Coffee break

It was a bit overcast today, but we decided a little walk would be good, it would help stretch our legs out from the long walk we did on Sunday.

We just headed up to the point de vue, the one that overlooks Landreville. It’s such a pretty spot, and I’d taken a flask of coffee for our elevenses. What a perfect coffee break.

On the way back I stopped to take some pics of the little, yellow cowslips growing all along the bank.

Brian stopped to take photos of the vines. I don’t think you can ever have too many!

Precocious strawberries

This week I’ve discovered these deliciously sweet, deep red strawberries, grown in the south of France. They are the first of the season, and often called ‘variété précoce’, although their correct name is - ‘Gariguettes’.

I’m enjoying mine for breakfast with some muesli and yogurt. Such a delicious way to start the day. I do think though that a strawberry tart may be on the menu for next week.

Composteur

I had to share this with you all, as last week we had a note in our letter box inviting us to collect a free composter. They would be handing them out from the small village of Celles-sur-Ource on Thursday afternoon. All we needed to do was to take proof of our address, so I took a telephone bill.

They had set themselves up in the village community centre, and were offering either a small or large version. With our size garden to mow, we chose the larger of the two. It was flat packed so easily fitted in the back of the car.

Yesterday we put it together and positioned it at the back of the barn. I already had a couple of trugs of grass clippings I could get it started with. What a great giveaway, and it saves Brian having to build me one now. That’s another job ticked off the list and I’m now looking forward to filling it up and starting to make some compost ready for use next year.

An Easter walk

We woke to glorious sunshine on Easter Sunday. We were planning on going for a walk, so it couldn’t have been more perfect.

We started off in Landreville, a short 3 minute drive from us. We parked up just near the little chapel of Saint Béline and headed in the direction of Celles-sur-Ource, following the river.

The river was getting quite noisy, as we approached a ford. I’m not sure I’d be wanting to cross here in a car!

We then turned uphill, heading away from the river, through the forest.

The spring wildflowers were spectacular. Carpets of little, white woodland anemones, dotted with bright yellow cowslips, little blue violets, and a larger, mauve and yellow anemone. The May blossom was also out sunning itself, searching out the sunshine through the dappled light of the trees.

The forest paths stretched in front of us, and we enjoyed the tranquility and ease of following the route and listening to the birds.

There was plenty to see and observe along the route, which was well marked, and at times opened out onto clear vistas of the neighbouring villages. There was also plenty of wildlife to see.

As we headed down towards the village of Essoyes we discovered an old chapel, that was in an early stage of repair. They had put a new roof on to help protect it, and there was visible signs that they were starting to work on the stonework. It will be lovely to see this restored.

It was a fabulous walk and a most gorgeous day.

Market day

Friday morning and we nipped to the weekly market in Bar-sur-Seine. We’d already been to the butchers to pick up some lamb chops for Sundays dinner. So I just needed a few veg and a snack for a picnic.

On my regular veg stall they were selling bettes, which I believe is a white chard.

I wasn’t totally certain on how to use it, so Brian asked the lady how she would prepare it. She explained that I can use the centre white stalk, sautéed in butter, then served with a béchamel sauce over it and gratinéed under the grill. The green part of the leaf can be used like spinach, and is particularly good in an omelette.

Also, I couldn’t believe how many tulips and daffodils I bought for just 10 euros, I couldn’t resist them.

A simple lunch

Another beautiful blue sky, and Vincent from Robert-Grandpierre was out weeding between his vines.

I was just picking a few flowers to pop in a vase to display on our lunch table!

We had some friends coming, and I’d prepared us some salads with cold meats, warm new buttery potatoes and fresh baguette with cheese. For dessert I’d made an apricot tart with a frangipane topping. I served it with some whipped cold crème fraîche.

It was an absolutely delightful lunch, simple but fresh and delicious, nothing can beat sharing a relaxed meal with friends, full of fun and laughter.

Spring frost

We woke to a beautiful blue sky this morning. We had been checking the overnight temperatures, so we could monitor the temperatures in the cave. Every little bit of work Brian is doing in there is making a difference.

