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Tomtom

2012-01-13T05:12:00.000-08:00

Our recent trip to IKEA (Toulouse) for bathroom items gave us a good opportunity to use a Tomtom we are trialling. Tomtom is one brand of a satnav (or navigation by satellite) apparatus. I left the programming up to Wouter. The apparatus belongs to a friend of ours, so we only had to set the route. The instruction booklets for these things are as long as your arm, but Wouter did a good job with no previous knowledge.

The voice is 'Brendan', a bloke with a lovely Irish lilt. There is no 'top of the morning to you' when you turn it on, or 'begorra' if you make a mistake. He's quite clear with his instructions, like:
"in 400 meters, cross the roundabout, take the second exit"

The satnav shows you the current speed limit and your current speed. When your speed exceeds the current limit by more than 5km, there is a 'moo' to remind you to slow down. We had only been through 2 villages and already had 4 moos! I wasn't driving.

Wouter had set the route to go from home via Mirepoix - this was a mistake as we were only skirting the town and not going into the town centre. We found out if we didn't follow Brendan's instructions, for the next 20 minutes or so, he kept trying to get us to turn around, turn right or left, but he just wanted us to go back and via the centre of Mirepoix at every possible opportunity. A trap for young players. Now we know we must find a very small village to travel 'via' as you drive through the centre when travelling on the main road and that will keep Brendan happy.

So some more programming needed to get out of this cycle and stop Brendan complaining and give us directions for our desired route. This meant I had to try and figure it out as we drove and I had never looked at one of these before. I managed to programme in 'Toulouse, avoiding motorways', even though we would not go to the centre of Toulouse, but it would be enough to get us to where we were going.

Happy enough we were getting good instructions, the mooing continued so I just looked at Wouter who had the grace to laugh a little (finally caught and he can't argue with the computer). A little further on we were behind another vehicle and both cars driving at a good rate when suddenly speedy gonzales came up from behind and overtook the both of us with incredible speed. Wouter started mooing like mad. It was hilarious. Obviously that guy did not have a mooing satnav and I had no idea Wouter could do such impressive barnyard noises!

We decided to use it again on the way home - it was dark and foggy and was also the end of rush hour - and it did help us find our way out of the city rabbit warren. Once you know what you are doing with the satnav, how to programme it with accuracy, how to drive to the comments, how to read the screen, it makes driving in unknown territory much less stressful.

The Pantry

2010-11-19T02:14:00.001-08:00

Autumn colour is still around in splashes, but now for the mostpart, thanks to a few breezy and rainy days, the leaves have nearly all vanished from the trees. This year we had some spectacular colours which last year were not apparent due to an early and hard frost in October.

trees on driveway

snowball tree

pear tree

The weather held out long enough for us to complete tidying the vegie garden so we feel that for once we are in time with all the chores. The beds have been cleaned, tidied, dug over, manured, and some even replanted with winter and spring crops. One thing we are trying this year [mainly due to our lack of success with it during the spring] is peas. This lot are supposed to be hardy down to -18 so we'll see how they do in our garden - already the new shoots are through, as well as those of the broad beans, onions, shallots, etc. You will also notice the addition of a bird bath below which Wouter made early autumn out of some leftover concrete and limewash.

vegie garden with bird bath

We have bought some fuel for the central heating system this year which we have not used much so far. A couple of days ago we had our last delivery of firewood, which will hopefully see us through the winter. We are trying to be prudent with our logs and we also use any branches and dead wood we cut out of the trees in the garden.

While raking up leaves a few days ago, I thought I had run the rake over a dead bird, but on closer inspection I saw a blink of an eye and realised it was a toad. The first time we've seen one in our garden. It must be the time of year for amphibians as the following day a bright green tree frog jumped out of one of my shoes!

toad

A few nights ago we celebrated St Martin in the village - he's a popular saint in Germany and people walk around their village with lanterns while singing songs. The children in our village thought it was wonderful and at this time of year it's dark enough to do these things early evening.

me with stars and moons lantern

the children listening to the story of St Martin

walking through the village

Meanwhile in our kitchen there have been improvements with the fitting of a pantry - before it was just a corner stacked with old wine crates [filled with pantry items]. Wouter had promised to get this storage done before Christmas so he's well in time.

space for the pantry

I spent a day clearing out the crates and stores before Wouter could make a start. After a lot of measuring, cutting and fitting, the pantry is ready. Another day filling it up and organising the shelves - after 2 years you get used to things being in a certain place.

starting to fill

Only one thing remains to be finished and that is the door - it's a narrow space and a door needs hinges and limits access on one side or the other - meanwhile we have a window blind which looks quite nice and the light behind makes it look rather cosy.

Potter Wasps

2010-07-05T15:07:00.000-07:00

Last week we saw a most unusual wasp hovering around the top of our steps. We thought it was looking for water as it has been very dry, but on closer inspection it was building something which looked like small pots. We think it is the Potter wasp (also known as the Mason wasp), with characteristic long waist, but if anyone can confirm, please do.

The following day there seemed to be a new pot in the making, so we watched with interest. The Potter wasp uses saliva to make a pot in which to store an egg - one per pot, and places a food store ready for the larva.

Once we realised what it was doing, we took some photos and then saw the most amazing thing. In each "pot" the wasp places food for the larva by first collecting it, stunning it with a sting or two and then feeding it into the hole. After there is a good supply of food the pot is sealed. Apparently the wasp never returns to the pots.

beautifully shaped pot in the making

here comes mum with the first caterpillar

positioning the caterpillar with the entrance

stinging to stun the prey

in it goes - using legs as a conveyer belt

the whole process took about two minutes

all in place

and another - not much room left in there!

this shot gives a good view of the long waist

It is truly amazing to watch this insect and to see how well it has camouflaged the pots with our stones. The wasps are generally non-aggressive unless provoked. We would never have spotted it if it wasn't so close to where we were sitting.

She'll Be Right

2010-06-16T08:22:00.001-07:00

It is funny what you absorb by living in a different country, without even trying. You use expressions you've heard and used for years and everyone understands you, then you move to another country and meet new people who sometimes have no idea what you are talking about.

For instance, I was chatting to a friend on facebook and mentioned that we are Flat Stick at the moment. What is flat stick? she asked. Obviously an unknown expression on this side of the world, it means you are very busy and usually too busy to do other things you'd like to do. Flat Stick and Flat Tack are interchangeable.

While visiting a friend in the village, during our chat she made me laugh so much I said "You're a Dag". On seeing her puzzled face I had to explain, no this does not have anything to do with something hanging from the back end of a sheep (one of the 20 million or so woolly animals which populate the countryside in NZ), but it means you are funny in a nice way. I could have also said she was Hard Case, which also means - makes you laugh. After researching this (dag) expression I found the Australians use it with a different meaning - to dress badly - that is, not in fashion, or rather in bad fashion.

Image with kind permission from David Pope: website

Years ago in NZ there was an entertainer/comedian, Fred Dagg (aka John Clarke, who is actually Australian). He had a show with sketches, songs and the like and his trademark dress was a floppy hat, black singlet and gumboots. The black singlet is a kiwi icon of sheep shearers. He also had a hit called If it Weren't For Your Gumboots, the UK version used Wellies instead of Gumboots. You have to wonder if the kiwi version of dag was in any way influenced by Fred Dagg, being a comedian. Rattle Your Dags means get a move on, or shake a leg.

Fred Dagg

If you travel around NZ you might like to take a Tiki Tour (or Cook's Tour), which is take a trip the long or roundabout way rather than the most direct route. It's often used if you are not sure where you are - you tell people you're on a tiki tour (lost) but eventually you find your way back to the main road. Unless someone puts you Crook - gives you wrong directions or information - then you could end up in the Wopwops (usually the countryside - you see noone and there are no landmarks in sight). If you really do get lost you could be Up the Creek Without a Paddle (in trouble).

While you visit the wopwops you might need to use a Longdrop. This is a primitive toilet which is usually a hole in the ground (which drops a long way) and if you are lucky, you have the luxury of a seat and perhaps 4 walls, but little else.

Your neighbour might invite you over for a Barbie, which is a barbecue. And if you're asked to Bring a Plate, you should put some food on it for sharing with the others who will be at the barbie. You could take it along in the Chilly Bin (cool bin, plastic food store) because if you just turn up with an empty plate they might think you are a Sandwich Short of a Picnic (not very bright).

The next day at work at Smoko (morning tea, or coffee break) you can tell your host what a lovely time you had at the barbie and invite him over to your place for the next one. If he says Cool Bananas or Good On Ya Mate, then it's all ok and you are well on your way to understanding kiwi slang. He might also say, come over later and I'll Shout You one (this will be a beer and he is paying).

After that you should go home and find your Togs (bathing suit) in case there is time for a swim, Jandals (flipflops/thongs), buy a few Mystery Bags (sausages) from the Local Dairy (corner shop) and when your partner asks for some help with getting it all ready, you don't have to Bust a Gut (make an effort), just say She'll be Right!

Abbey of Fontfroid

2010-03-31T11:11:00.001-07:00

Saturday 13th March was an open day at the Abbey of Fontfroid. We had planned to visit it earlier but with one thing and another we just didn't get around to it. The open day seemed like the perfect reason to plan our visit.

Bages

We decided to first visit Bages, south of Narbonne, which is a small fishing village located on the sheltered side of a large lagoon on the Mediterranean. After our recent snow we thought a view of the open water and some sunshine would be beneficial. Although we were not sure if the weather would deliver, when we arrived we found it to be quite sunny but very windy.

Boats on the lagoon

Boardwalk and algae ponds

We had a short walk along the boardwalk to see the natural algae pools and of course spotted some flamingoes. Our picnic lunch in the car was nice and it was even warm out of the wind. After lunch we took a stroll into the small village and it indeed looks picturesque with some nice views over the lagoon. Reminded us a little of the Cinque Terre -five fishing villages on the north west coast of Italy.

Then we drove to the Abbey via a link road which looks like it is often flooded. More flamingoes and better photo opportunity this time.

Flamingoes

The Abbey is rather amazing and with a long history. In 1093 the Cistercian Abbey was founded by the Viscount of Narbonne. It was granted much land and increased in both wealth and status. After fighting against the Cathars and then later the French Revolution (1791) the abbey was dissolved. It was refounded in 1858 by monks and then passed into private hands in 1908. Today the Abbey is privately owned and produces wine under the AOC Corbieres appellation. There is also a working farm, bookshop, restaurant and guest quarters.

Garden at centre of cloister

The courtyard was still covered in snow but we were happy the sun was shining for our visit. The chapel showed some magnificent stained glass windows and rosettes and the crypt was eerily attractive. Old wells, now covered, make you wonder how many pails of water would have been hauled up by hand for daily use several hundred years ago. The store room seems cavernous when empty, but I imagine the barrels of wine stacked up against one wall and honey, hay, or some such food crop stored against the other.

Plenty of storage

Basket with roses

There are many photo opportunities around the cloister. Most of the arches are carved with a different pattern, the small central garden is laid out in a formal style and there is a well at one end. To one side of the cloister is a meeting room which is the only place the monks were allowed to speak with each other. Even non-religious people can appreciate the beauty of the sculptures, stone and graphic embellishments which humbly decorate the Abbey.

Pieta

Cross

Cloister

The outside gardens are tranquil and we spent some time sitting on the benches and enjoying the sun and atmosphere. Small box hedges surround gardens of roses which will be a spectacle when they are flowering. Even not in flower, you can see the time and effort spent to make such a pleasure on rocky soil.

Sundial

There is a walk up to the cross on top of the hill but given the weather conditions we flagged that this time. On a warm spring day I imagine the views from up there would be amazing.

The Abbey hosts several public events during the year and if you'd like more information click here.

Some of the iron gates

vine theme

Snow Yeti Again

2010-03-12T06:45:00.000-08:00

Well, this is going to sound a bit like a broken record, but we have had snow again this week. But first, let me tell you about our little trip last weekend to Rennes le Chateau.

We decided, after reading about the snow forecast, to make the most of the fine weather on Sunday and go to the market at Esperaza. Sun bright and people chirpy and market a little quiet but still nice. On the way home we took a detour and went to have a quick look around Rennes le Chateau.

Tour de Magdalene

Penitence

Chapel of Mary Magdalene

Those of you who have read Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) and Sepulchre (Kate Mosse) will know the story of Berenger Sauniere, who was a local priest accused of receiving funds inappropriately and even of spying for the Germans during WWI. His grave is in the churchyard of the Chapel of Mary Magadalene. This small chapel is beautifully decorated.

There are some nice windy streets and interesting buildings in the village, as well as stunning views over the Razes from nearby the Tower - the Tour de Magadalene. Inside the tourist office you can find a huge glass-covered excavation hole, which was dynamite blasted in the '60s to try and find "buried treasure", which of course was never found and probably never existed. But it did start fresh rumours about the priest, followed by a series of books and theories, some mentioned above. You can also visit the museum.

Feathered clouds on Sunday

Later in the day we had some lovely feather clouds which to us signify an oncoming storm. It was unbelievable as the weather was just warming up nicely and the day was so bright. But Monday morning was a completely different story. A large blanket of snow was everywhere we could see. The snowflakes started off wet and large and soon became thick on the ground. The temperature continued to drop and by the end of the day everything was quiet when we took Cassy for a walk down to the reserve. Wearing our good old NZ gumboots otherwise the snow would have gotten into our shoes!

Monday

Tuesday morning

Looking towards the back fence
Icicles on shed up to a meter long

After 4 days there is snow still sitting on the ground and in some trees. We have had watery sun occasionally during the week but not enough to get rid of all the snow. The icicles are beginning to thaw and crash to the ground. Now we feel we have seen enough winter and just want it to be spring! Poor birds are having a tough time finding enough to eat so we are putting out "fat balls" for them to nibble. It's quite lovely to see them all queueing up and then some underneath feeding on the bits that drop.

Robin in the snow

A couple of weeks ago we completed our new fence around the garden we planned to upgrade this winter. Before we could start we had to remove the privet hedge - one reason for getting rid of this hedge is that it looked rather straggly and another reason is that I am allergic to the flower pollen. We got a couple of the smaller ones out no trouble, but the others called for the more drastic action of pulley and block - I think Wouter likes to use these machines - like making cement is the grown man's answer to the sandpit.

Front garden with privet hedge

Wouter working wonders with the pulley

Wouter Kabouter......

I always hoped to find a kabouter (gnome) in the garden!

