Phew, that was close ! Saturday, Apr 13 2024

This week I have had 3 meetings with a new agent.

 I’ve heard nothing from Lucie so I am instructing the young man who used his initiative & turned up last Autumn asking to put the house on his books.

He speaks mediocre English which matches my mediocre French so we have no trouble communicating. The first meeting was last Friday, here, second meeting yesterday at his office & third here again today …… it’s taken him week to get the paperwork sorted ready for me to sign & then to take photos.

 He arrived in wonderful sunshine & the garden looks so good, so a perfect day for phots.

 He duly pointed me to which pages to sign……. yes pages of the stuff naturally bureaucratic French style, I asked why so many pages when I would not be the one to pay his fees…. that’s the purchasers responsibility in France.  

At the same time of asking I spotted the words,  MANDAT EXCLUSIVE, ah, so there was the explanation, all the details for which they can sue if not adhered to etc………………..Not only that, it seems this exclusivity was to run for 3 MONTHS.

Next,  after our lengthy discussion on price yesterday, which was left inconclusive,   I noticed he had dropped the price I wanted by 20,000 Euros ! 

As you can imagine the meeting was pleasant enough but he did pressurise me on the price & obviously disappointed about the open mandate, but I found the courage to insist. . Having been disappointed with Lucie’s 2 month exclusivity last year no way do I want to tie myself again this year.

So, off he went to get the correct paperwork printed & here I am feeling fully exposed with every personal detail now with another estate agency. There is no privacy here……like when I bought my first car in France, I had to produce my divorce certificate !!!

Why do woman always have to be legally connected to men = status choice for divorced women is always divorced , never SINGLE  ?

There’s one agents name I’ve seen on two sold boards along the road leading to here, so I will probably instruct him too…..and then have to go through all this again……… Sigh, if only I could find a buyer myself that would save them the agents fees……maybe I will post it on FB ? 

What I bought !

What I’m selling…..

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Emotional…….. Sunday, Mar 31 2024

It must be because I’m on the cusp of big changes to my life that the past is on my mind & it’s Easter again.

This was always a happy time growing up, being brought up a Methodist, I loved singing, I was in the chapel choir, at Easter we sang a Cantata my favourite was,  the Messiah, particularly the Hallelujah chorus…….. sometimes my mother would do solo.

As an adult I now have very emotional Easters due to two major events,  the biggest, the trauma of my life occurring on Easter Sunday when I was just 21 years old.

That terrible morning…..when I was happily working in Jersey, living in digs,  at 8am my landlady, Connie, called up to me saying my parents were on the phone calling from Shropshire, how odd, something they had never done before….I took the receiver from her & listened in disbelief as my Father told me that my sister, 22 years old, had died,  

We were very close, she was happily married, not ill,  but,  she was pregnant………… dear Connie sat on the stairs & wept with me.

A couple of years later I entered an incompatible marriage , which I have always felt was due to this loss, I was naive & inexperienced having no idea what to look for in a husband,  he & I had absolutely nothing in common.

Of course there were some good times but mostly for me, unhappy, I was not allowed to work, so had long days to fill .  I was married to an undemonstrative man who continued living much the same as in his single days . We never had money worries & had a pretty lavish lifestyle , but for me it was hollow & lonely………….. then 5 years into the marriage I became pregnant.

Those nine months were the happiest time & of all dates my daughter was born on the due date,  at 11-20am Easter Sunday……….husband finally arrived at 6pm.

Memories.

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It’s Only Taken 3 Years ! Monday, Mar 25 2024

Since living in France I have yearned for Bangers & Mash,Toad in the Hole, Sausages with mustard/HP but  have never found any sausage to compare to the British banger …. so,  I decided to make my own………..

 I bought a mincing machine at least 3 years ago, I found it cumbersome, noisy & inefficient, it clogged up on the slightest bit of gristle or sinew, the skins I bought kept bursting & I could only buy them in a large quantity…cleaning all the different greasy components was something else I had not bargained for.

In sheer frustration  I gave up after three tries with different pork cuts & placed the darn thing in the cupboard , never to be touched again…….. until last week.

I thought I’ll try again to mince some fatty pork , but alas the same horrible struggle, grease & fat on everything I touched…taking the thing apart clearing & reassembling etc,  all the time wanting that taste of a British banger.

