Widening horizons

Just to prove that I don't always let dear old "Chitchat" slip, here's a post about today's daily doings. Walked with Valerie over to Hannele's for a Finnish/Estonian lunch on the building site that will at some point become her new home. Four others joined us there.
One of the association's activities is "chez nous" where members from other countries or regions of France open up their homes so that people can sample the cuisine and learn about the traditions and customs.
Click the link to see more photos https://photos.app.goo.gl/j9P7p4kbnuaiYLzA6
Isn't the black and white puppy a wee cutie? Just look at the heart shaped patch on his nose. 
Started with dill pickles dunked in crème fraîche and honey, nuts and salted sunflower seeds accompanied by a strawberry liqueur.
Next came generous slices of gravalax, sweet cucumber salad and rice salad with white wine.
Then came a salted fish pie that should have been served with potatoes but they never appeared!
Dessert was a cream and peach cake.
Finished off with coffee, liquorice liquer and fruit liquer chocolates
It was all a bit chaotic as you can imagine but Hannele who is a larger than life character with a load of different projects on the go at any one time was very hospitable.
Don't know whether it was the interrupted sleep I had last night, the heat or the liquers but when I came home I nodded off on the settee for a short time.
As I write, the sky has clouded over and it's feeling cooler and I think I'll take a wander over to the bar at half time to catch up with one or two people who I know will be there to watch the world cup. Certainly couldn't face eating anything tonight but a chilled glass of rosé would go down well.
Weather:
30°

Up to date but for how long?

27.6.18: Oh, for a bit of breeze
Apart from a coffee at the salon du thé, nothing of interest to report. Yep, there are days like that.
Weather:
32° hot and sunny
 

26.6.18: Friends and Neighbours

Had an early coffee with Nicole in an effort to avoid two women who chatter and chortle loudly about nothing of interest.
Later on I met up with David, Laura and Martine to go cava buying over the border before the traffic becomes unbearable with the onslaught of summer tourists. Had lunch at our old tried and tested favourite "La Plaça" and it didn't disappoint. http://spahotelgarriguella.com/en/
Came home with enough time to make something for this evening's neighbourhood get together. The theme was "by the seaside". Grilled sardines, gambas and marine decoration gave the evening a festive spirit. There were lots of stripey teeshirts and my "handbag" was original .... a bucket and spade in which to carry my bits and pieces. As well as the old faithfuls, new people came; it was a real pleasure to see the young family that are renovating a house in the street and a young woman who's just moved into the square. New blood is always welcome.
Weather:
30° sun and blue skies

25.6.18: Tea for Two
Had a break from all the routine stuff when Florence, who I haven't seen for ages came round for tea. Made a date to go to Perpignan next week to see the new Raoul Dufy exhibition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raoul_Dufy
It will be a double pleasure as it was Christian who introduced me to his work when we visited the Malraux museum in Le Havre.
Weather:
31° sun and blue sky

Finally, a day of rest

24.6.18: Uneventful Sunday
Nothing at all out of the ordinary though I suppose that is out of the ordinary for me.
Just my routine Sunday morning coffee this time in the company of Nicole S (yes, she's reappeared), Anne, Valerie and Jo. Declined their invitation to stay for lunch.
Spent the afternoon dealing with photos, working on the web site, researching flight options for later this year and gave the treadmill a body swerve.
Weather:
28°, sun
 
23.6.18: Multi tasking

Poor old Jacques is out of action as an operation on his eye means that he can't drive. Nothing for it but to take the bus to the market; not that was a hardship. Met Françoise for a coffee and catch up and whizzed around the supermarket in time to take the 11am bus back to the village. Managed to meet up over another coffee this time with Nicole who's been busy all week.
Watched some of my latest Netflix fix while pounding the treadmill. If you're wondering (and I don't really kid myself that you are), it's "The time in between", a Spanish production set at the time of the civil war. On the French version of Netflix, it's called "L'espionne de Tangers" and is only in Spanish and French. Be impressed: exercise, tv watching and a language test.
In keeping with the Catalan tradition to mark the start of summer, there were fireworks and a bonfire this evening. They were much appreciated and drew a lot of applause from the locals and those who'd come from neighbouring villages.
Didn't stay for the disco but beat a retreat to the café to have a tea with Nicole. Yes, you have read this correctly!
Weather:
28°, sun

