Harvesting our backyard bounty

Courtesy chef Roger......... Our wild grapes that cover the laundry have deep purple berries and a plan is hatched to pick them, despite the wasps, hornets, bees and yellow jackets that buzz about. Four huge stock pots are filled to overflowing and the plan is to make grape and pear chutney and some grape juice that can be mixed with something alcoholic to make cocktails. Never a dull moment here at LPR.

We collect pears from our pear tree, bay leaf from our bay tree and with a mix of spices, onion, garlic and ginger, the boiling, mashing, straining and reducing produces 700 mls of sticky sweet juice that make three jars of delicious black grape chutney.

There is also about 1.5 litres of grape juice, ready for a slight reduction to cordial consistency and then it can be bottled and grace our little bar. It is delicious.

I'm back on track now, all caught up. The weekend is generally relaxing, and a much enjoyed rest. It was a busy week. We stocked up with fresh fruit and veg eggs cheese, bread and delicious home made kibbeh from le marche. There was some incidental gardening to be done but not much else

On Monday, as predicted, the building site was humming; the electrician, the plumber the carpenter and the renderer were all onsite. Most exciting was the removal of the old render from the back wall of the existing maison and as predicted, there is beautiful creamy coloured charente stonework. Suddenly we've stepped back 50 or more years. It is spectacular.

Not to be outdone by all the tradesman, we decide its time to get the chainsaw out again and tackle the one remaining outdoor project, the removal of a cluster of regrowth trees, already 50 feet high, that will become large problem trees in a few years. Two hours later, the trees are felled with no loss of limbs and we are feeling very satisfied for a job well done. I secretly think the tradies were quite impressed, especially as I was trundling across the lawn with wheel barrow loads of 30cm logs, destined for the new woodshed.

The renderers have now covered the 'orange blob' of construction bricks, with a soft grey undercoat render and suddenly the new extension looks like its always been there. Everyone is very happy

I got the mower out and trimmed the parts of the lawn that were green and lush - notably the knee high wild mint growing on top of the fosse (septic tank). And we even managed a couple of swims as the daytime temperatures have been over 25 degrees.

Today we celebrated our arrival in France, 6 months ago, with lunch at Emma Lou and Johnny's favourite restaurant in St Jean D'Angely. Tucked away in the old Abbey precinct, it was a delightful meal and we wondered why it had taken us so long (three years) to visit! Planning is underway for the next 6 months as we realise the building project will continue until at least November and we still haven't ticked off our Mediterranean Island list. We've made plans to meet Jo in Sicily for New Years Eve, so this should set the scene for early 2027.Read more