Rose

Norman - hello!  how nice to see you here again [kiss]

Oooohh... Weedon... I am so sorry.  I was very tongue in cheek about the 17th and just being a bit naughty.  Sorry - I know you've arranged everything for the 10th and I never seriously expected anyone to change.  Please stick to your plans and have your meeting on the 10th and have a very lovely day! sorry of I confused things [:$]

Hello Crossy - my preference would be sunday 17th at either venue [:D]

[quote user="Panda"]Thanks all for waiting until I've moved back to the UK to have a meet up not 30 minutes from my house!! What a shame I would have loved to have come. I'm with Rose, sulking![/quote] excellent as I've been sulking for ages and it would be good to have some company [:(]

[quote user="Clair"]1 level teaspoon of baking powder to 115g / 4oz of flour. 1 sachet of levure chimique to 500g of plain flour. [/quote] I'll say sorry in advance as I think I'm being a bit dim but does this mean 1 teaspoon of BP to 4oz of SELF RAISING flour? I still bring flour over when ever I can and I know I'm being daft as I can buy perfectly good flour over here... I think until know it's been a case of sticking to what I know.  However, I have come to the conclusion that I have to stop and when my current supply is gone that's it...  If it is as simple as the measures above then I'll have no problems [:$] so just to clarify... if I buy farine du gateaux (without any agent) would I add one sachet to 500g of this flour?  Also - is baking powder and levure chimique the same thing?  Or are they both different kinds of raising agent?  And would I still use them both if a recipe asks for SR flour and Baking Powder?  And if they are different what is baking powder called in France? I have no idea why this is so difficult for me - sorry... I've wanted to get this sorted for ages but to be honest always felt a bit embarrassed to ask such simple questions [blink] [:$]

Interesting that you raise this - I celebrated a birthday this month.  Normally I never bother with my birthdays... just another day and another year older.  However, following the last year where for a week or two I didn't know how many more birthdays I would see, I approached this birthday very differently.  I celebrated.  I am so happy to be growing old and I'll never take my birthdays for granted again. I think I've enjoyed my 30's and 40's the most... I did think when I hit 40 that I was getting older and it seemed a very big milestone... but the next one will be 50 and I just say now bring it on!

[quote user="Frederick"]And who wants to send the hotel maid a rose ?  [/quote] [:-))] [blink]

Guardian - sorry... they are very pretty x John [:$]

Is there such a thing as 'just' a Rose? [Www]

Hello - I had a mole removed over here about 3 years ago.  He did it on the same day - the 'bit' he removed was the size of an olive but I never felt a thing.  I had a few stiches and it all healed very nicely.  In fact, I'd forgotten all about it until now :) good luck x

[quote user="Cathy"]When you are trying out the sweetness of the grapes in the supermarket, where do you put the pips? [/quote] [:D]

[quote user="Chrissie"]I'm amazed how many people haven't yet realised (after 6 months) that the categories are in alphabetical order.........I find myself having to resist ripping the bag from their hand and doing the weighing for them. [/quote] I didn't know that [:$] [:D]

I would bring a carrot cake but I'm sulking cause I can't come [Www]

awww... love your doggie RR. Well we're waiting for a home visit but sadly they are concerned about our lack of fencing... maybe we'll be able to fence in a part of the garden... I'll just keep our fingers crossed and see if we can find a solution. x

could this be fate?  a friend just sent me a link to this doggie... called Merry http://www.phoenixasso.com/detail.php?detail=171_04272011_064955 maybe you should all keep everything crossed? xx

Pat you're right with her herding us all... when I go out in the car she waits by the entrance of the drive when I return, almost like she's escorting me back to the house :)  Whilst she's a lovely house guest my heart is set on a Lab... and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that maybe I'll find one very soon!

