Friday, June 27, 2014

Putting down roots again

…in more ways than one. We spent a very enjoyable few days, first with DH’s mother and then with DS and his family 

Father and son and the dog that tried to drink the river dry

and finally boarded the ferry on Monday afternoon in brilliant sunshine. After a crossing as calm as the proverbial millpond and a slow and stately journey up hill and down dale (the van was very heavily laden this time) we finally arrived not long before midnight.

Brushing aside the cobwebs (the spiders really have been busy over the winter) we fell into bed and woke up next morning to another warm,  sunny day, perfect for starting to clean the house and empty the van. While DH hoovered up cobwebs, I started to unpack bags and boxes and try to remember where I’d stored their contents in previous summers.

This familiar routine was rudely interrupted when I switched on the bread machine to make some fresh bread, whereupon there was a loud crackle and sparks flew out from round the base, together with a strong smell of burning! I hadn't any choice but to turn all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and by following the instructions on the back of the flour packet I managed to produced a very authentic-looking and really tasty boule – a traditional round French loaf. I even got the crust crisp by doing the ‘tin with water on the floor of the oven’ trick. I can see making bread by hand becoming a regular occupation.


Back we went to work, only to be interrupted again, very pleasantly this time, by the arrival of an old friend with a welcome present of eggs fresh from their hens, which of course gave us a wonderful excuse to sit down for a coffee and a good long chat.

The days since then have fallen into our customary settling-in pattern of cleaning and sorting out the house and beginning to tackle the garden. The travelling pelargoniums are safely settled in their pots and my little flower border has survived the winter remarkably well. Once I’ve had time to tidy it thoroughly and the new plants I brought with me have bedded in, it should look rather pretty. The grass is another matter.

Back in their familiar blue pots

As I've mentioned before, our so-called lawn is the remains of an old orchard, which is grazed all winter by our neighbour’s young stock and frequented by some of the most active moles I’ve had the misfortune to encounter. The combination of mole-hills and cowpats makes mowing an interesting experience at the best of times, but add to the mix the results of one of the wettest winters on record and mowing the grass may turn into an endurance sport.

The very small campervan up to its hocks in grass

As the cattle milled around on the saturated grass trying to find shelter from the endless rain and wind, their hooves must have sunk into the ground over and over again, each time compressing a neat little hollow, surrounded by a crater rim, both of which have now hardened in the last few weeks of sunshine to the consistency of concrete. It makes walking across the long grass feel like traversing a cobbled street and trying to mow starts to resemble pushing a heavy weight across corrugated iron. It’s a good thing French mowers are built for rough ground!

I hardly dare say this after the winter we've had, but what it really needs is a good long soaking to soften the topsoil so that I can level off the humps and bumps. Unfortunately all we've had so far is a couple of light showers, though this may change over the weekend, if the forecast is to be believed.

Still, it’s good to be back and to realise that my French is getting better year by year, so that I can chat to the newsagent and read the local paper without feeling the need to reach for a dictionary. It’s good to have been invited to lunch by friends we met in our first summer here and to watch the cherries gradually ripening and even to catch a glimpse of one of the cats in the distance. It’s good to be back.


54 comments:

  1. How wonderful that you're back in your beloved summer place and feeling a sense of belonging right away! Love the picture of that loaf of bread. By hand is always best!

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    1. It's lovely to be here again, Kathy and we sink back into the familiar routine almost instantly nowadays. We're such creatures of habit that the familiarity is a joy. :) I will admit to being proud of the bread and only hope the next loaf will be as successful.

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  2. You make it sound so enticing (apart from the spiders that is), that I wonder you can bear to leave it each year.
    The picture of the loaf you made is excellent, I had just got back from choir practice when I read it and was really hungry.
    I hope you'll have a really lovely summer - relayed to us all in your blog please.
    X

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    1. Thanks, Ray. Blog posts about Normandy are assured. :-) When we first started coming for the summer, I always wanted to stay on. However I gradually realised I could never live in France full-time, so I'm content to leave in the autumn and go home to our beloved Wales.

      The success of the bread was a big surprise, but a very encouraging one. It really hadn't taken a lot of kneading, which is what puts me off making bread with strong British flour, so I'm very happy to try again.

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  3. You sound very happy to be in your summer place. How nice to have two beautiful spots in which to dwell. Good luck with the mole holes. You probably could have used the rain we had yesterday. Wishing you wonderful days.

