Another month has managed to rush past - where does the time disappear to so fast?  The weather has not been kind in Brittany during February.  It's a month I am always pleased to see the back of.  We've had rain, rain and more rain and I'm looking forward to the warmth of spring and being dry underfoot.  

My newest Workaway, Robert, arrived on 1 March from the Isle of Skye - long journey to St André.  I should have collected him from the station at Guingamp in the evening but my Land Rover is causing me hassle at the moment.  Last week I had the battery replaced and this week the starter motor has decided that it doesn't want to.  Luckily a friend picked him up for me and brought him home.  We are now awaiting a starter motor to arrive at the garage.  It looks as if I shall be without a vehicle until Tuesday earliest. The first day he was here he barrowed stones to the muddiest parts of the field and the garden hen run to make it safer walking.  He's here for a few weeks so hopefully we'll get loads of jobs knocked off the three page To Do List.  He's just finished building a new log trolley which I bought flat-packed last week.  

I agreed to buy two hives complete with bees from someone returning to England.  They should be available to collect during the beginning of this month so obviously I needed to get some suitable protective clothing and a few other bits and pieces, like a smoker and a hive tool.  I found a lovely supplier in Le Faouet, Gilles, who sold me everything on my list.  Here I am in my very fetching outfit - I hope it will do it's job and stop me being stung.

One of my neighbours, at Lanrivain Gare, keeps twelve hives and he is going to help me collect the hives when the time comes.  He's very knowledgeable and hopefully will be able to give me loads of advice when I'm struggling.

Today, I have friends erecting a bee fence.  No - not a very fine meshed affair - but a stock fence to keep the sheep away from the hives so they don't get knocked over.  they have taken advantage of the one part of the day when it hasn't rained to get out there and work.  This weather makes life very difficult.

I was thrilled last week to walk into the barn and find a small Muscovy duckling had hatched overnight and was running around amongst the geese, hens and other ducks.  Not sure of the gender yet but am referring to it as "he".  Yesterday he was out on the pond without his Mum and also without a care in the world, swimming about with the geese and other ducks.  

The first seven chicks of the year are now in a puppy crate in the kitchen area to give them more room.  This was taken when they were about a week old and confined to a bowl while I cleaned out their brooder.

I have another twenty-two eggs in the incubator which should start hatching in thirteen days time.  I love this time of year with all the animal births happening.

My sheep are also due to deliver soon.  Not sure of the exact dates as the Ricardo, their ram, is always with them.  I can't wait to have lambs again in the field.  Last year the first one was born on 7 March, so it may not be much longer now.

As I was leaving my field one day the week before last, someone who I have seen frequently walking their animals came past my field entrance.  He has with him three ponies, a dog and a goat.

He lives in St Nicolas du Pélem so must have done a minimum of 6 miles walk with them. The goat follows on behind not on any sort of lead - lovely eh?

I have cleared out and cleaned up the polytunnel and started to sow seeds in trays.  The onion sets have gone out in the garden and it's so lovely and warm behind the polythene in the polytunnel, particularly if there's even a little sun outside.  It's a joy to work in there out of the wind and rain.

Egg production is definitely on the rise now that February has passed.  For various reasons I haven't been to Bowls where I usually sell most of my eggs, so I have been having to find egg using recipes to cope with the abundance.  I have blown goose eggs to decorate and used the contents to make quiches and Spanish omelettes.

My Workaway used to be Chef de Partie in a restaurant, in charge of breadmaking and he is now making bread for tomorrow.  I love this website of super helpers!

Three things I like:

1.   Having someone here again helping me with all the tasks I can't do alone.

2.   Enjoying the chicks and my surprise duckling.

3.   The anticipation of being a beekeeper.

Weather, projects and luck

I can hardly believe that we are already into the second month of the year.  Where did January go?  Today the weather resembles April with sunny spells alternated with sharp showers. Terrific winds last night, according to the BBC Weather people wind strength last night was 130km.  Certainly there were lots of twigs and small branches resting on the lane surface this morning, but only until I saw them, as being the scavenger that I am, many of these are now outside the garage waiting to be broken up and dried for kindling.

