Nearly end of the year

Mid November and the grues finally flew south they really do bring the cold weather I imagine them like an aeroplane advertisiment pulling a blanket of cold over us they were later this year and over a longer period I heard the first ones end of October and watched a huge flock of them yesterday so roll on my 6th winter 

Restaurant la cremmerie review

In the style of my sister over at http://beautyshoutbox.blogspot.com/  

This restaurant is a very typical french workers dinning experience and on both my visits (did I mentioned I have been twice) the dinning room was full and busy.  We had not booked but a table was found for 6  and once seated we immediately had the obligatory bread basket and water we all ordered the 12 euros plat de jour which the waitress informed us was.......the only part I understood was chicken everyone nodded and agreed on vin rouge. First course was a terrine which was really quite nice and I managed to eat most of it but evidence of vinigar made me suspect it may of been tripe of some description I didn't inform the others because we had two picky eaters and they seemed to be enjoying it, the main course was a stuffed chicken breast, green beans wrapped in poitrine and little potatoes all cooked in garlic it was divine this was followed by a large cheese board with 5 different cheeses polished off with the remaining bread could we fit in the dessert?...........only just we had the choice of pannacotta, gateau, fondant au chocolat, tarte tatin, iles flottantes or creme caramel last was a cafe noir with the little coffee bean looking biscuit which I had 3.  It took over 2hrs to polish this lot off ........l'addition s'il vous plaît

BEAT THAT SA

Highs and Lows........

August has been a busy old month and its not my favourite time of the year......birthdays let you know your getting older along with the drawing in of the days, the holiday makers slowly disappear, the television is rubbish, the night markets have finished and Bob has had his three weeks holiday but for once we had fantastic weather, so with no major jobs to do we spent the first week sat in the sun listening to the cricket.

We seemed to have eaten out a lot this month three birthday celebrations and umpteen times with visitors has left me feeling like a heffalump.......GREAT!

At the end of July my English neighbours decided it was time to put their house on the market with a two year plan, both over 70 they felt the need to put the wheels in motion......can you believe two weeks later its sold and they will be on their way at the end of November.  I will miss them terribly they are the most bonkers neighbours you could wish for no matter what I needed they were always there from Christmas cards to jars of coffee using the computer when mine died, taking me shopping when snowed in to phoning me up if they hadn't seen me all day which is a comfort when you are so rural and live mostly on your own, well I wish them Bon voyage and on the bright side it's a new place to stay in the UK.

Late summer sunset over Belle croix

We're having a heat wave ......a tropical heat wave

The temperatures rising its hardly surprising we're having a heat wave.......

I am actually coping quite well with the heat the routine is.....get up early get things done and by 2pm take a siesta, nanna nap, keep doors and shutters closed then in the evening open them all up again and let the cool air in and the hot air out, drink lots of water and just chill.

Bob has gone to the UK on his annual road trip with a long list of  "must bring back" surprisingly not a food item in sight, then it's 3 weeks en vacances.

Been to the Monday evening Farmer's Market at  Ségur le Château where You can buy many locally produced things. There is seating for about 500 or so people and a barbecue run by villagers to cook your meat on. Fresh grilled trout from just up the road and, of course, plenty of choice in the beverage department along with live entertainment it's a must do through July and August.

Ségur-le-Château is situated on a peninsula formed by a loop in the River Auvézère and is, as its name says, a "secure place" in which the Viscounts of Limoges chose to set up their fortified castle. Although only a keep of that 12C building remains today, many noble houses with turrets or half-timbering bear witness to the opulent period the village lived through from the 15C to the 18C when it was the seat of an Appeals Court extending jurisdiction over 361 seigniories in the region

La fete Nationale.........

Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale

The Bastille is a medieval fortress and prison in Paris. Many people in France associated it with the harsh rule of the Bourbon monarchy in the late 1700s. On July 14, 1789, troops stormed the Bastille. This was a pivotal event at the beginning of the French Revolution. Fête de la Fédération was held on July 14, 1790. This was a way to celebrate the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in France.

