We’re just a bit waterlogged here in Mazeroux since it’s been raining virtually non-stop since the end of March. We did have an exceptionally dry winter so from a gardening perspective, the rain is welcome. But it’s not so much if you’re Will or a cat. We saw Lucien and Mauricette last weekend for coffee and he told us that his well (meaning ours too) is up to 1 metre of water. It was 1.5m this time last year so still below normal but up from 0.1m back in Feb. I haven’t been able to mow the lawn now for well over a month so it’s shin-deep in some places.
On a happy note, today is actually the first of May and we have blue sky and sunshine for the moment. It’s getting warmer and sunnier over the coming few days before we can expect the return of the rain. Temps in April have been around 10C (50F) during the day and cooler at night. We’re completely out of wood so we’ve had the central heating ono the whole month and although it’s not as costly as during the winter, it’s still painful to watch the gas tank become slowly depleted. We’ve been advised to wait until August before ordering wood so we’ll hold off till then. We’re also considering buying a wood burning stove and if we do we’ll need the wood cut to size.
Today is a public holiday in France, in fact, one of four this month. I think I gell all four off of work but don’t know for sure yet. Today is Labour Day and it’s one of the biggest holidays of the year so just about everything is closed. It’s one of only three holidays on which my pool is closed too so that’s how I know it’s a big one. It was a bit odd going to work for one day and then having one off but I now appreciate public holidays again so I’m not complaining.
Work is going fine. We’re definitely finishing the horsepooling web site this week and we should go live this weekend if all goes according to plan. I’ve just got some last bits of functionality to clean up and then the client needs to sign off. I’m starting a new site also to do with carpooling but without much of the other functionality so it seems that’s going to be my next area of expertise.
It’s been very quiet this month on the work front for Will. He’s still waiting for the weather to turn and things to bloom before taking pictures for the three pending Sites for Homes projects. He’s also been doing some small projects for the fois gras shop and that site is about 99% complete now including the ability to pay with Paypal. He’s just received a request for proposal from a friend and past-client in the States so hopefully that comes to something. Apart from that, I hope we can find him some more local business since it’s still a relatively untapped market.
Along with Will, the pusses haven’t been too happy with the weather and go a bit mad when cooped up inside all day. They’re both out now frolicking in the sunshine for the moment which is good since we’ve had an explosion of mole hills in the past few weeks. We’ve got horses in both pastures which means the moles move out of those fields and into our garden. Although the cats can and do catch them, moles don’t move very quickly so aren’t nearly as much fun as birds and mice. Louis has taken to waking up Will and I around 6 by trying to climb up clothes and onto the closet shelf. We closed the doors so now he just tries to throw himself against them instead. The Smoo is not much better but his tactic is to sit on your chest and bite your nose.
We had a quiet weekend the weekend before last and apart from seeing Les Beaufils for coffee on Sunday, our only other activity was having Bryan and Carol over for drinks later that night. They too are feeling depressed about the weather and wondering why the left England for the same weather here.
Our only excitement was receiving our second visitor of the year, Iain Clarke our friend and former neighbour in London. He had been out twice before but not since Sept. of last year so this was his first time at our new place. Will collected him from Limoges after meeting the fois gras lady in Nontron that morning. We had Port 80 sandwiches and I worked during the afternoon while Iain and Will took it easy. I finished around 4:30 that afternoon and then we had an early cocktail hour after a brief local walk. Iain offered to take us to dinner so we tried the Hotel de France in St Pardoux only to find out that they always close on Friday night during the low season so it wasn’t just for Good Friday as we thought. Instead we went to the St. Jean in St Jean de Cole and had a very nice meal.
Iain is an excellent cook and has a certificate from the Cordon Bleu cooking school in London. So although he was impressed with some of the meal, not everything met his standards. The restaurant was fairly quiet and they charge the same price as weeknights so it must not be a big night to go out here. Will and I hadn’t been there since last summer and they’ve made some changes to some dishes, mostly for the better.
On Saturday we had planned to go the Spring Fair in Brantome but it was cancelled due to flooding. As long-term readers may recall, it was there two years ago that Will and I decided to stay in France and hoped to be there the following year. We did make it last year and planned to go this year both to mark the date but also to buy more of our favourite Cotes de Castillion that we discovered there. In addition, they were serving a Polish meal, outdoors in heated tents and we planned to go there with Clarice, Morgan’s sister and new friend.
Instead we went to Thiviers market in the morning although mostly to have a look around rather than buy anything. We had lunch here and then Iain and I went for a walk in the afternoon during a near break in the rain. We had an even earlier cocktail hour that day and started playing poker in the late afternoon. Will and I served appetizers and then made pasta which we ate around 10pm. We had purchased some patisserie from the boulangerie in Milhac so we had those for dessert as well as cookies (poker makes you hungry). I won’t say I won but I was ahead when we quit so I’m calling that a victory.
Iain’s flight wasn’t until 5pm so we had most of Sunday too. He and I went to the local store and got some food to cook that day. I played sous-chef to Iain and learned quite a bit in the process. He made pork loin stuffed with parma ham, parmesean and sage served with cauliflower cheese. The latter is made with a bechemel sauce where you infuse the milk with clove and bay leaf before using it and that adds a whole new depth to the dish. The pork loin is easy to make; just marinate, stuff, pan fry and then braise in stock till done. You then use the stock to make a sauce with cream and parsley that makes a nice accompaniment. In addition, he also made a Quiche Lorraine that was exquisite. Since we made it in a deep pie dish, it wasn’t set in time to have it for lunch so Will and I have been having it for dinner the last few nights. I took Iain to the airport around 3 and was back at his home before 8. It was nice to see him again and learn a few new tricks in the kitchen.
That’s the report from rural France. I’m off to enjoy my day off.