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Monday 8th June
Another month has whizzed by. June is here but it’s all a little odd and surreal. Normally by now we have shimmied into wall to wall sunshine and azure blue skies, and our senses reel sweetly with that ’hot country’ smell of garrigue - mint, lavender, thyme and rosemary. And normally we have settled into a routine of evening backgammon or scrabble along with a cold beer or two accompanied by loads of "Wow’s” and "Aren’t we lucky’s?” and "Isn’t it beautiful’s?". Not so this year so far. We have had some lovely weather, but there has been no stability to it yet - hot sunshine one day, wind and thunderstorms the next. I don’t really mind as the rain is good for gardens, but Bisou has spent hours in the bottom shelf of the wardrobe, as she is terrified of the thunder which has rattled our windows for the past four days (in between dry and sunny periods) and I have not yet been able to start that all-important can-only-be-started-on-a-Monday serious diet, as I need to balance it out with exercise and you can’t put your exercise head on when it keeps raining now, can you?
Tuesday 16th June
I have been out of action on the typing front for the past 10 days due to a biking accident, in which I bent my little piggie back on itself, and inflated it to twice its normal size. The absolute shame of it was that this was not when I was RIDING my bike but PUSHING it! We were going up a very big hill, all soft soil and mud, and I tripped and dived into a hole. All remained intact, due to the bouncy nature of my natural shell, apart from little piggie on right hand, which has provided a bucketload of excuses over the past few day for not participating in household chores - just hold up your little finger, pout and the Lord will provide, I have discovered. Well, Olivier will provide, and that is good enough for me!
My poorly finger has not prevented me from continuing my yoga classes however. Up in the heights of Céret, at Mas Pallagourdi, Marion Thornley ties a group of willing victims into knots as she puts us through our paces. She also puts a great deal of stress on relaxation and breathing exercises, but it is not really until I am heading back down the hill that I realise just how unwound and zen I feel. Highly recommended, particularly if you are a bit ’speed’ like me and your mind constantly zips from one thing to another. In the photos, we moved out into the garden as there was building work going on beneath the fabulous yoga studio Marion has created. And what an idyllic place to commune with nature! Llamas, sweet birdsong... even the collie joined in!
The weather continues to be unsettled - warm but cloudy, sudden light rainfall, occasional thunder and lightening. Fortunately we have Sav over on the site forum who prepares us for what is to come. His weather predictions are mainly more accurate than the official weather forecasts elsewhere, so if you want to know what the weather is really going to be like over here, check out the weather forum. Happily, the strange weather has not effected the fabulous colour and variety of fruit and vegetables to have hit the markets and supermarkets. This is the time of year when cherries and apricots mingle with peaches and passion fruit and you cannot help but think sunny!
Tuesday 23rd June
Wow! I am sitting outside with a rather nice glass of red from Chateau Valmy, listening to David Bowie singing Ziggy, hypnotised by the azure blue of the sky (and it is nearly 9pm), watching swallows swoop over the pool. The evening is so clear that I can see the masts on the top of the pic Neolous. Aren’t we small? I don’t mean just me (tho I know I am a bit of a titch) but I mean within the world. There are mountains and trees and buildings that will be here long after we have shuffled off this mortal coil. How on earth do we leave our mark? Will someone be sitting here in my garden (vastly improved by then I hope) in a hundred years, looking out over this magnificent scene in front of me, never having known that I existed? The sky will still be blue, the birds will still be swooping..... I wonder how many people get old and look back on silly disputes and petty arguments, work stresses, family problems….. and wonder why it seemed so important at the time. We are so lucky in our part of the world. How many of us have ever been starving or penniless? Let’s laugh and celebrate life and living, blue skies, warm evenings, green mountains, red roses…. there is so much to celebrate in life! (OK I will stop the red wine and go onto water. I think I am waxing a little too philosophical!!)
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