October change

Autumn colours

It's been quiet since Neil went home, I am still cooking lots and missing my drinking companion.  However my liver seems a lot happier!  I will go back to not drinking in the week with the odd glass or two at the weekend.

The farmers had a great garlic harvest, I am using garlic given to me by Ian (a friend who has lived in France for 25 years) which is the garlic that cannot be sold.  The odd clove is missing, but the large cloves great for cooking.  The sunflowers have finished flowering and once the head has dropped, dried out and the plant turned black, will be harvested.  The whole cycle will begin again with fields being prepared, manured, ploughed and tilled ready for winter wheat and next year's crops.

I have progressed from my favourite Hairy Bikers recipes to Tom Kerridge's latest book - Dopamine diet.  Forget dieting, some amazing recipes.  In France I cannot always get the ingredients listed, so substitute with what I think will work.  My favourites so far are chicken, avocado and lettuce wraps (used harissa paste) , ham hock, kale and cheddar omelette.  I cooked the garlic in butter, added the eggs and used Serrano ham instead of ham hock, (cooked the French way) and finally steak, red onion and tomato salad.  You may have guessed I love to cook, my biggest critics are all below thirteen and can be a tough audience.

New roof for bike shed

We have added a new roof to one of the leaky barns, plus a new door to secure our vast hoard of bicycles...at the last count eleven.  Ok, I have four, two are not used at all, one is on a trainer and the one I use most is electric.  There are some demanding hills; ok if you are a youngster, but at over 60, I need all the help I can get.  

My workshop/tool-shed is finished with lights and power.  I am in the process of swapping tools for garden implements!  Great to have a shed that is easy to walk into, I can work anytime and listen to music.  I even have a window:-) 

Lobster print

My friend Mark has started a new venture, go to Crossbonesstudiouk images of fish caught around Selsey, printed using a Japanese method Gyotaku used in the mid-1800s to record fish catches which later became art.

We will finish the outside work to the apartment.  Fitting a sun screen between the door and two areas outside to sit for the odd apéro.  Another  five tons of large granite stone will complete the bank that leads down to a large bench seat that completes the area.  I have planted four Cypress de Provence to provide privacy between buildings and lend a southern French feel.

Lilou and Farmhouse

The weather has changed with cloudy skies, some rain, wind and when the sun is out, time to drink a glass of red outside on the deck.  Autumn is here, with Red kites flying south down the valley.  Leaves are turning red on the buildings and I am starting to put away chairs, parasols, cushions etc., for the end of the season.  Leave them out too long and all the shield bugs try to overwinter.  I have  pruned the vine and hope to have plenty of grapes next year (they will be harvested before the hornets, Asian or native, arrive to eat the grapes). 

The ducks are now getting on with the chickens and I hope to have duck eggs soon.  I now think there are three ducks and one drake. They like peas, carrot peelings and lettuce along with their normal mélange of Bio feed.

I bought a running machine, and built it, to start a new health regime for my ataxia, however after injuring myself, it took a few weeks to get into.  I am now running 20 minutes three times a week (I will move to 30 mins as soon as fit enough) with my heart rate at 80% above normal, supplements, yoga (I hate yoga), lots of sleep (around 10 hours), fasting and meditation (something else I am not good at).  Food however is more Keto, less carbohydrates, and for me has to taste great.  I am modifying my favourite recipes to be more healthy.  However, I will not give up butter on fresh French bread and the odd glass of red (100 calories) occasionally.

FuturoScope

I have booked our Toussaint holiday, we will take the train to Poitiers and visit FuturoScope, a science based fun park for three days, great for kids. Covid permitting, as Europe is starting to lock down again.

Well it's October, by the time you read this Brexit will be concluded, the way it's going I can't see the UK having a deal with Europe......short sighted Boris.  The world will change again due to Covid and the USA will shortly be going to the polls to see who is the next president.  Anyone, but Trump!

Halloween cake

Postscript:  We had fun at FuturoScope and came back by train during the second French lockdown.  Germany has joined us, and I think the UK will be in lockdown on Monday.  Halloween was short lived as Evie cut her head open playing in a concrete pipe and needed three stitches, late meal and Halloween cake!

Pyrénées in distance