The posts are from acacia and were given to us by our vineyard neighbours. They just wanted to get rid of them and we said we would take them. Simple and great for us! We did buy a few small plants to pretty up the entrance (hopefully they survive the snow) and at some stage we will get something hanging on the rails by the gate. The other side of the fence will be covered with clematis once they grow. The centre part of this garden will also be changed, but we are not entirely sure how we will do this part.

Posts woven with Virginia creeper and pruned branches

By next Tuesday our temperatures will be into double figures again, so we are told, and then it will be a race against the clock to do all the chores that need to be done before planting, before trees sprout again, before fruit sets, and before weeds get too big to handle! After that's all done the snow will be long gone and we'll be looking at the next chores of building our outdoor guest barbecue making a cover for the well-pump.

Cold as Ice

2010-01-12T11:26:00.000-08:00

While you Kiwis and Australians have been sweltering in the heat (especially Auckland, with a heatwave of at least 20 degrees...) you might be pleased to know that we have been shivering in our shoes, literally. We do feel sorry for the Melbournites who are currently struggling with temperatures into the 40s and are having to deal with bush fires and destruction of property.

Last week on Thursday the snow started coming in and is still here. The last few nights have been bitterly cold at -8 or -10, with last night being our coldest since we arrived here, at -12 celcius. The sharp air cuts through your lungs and seems to bite hard. The ice wave of UK finally made its way down to south of France and caught us up in its grip.

street in the village

chemin du relais towards reservealong the Southe oaks retain their colour in the reserve

We have both been knocked out with the flu or a cold or something in between - lots of sniffling and not being able to breathe properly, hacking coughs, headaches and just feeling lousy. But, Wouter is a few days ahead of me and is well on the way to recovery. I am feeling much better too, so it's all good.

During the snowy weather we also got some sun, so Wouter took the opportunity to go out and take some photos. You can't tell from some pictures, but the snow was around a meter deep in places. According to Wouter he had to shake out his boots several times. As the snow starts to melt, icicles are formed and today we saw some which were at least a meter long. If snow has been compressed on the ground, walking can be dangerous if the compressed snow has turned icy so it's best to walk in softer snow.

view from the front window

snow drift on east of property

hope the broad beans make it through....

I think this looks like woolly mammoths climbing our hedge (we just saw Ice Age...)
and the tobacco plants look rather glum under the snow

Cassy has enjoyed the one walk I've made with him in four days (due to flu) - there were so many new smells to sniff out - he was almost in heaven. Although he later showed his true labrador traits when I felt sorry for some birds who could not find food, so made a melange of rolled oats, pumpkin seeds and breadcrumbs and bacon fat. Cassy made sure the birds didn't get a taste for this new cuisine as he found every single crumb. But he paid the price by having sore gums later on - having spent a lot of time with his snout in the icy snow.

The forecast for tomorrow is for up to +12 degrees so no doubt it will feel absolutely tropical!

Busy Bees

2009-11-30T06:09:00.000-08:00

Thought it was time for an update so you can see what we have been working on around the place. But first a wrap on the weather. While kiwis are expecting a humid week with not much sun, we have recently had the most glorious autumn weather. So unusually warm right up to Saturday that people were talking about it when you met them in the street. But good things come to an end and yesterday was not too bad even if a little cold. Today it's just cold and the dark clouds are now rolling in from the mountains. There will be snow underneath - you can feel the ice in the air. Luckily I cleaned out the fireplace last week and we lit our first fire last night. Nice to see the glow of the flames again but with it comes the dust, ash-clearing and bringing in the wood.... I had almost forgotten how much work it is to have a fire!

First update is the ramp for our guests with a wheelchair or walker. Wouter has made the gradient very low for ease of use.

before the ramp

It was good to get rid of the old building materials from out of the house when we converted the bedroom to new bathroom and loo. All the old brickwork has been used as fill and the side stones were collected from around the property. The concrete on top was left over from doing the inside renovations, we only had to buy the dye to match the current tiles.

finished ramp

Next is the path just inside the front gate where our visitors on foot arrive. Before we did anything it was bare earth and because it is hidden behind a tree and gate, no sun was getting there to dry it out, meaning muddy or dirty feet when you came through the gate. Also you had to step down into the dirt and then back up onto the driveway.

stones sorted, edges done, ready to go

Another problem was that once through the gate it wasn't really clear where you had to go to reach our front door. So we made a small semi-circle of stones to level things out, keep feet out of mud and make it clear you must go onto the driveway to reach the house. When I say "we" I mean that I sorted the stones and Wouter did the rest.

artist at work

The best thing of all was that we didn't have to buy any materials for the job - we collected the stones from our garden over the last year while we've been working, the cement, sand and builders mix was from another job. We're pretty pleased with the result.

finished path

The next thing on the list is the front entrance. When we arrived, looking from the road, the left hand side was not done at all - completely bare concrete blocks. The right hand side was partly finished and partly bare. There was a crack underneath the letterbox, the letterbox was rather grotty. Nothing matched - the grey blocks, the half done side and the pillars - all different materials and different colours. There was also a Wellingtonia growing on the lhs which we removed some months ago as we both didn't like the tree and we want to put something else in there instead.

before

Wouter decided to use a mixture of good old whitewash but a bit thicker and slightly coloured with chaux. The result is a rough texture and uneven colour, but we think it's great, very practical and also very cheap to do!

nearly there...

painting over the apricot coloured posts to match the new walls

Continuing work in the hangar is also important if we want to have workshops this coming spring and summer. Before work could begin in there Wouter had to remove a large 1000 litre oil container. Wouter offered it for free to someone who was going to come with a tractor and take it down as it was resting on a wooden mezzanine. However, they didn't show so it was down to the good old rope and tackle. After it was on the ground we used the car to pull it along on beams of wood to save it digging into the concrete and then the driveway.

artichoke

Meanwhile I have been trying my hand at making decorations from things out of the garden. Inspired by one can of gold paint I first tried an artichoke I picked a few weeks ago - the ones I picked recently are no good for spraying as they have gone slightly moldy from being out in the little rain we've had. But the good news is that I have plenty of seeds to plant more for next year.
The next decoration is made from sticks we pruned off the trees last year, tied together with some old string and sitting on a board Wouter kindly made for me, cones placed around the bottom - then sprayed with gold paint.

Lastly a wreath for the front door. This is made from strands of Virginia creeper which were growing through the stones on the ground, wound around each other to form the wreath shape, sprayed gold. Next I attached some suitable greenery from the Bay and other evergreens, and finished off with some gold-sprayed cones.

Last week we were given 4 kilos of olives. The owners didn't want them so I went down on my bike and picked heaps from quite a small tree and came back with a backpack full of them! Why not try my hand at brining them? It will take some time, patience and lots of water to get them to the edible stage, but it's a good opportunity to used something which was unwanted.

Cassy is blissfully unaware of all the work going on around him most of the time. This is one of his evening poses, curled up on his duvet, complete with squeaky cellphone at the top of his head and squeaky baguette under his nose....

Cycling Along the Canal du Midi

2009-10-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

Today we both celebrated our birthdays. As a break from our regular routine of work and more work, we decided to make a trip by bicycle along a part of the Canal du Midi and have a picnic somewhere along the way.

Picnic spot

Where to start from and where to cycle before turning around and heading home again? The weather was another consideration because even though it was a glorious day, the predicted wind strength was something in the region of 100kph.

Along the towpath

We had thought of Castelnaudary because there is a fairly wide path there and access is easy. But we looked further on Google Earth (great programme) to see if there were a couple of villages we had not yet visited (as we have been to Castelnaudary a few times now) and chose Villesequelande as our starting point (43 14' 21".03 N 2 13' 57".37 E). We cycled direction east towards Carcassonne, past Sauzens and up to the sharp bend opposite Pezens.

The Canal du Midi is a World Heritage site

Along the way I kept thinking of Kermit the frog and the Rainbow Connection. Kermit rides his bike in the opening shots of the movie and then the music starts and we see a swamp and hear the first chords of a sole banjo - the camera slowly zooms into the swamp as singing starts and orchestra joins in and there we find Kermit sitting on a log, playing and singing. I think this is one of the most beautiful songs ever (although I do admit my list is a long one!)

Ecluse (lock) between Villesequelande and Sauzens

Old Poplar

Back to the canal - there are some wonderful views from certain points, but you have to remember that as a canal it is not high up for panoramic views. However, you do catch glimpses across to the Black Mountains, across the villages on the northern side of the canal, and on higher points, over towards the peaks of Andorra. Quite stunning landscape indeed. And no worries about the wind as in most places it is very sheltered, having trees on both sides a lot of the time, or the canal is dipped behind stop banks - would be hot in summer but at this time of the year it's quite wonderful.

Wonderful trees along the way

Reeds in flower

Wouter was fascinated by many crows in one field - they seemed to congregate there and when he made some bird noises (he didn't tell me before that he could do bird impressions - the things you find out about a person....) they circled around like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie, squawking. Armed with camera, he managed to take a few photos which satisfied his curiosity.

Field of crows

The canal is by no means busy at this time of year but there are a few boats still out for a leisurely trip here and there. You usually see boats in small groups - this is because when they go through the locks they come out together and so two or three pass within minutes of each other. Between 12 and 2pm though, it seems like they just tie up somewhere while the lock operators have their lunch break.

Reflections in the Canal

Cycling back another image came to mind - the Famous Five who were always having an adventure - except there were only two of us - Timmy (aka Cassy) was at home on guard duty and Dick and Anne were off hunting for mushrooms on Kirrin Island. We also didn't have lashings of whipped cream with any of our picnic but we did eat well mainly from our garden (tomatoes included).

I hope our pictures give you some idea of the lovely scenery along the canal and you can imagine a pleasant bike ride while enjoying the autumn sun and the calm of the surrounding nature.

Art Exposition

2009-09-14T07:53:00.001-07:00

Last weekend were expositions at both Cambieure and Cailhau (neighbouring village) to celebrate Achille Lauge (1861 - 1944), a local artist from Cailhau. The exposition was to show-case today's artists who could somehow relate to Achille Lauge's work, in the form of a cultural community event and Wouter was lucky enough to be able to take part.

gathering interesting items for the display

preparing prints and text for hanging

The opening was at Cailhau with 6 local artists exhibiting oils, watercolours, specialised photographical images, sketches and drawings, and glass sculpture. Cambieure and environs exhibited work from artists of oils, acrylics and gouache, paper art, and of course printing.

setting up the hall

other side of hall

At Cambieure there were also activities for children - Wouter made a special drawing of the water pump down by the river (well, creek), to make a simple 3 block print, using Cambieure mud as one of the colours. The children were very focussed on putting pressure on the baren to make the ink transfer from the block to the paper. Even some adults had a go and found it enjoyable.

Pamela's first attempt at printing

Alice showing correct placement of paper (registration)

Great pressure and concentration for using the Baren

some adults in the Sunday print workshop

The drinks on Saturday evening proved popular with around 90 people attending - the atmosphere was lively and while socialising, people were looking and admiring the artwork - we saw lots of discussion taking place, which is after all, another aspect of art - encouraging discussion on a picture and how the image was achieved. We met lots of new people and also caught up with others we hadn't seen in a while - very enjoyable.

drinks are always popular!

The texts for the prints and the story book to show the preparation process before you get to the printing stage explained that there is a lot of work and effort required for making a print. And it was only while doing this I completely understood what Wouter was talking about when he was telling me about such things as registration marks and working the block. People often don't see or know about the planning, the preparation, the carving, the printing - and how long it all takes to achieve the final result - they only see one image completed on a piece of paper. The experience was also valuable for us to know what participants in future workshops might expect, want to do, and what sort of questions can be asked.

All in all the event was a success with locals being able to enjoy some local artistic talent on display, children being able to express their artistic abilities and try something they may not normally be exposed to, and seeing an unexpected horse trek of around 20 horses and riders passing by. As a last treat while we were packing up, a local arrived with a preliminary sketch by Achille Lauge, so we were able to see the real thing. Pity the image was damaged with a long tear in the paper, but hopefully the owner will have it professionally restored to preserve it.

Wouter's woodblock prints can be seen here (please note the image copyright) and his art work here (also copyrighted).

La Chaleur

2009-08-19T08:47:00.000-07:00

The weather a couple of weeks ago was like an Auckland summer - gentle breeze, around 26-28 degrees, a few showers earlier on - which have long since dried up. But now we are into "la chaleur" - the heat. I've just checked the forecast for Cambieure and today we can expect temperatures in the mid 30s. Our overnight lows are in the low 20s, which I realise is higher than most of the highs in NZ right now, as well as in most places in the UK, who apparently are having an awful summer. We are due to have some heavy rain next week on Tuesday, but if it is as reliable as the rain we didn't have the other day then it will still be dry as a bone.

images thanks to http://www.lachainemeteo.com/meteo-france/

Today's temperature forecast
note that we are on the SE corner - between the 30 of Perpignan and 37 of Toulouse

Tonight's temperature forecast

Luckily for us there is still around 2 meters of water in the well which means we can keep watering the garden. A lot of things in the garden are coming to an end, but there is still enough action to keep us busy and we are trying to plant some late crops to take us through the autumn weeks.

The vegies - well we've had tomatoes galore, along with - potatoes, courgettes, beans, capsicums, carrots, chillies, onions, garlic, shallots, leeks, figs, figs, figs (thankfully this crop has finished but there will be another lot end of September), pickles/gherkins, pumpkins, beetroot, sweetcorn and melons. As much as possible has been preserved for later in the year - the cellar is full of onions, potatoes, pumpkins and beetroot; the freezer is full of cherry tomatoes, chillies, fig pulp, cherries, capsicums. The tomatoes are just marching on like a line of soldiers and I've given away heaps as we just cannot fit anything else into the freezer.

Also growing are gourds, scorsonere (like salsify) and some flowers, like spicata (purple spikes), Reine margrieten (queen marguerites), zinnias, bella di notte (night beauty or belle de nuit), nasturtiums, artichokes (we let these flower rather than pick them and use them to eat as apparently they are hard work for little reward) and a few other bits and pieces. We can't wait to try the melons and I have developed a taste for pickles - never been interested before but now we have our own supply I thought it was time to try - and I'm pleasantly surprised with the result. I've preserved them in a light vinegar and several small batches have been done with different herbs like rosemary, bay leaf or thyme.

Artichoke flower

Interesting eggs on bean leaf - anyone know what they are?

