Fête médiévale

This weekend the commanderie d’Avalleur was hosting a medieval fete. It is such a stunning setting to be able to use, and a great opportunity to get to discover more around the knights Templar.

They have been renovating the site for a few years, and have almost completed the work to the main building, which was used as a stables and boarding house, and was equipped with a hospital room. The stonework and carpentry work are excellent, and the care they are taking on the renovation really shines through.

We also got to have a look in the chapel, where some of the role-players were chatting. It was great to see so many of the supporters dressed up in the clothing typical of the order.

The chapel is built in a recognised style for the Templars at the time, and the work there has protected some original paintwork from the 12th century, that clearly marks these out as Templar buildings – if you know what you are looking for.

For the fete they had erected a tented area outside, that reflected a typical encampment for the Templars when they were on the move.

Here they displayed various weapons and armour. They had also taken time to dress the insides of the tents so you could see, and get the feel of, what it would have been like for the Templars during their crusades.

There were also some people dressed as peasants tending to a flock of geese that waddled through the encampment, and a couple of hairy cattle that were loving all the attention they were getting.

Day off

The weather is warming up again here and they have forecast a beautiful week. There is a little bit of rain later today, but I think we will get a swim in before that.

On Thursday we decided to take a day off and spend it by the pool. I packed us up our picnic, and we headed up to the pool with plenty of reading matter.

We did still have another umbrella to put up, which Brian decided needed to be done, so he didn’t entirely take the day off! But even so, it was a very beautiful relaxing day, so serene. It made a change to shutters, which will get finished very shortly.

Great crêpe

It was a beautifully warm evening last night, so we thought we would go and try out a little crêperie that we had discovered a few weeks ago. It’s in a small village about 20 minutes drive from us, called Thieffrain. It has a really pleasant terrace which is where we decided to sit.

The crêpes were delicious. I had a mushroom and chaource one, Brian chose a cheese and ham one - both were very good. I also had a small green side salad. We then followed it up with a couple of sweet crêpes, Brian plumped for the banane flambée with rum, mine was simply lemon and sugar. It was a really pleasant evening.

Analysis

September, where did the last few months go. This morning we needed to take Lilly, our little black cat, to the vet. She is sixteen years old and has an issue with her thyroid. We were a little concerned when we brought Lilly to France as to whether or not we would be able to get the same care for her as we did in the UK. I have to say the vets here are wonderful, and between us, with our limitations of language, and our almost bilingual vet we understand what the issues are and what is required.

Following the blood test, which they analysed on site, it transpired she has some additional problems that are causing her some discomfort. Nothing serious , but good that she has had a diagnosis. We are hopeful that the liquid Metacam we have been given for her will help her recovery.

The case of the leaky tap

The mornings are a little bit cooler now, you can feel Autumn nudging it’s way in. But we are making the most of the sunny days and still getting to enjoy breakfast sat in the garden looking up at the vines. For now they are quiet and calm, just soaking up the warmth of the day, patiently sweetening their grapes. I think we still have to wait another couple of weeks yet for the harvest. Then the village will be full of hustle and bustle, full of excitement, that harvest has arrived, but trepidation of what it will reveal.

Today we are back on the ‘case of the leaky tap’ . Yesterday Brian bought a rather nice adjustable spanner. He has now managed to get the tap off. And I think confirmed he needs to buy a new one.

Locks done

We were in two minds as to whether to put locks on the doors to the two bedrooms for the chambre d’hôte. We decided that it would be the right thing to do. I have to say that choosing and fitting locks is not an easy task. We knew we wanted them to be chrome, we felt this was a bit more subtle. So we ordered a couple of Yale locks off the Internet, and yesterday Brian set about fitting them.

The scary thing is drilling a 32mm hole in the door, and making doubly sure it is the right size and in the right place. There really is no room for error. I left him to this, as I really don’t think he needed me asking my normal questions “so what if…?” and “How does …?”

I got on with the painting of the shutters, and now also the sanding of the pair of shutters that we had intended to leave until next year (why wait?).

I’d been chatting with a friend and mentioned that we were leaving the last pair of shutters to do next year. She asked why, and when I started to think about it again, I really didn’t know why. So I’m now doing two pairs, and gosh, they are not easy. Although this last pair does not need much repair, it is in need of plenty of preparation with the sander. But I do think it’s the right thing to do.

During my day I’d been thinking about dinner, and it was making me very hungry. We had some cottage pie left over from a couple of nights back, as I always seem to make enough for four people. So I was thinking how could I reinvent it?. I remembered I had some pastry in the fridge, and thought ‘how about a meat and potato pasty, with chips?’. So when I had enough of sanding I set about making the pasties. Best of all we still have a bit of HP sauce. I have to say it was very delicious and a real hit with Brian.

