox has passed:......

Autumn filters into the Loiret district, Loire Valley of central France. .
Arriving early Wednesday morning to an overcast gray day in Paris, giving way to a sunny windy afternoon in Combreux.
Leaves are on the turn at the "Auberge de Combreux" (Inn of Combreux)



Thursday morning; blue skies with wind blown white clouds:....
First order of business: .. set up for tea in my temp. office, Taiwan, late 2007, high mountain Oolong is on the menu.

The small white kettle is borrowed from Roger ..

Weekend at home

Just got home last Thursday afternoon .. and heading back to France on Tuesday ( 9/30 @ 4am) .. this weekend was spend odd-jobbing" around the Hacienda.
Sewing and Tea rooms; ready for flooring then its; just add furniture.

Soon our: tea and tea paraphernalia collection ,will have a place to call home .. can't wait



Robbie made fantastic progress last month when I was absent .. Richard and his home boys (all from Fiji) finished up the front patio ... still some; plantings, walls and fencing to go, but getting close.