The Social Whirl

Bracket fungus - not identified

Sunday
A craft fair in Maurs today with a vide grenier in the school yard. What a treat.

We went to the vide grenier first as we didn't want to miss any bargains. No taxidermy, jigsaws or old photos but we came away with a junior potter's wheel and a dress pattern from the 50's to add to my collection for costume making.

The craft fair was good and we met Caro and Den buying a picturesque umbrella. We were very tempted but we bought Jim a new knife instead. The Auvergne is famous for it's umbrellas and penknives.

We had a coffee with Den and Caro who introduced us to a couple of other Brits Barry and Penny who have a house the other side of Maurs. 

Some of the artisans stalls:

A metal worker

Have a hat and slippers to match

Some curious clay figures

Caro invited us to supper on Friday - it is going to be a sociable week.

Damp on Monday morning and we were not sure if the wrinklies' walk would be on but it cleared up later and the afternoon became very pleasant indeed.

The walk started at the village of ? and it lasted a couple of hours or so - very enjoyable. At one place in the forest it looked as though a children's camp had been there during the summer as some of the trees had been painted with designs.

Here the party enjoy the view before returning to our cars and a picture of Jim, Rufus, Den and Caro.

I took a Lemon Drizzle cake this time and someone else took a Fouace. My goodness - this is going to get competitive. And talking about competitions Caro thought I might have taught Jim to play Bridge by next Friday. Ha! I haven't dared even mention it again to him. Anyway as we shall be six and Peter and Jennifer don't play it wouldn't have been much use.

Market day on Thursday - nothing special except this amusing little incident - chicken escape.


In the evening we went up to the village to an 'Apero' at Cyprien and Marie-Therese's house. Den and Caro were there together with Didier and Brigitte. The conversation was almost exclusively French and I found I understood a good deal but, of course, contributed nothing. Marie-Therese had prepared a good deal of enjoyable food which we weren't expecting and we had very jolly time. I wish I spoke French.
We collected Peter and Jennifer from Rodez airport on Friday and then all went to Den and Caro's for a meal. A splendid evening with much food, drink and conversation - all in English this time. 


Saturday - Den came for coffee and showed me how to use Calibre on my computer which is a programme for getting books onto my Kindle other than those purchased and downloaded from Amazon and the like. Then we went for lunch at La Planche du Souq. Excellent lunch sitting outside in the sun and after a conversation with the Patron learned that they had spent some time in UK. Nice people - we shall go there again, I think.

Types of wood used by craftsperson

A Big Welcome to Jeanette!

Sunday
Got moving early and went to this:

It was a lovely day and the crowds were out. We thought it was the largest fete/vide genier we had been to and the journey to Boisset although winding is very attractive. As usual I was on the lookout for stuffed animals, old photos and jigsaw puzzles.

Jim saw these first -

- but in that picture there is one missing - the one I have already haggled for and have tucked under my arm Jeanette - the genet (Genetta genetta). 

As I walked about Boisset people called out to me genet, genet, pronouncing it Jeanette (Auvergnat dialect) so that became her name. It is a wild cat common throughout France and we have seen one here in the domaine. She joins Martyn and Martine, the two beech martens, on the mantlepiece. Great.

I also found this old wedding photo. I have been trying to workout the relationships. There are no clues other than the picture. The elderly woman on the right of the groom is presumably his mother (perhaps recently widowed as she is wearing black.

The other elderly couple may be the bride's parents but why is he sitting down but not her. Perhaps she is not the mother but another relative. It's all guesswork but the costumes are interesting and I love looking at the faces from the past and their expressions.

We had a bagette and a crepe for lunch. Here is the crepe making tent. They had a very effective production line going with six ladies all cooking crepes at once. It must have been hot work. They were delicious.

I quite fancied this as the dog looked like a whippet or a greyhound but it was €55 which was way too much and anyway, her feet were chipped.

When we had returned home Jim took the recycling stuff up to the village and also a bucket of walnuts for Cyprien, who told him that if we took him further buckets he would take them to the moulin (which one?) and have them turned into walnut oil for us. 

We also received an invitation to go and have aperitif/meal with them and Dominic and Brigitte next week. I shall have to practise a few choice chatty phrases in French. Oh dear!