22.6.18: Duty Calls

Up early as I was expecting Sauveur, the electrician, to come. Used my enforced house "arrest" to plant up the window boxes and do a bit of outside cleaning. The young man who was employed on a temporary contract by the Mairie to sweep the streets has been let go due to budgetry restrictions, so, we'll all have to do our bit to keep our street clean. I later found that Sauveur had sent a text saying that he couldn't come. No matter, I obviously achieved more by staying home than going to the café to drink coffee.
Computer and some baking for this evening's soirée tapas filled the afternoon. About 54 people signed up for the evening, the theme of which was straw hats; more than 80 turned up. Feedback was very positive but I have to say that I was glad to get cleared up and get home to a) not have to speak to anyone and b) put my hot, tired feet up.
Weather:
30°, sunshine and some cloud

Village Life

21.6.18: Being a grumpy old woman

Thursday and of course, it was the language exchange in the morning. Didn't succumb to a glass of rosé afterwards but had a cuppa instead with Nicole, Ros and Charles.
This evening the Fête de la Musique brought a goodly number of people into the square to eat, drink and listen. Didn't fancy beef cheeks and dessert at the bar for the princely sum of 20€. Seemed a bit much given that the entertainment was free and as a consequence had lots more people putting money into their till than would be normal for a Thursday.
We ate instead at the restaurant where gambas were on the menu with a delicious albeit small slice of chocolate dessert. Marginally better value; certainly better quality.
Kevin did a good blues set but otherwise, the music was the same ol', same ol' and pretty dull.
Weather:
34°, blue skies

20.6.18: A new square at long last
The bar being closed, I tried the new "salon du thé"  which has been opened by Joëlle, the seamstress in front of her workshop on the main road. She's created a comfortable terrace and with all the hard work she does to earn a living, she deserves to be supported.

After lunch I went with Martine and Laura to buy plants to cheer up my window boxes and in the evening attended the public meeting to unveil the project to renovate the square. Much to my surprise, there weren't any complaints even when it was announced that there would only be 5 short term parking spaces. Work is likely to start at the beginning of November so come Easter next year, the centre of the village should have a new look.
Martine and I joined Terry, Ann and their friend Carol afterwards at the other bar for a glass of wine and then had another when JJ and Antoine (also on the Council) joined us.
On the way home, I found Don and Roger in the square who had just finished erecting a canopy over the temporary stage that had been put up for tomorrow's "Fête de la Musique". They were enjoying a bottle of red wine and I was invited to join them. And I did!
Weather:
31° Sun and blue sky

19.6.18: Summer is a coming in
Beautician, computer, treadmill, cleaning (not much) during the day and then this evening an apéritif dinatoire chez Judith and Trevor, an Irish couple with a holiday home here. Munching, sipping, chatting on their terrace looking out over the garden and Canigou beyond. And, no washing up to do. All very pleasant.
Took this photo on the way over to theirs. Pretty impressive nest building, isn't it but all I can say is, thank goodness they're not my eaves. Doesn't take much imagination to realise the mess that all those baby swallows leave behind!
Weather:
26°, sun

18.6.18: 

Went along this morning to the ceremony to commemorate General de Gaulle's call from London to the occupied French to resist. You'll know by now that such events are followed by an apéro and this was no exception. Came across Anne on my way back home; she was having a cuppa at the bar while waiting for her take-away lunch. Joined her but didn't linger too long as I had a date with the treadmill to keep!
Weather:
26° sunny

Catering for all tastes

17.6.18: Going from one table to another!