Heat....And Hay

For the last 10 days the weather at long last has turned into high summer and what a difference the heat has made, my roses and petunias have looked so limp and sad with not many blooms now they are romping away as is the grass.  Being the owners of a micro tractor a sit on mower and a petrol mower it's sounds excessive to me........but thank goodness we have them.

The hay has been cut and I have never seen the rows so high the 3 fields around me have all produced 3/4 extra rollo's , driving around its just field after field of hay 

Perfect day........

I was awake early on Sunday with the sun streaming through the window and by 10am I had made a quiche, picked some salad leaves and had a crack at making mayonnaise which was quite good for my first attempt with 4 hens all laying I had a basket full of eggs to make use of.  By lunch time it was feeling like the hottest day this year with the temperature hitting 29deg. 

The garden is the best it's ever looked mainly due to all the rain we have had and the poor laurels that every year fail to put on any growth have finally had enough water to kick start them into growing as does the grass which now needs cutting every couple of days. 

After pottering around weeding, dead heading and ball throwing for Molly a fruit cocktail sat in the sun followed by a snooze made it a perfect day!

Soleil..........

Had a nice trip out to a friend from French class today and thank goodness the sun was out we sat and caught up on the gossip with a glass of wine and a delicious cake.

Carols house is next to an equestrian centre and she happened to mention they had a team at a cross country competition at Saint-Jory-de-Chalais so after coffee she pointed me in the right direction and I managed to find the concours hippique it was late but I arrived just in time for the presentation it was so nice......a podium presentation for 1st 2nd & 3rd the huge rosettes were attached to a huge brown bag full of horsey goodies a white saddle cloth and an equally huge pot of flowers??....everyone cheered and clapped the winners.......brought back many memories.

A lovely day out :)

pluie.........

Well this picture says it all.......poor sister has had 10 days of this 

So all we could do was lunch at flunch 

Flunch restaurants are operated on a self-service basis, where customers select their food and proceed to a checkout where any items are paid for prior to their consumption. Specific hot meals, namely cooked meats, are prepared to order in front of the customer at 'la grille', which is the part of the 'Flunch experience' the chain is known for.

Keepcool Dog Coats.........

These stylish and easy to fit Keep Cool Dog Coats have been specifically designed to keep your dog cool however hot it gets. Brilliant for all outdoor activities (before, during and after) walking, obedience, car travel or even sailing on your boat. The coat feels cool and soft to the touch, is lightweight, breathable and doesn’t drip.
They are made from a unique synthetic microporous material that is activated by water, as it puts moisture into the dogs coat, the capillary action of the microporous and the controlled evaporation actually cools the dog more than the outdoor air without making it wet.

Molly looks so cool in her pink coat and hopefully when the heat arrives it will be an essential addition to her wardrobe......hope that John the farmer doesn't see this!

Blossom time........

I cannot believe how late the blossom is this year, the wild cherry is intoxicating at the moment and little white petals float down like snow covering everything, hope there are plenty of cherries for the vodka!

We had 26 tonne of gravel delivered last week and thank goodness the driver tipped it slowly down the drive what a job spreading it out, typically in the rain!! But on reflection it would of been much harder in the heat so well done rain.

Had a lovely day out with my bonkers neighbours to my first market of the year at piegut the first 3 stalls we looked at were English folk selling pies, birthday cards and a doggie stall which i did buy a coolcoat for molly then we went to an English butchers very bizarre!!!

Crumpets and Hot Cross Buns.........

I am not going to mention the horrid spring weather....cold, none stop rain and wind I am just typing it in as a note :(

Bob brought some more crumpets and malt loaf home which we devoured over the weekend along with hot cross buns that my neighbours purchased from the Iceland shop on a campsite somewhere in the Charente, can you believe it!....They were all very nice and are wonderful as a treat.

Crumpets are generally circular roughly 2.7" (7 cm) in diameter and roughly 0.7" (2 cm) thick. Their shape comes from being restrained in the pan/griddle by a shallow ring. They have a characteristic flat top with many small pores and a chewy and spongy texture. They may be cooked until ready to eat warm from the pan, but are frequently left slightly undercooked so that they may be cooled and stored before being eaten freshly toasted.

