2016 - not the best year perhaps but could have been worse

2016 has been a tragic year on the world news and political front, a year when satire got overtaken by reality, extreme right wing attitudes have gained ground and at the turning of the year many of us are holding our breath and hoping for sense and common humanity to re establish itself.

For us too it hasn't all been smooth going. It has been a year dominated by journeys back and forth to the vet with Emile who at several points looked as though would lose a leg, I started the summer off in poor style with  two nights ( that's two nights too long) in hospital and  worries about the failing health of my mother have meant some lost sleep.

But as we come to the end of the year there have been lots of plusses to look back on and we continue to count ourselves so lucky to be here.

Although we moved into an already converted house since we came each year has seen at least one major home improvement. This year it was the bathroom which got an upgrade, we even got the work done by someone else!

My passion for patchwork continues and at the end of April I took part and exhibited in my first patchwork exhibition - a great sense of achievement. I was also elected onto the committee of the patchwork association so feel really part of things.




My little trip to the hospital turned out to be less serious than feared and although it took me  a while to get back properly on form has now been put in the experiences I would rather not repeat.

 And top news of the year of course is Emile is fit and well and still has four legs. He is now enjoying his freedom to come and go and is of course totally unaware of how lucky he has been.

Our life around music and dancing has got, if it were possible, even more busy. The folk'n'jazz association ( official this year) has grown in strength and diversity and is continually extending our social sphere.
Tonight we are spending new years eve with good friends and are looking forward to a French style celebration.

2017 dawns tomorrow, here's hoping for a more positive year on the news front. We have the French elections on the horizon - don't let me down France.

Fingers crossed in a few weeks we will officially become adoptive grandparents when the courts agree that my son can officially adopt his stepchildren - hope there is a party!

There could be another party this year too as we are waiting to hear about our French citizenship application.

Time for us to think about arranging a holiday to shorten the winter - Cadiz or Lisbon we think.

We have several visitors booked in already for the summer so all is looking good.

                    Happy new year everyone

                    bonne année et bon santé

I'm no expert

 I love photography  although I never did before the advent of digital cameras. In the old days it was very much TC's domain. We had a nice SLR camera and he was the expert at twiddling the knobs. We have a bookshelf creaking under the weight of family photo albums compiled from the successful snaps of our early years together and the children growing up. Under the spare bed is a large box of pictures from later years when we realised the albums were unmanageable. It was always a significant expense after a holiday to get the  films developed and often something of a disappointment with blurred shots, slightly mistimed shots with people caught pulling strange faces and scenes that turned out not to be photogenic at all.




Digital photography was so liberating for me - I'm a point and shoot photographer and taking half a dozen shots most of which can be easily deleted is perfect for me. As my eyesight is not what it used to be I can wait until the pictures are on the large computer screen before I do anything with them - little adjustments to the composition with some judicious cropping, tinkering with the lighting and contrast has been a new creative outlet, plus I can take hundreds of photos a week without breaking the bank. It is also a hobby which combines perfectly with our other pastimes, gardening and walking especially. We live in such a beautiful area there is never a shortage of subject matter.





The only downside is the lack of actual photos to carry around or to share in a group. One of my childhood memories is looking through a biscuit tin which contained my parents' old photos whenever I was ill in bed. Those albums of our early years as a family are full of great memories. It's not so easy to share the computer screen - even when you do eventually find the file!


Sharing photos on the internet has also been exciting. For several years I posted regularly on Flickr and the feedback from other enthusiasts was a real boost. I started to believe that my pictures had some small merit and I was able to learn more about composition and in particular macro photography. Then a few years ago I posted a photo in a competition on a facebook page La Vie en France. The photo was to depict life in France.

There were not many entries but mine was the winner - woopeeeee. I was so chuffed. I carried on entering the next competitions enjoying the challenge of trying to find an original slant on some common themes. My entries have always done well so I must have been doing something right.
 








Yesterday having be banned from entering photo competition no 7  I spent the afternoon trying to pretend I was qualified to judge the entries of others - a very difficult task taking me back to "another life" for several hours.The worst few minutes were when I "saved" my scores and then couldn't find the file and thought I would have to start all over again. I'm not sure how the other judges will regard my scoring - it was really difficult with over 80 entries and the standard has certainly improved since the first competition - and I really am no expert especially when it comes to technical merit.

I 'll keep on snapping though - this morning a hard frost sent me scurrying outside before breakfast looking for photo opportunities.