Chez nous

We are home from beautiful, wild Brittany. We are so well and rested. Here are some of the things we did:

We made turtles in the sand on windswept beaches.

We celebrated ten years since our first date.

We drew in the sand on beaches of wild beauty.

We spent evenings home drawing and cooking and knitting.

Moules et frites was popular for the older male of the group.

We visited towns of beauty and history.

We loved and laughed and found our joy again.

We went to the end of the earth, literally, at Cap du Raz in Finistere.

We smiled and told each other we loved each other every day.

We watched our shadows and saw how tall we are in Winter.

We end the year back in our lovely home and ready for a New Year filled with joy and peace.

May your 2010 be all you need it to be.

I dedicate this blog today to the amazing Flora, my dear friend Pat's Auntie, who died earlier this week at the age of 102. She was an inspiration and leaves a hole in the life of one I love very much.

We're off!

Five years ago we spent Christmas away from home. We spent three weeks firstly in Canada and then visiting friends in Detroit.

We spent time with good, good people in weather unlike any I had experienced before. It was kinda cold!

Tomorrow we leave Colchester for another Christmas away from home. This time heading to a converted barn outside Quimper in Brittany, North West France. This time there are three of us.

We have plans for lots of fresh air and good food with minimal Christmas madness and consumerism. We want stories in front of the fire. Bowls of Breton cider and seafood stews.
And time together to rest and revive ourselves.

I have packed sacks of books and heaps of knitting.

I'm just home from teaching this evening and now have to pack but I'm psyched enough not to need much sleep. Hopefully I can get some sleep on the ferry tomorrow night.

I'll be back on 29th December and before I go I want to wish anyone that reads my little sparrow of a blog a Christmas filled with joy and laughter and those you love most.

The Gratitude Tree

Inspired by some wonderful blogs from across the pond we have begun a Gratitude Tree. Each evening that we have dinner at home we each write down something for which we are grateful and hang it on the tree, which sits on the dining table. The leaves are cut from watercolour paper that Frank has painted during one of his art sessions, tied with rough string and hung from a clipped branch of our plum tree. All of us, including Severine, contribute and Frank has become the one to remind us about it and to bring us a pencil each before we start dinner. It reminds us each day, even when we might be feeling low, that we have much for which we are grateful.

Here is a selection of our leaves, I'll let you decide who you think said each one!

• Our warm house
• Mummy, Loumi and trains
• Clare Clare's teeny tiny cars
• Blueberries
• Music and crisp Winter days
• Swings and all the things I did with Frank this morning
• My wicked English family
• My friends and my white woollen socks
• My international family: Budd (alien), Frank (mostly human), Severine (French) and Rufus (bear)
• Severine and her friendship
• Bread, cheese and dried pork products
• My family and friends
• Good health and smiley faces
• Big Barn Farm
• Umbrellas
• Love and pizza
• Insulin
• The zoo and ice cream
• Crisps
• My bike
• The very big oven in the kitchen
• My goldfish napkin holder
• Autumn sunshine

What are you grateful for today?