We wanted to pop out to pick up some bread and cold meats from the butchers, as we had some friends coming for a light lunch. The air was brisk, and very still, the sky was clear of clouds and a bright crisp blue. There was plenty of activity in the vineyards as the -3°C temperatures experienced overnight meant that the vignerons were up and about very early caring for their vines.

These spring frosts bring such a magical fairyland feel to the vineyards.

The water sprayers were still sweeping over the vineyards, cascading over an icy landscape. It’s like watching a ballet, with the dancers flitting from one side to the other.

If you would like to watch a short video we made of this beautiful ballet last year, please click here.

The views are simply spectacular.

Patch it

We discovered that the small gaps in the side wall of the cave were the result of a badly patched hole someone had used to put an electric socket into the cave area.

Rather than trying to patch it again, Brian decided it would be better to knock it out altogether, and do a better job.

By doing this simple fix the temperature last night in the cave dropped by just half a degree, to 7.5°c . Whilst outside it dropped to -3°c. The work isn’t finished yet, and the final aim is to get a near constant 10°c without any intervention.

Every little win brings him closer.

In the buff

We were back in the atelier working on the chairs, which were now painted. With Annie Sloan paint you need to use a wax to seal it and provide a protective coating. It effectively means it becomes washable.

It also takes some of the newness of the paint away, and provides a nice sheen when it’s buffed with a soft cloth. I do love the finish it gives on painted furniture. Although I think you need to be careful not to over use it.

Once buffed, we then cut out the materials used to cover the seat pads. I’d already cut the foam to fit, but there are another couple of layers that go over it.

Illuminating

I didn’t like Brian working in limited light in the cave so I bought him a ‘projector light’. It’s only a small LED plate, but it throws a surprising amount of light out in one direction.

The great thing is, you can direct it at a wall or ceiling to create ambient light within the space you need to illuminate, so even the shadowed areas are lit enough for him to see what he’s doing.

Full english

Sunday morning, and it felt like a cooked breakfast kind of a morning.

After brekkie we sat and chatted about our jobs list, and what we want to get done this week. We do have a few things planned that aren’t DIY, so we will probably focus on finishing some of the smaller jobs for now.

Yesterday I finished off the painting of the two chairs we are going to upholster.

It would be great to get these finished this week. I can then start on the last two.

Caveman

After having the wood delivered earlier in the week Brian was excited to start back in the cellar.

Over the winter we had monitored the temperature in the cave, and with temperatures as low as -10°c outside, the cave didn’t drop below 4°c, which was fine this winter, but ideally we’d like it around 10°c all year.

So the plan is to finish covering the roof of the tasting room, which is the first area as you enter, which had been created when we split the cave in two.

He will do the same to this ceiling as to the actual cave roof. He also needs to seal up a few gaps in the side wall, which he’d only just discovered, and fit a framed glass window into what is effectively a hole to the outside.

It’s now feeling like a space that will work how we need it to.

One of lifes certainties

Today we joined a webex hosted by French Entrée. The topic was french tax. A timely opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the french tax system. I always think it’s worth grabbing these opportunities as you never know what you may learn.

We are coming up to three years of living in France, so we are well and truly in the tax system.

Everyone who lives in France, whether you earn an income here or not, has to file a tax return online. And this is done as a household, not as individuals, so luckily we only have to do one. It can get a bit complex though as there is an agreement with the UK to prevent double taxation, so you do need to declare everything; any income you have in France or the UK. Even those that are not residents here, but own a property that they earn money from, would need to do a return.

When we moved to France we tried to keep our finances as simple as possible, and getting as much help as we can, but we still find it a challenge.

The submission deadline is approaching for us, as we are in region 10 which is one of the first areas to submit. They spread the submissions over a number of months so as not to be inundated in the tax office. I think that’s such a great idea.

Blossoming

We said cheerio to our chambre d’hôte guests early, as they had a tasting arranged at our village champagne producer, Robert-Grandpierre, at 8am.

It was a gorgeous morning and we were keen to get some jobs done in the garden.

The fruit trees had started to blossom, as spring was finally starting to show itself. We started by mowing and strimming the slope. The peonies are poking through so I was careful not to run over them. I’ve marked where they are with stakes until they are tall enough to see easily.