Stretch it

We’d walked about 11.5 miles on our walk, and really enjoyed the day. Before we’d sat down to eat our sausage and chips we had stretched out, or we thought we had. When we came to get up we could feel our muscles aching. We strolled back to the car, and stretched again. But by the time we had driven home we were both feeling muscles on the sides of our legs tightening up. I think the uneven ground had made us use a lot of stabilising muscles, probably not often used, and I doubt we had stretched them properly.

We got in and decided to have a hot bath before resting up. A few cups of tea later, we were enjoying an early night. We both decided we may need to take it easy the next day.

Brian’s ‘taking it easy’ was sorting out a leaky tap that we seem to have developed over the last 24 hours. It’s a bit of a work in progress as he needs a bigger spanner, which he looked for, but I’m not sure he ever had. It did mean we got to tidy his tool shed up looking for it though. For now he has switched it off, which he had to do via the access hole in the courtyard. Tomorrow we will go and buy the spanner.

Where’s the viewpoint?

Brian had commented that we hadn’t been on a walk for a while. We often go for a ‘balade’ (stroll) around the village, but we had not taken a day to go on a proper walk for a while.

So yesterday we headed to Mesnil-Saint-Pére, near Lac d’orient, with our bottles of water and picnic, ready for our walk. We would normally have our walking boots on, but for some reason we decided our Skechers were okay. I’d originally said to Brian ‘Do you think we can do 14.5 miles, it’s all flat?’ I don’t know what I was thinking, as I really don’t like walking much more than about 10 miles in a day. However Brian thought we could manage it, and I had said we could shorten the walk towards the end if we wanted to.

So off we set. We had a real spring in our step to start with and the path was pretty good so we made good progress.

And most of all we were really enjoying being out and navigating our way around the french countryside, stopping now and again to enjoy the wildlife.

I’d pointed out a viewpoint on the map which I’d suggested we stopped at to have lunch. We knew we were soon approaching it as we crossed a dyke between two small lakes. They were really quite beautiful, covered in water lilies with silky white flowers popping up all across the lake. A very long legged stork was chattering away on the far side. Not quite sure who or what he was talking to, but he was making a lot of noise.

As we came off the dyke I spotted a ladder up a tree which I pointed out to Brian. It looked very high, poking its way up through the canopy of the trees. Before I knew what was happening Brian was off climbing up the ladder. ‘Hun, be careful’, I shouted up. ‘It looks very wobbly from down here’. He told me afterwards that he was just focused on getting up the ladder, he was not listening to me, and concentrating not to look up or down, but at the tree straight ahead. It was a long way up, and I’m really not sure he’d looked at what he’d committed to. In fact, at the top, he was nearly completely hidden by branches.

He said that at the top the platform had most of its planks missing and the frame was very rusty, so decided not to step onto it. And that then made him start thinking about ‘Is the ladder actually that safe?’ No time to dwell, he took the photo he was on a mission to take, by hanging on with one arm and sweeping around for the panorama shot, which is why it’s a bit wonky, then calmly returning step by careful step back to terra firma.

The view was spectacular

After a brief look at the pictures he had taken, we kept walking for about another 10 minutes, walking slightly uphill and coming out into some maize fields and corn fields. I said ‘I’m really not sure where this viewpoint is and what it is of! We then realised, of course, the ladder was the viewpoint! Needless to say , that was not somewhere to go back to sit and eat lunch. So we found an alternative spot.

Over lunch we realised we were getting a bit weary. We had walked about 8 miles, and asked ourselves could we do another 6.5miles? ‘No’, I said, and Brian agreed it would be a good idea to shorten the walk. So looking at the map I could see that at the next village we could cut about 3 miles off the original plan.

So off we headed. Unfortunately though we didn’t foresee that the path we were to take was extremely uneven under foot, so it took a lot of concentration and effort to walk over the ground, ensuring we were sure footed. Soon though we could see the village of Mesnil, and approached the lake.

We knew then that saucisse et frites and a chilled beer was not far away.

Pass sanitaire

In France the pass sanitaire is a way of life now. You need it to be able to visit bars, restaurants, hotels, museums, large shopping centres or venues, otherwise you need to demonstrate a negative COVID result.

The system works by scanning your vaccination QR code that was issued for confirmation of your second jab. We use the ‘tousanticovid’ app, which is easy to download and easy to load your vaccination certificate into. I believe the tousanticovid app can also be used by those travelling into Europe, and if you are coming from the UK the NHS app can also be used. If you don’t have access to a phone, a paper copy of your vaccinations is needed.

