Full speed

We woke to a chill in the air. The sun was bright, but we could see the morning frost scattered on the slope, just a little dusting of white. “Fancy a short walk after breakfast?” I suggested.

I’d seen a path on a previous walk, which we hadn’t walked along before, and I was interested to see where it came out. I could see on the map that we should be able to walk down to the point de vue from it, so it could be a convenient addition to some of our local walks. After breakfast we headed out. The air had warmed slightly and by now the frost was all gone.

The path I’d spied took us straight across a field, reaching far out to the horizon. As we walked and chatted four deer ran at full speed ahead of us, from the safety of the woodland to our left, into the safety of the woodland to our right. We could feel the thud of each landing as they leapt across the field in their eagerness to reach a sheltered place.

A bit further along Brian spotted a fossil. It would have been part of a much larger organism—an ammonite—with a big curly shell, which would have lived here in the Jurassic or early Cretaceous periods.

It’s fascinating for us to find these, but we always wonder how difficult it must be for the farmers ploughing and harvesting these fields, as they are just covered in stones like these, as you can see behind Brian’s hand.

Bienvenue

We’ve had a flurry of new subscribers to my blog since Christmas, which is so wonderful to see, and I wanted to take the opportunity to say ‘Welcome’ to you all. It’s great to know that people are still interested in reading about our life in rural France—our French adventure.

It’s been almost five years now since we moved to Champagne and I started my blog, but it feels like yesterday. I still get excited when we experience something different and a little blog immediately starts forming in my head. I know I’ve said it before, but it’s such a pleasant way to reflect on our days, helping us see all the wonderful little things we could otherwise take for granted. I now wonder how I could live without putting my thoughts down somewhere. And I think Brian really enjoys capturing the images, his way of seeing things is far more visual.

Also, a big thank you to everyone who continues to support our blog. By reading it you help us to promote our little chambre d’hôte here in the Champagne countryside, and for that we are very grateful. Please feel free to share the link with family and friends if you think they may also enjoy reading about our little slice of life in France.

Merci et bonne journée.

La Chandeleur

La Chandeleur, or some may know it as Candlemas day, is the French pancake day, however France typically offers crêpes, which are a thinner, lighter version of a pancake. La Chandeleur marks the end to the Christmas season. It’s celebrated on 2nd February, which, for someone coming from the UK who has always taken the end of Christmas being the twelfth night or 5th January, seems a little bit late.

The Tradition of La Chandeleur has apparently been celebrated in France for centuries. The day is linked to the return of light after the dark winter months. I like this thought of welcoming back warm spring days in the garden, tidying up leaves, cutting back the hedges, pruning the roses and enjoying the colour of a spring garden.

The round shape and golden colour of the pancakes or crêpes are said to symbolize the sun and its light. What a perfect food for this celebration. Our favourite type of pancake is with bananas mixed in, I then enjoy them with lemon and sugar, whilst Brian takes a simpler route of just maple syrup, but lashings of it. I’m not sure the French would agree with bananas symbolising the return of the sun, but they’re very tasty.

Spring pots

I know I say this every year, but I do love spring. Maybe it’s because that’s when my birthday is. I just love seeing the little Green noses of the bulbs starting to poke their way above ground, waiting for the weather to warm just a little bit more.

The bulbs I’d potted into my jugs and tureens last week have been brought into the house now, and they are enjoying the warmth and starting to come into flower.

I find putting a little moss around the top of the planter helps keep the moisture in, but also adds to the natural look.

Handle with care

I hadn’t realised that Brian had been putting off attaching our new handles to the cupboard doors. I thought he was just waiting until he’d made the final cupboard door. But he told me yesterday that he’d been concerned about not getting them level.

After a bit of encouragement, he decided today was the day. First thing first, remove the old handles. We were missing one, which is why we had to buy replacements. We’d found some old style ‘arts and crafts’ ones on the internet, which would suit our styling really well. He got the trusty laser out to ensure they would be level across all four doors.

I was curious then, as he pulled an old cereal box out of the recycling. And proceeded to trace and cut out, what looked like a template. He used this to accurately position where he needed to drill the holes in the doors, and then carefully screw the handles on.

Voila, four beautiful looking new handles, that are laser level. Just perfect.

A painter’s light

Famous as the inspirational country residence of Renoir, Essoyes is a beautiful village just five minutes from our Chambre d’hôte. This bucolic little village had such an impact on his spirit that he decided it would be his final resting place. His grave stone, alongside his wife’s, is kept immaculately in the tranquil village cemetery.

We had to pop in to Essoyes for a couple of small jobs. The light when we arrived though was so magnificent that we decided to take a walk around the village.

It’s such a beautiful place, and with the Renoir museum, his studio and his recently renovated home to visit it’s a lovely day out.