Easter goodies......

Mmmmmm.....

Gobsmacked ........

Is what I was when I read this ......... http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/payroll-worker-sally-etchells-45-1335696

Life is full of surprises.

Had some nice trips out this week, two journeys to the airport one shopping trip to the family village one trip to see friends and a trip to see a new horse just arrived from the UK which was very nice but alas I no longer get excited over horses just like to admire them from afar preferably with no rider on them spoiling the view.


It's started........

The migration of Common Cranes has marked seasonal activities from times immemorial. Their characteristic‘krruee-kroo’ calls herald their arrivals. Twice a year, from Sweden to the Iberian Peninsula and through France, the Cranes fly across our continent : to their wintering areas in autumn, then to their nesting areas in spring. In August/September, after they have raised their young in the peat-bogs of the Scandinavian forests, thousands of them gather on the isles and the south coasts of the Baltic Sea. Starting in October, when food becomes scarce, they massively migrate towards the South in two, or sometimes three huge waves. This is the beginning of the long trans-European journey that will lead them to their traditional wintering areas in Spain. But France increasingly hosts wintering cranes in Champagne and Aquitaine.

The return migration starts as early as February. Urged by their breeding instinct, the Cranes quickly fly northwards. Their return is faster but but still as spectacular.

Weather blog......

Ok this it what my blog seems to be turning into but it's bleddy awful for the last 4 weeks we have had nothing but rain, snow, wind, very cold, sunny, next day feeling a lot warmer only to be plunged back to minus.....at this point the car battery decided it had had enough out came the charger but no it was still dead of course to Bob this was a catastrophe!! When we reckoned up the poor car has never had a new battery for 7years so my neighbours very kindly got me going and off I went to the airport to pick bob up we went straight to the garage, got a new one fitted there and then so catastrophe averted.

I have lost 2 more chickens mrs scraggy neck and the little un and have decided their replacements will not be allowed out of their enclosure......we found the little one with feathers plucked either side of her little body and think it may have been a buzzard but mrs scraggy neck was nowhere to be found, no body, feathers, nothing so have no idea what happened. I like my chickens and I hate losing them,they are stupid critters but they all have their own personalities and are funny to watch.

Oh no snow again.......

I have been here in France for 4 yrs and one of the many reasons for our move was the hope of better weather especially in winter after 2 years of solid rain in Cumbria it made the decision for us.

HA bloody HA....... Nobody told us about the snow that has arrived every year leaving us blocked in for days and the plummeting temperatures which are reading -8 at night it really is becoming the norm now for January and February to be like this and I realise its no better in the UK.......so although its very pretty I really wish it would go away.

Big clean.......

Before the spring clean....all the Xmas decorations came down today and everywhere was dusty dirty and sparse looking, there really is nothing good about Christmas decorations Barr humbug!

Used the steam floor cleaner I bought a few weeks ago which made light work of the tiles, everything back in its place just how I like it.

Lovely sunny day lets hope it stays like this till spring somehow I don't think so!!

Start the day .......

With a fresh egg....... Our chickens are all laying at the moment and boiled egg and soldiers are a must to........start the day!

Happy New Year.........

Well it's 2013!!!! how the year of 2012 has flown it only seems 5 mins ago that my elder sister was here in a warm and sunny February then in a cold and very wet June I was in Paris with younger sister....Weddings, Golden jubilees and the Olympics all gave extra bank holidays which in turn gave Bob longer breaks here in France.

We have had a good Christmas quite but to our liking, plenty of good food some actually cooked and made by me, every roast potato was golden fluffy and crisp my only catastrophe being one batch of Yorkshire pudds ......flat as pancakes!!

Molly has had some nice long walks with us in tow and we had a lovely trip to Bordeaux The city's nicknames are "La perle d'Aquitaine", "La Belle Endormie" (Sleeping Beauty) in reference to the old center which had black walls due to pollution. But today we can say that Bordeaux is awake. In fact, a part of the city, Le Port de La Lune, was almost completely renovated. We are planning a longer trip later in the new year.