Just Humans Being...

The youngest member of the Smith Tribe turned 14 yesterday! Where have the years gone? Before Hugo was born, the only boys we knew were those that the girls were at school with... Sime really hoped we'd have another girl! I didn't mind & knew that if we did have a boy - he'd be our boy, so felt confident he'd turn out just fine! He was completely different to the girls - slept less, ate more & got into a lot more mischief as a toddler, he was also much more competitive than the rest of us (& still is really)! Saying all that - he's caring & generous, sociable & always grateful, a big animal  lover & great fun to be with (unless he's tired)! He's never been to school or had any formal teaching, choosing to pretty much educate himself, with a bit of input from Mum, Dad & Sissies. He read his first book at the age of 8 (Harry Potter/Half Blood Prince) & has been a massive reader ever since... He seems to know far more than we

Another lovely day in the south of France, it's great waking up to blue skies & sunshine - even though the mayor made his announcements over the Mairie tannoy just after 9am again. At least the village school was closed today - perhaps they open on Saturday mornings instead! We've had a great drive around Montagne Noire & through the Gorges de la Clamoux... This area is so dry, which is nice for us - after living for over 7 years in one of the dampest counties in the UK! In northern France, a lot of the rivers were in spate & fields water-logged, but here - this river bed looks like it dried up a long time ago. Stunning views from up high. Approaching one of the mountain villages, Rieussec. Closer look at Rieussec & another dry river bed. I think this is Citou, with their village Christmas Tree on the left & their one Christmas Light above the road! At last a small river & water fall! More lovely views - stretching as far as the Pyrenees. Appro

As much as we love the house, the location is starting to grate... The dinging of the Mairie clock seemed very twee when we arrived, it strikes on the hour, then repeats the same amount a few seconds later - this carries on through the night & is just a stones throw away from us. Then there's the infant school next to the Mairie, hearing the children running around screaming & shouting is just about tolerable, but the fact that they get dropped off by car at 8.45am, picked up again for lunch at 12pm, dropped off again at 2pm & picked up again at 5pm & this is all happening just outside the house. The Mairie also has a tannoy system, which we woke to this morning with "Ding-dong, 'allo, 'allo" & then the guy went on to announce some sort of social event going on in the village. Shortly after, 2 road workers arrived outside the house & started to scrape & sweep the gutter. One of them insisted on singing as loud as he could, but was

We've spent our first couple days just chilling out, mainly reading... Sime's a bit knackered from all the driving, which of course - is his choice. I like to drive too, but it's actually awful having Sime as a passenger (he's very polite in other people's cars, but absolutely dreadful with me), so we have just slotted into this comfortable existence over the years - he drives & as I'm the better navigator, I work out the routes. I love map reading & can happily spend hours with them - just dreaming & planning! We have brought a large box of books away with us, a mixture of library, second-hand & a few new ones that we really wanted or can pass on to others after.  Hugo can read around one book a day & has so far read:  The Uglies Quartet   Behemoth    &  The Dead     I'm also reading Uglies & Co, but am only on the 2nd book:  Pretties       Sime's read:  Killing Floor     & has nearly finished:  From a Buick 8   The