Figs for preparation

Pumpkins weighing in at between 5-9 kilos each

We have found that some things don't seem to work, at least, don't work when and where we planted them, like peas. I will try a few more for autumn and see if they like the cooler temperatures. Planting by the moon is popular here so let's hope I've chosen the right day to plant out the seeds!

Recent full moon

Sweetcorn was a success, but not with french seeds - we found that most bought french seeds are pretty awful, especially given the price of a packet - the stuff we had from friends in france and new zealand is much better so I have managed to freeze several cobs - by NZ prices, about $70 worth!

Wouter with tjankol

and as a boy in Indonesia tending corn with tjangkol

The fete de Cambieure was a lovely evening with around 300 people turning up with family and friends to enjoy the village feast, music and later dancing entertainment.

Setting up

In full swing

Warming up the audience (it's a challenge in France!)

The problem with our internet seems to be fixed at long last. Apart from lots of my time and patience it only took around 10 phone calls to Orange and visits from 6 technicians to do it, spread over several months. The real cause, well, it's not known, but the technicians who were here last could see the problem happening and they simply changed us over to the other line which links Cambieure to Belves. Before that final step we had lots of dubious wiring replaced within the house and the cable from the house to pole also replaced. Now we have internet all day and it's reasonably fast and this makes it easier for us to manage our emails, correspondence and Skype.

In the last couple of months people have been busy clearing out their attic or garage and there were lots of vides greniers (with entertainment) for us to attend and try and pick up some bargains.

Traditional music on Sheeps body pipes

Sampling wine from local growers

We found a few things, including some outdoor lamps which have come up really well after cleaning glass, repainting the frame and hanging on hooks. A lamp with genuine parchment shade:

"Where did you get that lamp, where did you get that style....."

Lastly for this blog, after some effort to get our webmaster into action, our B&B site is running - to take a look:
http://www.lapradecambieure.fr/Site/Welcome.ashx

Mirepoix

2009-08-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

Mirepoix is a bastide (square formation) town just over the Ariege border around 30 minutes from Cambieure. It's known for its Medieval buildings in the main square and for its weekly market, which is attended by many people from far and wide. In summer shuffling around the market is fun, in winter there is more space but also there are less traders.

Gargoyle Beams

Covered terraces to drink coffee

Hanging baskets on Medieval buildings

Shops also sell their goods and there is plenty of interesting shopping under the covered terraces.

Character abounds

Pan de bois

Pottery market before it was too hot and full of people

I'm in pale yellow with orange backpack

Saucissons, shoes, cheeses, wines, biological products,....

For the pot
One hears English, Dutch, German, Occitan, French, Spanish

You have to experience the bustle of the market

Obviously I had no idea I was in this shot!

"Behind the scenes"

Mirepoix market is held every Monday and in the summertime they have evening markets. There are other markets held periodically, like the pottery market. Just outside the square is a lovely cathedral.

Internet

2009-07-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

For the last few months our internet connection has been getting progressively worse. It has been frustrating, not only because we were busy with many other things, we needed to do our online driving practice tests, but also to keep in touch with people, read news and so on. We have a second phone line which works over IP but without internet, that doesn't work. We are also supposed to have a TV decoder for paying channels but without internet that also doesn't work. If the decoder is connected and there is no internet, the tv won't work either, so we have not installed it in view of our current situation.

At the start, the internet would cut out around 8am and sometimes come back around 10 or 11pm. We spoke to other people in the village and they told us this was normal. So we thought, ok, we can live with that, even if we don't think it's normal. The connection slowly became worse, with the outages increasing in length. The tone on the phone was also worse and I could hardly hear anyone calling in.This was no longer normal.

On contacting Orange (French Telecom) and explaining the situation, they asked us to try a few things, and then decided to send a technician. The technician arrived and we explained (again) the problem and he told us - this is normal. He didn't look at anything or do anything.

So 2 weeks later the internet was even worse and we ended up with no internet whatsoever, so it was time for more serious action. The only way we could connect to the Internet was by engaging the phone as if we were going to make a call and then as soon as we finished doing what we were doing, disconnect and the Internet connection would immediately disappear.

Contacted Orange again and they asked us to change the filter, change the phones around and if that didn't work, they would send someone. "They" happened to be two lovely older technicians who looked at all our cabling. They found a few problems - so we're not mad - an old line with bells, apparently from an old phone system, which may interfere with the current system, a birds nest of cables in the loft which looked like a plate of angry spaghetti. The internet worked, but the phone didn't sound much better. But they left, we were happy - for 5 minutes and then the internet connection disappeared. Back to the same old tricks.

Called Orange again and they decided it might be the Livebox (router). So we arranged with our friends up the road to collect it from Limoux (as no driving for us!) and spent a while installing it. Finally we finished at 1am and did some work on the internet. All seemed to be well. But the next morning it was back to its usual self, with the red light flashing like mad and no connection at all. The phone trick was also starting to be unreliable.

So I formulated a condensed series of events for the next call from Orange - they were going to call us this time, after the installation of the new Livebox. I was going to tell them that as Orange was not able to provide all the services we are paying for we feel they were not keeping their side of the contract and they should have checked before selling us this package that it would actually work in our area - basically Orange sold us a lemon. But when the lady called she was so sweet (they saved her for this moment) and she was very understanding and said they would arrange for a specialist technician to come out the next day.

The technician called and said - bonjour, we have found a small problem on your line - I found this quite funny as each time we rang Orange they "checked the line" and found nothing. So I asked him to repeat it and he said yes, there is a problem on the line.

He arrived today - without smile, without greeting, and started taking apart what the other lovely guys did last week. But what happened today? We had a thunderstorm at lunch time and somehow that got rid of a lot of gremlins in the system and the internet worked perfectly for over an hour - blast - they finally send someone specialised and the thing works! But I should have relaxed as it was short lived - as soon as he started moving things around, the connection disappeared. Wouter showed him what we had to do to get internet. He found the whole thing strange too.

The time spent on sorting this out has been significant and I can well understand people getting upset with helpdesk assistants on the phone who try to establish the details of the problem. But for now we have internet and I will be interested to see whether or not it is still working tomorrow morning.

Driving Test

2009-07-02T07:39:00.000-07:00

On Friday we sat our theory exam for driving. It's been an interesting experience to go through all of this, but I must say it has helped understand how the French drive, even though I get the feeling noone actually follows the letter of the law - maybe that's why they have so many laws and red tape here - if there is enough of it, one of these days someone is bound to follow the rules. We've also met quite a few new people and some new contacts.

Three times a week we went into Limoux to the driving school to do practice tests like they would be in the exam, and be frustrated beyond belief at the logic behind some of the answers. However, after a few times we feel we have come to understand how the French drive and think when driving. One interesting thing we found out is that smoking and eating while driving is 'interdit' - forbidden - because it means you must take your hands off the steering wheel to do it. Also, using the cellphone is interdit - every second car here you see someone talking on a cell phone or smoking a cigarette.... It doesn't help if you do the online tests and then find out that some of the answers are wrong, like this one (we chose the correct answers by the way):
Here are some sample questions - the question is read to you and then you have around 12 seconds to enter your answer, there may be more than one correct response to a question, and there is always at least one incorrect option amongst the options:

On 13th month, after the sign, I may:
make a stop - yes.... A no....B
park - yes....A no....B

I may:
- park before the sign......A
- park after the sign............B
- stop before of the sign.....C
- stop after the sign............D

On a new vehicle, the tyres installed on the front axle and also those installed on the rear axle must be:
- of an indentical structure
yes......A no........B
- of an indentical type
yes.....C no........D
I am well positioned for:
- turning right...................A
- continuing straight ahead....B
- turning left.....................C
- making a u-turn................D

Answers:
Q24 = A D Q3 = B C D Q19 = A C Q23 = C D

The test itself was another story. We did a practice exam at the school and then went down to Rue Blanquerie where we used to live. There is a huge building there, and we always wondered what was inside. Now we know - a lovely courtyard with lovely flowers and exotic plants and a big hall like the old NZ school halls with a stage and big windows. All the different driving schools turned up with their pupils who were all nervous (including us) and hoping to pass (ditto). Then you had to queue up for your turn, as they put the papers in a certain order so you have to go in by the order of the papers - sounds something like trouping the colour... Anyway, we were outside and Wouter thought this is a good thing because even though it was hot and sticky, sitting inside a hall with no air con for half an hour is awful before an exam. We felt better - slightly. Butterflies continued finding their way around my stomach and we wished each other luck. Handsets were given out and then the instructor said a lot of things which we neither heard nor understood due to lack of volume and speed of speech. But we managed to put in our security codes correctly before the exam started. The first few questions were all a blur as I realised this is it - we're really doing the test - all those weeks of reading, trying to do our internet tests (this is another story), going to classes, it's now or never. The end of the exam - phew, sigh, relief. Each person went up to the desk of the softly spoken man in exactly the same order as entering the room. The man tells you once you have given in your handset whether or not youv'e passed - in front of everyone. So there was another advantage to enter the hall almost last....... Poor people who didn't pass - no privacy to say BUGGER! Wouter's turn - PASS, a few more people, my turn - PASS. Excitement and happiness follow and we are both really pleased we passed. Of course now we are not allowed to drive until we have had our practical exam and (hopefully) passed that too.

We still think there is something wrong with a system which will allow the exchange of driving licences from countries such as Nigeria and Liberia, Vanuatu and other little dots of islands that not many people have heard of. But rules are rules, and NZ licences do not qualify to exchange for a French one. We could have gotten around it several ways - had we known in time what was required. One way was to go to Britain and become resident for 3 months, and then 3 months before the expiry of our international licence, apply for a British one, come back here and exchange it for a French (EU) one. Another way was to visit Vanuatu before leaving NZ and get a licence there. A straight swap would have been done in that case. Another way was to contact some guys over the 'net and "buy" an EU licence, but both of us didn't like the look of them - they reminded us of used car salesmen and we wondered how far our money would go if we attempted to buy another licence in cyberspace.

Pedro

2009-06-01T01:37:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago there was a dog advertised in one of the local papers - it was an "elderly" couple who rescued a dog and were not able to care for it where they were. So we replied and heard nothing more until the other day when I had a call from the lady owner who said she would give me the dog.

We arranged to go there on Sunday and have a look around and see the dog and then decide if we would take him or not. So "Enzo" was there, black, part labrador (and definitely part something else), somewhere around 4 months old. We decided he looked ok, and he had been vaccinated and micro-chipped. The young girls at the house were a little sad he was going, but it seems the family did not have the time to look after the dog and he had no company so it was better for the dog to have another home - they told us this is what they explained to the children.

When we got him home we introduced the dog to Cassy at the neighbouring property to prevent any territorial disagreements. But everything seemed to go well, and after a couple of hours both dogs were playing happily together on the lawn. He is not at all used to the leash, but after a couple of walks down to the reserve he seems to be improving. He likes to mouth everything, which is typical for a puppy. But I don't like nippy or licky dogs so we'll work on that one.
Apart from a few small habits he seems to behave reasonably well, and we hope that within a week we'll have him obeying commands in English. He seems to adore Cassy. But Cassy, at 8 years old, needs his grandpa naps and a break now and then from an energetic puppy. However, there are advantages on having another dog around - there is an extra bone once his is finished and puppy is not yet top dog so he can just whip it off him.

We didn't think the name Enzo fitted the puppy and spent a bit of time looking for a more appropriate name - a lot of names for black dogs seem to have sinister connotations, but in the end we chose Pedro, which we think suits him well.

Cherry Ripe

2009-05-21T00:03:00.000-07:00

It's funny, isn't it, what memories come to you when you are reminded of something from years gone by. At the moment our cherry tree is loaded with fruit. We thought it wouldn't be ready for ages, but the presence of lots of birds and one yellow labrador-shark circling underneath told us they might be ripe enough to eat. The other day Wouter let Cassy out for his usual morning activity and later went to look for him but he seemed to have vanished, but then he saw a tail wagging - only the tail as the rest of him was buried deep in the cherry tree. Cassy has also learnt to climb the pile of builders mix we have underneath the tree, and then to place his paws on one of the branches so he can reach further up into the tree to help us pick.

cherry blossom

tree in blossom

My first memory of anything cherry is when my sister and I used to sing along with my mother when she played the piano. The song was "Cherry Ripe" and it goes something like this:

Cherry ripe, cherry ripe
Ripe I cried
Full and fair ones
Come and buy

this is from a poem by Robert Herrick (1591-1674) and if you are interested there is a link below which plays the tune - the second link is to a (wiki) detailed explanation of Cherry Ripe and associations:
Cherry Ripe tune

Wiki article

two weeks ago

cherries on tree

Then the other day I found out it's my sister's favourite fruit - never knew that before.... I've only in recent years come to enjoy the fresh cherry and I've never been too fussed on the jam or other cherry preserves.

So yesterday evening we went out with a big bowl, and again this morning and this evening. So now I am faced with loads of cherries and wondering what to do. The crop is finite, so I guess they will survive a few days in the fridge and we can just snack on them.

ripe for the picking

if it falls where will it go?

In anticipation of being able to do lots of things with the cherries we've been searching for a cherry pitter to no avail. I had heard you can use a bent paper clip, which we tried but it didn't work out well as the paper clip was not strong enough. But then I thought about a crochet hook - luckily I bought a set of three recently as they were on special for 2 euro and one never knows when one may need such things.... and they work perfectly well as cherry pitters!

slurp, slurp, slurp

trail of evidence

I'll just wait until I have room again....

second pick

After picking several kilos of cherries the backlog meant I had to do more than just eat them fresh. So after giving away a few, some have been pitted and gone into the freezer for muffins, pies and desserts etc, some are drying as I write to be used as cherry raisins, some are soaking in sweet juice for making glace cherries (this is particularly useful as I have not seen them for sale here yet), and soon I will make a cherry leather, a bit like a fruit roll-up. We estimate the total crop is something like 25 kilos - yesterday we picked 8 kilos without trying.

pitting for cherry raisins

and then there are the broad beans

Next year we will be better organised and I can spend more time trying out new recipes and ways to keep the cherries for later, but meanwhile we continue to eat them fresh as they sure make a change from broad beans!!!