We also have a number of daffodils that my friend and I planted a few years ago, and look full of sunshine naturalising across the slope. I’d like to plant a lot more under the trees as part of my garden plan, this will probably need to wait until the autumn.

It had turned into a pretty warm day, around 20°c, and we ended up quite exhausted trying to finish all the little jobs, but it was very satisfying seeing the results of our hard work.

Gardening now seems to give us both a lot of pleasure, and it’s so much easier when we are working on it together.

Pork tonight

It was a chilly start today. We’d nipped out early as I wanted to collect some pork from the butchers which I’d ordered for our chambre d’hôte guests tonight.

I’m going to make a slow roasted pork dish with fennel, it is rather tasty and a great recipe to pop in the oven in the afternoon and leave to cook slowly.

You need a very sharp knife to score the skin, then you salt it well and sprinkle on some pepper and fennel seeds. I then sear the skin lightly and add some spices to the pan; bay leaves, star anise, cardamom, garlic and some fresh fennel. Without getting the skin wet, pour in about 400ml of white wine and 600 ml of chicken stock. It depends on the size of your pan. The liquid needs to come just up to the layer of fat, but not over the skin. Get the liquid to boiling on the stove. Then place in the oven at 180°c for 2½ hours. You will have beautiful tender pork to enjoy with crispy crackling.

Off we trot

We started the day with an early delivery of the wood that we had ordered a few days ago. It came, maybe predictably, as we were sitting down to a coffee, so Brian went out to meet the delivery driver to unload it into the garage, whilst I sat quietly with my coffee. I did my bit later on though, when we moved it from the garage to the cellar, where he will need it.

A good job done, but we still had our French homework to do, and it was a tad chilly outside, so we decided to go in and have another coffee to warm up, and sit and do our homework. A good couple of enjoyable hours whizzed by, but we both were feeling like we needed to stretch our legs, so off we trotted up the hilly vineyards and made a couple of friends along the way.

Vineyard walk

It was such a gorgeous afternoon, it made it very easy to stop doing things at the house and go for a little walk. I never get bored of walking round the village, there are so many different routes to take and different things to see - absolutely delightful.

This afternoon we walked up the slope opposite us, and along the edge of the vineyard. There’s a really pretty view down to our house

As we turned near the church, the sun was low in the sky, and there was a silver light shining through the vines.

One down

We started our day by going to order some wood for Brian to do a bit more work in the cellar. Now the weather is warming up, he wants to get the roof on the space where you access the cellar. This will help with the insulation. Before we have this delivered next week, I wanted him to help me finish the first armoire he’d reassembled in the spare room upstairs.

We just needed to cover the shelves he’d cut with some material. I was cutting up an old duvet cover Mum had once given me.

It just took a bit of stapling to ensure it all laid flat, but it made such a difference to the cupboard. I then pinned some lace Mum had crocheted for me one Christmas along the edge of the shelf.

I have to say I think it’s transformed it.

I can’t wait now to start sorting out my cupboards and clothes.

Jambon beurre

One of my favourite sandwiches since moving to France is a delicious buttery ‘jambon beurre’. It is so simple to make with a few key ingredients.

A fresh baguette is a must, spread it with cold butter fresh from the fridge. We enjoy the salt crystal variety, but unsalted can be just as good, whichever is your preference, but be certain to use cold butter as it needs to be difficult to spread to give it that buttery taste. Then add a suitable lashing of Dijon mustard over the butter, and some sliced ham of your choice. I like the braised ham I get from our local butcher. That’s it, a French classic.

Today, we enjoyed ours sitting up at the point du vue. I suggested we should take a little walk up there to stretch our legs and enjoy our lunch overlooking the vineyards and village.

It was simply idyllic watching the spotlights of sunshine picking out the lush green of the fields.

Fit in a trip

Recently we made a flying visit to the UK to visit Hilda (Brian’s mum) and fit her safety gate.

She was very proud of her new gate and told everyone who visited that her son had made it for her. He had made such a good job, making it fit properly and styling it like the existing banisters.

We also took a trip up to see my dad, who is also doing very well. We fitted in a wonderful day out, visiting some old family friends, catching up and sharing our memories of our little adventures when we were all much younger.