My neighbours, who sell me logs for my woodburner delivered a corde - three cubic metres - of wood this morning in between showers.  My new Workaway is out there now stacking them close to the back of the utility cottage and covering them with one of the lorry side curtains which I bought a few years back.  They are terrifically heavy and are brilliant for covering the logs as they don't blow around like lightweight tarpaulins.

We've had a productive work week with the major task being repairing the stock trailer. The floor had virtually gone through and needed a lot of attention.  The trailer is a brilliant one with sides which come off in stages  so you get the high sided stock trailer, a more normal shaped low sided trailer and then with no sides it becomes a flatbed trailer. First some of the tongue and grooved boarding that I collected a few weeks ago was cut to size and put on top of polythene on the old floor.  

This was then covered with a plywood floor from material given to me by a neighbour from the far end of the village. The plywood was treated with preservative before being added.  Then the registration plate was replaced with one which matched the Land Rover and fitted correctly instead of being held on with bungies.  The plug to connect to the car electrics was replaced and all the lights now work.

A great job!  At some stage the back door/ramp needs a new piece of ply but we didn't have enough so that stays on the To Do List.

I walked up to the field this morning to pick beetroot, lettuce, cress and parsley from the polytunnel.  The catkins looked lovely against the blue sky and the primroses on the drive are all in flower now.

'

The annual pantomime was presented by La Troupe Arlequin at Gouarec last weekend. My quiz partners and I were fortunate to win tickets at a pre-Christmas quiz and we went on Saturday.  Here are some of the photos from the event.

It must be my year for winning things as a few days ago the local Supermarket, SuperU, telephoned me to say I'd won a meal at the Salle de Fetes in Plussulien.  It was couscous with lamb, beef, chicken and Merguez sausage, a fruit salad, biscuits and camembert.  We collected it on Saturday afternoon as you could take away if you wished.  My Workaway had the meal  - he enjoyed it although felt it could have had more seasoning - and I had something from the freezer as I'm not fond of this particular meal.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this lucky streak continues.  

My daughter in Cornwall mentioned to me last week that she would like to take on an allotment.  I contacted the County Council who told me that they weren't even adding names to the waiting list anymore.  They did though give me a website address to look at. I contacted the person in charge of a reasonably local allotment area and incredibly they had two plots needing gardeners.  Libby met the person who had replied to me to view and came away with a 55 square meter plot to look after for the princely sum of £55 per year plus membership of the South West Allotment Association which would cover insurance.  I am so pleased.  We have never shared an interest and now we will have loads to chat about.  I've ordered seeds and have a pile of tools and a large plastic storage chest to take over when I next visit. As she lives in a flat with no garden she will now be able to sit in the sun down there too and play with her son outside in their own area.  She has already been down and started clearing the very overgrown plot and discovered raspberries and lots of other things which may well survive once they can see the light again.  I think I am as excited as she is.

My incubator eggs in the spare bedroom, if fertile, should hatch next Friday/Saturday.  I can't wait - I just love seeing the new chicks emerge, dry out and become fluffy and active and hopefully I'll have some photos to post soon.

Three things I like:

1.   My To Do List is reducing with my first Workaway of the year.

2.  Delighted to find that last year's chilli plants were producing again in the polytunnel - covered in bright red fruits.

3.   Winning three £25 prizes in the Premium Bond Draw this month.

Baking, singing Happy Birthday and chicken talk

Well I'm certainly glad that here in Brittany we didn't get the extreme snowfall that they've been having on the United States East Coast.  It has been colder, except for yesterday and today - temperatures of 13°C here both days and a warm night inbetween too, but thankfully, none of the white stuff has fallen.  

My first crocus and my first daffodil have bloomed in the bed under the sitting room window.  The daffodil bud was, sadly, pecked by my garden hens before it emerged, so isn't perfect.

The stock trailer has a rotten floor.  One of my village neighbours is going to replace it sometime this afternoon which is why it's outside the house at the moment.  

It was a lucky buy from ebay back in 2006.  I found it on the website and by chance it was located in St Austell which is where the family all live so couldn't have been more convenient.  It has served me very well over the last ten years.  The tops of the sides can be removed to make it a low trailer and then the final parts can be removed to make it a flat bed taking a full plaster sheet - all very useful.

At the weekend I went off to buy a wooden sheep trough to put their cereal feed into.  I asked the seller if it would fit into my Discovery or did I need a trailer.  No trailer necessary he said.  This big kiss in the sky was facing me on my 50 minute drive south to collect the trough.

