Wonderful News!

Lily Grace Kroon was born at 8.59am (Australian time) on August 4th. Vanessa and Hayden are well and excited, as is Grandma Alison! Hayden rang and I talked to Lily on the phone. I could certainly detect an Australian accent! Lol.

I don't have any photos of Lily yet, so here's one of the proud parents, Hayden and Vanessa, instead!

Help Corey!

Please help Corey, a great friend of my blogfriend Joanna - you've met her before. I'll let her explain.




Future Reality TV Star?


Did you ever wonder what it would be like to be on a reality tv show? Well my friend Corey Nyman wants to find out!

PBS is currently casting for their reality show The Winemaker Makers, Season II, to be held in the Rhone Valley of France. Corey is a GREAT FRIEND OF MINE and has officially applied to be on the show. He’s just posted an audition video (2 minutes) on YouTube.com which you can view HERE or here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz654bWk4RE

It's very cool! Bravo is going to pick 12 total contestants to be on the show, deciding upon 11 by themselves, however—AND THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN—the 12th contestant will be chosen based on the amount of YouTube VIEWS that the applicant’s video gets BY AUGUST 7TH. Make sense?

Now, here is where each of you come in…. PLEASE send, forward, blog, Tweet, Facebook Status update, email, etc. to ALL of your friends the link to the video and ask them to watch. The more YouTube views Corey receives, the better his chances.


SO GO, GO, GO and watch his YouTube video and tell your friends!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz654bWk4RE

Thanks a million.

Welcome to The Fifty Factor - Joanna

8s... or perhaps 5s

Well, simply by reading the blog of my 'blogfriend' Joanna - The Fifty Factor - I have been tagged. You know the things - there are always a few floating round on facebook too. But anyway, I enjoy doing quizes and things like this, and I am not being rushed off my feet today so here goes!It's called 8s, and this is what you do:
--Mention the person who tagged you. (I did - it was Joanna!)
--Complete the list of 8's
--Tag 8 others and let them know. (I'm not naming names for the tag, so anyone can play along... or not.)

You can do it in your blog, or Facebook, or .... well, whatever.....

Here are the 8's.... But I've decided to make an executive decison and it's suddenly become 5s. 5 is my favourite number, and also in the 5th form Carole Paterson and I spent a whole Maths period writing 5s all over our books to see who did the neatest ones. And then Mrs Moyle came along and said, "What's that?" And Carole looked up at her and said, "5s!" Well, you had to have been there I guess. But it was very funny!




5 things I am looking forward to.
1. Seeing Sienna and Isla again and hugging them to bits. I just can't wait!
2. The arrival of Lily Kroon in Bundaberg which could be happening as we speak!
3. Seeing all my friends and family again.
4. When I get back home, finding a way of working more in the Learning Languages area.
5. Returning to France.

5 things I did yesterday
1. Caught the bus into Centre Ville.
2. Met Jennifer and Andrew and family.
3. Finished reading "Dear Fatty" by Dawn French.
4, Inspired by that, I watched all of the last few episodes of the Vicar of Dibley on You Tube - where the vicar gets married.
5. Bought a top at Zara's sale - only 5.99 euros!


5 things I wish I could do
1. Live 6 months of the year in New Zealand and 6 months in France in my own little stone cottage - previously lovingly restored of course, probably in southern Vienne so that I'm not too far from Poitiers which is after all my home town. :-)
2. Pay off my boys' student loans.
3. Have enough money to give a big lump of it to the Nelson Hospice.
4. Lose 10kgs!
5. Retire on 80% of my current income like they jolly-well do here in France! Wouldn't that be good?

5 places I've travelled to.
1. East London, South Africa.
2. Brunei
3. Palmerston North
4. Muscat
5. Loch Lomond

5 places I'd like to travel to
1. Rome and southern Italy in general
2. Spain
3. More of the USA
4. More of France
5. Canada

So that's me.

Mr Badger

Do you know, when I was staying with Sheryl in Al Ain and I wasn't very well, (not berry well! as we say in our family) I read lots of books and one of them was The Wind in the Willows. I had never read the whole book before, believe it or not. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.

So we move on a little. Karen and Kevin don't go messing about in boats as far as I know, but they have made aquaintance with Mr Badger! Or a relative. One or two badgers come visiting every night. They snuffle round on the lawn and then make their way up to the back door. There is usually some food about - something for the birds or even a special treat for them. I think they seek out this house because they know how much Karen loves wildlife.
It was just great peering in the dark through the glass panel of the back door. I had never seen a badger before and I was quite captivated. You could just see why Kenneth Grahame decided that Mr Badger would be wise and gentlemanly. (No, I'm sorry, I am unable to explain myself!) And here's the good bit - I got a photo! Karen said that it was pretty much impossible to take a photo. They had tried before but the flash just reflects back and you get nothing. But I had a go and I don't know if it was the way I held my mouth or my experience with the Brownie 127 which Grandma gave me for my 9th birthday, but anyway, I was quite chuffed with the result! So here they are - Mr Badger and his companion Bruce.

