La Prade

We've been in France 3½ years now - we find our new experiences are becoming less frequent and are not quite as impressionable as when we first arrived. Therefore, I have decided to start a new blog for anyone to follow our updates with the house, garden, B&B, travels and miscellaneous items:

http://laprade.blogspot.com/

You are welcome to follow us there!

Tomtom

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

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

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

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

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

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.