A cat,a cruise,a clutch and a chorus of children

A cat

We have a new addition to the family - Sukey who arrived in June and immediately made herself at home. She wasn't phased by Sam the grumpy dog and it was love at first sight between her and Schula the lab/ retriever cross. She has decided to be an outdoor cat at night and is usually to be seen exploring the wood pile and is proving to be a good mouser. She loves to spend the day with us though and is always looking for a lap to curl up on. She's captured all our hearts.

A clutch

We have been enthralled by the swallows this year. For the first time they reared two clutches, five in the first and three in the second. Their antics have kept us amused for weeks and despite the obvious annoying evidence of their stay they are welcome summer guests. One morning I was having breakfast on the terrace with my six year old granddaughter as the parents and several other swallows swooped and swirled trying to encourage the youngsters to fly the nest - what a show they gave us. We have swallows in the barn too and aperitif time on the terrace has been their chance to out on an evening spectacle for us - pure delight. We hope they'll be back next year.

A Cruise

My daughter turned 40 in July and I joined her, her wife and her mother-in-law on a cruise through the Norwegian fjords. I was entranced by Norway and adored the outings into the countryside and towns. Cruising up the fiords was a highlight for me and I enjoyed the evenings with the girls. Alison and Karen are becoming seasoned cruisers but although I had a lovely holiday I am still not a convert.

A Chorus of Children

We had the great joy of welcoming three of our grandchildren for a two and a half week visit. The first week their cousins stayed in a local rental property so we had six children around for one of the weeks. We also met up with our lovely Australian/French family and their now four children after a gap of a year whilst they were moving house.The weather was glorious and the pool was the star of the show. We enjoyed the night markets, local village events, dining at our favourite restaurant and a visit to a fun chateau. The children helped with the hens and the vegetable garden and we loved having them. It will probably take us all of September to recover but they were very special days.

Now we are harvesting the summer garden produce and preserving it for the winter and starting to plan for our next adventure when we go to New Zealand for three weeks. We hope you have all had your own lovely summer with family and friends.

A bientôt