Flowers

2009-04-29T13:33:00.001-07:00

A pictorial entry to show some of the flowers in and around our property.

does anyone know what this is?

and this one?

geraniums and herbs

irises in one of my (many) vases

irises in garden

more irises in another part of the garden

lilac bushes are everywhere and smell heavenly

we have lots of these pretty orchids

one of the four vines we planted for table grapes

planting tomatoes - note the braod bean plants behind the tomato bed....

a spring vine

quite a spectacle in rows

sweet smelling wild broom

Anzac Day

2009-04-26T03:14:00.000-07:00

The 25th April is the commemoration of the ANZACs (Australia New Zealand Army Corps). In both countries the day is a national holiday. There are dawn services, followed by parades and commemoration marches, which pay tribute to the forces in Gallipoli in World War I who lost their lives. Winston Churchill had a plan to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula to open the way to the Black Sea to make way for the allied forces.

When I was at school we used to have a special assembly to remember this event. At that time it did not make a huge impression on me but now I fully understand and appreciate the reasons to have such services or traditions and remember the past. Being in France is an extra reminder now as all around us where there are wild flowers, we see poppies growing. So it is a fitting flower as a tribute to those who lost their lives in the great war.

Curry, Car, Computer and Clothes

2009-04-22T13:38:00.001-07:00

Have you ever had one of those days or weeks where everything seems to go wrong? Sometimes there are too many frustrating things happening which shouldn't happen, or just seem to happen at the wrong time. I fear I may have tempted fate - Wouter has a beret which reminds me of the one Frank Spencer used to wear in 'Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'. I found some clips on you tube and he watched them the other night. You remember Frank - everything he touched fell apart or everything he made fell to bits or landed on something else and broke it.

It started last week when we went out for a lunch with our friends up the road. It was a curry place which looked as though it would be good - uses fresh ingredients and so on. We were really looking forward to it as we hadn't been 'out' since leaving NZ. So we got there and it was not quite Fawlty Towers, but almost. The people were a little weird, the place was a little weird (holes in the ceiling, silver insulation on the ceiling, several unfinished bits and colours in the loo, a small screen to separate the kitchen and dining with the kitchen looking like something out of a 1970s camping grounds, the people sitting behind us while we ate....) Anyway, the company was great and we laughed all the way home as we tried to think what were the fresh ingredients in the meal. We joked that the only thing missing was the funny walk.

Then Wouter tried to start the car but it wouldn't go - earlier in the day he tried it and it wouldn't work then, but he thought it was because of all the rain we'd had on the weekend - which, by the way, was average by NZ standards! So he hopped on the bike and cycled down to the local garage. They arrived 10 minutes later with a huge tow vehicle. "Bit drastic", I thought, but no - our little baby was taken away for a check-up with the main suspect being the fuel pump. However, on further inspection it turned out to be water in the electronic box. Blast! (actually a stronger word was used) So it was taken to Limoux Citroen garage and we would be without a car until last Friday or so, and it would cost 500 euro to fix..... Well, we can't be without a car, and without having it fixed the car won't go, so it's hardly a choice. On Friday we were told Tuesday.

So on Tuesday this week the lady from the garage called around. Happy to see her, I said "the car...." (in French), but she said - no.... long story, but it appears there are more problems - oh really? - yes, it looks like the car has been driven into a river. At this point I was startled as I thought she told me someone HAD driven the car into a river. But she was saying there are 3 electrical boxes, and 2 of them are so full of water they are shot. So double trouble, but triple the cost. And it will take - possibly - another 3 days to fix..... So maybe we will have the car back by the weekend. I said to Wouter that we didn't buy a Citroen but a Citron (lemon)! Our kind village neighbours up the road took me food shopping on Friday as we were having other people over for dinner so I had to get some food in.

OK, having that out of the way left room for more things to happen. Wouter has been trying to work with some masonry and of course is unfamiliar with it having worked with only wood for years. So the mix went everywhere, the batons wouldn't sit where he put them, some Dutch swearing.... But he thinks now he has the hang of it, so perhaps this is one good thing.

While he was busy yesterday I was working on the computer when an antivirus window popped up telling me that there was an upgrade and we shouldn't be without it as otherwise we are unprotected. So, thinking this was a normal upgrade I clicked download, then forgot about it as I was busy with other things. Normally Wouter takes care of such matters. This morning he tried to run a scan which didn't work. So I told him what happened yesterday. Makes sense. But do you think we could get the application to run, install, or give us any useful information with which we could email for help?????

So after spending a long time searching their site, logging a query then checking the faqs as recommended, I lost my query, which I think ended up somewhere in deepest, darkest Czechoslovakia. No problem, I thought, I will email them. Wouter took time away from his own frustrating masonry and found a contact address but not the current key. Blast! Anyway, I thought still no problem, we will just provide the old key, an explanation and surely it will be fine. I took some screen shots which would be helpful to show what happens when you try to run the application, composed the email, uploaded the attachments, and when the screen refreshed, all the text was missing from the email. Tried clicking the back button, but that takes you completely out of the email you are writing, so completely frustrated by this point, I re-wrote the whole email. Bad enough to write about this experience once, never mind having to remember what you wrote and say it all again.

To top off the day - well, it wouldn't be complete without another story, would it? - it's quite windy but sunny, and because it has been a little unsettled over the last week and the plumbers have been here fixing pipes and drainage I didn't do much laundry. So I thought I'd catch up on that while I did work in the garden. Having hung it all out and nicely blowing in the breeze, or rather, almost blowing sideways, it dried in no time and I promptly brought it in only to find that some of the things had been so blown about by the wind that they are now badly out of shape - Murphy's Law says that these will be the items you like best or are the most expensive or are irreplaceable. So we will be happy if, by the end of the week, the car is back and working properly and we can just get on with our work without any funny business and we can pick up another supply of wine to replace our soon-to-be-depleted stocks after a few frustrating days!

Meanwhile we have been watched by a religious lady on the hill. A couple of weeks ago she wasn't there, but because some flowers were lost, it gave this appearance. In a couple of weeks time she will be gone.

look carefully above the roof

Lagrasse

2009-04-14T02:36:00.001-07:00

Four weeks ago we took a day off when the sun was shining brightly and made a trip to Lagrasse. The village is officially one of the most beautiful in France and the Abbey had caught our interest as a place to visit. It is in the Corbieres region of the Aude department and about 30 minutes east of Carcassonne. We felt we had not seen enough of our close neighbour on a couple of previous trips and wanted to see a bit more.

We took a secondary road via St Hilaire and through army territory with an interesting note that it reminded us very much of the Desert Road in NZ, an area also used by the army. Otherwise there was not much of a view until we were close by, but that was quite stunning.

Lagrasse street

We made a small walk around the village and found it to be very picturesque - lots of photo opportunities here. The river Orbieu runs through the village and the streets are from the 12th century and have attracted many artists, sculptors and potters from around the world.

covered market

There is a covered market where you can imagine the dealings of traders in times gone by. It reminds me a little of the village in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

medieval bridge

The Abbey is in two parts - one which is still used by monks today and is not open to visitors, the other part we visited. In its youth the monastery became rich very quickly and its lands spread as far south as Spain the in 9th and 10th centuries. These days there is ongoing reconstruction and repair work without interrupting a fascinating visit. The nearby cemetry is also an attraction.

Abbey across the river

altar

ruins

inscription

Travelling home we took another route and passed a few small villages which would be lovely to visit again for more photos as they reminded us of Mid-Wales. But no more trips for a while as we buckle down to do the last work to get our B&B running. There is dust and rubble everywhere, a big pile of debris on the driveway, hoses and pipes galore and lots of work still to do.

someone's former home

old wine stock

Caterpillars on the March

2009-04-10T14:20:00.000-07:00

This morning our routine was disrupted somewhat. I was looking out of the window while doing dishes and saw that a tree recently planted by the council was bending a bit too much in the wind. It seemed a pity to let it break so I asked Wouter if he would go and fix the support. At the same time I was aware of a lot of bird activity, which seemed more than usual. I thought that they had found something interesting to eat.

So as Wouter headed off to do the tree, he suddenly ran back - I knew straight away why. Chenilles. Wouter asked me to put the kettle on for boiling water while he grabbed his camera and went out again. I put on some water to boil and then followed in my dressing gown.

We were faced with a long procession of caterpillars, which we knew behaved this way but had never seen it. It was quite amazing to see them all nose to tail, moving quite slowly. The weather conditions seemed perfect as we had a soft south easterly wind blowing, and for the last couple of nights warmer temperatures. Also the next couple of days are supposed to rain, which would nicely loosen the soil so they can burrow their way in and become a larva until the next stage of development.

130 critters at our neighbours gate

The first procession we found had around 130 of the little blighters. Some had already been run over by passing cars. After watering them and a few other smaller processions, Wouter decided that more powerful action was required and got the blow torch. After a few hours there were some still wriggling and attempting to escape. He figures that with all the lines we found today there were about 800 of them! All capable of eventually making another 300 - imagine that.

This morning we saw that walking through the grass they are difficult to see, so it's a great disguise. Needless to say Cassy will be confined to quarters and will only go out with us over the next while until we are satisfied the ones in our area have gone.

Anyway, here are more pics of the event which you may also find fascinating.

from the rear

walking in Indian file

close-up

hot-watered - fried later

Candied Peel

2009-04-01T13:41:00.001-07:00

So far I have been unable to find mixed candied peel for my baking. This has not been such a big issue up to now as the main recipe I make using peel is Cumberland Plate Pie - which also requires currants. I have found currants here in the supermarket, but at a cost of around nz$6.00 for 100 grams. Say no more - no CPP.

The other recipe I use with mixed peel is Hot Cross Buns (having found yeast quite easily and a kind visitor brought me the appropriate mixed spices!) With Easter fast approaching I thought I should do some experimenting.

The internet is so good for finding answers, so searching found a few recipes for mixed peel. Most of them seemed a little too much work, or needed too much time over lots of days, but I narrowed it down to two recipes which I though might work. I also didn't want hard candied peel as I wanted the sort you can use in cakes etc, which is kind of sticky.

drying, cooling and waiting to be tossed in sugar

So I had a go - it's surprisingly easy, as the recipe promised, and as I removed some of the peels after session one I now have the cake candied peel as well as the firmer "candy" peel which is great for snacking. Needless to say I am already saving up orange skins for the next batch. We will not be throwing our peels on the compost any more.

So far the people who have tried my peels love them - and no, there are not many left from the first batch....

first batch of candied peel

I am still on the tofu trail - my experiment with turning soya flour into tofu was not a complete success, but I think I will have to try again and cook it for longer next time. If it works I will be able to have tofu at one sixth of the cost of bought tofu.

And on the coffee front, we decided to have our own coffee experiment, which so far, has brought good results. I have tried a few variations and the ones we like are (mixed in with the ground coffee in the filter) :
with citrus peel, with cocoa powder and sometimes orange flavouring, with cinnamon and cocoa, with cinnamon and ginger. Any suggestions for other combinations welcome!

Hair Obsession

2009-03-31T13:58:00.000-07:00

When I was a young lass I remember being impressed by an advert on tv. It was a lady who extended her crossed leg while sitting on a chair and allowed a chiffon scarf to run down her leg without impediment. WOW I thought, that looks good. But I had no idea what it was all about. Later I realised that it was advertising hair removal - can't remember if it was a cream or something else. I recall phrases such as "unwanted hair", "unsightly hair", and "superfluous hair".

The last couple of days I've been in discussion about the word "oksel" - which is the Dutch armpit. It's a funny word and it always makes me laugh when Wouter proudly tells me he is "oksel fresh"! Apparently the word "oksel" comes from the Latin, Axilla, meaning the armpit - there is also an axilla artery, vein and nerve. An English alternative word is "oxter".

So, I did a search and found an old advertisement for hair removal, which was telling ladies how to get rid of "objectionable hair". With all these adjectives it seems it is a huge problem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underarm_hair

I also thought, quite mistakenly, that it was a problem of recent times, with more revealing clothing (or shall we say, less clothing). But no - apparently this quest for hairlessness has been underway for several thousand years.

I found a site which talks about caveman using flints for shaving and shells for plucking. Egyptians and Romans alike tried all sorts of hair removal methods - from plucking to threading to sugaring. In the 15th century women used to pluck out their head hairs to make their foreheads seem higher and mothers used caustic poultices and animal urine on their children's heads to hopefully prevent hair growth.

In 1762 a French barber, Jean Jacques Perret, introduced the first razor, which was a long way from the first safety razor. In the early 1900s Wilkinson Sword had their first advertising campaign for hair removal for women stating that underarm hair was unhygienic and unfeminine. During the war when things were either expensive or unavailable, fine sandpaper was used as a depilatory.

Excerpt from HAIR, the song from HAIR, the musical:

She asks me why
I'm just a hairy guy
I'm hairy noon and night
Hair that's a fright
I'm hairy high and low
Don't ask me why
Don't know

Today there are a myriad of ways to remove hair - from the old methods above to the new waxes, electrolysis, lasers, creams and so on. But it still doesn't explain our obsession with why we want to remove this natural hair, which you would think that after several thousand years of being removed might get the message it's not wanted. Fashion seems to play a big part but I wondered if it's because we don't want to seem 'primitive' like our fellow chimpanzees, who, for some strange reason, do not seem to have a problem with underarm hair....

Hoopoe and Mole

2009-03-31T08:22:00.001-07:00

Hoopoe

Hoopoe - we have a hoopoe - 'huppe fasciee' (fr), or 'hop' (dutch) visiting our garden. Apparently these birds are pretty dirty in their habits. I'm wondering if it's the one who has been pooping purple on my nice white washing..... But the good thing is that they can eat things like the larvae of the processionary caterpillar.

The birds, according to the Wiki, are summer visitors and nesters throughout central Europe and central Asia. Its bill is long and tapered and it has strong head muscles which allow its beak to open while in the ground - perfect for eating the caterpillar larvae! Larger prey is beaten against the ground or a stone is used to kill it. The milky blue eggs laid are quickly discoloured by the dirty nest conditions.

Apparently the female has a uropygial (or preening) gland which can be quickly modified with a foul (pardon the pun!) rotten meat-like smell which acts as a deterrent against predators, parasites and is also probably an antibacterial agent. The smell is absorbed into the feathers of female and young alike, so I guess if you had a nest in your garden you'd soon know about it! In addition to this secretion, nestlings are able to direct streams of faeces at nest intruders from the age of six days, and will also hiss at intruders in a snake like fashion. The song is an "oop oop" sound, which gives rise to its name.