The trough was huge and there was no way it would fit into or onto the Land Rover.  I tried to think of it as a pleasant, sunny, Sunday afternoon drive as I wended my way back home with no purchase.

I found this recipe, in one of the Facebook Groups I belong to, which was for a type of roll/scone - hard to classify really which I cooked up very quickly one evening.

Momma's Easy No Yeast Dinner Rolls

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp of salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tbs mayo

Combine all ingredients, spoon into a greased muffin pan, makes about five.

Cook in a preheated 180˚ oven for 15 minutes or until cooked and golden.

I made them to serve with my homemade pea and ham soup.  

They were ok - I added grated Cheddar cheese to mine which I think was a good thing.  If you run out of bread then they're an acceptable alternative to fill you up.  I also had one with butter and strawberry jam - in spite of the cheese - and that was ok too.  

You'll notice I'm not raving about them but they were fine and they were very quick to make.  I would do them again, maybe with a little onion and some cayenne pepper.

In the sunshine yesterday I took a couple of photos of my Jersey Giant cockerel - his partner was off in the other field so couldn't get them together.  He's growing fast and will, I think, be a lot larger than my other non JG boys.

There has been a bit of a discussion in an FB Group about whether if you keep hens you are still comfortable with eating them.  I don't eat my own hens, although I have had the occasional cockerel, which I've hatched, in a casserole, but I certainly have no problem with eating chicken.  Last night this home baked chicken, bacon and leek pie was supper.

The sunsets have been lovely this week.  This isn't the brightest or most colourful but I really like the stripey effect - tip your screen back to get the best colour saturation.

There is usually a cat or two sitting behind my laptop on the small circular table that's located in front of my chair.  Sometimes they take it too far though!

My gorgeous grandson, Charlie, turned nine today.  I sang Happy Birthday to him and we spoke on Skype before he went to school. He happily showed me the presents he already opened and still has some to unwrap when he gets home this evening.  I love Skype!

Years and years ago, in the 1970s, when I was working in Brussels, I 'phoned my father to wish him a Happy Birthday and as soon as the 'phone was picked up I sang the song all the way through.  As I finished, a confused Asian gentleman thanked me profusely!  I now wait for a familiar voice before I sing ...

Three things I like:

1.   Two of my garden hens have started to lay this week.

2.   I have sixteen mixed eggs in the incubator in the spare room, so if luck prevails, and barring power cuts, I should have some new chicks from 12 February.

3.   A friend and I collected a stock trailer full of old lambris for shed repair and kindling.

First half-hearted snowfall and what seems like good health news

Well the weather has certainly changed since the beginning of this year.  The guaranteed mild days have disappeared to be replaced by getting up in the morning to a frozen windscreen and even frozen locks on the Land Rover.  I have had to park facing the other way so that the driver’s door is protected by the house.  Lidl were selling foiled windscreen protectors for only €1.99 so I invested in one to make it easier to leave the house before the sun has a chance to defrost the glass.  This morning we had our first snow.  It was a little half-hearted and only managed to lie for any length of time on the large flower bed which is protected completely from the low sun at this time of year.

 

I’ve moved the bird table, which needs a bit of repair work, back to its usual winter position, just in front of the sitting room window in a direct line from my chair, so 

that I can watch all the visiting feathered friends without any effort at all.  

Any scraps that they flick off the high table fall to the terrace and the seven chickens I now have loose in the garden take advantage of the unexpected bounty.

This afternoon there have been lots of blue tits, a robin, a couple of chaffinches and two magpies.  I usually wave my arms about to frighten off the magpies but, close up, their plumage is beautiful and so smart. 

Last week, after I responded to an advert placed on Facebook, I had a Dutch girl, looking for peace and quiet to do some writing, living here for five nights in Small Cottage.  She left on Tuesday having written 110 pages – so it was a successful stay.  This cottage is now undergoing its annual redecoration in time for the next guests.   I have my first guests, for one night only, in Middle Cottage next week – things are starting early this year.

