Gosh, and how time flies!

Just a quick note: I am going to tidy up the look of the blog so it is highly likely that it is going to look messy while I do that.....if it actually loads properly at all!

Gosh, and how time flies! It didn't seem such a long time ago when I was in the thick of bringing in the harvest produce from the over-run-with-weeds veg plot, and here I am in the middle of October wondering where the year has gone. And we still do not have our Rayburn wood burning stove installed because we are still making the gates for the Back Paddocks so that the four month old piglets can have the experience of a good sized space to run around in, digging up roots and making lovely big holes in the process. So why do they need to do that? Because they are for the freezer, and we can't go through the slaughtering and eating process unless we know that they have had a good life, and so far they have been confined to the much smaller pig pens, which they don't seem to mind, but we do. They haven't dug one hole yet, and that is just not the way of little pigs.

Anyway, getting the pigs sorted out remains our priority at the moment, so while Lester does the necessary work on the gates I now have taken over the job of painting the kitchen. I would have preferred to have light cream as the colour for the walls, but paint here in France is expensive, so we have opted for white. One more coat of paint on the walls should do it.

Things I have learnt: That it is not a good idea for a buxom lady to try and climb through the rather small trap door of the scaffolding tower so that she can get to its first stage so she can paint round the edges of the ceiling. She will get stuck. This I have found out. I was so stuck that I could not budge for quite a few moments. It was not a nice experience.

*****

And this is us lot, the Maubourget choir, waiting for the coach.

We were off to Lourdes, to sing in a regional concert there.

The concert hall was huge,

the stage the same.

I was playing the piano for one of the choir songs.

I had to play a D major chord to begin with.

But quite clearly I played a C major chord instead.

Not to worry,

a quick glance from Juliette, the choir master,

soon had me corrected.

It was just as well that the chord was played in advance of the choir starting to sing.

otherwise it would have been a disaster.

But we all smiled,

and I didn't go into a fluster,

and I managed the rest of the song quite well.

I think my Mum and Dad in heaven would have been proud of me.

And then the next day it was us lot again, but fund raising in Maubourget town square.

I am the one in the red blouse and cream skirt, standing behind others.

It was not a busy day,

but it was fun.

...and John, reduced to playing his whistle to earn a drop of money to pay for the coffee set that Kathy wanted to buy. Just kidding around, that is what we were doing.

Lester is standing behind the three seated ladies.

It was good to get away from farm life for an hour or so.

Things I have learnt:

That good friends are a treasure to have around.

That taking time out is a great energizer.

*****

.... and then it was back to making the gates,

......and Boolie looking ticked off because he was bored.

He is a Springer Spaniel,

and a diva.

Vx