Sometimes the day turns out quite differently to the way planned. I had expected nothing much to happen on Monday this week. Both Jim and I had projects and chores to be getting on with but then Caro rang asking us if we had details of the group walk. (They have a wrinkly walk here every Monday for several months of the year similar to the U3A ones). The outcome was that we went taking Rufus. A delightful three-hour, comfortable walk in the forest mostly, chatting to Caro and Den as we went and a smattering of French phrases here and there. 

Here are some pics:

Some of the he group as we set out

Sharing refreshments at the end - I provided Welsh Cakes

We have agreed to go again next week and also we have invited Caro and Den to supper on Friday.

Tuesday - into Decazaville to get supplies. Jim was tempted by a new strimmer as the other one keeps breaking down and the shop were we have been getting it fixed has closed down. 

I started washing the walls down prior to painting.
Thursday - Usual market day and the weather still holds but slightly colder and very misty this morning. We sat outside on the terrace having lunch. Here is a picture of Rufus enjoying a bit of the new decking in place. 

A few minutes later the post lady arrived in her yellow van and we had another of those comic turns where Rufus leaps up at the van barking furiously while she turns the van around. Jim and I are running back and forth trying to catch him and get him under control using bribes and threats or whatever. The post lady watches this circus utterly bemused. This time we thought we had him cornered down by the side of the gite but suddenly he dashes in through the open stable door and rushes through the mill into the hanger and thence round the house and up the hill after the disappearing van. I should think the post lady retales this event throughout the village. Last week we gave her a bag of walnuts in an attempt to buy her silence.
We saw a snake today during walking the dog around the nature trail. A Western Whip, at the end of the Redwood field as it meets the path near the beach. No camera with us but in any case it slithered out of site very quickly.
Good progress this week on the quilt front, the terrace and also made a start on the painting.


Caro and Den came to supper on Friday. A good evening but main course nearly ruined by early consumption of wine by the cook who failed to notice that the oven was playing up and changing the temperature willy-nilly. Fortunately everything edible. I served some of my previously preserved picked walnuts with the cheese course. They were pronounced delicious.
The question of Jim learning bridge was mentioned again so that we would have a foursome. He did not look enthusiastic.
The weather has now turned quite a bit cooler and cloudy. No more sitting out side for lunch.


I worked on the kitchen walls Saturday morning. What I have done is looking much better. Axel arrived after lunch to fix a little electrical problem and at the same time Jim asked him to look at the dishwasher. He has taken it away to look at it more closely.

Oh, and in case you are wondering I lost 4lbs last week. Onwards and downwards!

Bread, Cheese, Chocolate and Wine - NOT

Autumn blooms on the Broom - with small snail

Sunday

We have a few weeks now before any more visitors so this is the ideal opportunity to resume my diet. I am not going to reveal my present weight but if all goes well I may tell you how much I have lost at the end of each week. If you hear nothing further you will gather that I have lost the battle rather than the pounds.

I made several jars of quince preserve today including one of jelly. I used the steriliser as well and all seems fine. The only problem is, who is going to eat it?

Monday - Spent some time weeding the boules piste again. This job is a bit like painting the Forth Bridge - when I get to one end a fine crop of new weeds is sprouting at the other. And when are we going to play boules?

Tuesday Ha! Axel turned up today - as arranged to finish the job on the chimney. All done and dusted by supper time - no excuse now for me not getting on with decorating the kitchen.

Wednesday- Into Aurillac today as I need to buy a birthday present for a certain little boy in New Zealand. I usually do the shopping online and have it sent directly from the shop but I have been unable to find what I am looking for in New Zealand. After watching Ben, Alfie and Ollie play with the LEGO Heroes I decided that these were the things to get.

I have downloaded 'The Hour' and we have been watching it but I failed to get episodes 4 and 6. Can anyone help? We are desperate but we could wait until we get back home to the UK.

Got some more fungus pictures today but it is very tricky identifying them.

What's been eating this one?

Thursday

Market today. Then I got out the patchwork which I need to finish off. Sewing the squares together now.

Jim is progressing with the terrace extension. A lizard came looking for his wall and water hole - both have gone - we shall have to make provision for our little friends. This is the smallest lizard I have seen - a little over 2 inches including his tail.

Friday

Beautiful day today but I have spent most of it indoors. It's the end of the month so book keeping, salaries and banking were done in the morning. After lunch I started the apple jelly and did some patchwork.

I am making Chilli Apple Jelly and here is the dripping stage:

I am not sure what it is going to taste like and I used the russet type apples that we have here. They are too tart to eat raw.

