On the barn, well NOT YET ON the barn, are 2 doors, actually three for the big openning as the 2 "little" doors include one smaller door. These were not attached when we bought the house and barn. We're sticklers for the preservation of olde mouldy things (bits the Brits call them) and these doors have fallen into that very mascyline "trap". They are HEAVY, very heavy, the Right hand one (at least it's GOING to be the right hand one, weighs no less than 300 lbs and likely more. It has the small door attached sort of. The left hand one weighs about 200 lbs or slightly more. It is no mean feat for me to lift them on edge or reposition them. They are BIG in demension as well being 3+ meters tall and 2.8 meters wide. The openning NOW has been made smaller (sometime in the past) and is 2.62 Meters wide and 2.8 meters high. That means that your trusty handyman (me) will be sawing the old rotton bits off to get the things down to the correct size AND refitting the little door.
Great fun all this. I spent the morning standing them on edge which took some doing, then power washed them to clean off the old white wash, spider webs and tendrills from the vines of years past. Now to allow them to dry and begin sawing them, that'll happen after the Olympics.
Showing posts with label Center. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Center. Show all posts
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Back to the Rockpile
This section of the rockpile was the dining room in an earlier iteration of 35 Rue whatshisname. We don't know what it is now besides one very complete mess. We have been AT this room for at least 6 weeks and there is no end in sight. First it had to be sealed as the interior of parts of the outer wall was lying on the floor as dry red dust, horsehair and lime. Rot. Lots of rock rot. Upon inspection I decided the best course was to do as little as possible to retain the existing wall (no longer 18" thick but a mere 14") and by hook and by crook create a semblance of a flat surface once again. So I used the fibreglas mat material that is used here to prepare rough walls for paint and glued it over the existing hole's border...a vertical trampoline sort of. Then I fastened the chaor rail across and glued it to the fibreglas matting as well. It started to act and look like a wall! Then I glued thin strips of pine that I ripped from the finest French knotless pine 40cm X 70cm X 2.4meter board(s). This took some doing as my Ryobi Table Saw while quite powerful has a blade wobble problem that makes it take a wider cut than you may want on a particular pass. Several trys were made before I could create the necessary pieces.
Grrrrrr. Lot's of sawdust. Lots. Then I took these strips back into the dining room and edge and back glued them to the top and bottom of said chair rail. Now there was a place to staple the material to when we got to that step in this nearly endless project. I tested my construct with one whack of the electric staple/nail gun. Oops, that won't work, too flexible still. Blast! So back to the drawing board(s).
So I drilled a 10mm hole thru the thin wood strips and inserted and glued 10mm dowels to the rock surfaces below as a way of getting the stiffness I needed, sort of Viagra for the fibreglass mat. If all of this seems uncraftsman like well...it is but it is THERE now and while the dear reader would rather have torn down the entire three hundred year old, 17 tons of rock, lime, horsehair and common mud I chose not to. One day I MAY have to rebuild that wall and I know it but in the meantime it's what it is. Good enough. Just.
___
Today more itching, aoutat again on all (well not ALL) tender parts. We tore away the sheets, pillow cases and washed them in hot water trying to eliminate these invisible bastards. Remade both beds and sprayed them with finest French Perfume...Insect Killer! Sprayed self with the Aoutat Repellant we bought at the Pharmacia downtown and lied down for a nice peaceful nights sleep. Sure.
2 am, huh? What the hell?! Flash, KA-BOOM! Lightning, thunder, repeatedly and nearby.
Then a downpour and the sound of wind ripping through the house! Uh oh...up and turn on the lights, no lights, electricity is out too! Merde! Oh well just another summer storm in the foothills of the Massif Central. Then I feel an itch, oh noooo...oh yes, my left forearm has a thousand bites in it! What? Large reddened welts, awful, hot and boy do they itch! Damn! Salves, creams, oil and grease, fingernail polish (yes) to the rescue. All it does is lube me up, something I do NOT like! Back to bed after finding the downstairs dining room window flapping back and forth while torrential rain pours down the walls. Boy isn't this fun!? Grrrrrr.
