I met SITH!

Kim from Soft in the Head blog came over to France last week, and as her house is not too far from me we took the opportunity to meet up for lunch. She is lovely and had some wonderful photos of all the work being done on her house. It look great at the moment and when everything is finished - WOW!

It was great to meet up with someone with whom you have shared so much but only through blogging. We had a lovely lunch at La Maison Bleue in Le Dorat and a really good chat. Thanks for taking time out of your holiday to meet up Kim, I hope to see you again.

The weather here has been wonderful, although today which is Bastille Day here in France and a national holiday it has been raining on and off since late last night. Misty woke me at 5am but trying to dig to the centre of the earth in her litter tray, and it was raining then. Still it is great for the garden, the ground has been like concrete.

We are off to watch a stage of the Tour de France today with Juley and Paul. The Tour is going from Limoges to Issoudun. We have been following it avidly on the TV and there are a couple of fantastic British riders in it this year. Bradley Wiggins is an Olympic gold medallist and is currently lying 5th in the General Classification and Mark Cavendish who is a phenomenal sprinter and who has won 2 stages already. We are packing a picnic and hoping that the rain stops, not that it will spoil our enjoyment, it would just be nicer to be dry.

Ian and I went to the Journee Artisanale in Le Dorat on Sunday. What a great day out it was. Loads of local craftspeople open their studios or have stalls to display and sell things they have made. There were some wonderful things. Penny had a stall and I bought some wool and some coasters from her. Ian treated me to 2 of her bags as well. There were some fabulous jewellery stands and I was treated to a beautiful Limoges enamel pendant and some fabulous gold earrings. Limoges is famous for its enamelwork and it is a real speciality of the city. The earrings were made by a lady who takes leaves and dips them in gold or silver. They are so delicate and look great. There were also lots of food stands and lots of local fruit and veg. I bought a kilo of new season garlic (we use loads of it!) and some savoury tarts. We met up with some friends for a drink in one of the cafe/bars and sat people watching for a while. The brass band was playing and it was the most wonderful atmosphere.

Misty is really on the mend now. She is eating really well and walking around and climbing up onto the bed. Her bad leg is still very weak, but she is doing brilliantly. Another week and we will let her into the rest of the house, but not outside yet. Not until she regains some strength in her leg.

Geese are ...

...little gits and could well be for the pot!

I had planted some peas in the veg plot a couple of weeks ago. It was an old packet and I wasn't expecting much. However during the last few days they had all sprouted and grown a centimetre or so.

The geese noticed as well, and this afternoon they stuck their beaks through the wire fence around the veg plot, rooted around in the soil and dug up and ate all my pea shoots!!! They all looked very pleased with themselves and all had little pile of earth on top of their beaks. Gits!

Separation anxiety

Well, we managed to leave Misty for a few hours yesterday and go to Maggie and Alans for the evening. She had sat on the bed with us all morning and had loads of cuddles and attention. We left the house at 3pm and she was asleep in her house when we left.

We had a brilliant time with our friends and had one of the nicest meals we've had in ages. We sat in their lovely garden putting the world to rights and drinking champagne and and then rose wine (only one glass for me as I was driving), eating toasted pitta bread and delicious dips. We went back into the house for the main meal which was gorgeous. Maggie had slow roasted a leg of lamb with rosemary and even though I do't eat meat, it smelt great. I had a filet of salmon cooked in lime juice, soy sauce and coriander - it was amazing, so simple but so tasty. We also had new potatoes, chard, garden carrots and green beans with lemon butter over them. Everything tasted incredible. It was all cooked to perfection, and even though we were all full, we just had to sit at pick at it all afterwards! Dessert was a cherry clafoutis, where the cherries had been soaked in cognac. Again, just gorgeous. Do you get the picture that the meal was wonderful?! Thank you for a fantastic time Maggie and Alan.

We had gone to some other friends Lyn and Fred earlier in the week for a meal. They have just moved into a house that they had built. After 18months of living in a caravan they are enjoying cooking in a real kitchen. We had the starter which was deep fried camembert, it was lovely and crispy on the outside and soft and molten inside. Lyn went back into the kitchen to do something to the main course, when she announced that the gas bottle had run out and did they have a spare. Living in the countryside there is no mains gas supply. France is a large and very rural country and I guess they don't want the expense of laying lots of pipelines. So for those of us that cook with gas we buy 25kg bottles of gas that are generally stored in the cupboard next to or underneath the oven or hob. We have an electric oven but a gas hob. We find that a bottle of gas lasts us 9 months and costs around 25 euros. Anyway, Lyn and Fred didn't have a spare bottle, so one of the other guests had a spare bottle and went to get it. Brings a new meaning to 'bring a bottle'.

Misty is doing well today. She had a long lie in with me and lots of cuddles. She doesn't seem to be in pain but she is a bit constipated. She was really struggling to 'go' all last night and has had some more laxative this morning. I'll keep you all updated.

Mistys House

This is Mistys house for the next 3 weeks. She has a cat box, litter tray, food and water. When we first put her in, she went straight into the cat box and slept. I was able to hold food and water for her, and she didn't come out for over 24 hours.Its a different story this morning though. She has been climbing over her cat box as you can see in the picture. Although she has had a sleep on the bed this morning, what she really wants is to walk around and play! We have taken the cat box out as she is not supposed to be walking and climbing. She has her bed on the floor of the cage now. We have carried her around the house so she can she what s going on, but she wants to walk.

We have just put her back in her house and she is yelling to come out. She doesn't seem to be in pain anymore, but she is very unsteady on her legs - not surprising as she has a broken hip. We can't let her out on her own as she could damage the healing bones.

This is going to be a long 3 weeks.

