... we could all use some inspiration....

Here is a list of 100 different ways to enjoy our lives gracefully as we get older.  Hopefully there'll be something inspirational in there for everyone.  Alternatively, ignore all the advice and have fun getting older disgracefully!)....... Either way, we could certainly help you with Nos.7 and 97!

1. Celebrate every birthday with friends, family and champagne!

2. Practice yoga, stretching or Pilates to stay flexible, and prevent the aches and stiffness that are often erroneously attributed to aging

3. Explore the new freedom and opportunity that every age brings

4. Wear your hair more naturally, both in style and colour

(or, if you have the bravado,  do the opposite and be extraordinary )

5. Avoid obvious plastic surgery

6. Spend lots of time around children, to be reminded of the joy there is in play

7. Take a new workshop (try Serendipitous Sculpture, Sketchbook Thrillers, 

Text and Textiles or Knitting, Colour and Verse here with us!)

8. Wear less make-up

9. Quit smoking

10. Give up flirting, and be charming instead

11. Smile more, it’s an instant facelift

12. Travel often, especially to countries that embrace aging

13. Keep up your appearance

14. Walk everywhere

15. Finally learn how to overcome your personal demons

16. Accept that there never really was anyone else to blame

17. Forget what you’re “supposed to do”

18. Eat less meat and more vegetables and fruit

19. Learn a foreign language or do difficult crosswords regularly, to help stave off Alzheimer’s Disease later

20. Leave the dance club scene behind - it's for the kids

21. Show less cleavage

22. Embrace your age, it’s much more attractive than trying to appear younger than you are

23. Mentor someone younger, it’s a great way to help one another understand a different generation

24. Eat dessert more often

25. Learn to really appreciate all of your experiences, both good and bad, for what they’ve brought into your life

26. Forget what everyone else wants you to be, and be what you want you to be instead

27. Learn the art of graciousness

28. Avoid gaining weight

29. Have regular facials

30. Write a memoir, if only to remember what a wonderful life it’s been thus far

31. Fall in love with you

32. Assign each laugh line/wrinkle a happy moment in your life that may have put it there, remember the moment rather than the wrinkle

33. Reduce your alcohol intake

34. Improve your calcium intake

35. Moisturize religiously

36. Drink more water

37. Get dressed up and go out at least once a week

38. Wear lovely lingerie

39. Find role models to follow

(off to see my personal role-model, the continually creative Billie Jean Spille)

40. Set goals for 40, 50, 60, 70 and beyond

41. Wear trends only as accessories

42. Get enough sleep

43. Accept and love your aging face and body (remember how you didn’t appreciate it in your 20s, and now you would die for that body?)

44. Find the balance between trying to look 20, and giving up on your appearance

45. Only wear quality shoes

46. Spend lots of time with friends

47. Don’t be afraid to fall in love again

48. Take proper vitamins and minerals

49. Don’t dress in a frumpy manner

50. Learn to tango

51. Keep an air of mystery

52. See a nutritionist, and learn to eat for maximum energy

53. Splurge on cashmere

54. Do one thing every day that makes you laugh out loud

(our very own Julie Arkell - you've got to smile)

55. Avoid excessive sunbathing

56. The more ladylike you are now, the better

57. Sleep on quality mattresses

58. Spend your money on taking better care of yourself, and looking good naturally, rather than trying to cover flaws/signs of aging

59. Don’t hunch over a computer/desk all day, take frequent breaks to stretch (to avoid bad posture becoming permanent later)

60. Forgive yourself

61. Continue volunteering

62. Realize that you’re more than just a mother/grandmother, and live where you want to live, and do what you’ve always dreamt of doing

63. Now is the time to give up regrets, they’re too big a burden to carry gracefully

64. Remember that age does not give you the right to say whatever is on your mind, courtesy still counts

65. Buy classic clothing, of the best quality you can afford

66. Keep dreaming new dreams

67. Drink champagne more often

68. Good news~you now have time for golf

69. And bubble baths

70. Make it look easy

71. Don’t mention menopause, or your varicose veins

72. Appreciate the wonder of your children and grandchildren, and their many talents

73. Reignite the love affair with your partner

74. Tell people about the good things in your life, rather than the aches and pains

75. Redecorate your bedroom

76. Learn how to swim the backstroke properly

77. Hold your head high, and stand as tall as possible

78. Remember that you aren’t your job, or title, and start planning a roaring retirement

79. Stop thinking about how fit you once were, and be as fit as you possibly can be now

80. Write a children’s book on the most important thing they should know

81. One word…exfoliate

82. Learn to love kitten heels and beautiful flats

83. Keep wearing lipstick

84. Learn how to make the big family holiday meal on your own

85. Stop wearing mini-skirts

86. Less has never been more more than it is now

87. Don’t forget that you may be many people’s role model

(the inspirational Janet Bolton who we're thrilled to say will be leading another workshop for us  in 2014)

