My cheerful news is that we now have 2 Bats behind the shutterā¦ and where thereās 2 there will soon be more (one way or anotherā¦ 
)
These are Pipistrelles although we have also had Horseshoe Bats in previous yearsā¦
When we first arrived we had Dracula (huge and ominous) hanging from a beam just inside our cellar doorā¦ made me shudder each time I had to carefully go past himā¦ I think heās now moved to the upper attics/roof but Iām not going looking ā¦ 
Heading back to the MĆ©doc this weekend to visit some new vineyards and stock up on some of our favourites from previous visits. Also will be nice to catch up with some friends who helped us with the house move.
https://portesouvertesenmedoc.com
Edit: oops their website appears to be down
@gareth The site is working OK for me and just checked to see which Domaines are open this weekend.
I reckon weāve already visited many of those and we always had a wonderful time!
For us, itās Classic Cars at Perigueux this weekendā¦ (but Iām sure thereāll still be some wine-tasting on the agenda )
I used to get them on my front door outside in Bretagne so had to be careful not to slam it so they fell off and the cats got them. They are so sweet and very protected, huge building projects have been cancelled if they are found to be in residence. My son and I were laughing last night about āConseulaā who used to live in a hole in the house walls at the back right next to the outdoor tap. We were convinced she was a runaway tarantula and you could see her eyes gleaming but if you went near the tap, two huge hairy long legs would start to come out of the hole.
My French driving licence arrived in the post this morning!
Another milestone ticked off the list, and bridge crossed: had my āyard saleā today to ditch the stuff. As you all recall, the prep for THAT was just as hard as the tedium of sitting for hours upon hours to entertain people, lovely people with cash to purchase your junk, and finally winding it down. Then I filled my car with everything that did not sell (to the roof) and drove that to donate before I could decide to look through any of it one more time. I am exhausted.
I boarded my dogs for the weekend to make this go smoother - worth every cent (or .02 in the new world economy), and tomorrow I can awaken that much closer to being in France!
Bon chance.
My middle boy (18) finally got his Certificate de NationalitĆ© franƧais this week! So pleased as it was a PITA getting all the paperwork together. We couldnāt find Hubbyās bilingual Birth certificate and Iāve never had one. We went online to order them and turns out itās another gift from Brexit, you canāt get them anymore! So would have cost us a couple of hundred Euros to get translated 
. I got official copy stamps from the Marie and decided to wing it and they didnāt fail his application!!! I guess if it was his it would have been a different story. Thank goodness there are some sensible folk!!!
It means he can now head to Australia (which we are pushing due to awful girlfriend!) in the knowledge he is European!!
26Ā°C outside this afternoon and hoping it will continue so the weeds die down.
I got multilingual certificates for my application before Brexit, and they were rejected. So you did good.
Weird, for the CNF it specifies thatās acceptable.
Another beautiful day here. After a service of thanksgiving/funeral for someone in the village this afternoon, we went for a walk in the local(ISH) woods. Amazing carpets of wood anemones, plus some bluebells coming out.
An inspiring woman in dangerous times
Cometh the hour, cometh the woman!
I read she had a chateau near Souillac (Northern Lot on the old A20) and took in orphans.
No, its in 24. ChĆ¢teau de Milandes. Wonderful for a visit!
My wife discovered a small lump in her breast recently, having suffered breast cancer 9y ago and had a mastectomy. Lots of scans of all types have shown no signs of progression elsewhere so a lumpectomy and she is having the implant replaced at the same time.
Ladies please remember to check yourselves.
We are happy the tests came back clear.
Great news 
Excellent news, I understand how difficult that period can be.
Thank you John and Mark
So sorry to hear that your wife needs treatment for her cancer again, I am sure the fact that it can be addressed with surgery is a great relief to both of you.