Merry Christmas 2020

 Friday 25/12/2020

Merry Christmas all, we hope you all have a joyous and peaceful time wherever you are in these uncertain times.

We woke up to an almost White Christmas this morning as we had a light covering of frost after a cold night.  The weather is a repeat of last year, a brief gap between storms to give us a bright, crisp, sunny Christmas day.

We'll be having a quiet day today having packed most of our belongings in Bokkie yesterday.  B&T return home on Sunday and we are due to leave for the UK on New Year's day.  

As we are in France we decided not to do a whole turkey but two 'poulets' instead - 500g each!

We did have some excitement this morning when a wild boar ran across the field in front of the house.  Unfortunately by the time I got a camera ready it was some distance away.  It was absolutely massive, probably flushed out by hunters as they are not usually seen in the open like that.

Disappointing photo of an exciting sighting of a boar.

Cold days and icy nights in Brittany

 Wednesday 09/12/20

As winter draws in we can't really complain about the weather, it has been much less stormy and rainy than last year.  Because we knew what to expect from the garden this year our work has seemed much smoother, although we can definitely see massive seasonal differences with last year.  

Along with the much lower crop of fruit came a tiny acorn crop - heaven sent when you need to clear them from the garden. Still a similiar amount of oak leaves though, so we definitely exercised our raking muscles!

The sunrises and sunsets have kept us rushing for the camera almost daily - we love watching the sky change in the evening as we're getting a cosy fire ready, and the morning sunrises are just as spectacular - with the addition of birdsong to add some joy to the mornings.

We had the first heavy frost last night, so will have to go and check the last of the crops; the leeks and beet should be ok but the spinach is probably drawing to the end now.  We have certainly feasted on the vegetables from the garden this season!

The weather has even had butterflies coming out to enjoy the last of the sun

We decided to move our tunnel crossing forward by a few days because we realised we need a bit more time in the UK to complete our quarantine and have some time to do some essentials, including getting our Covid-19 PCR tests before flying to South Africa.  We're really hoping it all goes to plan as we're desperate to see family again and hopefully enjoy some winter sun in the Southern hemisphere.

Do you ever get the feeling cats think we are here purely for their amusement?

Sunshine and catnapping in Brittany

 Thursday 26/11/20

With less than a month to Christmas we are enjoying the most fantastic late autumn weather in Brittany.  It has cooled down dramatically over the past week but we have been treated to a fair amount of sunshine and very little rain.  Wonderful for getting the garden under control and preparing for winter.

We had an interesting experience last night worth sharing:

The cats have been in a very good routine so we were surprised but not concerned when they didn't appear when called at bedtime last night.  It was a clear evening with a full-ish moon - ideal hunting conditions.  We have had some strange digging in the garden, possibly a fox or 'le sanglier' (wild boar) so I decided to go and look for the cats to make sure they weren't in trouble.  I found Jess quite easily as my head-torch picks them up well but she seemed very spooked, tail puffed up and snorting like Jasper does when fighting.  She wouldn't head back to the house and kept trying to run up the driveway up to the road.

She wouldn't let me near her so I phoned Toni to come and help.  When Toni called, Jess first ran over to her but then changed her mind and was acting very weirdly.  I  managed to edge closer and scooped her up; she was soaked but seemed a bit calmer as I took her indoors.  Jasper had appeared in the meantime but Jess headed straight upstairs into our bedroom where she lay on the floor.  We both sat talking to her for a while, trying to calm her down, something just seemed off with her.

I continued to have a nagging feeling there was something wrong: did we even have the right cat?  She was completely black and was wearing a red collar - it must be her...  I turned on the light and took a really close look: Jess has one white whisker at the moment and trademark golden eyes.  Nope, we definitely had the wrong cat...  Toni had a closer look and got hissed at for her trouble! We had to escort the stranger to the door with a cushion.

Of course, Jess was patiently waiting at the front door, no doubt having a good giggle at our expense.

Jess' doppelganger

A very strange evening but we're thankful we didn't shut the intruder in the lounge with Jasper for the night - that would have been exciting!  We have no idea where this other black cat lives, as we don't recall having seen one before - but it clearly knows this area so must be local.

Bonus pic:

The indoor 'Lidroos' or cactus flower brightens up the house in time for Christmas

Two years on the road - a summary.

 Sunday 08/11/20

It's hard to believe it was two years ago that we spent the final night in our house in Cryers Hill, gathered up the last of our belongings, did the final cleaning and handed the keys over for the new owners to move in.  We had more concerns than concrete plans but set off on a great adventure to see where it would lead us.  

Two years down the road and we are still loving the absolute freedom we enjoy.  We're healthier, happier, closer to each other and, in spite of no longer having a traditional income, wealthier than when we left.  As an experiment, the adventure is definitely working,  and we now have fewer concerns and many more plans than when we started out.  There is still a lot for us to explore and we are loving every minute of it, and are also grateful to be able to do this.