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    1. Thanks, Bonnie. We're always happy to arrive and content to go home again. This is a very quiet, unspoiled corner of Normandy and suits us both. All I've done with the moles so far is locate their enormous hills. Once I've cleared those the holes will appear and have to be filled in. :-) It's trying to rain as I type, but only very lightly. We need a good downpour.

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  4. You have arrived!! And even the spiders put out their welcome web:) Already you have settled in to your other environment and feel at home ... with such wonderful pelargoniums making a pretty showing at the door how else could you feel ... newly baked bread, fresh eggs and a chat with neighbours ... bliss!

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    1. We have indeed, Shirley, and have just about recovered from the process of getting here. :-) Though they are still flowering well, the pelargoniums are getting very leggy, so I've taken some cuttings which should grow well this summer and gradually replace the originals. The friend who brought the eggs did us another good turn the next day by taking our empty cooker gas bottle and bringing us a replacement as he had to go into town anyway. Aren't people kind?

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  5. Your bread is gorgeous and inspiring. I may bake tomorrow.

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    1. Thanks so much. I did enjoy making it. Hope yours turns out beautifully.

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  6. Wonderful you have arrived in France, and celebrate by producing that excellent hand-made bread! You have a real talent for baking. That is a lovely pic of the boys by the river, and funny dog in for a swim. As for moles in the lawn, we have been invaded by bandicoots, apparently the Australian equivalent. Holes all over, and quite the mess. There is no known deterrent, apparently, nor natural predator. Protected by law as a native species. If you have a mole solution, I'd like to try it!

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    1. Thanks, Patricia. It's great to be back. I'm not sure about having a talent for baking - more like beginner's luck, I think. :-) Let's see if I can replicate my success next time. The dog wasn't actually in the river, but being a very small dog she disappeared down the bank to lap at the water. She apparently doesn't like tap water!

      I haven't even started to try to tackle the moles hills, but all I can really do is flatten them so that I can mow. Moles aren't protected, but they are difficult to deter. In the past people made a living as mole-catchers, but sadly those days are long gone.

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  7. Glad to hear that you had a calm ferry crossing and have settled into your French lifestyle in Normandy. I hope you have a lovely Summer over there.

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    1. Thanks, Linda. Thankfully we're both good sailors, but this time we didn't need to be. You know all about the settling-in period and how one gets used to it more and more quickly. We feel quite at home here already.

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  8. You somehow manage to make me feel as if I'm on holiday - lovely! Enjoy your French roots.

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    1. I'm always glad to share, Anny. We're so lucky to have found this quiet little place and I'm sure we'll enjoy the summer, whatever the weather.

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  9. It must be exciting seeing the cottage again after all those months away - wondering what you have to contend with on your arrival. Spiders notwithstanding it seems everything is okay and you are going to enjoy putting the place to rights - although I don't envy you tackling the grass problem - the geraniums in the pots bring a homely touch as does that wonderful loaf - don't you just love the smell of bread baking. I am looking forward to sharing your Normandy experiences.

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    1. It'as been 10 months since we left, having had to go home earlier than usual last year, Elaine, so the spiders had been having a fine old time. Luckily they are the kind that don't make me back away to the farthest corner of the room. I always enjoy sorting everything out, though some much-needed rain today means gardening is on hold. The mowing is my main form of vigorous exercise. :-) I'll be making the second loaf tomorrow, so will soon know whether the first was beginner's luck...

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  10. Welcome back to France....
    sorry about the weather...
    but it won't last, we've got seedlings in....
    it will try and scorch them to a frazzle...
    enjoy your Summer...
    sit back....
    bake bread...
    ignore the moles....
    mow walkways through the grass...
    [it is much better for the environment]...
    and relax....
    you deserve it!

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    1. It's great to be here again, Tim, and there's no need to apologise about the weather as everything really needs the rain and my back needs a rest. I can't kneel properly any longer and bending over to weed does take its toll after a while.

      I don't have much choice but to ignore the moles, but the mowing will get done. I leave about a third of our 1600m2 completely unmown and the bit under the apple trees just gets an occasional topping, but the area in front of the house is where we play our form of obstacle boules and I do need to mow for that. I also need the exercise. :-)

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  11. Hari om
    Ah, Tim beat me to it... why not have paddock rather than lawn? Have to say I shuddered a bit when you mentioned boxes; have begun tackling the very last of mine...after 4 months of trying to put down roots!!! Also, after a recent near disaster of making bread by automated means, I definitely should have taken the option you did - that boule looks scrumptious. May you have all the weather you want, when you want it! YAM xx

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    1. I'll give you the same answer I've just given Tim, Yam. A third gets left to go wild, the bit under the apples trees gets topped occasionally and the area in front of the house is our boules court, so has to be mown. In any case mowing is wonderful exercise and a very meditative process, except when one hits a hidden molehill. :-) The weather is behaving perfectly. Warm and dry when we arrived and some gentle rain today to water in my newly planted plants. Who could ask for more?

