Quick Update

Posted by Simon

The weather has been very hot here at times and it is very dry - not good for the vegetable growing and grass. On the other hand it has been good for getting on in the gite. All the painting is now done and nearly all the timber work and doors are in or cut ready to go in. These need varnishing or oiling soon.

Today we started laying the tiles for the living area floor - everything is finally coming together. We were greatly helped by our two helpers, Cat and Freddie, with the painting and varnishing. They have now gone off to travel to the south and Spain. We have another helper in next week.

We also had an afternoon on the Beach, Saturday and Sunday was the school Kermesse (BBQ). This was a pleasant afternoon and we watched the younger children dance and listened to the older ones sing.

Due to the lack of grass we have been reducing the numbers of sheep. Two are waiting to be butchered and bagged up for the freezer whilst we are hoping to sell two of the lambs later this week.

Well I'm off to butcher the sheep (mutton) whilst Rosie is planting some extra leeks to make up for the poor onion crop. Rain is due later this week so hopefully this will give the veg a growth boost.

Ongoing Gite News!

Posted by Simon

Varnishing and painting in the gite are still continuing and so have the woodwork jobs around the place. This seems to be taking for ever - especially as I need to do this work outside of the gite due to the sawdust generated. I have lost count of the number of times I have been up and down the stairs.

Today I started on the three internal doors and door frames. The first is nearly ready to hang and hopefully, as I now have a 'pattern' to work to, the others should not take so long (fingers crossed).

We should have the doors and other timber works finished by the weekend and then we can get the final varnishing of floors done. Apart from one or two little finishing bits and pieces the upstairs rooms will be ready to furnish soon.

My wish is to get the gite finished by the end of next week but being realistic I think it will be another week - and then I have the outside to do - and the deadline is approaching fast!

Reasons to visit Lénault in June

Posted by Rosie

Fêtes de la Musique

Throughout France, June 21st, Midsummer, is celebrated with Les Fêtes de la Musique, (musical festivals) - many towns take part with street music and concerts to suit all tastes. Some are on the week-end nearest midsummer and others on the night itself.

We had hoped to go to the one in Aunay sur Odon (our nearest town) but unfortunately there was a mix up with the publicity and whilst the posters etc said it was on the Friday we had looked on the Internet where it said it was on the Saturday. Guess which night we went?! Instead we had a lovely (if slightly chilly) picnic by the river in Thury Harcourt.

However we did not completely miss out. Our friends invited us to a barbecue on the 21st and after eating like Kings (thank you Ian) we listened to the musical members of the group play traditional English Folk music round a roaring brazier (so no risk of getting too cold this time!). Tom and Ben also treated us to some of the French songs they have been learning at school.

Next year we will check the dates more carefully and hopefully fully join in the spirit of Midsummer, French style.

Singing for their supper

Posted by Rosie

The swallows in the play shed have recently hatched. Whilst other young swallows have already fledged and are being fed on the wing, these are still in the nest waiting for their parents to bring them all their food. Don't you think they really look like they are singing for their supper?

Natural Born Killers

Posted by Rosie

There has been evidence for a while of a mouse in the kitchen but when it ate into a packet of crisps things needed to be done and mouse traps were set. This morning two were unsprung and the cheese gone (grrrrr) but the third under the sink has been successful. Excellent, and with luck that last bag of crisps would be safe.

I decided to pop the dead mouse in the bag with the kittens dirty litter but Smokey and Firkin had an alternative view on this. As I released the mouse Smokey, who was wandering passed, shot forward, grabbed his prey and disappeared under the table growling and snarling before batting the mouse around. Eventually I grappled it from him and put it near Firkin who reacted in exactly the same way. It would appear that we have two natural born killers on our hands. Watch out les souris of La Causserie.

When Smokey isn't thinking about killing the local rodent population however, he likes nothing better than to settle down on a shoulder and study what-ever you are doing. In his spare time, Firkin prefers to evict significantly larger Saari from her bed.

Altogether now - ahhhh!!

Painting

Posted by Simon

I meant to add to yesterday's post that the boys had helped with some of the painting. Tom did well and manage to paint the walls but Ben soon got bored and managed to paint....................