Determined not to be beaten this time,  I bought different skins & this weekend decided to buy ready minced meat, ‘Farce’ [ very apt ] as it’s called here.  I added spices, salt ,pepper, fine bread crumbs & a little dried milk that I had in stock for bread making & quite a lot of water….yes having taken a tutorial on Youtube I was surprised to read water is needed, I then did a lot of squelchy hand mixing & placed the mix in the fridge overnight……this for water absorption.  

Sunday morning, time to make sausages. Thinking I didn’t need the electric monster I used a very large icing syringe to feed meat into the skins………..unbelievably it worked !! I made 3 beautiful looking sausages…… 

However,  that didn’t last as the pressure broke the feed pipe, so, it was back to the electric monster.

 As seen here, what a mess, the thing was still a problem, every time one pulled up the plunger the suction also pulled up the meat, such a pain…. but, I persevered & finally… hours later… I ended up with a further 17 pretty good looking sausages !!

I do still need to learn how to twist them properly..

As instructed I hung them overnight,  apparently this is to blend all the flavours & improve texture……..then,  this morning, I placed two in my skillet to cook for breakfast, oh joy, at last the flavour I have been looking for.

I cannot tell you how good they are, texture perfect, no gristle & absolutely yummy …… a real taste of home .

Success. :-)

I have bagged them up 2 in a bag & placed in the freezer. 

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MAGNETS………. Sunday, Mar 10 2024

We have already heard how great they are for industry & the Japanese trains but here at home I have used them a lot in the kitchen, to hang things on kitchen walls.

I’ve used small round magnets on my scissors, bottle openers containers etc ,no fussing with hooks just place them on a magnetic surface……I have seen knives hung like this, but there’s so many more uses.

The most inventive way has been for my fridge, no not little decorative badge type magnets which I always thought look messy anyway, but big, change the appearance,  magnetic sheets like this.

Marketed for dishwasher doors, but can be lifted off & manipulated in any way, will adhere to any metal surface & can be easily cut to size .

Then there’s  the most useful magnet ever which I have put on the upper freezer door, the plastic handle snapped off & could not be re-fixed…..so what could be done to keep the door closed ?

 I couldn’t use this section & the fridge would have been permanently running without a closure of some kind, it surely would have tried to keep up that freezing temperature without a door ? An idea for designer might be separate controls for the freezer section…….maybe there are on more expensive models, but this is a small fridge ?

So in a flash of inspiration I thought maybe super glueing a small magnet on the plastic post & another on the door would work ?……………….nothing ventured nothing gained , so I stuck them on waited for the glue to dry & bingo problem solved, it’s worked brilliantly……. now after a month , all still working, food stays frozen & we’re up & running again. This begs the question why are magnets not used for many more closures ?

In the meantime I am trying to get my head around the coming marketing of the house again, after a winter of relaxing on the housework, I dread the heavy workload starting up again, but it has to be done , sigh. 😦

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Extra-ordinary Luck ? Monday, Jan 22 2024

January is turning out to be a good month for me, I did read 2024 was going to be good for Leo’s so it’s certainly proving to be.

First up is a win on the Premium Bonds,  £500 was a great surprise, their email said I’d won but I dismissed it thinking, just another £25, a week later I logged onto my bank account & saw I was wrong !

Another nice surprise came last week, which is too complex to talk about here, but something this weekend really mystified me…………………as follows.

On Saturday I went to the sales, I tried on some clothes, none of which I bought, then later that night when undressing, to my dismay, I realised I had lost an earring, how upsetting, not for monetary value as these earrings were rescued from the Recycling centre for 2 Euros, but because they were/are Moonstone, stones I’d never had & this was the first time I’d worn them, we all hate losing things & especially when it’s carelessness,  I know I should have checked before leaving the changing room.

I assumed when removing my own thick polo necked jumper [ Arran] I’d pulled the earring out, so it was probably on the changing room floor. 

I thought back to where I went after that, it was to the hypermarket where I spent some time browsing, crossed their car park, then drove home, walked down the garden path, so it could be anywhere……by this time I was really upset.

When I’d returned home there was a parcel delivery from Amazon, 2 boxes of M&S tea bags, I had unpacked them & put them in the hall ready to take them to the storage cupboard. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

.The next day, yesterday, late in the afternoon I picked up the boxes, took & placed them in the cupboard,   I then went back into the hall en route to the kitchen & to my amazement there in the middle of the hall floor……… was the lost earring !! 

Honestly, I thought I was seeing things, how could this be, it certainly was not there before ?

Back together. 🙂

It surely is sheer luck that that moonstone had clung to me /my clothing /my hair/ throughout the rest of my shopping trek and come home with me, then dropped onto the M&S boxes & when I moved them it fell off ?  

