Merry Month of May comes to a sunny finale!

yes 40 something!

Well there we have it - May - done!

I had a totally brilliant Birthday my lovely family (arranged by Rob) all clubbed together and bought me the bike of my dreams! Well I have been using Naomi's for some weeks but this is a newer model in comparison now!  Don't tell her I told you that though!!

All with much subterfuge was it done - the deed of buying the bike that is, Naomi took me off around Decathlon to look at the gear, from work out stuff to goggles and flippers! And then the bait Protein drinks I am totally gullible it seems - suddenly my 18 year old is taking an interest in these dreaded drinks! But not for long - we got distracted by the lovely swimming costumes and then we were off out of the shop to meet Rob who had been buying inner tubes (plausible!) and then presented with the lovely shiny bike!  Meet "DaisyMay" Daisy was my first bike (also Dad calls me Daisy Bailey, and the flowers themselves are among my top 5 fave flowers!) May well that's obvious no?

DaisyMay and Me!

So Saturday the 25th - could it be - the sun in the sky?? eeek quick bikes out! (I remember when my friend lived in Spain her then boyfriend - now hubby would phone her and say "Hey Rach come home quick - the surfs up!) funny how we still get excited about nature and her wiley ways - so with Naomi off recording with her "Rock Choir" we decided to take the time out and get a few kms in ..... I was very good and didn't take the camera with me - well it was all about "me and DaisyMay" and getting to know each other!

And then it was off to take photos of Rock Choir Recording except there were only 3 there! Never mind I can still take photos!

l'eglise - Melleran

Mic in Black and White (great for a Unique photocard for the musician!)

Mic

26th May - Birthday and Mother's Day Bouquet!

Sunday dawned bright and sunny with the birds singing very loudly - trying to out do the Nightingale I am sure!

We were told to "leave the house Parents and don't come back for at least 2 hours" well - I ask you - what would you do? The only right and decent thing - we went out.........

May Fields

The Path to the Forest - another day for that then!

Wheat fields

Homeward bound

Back home and time to get ready - the girls had made a splendid job of tidying and the table looked perfect - new wine goblets included! Rob was on the case straight away preparing the deliciousness that is The Hairy Dieters Skinny Beef Lasagne! 

Skinny Beef lasagne!

Cheers everyone - oops glass seems to be empty! Must have been Café de Paris then...

Necklace from JB

After food t'was the time for presents and I got lots of lovely, lovely things amongst my Butterfly presents (of which I had a plethora this year) I had this lovely bird necklace made by the talented Buttonsy (the clever lady I sent the Dandelions to!) https://www.facebook.com/Buttonsy?fref=ts 

I have to say the best laugh of the day - tears at teatime was from the present Chloe bought me - and it's a must read for everyone (that likes to laugh out loud!) 50 Shades of Chicken  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fifty-Shades-Chicken-Cookbook-ebook/dp/B009JU5G9C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370269817&sr=8-1&keywords=50+shades+of+chicken it is hilarious and whether you have or haven't read the other 50 Shades books it doesn't matter as this is all about the chicken! The recipes are lovely as well and we look foward to trying them out!

Cake time! This made by my Mum as always - "The" Lemon Drizzle cake - filled with M&M's and Maltesers and yes that is butter cream icing in the middle! 

Well the excitement of the day had to come to an end at some point and whilst it was sad to day goodbye to my parents and in-laws a little bit of excitement took place - the sun was still out and that meant only one thing - yup - you guessed it.......

The Lane!

SO that's it really.....the rest of May has been very strange weather wise - hailstones in Javea - Spain, North of the Deux Sèvres and lots of wind and rain here as well! The garden is as green as you like but sadly my Melon plants have not survived! Will try again next year......

Our friends popped by on Friday on their way home from their 2 week stay in Biarritz....not much better down there either - which is such a shame as holidays are so precious! But still we stayed up until 3am catching up on 8 years worth of news and enjoying the time spent - mainly talking about bike riding and food! They left us on Saturday morning but we are hoping the next visit will be a little longer and we can show them around this little part of France.

I didn't make it to the market at Aigré as the weather did look decidedly "iffy" that wind does for my cards and prints, so it was a case of chilling in the afternoon until sleep nearly took over - but NO we couldn't sleep on a Saturday afternoon so we really did drag ourselves out and so glad we did - we found a lovely route - quiet country lanes only used by farmers!