88. Show love and affection to those you care for

89. Learn to arrange flowers

90. Stop worrying about tomorrow

91. Go for walks after dinner

92. Now is the time to use the good china

93. Tell your children how proud you are of them, and name the specific reasons why

94. Add weight bearing exercise to your routine for strong bones

95. Make a list of the inelegant things you’ve seen older people do, and be certain you don’t do them yourself

96. Stop frowning

97. Learn a new skill that you’ve always wanted to, or just try one that looks interesting

98. Keep working part-time, to stay active and challenged

99. Attempt one thing every year that you never thought you could do

100. Make your new goal to live to be 100, with health and happiness, and live life in a way that will make it happen and make your grand children proud.

Rosa Parks at 92!

TangoRojo Festival

TangoRojo Festival, London

If you 're lucky enough to live in London (or have easy access to it) over the next couple of weeks, I urge you check out the Tango Rojo Festival which runs from the 12th-15th May at various venues across town. Bianca and Sasha, who are leading our Argentine Tango here at the end of May, organise this event annually and by all accounts it's a MUST for anyone remotely interested in dance.

first coat of paint / l'Espace

Time rolls on however and we are getting very excited about the finishing touches going on in l'Espace (refurbishment of our barn) and the prospect of Roger McGough's first workshop here with us next month. With a spell of mid-summer weather a week or so ago and an almost full-house for his visit here, we thought the gods were finally beginning to smile on this part of France. Silly things! Just as we were about to start work on the terracing around the new barn, the heavens opened and the gods began to laugh at us. But hey! We're confident that most of the building work will be complete in time, though if it stays this cold we may have to relocate the "studio". On vera, as we say in France.

3-year old yellow banksia rose

The banksia rose at the front of the maison de maitre is currently in full flush despite the downpours, having almost trebled in size since last year - things just grow here - and its abundance of Spring-yellow blooms manage to cheer us. Meanwhile, our local village seems to be rousing from it's winter slumbers at last, with the mysterious appearance of a set of two old Renault vans and one Citroen van in various states of disrepair. Nobody seems to know who they belong to, but they certainly are pretty to look upon and seem to typify the sometimes inexplicable slow pace of life in this part of the Dordogne.

Old Renault and Citroen vans parked in village

Creative Workshop Stimuli

One of the really great things about running creative workshops at our house here in France is that you get to meet incredibly creative people! And I'm not just talking about the workshop leaders, although that goes without saying. Some participants arrive already creatively charged, ready to take on a new challenge or improve an existing one, like Rebecka Ryberg Skott, whose extraordinary photographs never cease to amaze (and entertain) me;

and Jone Hallmark, whose creativity never ceases.

Others present themselves on arrival as inexperienced or dabblers in the arts and crafts, but quickly discover through the workshop leaders' encouragement and teaching, the artist within, and head home with unique and beautiful items that bring back to life their neglected or forgotten creative inner child.

This is also very much the case with the Argentine Tango workshop led by London's top teachers, Bianca and Sasha of Rojo y Negro.

Cries of "Oh, I can't dance", or "I have two left feet" can be heard in the nervous mutterings of participants new to this amazing dance (mostly from the men it has to be said), but within a couple of hours, Bianca has demonstrated the basics and the fun of learning something completely new has become both stimulating, gratifying and totally rivetting. Of course, after only one workshop you can't expect to be able to dance the Argentine Tango as well as, say Geraldine Rojas, but does it really matter? The enjoyment you get from simply being able to hold your own on the dance floor, in time with the music, is pretty hard to beat. And learning the moves amongst an enthusiastic group of like minded people is the nearest you're going to get to the insouciant pleasure of our childhoods.

Returning to inspirational arts and crafts, take a look at Cathy Cullis' work. I recently discovered her beautiful and unusual stitch work and photographs and am now an avid follower of her inspirational blog. This one reminded me of Claire Montgomerie's colours whose workshop kicks off our 2010 season in May.

And if you're into second hand clothes take a gander at Prance and Swagger, where you can see, and buy online, some pretty fabulous fifties frocks (one or two perfect for the Argentine Tango) amongst lots of other vintage goodies - especially interesting for those of you living in the States as the postage charges will obviously be much lower.