I am going to do it...

Set a mouse trap in my little veg patch. Those varmints have now started using new tactics with me - let the seeds germinate, the beans grow a few inches, then chew them off and drag the plant down to the family. They are really annoying, I might even trap a cat and put one above the exit holes until the whole family of mice have been caught.
Oooh!!!

A new addition to my family!!

I am so pleased to announce the appearance of the first frog in my garden pool! There are also water boatmen, water beetles and myriads of small things I don't know, but the frog is wonderful news!

Reflecting

I received an email round robin this week which dealt with the way we spend the time in our lives, it used the analogy of a conainer being full of golf balls, then counters, then sand etc etc. Having thought is was good, I sent it to some of my family, it was after doing that that the idea started chewing around in my mind.
Did I spend the 'right' time with my family , did my job take over? Did I waste many hours on things that I should have ignored? All these questions really make me ponder my past actions, but the best part was the use of the sand to describe the house cleaning - it is the least important part of the filling in the jar - THANK YOU EMAIL!!

Welcome!

My son rang me yesterday and admitted that he had trawled through this blog for the first time this week - right back to the beginning! He now feels that he is up to date with all my news.... wow! I am impressed; that is some feat, and I imagine most of it not to his taste - we are very different in the humour stakes. However, I would like to welcome him officially to the site, one day he might even post a comment, but let's not hold our breath!!
Forgive me if I don't blog as much at the mo, I am actually enjoying the reading for my dissertation and spending hours on it. Whether I will enjoy the writing of the literature review is a moot point, I will let you know in July.

Tumptiddledy tump tump - I found it!!

I found it! Go make a drink and then come and see my very short slide show...

This is the most incredible des res. It almost bankrupted the French kings and was, I suspect, one of the causes of the French revolution. As you can imagine, it took plusieurs years to build, and even more millions of livres, even then the fools didn't live in it for long...tut tut. However, I am told they had to move frequently because the places got smelly very quickly - NO loos -- poooh!!

That's Shirl and Christiane in front - not the French royalty!! The skyline is crazy, the original plan was for a simple one with those lovely turrets, but old Francis was having none of that, he wanted more!






Isn't it lurvley? The cupola in the centre is the source of light for the double staircase in side - its one of those double spiral shapes like our genes, only there are two staircases going up at once. Brilliant!



Now I could have turned this around by 90 degrees, but either way it means a little neck twisting, but I think you can see the wonderful central tower. the windows look onto the staircases where you can see others climbing on the second set, but you cannot meet up with them until you reach the top or the bottom of the staircase. I can think of many families who would love this as an exercise for their squabbling children!



Isn't this lovely?? What a bed, and the room was one of those totally over the top affairs that we all dream of at one time in our lives, usually in childhood, but these queens slept in these when they were grown up .

Forgot to put the chateaux in - here it is....




And this is where I fell in love again - with the most handsome French man, sadly he was rather stoney and didn't exist below the neck - there is a bust of the French writer (and I can't remember his name at this moment!!!) it begins with an M) who is to die for in the long gallery crossing over the river. Wow. Got it Moliere!

Then if you are like me, you photograph these funny things too:



Twist your neck again - this is the guttering on the town hall in Blois!




And this is evidence that I am not the worst house cleaner in the world!!!


Now, back to the garden, today was lovely weather, tea outside again, the clematis scent was almost overpowering, and the pots looked good, so I couldn't resist!




This is refusing to take anymore pickies, so more another time!! But just breathe in that perfume.

What lovely people!

With great trepidation I went to the library of Keele Uni today to find some books for my dissertation. On entering these places I always feel very unsure of what to do and where to go, however, the two women on the desk were lovely. They smiled, helped and showed me around the library - and it is so much better than the one at the Telford branch of Wolverhampton University. So, I'm a happy bunny with lots of books and several pages of interesting quotes which will help to begin my literature review.
On coming out, I decided to drive down the lanes to get home, and oh what a trip down memory lane! DLG will understand what I mean, the week-end trips we had, from her home to mine or vice versa and then off to do some shopping, eating/drinking. The Mainwairing pub being one of the focal points! Cheers DLG!!

Political - moi?

This week there was an article on the radio about tactical voting in elections, I have always voted but refused to tell anyone who gets my vote. Suffice to say that our present Prime Minister did not receive any help from me at either of the last two elections.

My problem is - what to vote this time? So I am looking at the sites recommended by the BBC and I think I shall keep an eye on things nearer the date, so that I can feel that at least I have managed to keep him out this time - PLEEEEESE. I do not want to support a man who takes the country to war on the basis of keeping in with his buddy, and who does not use the democratic system that we have. If I want to live in a country with a president, I will move there!

My goodness, I feel very strongly about all of this - is this what impending middle-age is about? (Well, I fib a bit with the impending, but I haven't really grown up yet....)

It's no wonder

the French revolted. Looking at only two of the chateaux in the Loire valley, the kings and queens really did go in for fantastic buildings, which they then hardly lived in. Chenonceaux was lovely though, built on the river Cher with mos tof hte owrk being organised by the women of the day, it has a lovely 'homely' feeling to it. Chambord, on the other hand, was rather like walking through a 3d maze with fantastic turrets.
(When I have found the lead for my camera Iwill download some pickies.) As well as visiting the chateaux, we checked out the local restuarants which I am glad to say were excellent. A lovely break - and now - down to the books.