Don't know why but......

Somebody recently mentioned her lust for David Cassidy back in the day and it brought back fond memories. Remember girls when you were either David or Donny, never both, although I had a bit of a thing for Marc as well. Well that got me thinking of all the fella's that have sent my heart aflutter from afar over the years.

First there was David of course, then

George Michael (I know I know but that voice and those looks - sigh!)

John Cusack - kind of quirky

Ewan McGregor (but only in his trainspotting guise - weird eh!)

Clark Gable as Rhett Butler

Robert Downey Jr for some reason

Richard Gere but only after I saw him interviewed and realised he was much more than just a very pretty face.

Clive Owen wouldn't get the door slammed in his face.

And of course, last but definitely not least, in the weakintheknees department, lovely George Clooney, in any guise, on any day!!

Maybe all this nonsense gives a little insight into GWE (you know - hubby) I obviously vere in the direction of dark, not necessarily tall, must be able to sing, slightly sardonic, a bit masterful, and a great sense of fun.

Well I hope that has given you all some pleasant thoughts of your own......

Doh!!

I just made the mistake of reading the information page before clicking on "New Post", something of course I have never bothered to do before and I have to admit I had no idea what it said, it made absolutely no sense whatsoever. I know how to post a blog, i.e. bash the little keys up and down and I can even load pictures but all that other stuff, lists of fellow bloggers, adding on funny asides etc. is beyond me and that is why I decided to investigate further by reading THAT page but am none the wiser!
Anyway, I have made it safely to the other side of the big "C", obviously few pounds heavier, many dollars lighter and have to say it doesn't quite have the magic? joy? not sure what but something is missing. A definite sense of anticlimax after those weeks of stressing about presents, food etc. I received a card from my brother telling me I had bought two vaccinations for some children in Sierra Leone and honestly felt that was the best money spent on me this year. It is nice to get new slippers, a lovely nightie, gift cards to spend but I don't need those things. The light has dawned - it was lovely to get together our small family network this side of the Atlantic and have a lovely meal and a few drinks but next year instead of our Christmas lists, I think I will encourage my nearest and dearest to consider who we should really be spending our Christmas dollars on.
What a confusing post, a bit all over the place today but what the heck.........wishing all my new cyber friends a peaceful and happy 2008.

Crippling (!) or Back Breaking Snow Storm

Well this is the reason for a two (so far) blog day. Southern Ontario is in the grip of a "crippling" snowstorm and I am in no hurry to don the wellies and head outside to dig us out. You saw my picture the other day of my back garden, very pretty - just a snowy day. This is my street! There is a road out there somewhere. The best part of these days is when you have spent two back breaking hours clearing the driveway and the path up to the house and in both directions to meet up with your neighbours efforts. You are back indoors with your feet up, a hot cuppa helping to bring your hands back to life, when you hear the snow plough go past. What this means for all you snow virgins is a two foot pile of slushy wet heavy sh***ty snow right back across the width of the driveway and if you don't shift it soon, it turns into a rock solid speed-bump - guaranteed to impede any exit from the driveway!!!
Meanwhile GWE is in France, having driven what turned out to be 12 hours from Germany through Switzerland to get there (which apparently he is in no hurry to repeat - can I just say "I told you so") next time a civilized flight to Paris and a 4 hour drive down!! Anyway when I called him, he said it is only -1 over there and a gorgeous day, and he is happily sunning himself while he tries to pry the remaining ivy from the walls of our little piece of France. Later on his host at B & B is taking out on a pony and trap ride around the neighbouring countryside. There is something dreadfully wrong with this situation. WTF Santa, and I have been good this year!

"Merry" Christmas

Well it's official. I found Queeny's site. Very very funny. And as it is the time of year, I took the booze quiz and, believe it or not, I am a Lush with 82%. If you need to know, here's where you need to go. I am hoping this will blog will look OK, what with being a lush and everything...... I am doing my best.

Finally Lost It!

