Things to do!

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted here. I think we thought somehow that coming to live here was going to be a bit like early retirement, where we would still be busy but would have more time! Well that couldn't be further from the truth as we have a list of projects that gets longer each day and each time we cross off one job we add on two more!  The positive things are that we are working in a nice environment, we are pretty much working for ourselves and we don't do the same things everyday.

So here is some of what we have been doing:-

We have been making hay while the sun shines.. although it turned out that was only for a weekend and came at the time when we had a million and one other things to do. So, our one day off for weeks was spent cutting, baling and lugging hay. We called in a few favours in order to get it done and by the end of Sunday had a field full of large bales and a big pile of small ones. The wet summer has meant we have about 5 times as much as last year.

The wet warm whether has caused the garden to grow and I have been inundated with courgettes again! We have been eating courgette soup (quite nice), courgette lasagna, courgette muffins, stir fried courgettes, courgette scones.... (next year must remember that two courgette plants is ample!)

I guess people who have been reading the blog for some time expect that after 18 months our building project should be complete, we should already have our llamas and be open for business.  We are now more accepting of the fact that it will take longer than we anticipated to get that far!  Day to day life seems to take more time than we expected! Still we are progressing slowly. A big step this week is that for the first time since Ian and I met, all our possessions are in the same piece of land! For 18 months most of the boxes that we brought from England have been stored at a neighbours house. This week Ian managed to finish boarding an area in the garage that we can use as storage and we moved our boxes in there. They didn't look so bad when they were all piled up in one space.

We have also been trying to make headway with the electrics so that we can get our permanent supply connected before our temporary supply is cut off (as is being threatened!) We have a 4 page list of jobs and are gradually ticking off the red (high priory ones ). Some days we get it down to three pages but then remember other things that need to be added!

So, with all these things to do, I suppose we don't need another project but we just can't resist! Someone was offering an old caravan free to someone who could collect it. We volunteered our services and so yesterday drove 2 hours to collect what I have now christened 'Norma' the caravan; named after my old cat that never made it to France with me! Here are two pictures of Norma as she was this morning.

Of course we can't resist attempting a major restoration project at some time in the future. I have always wanted to have a go at tarting up an old caravan and turning it into a kitch waggon. Ian is not so sure about the kitch bit but when he saw what we could get in rental for one he was more convinced! For now we are just going the repair the leaks and damage and clean it up....but it has been a great thing to be thinking about while we should be doing other things!

Someone asked me before I left whether I would be bored in France and questioned what I would find to do with time! I can honestly say I have never been busier!

Spring

May continues and is nearly at an end already! I have been busy with marking student work and trying to fathom out how to fill in a French tax form. The forms finally became available on the 9th May, to be filled in and returned by the 31st with fines for being late! This is one of the most frustrating things about France. A bureaucracy that makes the UK look simple with people employed to run it in the least efficient way possible! Well, we will do our best sfe in the knowledge that even if we got it right the chances of anyone in the tax office of being able to work it out are slim, so we expect them either to ignore it completely or return it as 'unacceptable' when we will get a D- and told to do better!

Ian has been continuing with the garage. The batons are on for the wall panels and we have been boarding off a little of the inside walls so that we can move our boxes out of storage for the first time in 18 months!

The weather remains mixed but this year the wild flowers have been out in abundance, including the orchids, although this time they are hidden in the field amongst the grass.

Walking the dog has become difficult as the grass is too long and when he decided to run off after a scent he disappears into the field and we can't see him! With that in mind Ian repaired the tractor this week and ewas able to cut a path around the edge.

I should really take Gremlin for a walk now but as I look out it is pouring with rain, so he may have to wait a bit!

The other news is that France has a new president, Monsieur Hollandaise as they have nicknamed him. I don't know in the end whether it will make much difference whoever is in government but even if I did have an opinion I couldn't vote anyway!

Miscellaneous

Another week flies by... This post is really a mixture of the weeks'events with no particular theme. Today it has rained most of the day, which is a real relief, as the ground was begining to look like it does in August, and water restrictions are in force.

Last Friday we delivered 95 bales of hay to someone about 60 km away. It was a long, hard day. Ian loaded the trailer the night before with the first load, we got up, drove over, unloaded, drove back, loaded again, drove over again, unloaded and then came back again. It was a long day but our second day of feeling like proper farmers.

