Happy Hallowe'en!

This should probably go on my other blog, but I've got a tenuous link, so I'm putting it here.

[Hopefully this time next year I will have some produce from our potager, and that might include a pumpkin.  See, I told you it was tenuous!]

Apparently I've turned into a bit kid: having enjoyed last year's Jack-o'-lantern so much, I wanted another pumpkin to try again this year.  Well, I bought a small one, but then got seduced by a much bigger one when we went to Sainsbury's.  It seemed a bit ridiculous buying another one, just because I wanted a larger "canvas", but David was very encouraging, so I now have two lanterns this year.

[I have my sneaking suspicions that David doesn't really care one way or the other about carved pumpkins...

I think he just cares about the soup!]

So, I've had a productive afternoon armed with a sharp knife, an ice-cream scoop, a soup spoon and a teaspoon...

Not to mention shallots, carrots, and various spices, you'll be pleased to hear, David!

Apples & Pears

No, not Cockney rhyming slang, actual apples and pears!

"Friandise"

We went to Brogdale Farm Apple Festival on Sunday: we are hoping to find ideas for what sort of apples (and other fruit) to grow when we get the potager more sorted out...

[We spoke with Vincent who was recommended by Bernard, the mayor, who says he can dig us a trench to bury a membrane (thinking 600mm damp proof course) to prevent pernicious weeds from recolonising the ground I spent so much time clearing in the summer; so hopefully the weeds will stay in the meadow, and we won't have to spray the couch grass and bindweed.]

"Blenheim Orange"

We aim to plant trees next autumn, so need to taste apples now.  I think at Brogdale Farm we can order grafted trees from any of their stock; a tailor-made solution.

It turns out that I really like cooking apples and crab apples [I knew that anyway, but it came as a surprise just how fussy I was in turning my nose up at virtually all the "eating" apples!]

"Swan's Egg"

We did the walking tour, and Alan was wonderful with his talks and tasting sessions; I think we'll schedule a visit if they do an Open Day in the plum season.

We also loved the marquee where there was a display of an incredible variety of apples, old and new, including continental ones (good to have the German speaker with me).

I think we probably spent the most time of all the people choosing a bagful of apples, but we're doing research, not just eating yummy fruit!

Of all the varieties in the tent where we could taste samples and buy apples, our favourites were:

• "Friandise", a really tatty looking small apple with a good crunch and sharper taste
• "Blenheim Orange", 'proper' red-and-yellow apple
•  "Swan's Egg", a non-gritty flavoursome pear, and
• "Balder", a yummy, crunchy cooking apple

On the tasting walking tour we really enjoyed:

• "Bergamotte Fondante d'Été", a can't-get-enough pear
• "Great Expectations", a really crunchy tart-enough eating apple
• "Ananas Reinette", a sweeter apple
• "Gorgeous", which really was a gorgeous, red crab apple
• A302/2, another crab apple

"Balder"

So it's given us plenty to think about.  A gentleman there said we could plant this autumn, but I think I'd rather be sure that the ground is clear [and the membrane is in place] and order some "bespoke" plants after we've had a chat to someone when they are less busy.

But it feels as though we are really moving forward; I can't wait to have our own apple trees, and am even looking forward to the challenge of creating our own espaliers [huge difference in price if someone else has done that initial training] - just need some posts and wires!

Updating

[A bit.]

We came back from France last Monday, and I've since been trying to get the house in Maidstone sorted [another "work-in-progress", sadly].

Plan A was to get the kitchen at «Chez le Baron» thoroughly cleaned and arrange the various buffets in a better position and particularly to impose some order on their contents!  We've known this had got to be done, so had got into a habit of just stuffing things out of sight, rather than only keeping kitchen-related items in there...

For instance, I know exactly where to find a grape-picking basket, white spirit, furniture brushes and all my spare bocaux and empty bottles for when I get around to decanting some more liqueurs.  I don't know where there are more than two soup plates, or the bulk of our tea-towels (or indeed other towels and more than one spare set of bedding; we're washing one set as we're using the other). 

Another change in plan, though, when we looked at the wall having moved the first buffet out of the way: it was in a frightful state - it's the only remaining wall from before the workmen started, and it showed.  There were black splashes over a quarter of it, a massive crack running from ceiling until just above the floor, gobs of hemp-lime insulation [as though someone who likes porridge as much as I do had thrown a hissy fit (and their breakfast!)], and lumps of plaster and mortar.  Not to mention chunks taken out as though a different maniac had been allowed to practise using a cold chisel...  Or the huge gap at the bottom to admit rodents.

So, I spent half a day scraping off the extraneous gunk, and using up boxes of filler I'd got left over from decorating Leander Road and Ormonde Court.  It being France, we had a lull on Sunday as two half [large] boxes of filler was not enough, and France doesn't open on a Sunday, and Monday was spent applying another box and a half of filler.

Needless to say, the idea that we could sand off the next day and get some Stain Stop on the black marks, before giving a coat of paint on Wednesday soon became obvious as flawed: the filler finally dried out by the following Sunday, so I spent a couple of hours on Monday sanding away all the excess.  I'm not impressed with the French filler, but it looks a lot better.

Given the time the filler took to go off, we decided to leave the Stain Stop till the next visit, and then we can be absolutely sure that it's fully dry.

Luckily, the weather was fantastic, so we took advantage and did some gardening.

The last time I was there I managed to find homes for most of my fiction books (by assembling two large Ikea bookshelves in what used to be the bedroom, but is now the study/guest bedroom), and we got the bedroom in some sort of order, so it is starting to look more like home.

But as always, I'm getting more practice at being zen and patient!

Plumber: missing-in-action, but being actively stalked!  Sad we have to do that, but until we've had it confirmed that there are no leaks in the central heating pipes, we daren't switch on the heating and leave the house.  Given temperatures last November/December dropped to nearly -20°C [and in January to -27°C], we're really keen to make sure the heating can be left on constantly on the lowest setting to avoid freezing the pipes/sanitary ware...

So, we're trying to arrange a visit to allow M. Torelli to check the pipes, and for ourselves to do some more kitchen-cleaning [not that I haven't done enough of that in Maidstone; it's always galling to clean a place after tenants move out (that should be done by the tenants), but moreso when they are someone else's tenant!  Oh, well, Daniel has blown getting any more of his mail taken to the agent so they can forward it to him; it can sit in a pile until we can be bothered to send it back (and I suspect that will be as urgent to me as cleaning up his mess was to him).].

Hmm, the joke about "which Christmas?" when we say we want the work finished for Christmas looks like it will run and run!

We kicked off the process in December 2009, and still don't know when it will be finished.

We did have another email from T+B: apparently Jean-Marie is also being made redundant, and they want us to pay the last outstanding invoice.  Thankfully, Joëlle had included itemisation of what had been 100% completed, so we were able to email back a list of all the things that we haven't recieved (that have been allegedly done) including official sign-off that the work has been completed satisfactorily, and the approval for that from the Mairie.  Oddly, it's gone quiet from them since.

I know David would probably pay the last invoice were we to get all the officially-required paperwork, but as it hasn't been done, I think that's unlikely.

And of course the plans still need correcting on the electronic version...

Still feels like being in limbo, but at least the house is coming together as a "proper" home, and the garden is becoming more established.  It will be lovely to spend Christmas there!