Life at home.

We've been back here for about 7 weeks now, and we're just about getting things back into shape.

Billy settled in very quickly, but WE were still searching for lost things after several weeks. One thing that we always need to remember are the best 'brands' for all our favourite products. Mostly we remember what's what, but occasionally I totally forget and buy some horrible inferior product; which usually gets thrown away. We really should make a list.

When my youngest son sold his lovely barn-conversion home behind us, most of his major possessions were shipped out to him, but a lot came down here. As a result we are a tad over-stocked with many things; especially in our tiny kitchen. I need to do some 'sorting'.

When I originally bought this little house, it was simply a one room ruin with hardly any roof (the bit in the middle above) in a field. It had a dust floor, no water or electricity, and no physical comforts whatsoever. It simply had an ancient stone sink and a huge fireplace. I loved it instantly. The view from the front is just perfect. We lived about 100 metres away when I bought it`.

Out in the woods, after considerable rain and heat, there are now a few mushrooms. I found these three young Cepes yesterday afternoon. One accompanied a Magret for dinner last night, the others will make a fabulous lunchtime omelet today.

Back at home our Greengages are dropping by the bucket load. I did notice that there always seem fewer on the ground in the mornings than there were in the evenings, so I laid a simple test. I laid 10 Plums in a straight row, and in the morning they were all gone. The Deer must be visiting in the night and having a feast. Good for them!

The temperature has dropped considerably over the past few days, and our yesterday's swim was in 22 C water. Very different to the 28 C of a few days ago. 

There are only two things that I consider to be my life's 'legacy'. Firstly is the restoration of this cottage, with its Pool and Tower, and secondly are my paintings, many of which are in collections spread around the world. I haven't really done much else, other than producing three lovely, hard working, and successful children. 

We're hoping that No 1 son, Kimbo, will take-over the running of the cottage before too long. We're training him!