I would love to but we're away [:(]

Oh thank you all for your replies and photos... when you talk about your Labs they sound so much part of your family - I'm very envious. Coops - yes we would need to fence in the garden - Greyman is releuctant to do the whole patch as he says it's too big and we like the view down through the walnut trees... so we thought maybe we could fence in a part - maybe make a nice doggie area complete with a tree for shade?  This has always been a stumbling block for us here... the road is quiet but it's still a road so is a huge consideration. Part of me wants to get a puppy because I want to rear my dog from that age, but another part of me sees the sense in getting an older dog... there are pros and cons on both sides...  I think Greyman would be happier with an older dog too.  Whilst I maybe unsure which way to go I am convinced I want my own Lab... I also think Polly's idea about the Guide Dogs is a good one so maybe we'll think more about that?  Also, the pet-stting idea was good too... oddly enough it was dog-sitting that convinced me that a dog would be ok with us... I look after my friends dog if she goes away - she's fine with out cats and is the perfect house guest - we love taking her on long walks and it has given us a good idea of what it would be like having a dog of our own.  She's a collie and she seems to just know where our boundaries lie... she runs up and down the garden all day long but never crosses over the boundary... My friend tells me when she goes home she just sleeps... exhausted from all the running. Thank you again for the ideas - it's a huge commitment taking on a dog but I just feel like something is missing.  I fell in love with the Lab breed years ago and I reckon I'm just about ready to bring one home :) Now I need to find one! x

Hello - I'm courting opinion from those with greater experience. I want a dog - I 've wanted a dog for years... I'd love a Lab and so would my son - we've not owned a dog before but talked about it for years... we have three cats [:D] Now - here's the thing, should I look for a puppy or an older dog?  Where should I look?  What should I look for? All thoughts and comments very welcome xx

Hello Misty and welcome to the forum. I'm sorry I can't help you with the yurt idea but I can comment on your husbands skills... from a customer's view point. We (like so many expats) have been renovating our property and we have completed a large amount of the work ourselves.  However, some things like staircases, wooden windowsills, skirting/coving and wooden worktops were all installed by quality artisans.  We felt, in our case, that a skilled artisan would give us a better quality finish and having spent a lot of money on the materials it was a good investment.  Our house is almost complete but we will again use an artisan to install new wooden flooring. I don't consider us wealthy and we do have to watch the pennies but we know where our skills end and we certainly would use the services of a good quality artisan if the job required it;  I would say this is fairly typical of our friends here too. I do agree that rates can be high... but we have also been surprised that sometimes the better qualified/more highly recommended artisans aren't always the most expensive. There is work in our part of the world, but there is also competition.  If you can build a good reputation for good quality and good value your husband may well be able to build himself a business. good luck with your plans [:$]

[quote user="just john "]a song for Rose, our budding Alison Moyet, [:D] [/quote] Thanks JJ - I am at Riberac this Saturday after all... if I can ever do as well as Alison I'd be very happy [:$] Glad the tour is still going well!  and who said about doing it again... sounds like a very good idea [Www] xx

Paul - so glad you had a good rest of your journey... it was fantastic that you managed to time the lunch as part of your very long trip!  I'm feeling very lucky today as I left my handbag behind on Friday... or at least I really hoped I had.  I realised it was missing on Saturday evening as we were going out... anyway I retrieved the bag today and it was complete with purse, diary, camera and carte vital... all present and correct... phew! (I'm also feeling lucky as we went to our village Chasse 'do' on Saturday evening and I managed to drink for the first time in years and years... got rather drunk for the first time in about 13 years... and I had no hangover yesterday... So if good luck runs in threes I reckon I need to buy a lottery ticket [:D] )

Very well done you!  I agree that it's you're hard work that has paid off xx

A friend of mine chose 'thank you for the days' - I always think of her now whenever I hear that song... not in a sad way but it makes me smile as I think of her and how lovely she was.

[quote user="Gemonimo"]Have pm'd you, Rose but I don't think it got through.... Jen[/quote] No - sorry nothing received xx