Autumn at La Maire

The rain didn't last long, and we had some abolutely beautiful Autumnal days here last week - warm and sunny but with clarity and freshness in the air. The Pyrenees have a dusting of snow and look so close. Not long until the skiing season!
The trees haven't quite reached their autumnal best yet, but the countryside looks beautiful already. Some more photos can be seen here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lesleyolver/LaMaireAutumn

Our favourite cockerel has been strutting his stuff in the garden as usual, along with his 2 favourite chickens! There are also a flock of Guinea fowl (very funny and insecure birds who absolutely must stay together, otherwise they panic!), various ducks and geese from the farm, and even two very large rabbits which have escaped and have taken to sleeping in our stables

1st November

We enjoyed our 3 weeks back in the UK. It was good to catch up with friends and to have some family time as well. We drove back to La Maire on Saturday. Despite worries about fuel shortages, we had no problems filling up and had a good drive. The Autumn trees throughout France were a real picture - I wished I hadn't packed my camera away in the case!

We found La Maire exactly as we had left it - always a relief! The grass and weeds hadn't grown too long and it wasn't too cold either. The night sky when we arrived at 10.30 pm was clear and absolutely full of stars. Dave fired the boiler up, feeding it with the 'granules' that we bought in September. It soon got going, but we also soon realised that it was eating our (very expensive!) granules rather too quickly, and turning them into very acrid grey smoke! However, the very confusing instruction booklet is now making a bit of sense and after experimenting with different settings, Dave has sorted it for now...we hope!

Today is my birthday - but our plans to go for a walk or drive have come to nothing as it has been raining since yesterday lunchtime! It is also a Bank Holiday here today, so shops and restaurants are shut as well - so birthday 'celebrations' are on hold until Wednesday, when the weather looks to be much better. Instead, we have been fixing curtains (me) and light fittings (Dave) and putting some pictures up.

It is lovely to be back despite the weather and the fact that the only signs of life around here so far are the cows and chickens-everyone shelters indoors in this weather and especially so on Bank Holidays. All will be back to normal tomorrow!

6th October

I held my first beginners painting day here at La Maire yesterday. Friends Lisa and Jenny, Sara and Jeff happily agreed to be my 'guinea pigs' for the day and it was very helpful to be able to run through the class here and check that it all works well. We had a bonus in that the weather was wonderful - clear blue sky and very warm, so we were able to spend the afternoon painting a view from the garden (see above) a after a relaxing alfresco lunch.

Today I am making fig jam with Odile up at the farm. Our trees are overloaded with ripe fruit at the moment, so I asked Odile to show me how it is done here! She was delighted to help and we had a good chat while collecting the fruit - another step towards good neighbourly relations! Janine also joined in and there was some discussion over whether the fruit should be cut in half or not, but Odile was in charge, so cut in half they were!! Odile also showed me more of the farm - in particular the very large pigs awaiting slaughter this winter and the flock of guinea fowl who have just started roaming around our land!

On the DIY front, we are still trying to get the small bathroom up and running before we return to Maidenhead on Sunday for 3 weeks. To be continued.....

4th October

Mum and Dad arrived safely last weekend after a good drive down through France despite having developed a love/hate relationship with their new Satnav! They were very lucky with the weather this time. We had plenty of sun and it soon warmed up after a chilly start to the week.

We still haven't needed to light the boiler and start up the cenral heating!

We had a few trips out, including one beautifully sunny afternoon to the village of Sabarat (see photo above)and Le Mas d'Azil. Mum and Dad also got 'stuck in' with jobs at La Maire. Mum painted all the new patio chairs (12 of them!) with teak oil, and Dad put on the wellies again and created a lovely new rockery at the entrance to La Maire.

Our 'waterair' swimming pool kit arrived on Wednesday. It arrived in an articulated lorry, so I was very relieved to hear that it had 8 kits inside and wasn't filled with just our stuff! The driver decided he wouldn't be able to turn around here if he drove right up to the property so we half expected him to give up and leave, but he left the lorry at the bottom of the lane and brought everything up here in two loads with a fork-lift! Very entertaining for the neighbours!! The 'pool' is now stored in the barn (see photo) ready to be installed in November.

On Saturday evening we hosted another dinner party. French friends Marielle and Olivier from the mohair farm came, along with Jean Paul (my English pupil/French teacher) with his girlfriend Marie, and also Lisa and Neil to boost the English contingency - and to save Dave from having to speak French all evening! We cooked roast pork followed by apple pie and plum crumble with custard. The gravy and custard were eyed with suspicion at first, but all seemed to go down well and the conversation was very entertaining!

Finally, the first photo above is of the wonderful sky at sunrise the other day - taken from the living room!

