Off to the Minervois

Whilst the timing is not ideal, it is also very good. I am off South on the French railway to a wedding which I have been involved with helping organise with various things throughout the year. Cannot wait to see it all come together and the lovely couple have a wonderful day. So excited for them!
A wedding fit for a Princess indeed it will be!

I plan to get some much needed fun and relaxation with friends, staying in the village of Mailhac where we used to live before dashing back here to move into the Hameau finally within 2 days. We have a deadline that cannot be shifted!
Who says that having no bathroom, stairs, bedroom blah blah blah is necessary to make a comfy home problem?!!

Will have no net access very soon so posts will be scant for a while!

Bon weekend, wish me luck ! I will be wishing the bride and groom luck. Ah, a good wedding is so good for the soul!

Cidre – a plenty in the North

I am occasionally trying the Breton cider which accompanies crepes and is traditionally served in ceramic bowls/cups. There are many local ciders here and they tend to have a smooth creamy taste in my limited tasting experience. Anyway it depends which one you try of course. I have been doing a bit of research on the production. Here is some info………………..

Until the mid-20th century, cider was the second most-consumed drink in France (after wine) but there was an increase in the popularity of beer and this then displaced cider's market share outside traditional cider-producing regions.

We have a cider press in one of our buildings. I think it was built inside as cannot see how they got it in through the tiny front door. This is a shame as would love to have it as a feature in the garden. ( will not be producing own cider yet) Not high on the list of things to do however.

Breton cider making employs the technique of keeving (from the French cuvée). In keeving, calcium chloride and a special enzyme are added to the pressed apple juice, causing protein in the juice to precipitate to the top for removal. This reduces the amount of protein available to the yeast, starving it and therefore causing the cider to finish fermenting while sugar is still available. The result is a sweeter drink at a lower alcohol level but still retaining the full flavour of the apples, without dilution.
I never knew that! Interesting , better informed yet?

Doux is a sweet cider, usually up to 3% in strength. 'Demi-Sec' is 3–5% and Cidre Brut is a strong dry cider of 5% alcohol and above. Most French ciders are sparkling

Here endeth the reading lesson on cidre for the moment. Get out there and try the tastebud test!. Breton and Normandy cider wins hands down over a Strongbow but the West Country, well I am not sure what they would have to say about French cider over their wonderful Scrumpy. There is room for more than one good cider in the world of course!

Lack of comms

Dear FOLKS
So sorry no blog update. Work on the project has taken priority and by the time we drag our bones back it is very late at night. We did have 3 hrs off 2 weekends ago and collapsed at Lamor Plage.
We do now have underfloor heating laid and a concrete floor on top, and found a roofer to come and finish that. Wow, feel like progress is being made. Cannot wait to get in there!
We then have moved temporary accommodation and had no internet access or phone!
I am off to Guernsey next week so will be busy there but will see what I can do with the blog!! So there we are a quick update indeed and I will back with chat very soon!!
A bientôt xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Don't forget to look up..

Sometimes we tend to forget to look upwards instead of straight ahead all the time. I raise my gaze alot more since I have lived in France to see what architecture I can feast my eyes on. I just spotted this modern creation out of the corner of my eye in Nantes.

Loved the fact someone thought of doing it. Am surre it is not the only one in FranceQuirky hey?

What a difference 3 days makes - an update...

Well, what a difference 3 intense days can make with my newly renamed...

GARDENING GODDESS.

Wow, she is amazing and I have learned so much.

Long days, one was 10 hrs, one forgets the time when on a mission and it does not get dark ‘til late. Lots of tea, lots of work and stiff to our bones each night hobbling out of the van and into a bath was the daily routine!!

She built some fab steps out of tree trunks, ( see pic, does not do the work justice really - trust me they are genius) never expected this wonderful creation would be formed. A shrubbery area was organised and planted, rockery formed, I was taught how to plant properly, a mountain ash tree was relocated, and loads more besides. My confidence is now increased and I feel more able to manage the space and my inspiration has returned.

She even brought across sunflowers and sweetpeas in her hand luggage and this luggage was all that she had and it was the smallest bag I have ever seen anyone travel with. How thoughtful. If only she was here all the time but she has her own garden to attend to back in the UK but she

will be back.

Next time I will sit her down with a cocktail overlooking the river as she so deserves some R and R time rather than working like a Trojan but she said, "Well you know me, I won’t be able to resist getting my fork out and digging,",,, oh well, I may just have to give in to that!! .

Thank you my friend you are a total Star! I owe you big time!

'Gardening Angel'

I have been very lucky with advice and plant donations by some people I know here who are far more experienced in the Titchmarsh/Dimmock/ Percy Thrower world of Brittany flora and fauna. I have been taking the gardening books to bed though!
Monday looms and I am not wishing the days away but my Guardian Angel of which I believe there now must be one just for this moment, is sending me my own ‘ Gardening Angel’ straight from the skies, arriving at Rennes airport . A dear friend and a demon in her terrain who loves a project ( let’s face it she has got one with our place!) is coming to boost my limited gardening knowledge with hands on help. I will be so relieved to have her angel wings fluttering round the landscape. ( think it will more like a dog with a bone, won't let go until it is finished! I really cannot quite believe she will soon be here!