All lit up

When we bought our house, back in 2015, one of the only rooms that had a light in it was the old library. We hadn’t paid much attention to it, and it was looking a bit unloved and very dusty. We had even thought about replacing it, but I realised I really quite liked it—it just needed a bit of care.

Brian took it down for me earlier this week, and I started to carefully clean it. I obviously can’t get it too wet, but careful washing of the crystals and metal arms soon had it glistening.

There were three candle-like casings covering the light bulb holders, which were looking a bit tired. We were going to replace them with new plastic ones, which we had bought a while back, but when we removed them we realised they were tubes of wood, with plaster mouldings. Obviously original, we instead gave them a coat of paint and slid them back into place.

Whilst I did this, Brian got on with fitting the ceiling rose.

The next step was to pop a new connector onto the wires, and Brian created a small metal hook to hang it safely from the ceiling through the centre of the ceiling rose. We also needed to add a ceiling cup of some kind to cover the wires, fortunately a trip to Brian’s ‘box of treasure’ revealed a suitable porcelain cup to use.

Brian also suggested that we need to look for some shades to fix to the bulbs, “hah, I already have some” I exclaimed, and dashed off to find them. They have a simple, cream silk covering, but are quite pretty. I’d bought them a while back, thinking our dining room shades would need replacing at some point and these would work perfectly. I can easily look out for others though.

With everything now in place the tricky task of fixing it to the ceiling began. Jobs that require your arms to be above your head are always a little difficult, and this one was particularly tricky, but we were soon admiring our sparkling newly renovated chandelier.

A thousand layers

A good friend had bought us a tube of crème de marron, from Boissier a celebrated shop in Paris, and it set Brian thinking. “I’d like to make a millefeuilles” he said. Well a millefeuilles is a rather dainty little pastry made with puff pastry and crème patisserie. We’d never made one before, but how hard could it be?

We started by baking the puff pastry between two metal baking trays, to stop it from rising. When done, Brian cut them into equal sized rectangles.

I made a crème patisserie with a secret ingredient (some really fresh, farm made advocaat from Bruges). We dolloped on the crème patisserie, in between the pastry layers. A few drizzles of the crème de marron, some whipped cream and they were ready to go.

I think we still have a bit of work to do on the presentation, as they may have looked a little rustic. However they were quite delicious. I do have a few ideas on how we could improve them.

Pizza

We love discovering a new restaurant in our area, and last weekend some friends introduced us to a nice little bar that also served pizzas. It has been recently renovated and is situated opposite the train station in Vendeuvre-Sur-Barse, so will hopefully get some good custom. It was a very pleasant, lively atmosphere when we were there.

They have a wood fired pizza oven, and offer two sizes of pizza, although we all went for the 31 cm, as we were all hungry. Brian had the calzone, which is a pizza wrapped over into a kind of pasty.

It was a very enjoyable evening, and we came away thoroughly full up.

Finishing line

The library really is in its final stages of finishing. Over the past few days Brian has finished putting the coving up, which has really pulled the room together. It’s amazing how coving finishes off a ceiling. We personalised ours by using plain coving as a base, then added an additional wooden moulding strip to give it more presence, and more in keeping with the house.

On the bookshelves he still has one final upright to go in, but I’ve been a bit slow in getting it linseeded. It’s done now, so that will happen very shortly.

He’s also just stuck two of the top decorative pieces into place on the uprights. Again, these really bring the bookcase and drawer unit together.

He’s also cut the wood to fit the gaps below the drawer unit. These have been linseeded now, and will be fitted once fully dry.

We had thought we should do the cupboard door before we start the main door into the room, but we are conscious we would like this door completed before March, and that really does not seem so far away now.

A lot of chocolate

There’s little wrong with a breakfast of croissant, confiture, yogurt, fruit juice and coffee, but I felt Brian might appreciate a little change, so I thought next time I’m at the supermarket I’d get him some cereal.

The next day, I found myself in the breakfast cereal isle, looking to see what they had, but ‘ooh-la-la!’, there were so many chocolate cereals. Now I know the French are partial to a hot chocolate in the morning, and a pain au chocolat, but goodness, this seemed a tad too far.

I persevered though, and a bit further along I found some familiar branded cornflakes. Brian is very happy with a little crispy change, and for me it’s banana and bran.

Old pots

January is whizzing past now, February is on its way, and I’m looking forward to getting back into the garden to do some pruning and tidying before spring pops up.

I did find some spring bulbs in our local Bricomarché the other day, which I will use to create some early colour, using some containers I’ve picked up on my travels.

I’m not sure if they will like growing in the variety of pots I’ve collected; old pottery jugs, tureens, moulds, and bowls, we shall have to see, but I am loving the look.

