St Robert
Just to please daughter 3.
I was going to not blog today as it has been such a frustrating day and I didn't want to share it with you all.
However thanks to Liz.....
We started off with a phone call from the pool company to confirm that we hadn't actually ordered a part we thought we had - they told us the extra cost and we declined.
Talking to the pool company is a little like phoning a solicitor or accountant. Every time you do so it costs you another chunk of money. So this time we didn't spend it.
Instead we went to the shop for another gas bottle top-up and some vegetables. We took Millie Mehari as she hasn't had much use during the winter. When we got back we found two men in the garden. J-J and Martin from the pool company.
They didn't demand money with menaces but had come to check that the heater and pump were running well. They had rolled back the security cover just enough to allow them access to the filtration system and confirmed that the pump was not working properly. We left them to it (having made them a cuppa - J-J takes tea, weak, black, no sugar) and started to attend to other outside matters, tidying up the mess they have left.
Eventually they left the pump and heater running and said 'If the temperature doesn't change between now and 2pm, call the office, we will come back again' (in English, heavy French accents).
Jon began to re-route and bury the water supply they have fitted to the chalet and pool area. I popped in to check the time and start lunch and when I went out again Jon was struggling with the pool cover. A big gust of wind had lifted it and, where it wasn't secured to the pump end, it had shifted off the pool and landed off centre.
The security cover weighs around 130 kg.
We struggled it back as far as we could. Rolled back the other end to give it some weight and went indoors to avoid the huge downpour which had just started.
Jon by now is not a happy bunny. I won't repeat exactly what he said about the, apparently fatherless, weather, but he was extremely fed up.
We had lunch, the sun came out again. I went to check the heater and pump and found that I couldn't read the display - the rain had obviously got in to the system and stopped the LCD from working.
I phoned the pool company. 'We will be zere before alf past zreee' said J-J.
Martin was there before alf past two. (Yes, pronounce alf with the L in it).
He fiddled about a bit. Changed the LCD, fiddled about some more. Called the heater manufacturer and pronounced that the heater is, in fact, working fine.
It is. Lucky for Martin (who said as he was leaving that he hopes he doesn't have to come and see us again - but did say that it was only because he wants our pool to be working now).
Jon continued with the water supply. I started cleaning the pool.
It began to rain. Heavily. We went indoors.
The sun came out. I continued cleaning the pool, Jon started to set up the edging for the parking area.
It began to rain. Heavily. We went indoors.
You get the picture.
Finally, I have almost finished cleaning the pool. It will take another couple of hours tomorrow and maybe Friday too but there is a lot of sand in there from the rainfall the other week. It will be fine by Saturday. Jon did get the edging for the parking area laid down and we have measured up the amount of castines we need for there and the paths.
Tomorrow's weather forecast says no rain. Fat chance. Watch this space.
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
A garden full of men
St Wilfrid
Oh, what a lucky girl I have been today (apart from the 6 am alarm call, thank you Figaro!).
We started off with two men coming to take down the Horse Chestnut tree - which was pretty spectacular.
Now you see it.......
..... now you don'tThen later, as we were clearing some of the log piles around the garden, another two young and handsome men turned up to sort out the pool start it up and install the cover, an unsightly thing but necessary and compulsory to comply with French law (the options are an alarm which can go off at any time of the day or night should a mouse drop in, or a fence of a particular standard, height, quality and conforming to the law - it's ugly too).
So here we are at last. Treeless and with a pool that works. No excuses now for not tidying up and getting on with planting and laying paths. Dammit.
Monday, 28 April 2008
Love is in the Air
Ste Valérie
"Spring has sprung, the grass is ris
I wonder where the birdies is?"
I know exactly where the birdies is, they is all in our garden. At least that is what it sounds like at 6am. Blackbirds, robins, chaffinches, blackcaps and other assorted noisy beasts all chirruping away to themselves and competing with the cuckoo who seems to insist that it must be fifteen o'clock now. The magpies and jays argue amongst themselves all day long and whoever decided that a nightingale is romantic obviously hasn't been living in southwest France in spring.
I had never heard a nightingale until last year and the one we had then was living way down at the bottom of our field. This year it seems to have moved in with us. It would appear that it likes to sit very, very close to the house and sing happily to itself all night long.
Yesterday evening we took ourselves over to the chalet after dark to admire the new lighting and enjoy the warmth of the evening. He was sitting beside my right ear - not that I could see him - and shouting sweet nothings right into it. He was still at it when we went to bed at 11 and again when I woke at 3 am. I'm surprised that bird doesn't need a Strepsil this morning!
It's lovely to see nature coming back to life after the long winter we've had. The last few days of warm weather have forced the leaves out on most of the trees and we've seen lizards, birds and butterflies enjoying the sun.
We could do without the midnight serenade though!
"Spring has sprung, the grass is ris
I wonder where the birdies is?"
