Alchemist's Kitchen

After 3 weeks of having the old kitchen in the dining area, the new kitchen in the living area and no kitchen at all in the kitchen - dust din and despair... the alchemist's kitchen is unveiled: earth fire water and air.

New kitchen in living area...

Where I put myself

I was cycling along today, watching out for my favourite blossom trees, and happy to see the ones by the Seine have burst open their first flowers, and I found myself thinking: where do I put myself? My sons travel with me on that same route along the Seine every day. Where will I be in my sons' memories? Will they find me in the blossom trees? Or in the swearing and indignation which I direct daily at my fellow drivers? Perhaps they will remember the former, and cry, and remember the latter and laugh, but I hope I put myself in some kind of heaven, and that I can be found there.

Vatican Country

We stayed at the Villa Tassoni (aparthotel) 20 minutes walk from the Vatican (smallest country in the world even smaller than Luxembourg). The Vatican museum has 2 advantages, readily available reasonably priced pizzerias serving excellent cappuccino and outdoor courtyards, meaning the whole family experienced a blissful day out at the museum alone, a veritable Banquet for the Soul, most of which I was unable to photograph because the camera battery ran out. However, we have some views from the Villa Tassoni, JC enjoying breakfast, R showing me his mandela, and reminding me that the heating was set at 29 degrees.

The only marble I was able to catch on camera was pretend marble painted on the wall.

The golden corridor of the map room, and a detail from one of the Dawn Treader type maps, showing the waves of the sea. R benefited from B's binoculars to admire the highly decorated ceiling from the prone position and JC is uplifted.

Rome Colosseo

The mimosa was in blossom and the citrus fruit ripe on the trees, the weather was spring for the Brits and winter for the Romans who were

still in their winter woolies.

Greener than I expected, umbrella pines, palms and cypress.

You cannot go anywhere in the centre of Rome without being overlooked by a statue.

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There were the odd monumental sulks, here at the foot of a grey pillar in the queue for the Colloseum. And we were thrown out of the Forum gardens before closing time by THIS Italian official.

Bathroom After

After a long delay (ahem), I am ready to post a few After pictures, my fingers are ulcerated as I type from perfecting the Beach at Finistere Decorative Border, but it's so lovely...the theme is the beach at Finistere, the north western most tip of Brittany, with deckchair stripe type fabric.

Eco hamlet

Here is the eco house that Nico is building for his mother. He went on a training course, built himself a wood cabin to live in, and got started. The next door neighbour brings him organic meals and talks about her grandchildren and her great grandchildren and education and other things, makes sure he is alright - and he makes sure she is alright.

The eco hamlet started by accident. A family bought a plot of land to build a house, but when they put in the planning application, the local council changed its mind and inisisted the land be used for a small housing estate or not at all. So the owner divided the land up into 4 plots, and advertised it for people wanting to build ecological houses, with the values that go with it. Voila, eco hamlet is born - smaller garden, more finance for building the house.

When we arrived to visit the site, my first thought was 'this is the way to live'. No fences and burglar alarms, harmonious unsprayed flowers melding one garden into the next, a sense of peace, individual freedom, opportunity for community.

I couldn't believe Nico was doing all the carpentry himself, and he wrote back

'Of course I'm doing it myself - it's like a great big mechano construction. The important thing is to like what you do, the competence to do it follows naturally'.

Finistere

The thinnies were particularly brave, that water was 15 degrees, the wind a stiff north-easterly.

The coast of Finistere - tropical paradise but 20 degrees cooler - I like it like that - however the rain was impressive in it's intensity and tenacity. But I did it, I swam (a first).

My treasure.

When our bathroom is tiled I'm making a decorative border out of all these sea-worn things and the lovely coloured shells (spiral by R). Fell quite in love with the sea-silvered slates.

Fleeces on the beach: glam happy family with colour enhancement and automatic exposure organised by B, R wears my sunglasses.