Asleep now dreaming of AOUTATS crawling over me, eating freely of my precious skin cells...ohhhhhh. Awake at 7. The aforementioned bites on my arm are GONE! What? There were a thousand of them!? Wrong diagnosis by my addled brain? Not Aoutat? The cats have them too...that's why we changed out the linens last night and sprayed enough French Perfume to drown most insects. Gads this IS complicated. So maybe NOT Aoutat? I itch under my arms allong both sides, I lift my T shirt to show Doc Kelly and she says Ooooh. Oh no...more bites! Good greif but where are the ones that were on my arm? now I have a thousand on each side of my precious body instead.
HIVES! I have HIVES! So off to the computer to GOOGLE "Hives". Cool! And sure enough while the EXACT cause is unknown it can be set off by INSECT BITES! Anto-histamines are recommended for relief. Don't you just love this stuff online?! GOOGLE to the rescue again and again!
By for now, I have a wall to attend to.
Grrrrrr. Lot's of sawdust. Lots. Then I took these strips back into the dining room and edge and back glued them to the top and bottom of said chair rail. Now there was a place to staple the material to when we got to that step in this nearly endless project. I tested my construct with one whack of the electric staple/nail gun. Oops, that won't work, too flexible still. Blast! So back to the drawing board(s).
So I drilled a 10mm hole thru the thin wood strips and inserted and glued 10mm dowels to the rock surfaces below as a way of getting the stiffness I needed, sort of Viagra for the fibreglass mat. If all of this seems uncraftsman like well...it is but it is THERE now and while the dear reader would rather have torn down the entire three hundred year old, 17 tons of rock, lime, horsehair and common mud I chose not to. One day I MAY have to rebuild that wall and I know it but in the meantime it's what it is. Good enough. Just.
___
Today more itching, aoutat again on all (well not ALL) tender parts. We tore away the sheets, pillow cases and washed them in hot water trying to eliminate these invisible bastards. Remade both beds and sprayed them with finest French Perfume...Insect Killer! Sprayed self with the Aoutat Repellant we bought at the Pharmacia downtown and lied down for a nice peaceful nights sleep. Sure.
2 am, huh? What the hell?! Flash, KA-BOOM! Lightning, thunder, repeatedly and nearby.
Then a downpour and the sound of wind ripping through the house! Uh oh...up and turn on the lights, no lights, electricity is out too! Merde! Oh well just another summer storm in the foothills of the Massif Central. Then I feel an itch, oh noooo...oh yes, my left forearm has a thousand bites in it! What? Large reddened welts, awful, hot and boy do they itch! Damn! Salves, creams, oil and grease, fingernail polish (yes) to the rescue. All it does is lube me up, something I do NOT like! Back to bed after finding the downstairs dining room window flapping back and forth while torrential rain pours down the walls. Boy isn't this fun!? Grrrrrr.
Asleep now dreaming of AOUTATS crawling over me, eating freely of my precious skin cells...ohhhhhh. Awake at 7. The aforementioned bites on my arm are GONE! What? There were a thousand of them!? Wrong diagnosis by my addled brain? Not Aoutat? The cats have them too...that's why we changed out the linens last night and sprayed enough French Perfume to drown most insects. Gads this IS complicated. So maybe NOT Aoutat? I itch under my arms allong both sides, I lift my T shirt to show Doc Kelly and she says Ooooh. Oh no...more bites! Good greif but where are the ones that were on my arm? now I have a thousand on each side of my precious body instead.
HIVES! I have HIVES! So off to the computer to GOOGLE "Hives". Cool! And sure enough while the EXACT cause is unknown it can be set off by INSECT BITES! Anto-histamines are recommended for relief. Don't you just love this stuff online?! GOOGLE to the rescue again and again!
