3 months in..........

Hi all,
We are now 3 months into our adventures in France.

late again - here is about 3 weeks worth of news........

Weather is cold, wet and windy, but not as bad as in the UK.
Progress has been slow since the last post due to it being too wet to get out to do much of anything.

Warming up a bit!

We have found a couple more leaks in the roof, not sure where the rain is actually getting in, it depends on the severity and which way the wind is blowing.

We have managed a couple of bike rides, but weather not really permitting.

Bex has joined Callies local Craft Club so we are cutting glass, stripping wire, finding crystals etc.
We will post more photos as works progress

Mr Goth has discovered 2 new food items..............
Lentils = Good as a substitute for mince
Emmental Cheese = Bad as a substitute for Cheddar..



Progress so far..........

Revamp of the fire grate 

with fan to add heat into the room

                           

                           

Conclusion - Needs a bigger Fan!!

Tiger Bread - Part Deux!

As promised here is the recipe

http://www.butcherbakerblog.com/2008/07/29/cracking-the-tiger-bread-mystery/

As learned from previous effort, the oven has to be HOT for the initial rise or the Tiger paste won't crack.

The 'secret' ingredient to the Tiger paste is.............................          A teaspoon of Marmite!

Cheese -  Part Deux!

In the absence of some weights, I used 14 Litres of water in the barrel (which weighs 1 Kg) to get 15Kg of pressure  - 1 Ltr of water = 1Kg

As we have no cheese wax, we have tried vacuum sealing instead - all will be revealed on March 1st!

What to do with 4.5 Ltrs of Whey??

Add 1 ltr of sugar, and yeast = Milk Wine!!

Hopefully this may lead to Milk Vodka - if you haven't tried it - you should!

 From L to R:

Quince and Rum Wine,  Milk Wine,  Apple and Quince Cider

A Voyage of Discovery

We dug and found the rest of the path in the allotment - sadly 7m of it is not concrete, but at least there is a gravel base to concrete onto and some good soil to be reused somewhere.

After a long battle with the brambles we have finally discovered the Chicken Shed

and the best Cider Apple tree in the orchard!

Also the only place with phone reception.

 The Grotto

A long term project to convert into 2 bedroom Gitte for travellers and cyclist wanting to use the old railway track and  "La Loire a Velo "

  

Ground floor Kitchen and lounge


First floor bedrooms and bathrooms

 

Somehow I plan to fit 2 double bedrooms with en suites in here!

Plans to follow - may need some summer volunteers (I can supply Cider and Milk Wine!)

Shed tidy - Part Deux

We have a floor!!

Allotment update

Bex is continuing with digging (weather permitting). Planted onions, strawberries, and raspberry canes, lots of free compost from the Dechetterie (recycling centre)

Foundation holes and formwork boxes for foundation pads for the Darma greenhouse pillars

Other stuff

Oak dowels for table restoration

I remember being shown this by my woodwork teacher circa 1980

Stained glass mosaic panels

Making 'roundels' from old wine bottle bottoms using a tiles saw and diamond hole saws

Work in progress........

Failures / plan A

Measuring the Grotto - measuring tape retracted too quickly|!!

Laser level stripped down, new battery terminals, rubber belt for motor, laser diode.

Laser diode not lining up with prism making level dot run uphill to the right - new larger diameter diode on order.
At least I got to listen to Disturbed - very good vocalist and some cracking tunes
Sound of Silence - Disturbed

Smell of fish in bathroom - no hot water part way through shower!

Loose wire in socket/plug

New socket and plug (checked daily!)

Thats about all for now, I will try to keep up on weekly blogs as Im sure I have left lots out.

Please leave comments and let me know if you like the format or would like more words/less photos or even a pink background??

Till next week,

Mr Goth xx