Well I am really loving reading everyone else's blogs. Not savvy enough to be able to list all my favourites on my blog, but some of my favourites are BreezyBreak, Us in France, Menapausaloldbag (who is MIA, busy writing her novel!! - come back MOB), Mean Mom, Swearing Mum, A Night on the Tiles - I could go on and on and that is just the trouble! I am so busy checking in on everyone I got lost. Sad as it sounds and I mean sad, not sad - I went back trying to check out "Queeny" but I couldn't find where I had seen her, on who's blog - so any assistance greatly appreciated. Keep it coming everyone.... trouble is my "real" life gets in the way sometimes and I occasionally have to log off!! The picture sort of sums up how my brain feels when blogging....

Only 12 More Sleeps.....

As you can see, it looks like we might have a white Christmas here in southern Ontario. I have heard it said, but don't want to believe it, that we headed for the coldest, snowiest (?) winter in 15 years! I tell you it can get pretty cold and snowy here most winters so that is not a happy prospect. AND the snow is beginning to make me feel a tiny bit of Christmas panic, because as you can imagine the white stuff doesn't make searching for a parking spot, or rushing from mall to mall in search of those elusive gifts any easier. OMG I really am turning into an old scrooge as the years go by..........happy and safe holidays everyone!

On the other side of the Atlantic GWE is off to France for a few days to meet the roofer for the "project" or should I say "projet". He gets all the fun stuff, although it does involve an eight hour car journey from Germany through Switzerland to France, some more back breaking "landscaping" and then all the way back next week so he can fly back home for Christmas. On second thoughts, what pretty snowflakes......

The old ones are the best!!

I just had this forwarded to me and it made me laugh, so I just wanted to share the joke.....

WHY YOU NEVER QUESTION A DRUNK

I was shopping at the local supermarket where I selected:
A half-gallon of 2% milk,
A carton of eggs,A quart of orange juice,
A head of romaine lettuce,
A 2 lb. can of coffee,
And 1 lb. package of bacon.

As I was unloading my items on the conveyor belt to check out, a drunk standing behind me watched as I placed the items in front of thecashier.

While the cashier was ringing up the purchases, the drunk calmly stated,"You must be single."

I was a bit startled by this proclamation, but I was intrigued by thederelict's intuition, since I was indeed single.

I looked at the six items on the belt and saw nothing particularly unusual about my selections that could have tipped off the drunk to my marital status.

Curiosity getting the better of me, I said: "Well , you know what, you're absolutely right.
But how on earth did you know that?"



The drunk replied, "Cause you're ugly."

Does Scrooge live here?

OK, my rant the other day did seem to scare everyone away, but what the hell - I am enjoying the opportunity to just put my thoughts down on paper. Here in Canada after a cold and icy snap, we are back the right side of zero degrees and it is miserable and raining. So I have felt the need to put up my exterior Christmas decorations - I know, but it is now less than a month to Christmas and in my street I am definitely a late starter. Always been a believer that less is more, and the rule in our household is only white lights (despite my kids' pleas for plastic Santas and all that malarkey (not so much these days you understand, they are 26, 24 and 15) but back in the day I had to explain the principle of less is more. Hopwever, I am thinking maybe they could teach me something.

What a Scene!

It's view like this that caused us to fall in love with the part of France where we have decided to buy some property. I had to post this photo, I just love it, it is a view from the B & B where we stayed for a couple of days last week. A great spot, very comfortable, wonderful hospitality, close to our village. One of these days when I have worked out how to include a link, I will. It is tough getting back to reality here in Canada with memories like this. As you can imagine, we are itching to get started on our project, but some bureaucracy to go through first. We want to put some dormers in the roof, so that we can convert the attic of the house and the barn into bedrooms. Apparently, this can take a little while, so we are keen to get that underway as soon as possible. Also all the good artisans are booked up for months, so we need to pin one down now although he probably will not be able to commence work until next summer. Looks like we might be camping for our hols next summer, maybe even the one after!

