RIP Mr Mole

Well, I wasn't happy about the lumps in the lawn and I'm glad he's gone but I wish he hadn't died right next to the standpipe in the garden.  He was quite pretty and the flies are a nuisance. 

Days are now full of carrying, moving, raking, shovelling, watering, fertilising, hefting and entertaining electricians in order to find one who can rip out all the old and extremely dangerous cables at a reasonable cost.  Evenings are spent trying to find a way to sit and then sleep with the minimum pain from my muscles.  Every day, in addition, is a miracle of negotiation and thinking 'outside the box'.  For example, Ian was digging a bed for the loganberries etc but found a wasps nest.  Wasps were not happy and I didn't want to chuck a bomb into the nest until they had calmed down so I had to find somewhere else for the soft fruits.  Not the end of the world, but I was trying to move a trailerload of manure [a shovelful at a time] whilst re-drawing the entire garden in my head.

Anyway, I am looking forward to a couple of days with Lyn and John this weekend, then a couple of weeks of frantic work, getting things ready for Chris to come.  Then he can 'Ohhhh' and 'Ahhhhhh' at everything [before he gets down the the jobs waiting for him!!].

It is already cold at night and will, inevitably, get colder.  The next few weeks will not be much fun.
I cannot wait to get back to:
my husband
my bed
my daybed
my clothes and jewellery [I know I'm shallow, but I don't care - I've been living in Primark clothes for 6 months]
Dancing Divas and my French group
a good South African breakfast [French toast, bacon and fried bananas with honey]
a decent spa
good meat
the jacarandas in bloom

so I've decided that this is the last blog.

On 14 March I wrote:

The purpose of this blog is threefold, firstly to keep a record of the renovation of the house, secondly to let family and friends know where I am and what I'm doing so you can send encouraging comments and finally to aid the preservation of my sanity.   A sort of 'Grumpy Old Women' meets 'A Year in Provence'.

This year is going to be great - or it's going to be terrible. I just don't know

Well, I don't know if it fulfilled its purpose.  I guess it is a sort of record, one that Chris and I will recognise anyway.  It has saved me having to write everything 300 times.  People can read it or not, it's up to them.  You know where I am and what I'm doing but sending comments seemed to be beyond the capabilities of most people, due to difficulties with the program.  I know that it's a fiddly business and they should make it much easier.  But people compensated by sending some great emails instead. 

Did it aid the preservation of my sanity?  I don't know.  In many ways I enjoyed being isolated in a big field and having time to do what I wanted, to eat when I wanted and to get lots of exercise.  But I found the bad weather trying and felt very lonely sometimes.  I have made some new friends.  It gave me time for myself but made me yearn for the people I love.   Was it great or terrible?  It was both.  Do I regret it?  No, because it had to be done.  I have learned so much about construction already, not to mention garden design and landscaping. I have had the opportunity to see Kate more regularly and see her new home and also to pop back and see my little Beth at regular intervals.  I've had some good times with friends, especially Lynne, who pops over for a weekend retreat whenever she can so that we can be wise women together.  I think a couple of hundred years ago, we might have been regarded as witches with our discussions on organic gardening and the medicinal properties of herbs!!

But my heart has hurt every time I had to take Chris to the airport and every time I wanted to go with him.  But I have achieved something new and something that is for our future, which is good.. 

Have I changed?    Well, yes.  I now make a sort of 'oufff' sound, like a deflated baloon, when I sit down and a sort of 'Awwww' sound whenever I stand up or make any movement which involves the upper legs.  Everything sags.  When did that happen???   I only go topless in the pool if the neighbours and the entire Poney Club are out for the day.  The arthritis in my hands is getting rapidly worse.  So, basically, I'm just getting old.

I have fallen in love with foie gras with Monbazillac.  I've learned a lot of building terms in French, but I imagine that his limited potential.  I can differentiate between bats' poo and rodent poo, again the potential isn't enormous.  I now speak a sort of Franglais as I get confused as to which language is which [I notice Kate does the same thing]. But I do speak French confidently [apart from numbers] and I have gained confidence driving in France now that I have my very own Citroen Berlingo and I've done a fair bit of driving on my own.  I multi-task well now, but I think I always did.  I miss my children a lot but that would have been the same if I had stayed in South Africa.  So I don't think I've actually developed any skills which would make me instantly marketable, sadly.

Will I do it again?   Who knows?  At the moment, I really don't have a clue.