La Darnoire

Adventures with cheese…

Friday night is steak-and-chips night! With home-brewed beer of course. Actually I should say that Friday night is chips night; we don’t always have steak. But this particular steak-and-chips was slightly different. On a recent infrequent visit to a restaurant we had some steak with Roquefort sauce. Now Roquefort is a fairly strong cheese, but we found that it complemented the meat very nicely indeed. Well, when doing this week’s shopping, LSS visited the “reduced items” area as she usually does. Some cheese called “Morbier” had been reduced as it had reached its sell-by date. And knowing that I am particularly fond of cheese, she bought this one. And, as we didn’t have any Roquefort, she thought she’d try some of this new cheese to make a sauce to go with the steaks.

Well.

Take a pair of nylon socks. Wear them constantly for three weeks. At the end of this period, take them off and bury them in the compost heap until you notice all the flies dropping dead. Then dig up the socks and have a sniff. That’s almost exactly not what Morbier cheese smells like. Thank goodness we have an extractor fan in the kitchen!

Its name could also be unfortunate for English persons in a bar. “More Beer!”
“Coming right up. Enjoy your cheese.”

Yes, I know it’s not pronounced like that. So. Did it taste like Roquefort sauce? In a word, no. One has to initially ignore the smell and concentrate on the taste. But it was still very nice!

I had intended to render the walls of the newly-constructed arch today; but last night LSS reminded me that I had still not started making this year’s batch of sloe wine.

So I’ve made a start with that instead. I also bottled the most recent batch of beer. It’s 9 litres of Brewferm Triple; but I’ve had no end of trouble with the fermentation. It at last reached 1.036 final gravity despite being in the fermentation bucket for a month. This is a bit high for bottling (a reading of 1.020 or below is better), but I’ve taken the risk anyway. I did use champagne bottles though, so hopefully none of them will burst. The final gravity reading means that the %ABV of the beer is a mere 3.8% instead of the promised 8%.

Anyway, here’s some promised photos of the arch construction:

Ack! It’s October! Today’s post is basically a “Wildlife Diary” in its entirety.

For the second year running, we’ve had a problem with wasps. The first time, they were nesting in the roof above the kitchen window. I decided to leave them alone because they were not bothering us. However, when it was time for all the new queens to leave the nest, THAT’s when they started bothering us. They were finding their way into the kitchen through the joints in the ceiling boards. After the winter, I sealed up their entrance hole.

This year, they had found a hole in the brickwork joints in the end wall of the lounge. Once again I made the mistake of leaving them alone, because they were not bothering us there. Unfortunately it is now time for the new queens to leave the nest, and this time they are finding their way through the false ceiling into the bedroom. I directed some insecticide spray into their entrance hole, and sealed it up with mortar. But the story doesn’t end there. One week later, wasps are STILL finding their way into the bedroom. They’re not very fit and healthy though. But last night one landed on LSS’s hand as she was still in bed. Still half asleep, she brought her hand inside the duvet. Unfortunately the wasp was still on her hand, and it stung her on the bum.

I’ve ordered some wasp repellent objects called… <echoing voice> The Waspinator…
Basically they are artificial wasp nests. Apparently they deter wasps and hornets from approaching, because they think it’s an enemy wasp nest. These will be put up next spring. Too late for LSS’s bum this year though.

Last night we had just finished dinner, when we heard a really weird call outside. Some internet research on nocturnal bird calls revealed it was a female tawny owl! Listen here:

http://www.wildowl.co.uk/Tawny%20Kewick1.wma

I’ve often heard the males calling after dark – to my mind it’s the most recognisable owl hoot:
http://www.wildowl.co.uk/TAWOW_01.mp3

For the first time since its installation, we’ve switched on and tested the central heating. It’s simply a programmable timer which switches on a 12V pump. The pump circulates propylene glycol between a copper coil in the thermal store, and a radiator. It certainly works! I’ve now programmed it to switch on for a couple of hours in the mornings as well. The thermal store retains enough heat overnight for that.

A weekly task on Sundays is to empty out and clean the greywater filter. This is simply a cheap stainless steel flour sifter, through which the grey water passes on entry into the sump. I’m not impressed with Chinese stainless steel though; there are already rust spots everywhere. But it’s working fine.

On Wednesday this week, I collected the “sorry you were out” parcel from the village post office. One of the items in the parcel was a special type of hydrometer, rated for “low-density” liquids. So I was able to measure the strength of our “plum wine derivative” (if you know what I mean). It wasn’t too bad for a first effort, but it only measured 20%. I think the equipment needs some modification in order to achieve a higher – um – delivery!

