I really can’t believe that this time 3 years ago we were in the final stages of packing up our life in Northern Ireland before driving to the Dordogne at the end of August. In so many ways it feels like I have lived here at La Girouette all my life. I actually feel like I have known the forests, the rivers, the caves and the villages here for many lifetimes.
My sense of belonging here is so strong and I feel so deeply at home in this beautiful and ancient landscape. Even though I really loved the life that we had created in Northern Ireland and that land was where I lived for the larger part of 5 decades, this truly feels like home.
I sensed it as we drove through the Dordogne for the first time to house-sit in October 2016.
I sensed it the first time I walked through the chestnut forests here that October.
I sensed it when my heart burst open with joy on our first visit to a market in one of the medieval villages here.
I sensed it on the next house-sitting assignment here when I was able to lie outside in the winter sun and read a book in February.
I sensed it when I first ate sun-warmed figs directly from the trees.
I sensed it when I first swam in the Dordogne river.
I sensed it when we first visited La Girouette on a bleak December day and made an offer of the asking price 12 hours later! Continue reading “One body, many brains”
My body just loves eating food which was grown less than 10 metres from the table we eat it at and is eaten within 30 mins of harvest. Sadly courgette can’t be frozen (apart from once already cooked as in cake or soup) and if you leave medium sized ones on the plant overnight they can turn into monsters like these ones which Delilah is lying beside to give you a size comparison. She is in between springer spaniel and setter size!
The first (and our most loved) recipe is for 
One of the most important pieces of kitchen equipment for dealing with your courgette glut is 
And last, but not least, is this incredibly rich 
On a 10 day tour with 
Over the last few years more and more people, especially women, are talking about self-care and their self-care regime which is really wonderful. The term ‘self-care’ has become mainstream which it definitely wasn’t when I started life coaching back in 2004. It is such an important thing to prioritise in this crazy, speeded up, modern world. I am a HUGE fan of self-care and have been advocating on its behalf for the last 15 years as a Life Coach and Retreats & Events Manager specialising in personal and spiritual development.
When you race from another appointment to your monthly massage, lie down with your body knotted in tension, think about 100 other things while you are being massaged and then race off to the next appointment, you are simply ticking off another thing on your long ‘to do’ list. When you come flying into yoga class late every week, it takes you 10 minutes to slow your breathing down and then you race off as soon as the teacher says ‘namaste’, you are still in your habitual ‘busy-ness’. When you have to consciously remember to schedule in one thing which brings you joy every month you are missing the point of self-care. I did up until a few years ago too.
Over the last week or so we have been blessed with the most glorious warm sunny days and cloudless skies which, according to the neighbours, is not normal. Certainly our memory of last February while we were renting in the area was of wet, wet, wet and more wet. So the phrase of the moment between everyone we meet is “Il faut en profiter!” which basically means “make the most of it!” So we are.
As someone who works on-line about 25 hours a week, living in the Dordogne has made me more aware of how negatively that had been affecting me. When I have been on-line too much I notice my mind being very busy and distracted. I watch how often during the day I check it for social media updates or messages. I witness myself reacting to those messages and often being pulled away from the present moment. I observe how much stress I can experience from words on a screen or when technology does not work for me. On days when I am switched on for too many hours I feel my mental energy being over-stimulated and my physical and emotional energy being un-grounded. If I am online after 9pm I notice that my sleep pattern is disrupted and it is much more difficult for me to sink into deep sleep. 
I have been supporting people on their journey of personal and spiritual growth for 13 years now. I have observed that it is all very well having a dream but what separates the dreamers from the those who actually manifest the dream?