Mental Olympics

I don't know if its jet lag, age, hormones or what, but I cannot seem to stay asleep for more that 5 - 6 hours these days. When I do surface from sleep, my brain starts what I think of as the mental olympics, I think it is probably the decathlon - you know, a quick sprint over there, the mental hurdles, the long jump (how did I get from there to here?) - it is truly exhausting yet not sleepmaking. I've always had a problem focusing - I don't have a problem relocating my entire family from one continent to another, no problem - however, seeing weightwatchers to a successful finish, utilising a gym membership - those I'm not so good at. So here I am a new real estate agent with my first listing, it is very exciting and daunting. These lovely people have entrusted me with their home to sell, and, bless them, they want to buy a property through me as well- great! Trouble is, as usual, that is not my entire focus, but it should be. No, I have one or two other things to contend with, as my hubby (who I will call the Great Wage Earner - because I know that is how he thinks of himself - and bless him, he has always been great at it, and much appreciated by me) has upsticks off to Europe for work, leaving me here in sole charge of our fifteen year old son, one large stupid dog, the family home, a rental property in a town one and half hours away, the company bookkeeping, the family budget, selling the car (now surplus to requirements) and nurturing my new career. God, I'm surprised I have 5 or 6 hours to sleep! Maybe Superwomen would have been a better blog name, however that might suggest I have a handle on everything, but truthfully I think softinthehead is probably more apt at the moment. I got into the real estate business just this year after years of thinking "I could do that" - "I think I would be good at that", I mean, in our thirty year marriage (which we secretly think works becase the GWE has spent a good deal of it elsewhere!), we have bought and sold 14 houses in places such as the U.K., U.S., Canada and now France - piece of cake. So I took the plunge and signed up for the courses, did fairly respectably - there was a momentary wobble just as I was about to give in my notice at my nice, safe, wage earning job, I mean, from now on it would be totally up to me, I could not blame anyone else, i.e. the boss, colleagues etc. if it did not work out. But GWE said go for it, so I did and almost three months in, I have a listing, very gratifying, of course now I have to sell it - I will keep you posted. I hope this hasn't been as exhausting to read as it has been to write, but I can see this blogging is going to be very cathartic. I can now happily start on my first list of the day, because boy I need lists, post-its, my daytimer (with highlighted entries of lists.....) I hope I haven't scared everyone off.

Bloggeritis

I have been eagerly reading Breezy's and Sally's Chateau blogs for several months now, what I like to think of as the Corrie and To the Manor Born of living in France blog's - meant in the fondest possible way - and I will let you decide which is which! All in my search of vicarious living in France. However, I have now branched out - obviously a little slow on the uptake - but have ventured over to MOB and the mean mom etc. etc. and I 'm hooked - hence the title.

However, as I want to keep everyone on tenterhooks with our renovation project in Limousin I have attached another couple of photos to show what two and a half days with two pairs of shears, a couple of rakes and a saw can achieve - you can almost see what we fell in love with. I know - you're thinking we have very thick rose coloured glasses.

Legally described as "habitable"

Well the deed in done. We are now the proud (crazy, foolish, impetuous!) owners of a little bit of France that they laughingly call habitable. We have bought property consisting on one "habitable" house, a barn and a ruin! on an acre of land just north of Magnac Laval in Limousin. The adventure all began back in January when my husband jokingly sent me a link to a wonderful looking chateau somewhere near Clermont Ferand (?) and before you know it we were off surfing around the property agents websites looking at all sorts.

Having visited the Limousin a few years ago when France experienced an incredibly hot summer, we already knew we loved the area, reminiscent of the England back in the 50's - no traffic, rolling countryside, friendly easy going people and ....peace and quiet - no noise pollution, living here in the suburbs of Toronto that is just unheard of (excuse the pun!). So it was decided, we would go to France for our summer vacation and buy somewhere! And that is what we have done. As this is my first ever blog I am hoping there will be a picture along with this - fingers crossed.