Misty Update

Misty Mitten is doing really well. She has been confined for the past 3 days and up until this morning she had stayed in her cat box mainly sleeping. I had held dishes of food and water for her and she ate and drank well but didn't want to come out.

Ian went up to see her after breakfast this morning and she came out of her cat box to see him. He was able to pick her up and give her a cuddle, he brought her downstairs to show her around. She came out again at lunchtime when I took her some more food and lay onthe carpet in our bedroom. Her fur was a bit scruffy so I gave her a nice brushing as she can't use her back legs for scratching.

This evening she has eaten and drank plenty and is washing herself - all a really good sign.

Thank you everyone for all your lovely good wishes - they are obviously working.

Poor little Misty

My gorgeous little Misty Mitten has had a bad accident and broken her hip. She came in a 2am on Monday screaming and yelling, climbed onto the bed and slept on me for a few hours, then got off and slept under the bed. She was very stiff in the morning and we found some grazes on one back leg, but she seemed to be able to walk, albeit very stiffly and awkwardly. She stayed in our room all day with food, water and a toilet, and seemed at bit more comfortable Monday evening and the next morning. We though she had maybe fallen out of a tree and had badly sprained or bruised herself.

However, when we got home from work on Tuesday afternoon she couldn't put any weight on her back legs and was dragging them behind her. We rushed her to the vets in Bellac, who I have to say are fantastic. He took one look at her and said that they needed to keep her overnight and do x-rays and tests. We got home 20 mins later and after another 10 minutes they phoned to say she had broken her hip, they couldn't put it in a cast and she would have to be kept in for a month.

I was able to collect her at 11am the next morning. She looked very sorry for herself and was in a lot of pain. We have been able to borrow a large cage from a friend's mum. It is large enough to contain her cat box, a litter tray and her food and water. She was uncomfortable yesterday afternoon and early evening. She didn't know where to put herself. It was quite wam as well and after a while she preferred to lie on the hard, plastic tray on the cage floor. We sat with her all evening last night, and that seemed to comfort her. We gave her her pain killers about 6pm and they seemed to help a bit. She slept all night and didn't wake at all.

We just feel so helpless. We can't explain to her that she needs to stay still or that it will get better. We can only comfort her and sit with her so that she knows she is not alone. I had to go out yesterday afternoon and my friend Juley came to cat sit. She was brilliant, and it was so nice to know that Misty wasn't alone on her first afternoon. Thanks Juley, you are a star.

Busy as a Bee

I can't believe it, another month has gone by without blogging. Never mind, better late than never.

So, what has happened in Us-in-France land? Well, both of us are working very hard at the moment, and Ian being the good and lovely person that he is, helped out a French lady next door to where he is working and was given a lovely bouquet of flowers and a four leaf clover by way of a thank you.

Of course, he gave me the flowers and they lasted for ages in our sitting room.

I had a fabulous bee-experience this week. Some clients of mine keep two hives of bees, and they had sent me en email telling me that the bees were in mega production and they needed to collect and spin the honey, did I want to help them do it. Well, I jumped at the chance. Before donning a bee suit Gary showed me the inside of a spare hive that he had in the garage and explained what we were going to do. I donned a bee suit and off to the hives we went. We had to approach the hives from behind so we didn't look threatening and lifted the roof off of hive 1. It was incredible to see. Inside the hive there are different 'layers' called Supers. The Supers hold the frames that the honey is made on. We had to take some of the frames out as they were completely full and replace them with empty ones. I hadn't know what to expect and had been a little apprehensive - would I be covered in bees?! Not at all. The bees occasionally bump into the netting that is held away from you face, and none landed on me at all. It was wonderful to see them all working away.

Unfortunately the house was experiencing a power and we couldn't spin the honey, as the spinner is electric, but I was shown how it would work. I have been visiting these clients for almost 2 years now and each time learn a little more about the bees. I am really considering keep a hive myself.

This weekend is the nationwide Fete de la Musique, where towns and villages put on concerts. We went to the Chez Adie bar in Droux last night with our good friends Juley and Paul. Some other friends were going to be playing in a band during the evening. It was brilliant. There was a big outside bar, a bbq where you could bring you own food to cook, a stage and lots of musicians and dancing. The atmosphere was great with children playing and lots of people we knew. A group of people were line dancing in front of the stage, Juley and I considered trying to join them but they looked so good we didn't want to muck it up for them, apart from that I have 2 left feet!

Juley is a girl I met through the book club in Le Dorat. It is incredible that she and Paul only live 5 miles from us, and we clicked instantly. They run a B & B just outside Nantiat. Take at look at their website www.villechenoux.co.uk the only thing is, the pictures don't do it justice. It is truly gorgeous, they have worked so hard on it. The four of us had a great time last night, we laughed, chatted and danced (a bit) til almost midnight.

Ostensions

Ostensions is a religious fesitival unique to this region which happens once every 7 years. This year marked the 50th Anniversary in Le Dorat 1659-2009. The final day on June 6th was marked by a huge parade. All the local village had formed a Guard and had to march into the town by way of Portes. These are huge gates in the city walls that in the past would probably had have portcullis's. Only one of the original Portes is still standing but the town have built replicas around the town. The Guards enter the town at the Porte in the direction of their village. They all carry rifles and a banner with their village name. There are lots of children in costumes and some of the adults carry their churchs' religious relics. They are met at the Porte by other Guardsmen who check that their weapons are not loaded. They then proceed into the town and head for the Cathedral which in Le Dorat is called a Collegiale. The are announced and all go into the church for a long service. There was a brass band and soldiers on horseback as well. The town has been decorated with bunting everywhere and banners. After the service all of the guards from the different villages march through the town to the main square where a stage had been erected and various churchmen make a speech. I love the fact that such an old tradition is still being carried out and that the town was full of people watching and supporting it.