HIS WELLIES




(and himself)

Gite News

Posted by Simon

I picked up the paint and varnish plus other materials in the UK. It was a very quick trip - in fact I spent less than 8 hours over there. Since my return we have been busy painting and varnishing.

And we have help. Two British girls, Freddie and Cat, who have been the main painters and 'varnishers'. This has meant I can spend the time laying floors, doing skirting boards etc and other fiddly time consuming jobs. Rosie has been busy looking for and ordering soft furnishings and helps with staining timber and varnishing. So things are moving along quite quickly.

The paint and varnish I got is organic. Although a little more costly it's been lovely to use. One room is painted with one of the major brands (so called) eco-paint but this is far inferior in comparison to Ecos Organic Paints. I must admit I did make one, slightish, error. I had two tins of Straw for the main bedroom and a tin of Sorbet for the mezzanine. We now have a Straw coloured mezzanine and a hybrid Sorbet/Straw bedroom. As it happens I think the Sorbet would have been too dark for the mezzanine and we all like the mix for the bedroom - although possibly a little too much on the yellow side.

One other job we have decided to do whilst the helpers are here is to pick up the stones from the grass area where the fosse has been installed. We decided we would do half hour per day. Yesterday we did just over that and it does make a difference but it was quite hard on the back and was a little tedious. And today? - well maybe 2 half hour session tomorrow!

Beech Leaf Noyau

Posted by Rosie

Number 20 of my 52 in 2010 challenge is something a bit different - Beech Leaf Noyau. It is an infusion of young beech leaves in gin to which you then add some sugar syrup and a dash of brandy. It was the last line of the recipe that caught my eye:

"Wait for a cold winter night and a roaring fire, then partake of this potent liqueur. "

It certainly had a kick when I had a quick quality control taste.

I also have number 21 on the go - yoghurt. I have tried before to make yoghurt but never with great success so I am hoping this time it will be different. I am using my favourite UK live yoghurt as the starter, a bit a milk powder to thicken it and fresh creamy milk from the local farm. It's currently fermenting in a flask and I'll see tomorrow if it has worked. I really hope so as we eat a lot of yoghurt here.

A croissant for breakfast

Posted by Rosie

Simon is in England today collecting paint. UK paint is much cheaper and better than French so even with the cost of the ferry is is well worth his while going but it means I am manning the fort alone all day. A day I have to say that did not start well ....... I came downstairs to find that one of the dogs had monumentally thrown up. That cleared up I went outside to feed the animals which was when I realised I had not put the pig food in to soak nor could I find the buckets. Eventually I tracked them down underneath the vomit-covered dog bed I had thrown outside earlier. By now time was moving on but the boys had got themselves ready and we were only 2 minutes late leaving for the bus. Then at the bus-stop that Tom muttered that he had forgotten his school bag (for the second time this week I might add) and with the bus pulling in there was no time for me to dash home and get it. Like I said, not a good start.

I went home, found his bag, had the foresight to pick up my purse and drove to school. Purse? With a day starting like this I needed a pick-me-up and today that took the form of a fresh baker's croissant. I arrived back home, popped the croissant in the oven to warm and opened a new jar of home-made strawberry jam. Delicious.

Then the rain started ..........................

Today was getting better already!!

The rain has given all the veg I planted out yesterday a thorough soaking. All the water butts and jerry cans are now full and with cloud cover I can work in the polytunnel this afternoon with passing out in 40 degrees plus temperatures.

The dog's bed is in the washing machine - it needed to be cleaned anyway and is much easier to deal with than the carpet.

The pigs didn't complain too much at being fed an hour late and will enjoy a good wallow now their pens are all wet.

And as for Tom and the forgotten bag - had he not forgotten his bag I would not have had a croissant for breakfast and today may not have worked out the way it has!! You are forgiven ......... this time

And now meet .......

Posted by Rosie

....... Firkin.

