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Caterpillars and Carpenter Bees
Bonjour à tous I hope you are all well? I am late again with this blog. The weeks just seem to whizz by, always with new challenges and jobs to do. It would be lovely to press pause on day-to-day life, catch up and then press play again. C’est la vie I guess! The news continues to be grim from Ukraine but the people there have shown themselves to be a force to be reckoned with. I am sure you, like me, feel a little helpless, but we have occupied ourselves sorting out rooms, should our accommodation be needed. I mentioned last week (see post: What’s in an address) that…
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Cooking with the Seasons: March
Nettles and Blood Oranges! With the arrival of daffodils and primulas in the garden and wild plum blossom, Spring is in the air. At the market, winter fare is still with us but there are signs of change. Although it was -3°C at night during the week, more salads are beginning to appear. One of our lovely local stalls has its salade composée back again, scattered with tiny pretty flowers. They prepare this from the different types of salad leaves they grow, along with edible flowers that change according to availability. This salad disappears in the summer and comes back during the winter depending on the weather, and their time!…
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What’s in an address?
Hello again everyone, I hope you are all well in a week where the news continues to be dominated by the awful invasion of Ukraine. What a terrible situation, which just seems to get worse each day. I can’t imagine the terror and anger people in Ukraine must be feeling. Like many countries, France is keen to welcome Ukrainian refugees. The Mairies (town halls) up and down the country are co-ordinating help. Our Mairie has been contacted by the Préfecture in Albi, our departmental administrative centre, to see if anyone could offer accommodation. Given that we have quite a bit of space here, we have put ourselves on the list.…
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Getting some perspective
Bonjour à tous, I hope you are all well? In a week where sensible precautions against Covid were scrapped in the UK along with free tests, where another person died as a result of being shot by a hunter here in France and we woke up on Thursday morning to the news that Putin had invaded the Ukraine, I have stopped feeling sorry for myself and changed what I was going to write about. I am going a little off-piste this week and not writing about the minutiae of our life here in France. I had also thought to give you an insight into changing rural addresses in France. However…
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A Goat and a Geyser
Hello All I hope you are all OK, especially those of you reading this in the UK where I understand the weather is atrocious? I hate to say it but after torrential rain here, a lot of which managed to get into the house, we had a couple of warm sunny days – almost spring-like! The rain then returned, but hopefully not for long so the wet floor gets a chance to dry out a bit. Last week was a week of disruptions, nothing new there. In between work and helping our neighbour with trips to the vet as her cat was unwell, and collecting some friends who have returned…
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Places to Visit: Rodez
This month, after a short break, the Places to Visit series is back! We took a day off earlier this month, to escape from DIY (not that we should be doing that but sometimes you just need a break) and work and headed out to visit Rodez, a hilltop medieval city just over an hour away from us. We drove past Rodez in 2018 on our way to view a property in the Aveyron and at the time said we must visit. So, fast forward 3 ½ years and finally we were on our way. Fortune smiled on us and the day was partly sunny, a little chilly but nothing…
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Notre Petit Château
Bonjour à tous I hope you have all had a lovely week. My week has been challenging for various reasons, including a battle with Instagram and some family issues. For that reason not much has progressed renovation-wise, although I have done my first kitchen job in between work meetings, clearing off the old shelves above the sink so Max could remove them. Now they are down, the next job is Max’s – filling the many cracks in the wall! I did also finally paint the last in the set of 3 wicker boxes that will act as storage places for socks, etc in our bedroom, and also made the latest…
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Cooking with the Seasons: February
Hello All A wonderful event in February is the appearance of Mimosa. The Mimosa trees near us are yet to flower, perhaps a little behind this year, or were early as the weather in February for the last couple of years has been unseasonably warm. Not this year! It was a joy at the market on Saturday to spot the beautiful yellow splash of a jug filled with bunches of mimosa just waiting to be bought and taken home. A real sign of brighter days ahead, but meanwhile a cheery vase of tiny yellow fluffy pompoms in the hallway, daring you to smile and dream of warmer days. Bright colours…
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Fresh Start February
Bonjour à tous Happy February to you all. The last official month of winter. This year I am counting the days to warmer weather as it has been so cold. I love each season for different reasons, but in an old cold stone house with a serious lack of comprehensive heating, winter has taken on a different dimension – mainly the numerous layers I have to put on each day to stave off frostbite, the chilly bathrooms, seeing one’s breath as you work and chilblains! The days we have had of sunshine and frost are truly glorious. I have bored you with the photos as it is all so magical.…
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The big chill continues
Hello everyone How was your week? Mine was cold! Just for a change. However the weather is lovely – freezing but sunny most days. The deep chill continues. Today it was still -2°C at lunchtime. The views are stunning, the air crisp and cold, energising but making you catch your breath too. Even our water is colder than usual, which makes sense really but bracing for my morning splash of cold water on my face! The sun breaks through early mist each morning, the lake freezes overnight, the surrounding countryside is painted white each day by the hard night-time frosts. The garden is like concrete, so no potager digging for…
