Good morning !!

Friday 30th July and all is well, our guests slept peacefully and have made off for the 'Mas du Clos' it is Alpha Romeo weekend, tomorrow night all rooms are booked out, we have had to turn people away today, such a shame, it really pays to book in advance. A beautiful morning sky, the clouds disappeared in under an hour and the temperature soared. Joanne will look after the guests tomorrow morning for breakfast, Chris is off to Gueret to take the first part of his hunting certificate, if he passes his theory, he can then advance to the practical and hopefully, will receive his French gun licence by mid October. Have a lovely evening !!

It's a Dogs Life !

Last night was BBQ night at La Petite Maison (so is every night in Summer ha ha) we ate potatoes, carrots, cabbage, courgette, brocolli & apple sauce, all from the garden picked fresh. Chris cooked everything outside in his new garden kitchen, he has been buying the various equipment from the vide greniers, we BBQ'D pork steaks and topped it all with a mustard and plumb gravy, yum yum. Afterwards we lounged until after dark, our citronella torches burning brightly, the bats silently feasting on the wing, the owls hooting, toads croaking and the tranquility that a new full moon brings was just splendid, Jess and Bonny enjoyed it to !!

Mouths to feed !!

We, the Housemartins (Hirondelles) are doing just fine, Chris & Joanne have made sure we are all safe and look out for us every day, we are growing up now and it won't be long before we leave our home and emigrate to Africa for the Winter. We must tell you all that it is just fantastic here at 'La Petite Maison' and
we will return every year to just lounge around and have our babies, just a perfect safe place, you should visit soon !!

Catch ! Catch ! Catch !

Beware of the man in the mask, nothing more to be said, a great day out !!!

Bon Anniversaire Fabien !!

Well, we have just about recovered from a hectic weekend, we celebrated Fabiens 21st birthday on Saturday night in style with a great bbq that went on well into the early hours. Brigitte, Phillipe, Virginie & Fabien did us proud with a fantastic assortment of fine French country cuisine, the speciality of course being bbq'd wild boar that had been marinated for two days in a secret marinade, delish !! After the main course we played petanque under floodlights, Phillipe had arrived earlier in the day with his tractor and turned part of the garden into a boules pitch, just great !! After midnight we returned to the new house and ate fantastic desserts of apricot tartes, strawberry tartes, pear tartes and so on. We finally hit the sack at 02.00 hrs, the morning arrived too soon, off again after walking Jess & Bonny and seeing to the rest of the managerie. We ate lunch in Aubusson with Phil, Brigitte, Virginie, Fabien and lots of their familly before heading off to Blessac for an outside wrestling tournament 'Catch' in France, a right old comedy, Ha Ha !! Joanne & Chris left just before the tag wrestling, visited the vide grenier and then returned to La Petite Maison just before 18.00 hrs, ahhhhh, peace !!

A Day in the Garden !!

17 degrees with showers, sun and cloud but warm enough when the sun is shining. Comfortable for gardening.

It was time to cut back the potato leaves to prevent any diseases in the leaves and stems working there way down into the crop. The crop is good this year, and even though we have been under attack from 'Colorado Beetles' and Mildew we have a plentiful supply of both 'Apollo' and 'Roseval' after a month left in the ground we will dig them all up and conserve them in the cave, we are of course harvesting and eating when required.

After the leaf cutting, it was a job in itself to dig out all the weeds that had grown beneath, once done, the garden once again looks respectable. The sweetcorn is in good health and continues to grow at least an inch a day, the Pumpkin jungle is amazing with fruit already the size of small footballs, Bonny has shown plenty of interest in these but is yet to turn up at the door with one in her mouth as she did with our only melon last year Ha Ha !!

Tomorrow day we will visit a vide grenier in 'St Sylvain de Bellegarde' Danny has a stall and last year it was a great atmosphere, the evening will find us at Fabiens birthday BBQ in Conjet Haut, we will play petanque and no doubt the wine and beer will flow !!

Indian Lunch !

Joanne dressed for the occasion of cooking an Indian lunch for our friends Jacqueline and Gerard, it was the first time that they have eaten Indian cuisine. Joanne made poppadums with homemade mango chutney and red onions from the garden, then homemade onion baji followed by chicken curry with pilau rice and of course French Fries !! Oh yes, homemade chips !! This was followed by prune crumble made with last years preserved prunes from the tree in the garden, it is already laden with this years crop which will be harvested September ish.

Mushrooms !

An early morning walk with Jess & Bonny was made much more enjoyable when Chris found his first Girolles of the year, they are more commonly known as Chantrelles in the UK, inevitably, his walk then became a forage, it doesn't take much ha ha !! They are difficult to find and are highly treasured, they can be found on the markets for as much as £15 a kilo, a couple of ceps added to the find, we will make an omlette tomorrow for lunch with all of our own ingredients. Eggs, girolles, parsley, onions and garlic, can't wait !

Bee Corner !

A morning inspection of the hive and Chris is happy, the bees continue to cap the honey combs, this makes the difference between first and second class honey, honey extracted that has not been capped is not as good as honey that has, you can see the white area on the frame, this has been capped with wax.