It’s quite simple, all they do is scan your QR code on entry and you can go in. We will also need to be able to scan and check our guests pass sanitaire in our chambre d’hôte, but the great thing is that our guests then don’t need to wear a mask whilst they are here, unless they want to.

As people need proof of being double vaccinated when entering France, this does not seem to be causing an issue for international travellers.

Two!

I have to say the tomato plant is looking a bit sorry for itself, but finally I have a tomato! I’ve actually got two now. So I think we will be having them for lunch.

We need something light, as dinner last night was a chateaubriand. Which effectively, in France, is a large fillet. A normal sized fillet goes under the name of ‘tournedo’. We were loading on the protein for a walk we are doing tomorrow near the Lac d’Orient. Better be a big walk!

A Day of two halves

It’s a beautiful day, 25°c, with a perfect blue sky. The tree we had trimmed earlier in the year is flourishing. The young new branches it has shot out during the summer months delicately float in the breeze whilst the leaves flutter more urgently catching the wind. I love watching it. I’ve grabbed a sneaky half hour in between helping Brian sand the shutter. It’s a dusty old job and it seems to be probably the worst shutter out of all of them.

It’s a day of two halves though, as this afternoon we are enjoying a swim and a chilled beer. The valley is very quiet and peaceful. It’s the last week of the holidays in France, they will be returning next week, and preparing for harvest in a few weeks time. We are enjoying the calm.

Rotten luck

Brian got lucky with the first shutter and had prepped it without too much difficulty, but when he started on the second one he realised there was a lot more work required than the first. There was a large chunk of wood at the bottom of the shutter that had rotted and needed to be cut out and repaired. He got to work by tracing the area that needed patching before cutting a piece of oak to fit.

He glued it into place and then spent some time filling and sanding it, to ensure it was weather tight and solid again.

I really like having the shutters, they certainly help keep the extreme weather off the windows, and when used effectively help to maintain the heat in the house. In the summer at night it’s best to have the windows open and the shutters closed. Then during the day close everything up to keep the sun and warmth out, and the cool in.

Reflecting

Surprisingly this time last year the vignerons had started harvesting the grapes, but harvest this year is still probably another 3-4 weeks away. It is mainly due to the weather conditions, not enough sun when needed, not warm enough, too much rain. If you are interested to learn more on this, Brian has written a blog called a hard year that describes how the year panned out for the Champenois.

Today the temperature is around 23°c. So we are going to push ahead on getting the shutters ready for painting, and the outside of the windows in the Magnum painted. I’d like to try and get all the outsides finished today, let’s see how it goes.

I managed to paint three windows, the bathroom window, and two in the bedroom. I just have the window on the landing to do. I will find time to do that this week.

Whilst we were painting today, we were reflecting on our launch of the Chambre d’hôte, it has been less than 2 weeks since we declared ourselves open, and the response we have had is really very astounding. People are supporting us in so many different ways. Firstly, all the messages of support and praise on what we have achieved really helps our motivation, so thank you to everyone who has reached out. Then, how people have embraced our story and shared it with family and friends, to help spread the word and let people know we are open to welcome guests. We are so appreciative of that. And finally people reaching out and letting us know they want to come and stay. It really is so encouraging. We are starting to get guests pencil in dates for the run up to Christmas, which will be such a magical time of year to be welcoming people to the champagne region and celebrating with some local bubbles.

Such exciting times ahead.

Climb

The temperatures are climbing today. So after a morning of sanding the outside of the windows in the Magnum, and filling the holes in the shutter, it’s an afternoon at the pool for us. We will paint them tomorrow, it’s a bit too hot to paint today, as it dries too quickly. So we are enjoying the calm tranquil atmosphere of the pool and taking a dip when we feel like cooling down a bit. The pool temperature has reached 29°c, so it’s very comfortable just to float in, however I do enjoy swimming a few lengths, I normally do around 30.

First though, we have two new sun beds that needed putting together. Brian loves a good puzzle and it really didn’t take him long to complete them.

We set them up under the shade of the umbrella, a perfect spot, and a perfect way to relax.

Dinner was a light meal of locally cured pork, smoked ham, fresh figs, and locally produced salad. We enjoyed a rather nicely chilled, fresh, citrusy Chablis with it.

Maison Caffet

I know I have shown you this gorgeous patisserie before, but their cakes really are scrumptious. We needed to go into Troyes yesterday to do a few things, so we thought we would drop into MacCarthur Glen to do a bit of window shopping. That’s never possible there, there is always something too tempting. But before we started our ‘window shopping’ we thought we’d have coffee and cake at the Maison Caffet kiosk.

