The birds are making a lot of noise. They seem to think that the winter is over. Baby Redstart came to visit the kitchen; I wonder if he's thinking of using one of the terrace nests next year.
In the last two weeks there have been very cold nights, with frost on three nights which is most unusual here. Then at last there was rain and the temperature shot up. Now the clouds have passed; it's sunny and still warm. I'm sitting in a pool of sunlight in the salon, with the outside door open.
Oh, and the hazelnut has catkins on it!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
A mezzanine no more
Camille of Casa Nova has put up some photos of renovating the mezzanine.
The photo at the end is how it looked when they first started work: an open platform at one end of the barn, accessed by a home-made stair-ladder. They extended the platform to make a room downstairs, put in a staircase and walls, insulated the roof, and made a small minstrel gallery looking out over the rehearsal room. Now it's no longer a mezzanine, but a room. It has a door to the first bedroom and an open entrance to a wide hall leading to the bathroom and two other bedrooms; behind the odd shape in one corner, with a door, is the little gallery.
Brendan added a shutter for the window, and now it's all snug but sunny, and waiting for furniture.
The photo at the end is how it looked when they first started work: an open platform at one end of the barn, accessed by a home-made stair-ladder. They extended the platform to make a room downstairs, put in a staircase and walls, insulated the roof, and made a small minstrel gallery looking out over the rehearsal room. Now it's no longer a mezzanine, but a room. It has a door to the first bedroom and an open entrance to a wide hall leading to the bathroom and two other bedrooms; behind the odd shape in one corner, with a door, is the little gallery.
Brendan added a shutter for the window, and now it's all snug but sunny, and waiting for furniture.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Songs of the Rainbow
The house has finally lost its summer heat and it's time to drag in the logs.
Yesterday I joined a choir: Chorale Arc en Ciel, a small group of about 25 voices which meets in a town on the other side of Jonzac, about 40 minutes' drive away. We're doing three gigs before the end of December. The material is mainly chanson-style plus some short classical and liturgical pieces, and includes several in Russian. They don't have the funds to pay an orchestra, so most of the concerts are a cappella, or with organ or piano accompaniment. The standard is quite high, and the conductor is very clear; he concentrates on intonation and timing, with less emphasis on style than I'm used to, but it's so good to hear the basics being sorted out. They do some serious warm-up exercises, which is always encouraging.
The warm-up is taken by a teacher. It reminded me of the old primary school system in France where supervisors dealt with everything except the actual lessons, leaving the teachers free of such things as dinner duty and grazed knees. Anyway, the conductor shares the warm-up, so there's none of the lack of contact and opportunity for observation which marred the school system, useful though it was in other ways.
Back to our sheep[0]. An Anglo alto who lives near Lorignac gave me a lift and introduced me. They're a very friendly bunch (the choir, that is, not the sheep), with a social food-drink-and-natter session at the end of the rehearsal. I'm glad to say they didn't chat during rehearsal, which is so annoying. Because there was a shortage of sopranos, and they do quite a few divisi pieces, I felt especially welcome. It's going to be fun.
[0] Literal translation of a French phrase meaning return to the subject.
Yesterday I joined a choir: Chorale Arc en Ciel, a small group of about 25 voices which meets in a town on the other side of Jonzac, about 40 minutes' drive away. We're doing three gigs before the end of December. The material is mainly chanson-style plus some short classical and liturgical pieces, and includes several in Russian. They don't have the funds to pay an orchestra, so most of the concerts are a cappella, or with organ or piano accompaniment. The standard is quite high, and the conductor is very clear; he concentrates on intonation and timing, with less emphasis on style than I'm used to, but it's so good to hear the basics being sorted out. They do some serious warm-up exercises, which is always encouraging.
The warm-up is taken by a teacher. It reminded me of the old primary school system in France where supervisors dealt with everything except the actual lessons, leaving the teachers free of such things as dinner duty and grazed knees. Anyway, the conductor shares the warm-up, so there's none of the lack of contact and opportunity for observation which marred the school system, useful though it was in other ways.
Back to our sheep[0]. An Anglo alto who lives near Lorignac gave me a lift and introduced me. They're a very friendly bunch (the choir, that is, not the sheep), with a social food-drink-and-natter session at the end of the rehearsal. I'm glad to say they didn't chat during rehearsal, which is so annoying. Because there was a shortage of sopranos, and they do quite a few divisi pieces, I felt especially welcome. It's going to be fun.
[0] Literal translation of a French phrase meaning return to the subject.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Apples, shiny apples
Between the D137 and the D2, near St Genis de Saintonge, there's a big apple orchard which has a kind of Open Farm for a few weeks. Last year I missed it; this year I made it just in time, today being the last day. I needn't have worried, because they've started up a farm shop which will be open until June.
I bought Elstar, Belchard, Melrose, and another of which I don't know the name. The apples are sold by the kilo, at 70 centimes a kilo unless you buy more than 50 kilos. Cheap! I intended to get just a couple of kilos, but was seduced by pretty varieties I'd never heard of. The person doing the selling first asked what kind of apples I like, and then recommended some with descriptions of their scent and flavour. I wondered briefly if one was supposed to take a bite, chew, and spit it out.
Ginette and Denis came round to turn off the water to the garden in case the pipes freeze as they did last year. I gave them some of the apples, and Ginette insisted on knowing how much she owes me!
I bought Elstar, Belchard, Melrose, and another of which I don't know the name. The apples are sold by the kilo, at 70 centimes a kilo unless you buy more than 50 kilos. Cheap! I intended to get just a couple of kilos, but was seduced by pretty varieties I'd never heard of. The person doing the selling first asked what kind of apples I like, and then recommended some with descriptions of their scent and flavour. I wondered briefly if one was supposed to take a bite, chew, and spit it out.
Ginette and Denis came round to turn off the water to the garden in case the pipes freeze as they did last year. I gave them some of the apples, and Ginette insisted on knowing how much she owes me!
Monday, October 12, 2009
More work on the house
The Casa Novans started work on closing-in the mezzanine last week - http://picasaweb.google.com/camillebenoitchambon/AmenagementDeMezzanine#. House is full of dust, both stone and saw. It will be worth it to have the living area insulated from the barn; I'll miss the view from the mezzanine, but last winter was very chilly.
The new pantry in the corner of the kitchen is lovely. It's bigger than I expected, and has plenty of space for a freezer as well as shelves and a broom-cupboard. Tidy :) The light comes on when the door is opened, which is useful for when one arrives home in the dark: the kitchen lights only have one switch, on the far wall, which has been a problem occasionally.
This will be the last major alteration. I've run out of money! There is suitable tech writing and editing work around, but not from home - indeed, most of the advertised jobs are in London. If I do find another source of income, I want to install solar heating for water and radiators: it's so sunny here, it seems a shame not to make use of it.
The new pantry in the corner of the kitchen is lovely. It's bigger than I expected, and has plenty of space for a freezer as well as shelves and a broom-cupboard. Tidy :) The light comes on when the door is opened, which is useful for when one arrives home in the dark: the kitchen lights only have one switch, on the far wall, which has been a problem occasionally.
This will be the last major alteration. I've run out of money! There is suitable tech writing and editing work around, but not from home - indeed, most of the advertised jobs are in London. If I do find another source of income, I want to install solar heating for water and radiators: it's so sunny here, it seems a shame not to make use of it.
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