After the swarm a couple of weeks ago, the bee colony has continued to grow and is in good health.

New Arrivals !!

34 degrees and Sunny!

Sunday saw the flight of the Goldfinch chicks (Chardonneret) from their nest, Chris was alerted to the much anticipated event with Bonny chasing the new fledglings around the top lawn, no harm was done, Chris was able to reunite the straggler with Mum & Dad, it has been a real pleasure having the Goldfinches around the place, we will be sorry to see them go.

Having said that, the Housemartin chicks also hatched yesterday, they took up residence under the woodshed about three weeks ago, it was amazing watching the nest construction day by day, now we will watch Mum & Dad raise the family, a sneaky photo revealed three chicks, however, Chris counted four eggs so we will have to wait and see, Have a great evening !!

Beer Festival Felletin !!

What a great day, Chris & Joanne bought a 1915 diary that matches up to todays day of the week and dates of the month, a great find, we will use this to record our first year business and then archive it for a memorable souvenir. We had a great lunch at Jacqui and Daves, we had a full pig roasted on the bbq then as planned, went to the beer festival in Felletin.

We had lots to choose from, Jolly Brewer, Biere Blanche, Taffys delight, and a red beer that we drank too much of that we can't remember the name ha ha, to name but a few ! Dave met a fellow city fan a long way from home, they look like brothers, what do you think ?

We also met and chatted with Daniel, our neighbour and friend, we shared a few beers before tapping our feet to the Felletin country dance troop, Joanne couldn't help herself and danced in the square, it was great fun.

Mission Accomplished !

33 degrees and sunny!!

A few pictures taken today in the garden, Chris on his garden tractor, yellow courgettes going wild and the best show of holyhocks we have had. We had some of the courgettes with dinner this evening, they were delicious.

All the objectives we set ourselves today are complete, the piccalilli is superb, the redcurrant jelly is being strained, the pea bed cleared and hoed ready for another crop, we are not sure what we will plant yet.

The bee area has been cut and Chris didn't get stung, infact, he said the bees were not remotely interested in his strimming activity. We are now relaxing. happy with our days work, tomorrow morning we will visit a vide grenier at Neoux, then we will meet Jacqui & Dave and go to another vide grenier at Chenerailles, then back to Jacqui & Daves for lunch before heading off to the beer festival at Felletin, Chris is looking forward to that ha ha! Have a great evening !

Good Morning Chassain Cheval !

We woke to another beautiful day, the sound of Michel playing his piano drifted across the valley, the bird song was in full chorus and there was not a cloud in the sky.
We have a busy day today, Chris's first batch of piccalilli is on the go, Joanne will collect the rest of the redcurrants and make the first of this years redcurrant jelly, the petit pois have finished now and the bed needs to be cleared, all the lawns have to be cut and the flower beds need weeding. Chris will also make another hive inspection later this evening and carefully cut the grass, then we will play petanque with the Garraud's.

Betty & Eric Spencer Join the Blog !!

Betty and Eric join the blog, hi Mum & Dad, welcome, & love to you both!! It won't be long before you return to 'La Petite Maison' the photo is when you visited last year in August/September, we had a great time, this year will be better, the weather is forecast to be fantastic, now, until late October time. How is your garden Dad, we will post some of ours on the blog, remember, log on daily to find out what's happening here in Chassain Cheval !! We have just returned from Jacqueline et Gerards where we speak Franglais each Thursday (we learn French and they learn English) we were joined this evening by three of their grandchildren, Teddy, Floriane & Louis.

We're just having a light supper of hot toast with melted butter and Joanne's homemade apricot jam, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Sleep well !!

Bee Corner

Chris's trip down to the Correze proved to be a success, he arrived home at 22.00 hrs after an eight hour round trip with two new hives, six supers and three feeding stations, he managed to talk down the price (whats new with Chris) and is now busy rewiring the frames and positioning new foundation. He has burn't the inside of all the new equipment with a blow torch to kill any parasites or disease that may be present, they have all been painted with special thermopaint for winter protection.

The bees are happy in the garden, here is a picture of one of our bees full of pollen, a great sign for a successful over wintering.

New Followers !!

Chris & Alex join the fellowship along with Annie, Joe, Alfie & Archie, all friends who we keep in touch with on a regular basis, thankyou and Love to all !! Hope to see you soon in Chassain Cheval.

Tell them about the honey Mummy !!

The garden is in full flower and the Wysteria has just started to flower, last year it was in full bloom by the 1st May but Spring was cold and wet this year and affected both flora and fauna. June and July have been fantastic with blossom everywhere which may explain our bumper honey harvest, we will take the honey next week, the super is full which will also explain why the bees hatched a new queen and swarmed, Chris's first major mistake !

We approximate 10 - 12 kg of honey !!

Chris is off South today to a place called 'Artiges' East of Bordeaux, Joanne found some very reasonably priced hives and supers all complete with drawn frames, it is a 240 km round trip but well worth it, he may even be able to buy some hive tools and our very own extractor, more news to follow. Bon Journee !

Happy Days !