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  12. Glad to hear your border survived well. The winter was amazingly mild.
    We mowed paths through parts of our grass last year when a section grew overlong [due to bad weather and not being able to mow]. We liked the effect enough that this year we have left sections on purpose.

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    1. Yes, it was good to see that nothing had actually died and that everything had survived being slightly squashed when our anti-cattle protection sagged more than a bit. :-) They are all perking up nicely now.

      I remember the pictures you posted of your paths and unmown areas and they did indeed look lovely. However our patch is much smaller than yours and I really do want the part around the house to resemble something other than a battered hayfield. :-) We leave the back third (where the septic tank is) completely unmown for the butterflies, but I will persevere with the rest...

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  13. The bread and the pots look great. Welcome back to France...and I am so pleased you have spotted a cat ! Jx

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    1. Thanks, Janice. I will admit to being very chuffed about the bread, as my past efforts at making bread by hand have always been less than successful. We think the cat was George, but it was very wary and stayed well away from us. We'll see...

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  14. It sounds as if you are settling in, but I'm sorry to hear the moles have done so as well. I'm wondering if it would work to borrow sheep from a neighbour and let them chomp down the long grass?

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    1. Unfortunately the moles are regular visitors, Kristie, though some years they are a lot busier than others. This is one of those years. :-( I love the thought of sheep doing my mowing for me, but we'd need a gate and a decent fence or they'd be all over the road. :-) No, it's down to me and persistence, once the grass is dry again...

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  15. I really like the picture of your front doorstep best. It looks very *country french*...
    And the bread looks wonderful too! Would love to see pics of your kitchen... do you have an AGA? I know you will have a wonderful summer. Thanks again for sharing it with us.

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    1. You're welcome, Rian. Yes, the door does look very French, being a double door with a granite doorstep. We'd call it French windows in the UK. I'm thinking of doing a post about the renovation of the house, so you may well see a kitchen picture or two there. No we don't have an Aga anywhere as they are so hugely expensive nowadays. We have a very basic French cooker, with three gas burners and an electric one, which is very useful when the gas bottle runs out. :-)

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  16. I'm glad you're settling in for the summer. It sounds like you've had your work cut out for you but you're getting it done and then you'll be able to relax. Sorry about the bread machine, but what a beautiful boule you made, well done.

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    1. We always have a fair bit of work when we first arrive, Jennifer, as the house has been empty for nine months or more. However we take our time about getting it all done, as there's no point in wearing ourselves out. It's already looking much better. I'm glad you like the boule. I never liked that bread machine anyway. :-)

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  17. Hello Perpetua,

    It is good to know that you have arrived safely and that already you are settling in to a different rhythm. That is what is so good, we feel, about living abroad as one does operate quite differently in a foreign land and it feels so good to do so.

    And, already you set settled with dinner invitations and the familiar sights and sounds which are part of your daily French life. The bread looks highly professional and was, we are certain totally delicious, this really can become a part of the new routine. As for the grass.......always greener on the other side we find!!

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    1. Hello, Jane and Lance,

      Yes, you are absolutely right about what is so good about living in a different country for part of the time. The change in the rhythm and pattern of life is very satisfying and enjoyable and we find ourselves adapting almost instantly.

      The invitation arrived the day after we did, as these friends always invite us early in our stay. We can expect to be very well fed and have a lovely afternoon. As for the bread, it's time to make another attempt and given the forecast for tomorrow I need plenty of indoor activities. The grass can wait, during which time it will become even longer and greener!

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  18. Isn't it super when your langiuage improves enough to give you the pleasure of being able to chat to people!
    A friend's solution to moles was as follows:
    Moles - he asserted - pop up twice in twenty four hours at the two eleven o'clocks. He wasn't going to sit up - bedtime was about nine o'clock - so he would station himself by the molehills at eleven in the morning with his shotgun.
    He had an amazing success rate.....but I can't see you following his example!

    That loaf looks lovely! I'd lost the knack and given up until a recipe on Back to Bodrum's blog set me off again and now I can make a quite respectable loaf again, even with local soft flour...though I use the tin of water tip and also put a high tin over the loaf when it first goes into the oven to get it to rise well.
    Enjoy your summer!

