Speeding up

Last year there was a flurry of activity in Viviers, in fact in all the villages around, as the workmen descended to lay fibre optics.

It’s something of a mission of the French government to ensure everyone has access to high speed internet, but I really didn’t imagine a small village like ours would be so quickly included. Anyway, this month we finally decided to join in, and get a speedier connection. It all started with a man and a van.

The chap began by accessing the connection across the road. Then he quickly decided we would have the same set up for our wiring, which was overhead.

he was swiftly up his ladder and threading a cable across the top of the house. Next he needed to have access for the cable into the house. I made sure I was right there when he did it, as I don’t like surprises, but he was surprisingly careful and efficient.

After putting a plug on the end of the cable inside, all that was left was to connect to the main box across the road.

Voilà. All was done in super fast time. For all those that knows about these things, you may be interested to see what a little village in the French countryside can offer in internet speed terms.

Me, I just know it’s fast.

Halloween

We set the pumpkin up outside, positioned on a log. Lit it, and waited to see if we’d get anyone passing by.

We didn’t have to wait long before we could hear the chatter coming down the road. Some very excited children, already I think high on sugar, were gleefully rushing from house to house. They didn’t disappoint, about 20 kids came running across the road when they heard one of their mates call out to them ‘Bonbons’. My copper cauldron of chocolates and toffees soon disappeared. I think next year we may have to get more creative.

Pumpkins

I love Halloween, with all the brightly coloured pumpkins and squash. I enjoy making pumpkin soup, or roasting it with cumin to have with your roast chicken, or pouring a tahini dressing over it to eat as a main dish and let it just stand out on its own. But apart from eating it, I also love the art of pumpkin carving, although not something I excel in. This year, I bought a pumpkin for Brian to carve, so we can put it outside the gate on Halloween and wait for the kids to pass by with their ‘trick or treating’.

The pumpkin is looking great and I have the treats all ready. Whoo-ha-ha!

That time of the day

After visiting the market and having a wonderful lunch we went for a stroll around Sens.

It’s a beautiful city with picturesque views. From the long, tree lined avenues, to the wide, glistening river.

We wandered across the bridge and found the covered food market, in a square with the cathedral opposite. We will need to revisit here one day to take a look inside the cathedral, and hopefully visit the market.

It was the perfect spot for a late afternoon drink and a chat with friends.

And as we headed home the sun began to fall on the horizon. What a lovely day.

Marché du puces in Sens

On Sunday there was a flea market in Sens. It’s about a 90 minute drive, but it was such a beautiful day, and the drive is super easy, so we thought we’d make the most of it and travel down for the day with our friends, and of course there’s always something else I need.

We arrived around 11am. It wasn’t too busy, but there was a satisfying buzz about the place and the stall holders were in good humour.

We had some fun rooting through the various stalls, and enjoying a little chatter with the sellers. It didn’t take us long before we had made some purchases

It’s fascinating finding little, old gems that would have been once loved by someone, we give them a good clean, and sometimes they need a little bit of a mend, then we treasure them once again.

Our treasures from the day were two Johnny Cash records, a fun little man on the bongos – which will look great brightening up a shelf – a beautiful old round glass vase (which I’d been looking for ever since my friend gave me some flowers and lent me a similar one) and a small, framed oil painting dated 1849, which is delightful. It’s one of those paintings that wants you to peer in, and see all that’s in the view. Finally, a pretty little frame that needs some work. The photograph in it is actually very sweet, but I’ll put one of ours in it when I’m ready.

Fête des vins de Chablis

Chablis held its annual wine festival this weekend. We headed over there on Saturday as we love an opportunity to discover new wines and to try some familiar ones.

I’d booked us a table at ‘Wine not’, a modern restaurant and wine bar in the centre of town for lunch. It was very pleasant and very tasty. We enjoyed a bottle of Domaine du Chardonnay 2022 with our lunch, which was lovely and certainly got us in the mood.

The fête started at 12.30, so the tastings were in full swing by the time we made the short walk to the street where all the producers had set up there stalls.

There’s no pressure to buy at the fête itself, as they don’t actually sell from the stalls. Once you’ve decided which wines you like you can buy them by visiting their caves. Some of these are within Chablis town itself, whilst others are found in nearby villages.

We went to the cave of Christophe Camu, which is in Chablis itself, and then to Domaine de la Motte, which is in the small village of Beine. An excellent tasting venue and well worth the extra little drive to visit…

…especially as she’d laid on some nibbles for her customers.

Looking good

I was able to finish painting the cupboard today. The paint went on really well, and we were starting to see how the room was going to look. This gave us a burst of energy to get lots of little jobs finished.