Since my last posting I have had a meeting with my referring Consultant, Dr Le Bihan at Guingamp.  He did an internal examination after which he said that he felt very positive and therefore I should too.  Obviously I await the Petscan end of March/early April, followed by my appointment with Dr Bruno Lamazec on 7 April, when I will get the final results of the scan.   The Radiotherapy Centre has moved premises – it is now located in a newly built complex which comprises  several different clinics in Plérin, St Brieuc so I’ll have to go looking for it next time I’m in the area so I know where I’m going on the important day and am not late.

It’s only ten days now until my grandson, Charlie, is nine years old.  I can’t believe how quickly the years have gone by.  He is such a lovely boy and will certainly grow into a wonderful man.  When my daughter, Libby, asked again him what he wanted to do for his birthday he said he wanted to go and see Grandma!  No wonder I love him so much!    Brittany Ferries are playing their usual game of treating their customers with disdain and not running any boats to the West Country until March, so it would be necessary for them to drive to Portsmouth and take the route to St Malo, so not likely to happen as a much longer drive and voyage unfortunately.

I’ve been trying to stick to one of my New Year’s Resolutions which is to use food from the freezer, particularly protein, instead of buying fresh fish and meat.  I have so far had the first roast lamb joint from one of my own beasts – absolutely delicious, chicken, sausages, prawns and pea and ham soup.  The problem is that the chicken carcass produces stock which then needs freezing and I also made soup from the prawn heads and shells so the freezer fills up a little bit again.  It will be hard to empty even one of them – I have four …

One of my Christmas presents was a sort of hot water bottle.  It doesn’t use water and it doesn’t need filling.  It has a short lead which plugs into the mains and then into a small socket in the surface of the fleece-like surface.  It never has to leave my bed and if I wake and feel cold I can plug it back in for ten minutes to regain a good temperature.  It’s definitely a good thing.

My Land Rover had a hiccup back in October when I was in Cornwall.  There appeared to be a problem with the rear suspension – I’d already had a new compressor fitted in June 2014.  Having carried fifteen cement sacks in the back for my oldest son’s new garden structuring and conservatory foundations an alarm started to sound.  However, since I’d been back in Brittany it hadn’t bothered me again and I’d assumed things were ok.  My son was here at Christmas and he said there was definitely a problem with the back end being far too low.  I finally gave in and went to my Land Rover garage where they  gave me the bad news that it needed another compressor – unbelievable!  I left €486 poorer but with the suspension feeling much more normal.  Not a good start to what was going to be an economical January.

I love my woodburner.  I know I'm always saying that, but I do so enjoy being warm and cosy and can't imagine what it would be like to have central heating and no flames and direct heat.



I haven’t got any Workaways booked in yet this year but am hoping that I will be getting some more of these wonderful helpers during 2016.  I have though, already organised my Housecarers for my next visit to the UK.  Another New Zealand couple – hopefully they will be able to shear the sheep while they’re here, I’m glad to say my electric shears have been sharpened and are ready to go.  It looks as if my Housecarers from October last year will be able to return for a similar period this year – always good to have returners and be certain that everything will be in good hands.

Three things I like:

1.   Hearing that friend has been declared "in remission" with his cancer.
2.   Getting a box of truffles for New Year from the children of my neighbour.  

 

3.   Seeing the mimosa which is blooming locally - I never remember seeing it anywhere else except in Brittany.  There are so many trees up on the north coast, but this is here.



What a gorgeous happy colour!

Happy New Year! May 2016 be a much better year than 2015.

Well another year has been put to bed.  Today is a very blustery and rainy day here in St André, 22480, and not at all representative of the very mild and benign weather we have been experiencing.  

Matthew, older son, landed as a footie from England on Christmas Eve morning having being delayed by the boat not being able to dock in Plymouth without the aid of a tug due to high winds and then a further delay of five and a half hours docking in Roscoff again because of high winds and low water too.  Nevertheless the weather was kind while he was here and we sat outside on the terrace on Boxing Day for a couple of hours - I was only wearing a camisole on top as the sunshine was lovely.  

Another Workway, this time Australian, arrived early in December and stayed for just over two weeks.  He carried on with my To Do List and I was able to cross a lot of tasks off the list by the time he left.  One of the things he did was to cut out and paint Christmas trees from some pallets my previous Workaways, John and Cora, had collected for me.  I decorated them with red baubles and ivy from the garage wall.  We hung them on the eyes which support the wires for the climbers in the summer on the house and garage walls - I love them!  The second one was made from the two triangular pieces which result from cutting a tree shape from the middle of a pallet and so is joined in the centre.