To keep up the tradition of the blog I have again summarised a record of some stats for the trip.

We have now spent 433 days in France, 184 days in the UK, 60 days in Portugal, 48 in Spain, 4 in Belgium and 3 in Germany.  In total we have spent 458 days house-sitting; something that was never part of our plans at all when we set out, and have met some wonderful people and amazing animals along the way.  

We have travelled 10,992 miles (17,587 km) so far. This is not a huge increase on last year as we spent a lot of time in house-sits due to Covid challenges, and have therefore not travelled much apart from our epic Brittany / Normandy trip while we waited for the UK to drop quarantine measures in June.

Bokkie has consumed 2,137 litres of diesel and 357 litres of LPG.  Our biggest monthly expenses are still groceries (£275 p/m), diesel (£109 p/m) and campsites (£72 p/m).  Our total daily costs were quite a bit lower in the second year and have dropped from almost £29 after 12 months to £21.57 per day after 24 months.  These are direct costs only - for interest our indirect costs are about another £28 per day and covers insurance, storage, repairs, dental bills, glasses and contact lenses and international flights, etc.

What does the future hold?  We have had to get used to having plans cancelled and changed due to the ever changing world and are still desperate to get back to South Africa for an extended trip.  We have flights booked in January so are holding thumbs (or keeping fingers crossed) that they can go ahead.  After that, who knows?  

The more we travel, the more we still want to see before we finally settle down.  We have visited so many spectacular places,  and we are filled with wonderful memories as this blog attests to.  It seems too soon to stop, so we definitely want to keep adding to this as much as we can, and as much as the post-Brexit and post-Covid world will allow us to.  One thing is for certain: we will not be going back to a traditional 9-5 work set-up any time soon!

Bokkie's team has reunited!

 Friday 30/10/20

Bokkie's team is back together again and not a moment too soon as we have entered another period of French lockdown.

Great fun to be harvesting crops we grew from seed in Spring.
Look at the size of those beetroots.

Toni managed to get a flight to Nantes via Paris last Saturday so, although it took the whole day, I was able to fetch her in Bokkie in the evening.  Flying wasn't much fun in the packed aircraft, and the drive back in the storm was't great either but is was a huge relief to be back together at the Brittany house.

The wind has a habit of playing skittles with the potted trees

Jasper is making sure I clean the gutters properly!

Thank goodness for the log-splitter as we tackle the trees chopped down while we were away.

New logs seasoning for next winter's fires

It's not all work - we manage to relax as well.

We've been kept busy gardening whenever the weather is good and cooking and relaxing when forced indoors.  The old routines have come back fairly easily and, as we did our shopping just before the lockdown was announced, we are well set up for the next few weeks.

Roasted beets and courgette with Toulouse sausage on the Cadac - Yum!

Microwaved chestnuts from the garden make a great snack.

Friendly neighbours

 Monday 19/10/21

Les vaches

Repairing storm damage in Brittany

 Sunday 18/10/20

The past week has flown past, the weather has been fairly kind and I have managed to get stuck into the garden.  A few mechanical issues tried to slow me down but I have managed to cut the lawns, chop us broken branches and trim the hedges.  It's amazing how just tidying things up gives one a completely different outlook.

I managed to raise the broken Jasmine onto trestles without
damaging it further but would struggle to work underneath.

Fortunately I could build a scaffold tower to
support it until I can rebuild the legs.

The medlar is carrying quite heavily and was listing quite badly
after the wind so I have tried to prop it up until we pick the fruit.

Weeding the potager under the watchful eye of a toad.

It has also been quite interesting being responsible for all my own cooking, I have been so spoiled be married to a fantastic cook but it has been good for me to get into the kitchen again.  Toni and Charmaine have also settled into a good routing back in the UK and, with all French flights currently on hold, we are watching to see how and when Toni can come and join me.

Our family of Ragondin seems to have evaded the attention of the farmer and grown in size since our last visit.

Bokkie's back in Brittany - Autumn 2020

 Friday 09/10/2020

Bokkie is back at the house sit in Brittany after scooting across the channel and driving through France in a socially distant manner, picking up the cats from the kennels along the way.  Toni and I have split up, geographically only and not in a matrimonial sense, to allow her to spend some more time getting Charmaine settled into her new house .  She will follow by air at a later date - assuming the flights to France are going ahead.

Brittany had some fairly severe storms before we arrived and we knew there had been some damage reported by the neighbours.  Last winter we were amazed at how well the trees and garden stood up to (what we considered) quite severe storms so we were actually quite happy to have missed this one.  Luckily no major damage has been done apart from a pergola that has blown over and a walnut branch on the potting shed.  Quite a few oak branches have also broken so there is a fair bit of clearing to be done.

Damage to the walnut tree

Foliage cleared, ready to remove.