Brian started by fixing the skirting. I’d already linseeded it all, so he just needed to glue it into place. It was a bit tricky behind the radiator but he soon has it sorted and set up a wood support to hold it into place .

We had a slightly difficult corner where three pieces of wood were coming together, but we both felt the angles Brian had worked out came together pretty well.

We were pleased at what we’d achieved by the end of the day. Still a way to go, but it was looking good.

Sealing the deal

It’s never a very exciting job, but I needed to get a coat of undercoat on the new wood. It would give a much better finish to the paintwork. We were due to have our french lesson this afternoon, so I wanted to get finished and tidied up in time for that.

After french we were heading out to look at some tools which a neighbour of one of our friends was selling. Brian had his eye on a drill that he knew was there.

It was such a glorious afternoon we couldn’t help but stop on the way to take some photos.

I know the vines have had a hard year this year, but they are still managing to look stunning in the late afternoon sunshine.

Artist’s day

Today is international artist’s day. It’s a day to celebrate the contribution made by artists across the world, and to honour their lives. It’s also the date when Pablo Picasso was born in 1881.

The word artist encompasses painters, photographers, sculptors, musicians, dancers, writers; in fact any discipline where the creative mind can express itself. Most artists will vary their mediums to achieve their creative vision. Picasso, for instance, was not only a painter but also a sculptor, ceramicist, poet, and a playwright. Not sure I actually knew that before writing this.

Art is a way of communicating ideas. It plays an important role in recording our history, and has a unique way of connecting with the subject matter that has an immediate impact on the viewer. It has always been a medium to capture, record and to challenge. I know I’ve learnt so much about history through the many visits to galleries and museums that we’ve enjoyed.

Earlier this year, a very dear friend of ours, Peter Møller, passed away. He was an extremely talented artist, with a unique way of connecting to world events, and recording them through his art.

We were honoured when his cherished wife, Robyn, made us the custodian of one of his works, on a topic that is very close to our hearts and minds. We had it framed in a manner that recalls the deep history of the subject, and we love how it’s come out.

If you are interested in seeing more of Peter’s work, you can click these links to visit the website or see more on instagram.

Coming and going

We woke to another morning of gorgeous blue skies, so I felt it was a good day to do a few jobs in the garden.

My friend had helped with trimming the lavender in the courtyard, when she was here in September, but I still needed to do the plants at the front of the house. Some of them are looking a bit old and tired now, so I’m planning to plant a couple of new ones in the spring. I do love their soft mauve colours against the white stone of the house, and to be greeted by the scent of lavender as you arrive is very calming.

In-between gardening I was kept busy by all the little conversations I had with our neighbours, as they were coming and going about their business. I was also joined by the cranes, chattering away overhead as they circled to get more height. It’s always a delight to see their arrival.

Panel pins

The moulding we’d bought to fit on the inside edge of each of the panels was slightly too big, so Brian needed to cut a small slice off of each strip. With the moulding being a thin, 3 metre piece of wood, he needed to find a way to ensure he could keep the cut straight, so first he set himself up a jig on his bench saw to control the piece of wood he would feed through it.

This worked perfectly. After cutting the moulding into smaller lengths, and chopping right angles into the ends, he then secured them to the wall with little panel pins, to fit nicely inside each of the panels.

The final thing to do, before I could get on and paint it, was to fill in any joins or gaps. We don’t want it looking too perfect, as the original panels across the rest of the house have imperfections. We had left a crack in one of the original side panels, as it gives it some character. I have to say I am really pleased with what he had created. I like how the new panels now align with the old ones.

Groovy

We did have a wooden panel fitted to the side of the cupboard. But it was slightly too big, it didn’t match the panels of the cupboard well and it was fitted badly. It just didn’t quite look right. So Brian had an idea to remove it and create his own panelling, something he’d been thinking about trying for a while.

He started by marking out the squares of the panels he wanted to create on the wall.

What he hadn’t planned for was a wall that was bent in every direction, in fact nothing seemed to be square. I’m really not sure why this was a surprise to him, when it comes to walls nothing in our house is very square.

Undaunted, he then started cutting the wood to frame the panel, to give it depth. When he went to fit it, he realised he needed to add some vertical cuts on the back of the boards to enable him to mould the panel around the curve of the wall. He also needed to cut away a couple of grooves where the light switch was going to be fitted.

It took him most of the day, as he needed to be very careful with each of the panels not to cut through too deep. His final job for the day was to ensure all the little tacks he’d used to fix them with were tapped in sufficiently with a home-made centre punch.

One by one

We were keen to get the planks back on the wall today, as they were taking up way too much space on the floor in the dining room. Brian carefully carried them back into the library, and one by one secured them to the wall.

I was enjoying the sunshine outside, listening to the last couple of chapters of my talking book, whilst painting the coving and some wooden trim to add to the base of the coving.

