Rhubarb and Roses

Bonjour to you all

I hope you have had a good week.

A brief update on daily life today as there are 2 posts this weekend. Please have a look at The Shutter post, part of the new All Things French section. But before I continue, firstly please excuse the Coffee and Chocolatines website for the moment – as they say in retail: ‘Please pardon our appearance while the windows are being dressed’. I am updating the website, learning all sorts of things as I go along having switched to what I hope will be a cleaner and more appealing style – eventually. At the moment it is a bit of a hotchpotch of things as I try to sort it out. Things are never quite as simple as they appear, even when they say they are really simple to use! At times it is like walking in a complicated maze – once you find your way around and out, it seems so simple. All the features I would like to add to the site are easy but first I have to find them – and therein lies the challenge. So please bear with me – it will look better very soon, and will include the possibility to sign up for our newsletter which will be launched in September.

So back to this week, which has had its highs and lows. We had a 3am start on Tuesday taking my Mother to Toulouse as she has gone off to Malta to visit my Aunt and Uncle. A tad early to be on the road if I may say so, but unsurprisingly very car free! Max and I enjoyed breakfast in a quiet Toulouse, watching the city wake up. Nothing beats a bit of people watching with a lovely coffee to hand. We wandered around for a while, too early for the shops, enjoying the architecture, including an amazing 24 hour clock on a beautiful building, and the break from home.

When the shops did open I found some rather lovely sandals and some gorgeous cards, including a perfect one for this blog.

While my Mother is away we have to set to and get a few more disruptive jobs done in the house, including making progress in the kitchen now that the new cooker is here, albeit still not completely connected. Another story. There are lots of bits of painting to do, jobs to finish and the second of two wallpaper panels for her bedroom.

The garden needs so much work, no surprise there. However in spite of neglect and a healthy dose of weeds, the roses have been spectacular this year and for once my rhubarb (the last of my rhubarb plants to have survived) is also producing the goods. The lavender is just beginning to open and is also looking abundant this year. A positive from the very variable weather is that there seems to be the optimum amount of sunshine and water for most things at the moment, sadly also for mosquitoes. I guess you can’t have it both ways! Less good for the courgettes for some reason, ours appear to be reluctant to get beyond micro size. We have had raspberries and strawberries too and the herbs are fabulous. I love using freshly picked herbs, adding handfuls to salads, including marjoram, thyme, sage, rosemary, mint and lemon balm.

A low this week was the death of a very dear friend, the battle against cancer that she had fought for 10 years finally became too much for her body, but not her spirit. She is at peace now, pain free, but leaves behind many who cared deeply for her and valued her as a friend. She managed to stay at home until the end and left the world very peacefully. A mutual friend and I had a chat with her last week, for which we will be eternally grateful. It is so sad not to have seen her in person but she wanted people to remember her as she was, and was also trying to come to terms with the finality of her situation. Very tough.

The good and bad do make you take stock for a moment. Life is short. None of us know how short, so each day is important. I hope going forward that I can manage to adopt this as my way of life. We all get caught up in the small things and miss the opportunity to enjoy what we have. I know I have said this countless times but perhaps if I keep repeating it….

Another weekend beckons, the sun is shining, the pool perfect. We are trying to start some days each week with a swim. This morning it was misty, with a cooler edge to the temperature. The pool was a little cooler too but once in (always the challenge) it was great. For me a brilliant way to start the day. We are off to have supper in the ruins of a chateau tomorrow and to admire a wonderful rose garden. I am making the pudding – chocolate and cherry cake or gateau aux pêches (peaches)? I will report back on this and the roses, and maybe even the ruined chateau!

Enjoy the weekend. A seasonal food post is heading your way next week as the markets start to fill with more summery produce. There will also be another update and a hint of some of the projects we have completed. An easy win was putting the hammock up by the pool between two oak trees. I look forward to relaxing up there, enjoying the peace.

Please let me know if you are enjoying being part of our French journey. It is lovely to hear from you.

A bientôt

Ali xx