TALES FROM THE DIVINE VALLEY
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Stories about our life and experiences in France.
And some other information, which we hope will be useful and of interest!
MOVING TO FRANCE
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Like so many others before us, we had thought about it for quite a while. But when the moment finally came for us to put action to our words, it was a bit scary. Should we really pack up and leave life as we knew it behind? Was it the perfect time to do it? But when is it ever?
Dreams, glossy fairy tales in which everything is picture perfect, are easy. You can revel in your dreams for as long as you want but at some point you may want to make it all come true and that’s when reality kicks in . . . more
THE DEEP FREEZE
On Sunday 28th January 2012, I returned from a week's stay with my family in Holland. During the journey my car's computer showed 8ºC, but on Monday morning I awoke to a white world with huge snowflakes steadily coming down. I was on my own in an old, unrenovated big stone house of which only the small kitchen and one bedroom were habitable.
Outside looked beautiful and I was excited. So were the animals. They darted around in this peculiar white stuff and couldn't get enough of it. But the temperature dropped . . . more
CREATING A POTAGER
The house and all its outbuildings are surrounded by fields which, when we bought the place, were just that - empty grass meadows. One of the reasons we moved here was to live a simpler and more wholesome life and to be able to provide for ourselves as much as possible. That included creating a kitchen garden where we could grow our own food, my project! And so early 2012, a few months after we had arrived, our lovely neighbour C. offered to plough the area of land I had chosen for its location. He and his tractor arrived one cold January morning. . . more