We were due a little rain, so I left them outside, to have a natural watering before I bring them in to decorate the house. I just need to be careful they do not have too much water, as there is no drainage.

Enjambeur

One of our neighbours had a new enjambeur delivered today, and it caused quite a commotion in the village. An enjambeur is one of the vineyard tractors that straddles the vines. These tractors are so versatile, and get used all year round. Word of a new one in the village had obviously got around, and people were stopping to admire the new piece of kit.

It caused a really flurry of activity and excitement. I love seeing their passion for their work, it is so wonderful to see.

Oops!

I guess Brian’s had a pretty lucky run really, with all the wood for the shelves behaving much as he would have expected. However, on the very last piece the wood split…quite badly. Strangely it happened whilst he was sanding it, ready to be linseed oiled.

It’s quite a long piece of wood, and to create another piece like it he would have to cut another plank, which he’s not keen to do. So he’s trying to fix it.

The first step is to cut the damaged area away, then he can fill it with another piece of wood.

Just need to leave it overnight now and see how it looks tomorrow.

Healthy start

We thought we’d be a little bit healthier kick-starting our day today. Brian went for a couple of boiled eggs, and I opted for a bacon sandwich. I know, not really healthy for me, but the butcher had some very tasty looking smoked bacon, which I couldn’t resist.

I’ve been oiling all the new wood pieces that Brian had prepared, and they finally felt dry enough for him to start putting up. First the end board on the header.

Then it was time to stick the facias on the uprights. There are three uprights in all, that are formed by the four separate bookshelves when they were joined. The bits of wood already prepared will finish off the front of two of the joined uprights.

The challenge though is that we only have two poles to support them whilst drying, and he needs to use both per upright, so with three to do in total it’s going to take a few days.

Recycle, reuse, repurpose

We’ve visited a few recycling and charity shops recently. Always a good little opportunity to find a piece of treasure that someone has discarded. Sometimes you can find wonderful little gems that others have missed, but if not, there are always things that catch your eye.

I didn’t get too much this week, but I do love the large oval plate I found in recyclorient. I will use the little hand painted glass carafe and jug as vases during the summer months. The reel of white silk ribbon was a real bargain, just €1.50! I know I will use it for something soon. I also couldn’t resist the glass stoppers, to add to my collection, even though I think I may now have collected enough of them, and I’m not sure any more will fit in my display.

In all though, a good little haul.

Curled or straight?

Ever wondered why some croissants are curled, and others are straight?

It’s a simple difference, but one that can help you quickly identify which are made with butter, and which are made with margarine.

The croissant beurre – some would say this is the more decadent of the two. They are soft to tear, and light to eat, with a rich, melted butter taste, and maybe a little sweet.

The croissant ordinaire – this is anything but ordinary. They can be slightly darker in colour, are often crisper and more airy, slightly chewy, and sometimes have an almost nutty aftertaste.

There is no official legal control over the shape, but there is an implicit agreement amongst pastry chefs to obey the rule, so that you know what you’re getting. But which is which?

The straight one is the croissant beurre, whilst the curled one is the ordinaire.

Which one is your favourite?

Fireside

It was a cool quiet stroll up to the point du vue this afternoon. We’d had a glimmer of blue sky in the morning, and the warmth from the sun had created a low mist laying along the valley. The seat was way too cold to sit down on, so a quiet moment of contemplation standing, and soaking up the misty view, before we headed home for a nice cup of hot tea.

Brian had been measuring, cutting and sanding wood for a large part of today, so the walk was a good little break for us both.

We decided an early finish would be good, so I got dinner in the oven, and Brian set the fire and made the tea. After a wash and change, we settled down to our evening in front of the fire.

Back to the books

At the top of the main bookshelves Brian needs to fit a header board, that effectively pulls the top of the shelves together and tidies up the front, top edge. He first screws the side panels together, to ensure everything’s in perfect position, before fixing the header to them.

We’d prepped the header board over the last few days, having cut it to length, drilled holes for the fixing screws, and oiled it with linseed. All that was needed now was for one of us to hold it up there whilst it’s screwed in place. “Are you feeling strong?” he asks me. It’s not my favourite kind of job, but then I’m not sure I want to be responsible for screwing it in wrong either.

Once he’d secured it at either end, which didn’t take long (except for stepping back to take a photo!) I could let go, and leave him to finish it off.

Now that piece is finally in place he has a mark to measure all the other front pieces to. We’re getting close now!

Strapped

Brian nipped up the slope, at the back of our house, to check on the pool cover and measure the width of the straps it has to hold it in place. One of them has broken so we need to try and fix two ends of strapping back together, which is proving to be a challenge. But we do have a few ideas to try, I’ll keep you posted on how they go, for now though I thought I’d show some photos he took from the pool.