My tree, as usual, came from Sally and Richard - thank you so much!

We collected it when we went to Lorna and Alan's Christmas party, where we ate well, met up with old friends and new.  We also played consequences - something I haven't done for very many years.  

Because of the bizarre weather, I have so many flowers in bloom at the moment including, vinca major, bergenia, primroses, geraniums, marigolds, sweet williams, pinks, lobelia and antirrhinum.  The brambles on the shortcut to my field are flowering too and I worry about the frost damaging the fruit and there being shortages of everything next year.  

We had our Writers' Group lunch at Auberge de Guerledan in Caurel and it was very enjoyable.  I think we forgot to fix the next meeting date or I didn't jot it down.  

Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve was spent at Daryl and Sue's with friends, good food and games - Us and Them and Cranium.  Good fun and athough it was really foggy on my drive home on 31 December it was a lovely night.

I decided, in a mad moment, to let out the hens from their area in my garden.  By the time I had walked back to the house I had two hens behind me on the terrace.  The cats were quite bemused by this, not knowing what to make of hens being free in the garden. I will continue to leave them free until things start to grow properly.  It will give them a chance to eat up all the nasties in the flower beds.

I am starting 2016 feeling well.  Everything has healed completely from my radiation treatment.  I see my referring consultant on Tuesday, 5 January and then have to wait for the scan results in April to know how successful the treatment has been.  Fingers firmly crossed.

I hope all friends and family have a very happy and pleasant 2016! 

Three things I like:

1.  Feeling really well as I go into 2016.

2.  Seeing my garden tidy and ready for Spring thanks to my brilliant 2015 Workaways.

3.  Watching all the birds visiting the bird table right outside the sitting room windows.    

The last three months with photos - catching up again

Such wonderful weather for the first part of November, I had some clematis flowers blooming and the nasturtiums were growing madly across the fly screen at the door.  Now it has all changed, temperatures are getting back to normal for this time of year and the  rain has made the mud very slippery at the entrance to the hen/duck/goose fields.

My garden has never been so clear and tidy at this time of the year.  This is due to the brilliant Workaways who have stayed here and helped with everything, particularly, Cora and John from the States who have been here for the last six weeks, including the week I had to return to Cornwall for my tooth extraction.turtiums were still growing madly cross the door fly screen.  For the last week it hasn’t been like that though and the rain has produced very slippery and muddy entrances to the fields.

Back in August, while Libby and Charlie were staying we walked on the bottom of Lac de Guerledan while it was empty of water for maintenance purposes.  It was a bizarre sensation to be walking along the ground in an area where we swim in the summer.  The water is normally up to the level where the grass begins on the top of the banks.  I was amazed how quickly the bottom of the lake became covered in opportunist plants.

There were lots and lots of people walking there and it was a very steep climb up at the point we decided to get out.  I had to be encouraged with lots of pushing and pulling from Charlie and Libby.

They went off to Paris by train from Guingamp for a couple of days and had a very enjoyable time there.  Thank goodness they weren't there during the appalling November terrorist attacks.

In September, Oliver, Emma and Mia also came to stay.  They did the same journey to Paris and again, I am grateful it wasn't later in the year for the same reason.

Here they all are in the inflatable hot tub on the terrace in St André.

In October, Libby and Charlie drove up to London and stayed with my very good friend, June in Harefield.

They all went off to Legoland together with June's twin granddaughters, Sofia and Ella and had a great time.

The polytunnel continues to house lots of lovely produce, including at the moment, various salad leaves, lettuces and cress, herbs and chilli peppers.  This photo is of the harvest I brought back from the field on 3 October - I love the colours.

Not dressed for an occasion, as you can see, but I only popped in to sell some eggs, and I was surprised being presented with a truly lovely shrub for the garden, Loropetalum Chinense, by my Bowls Club members, because I have been away while I haven't been very well.   I was very touched and happy.

This is a pile of wood gathered from the top lane after a particularly windy night.  My Workaways kept hopping out of the Discovery and loading it up ready for sawing and stacking in the woodshed.  I can't resist a bargain!

