June 2019, part 2

The anticipation of Paulie returning to France after four months in Brisbane (with a visit from Stephen in May) ran high. Paulie will arive on the 5th July. The duo spent their 10th anniversary apart whilst Paulie prepared the Brisbane house for a 6 - possibly 12 - month rental by a lovely Canadian family on Sabbatical at the University of Queensland. Stephen spent a week with the lads in Oxford moving & settling them into their new house. Margot Chandler visited Paulie from Auckland and by all accounts the gals had a lovely time. Olivia and Paulie (and indeed Margot) spent some quality time together before Olivia headed to the Hunter Valley for a short trip.

Stephen hosted pals Greg and Rosie Egan from Adelaide. They've met uppreviously in the Loire, Oxford, and a number of times in Brisbane and South Australia. Such a shame Paulie wasn't there :-( Despite such challenges, it was certainly a productive month. Note - there are 4 videos below.

1 Stephen in Oxford to help the lads move. It tired them out	2 17th June: re-energising at dinner in town. Half way through we remembered it's Fathers Day in the northern hemisphere	3 Paulie takes a day to literally put her feet up after days of work and hosting Airbnb guest in Brisbane
4 18th June - The lads take possession of their house in funky Essex Street in Oxford.	5 Much nicer than their joint on Abingdon Road	6 Big quiet, light bedroom
7 A lovely garden	8 .	9 with 2 outdoor sitting places
10 Keno celbrates the fiirst day by opening a Tattinger	11 The sitting room takes shape	12 June 21 - Paulie's pal Margot zips over from Auckland for some R&R
13 And Olivia hosts a few lovely meals	14 .	15 .
16 Back in Oxford Stephen finds this wild cemetery around the corner for James and Keno	17 Better see if the piano works (video)	18 22 June - james decides he needs a wee shrine for offerings. So off to HomeBase for timber and Stephen & James bond over the project
19 Success	20 23 June - Stephen returns to France. Some gardening to do after a week in Ireland for work and a week in Oxford with the lads.	21 .
22 24 June - Stephen's pal from Apple, Greg Egan, and his wife Rosie. We've met up before (see links in intro text)	23 As we all know June 25th is Paulie & Stephen's anniversary. The wedding was 10 years ago in Scotland. This year apart :-(	24 But doesn't mean forgotten. A remote toast
25 Olivia celebrates with Paulie	26 And Stephen celebrates by hosting a walk with Greg	27 .
28 On the plateau	29 .	30 And into some caves. Now a regular and fun long walk for Stephen and guests
31 Greg likes what he sees	32 .	33 Cave 2
34 Where we meet some wee pals (movie)	35 Later in the day it's time to tour. En route to Penne and Bruniquel	36 .
37 Then Puycelsi	38 .	39 It might be hitting 40 in SW France, but Rosie Turnbull claims it's cold in Brisbane
40 26 June - time to hit L'Aveyron water	41 .	42 The guys seem to enjoy it (Movie)
43 .	44 Beautiful	45 Stephen always like to take a leap of faith (after checking the landing site first) - Movie
46 That night, apero at La Cachette with pals	47 .	48 The final tour. Lunch at Restaurant Segalar at Milhars, then to Cordes
49 And Albi	50 .	51 .
52 Topped off with a visit to Yolandes' farm	53 .	54 The next morning a pedal...
55 followed by a paddle	56 .	57 28 June - Olivia and pals head south to Newcastle
58 And then to the Hunter Valley vineyards	59 .	60 No fun for Paulie! The house is readied for the arrival of Clan Laird from Canada
61 29 June - Great-niece Claudie helps out	62 .	63 And then they can relax. Nearly ready for the 6 month (maybe 12) rental for the Laird's sabbatical at UQ
64 Meanwhile in the Hunter Valley....	65 Olivia says the highlight was the bicycle tour	66 A great way to wind up the month
67 James and Keno are starting to hang their art in their new pad.	68 30th - Back in Brisbane Paulie continues her amazing work to wind up June. The guests arrive on the July 2nd	69 Paulie has the house looking great
70 And welcoming . We rarely skip into the next month but will sneak a look at July 2nd when ...	71 ...Paulie moves out and ...	72 ... Our from Canada move in.
73 But back in France the slow pace of life continues....