Some Like it Hot and Some Not

We're well into the hot season here in southern France and it is advisable and sensible to stay indoors or in the shade most of the day. One good thing about being unemployed is that this does not pose a problem for me. The problem is to keep oneself occupied without getting too hot. Although I do sometimes get the odd crazy ideas (Home Bakery) which I instantly regret but have to finish doing anyway.

We drive to our little 'garden' nearly every morning to do the watering but after that it really is way too hot to go outside unless absolutely necessary. Luckily the night temperatures have fallen back to around +20°c, instead of the +29°c, so it is possible to get some sleep.

I do spend a lot of time on the internet since a) the fan nearby keeps me cool b) my hands don't get sweaty and c) I am rather addicted to Candy Crush Saga (thanks to my aunt who introduced me to this game) and Pyramid Solitaire Saga. The last reason is a bit sad but it did get me through many a boring moment when I was recovering after the knee operation. I just never managed to stop...

Some time ago I found a what I thought to be a rather good jigsaw puzzle, until I started it and realised it was hideously difficult. And the lack of light in this flat doesn't make it any easier.
Then these past few weeks the cat has taken to sleeping on the puzzle box and since she is getting older and needs her sleep , I normally leave her to it.

Today is not a puzzle day.

Last week we went to the beach which was lovely. Really have to do it more often even though it is bit far away and involves driving through places we don't know (got lost on the way home). This was a new beach we tried and we liked it. You need a car to get there so no noisy teenagers with their ghetto-blasters and smoking. It was clean, calm and just the thing my grumpy, middle-aged nerves needed on a sweltering day.

Will I ever get used to this heat? Maybe it is because I am Finnish or maybe I am just too old. It would be ok if it was a holiday by the sea, I suppose, but every day for three months is a bit much.

Green fingers

I am a country girl, through and through and all the years spent livining in cities or someplace else with no possibility to garden have done nothing to lessen my urge to grow things, quite the opposite. So few months ago when our neighbour proposed to lend us a piece of land for the summer (10 minute drive up the road), we jumped at the chance. Hooray, finally I could get my hands in the soil and start planning what to grow.
I know a few people in my family who would find all this enthusiasm surprising, given the fact that I hated the veggie plot as a kid because all the work was compulsory and involved getting up very early in the morning. And growing up on a farm the veggie plot was more like an entire field of potatoes and turnips, seeming endless to a small child who'd much rather been playing in the forest building huts.

The reality of starting a garden this time was of course different than my plans; we started a bit late  and nearly all the seeds had already gone from the supermarket so I just had to grab whatever was left. Carrots, spinach and lettuce it is then!

We got few other things as well from our local garden centre but they were a bit more pricey. As we were so late we had to get little plants of tomatoes and courgettes to plant, to make sure we would have time to reap the rewards.

And here is our neighbours extra piece of land, looking more like a rubbish dump. He likes to collect all sorts of junk and is literally incapable throwing anything away. Those two tractors at least work but everything else is just...well, junk. Quite handy actually when you are looking for bits and pieces you need in a garden; tools, sticks to support the plants and other things.

The building at the back is a kind of shed for our neighbourg, a place to get far away from the wife (15km exactly). It is his childhood home and he has been renovating it for about 20 years, swearing to move in there every time the home life gets too stifling.
The origins of the story of the house involves arguments, hot tempers, hard heads and some dynamite but maybe more about that some other time. Back to the garden!

And here's the beginning of our first garden! Hard work at this first stage but still enjoyable. Mon Cheri has never grown anything so his enthusiasm knows no bounds and every day he seems to be discovering new things. I bit too much sometimes; he is now trying to tell me how to do things! Quick learner that one!

There's plenty of bamboos growing in these parts and they make fantastic support sticks.Here's the masterpiece I fashioned for the tomatoes.

One of the happy surprises has been the melons. I have never grown them and also I am not familiar with this type of soil and heat, so I really have no idea what to expect. But they are blossoming quietly by themselves and finding the first, already a good size, melon under the leaves was an exciting moment. I am easily pleased,me!

Ah, the wonderful courgettes! So easy to grow, so plentyful and truly delicious.

Our neighbour gave us some mangetout seeds which were way past they sell by date but I thought were nevertheless worth a try. And they popped up in no time!

We are both slightly obsessed by tomatoes. We  both love them and have already lots of plans what to make with them. Last year I discovered a delicious reduced tomato sauce which is just out of this world and great on a pizza or in a bolognese sauce. So I'm happy to report that the tomatoes seem to be doing really well, growing without any diseases or major problems.

All the lettuce seeds didn't germinate but the ones that did seem to be doing ok. We started the garden couple of months ago and the growing rate has somewhat surprised me. Must be all the sun and heat.

Not all the plants are doing well though; the two rows of carrots sown have produced only few who are growing very very slowly and I am not sure they will every make it. The spinach has been a complete disaster and now the mangetout are developing some problems as well.

But this is the first year and time to try what works, what doesn't. At least the main things like tomatoes, courgettes, haricots and lettuce are doing well and we are already enjoying eating them. The hard work is starting to pay off.