UK #4

What do you think of my fancy background? I will no doubt get quite carried away and change it regularly. Thanks Holly for your help. :-)
Yesterday I met Ruth's daughter Jennifer and her family (who live in Grenoble) in Centre Ville for a coffee and an icecream. (A little while ago Yun and I discovered a cafe that has Creme Brulee icecream! I tell you....!) The photo is of me and Jennifer. She and I discussed how her mother had come to Taranaki to have a holiday with me, where she met Murray. Before she knew it she was a farmer's wife! I said that I couldn't have ever been a farmer's wife because I'm no good at scones. Jennifer felt that she could possibly pass muster as long as she had a ready mix packet where you only add water. Or is it milk? But I do believe that the secret is the lightness of touch. Hahaha!
So anyway, that was really lovely. They had been camping south of Bordeaux - possibly somewhere near Guy's naturist camp, but they didn't see him :-) - and were on their way to Tours where Andrew's brother lives.
And now a few last bits about England, and Brentwood in Essex in particular. I'm just glad I'm not going back to the dentist there as I don't think I could cope after two back to back losses to the Boks.
One night I walked with Kevin round to his allotment. I was really keen to see it. I'm sure you all know what an allotment is. Certainly the ones Louise and I saw from the train windows in Europe looked like small towns, with garden sheds that could have housed small families. I suspect that the sheds are a bit like Boys' Clubs at times. But Kevin doesn't have a shed!
He just loves his garden and devotes a lot of time to it. Which of course you need to. We ate beautful fresh vegetables and fruit from the allotment all the time and believe me, you can taste a difference. It's just such a healthy thing to do on so many levels. And Kevin was saying that whilst it's mainly the perserve of 'older' people, more and more young ones are getting interested, which of course is just great. The photos show a range of things as you can see.

"Well, oi think the answer loies in the soil!" (To be said with a broad Somerset accent, preferably.)


I still have some courgettes and beans which I brought back with me, and they are quite fresh. So you really have to wonder the age of the limp specimens which are offered at Foodtown Hunter's Plaza! I now have a wee vege garden at my house in Papatoetoe and I will amaze myself I'm sure at the delights it will produce. Some fancy lettuces and silver beet at least!

UK #3

Rosa 'Sophy's Rose'.


The French Experience - a story taken from the heart of every woman who has ever dared to love.... completely. Oh, oops, no, that is from another soap opera. Anyway anyway anyway....
Where were we? We were up to Wednesday I think and it was an action packed day. In fact I threw a spanner in the works a little as Kevin and Karen had planned to take me to Beth Chatto's garden, but it was quite a long drive away and we would have needed to have left in the morning. Which was fine, except that I had a dental appointment at lunchtime, as you may recall.
I was pretty much hanging out for another meeting with my new best friend the dentist. And to cut a long story short he fixed my tooth and avoided root canal work which he thought might have been necessary. He really was a very nice man. My dentist in Auckland is new and I don't like him. He is rude to his nurse for a start. And arrogant. I may have to go to Brentwood on an annual basis for dental care!
So what a relief that was! And we were on our way. K & K had been told about another large garden - Hyde Hall - which was much closer and according to reports every bit as good as Beth Chatto's garden, if not better. And it's true. If you are ever in the general Essex area I HIGHLY recommend a visit. It is just magnificent.
When we first arrived we discovered that we were just in time for a falconry display which was quite interesting.
Karen was utterly captivated and would have liked to have been part of it all. I enjoyed it, and I loved the great relationship the falconer had with the falcons, but birds don't really do it for me in a big way. So then we set off to explore the gardens. They were immaculately looked after and just beautiful. Hyde Hall is owned and managed by the Royal Horticultural Society and I would say is a feather in their cap. Or a proud bloomer in their garden! I won't go on and on as it will mean very little, especially if you don't care much about gardens! But there were cool little 'extras' such as the Harry Potter Trail
which I'm sure was interesting for everyone, and not just kids. There was a New Zealand garden, water lily ponds, rose gardens, 'dry' gardens, etc etc. And my favourite - the herbaceous borders. I think it's probably the loveliest public garden I have ever seen.








Certainly it was a good time of the year to visit, but I suspect that there is always something to see.



The gift/plant shop is moving to a larger building so K & K had much delight in getting a few things for their garden - 75% off!







Aren't these swathes of planting just beautiful?






This was just stunning.





We then drove to Maldon and watched about 10 yachts go through a lock. And we had tea at a local pub. It promised much but.... Never mind.

After a bit of a walk and a photo of some pink row boats for Sienna who is very partial to pink, we headed back to the car and home. I had just been quite blown away by the sheer beauty of the gardens, and most taken with the countryside in general.

Yay!

Last night I did not get bitten! (I was nearly asphyxiated by the insect spray but you can't have it all ways. :-))