It really didn’t seem to take him that long to screw it all in place, although the clock said differently. the day seemed to fly by.

Short straw

Making the most of these balmy autumn days, we wanted to get our grass cut before the cold days of winter set in. We split our resources, I headed up to the slope with the battery powered black & decker, whilst Brian did the walled garden.

He managed to finish the walled garden and strimmed all the edges, but there’s still more to do on the slope.

Hopefully we can find the time and weather to do it together this week.

A blog…about my blog

I am always so humbled when I check in on my stats for my blog and see how many people read, and subscribe. It never ceases to surprise me that friends, family, guests (past and new) and people I have never met still find it interesting enough to click through and read each week.

My first entry was on the 4th July 2020, over four years ago, when we first moved to France, but I still enjoy writing it and have every intention to keep it going, certainly for the foreseeable future.

You may have noticed that I don’t always manage to get a blog out every day. Even though I have something to write about, some days it can be more difficult to find the inspiration for the words, so I have to let it sit in my head until it’s ready. I often start it with a photo and some words, then revisit it throughout the day, whenever I get a moment. If I can, I do like to try to produce one daily, as I find it provides me with a little focus point for my days, which I find very beneficial.

Something I have noticed, over the past four years I’ve been writing it nearly every day, is that my style can change from blog to blog. I think this very much reflects my mood, or what’s going on in our life at the time, or even what I’m writing about. In that way it often feels more like a diary to me when I read it back, it would be interesting to know if you notice the differences as a reader. It’s also important for me to vary the topics, sharing different highlights of our adventure, or some of the challenges which often bring their own laughs along the way. But mostly, of course, our love of living in France and the joy that brings.

I also get inspired by other writers online, and this week I discovered a blog by Kristi Espinasse, who has been writing for 22 years. Crikey! I thought four years was a long while, looks like I’ve still got a few to go yet.

Sunset and misty mornings

I thought I’d share some landscape photos that we’ve taken this week. This was taken at the lake, when we’d gone to visit some friends and enjoyed a lovely little walk just at sunset.

The following three are from Friday morning when we’d headed into the market, the mist was still hanging low over the vineyards and forest. With the blue sky desperately trying to find a way through.

This is looking across to Celles-sur-Ource, the vineyards are now starting to change to their beautiful autumn colours, just delightful.

Butting up

Today my plan was to paint the little cupboard in the corner of the library. We’d decided to have it the same colour as the walls, it will help make the room seem larger, and certainly help reflect the light that pours through the doors from the walled garden. The colour is Joa white by Farrow and Ball. I find F&B paints have great coverage, and can change colour with different reflected light, which helps change the mood of the room.

Brian was working on getting the planks prepared to be fixed back up on the wall. He wanted to try and butt them up together as best he could, without any gaps.

He achieved this by planing off small slices from the edges of the planks. He has a good eye to see what needs doing. They are very often just really subtle changes.

Day by the pool

It was another beautiful autumn day today, and we decided it was an ideal day to head up to the pool and try and finish off the chaux work along the edge of the paving stones.

The section we’d done previously had dried really well, without any problems. We’ve found that not allowing it to dry too quickly prevents it from cracking.

We do this by simply covering it in cardboard, keeping the sun off of it.

Between us we soon had the job done, one side of the pool finished, and our target for the end of this year hit.

What better way to spend a day by the pool.

Soda easy

I’d been given some old silver plated cutlery from a friend, and it was in need of a little cleaning. There are some gorgeous little teaspoons, along with some everyday teaspoons, which are always handy. The challenge with older cutlery is that it doesn’t like going into a dishwasher, so people are less inclined to use them nowadays. Also, over time they tend to stain, and become very discoloured, making them tricky to look after.

A really simple and easy way to remove any discolouration is to use some tin foil and bicarbonate of soda, with boiling water. I use a shallow metal tray, which I line with tin foil – shiney side up. Sprinkle on some bicarb, then place the cutlery in (not too much at once) and carefully pour over the boiling water. This speeds the process up. When the bicarb has done it’s thing I remove the cutlery using metal tongs.

It’s great watching the tarnished silverware becoming shiny and new again within minutes.

A simple wash in warm soapy water, and a dry with a soft tea towel, brings them up looking gorgeous.

Sun and sand

We woke this morning full of energy to start back in the library. The plan was to remove the oak planks that line the wall opposite the bookshelves. We were keen to sand them and get a coat of linseed oil on them, as we both felt this would tie more in with the feeling, and look, of the library shelves.

So Brian started by taking them all down whilst I sanded the cupboard.

We then got on with the sanding and oiling, we were really pleased that we managed to get this all done in a day, including sanding down the cupboard.