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    1. It really is, Helen. My French was once pretty fluent, though never as good as my German, but the intervening 40 years made me very rusty indeed. It's been getting much better over the past 7 summers, but this year was the first time I launched into French without hesitation or trying to work out what I wanted to say first, which bodes well for the rest of the summer. :-)

      I love your friend's solution to the mole problem, but as you surmise, it's not one i would want to follow. Live and let live is my motto wherever possible, though I would much prefer it if the moles went to live elsewhere. However, given the number of earthworms which seem to thrive in our stony soil, I can't see that happening.

      I never really acquired the knack with strong British flour and gave up in favour of a bread machine decades ago. Surprisingly I found the soft flour much easier to knead and by following the French instructions, which included both the tin of water tip and also yours of covering with a tin or bowl I got that result first time. It won't be the last, i hope. :-)

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  19. Glad to know you arrived safely with the travelling pelargoniums! The bread looks wonderful - do you think it would work with ordinary plain flour rather than strong bread flour over here - if so I might be able to knead it, and if so please may I have the recipe (and the instructions about the tins and water)!
    We had a really good day at Dolgellau yesterday - I'll e-mail what I can remember from the notes I made (not enough, I fear!) when I have a free moment (it's marking time right now!)
    We had really bad mole problems last year, and BH put some proprietry stuff derived from castor oil, which affects the taste of the worms that the moles eat without harming either the worms or the moles) down the holes, which seemed to work. Some folk swear by inserting those 'windmills' that children have into the holes - apparently the vibration annoys the moles so much that they decamp! The solution that your friend applies sounds like the one a friend of ours uses to combat the rabbit attacks on her garden (although not so time-specific!) Hope you get just enough rain to be able to flatten the ground and make the mowing a lot easier, and then a glorious summer. Love to you both.

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    1. II don't think so, Helva. Even the softer French bread flour is hard in comparison with ordinary plain flour. The bread flours sold in French supermarkets have bread improvers added (mainly Vit C) which may also have contributed to the success I had. It wasn't a no-knead recipe, but it didn't take the 10 or 15 minutes I remember from past trials in the UK to to get a usable dough. I think you can buy French bread flour in the UK, but I don't know where. Sorry not to be more help.

      Thanks for the mole tips, but I doubt I'll be doing anything about them other than levelling their hills. We've certainly had enough rain to soften the ground now, as it rained hard all morning and we had a thunderstorm rumbling around for a couple hours. It's a bit brighter now, but the sky is still ominously grey over towards the south-west. Still, the crops certainly needed the rain as long as it knows when to stop.

      I'm glad you had a good day at Dolgellau and look forward to hearing about it. xx

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  20. So glad you are back in France at last, Perpetua. We have just returned from a lovely 10 days in east Normandy and the Loire/Cher valleys, soaking (and eating!) up the 'otherness' of France and enjoying the friendliness of the people we encountered on the way.

    Sorry to hear of the bread machine crisis, but I am impressed with your hand made effort. I think I can help with your French flour in the UK dilemma though. In the baking courses I am attending (now run in your very own local Community Shop - great fun and recommended) the French flour solution is 50:50 standard strong white and '00' or pasta flour (McDougall's - available at Morrison's and Tesco). The results are good and it is what the tutor (professional artisan baker) uses herself.

    Have fun with the cow pats and mole hills and be careful with the lawnmower! Have a wonderful summer.

    Spindrift51


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    1. Thanks, Spindrift - I might even venture to the Community Shop and investigate the next baking course (it might do some good for the arthritis in my hands!!), if it's the shop I'm thinking of in Perpetua's village! I'll certainly have a go at finding the 00 flour in Morrisons when we go shopping on Tuesday.
      Perpetua - please will you pass on the recipe you used - that boule looks great! And I suspect it might go rather well with the apricot jam, which I intend to have another go at later in the season - although we can't get the nice little jam ones you have over there, and need to cut ours up smaller than we did last year.

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    2. I'm so glad you had a lovely holiday, Spindrift. You must have had super weather, as it was gorgeous when we arrived, but has gone downhill rather this weekend. Still, the garden needs the rain, so I'm not complaining.

      I'm also glad you're enjoying the baking course. You must tell me more about it when I get back. I tend to bring back a stock of French bread flour when we come home, but it will be so useful to be able to create my own mixture thanks to your recipe. I'm pleased to say that the loaf in the picture wasn't simply beginner's luck. I had another go this afternoon and that has turned out well, so I don't think I'll bother replacing the machine.