Image from http://snipurl.com/exnjz

Moles

We also have a mole - taupe (fr) or mol (dutch) - he or she came out of its hiding place a few days ago after all the concrete drilling we are having done at the moment - we found out they don't like noise or vibrations... So we did a bit of investigating and apparently they eat their own weight in grubs every day. They like damp, dark places under trees or other plants, often live under a concrete path and build their little network of feeding holes from there. They seem to need about a quarter acre of land each to live on and have a complex system of tunnels and chambers. They have found mole fossils dating back 130 million years.

It seems they are hard to get rid of as they build safety walls in parts of their underground network to keep themselves safe. The French advertise all sorts of traps and electronic devices in brico (hardware) shops. Apparently they don't spread diseases like some rodents can do, but they do eat fungus and other harmful underground grubs and bugs in your garden as well as aerate the soil. Mice and other small rodents sometimes use the burrows for feeding leaving the moles to get the blame for eaten roots and seeds.

The good news is that they will also feed on the processionary caterpillar larvae, which could explain why even though there might be thousands of caterpillars, there seem to be comparatively few moths. We wonder why people don't seem to like them - the only reason we can think of is that they spoil the appearance of our lawns and gardens - yes, I know they can make a mess, but for our garden, one or two are welcome if they help to keep pests at bay and we will gladly rake the mounds of soil flat.

Image from http://snipurl.com/exp3f

House Plans

2009-03-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

This is for anyone interested to see what the house plan looks like and to see what we have done and how it all fits together. If you use this in conjunction with the photos already posted you should be able to figure your way around. In all pics, top is roughly north.

The "before" plan clearly shows the layout of the ground floor. From the start of the passageway by our bedroom and the current bathroom, down to the loo door, is around 9 meters. We just figured out that the ground floor (240) plus the room we will eventually have upstairs gives us a floor space of around 380 square meters.

The upstairs is currently just open space apart from one centre support wall and nothing is lined etc. The upstairs is shown by the red outline (below) - the plan is eventually to make 2 large bedrooms, an office for Wouter and a spacious bathroom area. There will also be a service duct in the (north) space close to the roofline as this area is not high enough to stand in - even for littlies like me!

Beside the back bedroom is another bedroom which will be sacrificed to make the stairway up, plus the new bathroom and loo.

In the laundry you can see 2 steps down, and then to the left of that, a few stairs - this leads down to the cellar. As the bottom of the cellar is below ground level, Wouter had to pump it out a few days ago as the ground water level is quite high at the moment, being end of winter/early spring. Wouter says you can see it's happened more often as there are marks on the concrete showing earlier levels as well as a place for a pump (which was removed before we got here).

This last picture shows what we have already worked on and completed.

Limoux Carnaval

2009-03-14T13:50:00.001-07:00

Today we decided to check out the Carnaval. The Carnaval boasts being the longest-running in the whole world. According to the information I've read, the festival was first recorded in writing as early 1600s, but it's believed to have been going since long before that.

first troupe with brass band

For over 2 months each year, 3 times a day on Saturdays and Sundays, the groups come out into the Place de la Republique and visit cafe owners and parade to the public. The players are not recognisable and carry a long wand (carabena) and wear a mask, and are accompanied by a band playing a miraid of tunes. They all carry confetti and after they leave, the place is covered with the colour of the visiting troupe. Today the players went to one cafe and each took a dance partner when the band started to play.

bull with 'trophies'

Note the trophies on the bull....
It's a lovely festive and carnaval atmosphere, and we saw that many people make the effort to come out and see the spectacle. Lots of cameras are poised and people vie for the ultimate position for a good photo. The link below is the best I could find in English with the history, stories, pictures and further links for those interested to read more (take a look, even if just for the photos).

http://www.languedoc-france.info/041106_fecos.htm

Spanish Lady

Cheesy Grin

Another update

2009-03-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

We worked on the toilet and back bedroom at the same time, due to the location. The toilet, as you may remember, had pinky-purple floral paper and a beige radiator. The walls underneath were a kind of yellow and the back of the door was a greeny-yellow.

before

The walls were stripped, cleaned and covered with a mix of paint and sand and this was painted with the Vent de Sable colour from the hallway but at a quarter strength. The light colour is lovely on the walls and it highlights the flecks of stone in the light floor tiles. The radiator was painted white and the paintwork (window and door) have been painted blanc casse - broken white. The ceiling was painted a soft white.

after

tile detail

All together it's a warmer feel and smarter look than before. Just a note that the outside of the door remains as is until we have finished with the new bathroom and toilet as there will be so much mess and we decided to wait until that's finished to decorate the hallway. No pics yet of the bedroom as I still have to do the windows.

We are working like the clappers to get the large dining room done so that when the plumber and builder come in to work on the new bathroom and toilet we can focus on getting those finished - getting there!

who's behind the new door?

Meanwhile the weather has taken yet another lovely turn and it was positively warm today with 22 degrees and Cassy panting and looking for shady spots! Spring is really in the air and the plants - and weeds - are busting into bloom - it's really quite amazing. The change of seasons here is much more dramatic than in NZ (at least Auckland) with the hesitant "shall we flower or shall we wait a bit" feeling. We can expect this weather for the next 10 days or so.

acacia (or mimosa) - classed as a weed here!

erable

planting gladioli bulbs

Lastly, it was Cassy's 8th birthday last week, so on the weekend we decided to give him a nice long walk at one of the local parks. He was having a ball sniffing places he doesn't normally go and suddenly he disappeared from view - just at that moment we realised we were close to the fishing pond.... We heard "quack, quack, quack" and called Cassy back. As we reached the brow of the hill, there he was standing, dripping wet, wagging tail, ducks looking put out and two elderly fishermen further round the pond.... as I slipped Cassy's leash on both Wouter and I tried to look casual as we continued our walk. Needless to say, Cassy had a great time! Luckily for us he didn't try to catch a fish or a duck.

Spring Is In The Air

2009-03-06T08:09:00.000-08:00

The weather took a lovely turn for almost two weeks and so while we would love to keep working inside, we felt we must make a start on our vegetable plot and other areas if we are to reap the rewards later in the season.

Daytime temperatures were getting up to 19.5/20 degrees, which is not bad for February - you could compare this to end of August in NZ. Our nights are still cold but the days have been brilliant and I'd love it to be like this most of the year. Having said that, we are just having a cold snap - Kiwis should know what that's like :) Many things have started to flower - the apricots, cherries, mimosa and a lot of spring flowers both in pots and in the garden. the irises are shooting up large new leaves in preparation for their beautiful flowers (which I can't wait to see).

Now preparing the soil is important - we let things slip during late autumn and winter for a few reasons - we didn't have our things from NZ until late October, we planted a few things in beds but soon after that the weather deteriorated pretty fast, the soil is not very nice to work when it's wet - it's very claggy clay just like Auckland soil, but once it dries it becomes sandy - we will need to add organic matter over time to improve the soil structure.

We found out that the land we are on used to be a river, and therefore the soil is from the river bed. We find lots of stones while working in the garden and leave them in small piles until we have enough to go around and collect. Wouter is the 'slasher' (as well as the pole dancer!) and is getting rid of the large weeds, turning the soil once to dry it out a little and then running a manual tiller over it to fine it up. It seems to be working ok.

preparing more beds, broad beans in foreground (left)

Before winter set in Wouter planted a whole lot of things which just sat there all that time nice and cosy - heaps of onions, garlic, shallots, broad beans and so on - won't mention the obvious...... and now they are starting to shoot away. In the beds which are already prepared I've planted some more radishes - we got quite a few before the winter, but the ones which were left were eaten out by slugs and the local rabbit! An aside here - I put the old and crusty radishes in the wheelbarrow so they could be put onto the compost heap or just thrown out with the rest of the weeds. The following morning Wouter found Cassy half in the barrow having a feast of radishes...

Some seeds have been sown in pots to germinate and await warmer nights before being planted out. These include capsicums, tomatoes, chillies and aubergines. They should be planted out when they are a bit bigger as we will have problems with snails and slugs - we will do our usual trick of "hunting by torch light" and either burn them or pop them into boiling water and let the birds eat them the next day.

We've also bought lots of flower seeds - things like sunflowers, prairie mix, poppies, cornflowers and so on. It should be a riot of colour here later in the season.

For now we have jonquils flowering, daffodils, crocuses (in pot), cowslips, violets. The existing hydrangeas are budding - we transferred some round to the southern garden where they have the spring sun but in summer have shade from one of the trees - they are looking happy so far and we will need to water them in summer. The oleanders we planted earlier are looking fine, and some of the other shrubs we transferred from spots in the garden we didn't think they belonged also seem to like their new spaces. I must say that it's quite fun playing around in a new garden - loved my one in Waimauku and often miss some of the things there (especially my lemon tree, which I may have mentioned before...) but it's exciting to create a new look with different variables and see how we manage to feed ourselves and have flowers throughout the year from this new place.

Now for another story about the dog - while we were working in the garden, Cassy was getting the occasional ball throw and having a lie down on the soft soil in between - every so often he would get up and sniff around underneath the fruit trees with obviously fond memories of the figs which used to be there when we first moved in. Lo and behold, he managed to find some old potatoes - so, the garden once again becomes an interesting place.

While our backs were turned he had a munch - I called out to Wouter to check out what he was eating and we found it was raw, but fresh, potato. The following morning the potato magnet was strong and Wouter found Cassy slinking back into the laundry, looking very guilty, and his paws were so caked with mud that his toes couldn't fit together any more - this must have been really uncomfortable and was a dead give-away as to where he had been - you've guessed - in the vegie patch to find more potatoes. Pity we don't have truffles......

I'll just wait until they're not looking...

Saint David's Day

2009-02-28T14:00:00.001-08:00

1st March is St David's Day.

St David (Dewi Sant) is the patron saint of Wales and he was a Celtic priest. The date was chosen to commemorate the death of St David in 589 and has been celebrated since then. Traditionally people wear a leek or daffodil (either real or badge) and these days lots of parades and parties take place. Sometimes young girls wear traditional costume - the common image of tall black hat with white cap underneath, woollen skirt, woollen stockings and shawl is being debated as national Welsh dress as it was apparently the daily dress worn over all Britain during the early 1800's. The woman (Lady Llanover) who actively promoted this costume was making an effort for the local wool industries.

This time of year is also when people participate in the Eisteddfod, which is a celebration of Welsh poets and musicians. The earliest confirmed Eisteddfod was in 1176. Competition was originally limited to professional bards and Queen Elizabeth I said they should be examined and licensed to maintain high standards. Interest waned but luckily was revived in the 1700's. These days the competition is open to the public and the International Eisteddfod attracts competitors from all over the world.

Youths compete in the Urdd Eisteddfod in singing, recitation, dancing, acting and musicianship. I remember very well the time our school was lucky enough to participate in the recitation. There were about 8 or 9 of us - we thought we were pretty good, and managed to come second. I also made a puppet one year - paper mache head and a knitted body, for which I received a commendation - maybe they don't have 'art' as a category any more.

This year I am celebrating St David's Day in a new country, but am lucky enough to have some daffodils in the garden, planted by the previous owners, and a daffy dog!

Entrance Hall

2009-02-25T07:26:00.000-08:00

It's a while since I posted a blog with pics. We have been busy with lots of things as the weather becomes more agreeable. But one task which is complete, apart from maybe some further wall decoration is the entrance hallway. You will remember that we had some dark green, yellow and orange velour type paper on the walls, and on the floor the greeny-brown tiles which were also in the kitchen and living areas. The ceiling was a sort of brown paper we've never seen before - it took a lot of paint to make it a soft white - I think about 5 coats.

front entrance

towards the loo

towards dining room

So a list of what we did - clean, paint ceiling and scotia; strip walls of all paper, sand to remove any glue residue, apply crepi (this is a type of plaster) and then paint the walls; lay and grout floor tiles and plinths; decorate with some second hand chairs we found and our own cabinet and some new light shades; remove, paint and reinstall radiator (this was an awful job....); painting the doors was a huge job and the photos below don't really show the pooey pink they were before they were painted - each door has 18 glass panels and 2 undercoats and 2 top coats each makes........ (18 panes x 4 coats x 2 sides x 3 doors = 432!). One door remains - the door to the dining room. The current one is not big enough for wheelchair access so we have another ready to be installed once the doorway is adjusted.

towards our room

lamp

Now we feel that the house takes on more of our character and has a brighter atmosphere.

Another decorating story to come as I'm just doing the finishing touches in the loo and back bedroom - after that it will be work on the new bathroom and toilet with special attention to wheelchair access. And of course this will include a stairway to the first floor - we currently have a 'trap' (pull-down stairs). All these things are joint efforts as I need Wouter to do things like removing door handles and knobs, taking down and hanging doors, and so on, and he leaves me with painting while he does another 101 jobs elsewhere in the house or outside.

What else? We are working on the web pages so that we can be googled and hopefully get some business from 1st May - yes, we are mad enough to believe we can get all this extra work done by then.... You've seen the TV programmes where the first guests arrive and the painter is leaving by the back door!

Also we are busy in the garden preparing for our vegetable and flower crops - have bought lots of seed packets and are weeding, working the soil and planting. Temperatures are becoming more like NZ spring with cool mornings and lovely afternoons. The days are more sunny with about 4 days a week full sun and the other 3 grey, overcast, and a bit of rain - almost perfect.

For those of you who haven't had an update recently, after a few meetings and Wouter registering as an auto-enterprise, we are now waiting for the siret number which allows Wouter to trade as an ebeniste and for us to be able to get health insurance. So everything seems to be coming together at long last.

Be My Valentine

2009-02-19T11:47:00.000-08:00

Well, it's a while since I wrote but we've been so busy doing lots of things - like decorating. Will post another blog soon with pics of the new entrance hallway and newly finished toilet and soon-to-be-finished back bedroom.

The last couple of weeks we (especially Wouter) have been busy organising stuff for the Chambres de Metier in order to get registered as auto-enterprise (self-employed with no provisional tax for 3 years) and then get a siret number - the magic number which permits trading in a certain profession and allows you to get into the social system here. A few meetings later and Wouter is finally registered, although it was not without hitches. The lady wanted to know our social security number - you don't have one? How is that possible in France? You can't have health insurance without it, and health insurance is compulsory - yes, tell us all about the chicken and egg story......

So to backtrack slightly, last week it was Valentines Day and as we are on a tighter budget until we start bringing in some dosh we decided not to get anything for each other. In NZ Wouter would buy some flowers (I told him to pick from the garden as otherwise it's like taking - for the British, coals to Newcastle - for the Dutch, water to the sea) which was really nice, or some chocolates. I can always find room for choccy!