Yesterday Ian started digging the swimming pool. We got down to the required depth fairly easily, but the logistics of digging a fairly large hole with a pretty small digger are still to be worked out completely.

I remember last year saying to Ian that you would have to work hard to starve here and it is never truer than now, when people's trees are brimming with cherries and things in the garden are starting ripen. In our field we have a mirabelle tree which is rather like a cross between a wild plum and a nectarine. We noticed yesterday that they had ripened and now I have a big bowl of the things waiting to be used! I must go searching for recipes!

I have also put in an order for my second lot of dog supplies. Ridgey Didge Green and Gold aka Gremlin is now 5 weeks old, growing fast and will be with us soon.

On a sadder note, one of our not so near neighbours has just lost his dog to what they think was poisoning. The vet thinks that some of the farmers are using illegal chemicals on their land and has asked for all the fields around to be tested, as this was not the only dog affected. The worries of being a dog owner!

Routine

Oh for a day off! One of the problems we have is that we have so much work to do to finish our project that we don't think about taking a day off. Ian gets embroilled in tractor parts and I get bogged down in the garden (although not literally since we still have had no rain). We made a real effort yesterday to take a break with the help of our neighbours, who have been in a similar position themselves and realise the importance of not letting the project take over your entire life, whilst continuing to feel that you are making progress. We started off with a morning visit to Issigeac and the Sunday market. The village dates from medieval times, with the streets shaped in a spiral up to the church. Many of the old buildings are still there and on Sunday mornings there is a market selling the usual market type stuff but quite interesting. I bought a large straw hat to protect me from the sun and we stopped and had a beer/coffee in the local bar. All in all a nice diversion from work.

After lunch we went to see the farmer to get some eggs (her chickens produce more than she can eat). She showed me the rabbits she breeds for dinner and offered to show me how to kill them and turn them into pate! I think this may be a step to far for me just now, although in terms of sustainable, cheap and environmentally friendly food, rabbit is probably better than most other meats. I explained that in England rabbits were kept as pets and she found that quite amusing!

We concluded the day with a visit to our neighbours and watched the moon rise while we drank wine and ate  lovely leftover veggie curry!

Ian has been engrossed in his tractor since Friday. It has a serious technical problem in that it pumps diesel into the engine and the source of the problem cannot be found. He is now stripping it down for the second day running. Personally I would rather he got on with something more immediately important, but I think he is also tired and we have both lost a bit of our mojo since returning from UK.  Anyway, here is a picture of the tractor with Ian up to his neck in oil !

Second of February

The grey weather has continued; leading to a lack of motivation and energy and a feeling that maybe we are back in the UK! Today we took a trip in the car to look at stones for the driveway; as we are fed up of our boots and shoes getting covered in sticky, gloopy mush everytime it rains.

According to one of my former colleagues today is " ‘Imbolc’ on the pagan calendar and represents the flowing of new life with the growing daylight hours and the retreat of winter and darkness – but a warning that winter hasn’t completely gone. " He then added  "So let’s hope that you two country folk are beginning to feel that spring is on its way.  I can see you and Ian sniffing the misty air each morning and communing with nature with sage -like astute nods".  Don't think we are quite there yet, but on our way over to look at stone we saw at least six buzzards out hunting. We have seen them before but not so many and not so close to the road. They obviously no something that we don't!

We dropped something into the farmer on the way and his wife told us that if the weather is good today then it means we are going to have a second winter. According to Wikipedia it is Groundhog day and
"According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, it will leave the burrow, signifying that winter will soon end. If it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and winter will continue for six more weeks"
The second of February is also
Candlemas
Pancake day in France
Bun day in Iceland

Changing times

It's now just 4 weeks since I left work for my new life. I am amazed at how much we have managed to do since then and my everyday life has changed beyond all recognition. I have gone from spending 40 hours a week sitting on my backside to days of physical activity. We usually get off to a slow start as neither Ian or I are morning people, but once activated we work hard until about 7.00 p.m.when we stop the hard work but then I then cook dinner if I am not too sleepy! I pack boxes, lift things, paint, hold screws in place, shop, wash, clean etc etc. and the most interesting thing is that even after only 4 weeks, my body is metamorphosing. My rounded shoulders are gradually opening up, my feeble arms are getting tiny muscles and my legs can leap upstairs without noticing. Of course this change is not pain free, and my body feels worse than it used to after a day of mountain biking, but I am optimistic and convinced that this will be a temporary thing. I even enjoy the odd bit of computer work that I still do, as it is a nice rest. I can definitely appreciate how unhealthy my previous life was.