Claude tried to worry me last week by being ill.  Unfortunately, although I knew there was something wrong he wouldn't come in and allow me to get him to the Vet until Monday this week.  The Vet discovered lots of ulcers in his mouth and throat and one on the end of his nose.  He apparently had calici virus which is fairly serious.  He got an injection and then a daily gel application for the ulcer on his nose.  He hadn't been eating or washing and smelt terrible, but is now eating well and trying to wash himself again, thank goodness.  This was a photo of him when it was starting, feeling sorry for himself and trying to fit himself into a very tiny box.

I'm glad to say he much more full of life now and a much happier boy.

Three things I like:

1.   Driving everywhere again after being off the road because of not being able to sit comfortably.

2.   Seeing my new hens settling in with the established residents without a problem.

3.   Eating Curly Wurly chocolate/toffee bars which friends have brought back from the UK for me - scrummy!  

Three months of catching up

Just realised that I haven't posted for ages and ages.  It has been a strange few months since I posted at the beginning of August, two days before I started radiotherapy.  The two months of treatment which followed were probably the worst of my life.  Initially the radiotherapy was not a problem apart from feeling tired from travelling for one and a half hours each day by taxi to the Clinic.  

Then I developed burns which, I later read in a letters from Dr Lamazec at the Clinic to my GP copies of which were given to me, were third degree burns.  At some point the burns were deemed too bad for me to continue the treatment and I had a break.  My morphine was increased weekly and my nausea increased at the same rate.  I was almost unable/unwilling to eat anything.  I lost ten kilos in those ten weeks.  I was tired, so tired but couldn't sleep properly.  Profuse bleeding was treated with tablets, but nothing stopped the lack of energy, the inability to do the simplest task without being exhausted and my emotional reaction to everything - a bit like being hormonal and pregnant.  

Eventually the radiotherapy was started again and with it came more third degree burns. These were so painful that no creams or lotions did the trick.  I had a nurse coming in daily to clean and dress my wounds.  The padded dressings were a huge relief, the smell of dead skin and healing was awful.  For about three weeks I was unable to sit, eventually I had a lying down ambulance to take me to the Clinic as I couldn't sit, even reclined, for long enough in the taxi.    

Looking back now, it's hard to imagine how bad it was.  I never want to go through that again.  I will see the referring Consultant on 5 January and then in April I will have a Petscan followed by an appointment with Dr Lamazec.  The reason for the delay is that apparently the treatment carries on working long after it stops and they want a precise result when they do the scan.   Dr Lamazec has physically examined me and says he feels very positive, so I'm hoping for a good news birthday present in April.  What I do know is that I will never go through radiotherapy again, it was far too traumatic, especially when living alone.

I have been extremely lucky this summer though.  I have had almost constant Workaways and/or Housesitters helping me out with only about three weeks when I have had to look after the animals and veggies on my own.  They have all been wonderful and kind and I am very grateful to them all.  I certainly couldn't have coped without them and all the work they've done for me.

Libby and Charlie came over in August and Oli, Emma and Mia stayed in September.  So all the children and grandchildren have been over this year which has been lovely.

I couldn't go back for my usual early October visit to the UK as I wasn't well enough. However on 30 October I had to return as I'd serious toothache and my dentist in Cornwall is the only person I trust to deal with me.  A friend's husband drove me there and back as I was too weak to be in control of the steering wheel for that long journey. I stayed with Matthew in his new house and he even gave up his ensuite room for me to be really comfortable. 

Since I've been back home in St André I've felt much better.  I did bring back a cold I caught from Matthew, but all the effects of the radiation have now disappeared thank goodness.  I did have trouble coming off the morphine and had to be given another drug to take the edge off, but finally have weaned myself off that medication too and feel back to normal again, thank goodness.

I had a brilliant first time back at bowls for ages and ages last week and was, unbelievably, runner up in the final of a club competition.  I've never played so well - perhaps it was all that radiation! - and will have a trophy to display and dust once I'm presented with it.

No photos this time, just catching up and getting back to normal.

Three things I like:

1.   Feeling like me again, with energy and colour in my cheeks, being able to eat, sit and drive, simple things that I have always taken for granted.

2.   The kindness and support I have had from so many different sources.

3.   I've written all my Christmas Cards!