This year, no flowers, no choccy, but while we were at the supermarket, we saw some cheese - we debated whether we needed it this week, but Wouter said - let's get it for Valentines Day - so there you go all you people who thought romance might be dead - cheese for a Valentines gift. No complaints as I'm a cheesy kind of girl and I wasn't expecting anything.

Today Wouter came home from his meeting from registering, and he said he had a present for me - a kind of belated Valentines gift. I thought perhaps it was a bit extravagant, but it sounded exciting and romantic...... until he showed me the new paint rollers for doing more painting and being able to get behind the radiators a bit better. I guess it was hard to top the cheese.

Wind in the Willows

2009-01-30T08:47:00.000-08:00

Last week Saturday 24th January it was blustery - I mean REALLY blustery.

Wouter already checked the meteo (weather) on the internet - alert rouge for us - we didn't know what it really meant but rouge means danger in any language. As I started to write this story I took some screen shots of the metvuw forecasts for the next 24 hours and it didn't look too good at all.

After one storm there was supposed to be another heading our way, which looked much worse than the first.

We closed all the shutters on the north and western sides of the house - amazing how much more protection they give against heat loss and preventing the treacherous wind coming in. Then the power went off - no surprise given the wind outside, so we just shrugged shoulders and decided to do some tiling by candlelight - this was a new experience for both of us. The power remained off, which was also no surprise but towards the end of the day I started to wonder how long it would continue.

Take a look at the weather pattern which was forecast for Saturday and beyond. We had no idea at that stage what was still to come, and looking at the forecast it seemed we would get storm number two shortly after. I guess you could compare it to a bad day in Wellington!

we're in there somewhere

storm number 2 which missed us

(still Saturday 24th) The power returned around 5:30pm and is still a bit shaky which reminds me of a couple of stories from both our childhoods.

Wouter grew up in Indonesia, and there they had no power at all. The ice man would call once a week in his truck to deliver a large block of ice for the ice-box to keep perishable foods cool. They used kerosene (lampu templek) lamps attached to the walls and oil filled tilly lamps or candles for lighting in the evenings.

By comparison I grew up with electricity - then, as much as now, we were quite dependent on it. I remember that the government introduced power saving which lasted a couple of winters but as I was so young I don't recall the reasons behind it all. Once a week on a Sunday afternoon for a few weeks between about 1pm and 5pm there would be power cuts (not 100% certain on the times but they were for 4 hours) - I also don't remember if they were country wide but guess they must have been.

In our house we would eat lunch (we called it 'dinner' because it was our main meal of the day) and then my mother would make a thermos, the fire would be stoked up, there would be blankets for us to wrap around ourselves if the small fire was insufficient (which it invariably was). For 4 hours we would all sit in our 'living room' and about half way would have a cup of tea - that marvellous British drink that seems to make everything better! If the world is falling in you can hear the British saying - let's have a cup of tea.... We would also sometimes have fire toast - that is, toast made on a fork over the open fire - just like caveman used to do.

I imagine our parents concerns were to keep us warm and free from danger during those times. For us it meant boredom as we were only allowed out of the room to use the toilet. I honestly can't remember what we did in those 4 hours, apart from tea and toast, but I guess we would sing as this is one thing we seemed to do everywhere!

our cypresses bending in the wind

Back to our tempestuous storm - we were without power for around 6 hours - more than 1.7 million people in this region had no power. The phone lines are still down after 24 hours. The storm raged through south of France and north of Spain - from Bordeaux to Perpignan - the highest wind reading was 184kph at Perpignan. Our neighbour had some roof tiles blown off and was out during the storm trying to rectify the situation. Our trees on the western boundary were bowing and bending - we thought it was marvellous that none of them broke.

Today it is absolutely glorious weather and we have been out surveying the damage - a few fallen trees around, but luckily not too much other visible damage. We met our mayor on the reserve this morning also surveying the area.

the reserve

wouldn't want to get in there

the flood was higher earlier in the day

beside the path we usually walk with Cassy

the day after - note the grass on the side still facing sideways

More updates - supermarkets and stores are running out of potable water - luckily and being a former girl guide (yes, folks!) a couple of weeks ago I suggested we get in a 5 litre bottle of still water and we already have some fizzy water - just in case. Luckily again we haven't had to use ours, but it just goes to show you never know when you will need those things.

Monday - Phone lines are still down, meaning no internet either. Heaps of transmitters are out, so we have had limited tv channels too - we don't mind as it's a good thing we have power at all. The weather is a bit blustery again today but not half as bad as Saturday.

Friday 30th Jan we have telephone and internet restored - I must say that we were both having withdrawal symptoms! For us the Internet is very important to keep up with our friends and family as well as daily news. We are very happy. But, there are still people in the area without power and phone and must be having an awful time because the weather has just turned cold - an easterly with Siberian-type wind (that is, wind with an icy blast to it) has just come in. We all look forward to a nice spring day with lambs leaping and daffodils flowering.....

Garden

2009-01-20T14:22:00.000-08:00

Wouter has been busy tidying up the garden. There was heaps to do and we were just waiting for the right weather - a few dry days so you don't get mud stuck to your boots and end up wearing "platforms", a bit of sun so you don't get wet while working outside, etc. So after a week of dry weather we decided it was time. There were poplars to remove - they were a hedge along the eastern boundary of the propery and a lot of them were rotten. Some we cut down earlier and already used for firewood. The latest ones removed will suffer the same fate.

The pines which contained the chenilles (caterpillars) processionaires have been chain-sawed into slices and await chopping - they need to dry and split a bit as when Wouter tried it, the axe bounced back. Obviously they behave differently here to in nz - I guess it's because they grow more slowly and therefore the timber is more dense. I'm sure if it's anything else, one of the readers will let us know.
There was/is also a lot of poison ivy growing through the as-yet-non-existent-lawn which has been and is being pulled out. It was also growing in, up, around, through, into the poplars, the ground around the poplars and so on. So Wouter has been busy clearing it all away. Whew! Quite a lot of wheelbarrow loads of rubbish has left this part of the garden. We figure it's also a deterrent against the chenilles returning to burrow into any soft soil and try and nest in our trees again. We want to make it as uninviting as possible for them.

Since the poplars were cut away we now have a view over to the vineyard on the eastern side, and further towards the Corbiere mountains. Also the place just looks more airy and inviting.

We have decided to plant oleanders along the fenceline and hedge them about one and a half meters high. This will preserve the view but give the place a Mediterranean feel. Yes, we do know they are poisonous but as we don't have small kids around we figure we are safe enough. They are on our side of the fence and we'll keep them trim. Behind the fence is a sloping garden from the council which will prevent anyone getting to close to them over there.

Hoar Frost

2009-01-20T13:58:00.000-08:00

On 12th January we had fog and cold temperatures which Wouter suspected would be right for a hoar frost. He had a quick look outside and couldn't see anything obvious, but when I took Cassy for a walk down the road I told him what I saw - hoar frost - so he quickly headed out with the camera to take some pictures. Here are a few examples of what we saw that morning:

coils of wire

firewood

rain meter

grass

vineyard

neighbour's pine tree

Kitchen Update

2009-01-20T13:27:00.000-08:00

Here's an update on what we've been working on in the kitchen.

The dishwasher is installed and working fine. Wouter had to jiggle a few things around to get it working but finally it went ok. Now I am so happy I don't have to stand washing heaps of dishes.... Note the essential winerack beside.

The tiling has been done - first edging on the bench to give a nice finish (both even and water-tight) between bench and tiles, then tiling, then grouting, then adjusting all the plugs and switches so they are all level and even, then fitting the trim around the newly painted window and tiles.
The tiles are ceramic with glazed finish (therefore easy to clean), slightly uneven edges, and varying shades of cream which match the benchtop, wall and woodwork paint and also the terracotta colour of the floor tiles.
The black dot above the cooktop is the electric supply for the rangehood which is still to be installed once we have been to IKEA for more supplies.
The trim is a vine pattern.

To be completed: pantry, plinths (kickboards), rangehood and cupboard, two overhead cupboards.

Bonne Annee

2009-01-08T04:48:00.000-08:00

When we first arrived in the area we asked around what the weather is like in winter - do we get snow? - and we were told that yes, we do get snow here but usually only once and it might last a day but it's a while since it fell in Cambieure..... So this is our third fall of snow since we arrived and this time it has stayed overnight.

last night

It started yesterday with an icy blast from the north - even in Marseille they have snow and by comparison we have a small dose. It was windy and felt like there were ice needles in the wind and the high for the day was -2.

The 'quelques flocons' forecast did arrive but as they were much smaller than the fall on Boxing Day so we decided to call them "floquettes". Now I understand why Innuits have about 37 different words for snow. The current fall started off as sticky snow, but today it seems it's powdery - can't easily make a snowball - but it does stick to your shoes when walking about.

early this morning

Since 1st January we have been checking our weather, temperatures and rainfall, having set up our own little weather station just like we did in NZ. With great interest as the temperature spread in Auckland, at least, is 25 to 30 degrees at the outside - if you consider the lowest temperatures we had there hovered around zero and the highs were late 20's. Here we've had very high 30's and even over 40 one day close by in Brezilhac. This morning Wouter checked the thermometer and it read -10. Although after yesterday's icy wind it doesn't feel that cold today.

By 1pm the temperature has reached zero degrees. I guess you could compare our winter weather to that of Alexandra or Lumsden.

Here are two links to BBC stories regarding the big freeze:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7817124.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7815773.stm

While our friends, family and colleagues are sweltering in the unusual heatwave hitting Auckland we are having cold snow.

It's interesting to note who and what moves around in the snow - easy to tell when it remains overnight by they tracks left behind. For example, we have birds, rabbits, dogs, cats and people.

birds

cat (Moulette?)

Cassy

rabbit

icicles on loquat

sparkles in the snow

Anyway,not complaining, as we look on this as all part of our experience. Cheers and Happy New Year, Bonne Annee, Gelukkig Nieuw Jaar, Blwyddyn Newydd Dda.

Snow Falling on Cypruses

2008-12-26T05:16:00.001-08:00

This morning we were feeling lazy so had a lie in, especially after all our heavy work polishing off a bottle of mulled wine yesterday and eating like kings and queens. Wouter let Cassy out about 7.30am and said it was gloomy outside - that after a week of brilliant weather - we thought, never mind, it's cosy here and we have heaps of inside work to do. When I got out of bed I said, "I see snow falling". Wouter leapt out of bed and after a quick breakfast we took Cassy for a walk straight away to check out the snow.

It's funny because we both found/find it really interesting and funny that we've both experienced snow before, in different circumstances, and realise that for a European living in NZ or Australia this is one thing which can be missed at Christmas time - snow in winter. It's now a strange feeling to come back to this after years of humid weather in December and hot Christmas days.

The weather forecast was right - Aude district was the only one predicted to get snow today and we are getting it all right as the pictures show!
Xmas day

Boxing Day
Xmas day
Boxing Day
The weather system has picked up a stream of cold air from Siberia.

The temperature doesn't feel any colder than it has done all week. There is an eerie sense that everything happens in slow motion as you can see the flakes falling from the sky - but because they fall more slowly than rain it feels different. Also there is less noise as the snow seems to dampen any outside noises (although I think we are just about the only ones to go out as the French know better and stay indoors!)
Xmas day
Boxing Day
Wouter called this pic "little red riding hood and the big bad wolf":
I said to Wouter that the snow tastes salty - so as we were walking back home Wouter was walking along with his mouth open and sticking out his tongue to try and catch a snowflake to taste how salty it is - I had to laugh as anyone looking out of their window would see us and wonder what on earth we are doing.... In fact, he reminded me of the guy from KISS (Gene Simmonds?) who would stick out his tongue and wiggle it around.
Xmas day
Boxing Day
Xmas day
Boxing Day
For Cassy this was yet another new experience which he took in his stride. After a little while we think he was really enjoying himself - except when Wouter threw a fake ball (snowball) and it disappeared into thin air. A few tries and he threw a more substantial "ball" which Cassy caught only to spit out in disgust!

We compared ourselves to young children who have never seen rain before and run outside to get wet.... We are lucky to have experienced this. As I type it's still snowing, but melting at a faster rate than it is snowing, so by tonight it will be gone. But to finish, some more snowy pics to complete the festive season:

All I Want For Christmas

2008-12-23T10:42:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again. We are not buying gifts for each other this year, but being in a different country we are watching with amusement at what French people give each other for Christmas - at least, what they tell you on television should be the perfect gift for the person in your life.

If you're a bloke, you can expect to get some sort of smelly - one which will give you rippling muscles and dripping sweat off your brow, or let you throw sand into the air mysteriously, or become athletic as a black panther, or be a competent, muscly sailor - yes, any or all of those things if you buy products advertised by - Jude Law, David Beckham (Instinct), Hechter Paris, Dolce and Gabbana, Dior, Terre D'Hermes, Airness, Paco Rabanne, Chrome Legend.

For women, fragrances are also popular - you can become a swan with Vanderbilt, roll around naked and seductively on satin sheets with Shalimar or be an Angel or Devil, depending on your mood. Buying for women is easy as you can still buy a lot of products which get rid of those ever persistent wrinkles, get double lifting (which must be ideal for a double chin?) or rejuvenate the skin to look as you've never looked before (or perhaps ever will again).

Uni-sex gifts include the ever-popular chocolates - Eiffel Tower shapes, Ferrero Rocher with 'ice' - I think it's mint chips in the chocolate coating, Ferrero Rocher noir, Ferrero Rocher..., Mon Cheri with cherries inside.... mmmmmmmm. Or music - 101 singers we've never heard of and 101 singers we have.

If your loved one doesn't buy you any of the above then you must be getting something for your telephone, mobile or internet, or a Wii game (music, sport or Super Mario).

In a way I guess they are all good gifts and not over the top. In NZ you can buy all manner of kitchenware (for the chef), all kinds of hardware (for the handy person), Lazyboy recliners, a huge range of electrical appliances - great if you have that sort of money or your recipient has everything else already.

The best present I ever received from my son was something he made - he didn't have much to spend so I told him to use his imagination, which he did. It was an envelope full of 'coupons' with various treats or promises - one free hug, helping make dinner, make dessert, do all the dishes, etc. A good selection of things. If I was going to use one I had to hand him the coupon in time so he could organise things (if required) and the best bit was that he had put an expiry date on the back! It was colourful, thoughtful and original, and making it must have taken him a lot of time.