LSS bumped into an old school friend on her way home one evening last week so stopped to chat. During the course of the conversation LSS explained what she was doing and how many hours she was working. The friend, typically French, was horrified. She has what LSS and I call sarcastically “A Good Job.” In other words, a job in which you start work at 9 a.m. exactly (not one second before); and knock off at 5 p.m. precisely (not one second later). Except for Fridays of course, when you finish work at lunchtime (there’s a 35-hour week here you know). Mondays to Wednesdays are spent talking to your colleagues about what you did on the previous weekend. Thursdays and Fridays are spent talking about what you are going to do the following weekend. You get a month off every year; in addition to the myriad of public holidays, of course.

“And your husband – he obviously couldn’t find a job here in France then?”
“He didn’t look for one. He has a full-time job renovating our house and writing books about it. One has been published already.”
Blank look. “But that’s not a job. People don’t write books!”

No, of course not. Libraries are full of books not written by anybody. I wonder if she’s ever heard of Stephen King?

There’s a definite chill in the air now. This morning the temperature on the solar thermal panel was 5.6° C. We may soon be lighting the boiler stove with the aim of warming up the house rather than just heating the water. Speaking of the boiler stove, we still have a slight problem with the bedroom getting smoky. It’s because where the stove pipe exits into the chimney, the sudden increase in volume means that the smoke cools and fills the chimney before exiting at the top, and the vacuum caused by the VMC (extractor fan) means the smoke is still finding its way through the false ceiling to the bedroom. I’ve also noticed one of the sections of stainless steel stovepipe has developed pin-holes. I smeared some fire cement on the inside of this section, covering the holes; but I’m seriously unimpressed with the quality of the stovepipe – it’s only been in service for a year.

A solution to improve the draught and prevent the interference from the VMC would appear to be the installation of a chimney liner from the stovepipe exit to the chimney pot. Although I try to do all renovation and repair work myself, this is one thing I’m not comfortable with doing. Even though we “borrowed” a two-piece 6-metre ladder from the aged FIL, this is still not long enough to reach the top of the chimney pot. I also still don’t like working at heights. I actually had a fear of heights when I was younger, but this was resolved by trying skydiving with a university friend. This was back in the days when parachutes were still round – before the modern square “ram air” parachutes were in common use.

There is an amazingly loud “CRACK!” when the parachute opens, followed by complete silence as one drifts peacefully downwards. The view from that height is obviously spectacular as well.

I think it was on our second training jump (still using static-lines) that my friend had a problem; one of the parachute lines became crossed over one side of the canopy, causing a malfunction known as a “Mae West” for obvious reasons. Fortunately he was able to untangle this line fairly quickly without having to ditch the main ‘chute and pull his reserve. He landed safely, but due to the utmost concentration on resolving the malfunction, he had become confused about timings. I had actually jumped before him, but he was under the impression that he had jumped first. Looking up, he saw what he thought was me. What he actually saw was one of the more experienced free-fallers.

Assuming my main ‘chute had not opened, he was yelling upwards at the top of his lungs, “Pull your reserve! Pull your reserve!” – and then he noticed me walking across the airfield grass to join him.

I still don’t like heights though.

Where was I? Oh yes, the chimney liner. We requested and accepted a quote from the chimney sweep to have the work done. This was in July. France, of course, takes the month of August off. He had promised to do the job by mid-September. LSS called him last week, and was told that he would now not be able to do the work until the first week in October. Oh well, I guess we’ll just keep opening the bedroom window until then.

One of the aged FIL’s carers has been booked off work for a week due to a neck injury sustained in a car accident. The crash wasn’t her fault. The teenage joyriders in the car which T-boned hers did not have a licence so obviously had not been taught the meaning of the octagonal sign with the word STOP printed on it.

So, I expect you’re wondering what the coypu stew was like? Well, it tasted a lot like a rabbit stew; LSS prepared it with mustard. Our first garden carrots were included, as were home-grown onions and potatoes. Basically it was a totally free meal (except for the mustard of course). The sauce was enriched with half a bottle of our pea-pod wine. It’s not very nice to drink, but tastes great in a stew! For dessert we had a bowl of strawberries each; we’ve been eating these regularly since May.

The blasted post(wo)man left another “sorry you were out” card in our letterbox! LSS will no doubt be informing one of her old school-friends, who justhappens to be the head postmistress for the area. I don’t think the postie will be getting a Christmas present this year. In France, at the beginning of December, various persons pay one a visit, selling calendars for the following year. These persons include the fire brigade – which is staffed by volunteers – and the post(wo)man. They purchase a stack of calendars themselves, and sell them on to householders. One pays as much – or as little – as one wants.