Howdy Martin & Jane, we hope you are both well and love to you both. Today has turned out to be a great day ! Two friends follow our Blog on the sameday. This photo is from 2007 (wow, how time flys) when Martin celebrated his birthday here at 'La Petite Maison' Martin and Jane have also kept in touch regularly since our move to France, hopefully, a return visit is on the cards, see you soon !! xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Gardeners World !

Wild flowers and lavendar, the scent is amazing !

Jess & Bonny on guard !

We thought you may like to see some of the garden as Jess & Bonny guard the veggies, wow, it's hot, 32 degrees in the shade at 17.15 hrs. We have just returned from visiting Jackie & Dave (Chris's sister and her hubby) we had a few cold beers in the garden, mmmmm, they are off to the site where their static caravan is pitched to watch the footy with Roy the owner, he is Dutch, as are most of the people holidaying on the site at the moment, it should be a good atmosphere. We are just pottering around until it cools down a little. Chris is going to light the BBQ (whats new) we are having lamb (we killed & butchered this ourselves) with cabbage and potatoes fresh from the garden, in fact, they are still growing as we write.

Bee corner !

The smoke rises but the bees stay put, looks like the swarm in the Oak tree has been lost to nature, the bees in the hive continue to work hard so all is not lost. We have posted a thread on the British Bee Keepers forum in the hope that somebody knows a method to extract the swarm.

Tomorrow, we will open up the hive to assess the situation and hopefully, it will be good news and we will have honey to harvest

A Nice Suprise

Well, we woke to a nice suprise this morning, 'The Davies family' are our first followers on our blog, we miss them, they have been an inspiration to us as well as true friends over the years, however, living in France hasn't changed things, we know that when we visit England and turn up at the house, it will be as if we visited last month, Mick will probably be a bit fatter and have even less ginger hair than he used to, ha ha. Lots of love to Mick, Tracy, Libby and of course Stan the man xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Jacqueline our neighbour phoned this morning asking me to call round to collect some tomato plants which had pushed naturally from last years seed, we have planted them up, it will be a good harvest this year, mmmmm can't wait to get busy making all that passata and homemade ketchup. Mick and Tracy bought us the River Cottage handbook no 2 ' Preserves by Pam Cobin' it is our bible, we have not had to buy any chutneys or jams since last years harvest, Joanne has already produced a batch of Apricot jam last week, yum yum.
I found four ceps whilst out walking with Jess & Bonny, cep omlette for lunch then. We are just off to Crocq to a 'vide grenier' (empty the attic) it equates to an English car boot, it will be hot, 31 degrees in the shade at ten this morning.

Bees Bees Everywhere !

The Bees have been working hard in Chassain Cheval, we mounted our 'super' last week and were expecting to harvest our honey at the end of July. The photo is of the swarm catching box, we were quite excited last night when Daniel came to the house to tell Chris that a swarm had just flew over where he was gardening and had settled in the big Oak. Michel and Chris spent two hours trying to trap the swarm which turned out to be our own bees, a new queen had been hatched and taken flight (not so excited). We could not smoke the queen from the Oak tree where they had found a deep hollow, we left the box in the hope that they may enter overnight and off we went to play Petanque with Brigitte, Virginie and Fabien, we played at Etang Marchette until it was dark, fingers crossed we will trap the bees tomorrow.x

The end of another perfect day in Chassain Cheval

We spent the day training young dogs how to hunt Sanglier (wild boar). Lunch, as usual was an extremely social affair, bbq with wild boar sausages mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Our guests settled in comfortably and nicely relaxed, a late evening walk with the dogs, Jess & Bonny to the Mas du Clos chateau was enhanced by this enchanting sunset, accompanied by a chorus of toads, owls and pigeon, all joining in the country song. Ahhhhhhhhh, what will tommorow bring.

Country Dance at Plan d'eau De La Naute

Plan d'eau de La Naute hosted country dancers from all over the Creuse yesterday, the sun shone and the atmosphere was fantastic, the girls from 'Les Calamytes' had a great time and as you can see from the photo, all look happy with their performance. They had great local support and received the biggest applause of the day, La Naute was packed with locals and tourists alike, everybody was having fun.
Afterwards, a Texas style dinner was prepared and the music and dancing continued well into the darkness.

Last of the early Ceps

A quick forage in the woods after last nights downpour turned up 5 nice ceps, June has been a good month, perhaps these will be the last until August, watch this space!

The sun sets once again in Chassain Cheval after another peaceful day. The farmers have been busy preparing the hay for winter silage and the bales have begun to appear in the fields. The wheat is just starting to turn a golden colour, and soon, we will marvel at those fields of gold, slowly swaying in the breeze.

It's 19.50 hrs here and the storm that has been brewing for the last 3 hours just can't make it's mind up, will it or won't it make the garden grow, hope so, it took Joanne and I 2 hours to water last night.
No clients have arrived this evening so we are just off to Phillipes to play Petanque (Boules) that's if we don't get rained off. Au Revoir !

Welcome to La Petite Maison

Well , here we go , Chris & Joanne have just created their new Blog, we will endeavour to keep you all updated with the day to day activities here at La Petite Maison, a very comfortable Chambres et Tables d'hotes situated in the heart of the Creuse, France .