All chopped up

The garden is still producing a fantastic crop: I picked another wheelbarrow full of butternuts (on top of the dozen already left here), some huge courgettes, loads of walnuts and other veg and there is still a lot to come.  Not sure how I am going to eat it all - the slow cooker is already slaving away with a full load of vegetable stew.

I still need to figure out what to do with the massive courgettes

Lots of lovely vegetables

It is lovely to be back at LBC again, and  I’m looking forward to cosy nights in front of the fire with Jasper & Jess. 

Pewsey ponies

Tuesday 22/09/20

Neither Toni nor I grew up around horses so it's not something we normally look for with house sits but we don't shy away from it either, provided no special care is needed.  Meg, a gorgeous Welsh pony,  was bought for the owner's grandsons to ride one day - she's turned out to be an absolute delight to care for and has stolen both of our hearts. This sit is is definitely one of our best in the UK!

The lovely cottage & garden near Pewsey

Me getting my grooming fix.

We're right next to a dairy farm so it feels a little like
we're back in Brittany

The nearby canal with the white horse on the hill in the background

Frolicking with Meg

 

House sitting Fish

 Monday 21/09/20

When we house sit we have to deal with all types of animal incidents; dogs go running off, cats disappear for a few days but we didn't really expect a fish to keep trying to trick us.  Fish, a fifteen year old goldfish, would routinely play dead, I think just to try and get a reaction from us.  It usually worked.

Just one of the many trials of house-sitting.

Summer house-sits in the UK

 Sunday 20/09/20

Well, we've been in the UK just over two months now and it has been a busy time.  We spent the first week in the campsite near Charmaine although, as no visitors were allowed in the camp, we had to resort to having picnics in the local area.

Bokkie basking in the UK summer sun

Sushi in a nearby park

From there we had an old Labrador to look after in Chellwood Gate alongside the Ashwood Forest in East Sussex while the owners holidayed in Spain.  We then travelled up to visit Ettienne & Debbi in Coventry where we tackled Bokkies front suspension, one of many jobs I had lined up.  The Fiat Ducato suspensions take a pounding when loaded with motorhome bodies and Bokkie's was due for replacement.  It was a heavy job for which I needed Ettienne's help and he had some of the tools we required.  

Walking Benji in Ashdown forest

The tired old front suspension

Our next sit was another Labrador, a young Australian Labradoodle and a 15-year old goldfish in Laughton near Lewes.  One of the issues with the type of rural property we tend to choose for our sits is that they often have low beams and doorways.  I spent quite a lot of the time with mild concussion, seemingly unable remember to duck every time.  I can understand why our forefathers left England all those years ago - they wanted more modern places to live to avoid knocking themselves senseless the whole time!  

Nevertheless, it was a lovely house and we fell in love with Bear, the Labradoodle and enjoyed some lovely walks in the neighbouring forest.

Monty and the adorable Bear

We then had a short stay in the campsite again before heading back to Coventry to sit Ettienne & Debbi's lovely cats while they went to Scotland.  We had Bokkie's MOT booked in Coventry and had a few final jobs to complete before this.  

Unfortunately this was all dealt a blow when, while stopped for a break on the way up, a truck tore off Bokkies mirror and smashed the windscreen, rendering her undriveable.  We had the distressing job of grabbing as many of our belongings as we could fit into Ettienne's car and watching Bokkie get hoisted on a recovery truck and taken away from us.  We felt quite lost.

Beloved Bokkie, mistreated by a truck

A sad sight

The lovely Desmond and Nelson

We were given a small rental car by our insurance agency and promised Bokkie would be repaired as soon as possible, but it felt really wrong not to have her parked outside.  What followed was four weeks of begging, pleading and pushing to get the repairs completed.  In the meantime we also completed sitting two Cockerpoos and five cats in Wicken and spent a week helping Charmaine move into her new home in Baldock.  It was all action!

Benson & Pebbles, happy to sleep on the owners' bed

Feeding time with five cats is a military operation

We are currently near Pewsey in a 17th century cottage (more knocking of my head...) looking after two cats and a delightful Welsh Pony called Meg.  Bokkie arrived back two days ago so I have been tackling the outstanding jobs to try and get her through the rescheduled MOT on Thursday.  She's stuck on three wheels at the moment as one of the seals for the rear wheel bearings is the wrong size so I need to get a replacement before I can replace it.  I've replaced the rear shock absorbers as well so we are looking forward to driving her again on her all-new suspension.

We're both in love with Meg

Jasper the British Shorthair looks much grumpier than he is

The gigantic Rolo

Jasper's happy face

When we're done here we will spend another week with Charmaine, helping with the final setting up of her new home and garden before we head back off across the channel.  Brittany is calling and we're set to look after French Jasper and Jess until after Christmas.  

Our UK summer tour has certainly been far more eventful than we've planned!

Lovely views of the Alton Barnes white horse from the house-sit

Bokkie, happily back in our care