Thursday 7 January 2010

A New Year ..........

Happy New Year to all readers here, it's started quite magically in more ways than one!

I love the snow - it reminds me so much of growing up on the edge of the Penines and being sent home from school and playing with my sledge in the fields behind the houses, etc, etc. We don't get enough snow in the winter anymore! Maybe in a couple of days I'll have changed that comment, but for now I'm sticking to it!

Christmas and New Year has been very much a family affair for us, Nick and Dave came over on Christmas Eve and stayed until the 4th January. We have played Carcasonne every evening (we are definitely getting adicted, adding in new extensions and characters too!) If you've not come across the game it's great fun - you try to build cities and roads and farms and earn as many points as possible (that's a girlie simplistic view of it!!!) It's difficult to say which of the boys was the best player - but John and I were left behind quite often in the domination game!

We went across to France during the break - left here on the 30th December (with Carcasonne packed in the car!!!) the boys came back on the 4th and we came back yesterday through all the snow.

We actually went to our new home!

We will be leaving here at the end of the month and moving everything over to our beautiful house in the north of France. (This picture was taken in the summer when we first saw it - this is what I fell in love with - a private inner courtyard with 2 walnut trees in the middle) It was just as lovely in the winter with snow on the ground and no leaves on the trees!


On the Sunday we had a day out at the seaside and had a long walk along a beautiful beach at Stella Plage, just below Le Touquet, Paris Plage, when we then drove up into Le Touquet we found all the land yachts and the clubhouse - I have a feeling that if I can't find John he'll be there playing on the beach! The day was gorgeous, but very, very cold. The walk was quite bracing to say the least!

This month is going to be taken up with packing everything that we've accumulated over the last 14 years and trying to decide whether it can be parted with, thrown away, sold, whatever - I'm a dreadful hoarder and can't bear to get rid of anything "just in case" so it's going to be very difficult!

I will try not to be too boring but think it may be fun as we go through things to go "back in time" with various textiley items and then discuss on here whether they should stay or go!

We are also keeping a base over here in the UK and will continue to run the business as we always have doing demonstrations and markets throughout the summer, The Mulberry Dyer is not going anywhere, but Debbie and John are having a home of their own!

5 comments:

Lizzie said...

Lucky you going to live in France!! I wish you all the best. Its been a dream of mine for years - but each year I get a little bit older!!!!!!!!!!

Helen said...

It all looks quite fabulous Debbie and I am already looking forward to a visit and dyeing with the walnuts too with any luck!

Dorothy said...

How absolutely marvelous to have your own walnut trees! And your own home too ;) I hope the move goes well.

Debbie said...

Thanks very much everyone for the good wishes - packing is now stating in earnest and is quite daunting. We're still on books and have so far filled 25 banana boxes and are not even half way through them! I must make sure my dyebook library gets left to someone in my will otherwise it will be just lost!!!!!

It is so exiting to be going to my own home - but also very scary and sad to be leaving my home country of the last 26 years - I think reality is beginning to set in!

madewithloops said...

OMG...you never said...what will I do without you now that I have found you??? :-(((
But your place looks lovely and I will just have to come and stay
xxx