October - Better late than never

October

Grange in Autumn colours

We are half way through October and it's nearly time for the kids Toussaint holiday.  This year we are off to Tenerife, then Lanzarote to visit some friends who are sailing around the world with their two boys.  The boys are being home schooled, but I think an adventure such as this will provide schooling of a different kind.  They are currently in Rubicon harbour in Lanzarote.  From there they will sail to Gran Canarias to meet up with a flotilla to cross the Atlantic to St Lucia for Christmas.  We are keeping in touch with WhatsApp when they are in port and following their blog.

Our dog will go into kennels for two weeks and I have a friend looking after the chickens and cats.

My European driving licence is due, so I hope it arrives before we go. (it didn't arrive. Still waiting)

It's the time of year that we close down the gites, turn off all the services and bring in the BBQ's, parasols, outdoor furniture and wash everything!  It's a busy month, then there's also the pool to close down for winter.  It should then be quiet, for about six months.

We have a project during this time to complete the Under-barn ready for guests.  Pictures will follow as we clad the outside, install a deck and pathway,  install the kitchen, finish the bathrooms and furnish.  Thank goodness the interior painting is complete!

Christmas is already a topic with the kids, as they know we are going to stay with Grandad in Fleet. There is a lot to organise, especially as the kids want to see friends and family.  So far we have planned a pantomime, ice skating (the kids are good as they all have great balance, me not so much so I will be watching from the side!), Christmas day, Boxing day and we have been invited to a New Year's Eve party.  Now all we need to do is decide on presents, and write Christmas cards to keep in touch with friends the old fashioned way!

 Into November

Lanzarote Rubicon harbour

Playa Fanabe beach

Well we are back after a great fun holiday.  A lot of time spent on the beach, in the sea or in the pool.  The kids enjoyed deciding which ice cream to eat, Oreo a favourite!

The kids also enjoyed tube rides with dad in Aqualand Costa Adeje "a huge water park" and boat fishing.  No fish were hurt, as we caught absolutely nothing, but we saw dolphins, whales and flying fish.  Evie and Charlie drove the boat!  It was the perfect end to a fabulous holiday.

Rodfather boat

Of course it was halloween so they had to dress up, play trick or treat and visit a haunted house.  We stayed in Sunset Bay Club which was excellent, especially kids club.  The kids enjoyed their surprise visit to Lanzarote to see friends from Weybridge and had a great time on the beach and the pool.  A highlight for me was watching Wales play South Africa in the rugby World cup, while eating breakfast.  Then down to the beach for some swimming and fishing and to say goodbye to all our friends.

Sunset Bay

Beach ball

However, if you are looking for Spain in the Canaries, I would not recommend Tenerife, too many tattoos and English breakfasts.  Try Gran Canarias or another island.  Next year I think we will try Portugal.

Hoopoe

Tenerife sunset

We arrived home, late on Saturday night/Sunday morning .  The kids went straight to bed and fell asleep within minutes.  It was a different story for me.  Due to a power cut, both freezers had defrosted, so I spent a week throwing away food, cleaning and re-stocking.   On top of this I had paperwork to complete for the sale of my mother's flat in Maidenhead and our ski house in the Alps.

View towards Saint-Martin-de-Belleville from our house

During the first week back, I collected Lilou our dog from the kennels, she was very pleased to see me and be back at La Bastide.  We then had a visit to the vet, for a vaccination.  I have started to get back into a daily routine of feeding and exercising myself and the animals.  Great to have fresh eggs again from the chickens, who seemed bizarrely pleased to see me.  We also discovered a small water leak around a chimney in the farmhouse, so our builder Jean-Luc has a small roofing job once the weather improves.

Autumn is on its way and all the leaves will fall in the next few weeks, a lot later than the UK.  When the sun is out, it is still warm and the garden beckons.

All this means the blog is very late!

The good news is that we already have seven bookings for next year, so the business model we have adopted is working well.

I look forward to seeing friends and family at Christmas which will be upon us sooner rather than later.

Ho Ho Ho