By for now, I have a wall to attend to.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
#94 Sundai School in Chezal Benoit
#94
Not just ANY Sunday either! Chezal - Benoit (Che-sahl - Ben-Wha) was having it's annual Brocante (junk sale) and mental health summit. You see Chezal - Benoiy is the home of a Mental Hospital and the sellers occupy the town right up to it's gate. Too, many of the patients are present adding their own color and grunts to the event. L came to the Ruin at 9 am and while she made the huge green salad for the party we were attending afterwards at A&R's, Kelly and I scrambled to both wake up from the party the afternoon and early evening of Saturday (yes we do these things serially it seems) (where 5 of us drank 7 bottles of the finest below 2 Euros sparkling wine and wine). I made Spinach Canneloni and it was very, very good if I do say so myself. Followed some hours later by a Pasta Povera with garlic, capers. It always works, a very simple dish that I've described in my blog before. That was Saturday's food scene, Sunday afternoons at our friends A&R's was an Asian-styled food fest. A and R had preped vegies galore, carrots, radishes, green and red bell peppers, onions, lemons and had various bottled sauces and condiments. I was put in charge by the Master Chef herself who provided me with the valued kitchen support I needed to create an asian feast. It was great creative fun and there was more than enough food at the end for A&R to have leftovers for two meals at least! I came up with Oyster Sauce Beef, Musselman Curry, Vietnamese Lemon Pork, Red Pepper Chicken, Chop Suey (YES!), and a couple of other ad hoc dishes thrown in for good measure. All over rice, thai rice noodles. Much wine was drank, as usual. The French couple from up the road (Chicken Farm) chatted amiably with all of us, in French of course...but we seemed to rise to the occassion. I had a bit of trouble understanding which isn't unusual as the speed at which the French speak is, at times, intimidating. They also brought along their own product...goat cheeses from their heard of Goats, it was, without doubt, the FINEST goat cheese I have EVER enjoyed! The Ash coverred round loaf was spectacularly good. Wonderful light texture and a lemony aftertaste that just faded to the next bite. Anyway, we all enjoyed ourselves emmensly in A&R's sunroom under ever darkening skies and eventually the late afternoon pouring rains. Here's the link to the YouTube movie of the Brocante we enjoyed in the morning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT6Ztt_Iz1o
What a lovely day, rain or not. Great fun with great people, tons of chat and laughs galore, Life hardly could be better than this.
Not just ANY Sunday either! Chezal - Benoit (Che-sahl - Ben-Wha) was having it's annual Brocante (junk sale) and mental health summit. You see Chezal - Benoiy is the home of a Mental Hospital and the sellers occupy the town right up to it's gate. Too, many of the patients are present adding their own color and grunts to the event. L came to the Ruin at 9 am and while she made the huge green salad for the party we were attending afterwards at A&R's, Kelly and I scrambled to both wake up from the party the afternoon and early evening of Saturday (yes we do these things serially it seems) (where 5 of us drank 7 bottles of the finest below 2 Euros sparkling wine and wine). I made Spinach Canneloni and it was very, very good if I do say so myself. Followed some hours later by a Pasta Povera with garlic, capers. It always works, a very simple dish that I've described in my blog before. That was Saturday's food scene, Sunday afternoons at our friends A&R's was an Asian-styled food fest. A and R had preped vegies galore, carrots, radishes, green and red bell peppers, onions, lemons and had various bottled sauces and condiments. I was put in charge by the Master Chef herself who provided me with the valued kitchen support I needed to create an asian feast. It was great creative fun and there was more than enough food at the end for A&R to have leftovers for two meals at least! I came up with Oyster Sauce Beef, Musselman Curry, Vietnamese Lemon Pork, Red Pepper Chicken, Chop Suey (YES!), and a couple of other ad hoc dishes thrown in for good measure. All over rice, thai rice noodles. Much wine was drank, as usual. The French couple from up the road (Chicken Farm) chatted amiably with all of us, in French of course...but we seemed to rise to the occassion. I had a bit of trouble understanding which isn't unusual as the speed at which the French speak is, at times, intimidating. They also brought along their own product...goat cheeses from their heard of Goats, it was, without doubt, the FINEST goat cheese I have EVER enjoyed! The Ash coverred round loaf was spectacularly good. Wonderful light texture and a lemony aftertaste that just faded to the next bite. Anyway, we all enjoyed ourselves emmensly in A&R's sunroom under ever darkening skies and eventually the late afternoon pouring rains. Here's the link to the YouTube movie of the Brocante we enjoyed in the morning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT6Ztt_Iz1o
What a lovely day, rain or not. Great fun with great people, tons of chat and laughs galore, Life hardly could be better than this.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Off to China...