So much to chose from, but we plumped for a 70% noir chocolate eclair and a bourbon and vanilla eclair. We split them in half so we got to try a bit of both, the bourbon and vanilla definitely won out.

Wild boar

We had gone out to meet a friend for drinks last night in Bar-sur-Seine, it was a lovely evening chatting about her new life in London, and how she is settling into all things British, whilst we shared how we are settling into all things French. The time always seems to fly by when we are together.

On the drive home, as it was around dusk, we could see some dark little figures in a field off to our right. Brian exclaimed “they are wild boar”. I pulled over and reversed back to get a better view. There was mum and dad and five piglets, all snuffling around on the floor in the search for food. The mum spotted us, and started to run off into the woods, dad and 4 piglets soon followed, with the last piglet soon realising he had been left behind, so running as fast as he could to catch up so as not to lose sight of his little family.

The pictures are not great as it was getting dark, but you’ll get the idea.

What it says on the tin

A number of people have asked if we still have a lot to do in the house. I think there will always be things to do but it’s a matter of priorities. We focused on getting the rooms finished for the chambre d’hôte, along with the utilities and areas that will be used by our chambre d’hôte guests.

Now, we would like to finish getting the badly weathered shutters painted, as this will help protect them in the future, and the brilliant white paint looks so fresh against the pale old stone of the house. They really do take quite a battering from the weather - mainly the sun and extreme temperatures. To buy a new set of shutters in wood, which need to be hand-made to fit the windows, is around €1,200, so saving them is time well spent.

Some of the windows do get some protection from the weather as they are behind the shutters, but not all have shutters on them, so they are very exposed, and it will be good to get them painted and protected against the elements. I’m hoping this will then last a few years, however it may take me a couple of years to do. The paint I use has a ten year life span, if you do ‘what it says on the tin’. It would be great if it is that effective.

It is quite a big job as we have 18 sets of windows, a french door, 8 low level sky lights (these only tip in slightly, so not sure how I would paint these), oh and the pool house. So it’s a job best just to start and gradually they will all get painted. For now I’m focused on the first floor, and just doing 1 or 2 at a time.

As for the rest of the job list, we have the walls in the laundry room still to finish, the cellar to rebuild, the stone steps to build, the pool area to review, the pool room to review, garden fence and gate to put up, main front gates to paint, library to build, and salon to decorate. Plus a bunch of chairs to be reupholstered and shelves to be fitted into cupboards.

But we are loving what we are doing, and steadily working through the list, so it will all get done… sometime.

Bit more than a rub down

We have two sets of shutters still to paint, although one set is not too bad, so we won’t do that one until next year. This set, as you can see though, is in pretty bad shape. Brian began by scraping the flaking paint and completely sanding them down, before filling the gaps where they had pulled apart. Meanwhile, I had started on the windows. I began by taking the rough areas back to the wood, ready for a primer.

By the end of the day I had got the first coat onto one set of windows, and the second one was rubbed down ready to paint in the morning. The shutters were both nearly ready to be painted, so we’ll pick up again tomorrow.

Cut above

The roses at the front of the house needed a prune, and as the weather was a little overcast and around 20°c, we decided to do a bit of gardening. Brian used the extending secateurs, but I thought the best way was just to lean out the window on the first floor. We soon had it trimmed and it was soon looking a lot healthier. I have also given it some fertiliser, as some of the leaves were yellowing, so I felt it needed a feed. I’d like to spray it, but I am conscious the bees are still feeding, so I will leave that until late September. I’m sure it will be fine until then.

Today was similar weather, and the forecast stays the same for the next few days, and as we don’t have any guests currently, we thought we would take the opportunity to paint the final shutter in this side of the house, as well as the two windows in the Jeraboam.

Quinze août

15th August - Assumption of Mary - is a public holiday in France. This year it fell on a Sunday. The weather was hot, so it really was a very lazy day.

I’d seen that there was a marché des puces/vide grenier in Les Riceys, so we decided to go and have a look.

We had a lovely, very hot morning rooting through the stalls, and came away with some great finds.

The lamp needs a bit of work, so that will go up to the atelier as a project. The galvanised tub I want as a bin in the pool room, so after a wash down, that will go up to the pool. Also, we bought two very heavy iron grills, which we might make a gate out of, we just need to see how we can make it work. The yellow thermometer I want for my laundry room, and the little brown jug, I couldn’t resist, it was a euro. And then a couple of vases, always useful. Oh and a delightful little white porcelain statuette of three children playing. I had been looking for something delicate like this as a table centre piece.

It was then an afternoon at the pool, cooling off.