BUSY, BUSY!

We've had visitors for the last week and been very busy.  Just before they arrived we did a bit of crisis gardening and tidied up the BBQ area, just in case.  

At the garden centre these hanging baskets were reduced to 10€, a bargain, so we got three of them.  They really cheered the area up and made up for the fact that we hadn't yet got all our outdoor decorative stuff out of the barn because of the disappointing weather.  

We did brave the cool breeze and manage just one BBQ while they were here!

While Nick was on his way to the airport I did a quick swoop on the local brocante shop and spotted something we have been hankering after - a couple of small stone urns.  I think the shopkeeper said that in France they are called a "medicin", which to my mind means doctor, but maybe I misheard.

She had another two on display, planted with geraniums, so I knew they were exactly what I was looking for.  Our own geraniums are not at all happy with the weather and look rather miserable, so we got two more for the urns.  They are looking equally glum!

My cousin Melvyn and I were very close as children, being virtually the same age and living only a few hundred yards apart.  Once we left school we have kept in touch but our lives diverged.  He and his wife Lynda had children and now have grandchildren which keep them very busy. 

This was their very first stay with us in France and we did our best to wear them out.  They had more stamina than we expected and we went all over the place.  When the visit was planned I asked him what they would like to see and he said a medieval village and a château, preferably one that's not a wedding venue (they are fans of the TV programme "Château DIY").  

A quick nip into the village ticked both of those off the list in one morning!

We did however go to many more places and it's good to see the area where we live through someone else's eyes.  We do rather take it for granted.

Even a visit to the local park in Descartes was a delight.  The plants are not as luxurious as they normally are, partly because of the unusually cool, wet and gloomy weather, but I wonder if it's  because much of the park would have been under water for a day or two during the floods in late April.  I was sorry to see that the little zoo in the park no longer had a wild boar and hope it didn't meet a horrible end in the flooding.

They were very lucky with the weather and in spite of the occasional light shower they had a good week.  The weather didn't stop us getting about and seeing lots of different places, some on our doorstep and some further afield.  

To round off their holiday, we booked a table at a local restaurant for the evening. Because of the cool breeze the outdoor tables were not in use so the restaurant was completely rammed with people indoors and we didn't get a table until well after 9pm, which was less than ideal but all in all they had a wonderful time.

Nick dropped them off at the airport and picked my brother up who came in on the flight that took them home.  So we'll be busy, busy again for another couple of weeks.  I hope the weather perks up.  We're nearly half way through the year and apart from the last week the sun has been rather elusive!