It’s already been a week since my last entry and I’ve not got much to report. Will has done many more posts than I have so he insisted I do another one to even this out.
The title describes the weather this week – mostly grey and cloudy with rain and patches of sun, temps in the low teens (50’s) during the day. As such, we didn’t spend nearly as much time outside as the previous week although there’s not that much to do at this point. I’m chagrined the the front lawn already needs mowing again due to the recent rain. After today, the weather is meant to improve – back to sunny skies with temps in the high teens (60’s) so I’ll be taking care of that in the coming days along with mixing horse manure into the veggie plot.
I did do one thing outside this week which was to burn the pile of dead cuttings and leaves in the back corner of the garden. Lucien advised us to wait for rain so once it did, I put a little petrol on a stick and lit the dried stuff underneath. It took off much faster than I expected so I went running back to the house and asked Will to fill some buckets of water. I also grabbed a shovel and used it to dump dirt leaves onto the fire which calmed it down some. Will used some water to prevent the fire from spreading the wrong way but after that, I kept it under control. I was out tending it for most of the day but it finally burned down and that huge pesky pile is no more.
The other bright spots this week besides the weather were the social events and we had quite a few, relatively speaking. Last Saturday, we went over to Sharon’s for a roast dinner and to see Christophe and Chrissline and their new baby, Camille. We went via a couple of funiture shops; one was a dud but we got two small wooden tables from the other. The idea was to visit the new family in the afternoon and then eat around 6pm but they were out when we first went around so didn’t end up seeing them until 6. They served some canapes and champagne and we didn’t leave for at least an hour. Camille was one week old that day and is doing well, as are mom and dad despite being sleep-deprived. They should close on their new place end-April/early-May and they’re looking forward to being on their own. Things are not going well between them and Rebecca, who has fallen out with Jean Mi as well. We stopped by to say hello but she was asleep, despite it being late afternoon. She asked to call first next time.
After the visit with C&C and le bebe, we went back to Sharon’s for a delicious meal of roast chicken served with roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese and all the trimmings, followed by cheese. I made brownies for dessert and she was going to serve them with fresh strawberries and a melange of clotted cream and strawberry yogurt but we were all too full so Sharon packed us off with the ingredients to have for later. It was a really nice evening and we were home before 10 to spend some time with the boys.
The next night, Nat and Jill came over for dinner. We made Greek chicken and lamb kebabs with Dehlia’s perfect rice and Greek salad, our classic for first time guests. Strictly speaking, this wasn’t the first meal we served them. The first was back in Jan but it was impromptu and I just threw together some pasta. Normally, we cook the kebabs on the bbq but a) we don’t own one and b) it would have been too cold at night so we did them under the grill (broiler). They actually came out better this way, more moist and less charred. It still burns that I don’t own a bbq and I’m getting the itch very badly to buy one soon. I really want a Weber but they’re expensive so I need to find a justification to splurge. For dessert, we served brownies with Sharon’s accompaniments from the previous night and they were a huge hit. This was after the cheese course of course where we introduced them to Port Salut de la micro-onde (you nuke it for 10 secs and it goes all gooey). They were most impressed with the meal which was really nice to hear.
Our other social activity was Wed evening when we had Richard (of Ridgit fame) and his son Alex along with Sharon over for dinner. Nat and Jill led the way for Richard and Alex so they came in for an aperitif. We served our special wild mushroom lasagne, one of our premier veggie dishes. It takes ages to prepare but the result is usually worth it. We served it along with salad and then followed with cheese which hardly anyone touched. Sharon brought bread and patisserie from Mareuil although not from the magic lady but the one next door. I have to say, the bread was very good and the patissierie, even better, perhaps even better than the magic lady herself. Richard and Alex were here for the week, mainly just to chill and look after the house which has been sitting empty. Richard really misses it here but Bridgit is set on staying in Nottingham so they’re now looking to buy a house there. It was nice catching up with them again, even for only a night.
Will has been busy with Sites For Homes, making an online order form and some new templates. He also applied for auto-entrepeneur status which will make it legit for him to start charging people. As soon as that’s done and we’ve got some legal advice, we’ll start pushing the site on forums and probably buy some ads as well. Also this week, we found a competitor site to ours, run by a Dutch guy for the past few years. The difference is, he charges 2.5% if he sells your place in addition to €400 – 500 up front. Also, he only has one type of web site and it’s ugly, as is his site. Our sites will be more DIY but much cheaper and prettier so we’re not too concerned about the competition.
Also this week, we met with Karen, an ex-pat estate agent who introduced herself after seeing our announcement on DVN (web group for English locals). We’d actually met her last year at Belinda’s summer solstice do so it was good to reconnect. She came over to our place and we talked about how we could team-up. She offered to take photos and do write-ups since sellers don’t always do this themselves. She could also deal with viewings, valuations and other things we’re not really allowed to do. We’re making some changes to the site even now so we stay tuned for further updates.
I’ll wrap things up with a note about our surroundings. The front garden is very much in bloom including the rose vines, shrubs and flowers. The herb garden seems to have survived the transplant so we’ll be planting a few new ones alongside soon. It stays light now until 7:30 and we we don’t change to Summer time until next weekend. Bon soiree.