Desperate Anglo Housewives is a blog I’ve been meaning to review for ages and ages; primarily because it seems to be the perfect mix of witty madness and gorgeous gluttony!

The blog explains itself as…

Life, Food, Anecdotes From An Anglosaxon Bordeaux Housewife & Working Mother Creating a Womens’ Network.

And has the following aim… “Desperateanglohousewives has the goal to network with offshore mothers, working mothers and women from all over the globe.The writer, Susie, an offshore Kiwi, is an avid food and lifestyle fanatic who wishes to share her passion for cuisine, culture and laughter. Susie brings you her weekly lifestyle comments and recipes of the moment.”

Worthy aims, I think…

Shall we venture forth and see if they’ve been met?

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Etienne Musslin, over at www.super2cv.com has issued a plea for help.

I’ll translate his post, Help, I need some help, the best I can (please bear in mind that I’ve recently been abducted by aliens and am still finding it difficult to adjust to gravity!)

But, before I do, could I just mention that if you have any interest at all in the sexiest cars in the universe, you should really pop over to www.super2cv.com and have a good look around!

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Survive France is Crumpet’s blog.

Crumpet is actually the pseudonym of Catharine Higginson who, together with her husband James, run the hugely successful Survive France Network.

I’ve always wanted a pseudonym, having spent much of my youth being called a variety of names by my peers (B*stard and Pr*tt spring instantly to mind) but until recently have had enormous trouble spelling the word.

Anyway, I’m not sure if Catherine’s pseudonym is a secret one (for tax purposes, for example) or not.

So, if you should bump into Crumpet in the street don’t let on you know her real name, eh?

And if you should accidentally do so, please don’t tell her it was me that let the cat out of the bag!

Anyway, Crumpet has this to say about herself…. “Six years after arriving in France, we have just about got our heads round what you need to do to survive. And I am not just talking about working on the black either. I mean knowing that when you go to the Post Office it is wise to take a supply of sandwiches, a thermos and a footstool. Why? Because there is bound to be a pensioner in front of you performing some extremely complicated financial transaction. And who is is still unaware that the currency these days is the euro. Expect a long wait. I mean knowing that broadband is not a given and there are grown men being reduced to tears by the speed of their dial up connection. I mean understanding why women would swap sexual favours for a decent take away. But there are things you can do to make life in the third world (sorry France) bearable. Getting through the day in a haze of rose is one option but not awfully good for your liver. Instead, we bring you this blog which as well as allowing me to get things off my chest (rant), is going to be packed with useful tips and information on how to survive France.”

In order to properly review this blog I have sorted the posts into various categories.

These are classified in much the same way as cinemas classify their films.

So, if you’re ready to take a look at Survive France, send the children out of the room, switch great aunt Edna’s hearing aid off and get ready to start with….

The slightly risqué bits….

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Radio Free Daglan is Loren’s blog about his life (with his wife) in the Périgord Noir.

Loren contacted me by mail to let me know about his blog (believe me folks, if you want your blog reviewed, that approach almost always works) and this is what he had to say…

“Good day, I thought you might be interested in the blog I created when I moved to Daglan, earlier this summer.

My wife (originally Scottish) and I (originally American) became Canadian citizens, lived in Toronto for many years, and decided to retire to France. We bought our home in Daglan (in the Périgord Noir) about six years ago.

My blog is called Radio Free Daglan, and it can be reached at http:/loren24250.wordpress.com I write almost every day, some short items, some longer. Usually with a photo or two. Often the topic is food, but I provide my observations on many aspects of village life, usually with what I hope is a light touch.”

Now, how could I resist that?

And you know what?

When I investigated Radio Free Daglan, I found that it is a real jewel of a blog!

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Now, to date, An English Artist in Brittany and Perry are the only blogging painters that I’ve done (in the purely non-biblical sense, you understand) so I felt that it was about time that I did another artist here at A Taste of Garlic.

I searched high and low to find a suitable one.

I do have to admit that I used Google to assist me.

I also have to admit that the search phrase “Reclining Nude” did play a part in the decision making process!

Eventually I found what I was looking for, not starving in a Garret in Paris but down in the Aquitaine.

Dordogne Painting Days is Adam Cope’s blog about bus spotting in Peckham.

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Writing Home is SueJ’s blog about her life in the Lot at Garonne.

SueJ explains that the blog came about (and was aptly titled) because… “In the 1970′s I lived in Brazil and I wrote home to my mother in the UK every week. Those letters became the story of my life there. In 2007 I moved to south west France. Not quite sure where “home” is, I have no family left in the UK. If I did, these words would be my letters home, capturing the first impressions of my life here, to share, enjoy and perhaps re-read in years to come.”