I have begun The Search. Pipes, drains for the precious water system, Blackwater (shit) and Rainwater (fresh almost) exist somewhere in the olde courtyard. The Veolia inspector person indicated they ran adjacent to the new ancient kitchen. Sure. And, of course, the ONLY fault in our entire dye inspected system was MY connection of the olde kitchen's sink to the rainwater downpipe from the roof. Seemed convienent. Damn. So I have begun The Dig. I have "sign", an old rusted bottle cap at 12 inches and a fragment of a plate found about 16" under the surface. But no sign of an actual PIPE carrying actual shit. I have three tools for this project, 4 if you count me. A 6 foot breaker bar, a square tipped shovel and a gardening hoe-type tool. I chose a spot between the kitchen and where the effulent comes out of the showerroom and disappears into the ground at some oblique angle. Who knows? This could take a while especially at the rate that I dig.
___
The front window painting exercize is going forward while I lurch dirt into the pile in the courtyard. Kelly is scraping away, it's looking better as she goes. She is also painting the coffee table black that I have set up in the courtyard on metal sawhorses. She says she is in her Black Phase, guess so.
___
No Lean came out of the kitchen to examine the courtyard with me in it. She ringed the area sniffing here and there and chewing whatever vomit-grass she could locate. That promises a little wet surprise somewhere real-soon-now. Nice...cats.
___
The language lesson yesterday at A&R's went off pretty well, embarrassment was at it's height as no one there other than A herself can say much in Francaise at all. We all listened attentively at Don as he gave some language theory and explained verb endings to his languid class. Remember, these are all native English speakers, it is 6pm nearing dinner time and their brains are challenged by French no matter what. Mine certainly is. We yawned a bit, listened intently and had a generally swell time. Next time we are at the teacher's house. He wouldn't accept our payment either so we decided to pool the monies and do something wonderful with it when this exercize has reached some natural ending. Buy the teacher a nice bottle of scotch and a straw was one suggestion.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Une Petite Francaise SVP
That's all it really takes, a LITTLE French. Be polite, address all persons as vous, si vous plait is good all the time. CA VA! (How are you - to those with whom you have a standing friendship andhave been properly told that now we can be familiar) To which one replies Ca Va! back (I'm ok). Well today is Tuesday and our friend Don who is a retired language teacher is taking on our little groups need for French tutorage par groupe, oh lord, help him! After 6 years of visiting this lovely, genteel land our grasp of it's language is abouton the level of a 2 year old (or less!). It's NOT for lack of trying, we have many CD's, this course and that course, have taken courses at the local tourist board til we drove them mad, and commuted one a week to Berkeley to bang French into our heads. Little sticks but what does is in the present tense almost always, NOTHING comes naturally. So today we will begin yet again to learn a bit of French for the sakes of the oh so friendly French folk in and about our village and environs. Sure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsfV-ZL4rUo&NR=1
___
The black paint job is through for now, now we must scrape off the over-painting on the glass of a million panels, oh boy. So I do a panel or two, scrape, scrape, brush, scrape and I soon tire of this and wander off and Kelly grabs the scraper and razor blade and goes to work on it. This will take a while. I want to get on with the cloth hanging but it takes laying out and pattern matching before it can be hung. It will be one very dramatic entrance to the old girl, the pattern is Japanesey black on a subtle gold in big swirly things that dance along edge to edge almost. The curtains are going to be a lighter gold with a little texture in them, the whole effect should be stunning...perhaps too stunning. No matter, as soon as this scraping activity is done we will have at it.