Smokey really needed a companion and there are plenty of mice to go round so I went of the site Leboncoin to look for a friend for him. There were plenty to chose from but Firkin was the right colouring, the right age and not too far away so I rang up and went and collected him yesterday. He is settling in well although he is finding things a bit overwhelming at the moment and has yet to meet the dogs. He is a bit younger than Smokey but about the same size with MASSIVE paws. A big cat in the making I think.

So why the name Firkin? The French name their pets by the same letter for any given year. This year the letter is F. After much thinking, choosing, discounting and searching of baby name lists we came up with a shortlist of 4 and Firkin won. It means a type of barrel and specifically the fourth part of the barrel. Firkin is also the fourth cat Simon and I have had.

As for Smokey - he too also indirectly has an F name - Smokey in French is Fumeux or Fumant ....... although I have to admit this F translation was entirely by accident!

Gite News

Posted by Simon

The kitchen is nearing completion now. I have been finishing work on the units and the tiling is done. The under stairs cupboard is also finished and I have started on some of those fiddly timber finishing bits - window sills etc. etc. - which seem to take for ever, especially as I am using old reclaimed wood or local oak planking which I have to prepare first. Rosie is staining and varnishing in between gardening and animals.

Having made the decision not to use the home made paint we are now waiting for a delivery of organic paint and varnish which I have to collect in the UK - so it will be a quick shopping trip as well. It is actually works out, cost wise, the same as buying paint in France. French paint is very expensive and absolute rubbish - even our milk paint is thicker and that's saying something.

Anyway I did manage a walk round the garden yesterday - with camera in hand. The orchard trees seem to be growing well although one plum did not survive the winter. Had to be the Victoria Plum which we can not get over here.

And I know we are a little short of grass but sheep we are not that short and ewe(sic) are getting extra feed as well. But there again they say the grass is always greener............

That might explain ......

Posted by Rosie

....... a certain lack of eggs recently!! Apparently the chickens think that laying their eggs on a tarpaulin by the wood-store is preferable to the nest boxes where, over the last week or so, I have only been getting a handful of eggs. Bad, bad girls!! I have now blocked this hiding place and will see what happens tomorrow.

There was a total of 17 eggs hidden - time to bake a quiche and some cakes I think.

Meet Smokey

Posted by Rosie

After the cycle ride/walk round the lake on Sunday we had just one more surprise for the boys. He may be small now but hopefully he will grow up into a mega mouse murderer although at the moment he is content to kill small bits of paper, bare legs and anything that moves.

Welcome to Eco-Gites Smokey.

A Working Mess - In Progress

Posted by Simon

Good progress has been made on the gite this week. The plumber has finished the kitchen and bathroom plus he is coming in for a while to help out on a few other bits in the bathroom. This meant I have been putting the kitchen back together again and fixing everything into place ready for tiling- plus many other jobs as well.

We have also put in the balustrade between the upper and lower ground floors. Rosie had painstakingly painted all the rods and then it was a case of lining them all up, drilling the holes out and then fitting it all together. This took a painfully long time and Rosie and I were glad the plumber was here to lend a much needed pair of hands. Every time we got one end of the bars in the other end popped out. Eventually we got there - with clamps galore - and are really pleased with the results.

Sally, my sister, was here for a few day and was also roped into various projects, including helping experimenting with the home made paint. We all liked the result but will not be continuing with this paint in the gite as, in this situation, it is not practical - and it was very messy! Rosie has been wood staining and varnishing in between looking after the animals and garden.

So with my neighbour still helping (rendering chimney, painting and other timber work) and then today a friend volunteered a couple of days (building under stairs cupboard and shelves) it has been quite hectic and all looking like rather a working mess!

And as it was Ben's birthday weekend - which I'm sure Rosie will write more of later - we did all get out. Sally and I took Tom, Ben and, Ben's friend, Baptiste bowling, then met up with Rosie, who had been sorting out soft furnishings etc. for the gite, and had dinner out. Sunday we went to Lac de la Dathée which Sally, Tom, Ben and I cycled round and Rosie walked Poppy. Saari was suppose to be with Rosie but decided to run with us. She was brilliant, especially along the road stretch where she run beside me and did not stray - much to the astonishment of people out walking, who just watched her and said how good she was. But she was one very tired dog later!