Progress notes

I am still without a kitchen, but work is progressing and Ian is working hard at home while I finish my last few days at work. I am currently clearing out my office, which is as bad as my home for being full of junk and unsorted bits of paper!

Co-incidence?

I have no kitchen at the moment as we ripped out the old one at the weekend. As usual once we had stripped everything out we realised that there was more to than we had hoped. C'est la vie! Plugs needed replacing, walls re-plastering, floors levelling. The most peculiar thing we found were some pipes buried in the floor, wrapped in old plastic bags. Unfortunately these seemed to be still connected to the heating system and Ian was for once stumped! We called my friendly plumber but no reply!

Tonight we went to Screwfix and B and Q to buy the rest of the bits we needed to finish the kitchen and who's van should I see parked outside but the Plumber's! I hid behind it until he left and pounced! I stood between him and his van until he agreed to come round next week and remove the wayward heating pipes! In fairness to him he said he was very busy as everyone had switched on their heating systems and found them broken!

Homecoming

I was really looking forward to a long lie in bed this morning! I always sleep quite badly this time of year with the long hours of daylight and after a week in France with lots of work and a journey home yesterday I needed to catch up with a few hours sleep. However, this was not to be as in the very early hours the jackdaw nest fell down the chimney complete with jackdaw. This is pretty much an annual occurrence and I have discovered that the best way to deal with it is to open the window and the chimney and let the bird work it out for itself. Last time the bird flew out in about 2 hours but this bird is a bit more stupid and is still trying the loud squawks from inside the chimney in the hope that his mates will come and rescue him. Oh well, I hope he will work it out before bedtime!

France were playing in the World Cup on Friday and we went out for a meal in the town square. It was an ordinary Friday night except the local bar had a few more people than normal. Last night I arrived back at the railway station just a the England vs USA match was entering half time. The pubs were spilling over onto the pavement with drunken men wearing red and white and girls wearing very little. Police sirens were blaring as they tried to control the drunken crowds. I had 40 minutes to wait for a bus home so I got a taxi! It was not a great homecoming!

Mandi was pleased to see me but didn't seem to be missing Norma at all. In fact, he is relishing in being the centre of attention for the first time in his life!

Another day, another breakfast

Hotel breakfast buffets are all the same really. Turins full of curdled scrambled egg, drying bacon etc, plates of cheese and ham, yoghurt, fruit....I find it all a bit overwhelming and I can never decide what I want. Whatever I choose never lives up to my expectations. At breakfast today was a man who looked like the incredible hulk and wore a T shirt with 'World's Strongest Man' on it. I don't know whether he was a true contender or a hopeful but he was still tucking into the third course of his breakfast as I left.

We are off to France tomorrow. I am just there for a week and then come back but Ian has tasked himself with finishing the concrete slab for the garage before he returns. The miracle is that Warren claims he has finished the fosse. He asked us to pay him by return but as he has spent 6 months ignoring our phone calls and emails he may well have to wait a little for his money!

Duty done

I have already voted. At the last local election I got a postal vote organised and decided to keep it on as more often than not voting on the day is difficult. I made up my mind over the weekend, filled in my ballot paper and eventually worked out what had to go in what envelope. Ian also has a postal vote and so last night he walked down to the post box ans posted them. My duty has been done and I don't feel any guilt now about not taking any interest in the last few frenzied days of the election campaign.

At the weekend I bought a new kitchen for my house as B&Q were doing a 75% discount on the cupboard doors. The flat pack kitchen is now stacked in the spare bedroom awaiting installation!

Slowly progressing

Ian has been focusing on getting the  kitchen finished in his flat. It was the last big job that needed doing before he can think about renting it and needed quite a lit of work before he could even start on the actual kitchen. It has taken several weeks to get this far but the end is in sight and it is looking really nice. I may even get to cook in it once or twice before it goes. After this we need to do the same thing in my kitchen and then later in France. By then we will be experts, although I think I am doomed to have to cook in a temporary kitchen for the next 18 months!

One thing I am beginning to realise is that not working full time doesn't equate to having 40 extra hours to do things in or mean that things necessarily progress much quicker! It does mean that at the weekend Ian has a bit more energy and time to do social things which is nice as there is a danger that we will become so focussed on our end point that we will forget to enjoy the present.