___
I brought over my oil painting "bits" (a UK word meaning...things), brushes, media, linseed oil, tubes of paints, the whole bloody mess. When will I paint? I dunno, I never know...If I get inspiration I'm often unmotivated and if I'm unmotivated my inspiration fades and I'm back at square one again. It's the opposite of procrastination where you should do something but you put it off. This takes less effort. Nonetheless the stuff is here, I have canvasses and we'll see what time does.
___
Back to the scrapings,
H
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsfV-ZL4rUo&NR=1
___
The black paint job is through for now, now we must scrape off the over-painting on the glass of a million panels, oh boy. So I do a panel or two, scrape, scrape, brush, scrape and I soon tire of this and wander off and Kelly grabs the scraper and razor blade and goes to work on it. This will take a while. I want to get on with the cloth hanging but it takes laying out and pattern matching before it can be hung. It will be one very dramatic entrance to the old girl, the pattern is Japanesey black on a subtle gold in big swirly things that dance along edge to edge almost. The curtains are going to be a lighter gold with a little texture in them, the whole effect should be stunning...perhaps too stunning. No matter, as soon as this scraping activity is done we will have at it.
___
I brought over my oil painting "bits" (a UK word meaning...things), brushes, media, linseed oil, tubes of paints, the whole bloody mess. When will I paint? I dunno, I never know...If I get inspiration I'm often unmotivated and if I'm unmotivated my inspiration fades and I'm back at square one again. It's the opposite of procrastination where you should do something but you put it off. This takes less effort. Nonetheless the stuff is here, I have canvasses and we'll see what time does.
___
Back to the scrapings,
H
Friday, May 16, 2008
Another Day in a Lazy Paradise
Yawn...up at 6am, I looked out the window of the comp room where I slept last night to see a grey and cloudy sky. Oh well, off to the computer to read the emails, if any, and see what the weather sensors have detected overnight. It is a passion of mine, the weather is, I study the situation day by day trying to sort out the forecast for the next WHILE. Kelly's knees are far more accurate than any local forecast we get from the TV.
Mine , however, are more personal and I have INSIDE information, don't I? Today was not sunny, overcast and grey as could be all afternoon. We worked around the house this morning then in need of paint, nails and a few other hardware items we left at about 1:30pm bound for St. Amand's Brico Marche. I needed potting soil, some exterior wood glue and some wall fasteners, Kelly needed paint. We found our items and found each other and proceeded to the checkout cashier. As it turned out she had inadvertly bought MAT paint so after the discovery at the car returned to the store to trade in the 2.5 liter carton of MAT for the more desirable Semi-gloss. She also bought the black glossy she wanted to finish the mullions of the waiting room exterior.
The whole works is spectacular.
Mine , however, are more personal and I have INSIDE information, don't I? Today was not sunny, overcast and grey as could be all afternoon. We worked around the house this morning then in need of paint, nails and a few other hardware items we left at about 1:30pm bound for St. Amand's Brico Marche. I needed potting soil, some exterior wood glue and some wall fasteners, Kelly needed paint. We found our items and found each other and proceeded to the checkout cashier. As it turned out she had inadvertly bought MAT paint so after the discovery at the car returned to the store to trade in the 2.5 liter carton of MAT for the more desirable Semi-gloss. She also bought the black glossy she wanted to finish the mullions of the waiting room exterior.
The whole works is spectacular.
Monday, May 12, 2008
The Donkey Faire
Monday 12 May, 2008
Today is the BIG DAY! The donkeys are coming, the donkeys are coming! I was up early to witness the arrivals, donkeys from everywhere in France in one's, twos, tens, tied to rails in the Champ du Foire (Fair Field). Beautiful, noisy and a cause to celebrate Asses of the 4 legged variety. Our hope this year was that the weather would be nice instead of the storminess of last years version. Up early, at dawn, for no good reason (part of ageing) I looked out the comp rm window and the skies were clear. Whoopee! Even before dawn the trucks were lining up to deliver thier braying hoards onto the Champ (shaw-mp). I grabbed my trusty Nikon Coolpix S10 and set it to movie and left the house bound to see the beginnings of todays Big Event in Lignieres. The movies are in two parts, each about 5 minutes in length. Just click the links below.