Home bakery

The other evening I got a great idea to start baking biscuits at 9pm when the temperature outside was still +30°c and I was extremely tired and grumpy. A recipe for disaster, you might well think. But when an idea has taken root in my head, it is hard to stop it. So, against my better judgment I attacked an old Finnish recipe, baking equally in the warm glow of my chilhood memories and the stifling temperatures. Let me precise that the last time I made these biscuits was about twenty years ago so the success rate should be rather high! What could possibly go wrong?

(This kitchen is not big enough. It is too effing hot. The dough is melting in my fingers.)

It all started well enough; I did have all the ingredients, tools was arranged and ready,  and I could already imagine tasting the result and being whisked away to my childhood days, ransacking the biscuit cupboard when my mother wasn't watching. Instead I found myself poking the way too soft dough, adding a bit more flour and starting to despair, feeling the approaching disaster. No amount of flour seemed to make the difference and I could feel my brain melting with the dough in the incredible heat. What bullshit is this? Why did I ever start doing this in the first place? And what is to be done now? I could not admit defeat.

After huffing and puffing and a good lot of swearing, my brain worked long enough to send me the message that it was probably a good idea to stick the dough in the fridge for a while. But of course! I knew that.

And hey presto! After a little while it was possible to roll the dough without it constantly sticking onto the table and finish my work.

They are probably not the prettiest biscuits you've ever seen but if the taste is ok, I don't really care.

 

Take a good look at these babies! Muy bueno! Tres bon!

And finally they're ready. Filled with Mon Cheri's homemade apricot jam.And they were good, hooray! Mon Cheri is delighted, trying desperately to limit himself for only one biscuit per day.
As they say, the proof is in the pudding!

Weak at knees

Almost a year ago I was painting the kitchen wall and coming down the ladder, missed one step, hit the ground hard and dislocated my left knee. From that started the Lets-Heal-the-Knees-saga that is still far from the finishing line but I can already see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I have always had problems with my knees ( dislocations, arthritis, aches, pain, you name it) but nothing much has been done with them until now. Living in France has its advantages because the health care here is superb and the waiting times reasonable. I met a young, capable and reassuring surgeon who right away suggested an operation ( partial prothese) that could help me and feeling I could trust him (I have also a life-long fobia of anyone touching my knees, due to some rough treatment after a childhood accident) I went ahead with it. And found out my trust was well-placed. Everything went smoothly and already my knee feels much better than before.

Here right after the Operation no.1., in January. One knee done, one to go.

Five days at the hospital and almost six weeks in the rehabilitation centre later...
Looking good!

Five years ago I broke my right leg and they placed a titanium stick inside the leg to support the bone. Now, with this prothese operation they were going to cut off a piece of my leg bone to move it and this stick would be on the way. Hence, it had to go.

This 'little' day-operation happened a month ago and according to the surgeon wasn't going to be very painful afterwards. Wrong. Apparently I am an exception because I have been in pain ever since, my leg is still a bit green with the hematoma and only now the pain is starting to lessen.

Isn't it pretty?

It has been a year since I was last on my bike or walked long distances. Starting to be a bit fed up already but have to dig up some patience from somewhere. Come on October and the Operation no.2!!

Wet wet wet

I was woken up by thunder and pouring rain at about 2am. Followed by that a cat started a midnight concert on the street and finally a neighbour stumbled home noisily, trying a good while to get the key to fit into the lock. I do wear earplugs but we have to keep the window open during the night due to the suffocating heat; it is quite hard to get to sleep in +30 °c.  The thuderstorm had freshened the weather a bit but now I was completely awake and went to downstairs to read, not to disturb mon cheri who was happily snoring away. I am jealous!

I have had a rather disturbed sleeping pattern for quite a while now, I suppose it is the age, and the constant heat at the summertime doesn't help at all. Furthermore and to my eternal joy, we live in a lively street, right in the middle of the old town, and there is always some sort of noise, day or night.

The rain itself was welcome. It has been a while since the last storm and this dry corner or France well and truly needs it. We have also got a small garden, thanks to a neighbour who lent us a piece of land, to grow vegetables. The nearby canal where we normally get the water for the plants does not always have enough water, so any help from the nature is very welcome.

So, 2 am, and I was pottering around, listening to the sounds of the night and the rain, checking the fridge for something to nibble on and finally started reading while waiting for the sleep to come again. This is the current read. It is quite exciting, so perhaps not the best choice for the insomniac.

And here's a photo of some delicious apricot jam mon cheri made earlier in the week. He has already cooked two batches and it looks like we'll have enough jam for the year! I am already looking forward to breakfast!

Allez Les Bleus

It is the day when France will meet Croatia in the FIFA Worldcup Final and even I, who normally loathes football, have got a bit excited and watched a couple of matches these past few weeks. After all, I live now here in France and have a french Cheri, so it is almost an obligation to be up-to-date about it all, especially now that we are in the final! I even made hats for us to really get into the mood at the home studio!

Only couple hours to go until the start of the game and the village seems to be gathering its strength for the partying and all-night-hullabaloo in case we win. Time to get the food ready for the night so I can then park my derrière on the sofa for the duration of the game.
Allez les bleus!