200 Followers and an award!!!

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2013, 365, award, childhood, children, family, followers, France, holiday, home, photoaday, photography, postaday, summer, UK

Happy days – in the last week I have got my 200th follower (hello!!) and have won an award. I have been very tardy in posting about the award and passing it on as this week has been full of returning from holiday, remembering what happens when we are at home and sorting the children out getting back to school.

This weekend I fully intend to post about it – and to pass the honours on as is the tradition with WordPress awards. I am so so thrilled to have got it.

And I am so pleased to have 200 of you interested in the everyday ramblings about our lives. There is only 1 person in that 200 that I have actually met and know (and she introduced me to the wonders of wordpress). That means 200 “strangers” are keeping up with our news, our triumphs and disasters and our photo diary. Feels a little strange sometimes – but in a good way 😉 !

But some of you have become more than strangers – through comments and reading each others blogs, through messages of support when times are tough I hav felt the warm side of wordpress and thought I would take the time right now to say “thank you”.

So…the Oscar style speech is over. But I thought I would mark the occasion with 10 of my favourite photos from the summer. It has been a wonderful summer and I thought I would pore through all the pics and find those which are among my personal favourites – to dot about this post. They aren’t the best technically, they aren’t the “prettiest” – they range from photos taken with an iphone (above) through a point and shoot and waterproof camera right up to my DSLR. But they capture the bits I want to remember most about this summer. The ones which evoke the memories for me. I hope you don’t mind me indulging myself 😀

   

31/8/2013 – All good things…

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2013, 365, childhood, children, family, France, gite, holiday, photoaday, photography, postaday, summer

…must come to an end and today our holiday had to end and we set off on the journey home.

I did a quick tour of the gite for some last minute photos before we went.

We stopped a few times on the way for food and toilet breaks but it seemed to take forever.

A looooooong journey as we set off at 10am and arrived at Boulogne at our overnight stop at 9pm. Thank goodness for in-car DVD players!

Dx was thrilled to be 6 as it means he can go in the top bunk a the hotel ( Lx slept on the top bunk on the way down and we had told Dx he would be old enough on the way home as he would be 6 then as per the sign)

30/8/2013 – Birthday Boy

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2013, 365, Beach, birthday, boules, childhood, children, family, France, home, photoaday, photography, postaday, summer

Dx’s REAL 6th birthday today started with an early morning trip to the beach – we had it to ourselves which was wonderful. We took one of his presents with us to the beach – a boules set from his grandparents.

We soon discovered his boules skill didn’t translate to sand (cue temper and tears from “Mr Sore Loser”). Luckily we found a patch of grass and he won all three games there! He does have a real skill when the balls are able to roll.

We had a great morning at the beach and even by lunchtime when we left there were only a few more people on the sands.

In the afternoon the gite owner Mark gave Dx and Lx a birthday ride in the trailer of his mower. They loved it and got the big tour through the wilder parts of the garden.

More birthday cake in the evening!

Thursday 29/8/2013 – A Very Happy Unbirthday to You

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2013, 365, birthday, childhood, children, family, France, holiday, photoaday, photography, postaday, summer

As Dx’s birthday falls on the day we will be packing to come home we have decided to celebrate his birthday over 2 days. Today (a la Alice in Wonderland) is declared his “unbirthday” and will be celebrated by a meal out at lunchtime and cake later.

The meal out was at an Italian restaurant at another pretty medieval town called St Yrieux (preceded by a quick family photocall while we were all looking semi smart. The top photo was taken by the method known in the family as a “magic photo” where I take a photo and then everyone stands still and someone from the original photo takes my place to take another with me in – for me to merge the two photos later. Hope you can’t spot the join 😉 )

I had a great pasta with salmon (a nice break from the pizzas so far – the staple diet of a non meat eater abroad!) and the children loved the “ears and faces” on their ice creams.

A very special treat for Dx – coke. Not normally allowed in our family till you are 8. (Such terrible parents!) But it was his birthday after all – so perhaps just a small one! Scott loves Orangina (not found in the UK) and very generously allowed Dx his first taste of that.Tomorrow is his real birthday when there will be presents, more cake and a trip to the beach pre-packing.

In the evening I took a few more photos of Lx.

Wednesday 28/8/2013 – An Englishman’s Home…

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2013, 365, Beach, childhood, children, evening, family, France, home, parkour, photoaday, photography, postaday, summer

The weather was still overcast today compared with last week but we went to the beach for the evening anyway. Gx and Matt made an impressive sandcastle mansion…

Meanwhile Sx encouraged the little two into more parkour jumping and climbing which resulted in Dx hurting his foot and having to be carried back up the hill to the car park (next morning it was fine but tonight it caused him a lot of pain – and caused us all to cut short the evening).

