From taxes to glitter

My weekly telephone call to my mother usually has her asking "so what have you been up to this week?" Friends and family often ask the same, after all we don't have 9 to 5 jobs and we're not retired so what do we do? Quite frankly somedays I'm hard pressed to remember. So this is what we've done in the last 7 days (I think!)

Sunday
We try really hard to make Sunday slightly special and not work, we usually fail but last week started off well as we went to the Fête de la Fraise in Beaulieu sur Dordogne. One of our favourite towns, and not much more than 30 minutes from us, it's taken over by strawberry fever in May. We had a gentle wander through the town, admiring strawberries and the artisan market.

Beaulieu sur Dordogne 

Strawberry 'burgers'

Obligatory giant strawberry tart

By mid-afternoon we were home as we had to tackle our first French tax return. It had been haunting me at night and the deadline was fast approaching. I had downloaded the forms but they made little sense so we'd decided to get all our figures together, produced a bi-lingual spreadsheet and to throw ourselves at the mercy of the tax office.

Monday
All mornings start with a dog walk and baguette purchase. We are lucky to have several lovely walks which start in the village and Mortimer never gets bored with them.  Back home and in the car to the tax office in Tulle, only a 20 minute drive away.

Our morning walk

Despite being only a few days before the deadline, and a Monday morning, there was not much of a queue and we were seen within 10 minutes. In my best French I explained it was our first return and I was very confused! With a smile she told us to take our ticket back and head to the fourth floor where we would be able to see someone who would assist. We took a seat and expecting a long wait I had just got my Filofax out to start a new list of jobs when we were called into a very austere office (always makes me nervous). I again explained our situation and retrieved the spreadsheet. Within minutes the tax officer had completed the forms for us, said that it was a very good spreadsheet and we were on our way home. You've no idea of the relief I felt.

After lunch we were back working in the barn. Andrew fitting out one of the bathrooms and me painting.

Tuesday
With the first of our summer visitors only a few weeks off I had enlisted help with some of the decorating. My gentleman of an assistant agreed to do all the rubbing down, including the ceiling, of the large bedroom/dressing down. I was painting windows and Andrew managed to stay clean as he had some artwork to do for a client.

Never ending painting

Our neighbours appeared for a chat and to tell us about the new pellet stove they were having installed, Arlette then shepherded me indoors to give her advice on refinishing her dining table. They are returning to Paris at the weekend and I will miss them. As will Mortimer who sneaks in for extra treats!

In the evening we had been invited by friends to apéros, I would have said it was nice to spend a clean evening but I didn't have time to sort my hair out and was acutely aware that it had a light dusting of grey plaster! But it was a lovely, relaxed evening.

Wednesday
Andrew had client work and I was back in the barn painting in the morning, the afternoon was DIY shopping.  Leroy Merlin is a bit like Ikea, it has it's own time zone. I think we've only been in there for twenty minutes but it turns out it's two hours. Fortunately they give you free coffee and the bakery round the corner does a mean chocolate brownie so the caffeine and sugar rush keep me going! I know that we have spent too much time in there because we have three, yes three, 10% discount 'vouchers' due to us.

Thursday
Step & repeat (artwork, painting, dog walking) but with the addition of laundry duty. Somedays are just boring, it doesn't matter which country you're in. Hang on - just remembered that I invited some people over to visit. I didn't 'do' Facebook until we moved here but it seemed the easiest way to stay in touch with friends and also to make new ones in France. I joined a few groups, some I've now left and some I love. It was through one of these groups that I made contact with a couple who have also recently bought a house and barn about two hours from us. Anyway we've been 'chatting' and I've invited them over on Sunday. It's not the first time I've done this and we've met some really interesting people who have become firm friends.

Flooring underlay

Friday
Two packages in the post box. The editor of French Property News kindly sent me a copy of the May edition as I had been picked for 'letter of the month' and my bag of glitter arrived. Now my personal interior design style is muted colours, natural materials and calm spaces but I want to inject some drama into the barn as it will be a holiday rental. There is a defunct chimney that runs through one of the bathrooms so I'd decided to paint it very dark blue and add some black glitter. First coat done today. A quick dash to the déchetterie to get rid of a large, rotting sack of grass clippings had to be done before we could take the trailer to Leroy Merlin to collect flooring. I also managed to persuade Andrew to go to a brocante and I found a lovely little table which will make a great dressing table.