ANGEL THERAPY

*****************
"Angel therapies are a type of New Age Therapy based on the overwhelming knowledge that communicating with angels is a major key to healing"

Well this Angel from the heavens of Guildford will be assisting me on my way to healing my frustrations and helping me make the ‘broken house’ (as a friends daughter calls it), start to get re-established outside regardless of what is going on inside. Watch this space for before and after shots, maybe just pre and post blistered hands but am sure I can post a pic of my freshly planted cider barrels if nothing else!!!!!!1

Moulin de Sebrevet - local flour mill

We are so lucky to have a working flour mill 300 metres from our new place. It is run by the grandaughter of the lady who used to live in our house.
In fact hubby has headed south with 2 x 25 kilo bags of a mix of types of flour for some people we know that run a creperie in Beziers.
There is a wonderful choice of flour and it is well known in the area and stocked at the local supermarkets.
I took a bag to a friend who in turn gave it to La Table Bretonne owner who in turned used it at his restaurant and his diners were most impressed hence the delivery in larger quantities!

I am ashamed to say that I have yet to make a single thing from this local supplier. Totally unforgiveable but I have been busy working on making a kitchen so I can cook with the flour eventually! There is an old bread oven in the little house, (chaumiere) nicknamed the pizza oven. I close my eyes and can imagine that wonderful dough cooking and filling the walls with that always comforting aroma!

Here is some flour and bread info........

According to a joke, French law bans walking more than seven paces from a boulangerie without pinching and tasting a just-bought baguette. The joke states that the penalty for this offense is unknown, because it is a law no one has ever been able to break.

During the 19th century Brittany was producing 50 percent of the buckwheat flour but at the end of 19th Century potatoes and new types of cereals were grown instead. In the 80’s and 90’s Brittany had to import flour from Russia or China

French bread is required by law to avoid preservatives, ( get this wrong in translation and oops – preservatives means condoms in French!) and as a result bread goes stale in under 24 hours, thus baking baguettes is a daily routine.

French food 'police' also define that bread as a product should only contain only the following four ingredients: water, flour, yeast, and common salt. The addition of any other ingredient to the basic recipe requires the baker to use a different name for the final product. As a result, the traditional baguette is made from a very lean dough, made from bread flour, with an average protein content of 11.5 percent. I not so sure about that. I bought a baguette from the supermarket the other day and there were 7 ingredients in it. Perhaps those from a supermarket come under different regulations??

Buckwheat, originally brought to France from Asia during the Crusades, began to be cultivated in Brittany in the late XVth century. This type of grain came to be an essential crop The original galettes, made with buckwheat flour, were peasant food, the bread of the people. At this time, regular wheat flour, which did not grow well in Brittany’s soils, was expensive and hard to come by, thus reserved for the nobility! No change there then!

Flour comes in grades. The grades are based on the amount of flour which has been extracted from the grain of wheat. This ranges from 70% of the grain for white flour, type 45, up to 95% for wholegrain flour - type 150. The browner the flour, the more husk is in it, and more husk means more herbicides, insecticides etc are found in the flour, unless you choose organic. Type 45 flour is for pastries, 55 is used for white bread, and types 65, 80, 110 and 150 are for various kinds of brown bread. The higher the type, the browner the bread.

Enough facts for today but I will leave with you this...... the baguette is said to be originally from Austria,, tell that to the French - not!

Spring flora

It is so wonderful to watch the seasons come and go. The blooming of flowers always seems to inspire.

There are bluebells everywhere and this carpet of the delicate flowers greets me each time I enter the drive to my temporary accommodation and sends me on my way with a smile when on my way out.

How to repoint a stone wall- see instructions!

Voila! Yours truly – re-pointing one of the ground floor walls that will have the stairs going up beside it. It is the end wall of the big room where the dining area will be. It is important it gets done before other walls in the property are made pretty so the stairs can go in after the concrete floor is poured and, therefore, we have a very remote chance of moving into the place however basic and believe you me it will be basic!! Many love to put up plaster board walls for a number of reasons. It is a quicker end result, it is convenient for hiding pipe and cables behind, provides insulation. Personally I feel it is sacrilege to cover up these walls made years ago but they do take time and interior walls are better to do than exterior due to heating issues.

It is a slow process, especially for a perfectionist like me (a job worth doing and all that) but worth it in the end. I have never done it before but am enjoying seeing the fruits of my labour and learning something new. I have chosen a particular colour mix to compliment the original wall and am happy with my hunch on that score.

The list of jobs goes on and I hope to keep up my ‘terrier’ type drive to quote my husband whos’ stamina never ceases to amaze me. He is enviably fit ( fitter than me and he is 12 yrs older) and he is the crème de la crème of terriers himself! Woof !

How to repoint a wall the facts!..................
1 part enthusiasm, 2 parts listen to the boss, 3 parts ( very important this one) ensure plenty of tea and coffee is forthcoming, take time to stand back and look at your progress and pat yourself on the back.

Easy! You have a perfect mix for a renovated stone wall!!

Nantes

Wow look at this ceiling! It is hard to capture the wonderful cute/chic/ stylishness of this shopping arcade in Nantes. Truly delightful and the mouthwatering delights of chocolatiers, shoes and sundries are too much for a girl to take!

I had an appointment later in the day so decided to go early and have a look at what this place had to offer. All of Nantes centre was just fab and anyone interested even only everso slightly in French clothing and shoes, oh the shoes,,,,I would defy them not to be drawn in by the wonderful items on offer


There were fabulous restaurants and cafes to choose from and around one of the main squares with a fabulous fountain and statues is a great setting to have lunch, or just a coffee and people watch. You will be seeing more pics of this great place.




I diverted my gaze and did not go into one shop!! I do intend to go back again sometime very soon with my funds are a bit more inflated!