I still haven't decided who I am going to vote for in the election and talking to others there seem to be a lot of people like me..or maybe they have but just don't want to say!

As if by magic

When I went to bed last night the skies were still free of aircraft and the plume of volcanic ash was getting thicker all the time. By morning, the fairy godmother of airlines had waved her magic wand and all airports were open. The explanation was unconvincing. There were claims of new scientific discoveries that mean that the volcanic ash is no longer 'the wrong sort of ash' and that it doesn't harm jet engines. The evidence for this seems to be a couple of flights carrying the chairman of  BA and persistant lobbying by Ryan air. It is not difficult to work out that in these days of risk assessment, it has now been judged that the risk to the economy of having an indefinate grounding of all aircraft outweighs the risk of a couple of plane crashes.

A colleague asked her father if he would get in a plane at the moment and he replied 'only if it was a jumbo jet with 4 engines and two were turned off and kept in reserve for when the other two seize up after hitting a cloud of ash. On the news they reported that Easyjet were operating flights but no one was turning up for them! Can't say I blame them.

Someone commented to me tonight that in all this all we have heard about is grounded flights and British holiday makers stuck overseas. No one seems to give a thought about the people of Iceland who are living with the volcano on a day to day basis.

Ian sent me this message today. It was sent to a friend of his who is a horse rider.

Hello
I know you are a “horse friend” so I send you some pictures and latest news about our volcano and the Icelandic farmers.

Here is a link with amazing pictures about our volcano.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/more_from_eyjafjallajokull.html

But here is tragedy, too. The first farmers begin to send their animals to the slaughter houses for they do not have enough space in their stables for all the animals. They send horses, sheep and cattle. Some of them can not use their grounds for the next years because of the ashes and have to abandon their farm. That is quite sad, some of they ran the farms for ages in the same family…… all Icelanders are quite touched by their fate……..

My horses are still save as long as the wind does not change directions.

F*ck you

Ian managed to ration his trips to DIY shops to one while we were away. We went to Leroy Merlin, the French equivalent of a B&Q crossed with Homebase. It was pretty unimpressive and we didn't buy anything (although did see a bath we liked). The most sureal part of the experience was as we were wandering around with the piped music playing in the background, Lily Allen's 'F*ck you' blasted out in the uncensored version.  If you don't know the lyrics you can see them here. It is is not the best song ever written but I did smile when I saw all the shoppers singing along innocently.

It wasn't like this in my day

It is a well know fact that when recession hits and people's jobs and livelihoods feel under threat, the number of protests, strikes and demonstrations increases. When times are good you don't see many people manning the picket lines (unless you are in France!). Other known facts of life are that the Conservative party always get caught out over unfortunate sexual liaisons or acts that compromise national security whereas the Labour party get caught with their hand in the till, there are more unofficial protests when there is a Labour government in power and if you haven't got the boll*cks to demonstrate when you are a student then you never will have!

With this in mind it was with much dismay that I read that a student protest over proposed cuts at my neighbouring university in Sussex was handled in the heavy handed manor so liked by the government .  The antics of the vice chancellor in calling in the riot police and then suspending students without giving a reason smacks to me of this modern obsession with smoothing over the cracks and blemishes and doing all you can to create the impression that everything is great; with the impression that people have of you being more important than the actual reality.

For goodness sake, protesting and demonstrating about things you disagree with is part of being a student. Part of a university education is that people are taught to be independent thinkers and so when they do think for themselves and decide that they don't like something and get the energy together to do something about it, rather than calling the police, those of us in education should be celebrating the fact that we have empowered them in this way.

But then maybe that is not how the  Government sees the role of universities.

Hampered by cold and no Internet

Ian has gone to France for a few days by himself. He chose to arrive just as a cold spell hit the South and although there has been no snow down by the land, it is not far off. Temperatures are colder than they were when we were there over Christmas which makes it very difficult to work in the house with your hands. However, the most annoying problem is that we have no phone or Internet connection meaning that we either have to speak on the mobiles (very expensive) or Ian has to walk over to the neighbours and use their wireless network to get Skype. Phone calls are limited by the cold! It is an indication of how dependent we are on this means of communication that next week, he will try to get us a phone and Internet connection. This is before we have a proper electricity supply, heating or flushing toilet!

The other bad news is that the water is still coming in the cellar, although only in one corner. Ian is very dissapointed and has come up with yet another theory as to why, although what it all boils down to is that the builder didn't put in any drains. It is still an unsolved problem and the builder does not seem interested in sorting it out!