I know exactly where the birdies is, they is all in our garden. At least that is what it sounds like at 6am. Blackbirds, robins, chaffinches, blackcaps and other assorted noisy beasts all chirruping away to themselves and competing with the cuckoo who seems to insist that it must be fifteen o'clock now. The magpies and jays argue amongst themselves all day long and whoever decided that a nightingale is romantic obviously hasn't been living in southwest France in spring.
I had never heard a nightingale until last year and the one we had then was living way down at the bottom of our field. This year it seems to have moved in with us. It would appear that it likes to sit very, very close to the house and sing happily to itself all night long.
Yesterday evening we took ourselves over to the chalet after dark to admire the new lighting and enjoy the warmth of the evening. He was sitting beside my right ear - not that I could see him - and shouting sweet nothings right into it. He was still at it when we went to bed at 11 and again when I woke at 3 am. I'm surprised that bird doesn't need a Strepsil this morning!
It's lovely to see nature coming back to life after the long winter we've had. The last few days of warm weather have forced the leaves out on most of the trees and we've seen lizards, birds and butterflies enjoying the sun.
We could do without the midnight serenade though!
Sunday, 27 April 2008
Farewell to Humph
Ste Vita
Mornington Crescent!
I win.
Humphrey Lyttelton died yesterday. Sad news.
We once went to see a recording of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue at Wimbledon Theatre. I have only laughed so much that it hurt on one other occasion and that was equally surprising to me. It was at a Ken Dodd evening in Dorking Halls. My father was sitting next to me and I honestly thought he would fall of his chair!
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (ISIHAC) is a very British phenomenon. I can't see that this sort of humour would have ever travelled across the pond, or even just under the channel tunnel, but we have always enjoyed it's stupid party games and a level of innuendo I never thought I would hear on the BBC before the watershed. How Humph got away with it I will never know, but his suggestions of what 'Samantha' the scorer might get up to were very near the knuckle.
How we will miss such lines as 'Samantha's going out now for an ice cream with her new Italian gentleman friend. She says she's looking forward to licking the nuts off a large Neapolitan'. Will we tell you the truth about Samantha and how she took these comments about her personal life? No.
From Mornington Crescent to 'One Song to the Tune of Another', to letters from Mrs Trellis of North Wales; Monday evenings will never be the same again.
Rest in Peace, Humph.
Mornington Crescent!
I win.
Humphrey Lyttelton died yesterday. Sad news.
We once went to see a recording of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue at Wimbledon Theatre. I have only laughed so much that it hurt on one other occasion and that was equally surprising to me. It was at a Ken Dodd evening in Dorking Halls. My father was sitting next to me and I honestly thought he would fall of his chair!
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (ISIHAC) is a very British phenomenon. I can't see that this sort of humour would have ever travelled across the pond, or even just under the channel tunnel, but we have always enjoyed it's stupid party games and a level of innuendo I never thought I would hear on the BBC before the watershed. How Humph got away with it I will never know, but his suggestions of what 'Samantha' the scorer might get up to were very near the knuckle.
How we will miss such lines as 'Samantha's going out now for an ice cream with her new Italian gentleman friend. She says she's looking forward to licking the nuts off a large Neapolitan'. Will we tell you the truth about Samantha and how she took these comments about her personal life? No.
From Mornington Crescent to 'One Song to the Tune of Another', to letters from Mrs Trellis of North Wales; Monday evenings will never be the same again.
Rest in Peace, Humph.
Saturday, 26 April 2008
Friday, 25 April 2008
Busy and reading
St Marc
A couple of busy days stopped me from blogging.
Yesterday was a shopping day then cooking and gardening, followed by book club and book group friends back here for supper.
The good news is that the sun came out - not that we expect it to stay for long - and today we have been taking advantage. Jon has been clearing up more of the aftermath of the deluge and I've potted up some veg and planted some seeds. We are hoping for a better crop than last year but we're not holding our breath.
The book group discussed 'Saturday' by Ian McEwan, a book I thoroughly enjoyed. I hadn't read any of McEwan's work before even though I have a couple in the pile ready to read but I have to say that I really enjoyed his descriptive way of writing and it's the first book in ages that I have put aside, not to avoid reading it, but to put off the time that I finished the book.
The next book choice for that group was elected last night and the selection is Eric Newby's 'The Last Grain Race', that is for the June meeting luckily as I still have another two books to read before the end of May for our other group.
A couple of busy days stopped me from blogging.
Yesterday was a shopping day then cooking and gardening, followed by book club and book group friends back here for supper.
The good news is that the sun came out - not that we expect it to stay for long - and today we have been taking advantage. Jon has been clearing up more of the aftermath of the deluge and I've potted up some veg and planted some seeds. We are hoping for a better crop than last year but we're not holding our breath.
The book group discussed 'Saturday' by Ian McEwan, a book I thoroughly enjoyed. I hadn't read any of McEwan's work before even though I have a couple in the pile ready to read but I have to say that I really enjoyed his descriptive way of writing and it's the first book in ages that I have put aside, not to avoid reading it, but to put off the time that I finished the book.
