Thursday, March 27, 2025
Blossoms blooming
Thursday, March 13, 2025
A small corner of France to call our own
I've been hesitant about writing this post but it's finally happened. Remember those developments I mentioned a few weeks ago? Well at the beginning of February, Koos and I travelled to Joinville in the Haute Marne for him to take possession of a little house in a small village on the Marne.
Looking down the village street from the level crossing |
Koos has long had a dream to have a house on a level crossing, near a canal with a lock. The purchase of the Crumbly Cottage version 2.0 is the fulfilment of this dream and he's as pleased as punch about it. I know, I know...we still have the boats, but we are the first to realise the time has come to scale down, not up, so there will be some changes on that front in the coming months too. In the meantime, the little house on the level crossing will be as demanding as we choose to make it. It really is small with just a kitchen/dining room, a small lounge and a bedroom. There is a minimal bathroom with a shower and a separate loo. And that's it. Potentially, the grenier could be another bedroom, and the lounge could become the kitchen, but there's no rush. Apart from decorating and fixing a leaky chimney, it's perfectly usable as it is and quite enough for us. But the best part is the scenery. The photos below are of just one walk that I took with Zoe.
The Marne Valley is stunning and we are blessed with these beautiful views. Not only that, the trains pass regularly but not so often as to be annoying (to me), although we have noticed there are more than we were led to believe and the goods trains woke us up the first night. By the third night, however, we only heard the morning train around 7:30. If there were others during the wee hours, we didn't hear them.
Even better (to me) is the proximity of the canal. It used to be called the Canal de la Marne à La Saône, but these days, it is the Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne (the canal between Champagne and Burgundy). The towpath is just a short walk from the CC 2.0, and a short way along the towpath is a lock. Val heaven. I envisage taking Zoe for many a walk along the waterside, and it is also the easiest way to get to the shops at the popular village of Froncles.
Added to that, it is not so far from Joinville, one of my favourite towns in the region, and only a little further to Chaumont, the principal city of the Haute Marne department. We cannot quite believe our good fortune because we've spent several years looking for the perfect 'gite' to call our own at an affordable price. Initially, we wanted to find something in the Sambre Valley, in the Aisne department, but our compatriots also discovered the Aisne during Covid, and prices rose far beyond what was affordable for us. It was my daughter who discovered Haute Marne for us. She bought her own house just fifteen minutes from our level crossing and we are thrilled to be so close to her in this beautiful area.
As for our village, we have already made some good contacts. I met a delightful woman when I was out with Zoe. I'll call her Chantal, and she has a springer spaniel called Ruby. What entertained me no end is that she told me Ruby is deaf but she spent almost her entire walk with her lovely pooch talking to her. One evening, I passed her house and watched as she shooed her chickens and geese into their coops. It was a joy to behold. Chantal rushed around her garden flapping her arms like wings and laughing as she ushered her charges into their huts for the night. I've decided I'm going to cultivate this friendship and have already suggested that next time we're there, we should walk our dogs together.
We've also met two of the immediate neighbours, both of whom were charming and friendly, so we have great hopes for becoming part of the local community.
So that's it, allemaal. Our big news and new developments. There will inevitably be other changes coming, but for now, we are enjoying the excitement of having a new environment and project to look forward to. As for the canal, there's a lovely mooring for short stays in the village, and maybe an even longer stay at Froncles. Who knows? Perhaps the Hennie Ha needs to travel a bit further still before she hangs up her boat hooks. For my part, I really hope so.
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Just a walk in the park
Last weekend, we had a visitor of the furry four-pawed variety. Mack, my daughter's lovely American Cocker Spaniel came to stay the night, so Zoe had company, which she enjoyed very much. Mack was a model guest and, other than a bit of pacing when we went to bed, he was cheerful, calm and incredibly sweet. He was, in fact, a very good boy considering he's also very much his mummy's boy and I was a little worried he would pine for her. I suspect the pacing was his way of telling us he missed her, but luckily Zoe kept him company and they hung out together like good pals should.
I found it interesting that their interaction was totally different from Zoe's with her bestie, Lucy. Being two girls, those two behave like a couple of errant teenagers together: larking around, winding each other up, competing for snacks and attention. The terrible twins, they are! Not so, Zoe and Mack. There was a bit of flirty play, but otherwise, they did what you see in the photo below. I think they look beautiful together, don't you?
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Kasteel Ravenhof in Stabroek Credit to What's Around on Flickr |
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My girls |
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What a lovely day it was. I didn't even have to use the vivid setting on my camera |
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Scattered pups and peeps |
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The remains of what must have been a moat outside a fortified area |
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I liked this carved tree stump |
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And this ornamental fence was rather fine too. |
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The obligatory avenue of trees leading to the obligatory folly |
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And last but not least, a very large obligatory toad just basking in the sunshine |
We all enjoyed ourselves, and after sitting in the warm sunshine out on the café's terrace, where we had a lovely cuppa, Mack was handed over and we all returned home, by which time the day was pretty much over.
We're looking forward to our week away, in any event, so for now, allemaal, enjoy the spring weather that's coming, and I'll catch up with you all very soon.