27th September 2010

After a hectic couple of weeks back in Maidenhead, I was happy to get back to La Maire last Sunday, to be met by a very happy Dave. After two weeks on his own here he was in danger of starting to talk to himself! I had an excellent 7.10am flight and was back at La Maire by 11.00am - just in time for a quick coffee before persuading Dave that we should go out on our bikes - the warm, sunny weather was just too good to miss.

Dave had made good progress with the bathroom, and it was also good to see the lovely balustrade made by Neil Anslow up at one of the living room windows - see photo above.

http://www.neilanslow.com/

The excellent weather continued for the first half of the week, so we kept putting bathroom no. 2 project on hold and finding jobs to do in the garden - still a lot of weeds to be kept under control!

Lunch every day last week was corn on the cob, fresh from the garden. It has been the juiciest, freshest, most tender corn that either of us have ever eaten. Funnily enough, the French don't know how to cook it and just can't understand why we would want to eat it - they grow field after field of it, but all to be used as cattle fodder, so the idea of eating it doesn't appeal at all!

Helen (friend and watercolour 'student' from Maidenhead) and her husband Allan came to stay with us for a couple of nights last week as they are touring through France with their tent. It was good to see them and we enjoyed their company while they were here. Allan cooked a wonderful curry for us on the second night! They were also very lucky to enjoy what appears to have been the last of the very warm weather - a couple of photos are above.

After two weeks away from speaking French, I was pleased to spend an afternoon with Marielle at the mohair farm, chatting and putting brochures in envelopes to send out to their customers.

http://mohairfrance.com/index.html

I also had a French/English session with Jean Paul, our new friend from the village - always very entertaining and helpful!! I am learning a lot about English grammar as well as French!

Mum and Dad arrived safely on Saturday, after spending 3 days driving down here, which they enjoyed. Mum has taken on the job of oiling the teak chairs (10 altogether!) and Dad is in his element with wellies and spade in the garden, tidying up some very out-of-control flower beds.

More photos of Mum and Dads visit next weekend!

6th September 2010

This photo is a view of Foix Castle over the rooftops - courtesy of June!

We enjoyed the rest of June and Jims stay with us very much. We enjoyed their company - and their help - and had a wonderful week of warm, sunny weather, so were able to eat most meals outside on the terrace (even breakfast!) and from Wednesday morning, had our new table and chairs to enjoy as well! (to sit at, not to eat!)

On Friday morning, we went to Foix market, and enjoyed a coffee in the old part of the town, indulging in a little people watching as well!

Thursday was the day of our 'Aperitifs and hot-dogs' evening - a small party for all the new friends we have made since living at La Maire. We fired up the barbeque, cleared and tiled the 'bar' in the dining room, made a few extra 'nibbles' as well - and were ready to go! It was lovely to see everyone - both English and French friends from the village and nearby, the Prax family, from whom we bought the house and who still run the farm behind us, and also Sue and the girls from the office. The children loved the hot-dogs, but were not so sure about 'les oignons' !! Somehow, everyone seemed to know most of the other people there, so it was a good opportunity for 'catching up' and the house now feels well and truly 'warmed up'!

I returned to Maidenhead on Saturday, staying here until the 19th - so Dave is rattling around on his own at 'La Maire' at the moment. The next project is the second bathroom, so Dave will not be short of things to do, and I will expect it all to be finished for my return!!!

1st September 2010

Progress last week was halted for a day or two as Dave's back siezed up - just as he was putting the final touches to the patio wall ! An enforced rest was probably good for him however, and we had a couple of days of very hot weather, so were both happy to take it easy for a bit. So with the kitchen, main bathroom and terrace all now finished, we can tick off a few more boxes!

June and Jim arrived on Sunday, to clear blue skies - and much cooler weather. Within a couple of days, night-time temperatures dropped from 23 to 10 degrees!! We have enjoyed showing June and Jim around, and having some time off ourselves as well. On Monday we walked up to the viewpoint, discovering that the road sign indicating the distance to be 2km was more like 2 miles! However,we had a lovely walk and got back in plenty of time for lunch. Yesterday was action packed - a walk and picnic up in the mountains, then we hit the night life in Pamiers. There was a live band on in the square as part of the Pamiers fete. The square was full of local people, mostly of 'a certain age' and all dressed up in their 'finest'. As soon as the band kicked off, they all got to their feet and started dancing around the square - walzes, tangoes, cha-cha-chas - you name it, they could do it, some expertly, some barely able to stand, and some just doing their own thing, but all totally without inhibitions! This was clearly the highlight of their year, and all all were having such a great time-huge smiles all round, and great entertainment for us.