Today is the BIG DAY! The donkeys are coming, the donkeys are coming! I was up early to witness the arrivals, donkeys from everywhere in France in one's, twos, tens, tied to rails in the Champ du Foire (Fair Field). Beautiful, noisy and a cause to celebrate Asses of the 4 legged variety. Our hope this year was that the weather would be nice instead of the storminess of last years version. Up early, at dawn, for no good reason (part of ageing) I looked out the comp rm window and the skies were clear. Whoopee! Even before dawn the trucks were lining up to deliver thier braying hoards onto the Champ (shaw-mp). I grabbed my trusty Nikon Coolpix S10 and set it to movie and left the house bound to see the beginnings of todays Big Event in Lignieres. The movies are in two parts, each about 5 minutes in length. Just click the links below.
The Donkey Faire Continued:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbBHfJCNu2U
Too big to upload? Who knows, I've tried three times now to no avail so just click the link and watch it on YouTube. Sorry.
After the 2nd video (about 11:30) I returned to the house to prepare for our late afternoon lunch for 10. My grand idea for this gathering was to have the group make thie own sandwiches. Well...that's how I set the table up, you know...plates of onion rings, tomato slices, pre-cut bagettes, lettuce leaves etc. and a big salad. This was to be made easier by the addition of leftovers from the meal the night before at A&R's place. Easy to do, fun outdoor-sy at our now long table with the additional length furnished by my library table which I just completed. Sure. Wine by the bottle was soon flowing among the gathered group and conversations went off like firecrackers in every direction. I thought I made to announcement re:making your own sandwiches, but the second the plate of meats (chicken and pork) were deliverred to te table the group swarmed on them like hungry wolves. What sandwiches? Oh well, best laid plans and all of that. Much wine was drunk, the Vouvray Sparkling was especially delicious and made for a festive occassion. The party moved indoors with the coming of the late afternoon rain and we raided the bar closet for samples of the many bottles. Great fun was had by all as usual, Our Little Supper Club.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
A Week of Warm Sun...
It's true! A whole bloody week with some sun everyday and not a drop of H2O to go with it! Yippee! We had grown quite tired of the constant grey skies and rain routine that seemed to go on and on weeks at a time. Suddenly it's Real Springtime! Birds, swallows, pigeons, tits, nightingales in and out of our backyard feeding station all day long, wonderful!
___
The Waiting Room project continues with Kelly painting the elaborate iron window frame with several coats of her own home-brewed color choice, looks nice. The small wall and the door still need the cloth covering and curtains are yet to be put up, but it is close, maybe this week. I opened up the wall at the entrance to the Dining Room, it was a constant wet source and the lower portion was soft, damaged and falling off of it's own accord. It was, as expected, waddle and daub (rock and mud) covered by individual tiles of a light fired brick color, interesting as an artifact of much earlier times but not the wonderful STONE edifice we desired. I'll do some wood mouldings around the doorway and cover it all up with a moisture barrier of some sort and a more modern equivalent of the horsehair plaster that someone used a century or two ago.
___
Today and tomorrow are (today) Pentacost (Everything you EVER wanted to know about this celebration is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentacost ) and the Monday after, so what do you say you heathen, ok, ok, it's The Donkey Faire in Lignieres! Two days of Merguez and frits, red wine, crowds, agricultural sights and sounds and donkey shit by the bagful! Terrific as long as the weather holds out. Last year it was not a nice day. Wet and sloppy, cold too boot. I have a short video of it on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qNxC0srBJo . Today Sunday is the Opening Day and Tomorrow is The Big Day. Difference? Dunno, but there's LOTS of Donkeys arriving today, tomorrow they will already BE here and there's more shit on the ground. It's a wondrous thing to behold, donkeys and their keepers from all over France and a few from other European countries. They come to show them, buy them and sell them and all the gear that goes with. It's a great rural France scene. Not to be missed.