Monday, February 10, 2025
Another foray into France
We drove down on Thursday, and as usual, we headed for the waterside when we arrived. Below is a photo of the lock at Villiers-sur-Marne, a village we intend to spend more time in and around. It has everything we like: a lovely mooring, ideal for the Hennie H (not permanent, unfortunately), locks, bridges, a railway with a level crossing and, of course, the beautiful rush of the Marne river which divides itself into different courses several times along this stretch.
The canal was exceptionally full with the water topping the upper gates and tumbling into the supposedly empty lock, which then has to release the excess into the next stretch below.
On the way into the village, we spotted this old contraption. It says it's le Cable Pompe. I honestly don't know what it was used for as it's nowhere near a pumping station or a fire service point, but it looks pretty old and must have been in use for something important at one time. It sits right beside the road, so if anyone has an idea, do let me know.
Le Cable Pompe wasn't all too far from the building below, which is a lovely old water mill, so maybe there's a connection there. Koos took a much more artistic photo of the mill, but I was lazy because of the cold and took mine from the comfort of the car.
On Friday, we spent some time in the charming town of Joinville. I confess I didn't take any photos, but enjoyed walking around the local market and through its winding ancient streets. The sun was shining, which made all the difference. Here's a photo I took in October 2023 of the canal as it passes through the town.
We actually spent the two nights we were there at an airbnb apartment in the village of Donjeux. As you enter Donjeux, you have to cross the canal and two separate branches of the river. And then you climb. The hill up to the church and beyond where we were staying was very steep, so absolutely no risk of flooding there. Unfortunately for us, the road was being repaired, which included the stretch where our accommodation was, so we had to park in a small square and haul our bags, provisions, dog and ourselves (possibly the most difficult part) a couple of hundred metres over a very uneven surface.
The place itself was perfect, so no complaints there. We were very comfortable and had plenty of room. Zoe and I took a couple of nice long walks along the river, which showed signs of having been very turbulent recently. In fact, there were heaps of debris piled up along the banks, as you can see if you click on the photo below. The river's current was also running very fast and I shuddered a little to think of anything or anyone falling in.
The water mill in the photo below was pumping like mad, and it occurred to me that the houses close to the water must have to get used to the noise it made. I'm not sure I'd like it so much, though. If you can imagine listening to a constant, regular and noisy washing machine, you'd pretty much know what I mean.
Back at the top of the village, I was captivated by this roofscape. I do like seeing all the different angles and shapes of these old village houses, and the church tower added the perfect punctuation to the scene. It's a pity about all the cables that disturb the view. Rural France's electricity and phone lines still seem to be largely above ground, unlike our flatlands where they are mostly buried in the sand on which the streets are built. On the other hand, the cables do give the scenery a certain old-fashioned character.
Of course, we are back home now, and glad of it too. The weather has turned extremely cold again and we even had flurries of snow today, but we have a plan to go back again next month. I'll explain why then, as there have been some exciting new developments, but I'll just keep you all in suspense for now. Is that mean? I don't intend to be, but I also don't want to jump the gun. 😊
For now, enjoy the rest of your week, allemaal, and keep warm or cool whichever suits!
Sunday, February 02, 2025
Catching my tail – or January in this case
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A delightful collection of poultry |
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The local water bird sanctuary |
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Along the canal dyke |
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My favourite silos with their complementary containers |
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Greenhouses galore! |
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An abandoned farmhouse. I've gazed longingly at it ever since we first came here, but it's deteriorating fast now. So sad. |
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A DFDS ferry passing by on the canal. Always an amazing sight |
Have a great week allemaal and apologies for the moan. Next time I'll have some real news to impart...I hope!
Saturday, January 25, 2025
How time flies
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The first day and everything was new. You can see the questioning look in her eyes |
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Exhaustion after the long drive back |
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Visiting her next door auntie |
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The first days after being spayed. She still has one of her smart onesies, but this one did not survive the puppy next door |
We've had a few health dramas with abscesses in her throat (this may be related to her allergies), and there's always medication needed for ear infections and those same allergies. She's had one of those sharp grass heads stuck in her paw, which had to be removed, and we go through spells when I always seem to be at the vet. Then, there's the grooming, which needs to be done frequently, if not often (sorry), and which she predictably hates. Never cooperative, she sulks after every trimming session, so it's an ongoing challenge. But would I change a bit of it? No.
When she's snuggled up next to us; when she's prancing about along the back of the sofa like a cat; when she's doing her howling wolf impressions, she makes us love her and laugh at her in equal measure.
Zoe is a character with a capital C, a ray of sunshine when the days are dull, our common little cockney spaniel and we wouldn't be without her for a moment. These last photos are some of the more recent ones (which I may well have posted already) as well as a drawing I did of her a couple of weeks ago.
Next week, I'll do a post about the various things that have happened this month, so if dogs are not your thing, allemaal, be reassured I'll be back with the normal items on the menu soon. It was just that I couldn't let this two-year anniversary pass without a post. Koos and I may not have grandchildren, but we have our very own, very special grandpup 😊