On another note, I went to Brighton today to do some teaching and was a bit taken aback to see that several University buildings have gone and in their place is a large part of the stand for the new Brighton football stadium! It is a lot closer than I thought!

As I walked across the campus to the railway station the wind was icy cold and went straight through my down jacket. It reminded me of the long winters in Nova Scotia. It is sunny but still bitterly cold for mid March. Coming over on the train I thought the countryside of the South Downs looked pale and faded. Spring can't come a moment too soon!

Ebay addiction

Oh dear. My blogging has been limited of late by my obsession with selling off all my unwanted things on Ebay. It really has become quite addictive. Definately, the money I get for the items is the least interesting thing, although I do get a bit exited when things fetch more than I thought. I have started selling off some old clothes that my sister gave to me a few years ago and I never bothered to do anything with. What I enjoy most is creating witty little adverts, and describing the clothes in detail ("this dress really does not make your bum look big... this 80s dress looks best with really big hair"). Then, there is the careful packing required and the regular trips to the post office. Fortunately there is one near work so I can go at lunch. I am even getting on first name terms with the counter staff! My latest item to attract interest is my mothers old pressure cooker. I tried to give it away on Freecycle but no one wanted it and then I discovered that they can fetch up to £15! I am now eyeing up anything I see around the house to see if it has any potential value. Anyone want two brass candle sticks!?

Then there are the people who buy the items. There was a collector of Edinburgh Crystal, someone into vintage clothing and a man called Ken who bought my old black evening dress for 99p. When I emailed him I did not like to say 'thank you for buying my little black dress' in case his wife sees his emails and it is not a present for her!

The cats arse

This morning was a bit of a rush. I rushed to put the bins out (too lazy to do it last night). I rushed around hanging up my wet washing, assembling my lunch and eating my breakfast. I grabbed the things I needed for my sports bag and then my handbag. That's when I had a panic as I couldn't find my purse. My last memory of it was from the evening before when I paid for some things in Sainsbury's in the self checkout and put the purse back in my coat pocket. I unloaded the car when I got back and rather than make two trips I carried everything in one go and then threw it all on the floor when I got in. So, my purse could be anywhere! I searched the usual places, the unusual ones and absolutely everywhere else I could think of. I had thoughts of it lying in the wet car park and of the money racking up on my credit cards! I phoned Sainsbury's but nothing had been found so reluctantly I got on the phone and cancelled my entire life. I spoke to call centres all over the world. I heard the strangest Irish Indian accent I had ever heard. I waited in queues, I gave out my mothers maiden name more times than I have ever used it in a day, and eventually, after an hour, found  myself cashless, cardless,  and identity less!

Wearily I walked downstairs and contemplated who I could borrow £20 from to last me to the weekend. I decided I needed a coffee and walked towards the kitchen. The cat saw the opportunity for food as got up to follow me and there underneath his big, fat, furry arse was my purse! I didn't think to look there!

Even more snow

My bed was very warm and comfortable this morning; so much so that I went back to sleep and let my tea (produced by my teasmade) get cold. I eventually woke up and on the way to the toilet I peeped out from behind the curtain to get a glimpse of the morning. That woke me up pretty quickly as there was 6 inches of snow over everything! I had to go to Brighton today so I got up and walked to the station, picking up a colleague on the way. It was snowing hard as the train headed out of Eastbourne but by Alfriston there was nothing. We arrived in Brighton and stepped out into the sun. The streets were not even wet and we felt a bit daft wearing our walking boots and ski clothes!

I have now become an Ebay adict and check it several times a day to check how many people are watching my item and if I have any more bids!

Some of the snow has gone but there is still a good coating and as the temperature has dropped has frozen into ice.

Words

Ian says that men have 2000 words a day to use up and women have 8000, which is why he thinks that I am going on too much about things and I think he is disinterested sometimes. Today I spent most of the day in my office working alone and my 2 hour French class was not enough to use up my 8000. Ian had a stressful day at work so he had already used up his 2000 words before I spoke with him on the phone so was not up for more conversation!

The snow has gone (although there is a possibility of a little more tomorrow). Pretty much everyone was fed up with it as most people were unable to get out and get on with their normal jobs. Staying indoors was warmer and safer but everyone seemed to have a bit if cabin fever after a few days. Things are slowly returning to normal and we are getting back into the normal routine.