At 20 euros - rude not to!

It's our wedding anniversary so we indulged with a bottle of champagne (which we had been given by Leroy Merlin as we had spent so much!) and some raspberry tartlets.

Saturday
A longer Mortimer walk, supper purchased at the village traiteur and then back in the barn. I finished my glitter wall and Andrew started the flooring in bedroom two. Although I've still got quite a lot to do, particularly with the furnishings I think we'll hit our June deadline.

Mixing the glitter

Glitter wall

So there we are, a typical week in France for house renovators. Want more? You can follow us here on Facebook or on one of my two favourite groups - Interior design in France or Love French Barns

Rhythms

Corrèze

We have now completed a full calendar year in Corrèze and are learning the rhythms of living in our beautiful part of France.

Winter in Corrèze

The view of Corrèze town from our garden

The nights are quiet, only the sound of the river in the valley and the occasional owl. About 6.30 a.m. the village starts to wake. We are at the beginning of the high street, not far from the tabac where workers stop to grab their daily copy of La Montagne. Unless it's Monday the boulangerie will be doing a steady trade in baguettes and croissants. Or maybe you would prefer a 'choco'? we are in the region where pain au chocolat is called a chocolatine. It's rare to get far without a 'bonjour, ça va? or a chat with the postman.

Perfect breakfast

By 9.30 it's all settled down, some traffic goes through but it's relatively peaceful until 11.45 when the 'rush' to get home for lunch starts. There is another flurry at the tabac and woe betide you if you haven't got everything you need by the time the midday church bells chime. By 12.30 you can hear a pin drop, everyone is eating. It will remain like this until about 2.30 when work begins again, then quiet until about 5 p.m. Not long after this is 'l'apéro' time of day, which can happen anytime between 6 and 9 p.m.

Our first l'apéro with a French family struck fear in my heart. Short for l'apéritif it's a drink or two with finger food, usually for 30 minutes to an hour (although it can go on all evening). Our first was with part-time neighbours only a couple of months after we had moved in. Arlette 'coo cooed' me and invited us over. My French (still limited) was appalling then and we had no idea of the social niceties of this very French event. We need not have worried, they were charming and very patient with my stumbling language skills. Since then we have been to, and hosted, many an apéro evening and enjoyed them all.

There is a variety to the days of the week. On Monday both the boulangerie and traiteur are closed but bread can be purchased in the Petit'Casino, but you only have until noon. On Tuesday, late afternoon, the fishmonger, cheesemonger and vegetable seller arrive in the town square for a couple of hours. Thursday sees the arrival of the pizza van in the same square, no rush in the winter but place your order early in the summer. Andrew's favourite is the smoked salmon while I'm partial to the mushroom.

New Year oysters

It's not only the weather that separates the seasons but food as well. The New Year kicks off with oysters, foie gras and truffles. Choucroute is a popular winter dish and the supermarkets have ready made packs of all the ingredients needed to cook this special dish. Mique makes an appearance, a speciality of our region, dough that's poached in broth which is served sliced with stews. France is very seasonal with food, even the multinational supermarkets will rarely sell fruit or vegetables out of their natural season. Winter markets have deep green cabbages and piles of pale endives, root vegetables are turned into thick soups. There are a multitude of melted cheese dishes - the classic cheese fondue, tartiflette (made from potatoes, onions, lardons and unctuous Reblochon cheese) and of course raclette.

Cheese fondue

With spring the food fêtes arrive, there is hardly a soft fruit that doesn't have it's weekend in the spotlight. Strawberries, raspberries, cherries and apricots, we are able to grow all these well in Corrèze. The highlight of any fête is nearly always a giant tart, with slices sold at the end of the day. Asparagus has a short season, fat white spears are more popular that the slim green ones that I'm used to. Soups are still on the menu but are less hearty, made with a light stock and tiny spring vegetables. As soon as the first cherries arrive then so do clafoutis - another classic Limousin dish where juicy fruit sits in a sweet, baked batter.