I can make no other sense of it.

I am now convinced this is why Moonstone is a revered & thought to be a lucky stone in India.

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Banks &……. The French ! Monday, Jan 1 2024

Well here we are a new year has started, what will it bring ?

The last two weeks of 2023 were fraught with WISE, suspending my account & declining my card, so embarrassing…..which is really annoying when your money is held by them. In this case because they didn’t like my passport pic, this the same one used when opening the account & all subsequent verifications . I tried at least 50 times retaking the photo on their Zoom type system etc…..I quoted Einstein , ‘ doing the same thing over & over expecting a different result ‘ etc.

Only when I threatened to make an official complaint did they then send me a code to reopen my account, which could have saved a week of stress !

Next as I have upgraded my kitchen ovens & electric items, this is my new Air-fryer,  much more sensible than the drawer style as I can bake all sorts & bread in this one with shelves.

All was going well until, against my better judgement,  I bought a French dishwasher, I knew it was a gamble as I swore after previous problems never to buy French Made again, but the only green one I could find was, boastfully French & as it turned out,  priced way beyond its worth

Whilst it does wash dishes there’s so much that’s wrong with the details & their misleading advertising hype… I’m packing it up today ready for its return. 

The company have refused to collect & insist I pay a courier….. oh & I may only get a partial refund, because they say,  I have buyers remorse !!

This is untrue & something I never suffer from, I have another one, not French made, being delivered tomorrow at a lower price & with a number of extras. I have also found a way to make this white one, green = an ingenious magnetic panel made for dishwashers. 

Thank goodness I bought …as I always do, from Amazon fr  [ or Amazon uk …even Amazon DE ]  their customer service shames French companies who always distrust the customer, whereas Amazon are the opposite & help to solve any problems…… I am confident they, as promised will make the French back down & or refund any short fall.

Other than that all is well & I’m feeling optimistic for this new year.

Happy New Year to all readers.

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Stunning !! Wednesday, Nov 15 2023

This is the view from my landing window

Autumn is such a joy , with skies grey & rain unrelenting this is what you see in the distance as you turn into my lane, my biggest Maple tree. I admit when I planted it I had no idea it would end up this size but now I can see it from the house & better still since I removed the conifer mentioned in my last post.

Autumn was always in my mind when I planned this garden, I have this Maple & one other which is smaller but loses its leaves earlier but is now finished, seen here on the right as you approach the property from the other  end of the lane , the silver birch on which I’ve let Virginia Creeper climb, its a beautiful tree all year around.

The other brilliant red tree is this Crepe Myrtle , not enough sun this year for flowers but it always earns its place with bright red leaves in Autumn .

Then there’s the wall, I removed the row of inherited , ghastly, Leylandii & replaced them with this wall which has been a great success with the true self clinging Virginia creeper which the birds & bees love in summer.

.

With storm Ciaran & Jersey being badly damaged, I count myself very lucky this time. Apart from worrying about more of my trees coming down & especially as I don’t have a garage, I feared finding my car under one , but I got off scot free. The worst that happened is leaves & small branches everywhere & a chair was blown over on the upper terrace !

Nothing much has happened otherwise, the farmers have ploughed the field & sown some seed ,as yet I know not what they are but green shoots are already coming through, the Deer can now be seen too & these 2 male pheasants have been around , plus a lone female .  I have 3 mature Lycesteria’s which is often named the Pheasant plant so maybe they will venture into the garden ?

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Oh Yes ! Monday, Oct 23 2023

It’s GOING……. 

GOING………

GONE !!

My battery chainsaw did an excellent job.

The tree was planted for evergreen in the winter, but grew too much & now served no purpose, plus it was blocking the maple behind which will soon be bright red as the leaves take on their Autumn hue.

I’ve now dropped this conifer & a silver Birch so I’m feeling rather satisfied with my week.

Funnily enough I bumped into Paul when shopping on Saturday & during our chat he said he also did tree work & his partner … is registered for garden maintenance work. This was music to my ears as there’s a lot of big trees which need attention here & are definitely not something I would attempt, so, they will be coming to help out.

Lucie’s intro to Paul is turning into a Godsend !

Speaking of agents, a young man turned up on Monday , complete with clipboard & brochure , saying he’d heard I wanted to sell my house. This has never happened before …a French person looking for work ! In all these years I’ve never had someone ask if I needed a gardener, window cleaner, chimney sweep, labourer, etc.  He left his card & brochure & departed promising to contact me in the spring.