Started the day with my usual Sunday coffee at the bar with other women from the village. Anne came along and persuaded me to go for lunch with her. Salad at Can Jordi where we ended up next to some people from the village and after a wee walk, a "café gourmand" at The France where Gilles and Martine from the village invited us to join them.
In the evening, I met up with Martine, Jim and Mags for an apéritif dinatoire chez Jean-Jacques.
The treadmill tomorrow is a must!
Weather:
25° Sun, cloud

16.6.18: Opera al fresco

Went with Jacques to the market during half time of the televised rugby match that he was watching. Met Françoise for coffee and came back with Jacques when the match was over.  spent the afternoon on the computer apart from an apéro at the bar with françoise who'd come over to see Jean who was setting up equipment for the transmission of an opera from Barcelona that was being shown on the square in front of the mairie. Luckily, I'd read a synopsis of "Manon Lescaut" as it was sung in Italian and had subtitles in Catalan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manon_Lescaut_(Puccini)
Made it through to the end, having popped home for a warmer jacket between act ii and iii. Bed at 1am.
Weather:
27°, sun and cloud

15.6.18: Spooky goings on!

Made a lazy start, worked on the computer and had my hair done in the afternoon. In the evening there was a vernissage (glass and mosaics) in Christian's room. While chatting to someone, the conversation turned to Christian and I said how pleased he would be to see the room being used and, believe it or not, the door with his name on  which we were standing by, started to move.
No draught, no one passing by! I can tell you, the hairs on my arm stood up!
Weather:
25° cloudy

2Vs escape the routine

14.6.18: Pleasure continued
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qtP5A1MHb8A8wr1c7 
Had a good breakfast overlooking the sea on the terrace of the hotel, checked out and walked along the coastal path to Calella de Palafuguel. http://www.catalonia-valencia.com/calella-de-palafrugell-travel-guide-41-things.html
It was so warm that we both treated ourselves to some lighter clothes more in keeping with the holiday mood and lack of rain! On the way back we stopped off at the Hotel Torré for a drink, once again with a sea view from a comfortable settee.
Next came the winding road up to "El Far", the hotel/restaurant next to the St Sebastian lighthouse, watch tower and 6th century B.C. Iberian village.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/spain/catalonia/costa-brava/llafranc/hotels/el-far-hotel-restaurant/
Of course, we'd planned our morning to arrive here in time for

lunch. The menu du jour was only 20€ with wine; an absolute snip. It's been this price for as long as I can remember. Yes, it was a favourite of Christian and mine, especially when we had visitors. Some of you will no doubt remember it.
Returned home without stopping, via La Bisbal which is known for its ceramics until we reached Pont de Molins where we made a detour to the Escaules waterfall, another first for Martine. I was surprised to find that the small restaurant had closed down but pleased that the waterfall which was in full flow after the abundance of the recent rain was still accessible.
Back in Pont de Molins, we stopped off at the village café for a cuppa and laughed to see the catalan symbol to free the "politcal prisoners" floating on the river. You can see it in the album above.
Home for an evening with my feet up, feeling that all was well.
Weather:
29°, sun and blue skies

13.6.18: Sheer pleasure
Nicole is away so there were only two "veuves" (widows) to set off to the Costa Brava. An over night in the Casamar Hotel with its Michelin star restaurant in Llfranc was our destination. https://hotelcasamar.net/en It was so, so goooood!
Martine didn't know it at all and was not disappointed; I'd been to this small seaside town several times and Christian and I had often spoken about doing an overnight there but sadly, had never gotten around to it. He would have loved every minute. No, I exaggerate; there was may be a bit too much walking for his taste! The dinner, however, would have been as much of a pleasure for him as it was for us. Seemed expensive at first sight (52€ without wine) but at the end we were both of the opinion that it was worth every single euro.

Still, before arriving there, we stopped off in Pals for coffee and a walk around this hilltop medieval village http://www.catalonia-valencia.com/pals-spain-travel-guide.html and in Begur where the market was on; had a walk and then a tapas lunch. https://www.spainthisway.com/places/begur.php
After checking in and a short rest, we set off to walk along the prommenade and partake of a bottle of cava overlooking the sea. We sat on a comfortable settee and took two hours to drink it interspersing sips with comments about the beauty of where we were and how well we were enjoying getting away from the daily routine.
Returned to walk along the prom after dinner before heading to bed with the promise of another day of pure pleasure to come.
Weather:
28°, warm and sunny

Water, water everywhere

12.6.18: Every cloud has a silver lining
Coffee at the bar.
No internet all day anywhere in the village.
No excuse, therefore not to fire up the treadmill and up my step count.