___
I built a Library Table this last week, used the Sapin pine panels for the lumber as I had downfall from the Waiting Room bookcase project of last week. The table was simple to build and came out quite well if I must say so myself. Not to be used in the library though, more as a utility table, another flat surface to fill with papers and tools and reading materials AND mostly as an adjunct to our outside table so we can accommodate more persons for summer lunches and dinners outside.
___
We had dinner with our Scottish friends Danny and Wanda last night, she is a wonderful cook and I appreciate and invite to their table anytime. We sat outside amidst there sizeable garden which we toured before dinner. Row after neat row of every vegetable important to cooking, it is very impressive, Alice Waters would be proud. We drank more wine and nibbled then went inside to have one very fine meal of Roast Leg of Lamb, Scalloped Potatoes, Green Beans. a fine rich gravy from the pan drippings, a very fresh green salad with her special dressing (I MUST get that recipe) followed by a cheese course (It IS France after all!), and a lovely gelatine, mandarin orange with cream trifle as dessert. Wonderful all. We finished the night with scotches outside under a clear and dark, dark sky. A very easy and wonderful way to end the week. I'd be happy to pay for it!
___
The Waiting Room project continues with Kelly painting the elaborate iron window frame with several coats of her own home-brewed color choice, looks nice. The small wall and the door still need the cloth covering and curtains are yet to be put up, but it is close, maybe this week. I opened up the wall at the entrance to the Dining Room, it was a constant wet source and the lower portion was soft, damaged and falling off of it's own accord. It was, as expected, waddle and daub (rock and mud) covered by individual tiles of a light fired brick color, interesting as an artifact of much earlier times but not the wonderful STONE edifice we desired. I'll do some wood mouldings around the doorway and cover it all up with a moisture barrier of some sort and a more modern equivalent of the horsehair plaster that someone used a century or two ago.
___
Today and tomorrow are (today) Pentacost (Everything you EVER wanted to know about this celebration is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentacost ) and the Monday after, so what do you say you heathen, ok, ok, it's The Donkey Faire in Lignieres! Two days of Merguez and frits, red wine, crowds, agricultural sights and sounds and donkey shit by the bagful! Terrific as long as the weather holds out. Last year it was not a nice day. Wet and sloppy, cold too boot. I have a short video of it on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qNxC0srBJo . Today Sunday is the Opening Day and Tomorrow is The Big Day. Difference? Dunno, but there's LOTS of Donkeys arriving today, tomorrow they will already BE here and there's more shit on the ground. It's a wondrous thing to behold, donkeys and their keepers from all over France and a few from other European countries. They come to show them, buy them and sell them and all the gear that goes with. It's a great rural France scene. Not to be missed.
___
I built a Library Table this last week, used the Sapin pine panels for the lumber as I had downfall from the Waiting Room bookcase project of last week. The table was simple to build and came out quite well if I must say so myself. Not to be used in the library though, more as a utility table, another flat surface to fill with papers and tools and reading materials AND mostly as an adjunct to our outside table so we can accommodate more persons for summer lunches and dinners outside.
___
We had dinner with our Scottish friends Danny and Wanda last night, she is a wonderful cook and I appreciate and invite to their table anytime. We sat outside amidst there sizeable garden which we toured before dinner. Row after neat row of every vegetable important to cooking, it is very impressive, Alice Waters would be proud. We drank more wine and nibbled then went inside to have one very fine meal of Roast Leg of Lamb, Scalloped Potatoes, Green Beans. a fine rich gravy from the pan drippings, a very fresh green salad with her special dressing (I MUST get that recipe) followed by a cheese course (It IS France after all!), and a lovely gelatine, mandarin orange with cream trifle as dessert. Wonderful all. We finished the night with scotches outside under a clear and dark, dark sky. A very easy and wonderful way to end the week. I'd be happy to pay for it!
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