Whatever your gift, enjoy your Christmas day and don't eat too much turkey. Bonnes Fetes from Cambieure!

Calendar Girl

2008-12-20T12:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had a full on day. I painted the last coat of the entrance hallway ceiling as well as the scotia. Maybe needs a few bits touched up again as it's quite hard to cover brown paper with no traces coming through. After lunch Wouter sanded the walls by hand as using a machine would just chew through the walls and make far too much mess. I decided to paint the kitchen windows to step a bit closer to finishing the kitchen - Wouter removed them from their hinges and I painted outside under the verandah as the day was reasonably warm - I later moved inside to paint some wooden mouldings and moved the windows in as well as the weather turned cold.

About then it was time to take Cassy for his afternoon walk as he'd been in since lunchtime - keeping me company while listening to Pavarotti, Katherine Jenkins, French Cafe and Frida. So I went to the laundry to get our gear - leash and garden shoes - and was singing away and talking to Cassy. Welsh people are either always singing or talking to themselves - I happen to do both as I can multitask very well.

So still singing and walking back to get my jacket, hat, gloves and gilet de chasse (hunting sleeveless jacket) there were standing on our verandah two hunky sapeurs pompiers (firemen) who caught me off guard and I felt like I was in a bit of a dream as they didn't appear to be doing anything in particular. So I said hello and they told me that they were dealing with my husband.... ok. When I headed out for my walk they gave me a wave and headed off in their little Fiat - I'm sure two guys with that many muscles couldn't possibly fit side by side into a fiat properly.

On my return Wouter told me that they were fund-raising and a calendar could be had for a donation - so Wouter said "my wife will like that" - I have no idea what he meant (ha ha ha). But when I checked out the calendar, it was nothing to do with helmets, hoses or overall straps strategically placed over muscly chests and the like, but pictures of them out working. At least we don't have to worry about where to hang the calendar next year..... Have you noticed how the young muscly ones always seem to get the job of selling the calendars and asking for donations?

Kitchen

2008-12-19T10:54:00.000-08:00

Finally here it is - the Kitchen story. I suggest if you don't have much time, just look at the pictures.

Where does one start? I guess you are wondering what we've been doing the last couple of months. Ha ha - it has been a huge job to redo this area. When you don't have a proper kitchen to cook while work is underway, coupled with the fact that our electricity was a bit unreliable, I must say I got sick of running down to reset the switch but maybe it helped to keep me fit. It was also tricky trying to juggle more than two pots on one element - I had 2 possible elements but if I used both it would blow the fuse....

Rather than give you a complete rundown on every single thing we did and every single problem we encountered in changing the kitchen/dining, it's better to list what we did and show before and after pictures. I've tried to put them in chronological order so it makes more sense.

Unfortunately we don't have many pictures of before we started pulling things to bits, so hopefully you can use your imagination a little. Some things do not show well on the photos we have so it's probably hard to see what we've changed. The layout is very similar for practical reasons, like pipes and power supplies, but some changes have been made like the addition of a pantry and we've expanded the area slightly.

You can see that the former kitchen fittings were good quality and sturdy - they were just outdated and needed refreshing and modernising. None of the items will go to waste as Wouter can either use them in his workshop or we can somehow use them for guests if they want to be more self-sufficient (that's the current plan) is difficult to imagine all the different textures and colours that were here - overwhelming would be a good word. There were so many differences we found it didn't really come together for us and that's why we did a lot of things which other people might have left alone.

Electricity has been done throughout as much as possible, puissance changed so we don't blow any more fuses and we have a 'night rate' which is more economical. We have also had more plugs installed where possible.

This is the camp kitchen (in the lounge):

I had a list of befores and afters here but the formatting looks awful so I've removed it. I guess if anyone really wants to know the details you can email me for a list.

Note that the kitchen is not completely finished as Wouter needs some tools to work on the pantry. In the meantime I have a cupboard to assist with storage until the pantry is done. The overhead units are not yet installed as we are going to do the wall tiling first. The wall tiling (above bench) is not yet done as we only picked up the tiles 4 days ago and need some more cement and grout, as well as an aluminium strip to do them. The rangehood is to be installed once the tiling is done and Wouter is looking at another cabinet which may suit it better than the one we already bought. The dishwasher is yet to be connected - we may get the suppliers to do that for us - and I can't wait to be able to use my very first dishwasher!

The floor tiling was done in stages as poor Wouter did the first day alone and then felt like a broken man. So as I already mentioned in a previous blog, I assisted with cementing the backs of the tiles and delivered them to Wouter when he was ready. It took us 5 sessions to do the whole floor in this area. Grouting was about the same number of sessions but less time, and by the end it was turning out pretty well.

The interior of the cupboards is easy clean melamine and for the 2 corners we have carousels (one installed and one to be collected).

One set of doors is almost done paint-wise - final coat to be done once weather warms up, other windows opening up to outside will also be done then. The only doors I can do at the moment are 4 interior doors, so I won't be bored....

There are two cupboards to go on the walls - one above the fridge and the other above the bench against the wall which meets with the dining room - this one will have under lighting to help with the problem we had of only being able to have the one cable to the ceiling.

Before the units were installed Wouter had to change the plumbing around a little to accommodate the new dishwasher and sink unit. Because the old gas unit was no longer legal (we found out when signing the house contract when buying the house) we had to replace the line with a copper pipe and get a new pressure regulator tap. This was done by two lovely young guys from the local plumbers - they were calling out to each other what sounded like "an-ka-va", which I figured out finally was actually "encore va", meaning push the pipes through a bit more....

The original extractor fan was a huge thing which needed a huge hole in the ceiling. After removing the chimney stack itself, Wouter made up a wooden platform to support concrete which was poured from above in the attic. It was left a couple of days and then the wooden framing removed - et voila! It's been decorated up to look like the rest of the ceiling, and while it's not perfect, it's pretty close and will be sort of hidden (or at least camouflaged) by the new cupboard containing the new extractor fan.

All the doors have to be (or have been) trimmed as the tiles raise the floor level by 12 millimeters. The doors from dining to outside had to have the lock replaced as the previous one was totally shot.

All in all it was a huge job and we are glad to be finally using the kitchen and able to use the room next to it with the fireplace (as a sitting room). It's so cosy. We've "dressed" the room as well so have our furniture - chairs, bookcases, tv, globe, coffee table, lights, persian carpet and of course Cassy's towel (still searching for his duvet!) We gave the room a test run when our guests were here last week and it was given the thumbs up. Now we are already onto the next job which is the entrance hallway - this needs ceiling painted, walls stripped and finished with plaster (they call it crepi here), painted, floor tiles (same as kitchen), plinths, paint doors.

Well done if you made it to the end!

La Cité

2008-12-13T04:28:00.000-08:00

For a couple of days this week we had guests. The weather was not the best despite our order - we had a bit of snow and a bit of sunshine, but mostly dark grey clouds. The snow was for the first time on our property since we arrived - first time I've had snow fall on me since I was a child and what I remember most is that we could go out for a short time to make a snowman - which of course you can't do properly wearing your gloves or mittens, so you end up with frozen fingers!

As we only had one full day to do something touristy we decided to go to Carcassonne and visit "La Cite" and see what it was all about, one of our guests having read the books from Kate Mosse (Labyrinth) which were set in the area. The medieval looking towers and surrounding buildings were quite ominous with such weather as a backdrop, and the wind was icy - so even though the air temperature was around 5 degrees it felt more like somewhere below zero.

Defenders of the castle:

Only the bravest people were out to tour the castle. Outside we pulled up our collars, hoods, hats and scarves and inside the rooms enjoyed the lack of whistling winds while viewing the interesting history and museum pieces on show. There were some large stones to hoist and catapult onto attacking enemies, slits through which you would fire your arrows at them, a gallery of important people (the family album?) carved in stone, many statues, sarcophagi and other interesting artefacts. There are lots of websites about La Cite so if you want to read more it shouldn't be too hard to find a good page or two.

Some shops were open and doing a slow but steady trade, but we made our way to a cosy cafe to enjoy a hot coffee before visiting the graveyard to view the ornate tombstones. Interesting how people look after loved ones when they have passed away - memories and personal messages, flowers, belongings, all on the tombs which are lovingly attended. Very sad but at the same time soothing.

The afternoon was complete after a couple of glasses of mulled wine in front of the fire mmmmmmm! and Wouter reminds me every day since how nice it was so maybe I have to make some more.

Processionary Caterpillars

2008-12-08T13:21:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago and today we were busy with processionary caterpillars. Destroying their nests that is.

We had seen the nests in one of our trees and thought it was from a spider or something similar. But some kindly people told us they were chenilles de procession or chenilles processionaires - in English, Processionary Caterpillars.

After doing some research on the critters we decided to get rid of them as they can be a danger to both human and animals.

Being new-comers to the village we did not want to be the ones who were responsible for aiding their survival. But we are a little surprised at some reactions that people didn't seem too concerned - I guess it depends on whether you are used to knowing about them, how dangerous you think they are, if you have pets yourself, etc.

Some caterpillar facts:

up to 300 per nest
they come out at night to feed
during the day they are wrapped up safely in a cocoon nest
the sun helps them to digest their previous night's feast
they 'march' in procession (also called Indian file) nose to tail, following a pheramone scent
they march during January-March, when they are ready, sometimes several hundred long
they die at below -16 degrees (however, in their nest it can be several degrees warmer than the outside temperature)
+60 degrees is sufficient to 'neutralise' the poison from their hairs
they are poisonous at all stages of their life cycle
physical contact can cause oedema, asthma and other respitory problems in those prone, skin rashes, swelling of the tongue, and more
found around the Mediterranean

Our plan of attack was to spray the nests then cut off the offending branches and burn them. We were told to wear protective clothing, just in case, as if they feel threatened, they can eject an urticating poison from their hairs.

After buying some poison we then decided not to spray as it is the wrong time of year to catch them with the spray (which we didn't know until we read the packet), some of the nests were way out of reach and we weren't sure how the caterpillars would react - some might escape the nest etc. So just went with part two - burning.

So Wouter dressed up in some old clothes, protective mask, gloves and an old MacIntosh raincoat he got from the Faversham local store for 10/6- (ten shillings and sixpence) in 1967. We got the fire going and Wouter dropped the trees one at a time, then cut off any branches with nests and put them on the fire. The first lot we did were small (trees and nests) by comparison to today's lot - but of course there were a couple of weeks in between and the little critters had lots of time to grow bigger. During the first fire we saw no visible movement from the nests as they were destroyed, but the ones we did today there were very large caterpillars once the protective web had burnt away. The caterpillars were falling over each other and dropping out into the fire - a bit like when you pick up a lot of worms together - all wound around each other.

The following websites have a lot of information and now we know what they are, what they do and when they move about, we can be on the lookout at the appropriate times and keep ourselves and the dog safe.

http://planetepassion.com/Pine_processionary_moth_thaumetopoea_pityocampa.htm
http://www.lost-in-france.com/living-in-france/pets/805-processionary-caterpillars

Some pictures of the events:

nests in the large tree -

the little critters feeding at night -
one of the small trees -

one branch with not much left after being eaten -

Wouter stoking up the fire -

Burning begins -

Wouter sporting his trendy MacIntosh -

The large tree today and some of the nests (we lost count but figure there were about 50 nests) -

Caterpillars burning and falling into the fire after wriggling around each other -

The Spatula

2008-12-01T07:47:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we had to return some items to IKEA - you remember - the children's frames for the comfy chairs we bought and only realised once home that the frames were incorrect.

I just love IKEA but someone had to stay at home with Cassy and as I had grouting to do, it turned out to be me! (I thought it should really be Wouter, as Wouter and grouter rhyme). Also shopping - I know he hates it and I don't mind, especially as it was mainly related to my new kitchen. But these are modern times and a little role reversal never hurt anyone.

He had a list of items to collect - after returning the items, go and collect some extras which we needed for the new kitchen. Among the items on the list were spatulas. You know - the rubbery, flexible sort which you use to scrape the bottom and sides of bowls when you're baking. Wouter thought that these might be useful for applying the grouting. They were only 75 euro cents, so it didn't matter to get a couple.

When he came home, it was almost like Christmas with all the packages and extra bits and pieces. As we progressed through the list he told me he couldn't figure out what the spatulas were for and why I needed another two but decided to buy them anyway. But what came out of the bag were cooking spatulas - with holes - so I couldn't figure out how he thought I was going to use those for grouting.

The little darling told me he'd forgotten about our conversation the night before and why we needed the spatulas. Anyway, one of them is quite different to the two I bought since being in France, and also from the ones to be unpacked from our boxes. So I think might start a spatula collection....

Frosty the Snowman

2008-11-27T13:57:00.000-08:00

A few pictures to update you on the current status of weather here. November has literally been a gloomy and dreary month, with hardly any sunny days - luckily there was still enough autumn colour around to brighten things up but not much rain, apart from a couple of good falls (the rest I call fairy rain).

Frost on car:

We didn't mind so much as there was plenty of work to do inside, as well as the delivery of our container, the boxes of which we are unpacking slowly. But must admit it was great to see the sun today and enjoyed some time outside.

Today we awoke to -3 degrees, which we've had only a few times in Waimauku at the start (1990's). You may not think this is anything exciting, but for us it's part of our adventure. A short walk down the road gives us a view towards Limoux where you can see snow on the hill/mountain, and more snow behind that.

One very interesting thing today is the tree which they call the mulberry (it's really a Murier) - as soon as there was frost on it's leaves they dropped to the ground. It seems likely there will be another frost tonight so I'm guessing by tomorrow there won't be many leaves left on the tree.

Container 2

2008-11-22T02:42:00.000-08:00

Here are the pictures as promised. First, the arrival of the container itself, which had not been opened at all since leaving NZ:

The unpacking of some of the larger furniture items was a comfort as then we knew it was really our furniture:

The hallway filled up quickly:

As did the bedrooms - the only obvious casualites are the box of Xmas decorations (still to be checked) and a leg of one of the chairs which can be repaired with some paint:

Wouter supervising proceedings as all the boxes and cartons were checked off against their list:

Wouter was pleased when the boat was unloaded - there was a flat tyre as someone had secured a nail which punctured through, otherwise all appears to be ok:

And we thought the shed (hangar) was big enough, but that also filled up quickly:

Most of the cartons had "books" written on the top, but I'm sure we don't have that many. We are missing a lot of kitchen things, so I think they are probably in cartons marked books - this picture I've called "Books 'R' Us":

And finally, some luxury seating after all those weeks on wooden fold up chairs (that is, before we bought our two nice IKEA seats) and a real dining table from which to eat in our still camp kitchen:

It was an overwhelming couple of days. Cassy was unsettled - I guess by now he's figured out that lots of boxes mean we are moving house. At the end of the day we were still here and he was delighted to find his pink rubber ball, which has taken pride of place beside the green one... the only thing left for him to make it paradise is his duvet.