Impossibly heavy rain.
The street in front of the house ran like a river. Don't remember when we last had such a downpour. This photo doesn't do justice to its ferocity. There were more complaints about the lack of internet than about the rain; we really do need it if we're not to have water restrictions this summer. And of course, there was no need to water the plants or to attack the weeds that are proliferating with the warm and wet weather we've been having these last few weeks.

 11.6.18: They fly so high ....

Sadly for my waistline, the treadmill was sacrificed on the altar of the association's new website. To add insult to injury, Margaret and Izzy invited me to join them for a bite to eat at the bar. I had started with good intentions by ordering a salad but was unable to resit the smell of the chips that the lovely little Millie had with her fish fingers. Millie is such a delight and she kept us and our neighbouring diners entertained by chasing and bursting the bubbles that were blown for her. I say it often, simple pleasures lift the spirit.
Weather:
25°, cloud, sun, rain showers

Keeping Up

10.6.18: Looking out to sea

It was an early start for a Sunday but Jean and Françoise were picking me up to go with them to Collioure. A walk around the market and a leisurely coffee overlooking the sea was a welcome change from looking out on the fountain from the village bar.
Took a day off from the treadmill to catch up with the blog for this week.
I wish I could tell you that it's helping deal with the recent excess but as the scales have decided not to work, I don't have the necessay proof. No daily cava and crisps at apéritif time, no binging on chocolate and over 10,000 steps daily must be doing me some good, wouldn't you think?
Weather:
26°, overcast, rain by early evening

9.6.18: Cutting a dash

Going to the market there and back on the bus meant that I only had time to do a bit of shopping and a quickish coffee with Jean and Françoise. Time was of the essence as the bar's 20th aniversary, on the theme of  "chic or shock", was due to kick off at apéritif time. By the time I'd titivated myself and made sure my fabulous hat was perched just so on my head and arrived at the bar, the banda was already blasting out its repetoire. Never have I had so many compliments and it felt good, I can tell you. It was the hat, of course, that did it; never has £4.99 been better spent in a charity shop! Only drawback was drinking whilst the veil was down but on the positive side, it was a good way of reducing my consumation. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you'll see that it's neither flies or bees buzzing around my head but a pattern on the veil.
Didn't fancy the meal of snails and beef cheeks so I left the festivities while I was ahead and had lunch at home where I stayed for the rest of the day with my new friend Netflix.
Weather:
26° sun and cloud

Old habits and pastures new

8.8.18: Hooray!

The sun is back and the sky is blue. This is more like it. A lovely surprise awaited me when I went to the bar for coffee; some holiday makers had come to the bar on the music night, looking for somewhere to get some flour and as there was nowhere open, I went home to get them some. By way of a thank you, they'd left me some money to have a drink. Well, several drinks ... they'd left me 20€!! Such appreciation for such a small thing.
I'd just settled down with an early evening cuppa to surf the Netflix catalogue when Izzy phoned to invite me to join her and Margaret at the bar for a drink and then back to theirs for pizza. A no brainer, eh?
Weather:
26°, sun

7.6.18: Rich pickings

Before the language exchange, I went to see the young man who's just taken over the practice of Dominique our late lamented dentist. He managed to sort out my problem without pushing me into having a crown. Phew.
In the evening JJ and I went over to Jean and Françoise's for a meal of girolles and cep mushrooms. One advantage of all the rain and warm weather is that the locals are soon able to find their supper. Conversation revolved mostly around stories of  JJ's trip to Colombia and Amazonia and of course, politics.
Weather:
22°, overcast with light rain