      Once things have dried up a bit after today's heavy rain I'll be out in the garden again. It should be much easier now the earth is no longer quite so much like concrete. :-)

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    3. Helva, I'll type out the recipe and email it to you tomorrow. Don't cut the apricots up too small. The jam is meant to have big bits in it. :)

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  21. I really enjoy following your travels from home to home, country to country. Your words read like a pleasant afternoon, Perpetua, even with a broken bread machine and I love the traveling plants. They have a life of their own in your in journeys.

    Well, now, this is about the third time I've tried to respond, so delete others and keep the one that is most coherent. We have, at long last, gotten a lap top and some blog sites are adjusting to me. tee hee

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    1. Poor Penny. Thanks so much for persevering. I don't know what Blogger has done with your previous attempts but they are definitely not in my spam folder or anywhere else on my dashboard. Have fun with your new laptop. I wouldn't be without mine for anything now.

      It's good to have you along with me on my travels and I'm pleased you enjoyed my ramble in this post. We're feeling really settled again now and once the ground has dried up after today's heavy rain and thunder I'll be out tackling that grass again. :-)

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  22. Like so many of your previous commenters, Perpetua, it's good to know that you've settled back well into your French country home for the summer. The bread looks wonderful & makes me feel hungry just looking at your photograph. I suspect DH will have enjoyed eating it :-)

    I'm sorry about your recurrent problem with the moles. They do make mowing very difficult as I was told on many occasions by those who used to mow Finmere Churchyard where they were also a constant problem.

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    1. Thanks, Ricky. We've just about recovered from the journey and all the packing and unpacking and are now quietly enjoying being here again. The bread has been a wonderful serendipitous discovery as I had convinced myself I couldn't make bread by hand. We made good inroads on my second attempt with our soup this evening. :-)

      I think I'm just going to have to accept moles a s a fact of life like the weather and learn to live with their presence. At least they throw up lots of beautifully fine earth which comes in handy elsewhere in the garden. The downside is that I have to collect it all and then move it to where it's needed. :-)

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  23. I really enjoy making bread by hand, but working full time, the bread machine is the only way I can make a loaf in the morning to enjoy at lunch time. I'm sure you'll get into the swing of it in no time.

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    1. No, working full-time and making bread by hand don't go together, Sarah. That's why I've used a bread machine for many years and still have one back in the UK. But having found making bread by hand is easier than I remember I'm not going to replace this one and will have fun experimenting. :-)

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  24. Hi Perpetua
    I enjoyed your lyrical description of your French home coming. I hope that we can get over to see you in Normandy again in a future summer and perhaps I can then add to your small collection of my watercolours.

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    1. Hi PolkaDot. Glad you enjoyed the account of our settling-in process, which doesn't vary much from year to year, except for the fact it takes a bit longer each time. Anno Domini and all that. :-) It would bereally lovely to see you here again another year, though I can't promise kittens to paint, as the cats have been remarkably elusive so far this year...

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  25. So pleased that you are happily ensconced back in your Normandy cottage Perpetua - I bet that bread was delicious with some apricot conserve!!! We are loving ours (much too much).
    I had a chuckle at your lawn mowing activities, I expect things will improve as the summer moves on - how about a flock of geese, they are supposed to be good at keeping the grass cut, then you could sell them to your neighbours for their Christmas dinner.

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    1. It's lovely to be back, Rosemary, especially when the sun is shining as it is again today. We're already on our second loaf of the bread and it is equally successful, so I shan't bother replacing the bread machine.

      I've been tackling the mole-hills today and now the grass is drying up again after the recent rain, I shall get on with more mowing tomorrow. Unfortunately our plot has no gate, so we can only have livestock on it when the farmer puts an electric fence right round it in our absence. Having geese is a lovely thought, but it's down to me, I'm afraid. :-)

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  26. I must say that if it were possible to visit you, I'd be hinting away for an invitation. LOL! You have created the most beautiful mental images with your lovely descriptions of your second home. I even find the lawn, complete with molehills, very, very picturesque. I am delighted for you, Perpetua. To have such a place to renew and refresh each summer must be very special, and I can picture you reading, gardening and maybe practicing your clarinet? I'm looking forward to as many photos as you find you can share with us. :-)

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    1. And if it were possible you'd be warmly welcome, Debra. The lawn is a tangled mess at present, but I've been tackling the mole-hills today and will get on with the rest of the mowing over the next couple of days of forecast sunshine. Plenty of reading is being done, but I have to confess that clarinet practice has been rather neglected, though I'll be putting that right now my hand has healed completely.

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