I have now finished operating the rotary hammer; the doorway is now at its required width. And the ceiling hasn’t fallen down, which is a bonus. Tomorrow I will construct a plywood form which will serve as the support for the brick arch until the mortar dries. Some geometry comes into play here; the arch needs to be 15cm high, and the width of the doorway is 90cm. So it is necessary to calculate the radius of a circle which fits the arc.

In case you were wondering, the formula is: Radius = H/2 +W²/8H, where W is the width, and H the height. The radius in this case is thus 75cm. Now I just need to find a compass big enough…

LSS went to the aged FIL to collect some dandelions from his garden for the bunnies. As his garden has been left fairly untouched for two years, the dandelions have sprouted everywhere, and the rabbits love them. When she got there, not only was he in his chair, but he was actually watching television! This event is worthy of inclusion in the evening regional news, based on his previous reactions to suggestions that he should switch on the set.

The young peach tree near our kitchen has produced a good crop for the second year running. Although small, the fruit is now fully ripe and starting to fall from the tree. I must say I have never in my life had such tasty peaches. Although I love fruit, I have a problem with things like peaches and apricots. Their furry skins really put my teeth on edge, so I have to peel them first!

The coypu which had invaded our pond a while ago spent the day defrosting. In the late afternoon, LSS introduced it to the stew-pot, and we hope they will be the best of friends. We hate wasting any sort of food. LSS was chatting to the mother of one of her students the other day, who works near a branch of “Restos du Cœur“. This is an association which dishes out food parcels and hot meals to persons in need. Unfortunately it would seem that there are some persons in need who are not really in need. She has seen evidence in a nearby skip that food parcels have been opened, and un-liked contents simply thrown away. Having grown up in Africa – well, I’ll say no more about this.

Our normal postman has been off sick for a while now. I think they have replaced him with a person from outside the region. For the second time we discovered a card in our postbox: “We attempted delivery of a parcel, but you were out.” Well, I wasn’t out. I was actually in front of the computer all day. Because the road running past the farmhouse is unsurfaced, one can easily hear vehicles going past the property, and no such sound was heard.

I don’t think the replacement post(woman) knows where our house is; the postbox is next to that of the neighbouring property, just outside their gate, some 400 metres away from us. We think she probably rang their bell, and, getting no response, left the card. So once again I’ll have to trot into the village on Tuesday next week (the post office is not open on Mondays).

It was another very cloudy day, so the boiler stove was lit once again in the late afternoon. I spent most of the day behind my SDS+ rotary hammer; we now have an opening from the corridor to the barn! Oh won’t LSS be surprised when she gets home – we have moved one step closer to achieving an indoor bathroom.

The hens have finally reached full production; ten hens: ten eggs. And we’ve just had one of our watermelons. All right, it wasn’t very big. I noticed it was rotting away in the garden, so I picked it up to give it to the hens. When I cut it in half, I noticed that only half of it was rotting; so we ate the non-rotten half. Very nice it was too! And the hens loved the other bit; they really are dustbins.

The rind wasn’t wasted either – the rabbits enjoyed it.

In the evening we treated ourselves by going to a restaurant in Salbris for dinner. Run by a Portuguese (there are a lot of them in Salbris), the menu was great. The choice of beer wasn’t that good though. We ended up selecting a Grimbergen Rouge – a Belgian beer brewed with the addition of raspberries. Well, it was either that or a 1664. Next time I think we’ll try the Portuguese wine…

Due to the success of the last batch, I started brewing another lot of ginger beer. I’m having to use a large saucepan, because one of the fermentation buckets is currently occupied with a Belgian Triple, and the other is fermenting some perry. Once the Triple has been bottled, I’m going to try making some pumpkin ale. Well, the pumpkins have done well this year!

I also finished the corridor construction – now I can start breaking through walls. But one can’t just take a hammer and create a hole! Because it’s a load-bearing wall, it needs to be supported before any bricks are removed. This is done by knocking a small hole through the wall at a height which will be above the top of the intended doorway. A timber beam – or metal bar, depending on what you have – is then poked through this hole. This is called a needle. The needle is then supported on either side by acrow props (long metal poles with a screw-thread). I fortunately found two of these at the aged FIL’s. Once this arrangement is taking the weight of the wall, you can then create an opening. Then after the installation of the lintel (or arch), the props and needle can be removed. (My father was a building surveyor, and my brother a civil engineer, so I obviously picked up a few tips!)