6.6.18:  Away from the village

Martine is taking a three week spa health cure about 1h15 from here; you might be interested to know that it's paid for by the health service. She asked me to accompany her so that I could discover the village and we could have lunch together afterwards. Pity there was heavy rain as the closer we got to Molitg, the more striking the scenery was. Started off with coffee at a small, extremely friendly, family run bar/restaurant. Immediately felt at easy and conversation flowed between tables; so filling the time while Martine was being "cured" was no hardship. If the weather had been better, I'd have walked around the grounds of the thermal baths. As it was I was pleased to be sung to in Corsican by a chaming (elderly) man who came in with friends!
Martine and I had a very good lunch at the Grand Hotel right next to the baths. http://www.grandhotelmolitg.com/en/
Came home and signed up to Netflix. What a good job that I'm making a daily date with the treadmill.
Weather:
17° in the mountains, heavy rain

5.9.18: On pigeon watch

Supermarket with Maggie, coffee at the café with Nicole and others.
I'm waging war with a couple of pigeons that are roosting on the beams of the covered terrace. Oh, how I detest the blighters. I've put up what obstacles I can and scream at them for all I'm worth.
Oh yes, I've started to use the treadmill again. Needs must after my OTT behaviour while I was in the UK.
Weather:
24°, sun, cloud, rain. Heavy flooding in more northerly parts of France

4.6.18: A simple but moving affair

A longish lie-in, coffee at the café and a present of already-washed (!) girolles mushrooms from Dominique that went into my risotto lunch, started off the day. On a sadder note, I also leant that a a lone Mum with 4 children who lives at the end of the street had made a suicide attempt.
Early evening, this being the association's10th anniversary, we inaugurated our new room that has been named for Michelle, Jean-Jacques' late wife. Members of the council were in attendance along with a some of ex committee members to listen to a couple of short speeches and to raise a glass of champagne to her memory. The Maire made a toast too which also evoked Christian's memory; needless to say it gave me a lot of pleasure.
Stopped off at the café on the way home to listen to some guitar music in the company of Nicole and her son.
Weather:
24°, cloud and some sun

3.6.18: A bit of a marathon

Coffee first with the "copines" which was followed by brunch at the restaurant with JJ and Nicole by way of a thank you for their help this week.
Only had time for an hour's rest, well, eating is hard work, before going off with Gérard and his cousins to a dance gala in which, Evelyn his wife was appearing. From 3 years old to 70+, the participants were full of passion and enthusiasm. 4h30 after the start, we emerged from the auditorium to rain!
Weather:
22°, cloud and heavy rain in the afternoon

2.6.18: Picking up old habits
This morning I went off to the market on the bus and met up with Jean and Françoise for coffee. Much to my surprise, Nicole S came by and joined us. Then this evening I, along with Terry and Ann were invited to Lone and Jesper's to admire their new terrace and have dinner.
Weather:
26°, sun and cloud

Surprise, Surprise, I'm back!

If you arrive at this post, it means that you've been very patient! Thank you. I've a myriad of reasons why dear old "Chitchat" hasn't been updated since the beginning of April but I won't bore you with details at this point. One wet day, I will fill in the gaps because, you, my friends, know that my obsessive nature does not allow for gaps.
Well, I arrived back Tuesday evening (29th)  from a couple of weeks stay in the Cotswolds, extended by one week more because French Air Traffic Controllers were on strike. My suitcase remains half unpacked but I have been to an association committee meeting, to the language exchange and completed my tax return with the help of JJ. Needless to say, the fridge is bare but after all the chocolate I ate my way through whilst at Jill's, that's not a bad thing.
Meetings with friends, family time, a visit to my brother and sister-in-law's in Wales, a local wool fair and trips to "The George" for coffee or glass of wine was a pleasant way to spend the time. Click on this link to see the photos.
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOOyQw2wQ_j2ofVY--qW3lCNcOfeL0XIjqVOd505JNjBetW8J0gxR2bql8yJzkQRA?key=aVFwQ2JTbTBwNl9yVlBDMl9QQ2dLUmxrY3h6Nmh3
Weather:
25° Rain at some point every day along with thunder