Aperos with the Bernadette and Jean-Loup

Last time we were staying at the house, we had apéros with Bernadette and Jean-Loup at their house – she is looking very well, and her chemotherapy is working well so that her cancer is in remission.  We hope that she’s soon given the all clear!

The next day, Jean-Loup brought round a neighbour of his to sell us some logs – we think the next time we are at the house there will be a pile in the barn.  Fingers crossed they are as good as the ones M. Ruotte sold us three years ago – they’ve been brilliant.

The wood-burning stove is currently the thing I miss most about our house in France; in Maidstone, there is nothing to stop the heat going upstairs, and the landing is often the warmest part of the house.  The heat from a cast-iron stove is different; I can’t explain how, but it’s so much better [and because of the cast-iron, last much, much longer].

I’m already wearing a huge cardigan over my jumper, and a thick scarf, so I’m seriously contemplating staying in a much colder area to be warmer!!!

More snippets:

• Despite all the rain through the summer and autumn, the water level in the well is so low that we can’t use it…
• We saw a red squirrel cross the road in front of the car the last time we went to Troyes; cue squeals from the female of the pair!
• The house hassles of the last decade have left me struggling for energy and enthusiasm, but I took charge of the garden – I’ve cut back (almost) of the perennials/annuals in the garden.  I know I should have left them for the insects/birds, but I desperately needed to feel in control of something in my life – it meant that I could weed and tidy the garden before the “treading all over bulbs” season starts…  I have left more seed-heads than most gardens in our area have, so I’m not the worst person to have ever lived, but I’ve not left as much stuff as normal.  Hopefully, it’s only for one year!
• The potager is still “on hold” – we really want to eradicate the bind weed before planting it up, and to be honest, the last two summers wouldn’t have been great anyway!    We have repeatedly weeded, and spot-sprayed with glyphosate [not happy about that, but needs must when the devil drives], and it is looking much better, but the French chemicals seem very weedy this year; I think they’ve made them less potent as a safety measure?
• Is five exterior doors too many in (what is essentially) a two-bedroom bungalow?  We have two front doors, a back door, a French window out of the master bedroom, and a window that we can use as a door in the bathroom.  It doesn’t feel too many, but I suspect it may be…
• Alpaca socks: best thing ever!!!  If you have a chance [and like warm feet/cosy socks], buy some, they are so worth it!
• All the mirabelles (yeah, about a dozen!) were scabby – the hail storms compounded the damage inflicted on the tree by the winds and late frosts.  So no fruit for us this year.  Also no damsons, plums, greengages or walnuts, although the pig damson seemed unaffected by the weather…  Until we cut it down!  Still, the seedling is fruiting happily, so the line continues.
• We bought some thirties/fifties furniture – we’ve fallen in love with the stylised roses and curves.  We initially saw the potential when we stayed at a bed and breakfast near Dijon last year, and the lady had painted various old wardrobes which looked great.  So, we’ve been hunting exemplars that we wouldn’t mind “ruining” by painting – we’ve found one of two (I forget), but we’ve also found one or two (see before!) that are so lovely in their own right that they won’t be getting a dose of paint.  More stockpiling of furniture in the grenier; more waterproof tarpaulins, but you have to buy this stuff when it’s there – we’ve already missed the best of the Henry II furniture and while people are not valuing the 20^th Century future-classics it’s an opportunity to buy beautiful, well-made furniture that is way cheaper than IKEA.
• We found a stash of lumps of tufa!!!  Farmers throw it out of fields when they’re ploughing, and we have found piles abandoned so long they’ve nearly been re-buried by nature [so we know we’re not taking someone else’s carefully collected treasures], or in the ditches.  We [hope] reckon we’re doing a service by removing this waste-product, so emptied a couple of ditches worth into our trailer and took them home.  I plant them up with sempervivums, and plan to use them to delineate the edge of the drive, now that I’m starting to let the garden extend itself [absence of building-related vehicles means that the garden isn’t frequently being driven on].  Plan to get some more, but the weather is so soggy, it won’t be fun.
• I cut about 10” off my hair; David didn’t notice!

Michel, in the vines behind the house