Friday at the barn was spent planting and digging and planting some more. There'd been a deluge in the night, so the nursery-raised shrubs that we'd planted the day before were looking perky, if a trifle baffled. The rain held off all morning, which was convenient, but the ground itself was muddy and difficult to work. After all the plants were in, we wrestled with long strips of weed mat, which turned into sails in the wind. At last we managed to get it pinned down with metal staples and old wooden beams that had been stripped out of the barn (not for this express purpose, you understand). The effect is suitably rustic, but more important than that, it will hopefully serve to mark the edge of the 'civilised world' when the grass grows back around the new plants and the over-zealous neighbour or roads department people approach with their tractors.
The local airport is smart and new and, well, tiny. I have a suspicion that the woman at the check-in desk also serves the coffee and pressions in the combined arrivals/departures café. And wasn't it also her on the runway with the ping-pong bats, guiding a plane towards the terminal building?
We had a very busy but fun weekend, sharing with our guest the delights of the barn, the local villages, the market, the local Troc (emporium of second-hand everything), and consuming unhealthy quantities of good food and vin rouge by the glass. Yesterday, we were chilled through to our marrows as we'd spent hours standing around on the bare concrete floor of the barn in our stockinged feet, discussing details and schedules with Tom, so we repaired to our local Bar Tabac dreaming of a restorative cup of tea and, perhaps, an omelette piperade.
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| Omelette piperade |
The owner (who is now on nodding terms with us) seemed reluctant to make omelettes - piperade or plain - instead suggesting quite forcefully his special of the day. Soon we were tucking into generous bowls of duck/haricot bean/potato/carrot/onion stew, served with chunks of crispy baguette. Talk about restorative.
But the pièce de résistance of the weekend was Sunday lunch in a very understated restaurant (a warm and welcoming refuge from driving rain and a chilly wind): we chose parmentier de confit de canard et patates douces. Very, very delicious.
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| Parmentier de confit de canard et patates douces |
Clearly we are bad news for ducks.
This coming week looks as follows:
Monday - meet with Chas to discuss the plumbing; make a start on varnishing the stairs; finish planting
Tuesday - meet with Phil to discuss snags; Phil to hang the bathroom door; finish varnishing stairs
Wednesday - Tom to paint downstairs floor
Thursday (la fête du premier mai public holiday) - paint shutters
Friday - paint shutters; attend to dépendance (pack away tools etc. tidy, support walls with strapping and possibly waterproof with bâche); bid neighbours au revoir
Saturday - check out from chez Feral; hand back hire car; catch train to Paris
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