Indeed, we left NZ 6 months ago (seems alot further away than that) to discover a new challenge. I having the fantasy of taking a year out to settle in !!!!! here I sit, Friday evening feeling somewhat battered, toothache (August is the month of holidays for most!), sore wrist awaiting treatment (ditto) and tweaking back! Thankfully a soothing Bath ale beside me care of Rom, many thanks...
As you can see we are slowly knocking the place into shape with the focus being sealed and warm for the winter. Another legacy of Rom is the complete rethink of the layout downstairs, great to think we can design our own space and in the process delete some current things that just do not work... Tomorrow we are off to look at a Rayburn stove that is on offer for 150 euros, we have been warned it is "a horrible chocolate brown" yet works well. This will allow us to run radiators off it and of course cook if we want. Rayburns are very much become the heart of a house so we are sure we can cope with the colour!?
Still picking plenty of Rasberries, Heleen is busy on the blackberries and so the jams are coming thick and fast...coffee is beginning to sell on the markets although people seemingly buy it ground...I reckon much education is needed for them to see how good their coffee can be. The average cup of coffee served in the cafes is, at best, poor, surprising considering the reputation France carries, maybe in the bigger cities but not here...
Days are shorter now and so it is time to stack the wood and harvest the fruits of the land. Alot of grain grown around here, not in the huge expanses we see in the US etc. but I do have a sense the farmers here are wanting to expand as lines of trees disappear along their hedgerows. That it would appear symbolises the conflict here, on the one hand farmers are keen to maximise their output by cranking the land and we (and others) want the regrowth of a balanced, sustainable harvest...
Talking of which I am getting closer to bringing in the bees so this time next year I will have honey on the market, I have a sense this will be both a challenging and satisfying experience...
I must go and lock my chickens up before mr fox takes his chance (and find the panadol)...
R
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the aches and pains don't sound so good but otherwise it does look to all be chugging along. Six months! i do feel like i've been in 'your' room at albany forever Rod and do enjoy it. It's really warming up here but has been bloody wet.
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T.