The next book choice for that group was elected last night and the selection is Eric Newby's 'The Last Grain Race', that is for the June meeting luckily as I still have another two books to read before the end of May for our other group.
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Aubergines, lemons and pistachios
St Georges (Flags out chaps)
We started off with a beautiful clear sky this morning and I was up at 7 again thanks to Figaro. I don't really mind too much on a lovely morning, especially after all the rain, and I had a lunch to prepare for friends, so I managed to get an early start with my food preparation.
I try to keep a diary of what we have fed to our various guests when they come here. It can get quite complicated when we see the same people, in different combinations a few times a year. Today we decided to opt for a North African theme and, although I had made most of the dishes before, I wanted to try some new ones and so prepared them in advance in case they turned out disastrously.
The Baba Ganoush (aubergine and tahini dip), I started yesterday morning by baking the aubergines. Unfortunately we had to go out and I didn't peel the aubergines and mix them with the rest of the ingredients until late afternoon. This turned out to be a big mistake as the soft pulp of the aubergines picked up the bitterness from the skins and the dish was ruined. Jon was a saint and went shopping very early this morning so that I could have another go and today, the dip turned out deliciously (is that a valid word?). I also made a broad bean dip which, yesterday evening was a little bland, so after a night's rest in the fridge, I added some Tabasco sauce and lime juice - the result was perfect. We also had Fattoush, a tomato, cucumber and pepper salad with a spicy dressing, mint and parsley leaves, and a plate of crudites and North African bread completed the first course.
The main course is one that I had prepared before so I was quietly confident that it would turn out well. The chicken with olives and preserved lemons was really popular with our guests and we served it with a rice mixture including dates, dried apricots and toasted almond flakes.
For dessert we had an orange salad and with our coffee a nut and honey cake, which was all gooey and light.
It was the cake that caused Jon and I a bit of pain last night. The recipe called for 115 grams of peeled and ground pistachio nuts. The only pistachios I could buy were in their shells and salted so we duly sat and peeled the lot.
I can now confidently inform you that the average weight of a peeled pistachio nut is point three or four of a gram, and if you like pistachios, you will know how long it took us to shell the damned things. Our fingers were sore and our thumbnails shot to pieces.
So we were very glad that the guests really tucked in to the cake and enjoyed it.
Tomorrow is book club evening and some friends who attend come from a village 45 minutes drive from here. Being the nice, friendly people we are, we have invited them to stay for supper after the meeting, so we start all over again tomorrow with a different menu. But I can assure you that it will not include pistachio cake!
Oh, of course the sun didn't last. We managed an apero out on the veranda before the rain set in again, but it has been mizzling ever since. Roll on summer.
We started off with a beautiful clear sky this morning and I was up at 7 again thanks to Figaro. I don't really mind too much on a lovely morning, especially after all the rain, and I had a lunch to prepare for friends, so I managed to get an early start with my food preparation.
I try to keep a diary of what we have fed to our various guests when they come here. It can get quite complicated when we see the same people, in different combinations a few times a year. Today we decided to opt for a North African theme and, although I had made most of the dishes before, I wanted to try some new ones and so prepared them in advance in case they turned out disastrously.
The Baba Ganoush (aubergine and tahini dip), I started yesterday morning by baking the aubergines. Unfortunately we had to go out and I didn't peel the aubergines and mix them with the rest of the ingredients until late afternoon. This turned out to be a big mistake as the soft pulp of the aubergines picked up the bitterness from the skins and the dish was ruined. Jon was a saint and went shopping very early this morning so that I could have another go and today, the dip turned out deliciously (is that a valid word?). I also made a broad bean dip which, yesterday evening was a little bland, so after a night's rest in the fridge, I added some Tabasco sauce and lime juice - the result was perfect. We also had Fattoush, a tomato, cucumber and pepper salad with a spicy dressing, mint and parsley leaves, and a plate of crudites and North African bread completed the first course.
The main course is one that I had prepared before so I was quietly confident that it would turn out well. The chicken with olives and preserved lemons was really popular with our guests and we served it with a rice mixture including dates, dried apricots and toasted almond flakes.
For dessert we had an orange salad and with our coffee a nut and honey cake, which was all gooey and light.
It was the cake that caused Jon and I a bit of pain last night. The recipe called for 115 grams of peeled and ground pistachio nuts. The only pistachios I could buy were in their shells and salted so we duly sat and peeled the lot.
I can now confidently inform you that the average weight of a peeled pistachio nut is point three or four of a gram, and if you like pistachios, you will know how long it took us to shell the damned things. Our fingers were sore and our thumbnails shot to pieces.
So we were very glad that the guests really tucked in to the cake and enjoyed it.
Tomorrow is book club evening and some friends who attend come from a village 45 minutes drive from here. Being the nice, friendly people we are, we have invited them to stay for supper after the meeting, so we start all over again tomorrow with a different menu. But I can assure you that it will not include pistachio cake!
Oh, of course the sun didn't last. We managed an apero out on the veranda before the rain set in again, but it has been mizzling ever since. Roll on summer.
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