So there we have it another Month - left us - but what a lovely month really - spending valuable time with our family and friends - always a good thing :)

Thank you as always for reading and I do hope you enjoy taking a peek at my "Life through the lens" and don't forget to pop over to my page - to keep an eye on what's happening! 

Three ladies took part in my "Fête de Mères" Giftaway and received copies of "Wishes on the Wind" 

 This month I am offering 2 mounted prints 30cms x 40cms for just 30,00€ a great gift idea for Fête de Pères on the 16th June!

Here's to the better weather appearing now - it's only a few weeks until Summer Officially begins but hopefully it's been teasing us and we will have a lovely summer!

PamelaJayne

https://www.facebook.com/PamelaJaynePhotography

Spring is here!

Only it is not - it really is not! I thought that after yesterday's lovely day we were there - bike ride planned today with my "ladies wot cycle" friends but 2 of us actually bottled it - "it's too cold and it's raining" we said! Well alright, so the rain didn't arrive at our destination point but it's still too cold! I think Fairweather rider is my name! We did however go out for a lovely jaunt last Thursday 8kms up and down hills with a pit stop half way.

Jenny Wren greets us with beautiful birdsong

le Source du Chaboussant

The Bikes (I didn't dare take photos of my friends!) so bikes get fame!

We had a lovely time putting the world to rights, listening to the bird song and toads calling "The Songs of Nature"

We had a thoroughly fab Easter and the Saturday was spent baking now this is something I just don't do enough of, and I should do more - youngest daughter and I started with Hot Cross Buns and ended up with a veritable feast (and 2 batches of Hot Cross Buns) Ok so in the old days I would have bought them from Asda on a BOGOF but not anymore - since living here we have relied on visitors bringing them or from my Mum's freezer but no - never again I am now going to bake them every year and in between times as I still have to master the cross!

On the Rise

One a Penny, Two a Penny - Hot Cross Buns!!

Easter Feasting!

Hubby also excelled himself and made the Hairy Dieters Chicken and Ham Tangle Pie - totally delish and highly recommended!

I was really excited to welcome a new member to my team (of photographic props) Arthur the Monkey arrived from the UK from a very clever lady https://www.facebook.com/fairytalephotoprops?group_id=0 I spotted him and had to have him to adorne my lens - yes he is purely to make children laugh and some adults as well!

Arthur the Monkey

Although he did arrive a little late for my Family Shoot we managed to get some fun shots

Getting Ready for Christmas!!

Fun with Mummy

"Where did you get that hat?"

Soon to be Four in the Family

I had such a fun time with this lovely family - nerves were soon put aside and we got lots of happy captures another enjoyable "Making Memories" session. Of course we are now eagerly awaiting the birth of the baby bump!

I should be off upstairs now to cook dearest Youngest Daughters packed lunch and tea for her "Big Trip" tomorrow for the first time she is off on her own (with her Lycée) abroad - to Southern Ireland - beyond excited is the words I use for her at the moment! She is all packed and ready to go - thanks to my packing skills! See that's what I learnt when I was younger being a Girl Guide and Venture Scout how to get ALL the essentials in one bag that you need for a week away, suffice to say I haven't tied her wellies to her stuffer bag but am sorely tempted to do so - if it's as cold and wet over there as it is over here, I have a sneaking suspicion Dolly Shoes will be relegated to the depths of said bag!

Maybe I should send her off with this delish dish of Fish Stew (à la Hairy Dieters) but I don't think she would appreciate it - so it will be Risotto for her instead!

Fish Stew - winter warming goodness!!

Whilst waiting outside in the freezing weather for the DHL courier to arrive with Eldest Daughters Passport (finally and thankfully arrived after travelling half of France!) I noticed that the Kerria flowers were coming out into bud and flower - I am thrilled about this as it was taken as a cutting by my Mum - and flowering beautifully for it's 2nd year!

Kerria in flower

Kerria budding

So a little bit of warmth and colour into this very "non" Spring day! Although I do remember it was a tad chilly last year when we visited the coast - so maybe the sun and warmth is waiting for the Easter Holidays which start here on the 12th April! 

Thanks for reading and please do feel free to leave comments or pop over to say "hi" to me on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/PamelaJaynePhotography I always love "meeting" new people so please do pop over :)

Have a fantastic weekend everyone and here's to some warm weather! 

Cheers!

Taken last year on the 8th April at the Ilê d'Oleron nice in the sun - cold in the shade sort of day!

Pam :D