We are not unpacked by any means - as you know we are in the middle of tiling, grouting and doing the kitchen. So there are no cupboards ready to take the kitchenware and we're still camping in the lounge for now. Apart from finding some useful tools to help our installation of kitchen and associated work, we will unpack a few things we need (like warmer clothes, dressing gown, etc) otherwise it will stay in boxes until required and the rooms are ready.

Container

2008-11-18T02:48:00.000-08:00

Hi Folks,

hot off the press and happening as we speak - pictures later - a quick post to tell you all that the container with our belongings arrived in Marseille last week. We had a phone call to say they would deliver our things today and tomorrow. Lo and behold, they arrived with two very large trucks at 9:30 this morning.

Must admit that we were both pleasantly surprised by this as it took four weeks to leave nz and we thought we'd have about the same waiting time here with unloading, customs clearance and transporting etc. But no, only one week (note that this is not the day to day speed of officialdom in France). Perhaps all our translating paid off.

We both had a restless night imagining all sorts of things as well as being a little excited at the prospect of being able to live "properly" again.

So far so good - everything appears to be in order and Wouter is managing where everything goes while I continue with grouting the tiles in kitchen/dining.

Just a thanks to all the people who have sent us cards, postcards and letters over the last few weeks - it's wonderful to have some handwritten news from near and far and helps us to feel a little less isolated.

When You're Tiling

2008-11-09T01:09:00.000-08:00

It was a gloomy week weather-wise, but not to worry as we an action packed week with plenty to do inside and deliveries.

Monday saw the delivery of our kitchen units from IKEA (apres-midi, they said, but turned up at 7:30am and found us both still in bed!) We were both surprised and happy at the same time as we've heard lots of stories about deliveries not turning up at the agreed time. Wouter has checked all the boxes and made sure we have what we want (or rather we received what we ordered, so there's a start!)

The delivery also included some frames for the chairs we bought a couple of weeks ago - most of you know we are sort of camping until our container arrives, so we decided to get a chair each from IKEA so we could sit more comfortably in the evenings. The wooden chairs we have are fine for meals, but to sit and watch a movie or just relax they are not so nice any more. So off we went to the aisle and bay printed out by the lovely saleswoman, and picked the cushions and frames. It was the end of the day and we'd already been on the road a few hours, so we didn't think to check the serial number.... The next day I had a go at assembling them but found we had picked up child's frames, which are even too small for me - ha ha. So called IKEA who kindly put the correct frames in with the kitchen delivery. Monday morning I put these two together and we both sat there blissfully for 10 minutes to enjoy the luxury seating.

Tuesday was the start day for the electrician who is here to do a few things like put in more points for the new kitchen, replace the old wiring, make sure everything is in working order, etc. He is currently, pardon the pun, working in the kitchen and as soon as he's done there we (Wouter) will start assembling the units - that's after the tiling is done.

Tiles were delivered on Tuesday afternoon and tiling began in earnest on Thursday (a back breaking job and a half). The tiles were delivered all shrink wrapped so it was a surprise to find that after some rain the boxes were all wet inside the wrapping. Today I have been apprenticed as tile assistant, so I have learnt how to spread cement on the under side of tiles and deliver them to a waiting tiler.... the things you learn (a bit different from the University, that's for sure!)

Back to the electricity - it was necessary to cut grooves in the walls to reroute some of the wires and make some new points - alas, plaster on the other side of the wall fell out leaving some holes. However, looking on the bright side, this was the perfect opportunity to make a start with stripping the wallpaper in the hallway.

The next electrical thing we have to organise is the puissance (electrical loading) as every time we put on more than one item which uses a fair bit of power the fuse blows, meaning we have no electricity through the whole house. We will get this changed as Wouter needs heavy amperage for his workshop.

Wednesday we had the chimney sweep come and clean out the chimney - apparently it wasn't too bad, but we can really see the difference after having had it cleaned.

After the gloomy weather at the start of the week, today was a real stunner of a day - also quite warm, so perfect to do the tiling, finish early and end with the proverbial glass of wine.

Picture from last week of Pic Canigou with snowtop taken from the top of Cambieure:

An Awful Lot of Coffee in Brazil

2008-11-03T01:39:00.000-08:00

Woodcut print of coffee bean with permission from Wouter, the artist (see link to his website below for more information)

A friend of ours recently visited and brought some Robert Harris (Irish Creme - my favourite) coffee - filter and plunger grind - from NZ - each time I make this, Wouter says - that was a nice coffee, so I know he likes it as much as I do. (Actually it should read MADE as it's all gone, hence my desperate quest for some decent coffee).

Two weeks ago we made a trip to Toulouse to go to IKEA and order our new kitchen. We also bought a lot of other things at IKEA, one of which was a plunger coffee pot.

The reason: we have a stove top coffee maker and another on the way. To make nice coffee in the stove-top coffee pot, you need coarse ground coffee. Alors, we have looked high and low and tried all sorts of coffee from the shops, but none is coarsley ground. It's just moulu - ground - and the only moulu coffee we have found so far is ground to a powder. If you make stove-top coffee with powder, then most of it gets into the cup when you pour and you feel you need a coffee filter on your teeth.

So, when we got the IKEA plunger, there were instructions in 24 languages on how to clean, dismantle, use and maintain your new coffee plunger device. Aha, I thought, in English it says to use coarsely ground coffee - so over to the page francais with excitement to finally find out the French equivalent of coarse grind which has so far eluded us. But it just said "moulu". So I have come to the conclusion that you cannot buy coarse ground coffee in France and need a coffee machine to grind your own.

The next problem of finding a coffee grinder (at least temporarily) was solved by other friends loaning us one of theirs. But we still need to find our own at some stage. Other than that, we are looking for some nice beans to grind - the first packet I bought looked promising, but the taste is not that nice - shall we say the earth from our garden might have tasted nicer, although Wouter thinks this is a little exaggerated ... Luckily I didn't buy the kilo pack!

It just so happens that Robert, one of Wouter's sons, runs a lovely little coffee shop in Raglan, and also roasts his own, so we might have to put in a special order if he delivers world-wide!

See Roberts website for more details on his coffee expedition:

http://www.raglanroast.co.nz/index.html

and Wouter's site on the coffee print: http://www.acwwoodcuts.com/Site/Woodcut_prints/About_Woodcuts/Coffee_bean_in_roasted_state.ashx

Update - we've spoken with Robert the coffee expert who tells us we might be lucky if we buy espresso grind as it could be coarser - next time we shop we'll buy some and report back.

The Joys of Owing a Labrador

2008-10-29T11:42:00.001-07:00

Warning - do not read if you have a weak stomach.

Some of you know that when we were still in NZ we had a problem with Cassy being constipated. He had eaten some ashes because Wouter had burned some juicy leftovers to prevent them being eaten, but Cassy got them in the end (pardon the pun) which blocked up his plumbing, so to speak. The result was an emergency weekend visit to the vet at Helensville followed by a visit to our local vet which left Cassy knocked out for the day for manual removal, us with a bill for around $400 and Cassy with a sore rear end for a few days. What they removed were sticks, stones, ashes, and other unidentified objects. Goodness knows how he got them down - but where there's a Labrador there's a way - and of course they wouldn't come out the other end without medical assistance.

So when we saw him this morning on the front garden trying to go to the toilet we started wondering if we have to go through the same thing again. But this time it's the opposite - the runs. He has a sore rear end as it's red. Then it must be itching as he scoots across the muddy ground (blast - our first real rain in weeks and this is the day he picks to do that!) ending up with muddy paws full of clods of earth, bottom fur caked with mud and still no apparent relief from the discomfort.

Now for the reason - the other day we were innocently taking a look at the vineyard at the back of our place to see if it had been picked or not as the season is getting on now and we could still see grapes. Aha - all picked but they missed a few bunches (the ones we could see) with the machine. So Cassy has been over there inspecting and harvesting as you can see from the evidence below:

(contains entire grapes)

(photographed as found)

We now know we obviously cannot trust him out of our sight as he loves his fruit and by nature he is a hunter gatherer, just like us, but he does not know when to stop. So he is confined to quarters until further notice and pit stops are on leash until we can fence off that boundary.

Snow in Pyrenees

2008-10-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

The following story from BBC confirms the cooler weather we've been having:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7695975.stm

It will remain cool for the next few days, and if you take a look at the story on BBC you can see why. Luckily we had the plumbers checking our central heating today and tomorrow we get oil delivered, then we can start it up and warm our toes.

Meanwhile a lovely Cambieuse has loaned a hot water bottle (ah, bliss) much to my delight, so we'll be nice and toasty until my own one arrives.

Cassy very keen to sleep inside and I can't say I blame him. More stories again soon.

Any which way you turn

2008-10-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

It may sound like the title of the next Clint Eastwood movie, but it's not. It's autumn and everywhere you look lovely colours are appearing. But first, many thanks to those of you who sent birthday wishes. That Monday was supposed to have been a gloomy day, so we thought we would leave taking a trip in the car until later in the week. So it turned out to be a low-key day. Pressies included a Larousse Illustrated forWouter and a collection of Jaques Brel's 100 most popular songs for me - but of course we both share these things. As we had been painting and tidying for a few days, we knocked off early and got stuck into the wine, seeing we had a good reason to celebrate! (look carefully below)

To continue - we thought we were missing out on autumn colours elsewhere, as in our garden it is like Mother Nature suddenly turned on a switch and everything started changing colour. Leaves have been falling off some of the trees big time. So we took our promised trip around a route which takes you roughly 20-25km radius of Cambieure. To our surprise we found few autumn colours except for the grape vines. However, we did enjoy a break and Cassy managed to get some play and adventure time in, much to his delight.

We found a place just up the road from us where they are selling pick your own apples, and what a pity to see heaps of apples lying on the groundso we will check it out further on the weekend and pick some to eat now and some will go in the freezer for crumbles and pies over the winter. But we have to make another trip or two around the local villages over the coming weeks to make sure we capture all the autumn colours.

After spending a while gathering up leaves on the driveway, what a shock to see it totally covered again the next morning! We love the colours and only raked up the leaves because we were supposed to have some rain. The rain didn't eventuate but a small breeze did which blew more leaves off the trees!

Thanks to Marlana who confirmed the mystery insect (of a previous posting) is indeed a humming-bird moth. Now we have another item to identify, a tree:

It has lovely white scented flowers which have rosy pink bracts. Once the flowers are finished, they produce a dark blue/black berry which sits inside the bract. Please let us know if you have a name for it.

More pics below of autumn colours in our neighbourhood over the last week or two as we've been travelling around. Snow will fall in the next day or two to 1000-800m so we're pretty sure it will become cooler quickly. Having said that, all the things we've planted in the garden seem to be doing well, and we have already been eating the radishes. Most of the grapes have been harvested as have the old sunflowers and maize.

Introduction to the Village

2008-10-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

A few snippets which don't really fit with other blogs but thought you would be interested to read.

Village Celebration:
Last week we were invited to the inauguration of the village primary school for primers. Actually, we turned up the week prior, after being told by our lovely, friendly Maire that it was on 3rd October. So off we trotted thinking we would be in nice time - couldn't see many people and started to feel a bit sorry for the few children still in the playground that not many people had bothered to turn up. It didn't really look like anything official so we walked around the corner to the Maire's office to check the notices, and met Mr le Maire himself, who politely told us it was 10th.

OK, no problem. So 10th we did the same thing, and this time it looked more promising. A few official looking people who would conduct proceedings and Mr le Maire was there to greet everyone. There were about 150 people, which is a fantastic turnout in a village of just over 200 inhabitants.

We met some lovely people and we will make more contact as we are here longer. After a tour of the school, we headed in loose groups (we were in the pelaton) up to the village hall, which was nicely decked out with a spread of goodies (some of the younger children couldn't wait for the official speeches to finish and helped themselves to nibbles) and wine and lots of hand shaking and greetings. Lovely. After the speeches there was a humerous apology for the mix-up about the date, and also an apology for those who didn't receive an invitation..... We came away feeling like we are real Cambieuses.

Phone:
And now a story about our phone. We have been expecting some calls this week and noone called on our home line, only on the cell. Funny, we thought until Wouter's brother emailed saying he was trying to call but couldn't get through. So we did a test - 09 number works fine, 04 number doesn't ring at the phone even though it sounds like it's connecting. Why is that?

We realised that when the telecom technician came to connect the phone line, he told us, once you get the codes for the internet and are connected, change the phone plug so it goes into the livebox (that is, voip - voice over IP). So we did that, thinking both numbers would work. But it only works on the 09 number (of course!) and now we realise that when we spent a few hours at telecom setting it all up [I must add, with millions of things to remember], why the woman asked if we had enough phones - yes, we said, we have two (but little did we know they should not be one system, but two completely separate phones. Another frustration of language barrier, but luckily nothing more serious came out of it except a funny story.

Pole Dancer:
And another story before I forget. A few weeks ago we were out for a walk and Wouter decided to measure a tree - without his trusty tape measure (one already lost so he had to buy another) he had to measure it by putting his arms around it. Then he came up with the line - - "hugging trees is the next best thing to pole dancing". A man of so many talents - this one had completely escaped me. After I stopped laughing and caught my breath back, I made him promise to show me what he knows about pole dancing, but I'm still waiting..... (I'll try to have the camera ready if it ever happens and promise to post it on the blog!)

Bottoms Up:
Lastly, we have taken advantage of an old saying. A friend of ours told us about the Dutch saying 'the five is in the hour'. I'll explain this for non-Dutchies. Telling the time in Dutch is a bit different to in English. We say 4.30, but the Dutch say 5.30 (30 minutes BEFORE 5). So once it's 4.30 in the afternoon it is an acceptable time to have an alcoholic drink. Hence 'the five is in the hour' means let's drink. We have adapted this when we're ready for a break and a glass of wine. We now say - the 5 is in the hour when it's 3.05, 3.15, 4.25, and so on. After all, we are in the south of France and surrounded by vineyards and can enjoy the afternoon sun fully relaxed.