Bearing that in mind, I diving in for a good poke around.

The first thing that I saw was that this is one of those blogs with interesting blog post titles.

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A Year Down the Line is Rosie’s blog about her life in the Dordogne.

The blog starts with the aptly named Another wet day in the Dordogne and along the way we get to read about such diverse subjects as Bats in the Bathroom and A cool afternoon in the car.

And, of course, there is the obligatory post about French Customer Service!  I went through exactly the same experience when my local Champion became a Carrefour overnight!

Everything in the wrong place and everyone rather stressed.  As my colleagues (at the time) used to say “The staff were better when they were Champion.”

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Non, je ne regrette rein is the blog of a woman who claims that her occupation is Starting Trouble and admits to leaving corporate life behind in order to move to France and live her dream.

As we can see from Sometimes I worry about myself, it can sometimes take a bit of time to adjust to life in a new country.

Kim (or Kim-bear-lay) seems to be coping with The Many Risks of Living Alone though.

Even though sometimes Mother Nature is a Tart and a tease!

And don’t let Kim hear you being too critical of your host country (and its odd little ways).  She says I Swear and I agree entirely!

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Peregrinations is Lesley’s Blog.  Lesley is of Scottish extraction, as this post Wee sleekit, cow’rin’, tim’rous beastie shows.

The phrase (for anyone not of Scottish extraction) means little frightened animal.

There is much information on this blog.  We learn in Renault, no, no that…. achetez Renault, vous roulerez à vélo.  Now, I know that “Oh so well!”

There is also much humour…..

You really do need to check out the machine translations at Dead donkey en sauce!

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Our French Garden is Rob’s diary of his garden that he looks after with his wife Karen in Dordogne.

Now, I have to admit that I’m not an especially keen gardener but, this blog is so full of great photos and interesting articles that I don’t ever get bored with it.

I’m suppose I ought to say… I’m not actually anti gardening; it’s just that I prefer to watch others do it rather than do it myself!

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Fabulously French is Leeann’s website which is dedicated to all that is fabulously french!

It is also the home to what I believe to be one of the best posts of all the Life in France blogs that I’ve looked at recently…..  Take a look at My favourite French things – what are yours?

Wouldn’t that make anyone want to move to France?

Hey, it made me want to move to France and I already live here!

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The Compleat Anglo is Piperade’s blog about life in the Pays Basque.

Although it hasn’t been going long, there was something about it that caught my fancy.

I was also interested as it was the first blog I’d seen from the Pays Basque.

And, just to prove that the sun doesn’t always shine there, have a peek at It Never Rains But…

There’s also a comment about lifestyle and Keith Floyd that is very close to my heart on the wonderfully named… Smoking and Joints!

You might want to look at articles such as….. Steak and Kidney pies and… Baguettes or Lunch and – grrr…. Brits!

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I Love Aquitaine is Eva’s blog.  Eva is Swedish and she lives in the southwest of France.

She writes about food and other pleasures, places she visits and the people she meets.

This blog really is a tour of Aquitaine life.

The articles range from the very good descriptive What is Aquitaine to one explain the difference between Swedish Christmas dinners (all about Pig – suits me down to the ground – none of that faffing round with a Turkey!) and Christmas Eating in France.

There’s even one rhetorical post…. The winecellar, part of the bare necessities?

But this blog is more than just about food (by the way, have I told you about her recipe for Special French Chestnut Rabbit Stew?)

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Aquitaine Yarns is Dawn’s blog which is, to use her own words, a few notes mostly about weaving past and present, to share, but also including everyday life in France.

Beautiful photos combine with interesting prose: for all her protestations, there isn’t that much about quilting.  If I  had to sum the blog up, I’d say it was more about being happy with friends (and pets – but I guess that pets can be friends, when they want to be!)

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La Ferme de Sourrou is, to use their own catchphrase, about Hardworkinghippy and Fabrice and their off grid, home built house and permaculture smallholding in Bourrou, in the Dordogne region of France.

It is a delightful mixture of eco-friendly living that is also full of the joy of living in France.

Full of advice about keeping chickens, ducks, geese and pigs, they still manage to write posts such as…   Romantic Permaculture and our Spring Gardens!

I was intrigued by the post entitled.. Pig Skin Soup with Beans – sounds horrible – doesn’t it? Ummm. no – not to me it doesn’t! It sounds delicious!

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