It’s been a very good week all round, I have spotted a Goshawk in the nearest Oak to my conservatory, then two days later the female showed up ! 

The famers came to cut the Maize….. I watched them, they have a new system where a lorry no longer drives alongside the harvester as grain fills it, the Harvester now stores the grain until full, then off loads into a larger single waiting lorry, this must save fuel & only two drivers needed. This went on until dusk, as the Harvester got nearer the centre of the field I saw a family of fifteen wild Boar run out of the tall standing maize & then the next day two young Deer were out feeding on the newly exposed grass……….autumn has certainly arrived.

 Then yesterday was spent making my Christmas cake ! 🙂

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Problem Solved……. Monday, Oct 16 2023

As per my last post…re the crumbling chimney cement, all repairs were done as promised the next day. Brian came early [ I was still in bed, he had to phone me, lol] not only did he arrive early, he came armed with all tools & materials needed, even his own container of water for the cement. This is something I’ve become unused to, efficiency & a can do attitude !

As he was going to be up onto the roof with ladders I had the wit to ask him if he owned any Chimney brushes, he did & so, willingly, swept the chimneys. This was fantastic as the French sweep I’d emailed 2 weeks before, never replied……all par for the course. So for the same payment repairs were done & chimneys swept … plus a nice bottle of Le Blaye Bordeaux.

Funny when I first moved to France I bought reasonably priced bottles of Bordeaux whenever I saw them. Always ones that had a good promise on the label, but I soon realised French wine was too much of a gamble , so stopped buying / drinking it. Now those bottles dating from the early 90’s, have been very useful for such times. 🙂

Having not heard a word from Lucie, I am now settling down to doing some tree work & general garden maintenance , but, also the challenge of trying to make the perfect loaf.

Anyone can make bread that’s easy, but I’m moving onto the scientific side having discarded the bread machine….the decisions are endless. To knead or not to knead, second rise or not ? whole egg, egg yolk ,egg white, sugar, seeds, butter, fat, which flour, T45 ,T55, T80, Epeautre, or Sarrasin………..all the ones I’ve tried have been edible except the last one with Sarrasin , it was disgusting & literally for the birds.

The small loaf pictured is no fat, egg yolk, teaspoon of sugar, T45 flour + with some grain flour, a double rise & of course salt always. The texture is great, lighter than most I’ve done , but a bit too sweet even with a small teaspoon of sugar & I forgot to slash the top so it burst lower down…..but, it still made a great BLT this morning. 🙂

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Yet Another Disappointment……………… Sunday, Sep 24 2023

A couple of weeks ago, looking up at my new roof from the conservatory, I noticed something odd about the roof ridge, looking through binoculars I could see a chunk of cement had fallen out & on closer inspection the cement around the chimney was cracked !

That scared me rigid as I remembered hearing something clattering down the tiles days before. 

My imagination ran wild I recalled that frightening night the whole roof was screaming…….

https://wordpress.com/post/katiekatie3.wordpress.com/8956

I immediately emailed Samuel to come & take a look at the gap which had appeared, it was not answered I emailed again & again & again with pics, no response came.

To cut a long story short , after two weeks worrying imagining the worst with the possibility of another law suit looming, I remembered Paul the English guy / translator who came with Lucie on that first visit…he had offered & kindly gave me his email address should I have any problems.

I decided to contact him to come take a look, use his linguistic skills & call Samuel for me, hoping a male voice would get some reaction from him..  

Thankfully Paul replied & came to have a look late Tuesday afternoon…turning up at drinks time so it was all very convivial.

He was very reassuring saying it was probably a late in the day mix & too dry when done. I checked photos & found that end was the last Samuel did when the ridge tiles were put up. 

He phoned Samuel only to find ‘ number unavailable’ he had changed his phone number….. or as Paul thinks now out of business !!  

How many times have I mocked the French claim that all building work is guaranteed for 10 years ? The so called insurance they are supposed to have the ‘décennale’ is not compulsory…even though Google says it is. Another flabby French law !

I have always said it is a myth & that a company can be wound up & disappeared , rendering the guarantee null & void, I could write a book on it ….. it could explain why so many companies seem to change their name & logo so often ?

I should not be surprised, about this problem either as every single job I have ever had done here in France has had to have corrections !!

So anyway……. the latest on this is, Paul rang a roofer friend who will come & correct the work tomorrow, weather permitting !

To be continued………………………………

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