2017 Goals ~ Let’s go with Healthy, Wealthy and Wise… and a couple donkeys

I absolutely adore that the advent of the New Year gives one a sense of renewal, a chance to reflect and consequently focus on ones short and long term goals.  We have lots of changes planned for 2017 and, I must say, yes, I must, that we are very, very excited (and a teeny bit scared).  We will be putting all our eggs into our  entrepreneurial basket and focusing our time specifically ~ Pumpjack’s to our new wine business Terroir au Verre and me, Piddlewick, to my Pumpjack & Piddlewick  Shop and the life that goes on behind it, so our blog will get a bit of a face lift too this year.

Welcome 2017! It’s make or break time.
(Hmmm, maybe not a good euphemism when talking about entrepreneurial eggs.)

Can Ducks be Pets – Duck Tales and FAQS

I posted a picture of our duck Maggie sleeping on Pumpjacks shoulder on Instagram a little while ago. Lots of likes and then a comment to the affect, ‘Ewwww, there is just something wrong with having a duck as a pet’. It got me to thinking.  A year and a half in with Maggie, can  ducks actually be pets? The answer is a resounding and surprising ~ Yes! But, the more important question is ~ why?

Harvest Widow – the other, though arguably not better, half of wine making

There’s a term in the the wine industry, a ‘Harvest Widow’. I’m a Harvest Widow. In fact this is my 6th time being a widow. No, I haven’t butchered 6 husbands and hidden them under the vines, though harvest time may give one ideas. Harvest season is the best of times and the worst of times, as it brings in the bounty (hopefully) but also means long, long, long hours, getting up before dawn, coming home well after dark, often working through the night. And as a Harvest Widow, I keep the home fires burning, food ready and on the table and to bring to work the next day, the animals fed, watered and walked, and I do lots and lots and lots of laundry.

Wardrobe change over day has finally come! Getting a whole new wardrobe.

As springs pushes into summer, there is something I really look forward to, my own special Change Over Day. It is something I have been doing for goodness knows how long, and still it is a true treat.  Such a treat in fact that I think it should be nominated as it’s own day, like National Hug Day (January 21) or National Cat Day (October 29). Trouble is it’s fluid. It is never the same day year to year, sometimes not even the same month. You see it all depends on the weather.

Bad Mummy Duck ~ or ~ Making the Most of Grandparents?

Spring is a time or replenishment. A time to plant the garden, a time of rebirth amongst the animal kingdom, and a time – thank goodness – when we can move some of the off-spring out.

Now I can’t claim to understand, possibly sympathise, but not truly understand what it is to raise children. But I can tell you about ducklings, that is about ducklings that live in your house. Having raised Maggie from her hatching to the hatching of her own brood – of 13! – I can debate with myself that I am starting to get the hang of it. And then I think…. nah.

A little franglais goes a long way. Stereotypes and misconceptions of France.

We recently had people visit, visitors who hadn’t been to France in years, and when they had been it was always Paris. This was their first trip to the countryside of France. And they couldn’t get over the difference. The French were actually friendly, and helpful!

Mother Nature goes to town dolled up in hat and handbag

This years spring has been like an old woman entering the cold sea, a tentative toe at a time. I’ve been told it is an El Nino year, so hence the strange lengthy cold and wet spell. Whatever the excuse, I am not bothered, I just wish it would come! The odd sunny warm day pops in, like a friendly neighbour for a cup of tea, but once drunk, disappears again and we are back to grey, damp days. And this is France! Tsk, tsk, tsk is what I have to say, pull your boot straps up Spring and get on with it! I am ready to garden.

We’re trying something new in our garden this year, building truly raised beds, using pallets. (No more bending and kneeling, and less weeds. Hopefully.) There will be more details on this in a later dedicated blog, but suffice it to say, its a slow project as I work between boughts of rain. Yup, I am a fair weather gardener and not ashamed to say it.

But what I really wanted to talk about here is how this year Mother Nature has gone mad. The garden may be delayed in its growth, but this has definitely been made up for in animals. We figure it is the colder, wetter, consequently darker days that have made the animals bored and looking for something to do. But, honestly!!!

Downsizing – How or Where to Start? Open your Refrigerator

I love downsizing. I love going through my things and getting rid of any thing I can. There is something so very therapeutic about it, like a weight cast off your shoulders. Some of the items I give away, some I sell. It depends on the item. But where do you start if you have never downsized before?

Downsizing, Giving it all up, Changing your Life… Is it very hard to do?

I’ve ‘given it all up’ in my life, not once, but twice.  By choice. The first time I gave up everything was to travel the world by bicycle.  When I met people they would inevitably ask, “What’s the hardest thing you have had to do?” The answer was always ~ to go.

This answer remains fundamental, whether changing your life style, downsizing or, as in our case, Following our Dream. Giving up the life you know, the life you are comfortable with, is the hardest step to pursuing change.

Parents ~ I blame everything on them

A blog is most successful (I gather) when written regularly. So today I join a select collection of bloggers who write their apologies for having been absent from writing for awhile. But I have a good excuse. Honest. It wasn’t just laziness or even being too busy. In fact, I can blame everything on my parents.