Monday 26/8/2013 – Pool, Picturesque Villages and Partying!

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365, architevcture, children, family, France, holiday, market, meal, medievil, party, photoaday, photography, pool, postaday, summer, UK, underwater, village

Today dawned overcast again – where HAS the sun gone??? It was warm enough in the afternoon for a dip in the pool and a chance to take some underwater photos – although not long after I got in, the children got out declaring it “the coldest the pool has been all holiday”!
 

In the evening we headed into the local village Segur le Chateau. We drove down intending to drive home later but then discovered just how BIG the party that evening was and Matt took the car home again so we could drink and walk home at the end of the evening.

The village is incredibly pretty with lots of medieval houses everywhere you look.

 

We had gone into town for the last big evening market of the season which is really like a big party. In the main square there are hundreds of chairs laid out for people to sit and eat.

There are stalls selling bread, salad, meat (which is then BBQ-ed for you) crepes, candy floss, cheese, wine – everything you need for a fantastic meal. We took our seats and ordered meat and chips to eat with the bread and wine we had brought with us – and then had crepes and candy floss for dessert. The children enjoyed the bouncy castle, the dancing to a singer – and making friends with a French boy which gave them a chance to try out their pidgin French!

Sunday 25/8/2013 – More markets (and a fireside film)

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2013, 365, childhood, children, family, film, fireside, France, home, market, movie, photoaday, photography, pizza, postaday, rain, weekend

Off to Objat today for another market. We lucked in as it was a special fete day and they had some traditional dancing going on (including some people who were wearing traditional wooden clogs)and bands playing…

…as well as the usual market stalls with local farm produce.

The weather held off till we were safely in a pizza restaurant for lunch and then threw it down. Unfortunately the raincoats were in the car so we did get soaked as we walked back (and we couldn’t stop in the market for crepes for dessert as we had hoped) but at least we had a dry morning.

The rain continued all afternoon so we made the best of it lighting a fire in the wonderful fireplace in the gite and snuggling up to watch some films together.

Saturday 24/8/2013 – An Evening at the Beach

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2013, childhood, children, family, France, holiday, photoaday, photography, postaday, summer

The weather improved as the day went on and we took our tea with us to the beach. We arrived at 5.30 and found it already practically deserted – just 3 other families were there even though it was the warmest part of the day. Within 30 minutes we had the place to ourselves which was very different to the hustle and bustle of our previous visit.

The children had great fun in the water and the play area…

and then Sx organised some competetive games  involving the boys racing for possession of the “flag” (or yellow spade in reality).

 

It’s at times like these seeing them race and looknig at the photos afterwards that I thnik how lucky Sx and GX are. tHere is only 18 months between them, they are very diffwerent personalities but they get on well (most of the time) and share so much. I hope they remain such good friends as they grow up.

We left at 8pm as the sun was setting – home for the endless round of showers and pyjamas…

Friday 23/8/2013 – Uno

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2013, 365, cards, childhood, children, family, France, holiday, photoaday, photography, postaday, summer, uno

A morning at the beach was postponed today when the day began overcast. It was still warm but not the best day we have had – so a good excuse for a morning of family game of “Uno”.

(And a chance for me to remember I brought my speedlite with me and to practise using it as I rarely get it out as I don’t know what I am doing . The first photo below shows how it SHOULDN’T be done-  the flash is a little overpowering in that one but I am more pleased how the others turned out! It’s still VERY much trial and error as i much prefer to use natural light where possible  –  these were with the flash bouncing off the ceiling with the flash set to +2/3. Any advice on using it appreciated!)

After the first game ended in tears (Dx is NOT a good loser!) we divided into teams for the rest of the games.

By the evening the sun was golden in the garden as usual and hopefully the beach trip will be on for tomorrow morning instead.

Thursday 22/8/2013 – Market Day and Movies Part II

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2013, architecture, childhood, family, France, holiday, landscape, market, photoaday, photography, postaday, summer

We went to the market at Excideuil today which is a very old quaint town with the market in winding narrow streets closed to cars. The town is overlooked by the imposing castle (no time to explore it thought I am afraid).

I love the selection of items for sale in a French market which we don’t get in England – the saussisons stalls, the big rounds of cheese, whole stalls of onions and garlic – and in such a tourist region, perhaps a few snails to take home as souvenirs. (The children turned these down).

But I also just love wandering the streets and enjoying the old buildings, the traditional shutters and signage.