While I was doing these two activities I was watching "The Great British Bake Off' which I had downloaded onto the computer. I have never bothered with this program before and it's not the kind of thing to watch when you are on a diet. Still, it gave me some inspiration for a few different cakes.

During walking the dog I found another specimen of the Octopus Stinkhorn fungus and another interesting one which I need to try and identify.

Pestle Puffball (Lycoperdon excipuliforme)

I also found what was nibbling a toadstool that I found on Tuesday:

Saturday
Finished making the Chilli Apple Jelly after leaving it to drip all night. Tastes rather nice. The bits in it are the chilli flakes.

Weeded and watered the gite border and tubs. Everything is looking rather dry and bedraggled. We do need some rain but I am not asking for it just yet.


We went to a performance of a version of the opera Carmen  (Une Carmen Arabo-andalouse) in Figeac. 
As the title suggests the story was set in Arabia and had been altered slightly. It was good and we enjoyed it. The theatre was packed out. The staging was 'in the round' with little or no scenery and the costumes were excellent. All in French, of course.


Note: My iPhone is now fully functional and the number now is:
07976 462 414 - you may call me but remember no signal at the Moulin.

The Old Lady Climbs the Crags

Our brother-in-law Eddie arrived this week. It was  good to see him. He came for a brief visit last year on his way back to the UK but he stayed longer this visit.

Firstly, we took him on a grand tour of the Nature Trail including the path across the top.

View from the top

This old lady has clambered up the route across the crags, without the help of ropes or crampons. It was tough going, but thanks to Daniel and Amelia, possible, although a couple of signposts might be a good idea. Also, it would be good if you could come back, both of you, and put in some more steps and handrails to aid the infirm. 

I could see that the only choice with the route was to arrive at the far end of the River field but it would complete the circuit if we could have a bridge across the river at that point and end up in the Pumpkin field. Perhaps that is Stage Three of the Nature Trail.

Beefsteak Fungus

On the first climb I found this fungus which I identified as a Beefsteak fungus. As it was small I knew I would have to go back a few days later and take another picture so when I did go the second time I approached it from the other direction. The mushroom still hadn't fully developed so I will need to go again. Next week perhaps.

Tuesday evening - we decided to try and find the restaurant on the road to Boisset that we passed last year and thought that it might be good for an evening meal. A bit of research with maps and the internet threw up a possibility and we finally tracked it down - La Planche du Souq. 

We had a drink there, and Rufus found a friend but we decided later that the ambiance wasn't quite right for an evening meal - perhaps lunch sometime.

On Wednesday we went to Conques again to show Eddie. Very pleasant sunny day and I never tire of a gentle stroll around Conques taking pictures. This time I concentrated on the incidental details in the buildings rather than the panoramic views.

An evening of Scrabble which we haven't played in a while. I had forgotten most of the 2 and 3-letter words. I shall have to learn them again.

Usual trip to the Maurs market on Thursday and in the evening a meal at Castra Nea in Leynhac. This is a new/revamped place and very nice it is too. We had a wander around beforehand and saw some interesting buildings that we hadn't seen on a previous visit. We agreed to go back in daylight although I did manage to get a few pictures in the fading sunset.

In need of some T.L.C.?

This looks an interesting building - what was it?

The meal was good - all served together on one plate (not the desert!) They do lunch which perhaps we should try on another occasion.

We took Eddie to Figeac on Friday afternoon and had a stroll around. There was a small exhibition on in the Musee Champollion, Memoires Indiennes.

We had a look at the facsimile of the Rosetta stone and found a group of children hard at work.

Back home to a supper of fish and chips (homemade) and later three games of Scrabble. I am remembering the small words now.

Eddie left this morning. He will do the journey back to L'Olleria in Valencia in one day - approx. 9 hours. A long trip. I footled about all day waiting for the broadband to be reinstated so that I could write this blog and Jim progressed with his masonry.

While I was sitting on the terrace in the sun with a book the walnuts were hammering down, occasionally rather too close. The family of great-tits that had previously fed off the bird table have now turned their attention to the mess of cracked nuts on the road and dart out at intervals to peck at the remains. Any sudden movement on my part sends them back to the safety of the hibiscus or hortensia bushes. I love watching them. Rufus has his eyes riveted on the upper branches of the walnut trees looking for squirrels.