Mortimer enjoying a spring walk

The river Corrèze in spring

Summer is figs, myrtilles and more strawberries - for the first time I can select them for their use. Different varieties for poaching, tarts, purées or just a simple bowl with cream. Peaches are drippingly good, I think they come straight from the tree without being chilled. Tiny hamlets to large towns all celebrate some food item. My favourite has to be the 'four à pain' in Meyrignac-L'Église (five minutes up the road) celebrating oven baked bread. In days gone past even the smallest hamlet would have had a communal bread oven, small or not so small buildings where villagers could bake. Many have been restored and are used once or twice a year along with an accompanying fête. The large loaves have a hard crust but are soft and chewy inside, perfect with a piece of Cantal cheese, although the oven baked pizza option is a modern favourite.

Ancient bread oven

Summer pastimes

Corrèze town

Evening markets make an appearance in July and August and are wonderful. Our village hosts them in the medieval square by the church. There are some food stalls, long rows of tables and chairs and a barbecue set up. Sponsored by one of the village associations (who run the bar and bbq), you buy some meat or fish, take it to the barbecuers to cook and join friends to share with. I take a picnic basket with plates, glasses and salad to make a complete meal. There is usually live music and it is always convivial.

Autumn has always been my favourite season, the light is golden, the temperature warm but not uncomfortable and I can say goodbye to salads and embrace the hearty flavours of root vegetables. And of course mushrooms. Corrèze is famous for its cèpes, they even feature in our logo and our village has quite a renowned mushroom festival in October. The fruit tart is replaced with giant cépe omelettes. Although duck is popular all year round it comes to the fore on menus in the autumn, seconded only by pork dishes. Of course I have to mention the beef and veal from our famous and historic Limousine cows, these gorgeous animals can be seen all around us.

Autumn lane

Limousine cattle

Our commune of Corrèze has about 1100 full time residents and from the May national holidays the numbers start to build. Family links are strong and many Corrèzians who had moved away have second homes here. One of our neighbours has worked in Paris for several decades but on retirement purchased a holiday home in the village. She can trace her roots back to the fifteenth century and her cousin still lives in a house that has been in the family almost that long. As well as families returning, holiday makers exploring the area, we also share our lanes with pilgrims. We are on the Santiago de Compestela route, a section called 'La Voie de Rocamadour' linking Vezelay with Rocamadour. The new pilgrimage markers in blue and yellow contrast with the worn stone scallop shells on many of the buildings around the church.

Holiday makers are not the only summer visitors, we have spent hours sitting in the the garden watching the house martins perform aerial acrobatics over the church. As dusk falls they are replaced by the pipistrelle bats. Both are welcome as they feed on small insects. Our other insect feeders are the small lizards that bask on the granites walls and can be heard rustling in the flower beds as we walk past.

For a time in the U.K. I owned an antique shop so am in heaven when the vide-grenier season starts in the spring. The literal translation is 'empty the attic' and they are similar to a yard sale or boot fair (although you do not get professional market traders). Usually held on a Sunday, the best ones have stalls that snake through the village lanes and town squares. We already have marked some favourites for next year. You may also be lucky enough to see a sign for a 'vide maison' where the owner is selling the contents of their house. I bought some beautiful crystal glasses and table linen (a weakness of mine) this year and am looking forward to more in 2019.

Of course we do work as well! We are lucky that although our house is in the village we have an attached barn that we have been busy renovating to make into holiday cottage so we can share Corrèze. You can follow our progress with the blog or on my Facebook page.

Corrèze town

Fete de la Fraise-Beaulieu sur Dordogne

Yesterday was the annual strawberry fair in Beaulieu sur Dordogne, a beautiful town on a wide bend of the Dordogne just half an hour from us.

The whole town had been decorated with strawberry bunting and everywhere you looked there were strawberries, the scent of them as we walked down the main road was delicious.

As well as strawberry sellers there was a market showcasing regional producers and all the restaurants had taken up the strawberry theme with special menus.

There was also a very large strawberry tart under construction, to be cut and distributed later in the day. We couldn't wait that long and purchased from a bakery, it didn't last long enough to photograph!

A very large strawberry tart