Last night was freezing and I thought that the snow clouds had arrived. Half the sky was a midnight blue, the other half an ominous black.
The morning after was cold at first, but then turned into a gorgeous summery day. I was so excited I decided to trim the the large pines at the front of the garden.
I managed to impress a few neighbours with my tree surgery abilities, being found half way up the tree in a precarious position and sawing madly with a large D saw. Ah the carnage. Luckily I made it with my neck intact.
We are not short of activities for the kids here, depite being in the middle of nowhere, however Alex has found some great ways to amuse himself. Take a look at these; the video itself is amazing.
This is the double pony that she rode last week and Amby is in the green jacket.
Amby has been estatic to receive a bunch of letters for Mt Eliza North Primary School and her teacher here has expressed an interest in getting the french classroom to email back.
Amby has also finally managed a great score on her last control (test), getting 17 out of 20. Well done Amby!
Amby on a high.
It's now school holidays for 2 weeks (one to go) and both have spent time at memere's, allowing me to study for the code in peace (last mark was 18 out of 20).
We all miss you more than words can say and I just hope that I get a job next year as planned so we can come and visit you all. In the meantime we are fingers crossed for a trip to Paris to meet Cheryl and Amby is determined to take you ice skating so be be forewarned!
I hope all my nieces and nephews are safe and well. Felix is especially remembered here, we miss those days in the park and seeing your dad upside down on the playground equipment.
Aeron, we hope you are getting bigger and bigger fish! Emma good luck with the study and Hannah with school. We hope to catch up with Hamish and Heather on our next trip too.
Timmy, Chanelle, Sam and Ben have also been in our thoughts as well as Amelie and her brothers and everyone at Mt Eliza. Phoenix - we are going to put your egyptian symbol on the wall and a big hello to you and Heather. Emma, we hope to see you at the movies!
Hopefully I can get Amby to write something on the blog soon.
Enjoy your talents, enjoy what you are good at, there is no better way to be happy than to excel at something you love.
Upstaged by yet more home cooked french food - this courtesy of Ange's mum and a firm family favourite - lle flottante or oeuf a la neige.
What can I say about the taste? You had to be there!
Poached sweetened egg whites nestled in creme anglais and drizzled with caramel; the caramel was not bitter and I barely stopped myself from licking my bowl clean.
What you get if you boil pigs trotters for 3 hours with cloves and other spices then air dry before braving the deep fryer. Great entertainment watching the air spit and crackle as the water in the trotters met the fat. Next time I'll wait a bit longer before frying. Served with a tangy lime, honey and soy sauce dressing. The corriander is home grown and has thus far survived the frosts. We are all so homesick for good cooked asian food so this was a real treat.
A bad photo of a lovely dish. I guess the closest translation is an open burger (sans buns).
Before I go into details, this was served in what used to be an Aussie pub complete with painted native animals, dunny signs and a real cappuccino machine (read: heaven).
A couple of hours of exclusive Ange time (no kids, no work) made it all the sweeter.
You can buy mince packed into a polystyrene tray (cheveu d'ange or angel's hair), but more usual is for the very lean steak to be directly minced into a small oval mould (steaks haches).
In a butchers or a supermarket meat counter you would always have the meat minced in front of you. No room for paranoia here! It is then cooked in butter (beurre noisette) and served raw to pink in the centre.
This particular steak hache was ground on a medium setting and served pink and melted in the mouth. Again, I can't describe the taste but I really wish all burgers were cooked this way. You can also see how the egg was beautifully runny. Well deserving of it's Aussie setting although it's all so anti food standards.
The Aussie pub.
A day out. Sometimes I have to pinch myself - it's all so authentic.
Steaks Haches (before).
Appologies for the quality of this photo. Fresh gauffres (waffles) served with powdered sugar.
The whole village had become a fete and these were made at the kitchen of a local and served through the front door.
The last time we encountered an artesianal quality fete like this in Aus we had to pay to get in!
Were they good? See below;
and now for something different...
Before - you may be thinking steaks haches, but no....
After
I have NO IDEA how one would cook, let alone eat these. Plus they are huge - more a main meal really.
More picture pefect food styling.
Not so perfect food styling. Recipe courtesy of Master Chef. More home grown corriander.
Pain au lait - known to one little guy as 'dragon bread'
It's fascinating to find such tit bits of history in such tiny off the beat places.
St Colomban, born in Ireland, attended the abbey at Bangor (Ireland - County Downs) for 30 odd years before going into voluntary exile on the continent. He traced a route through Europe - places like Burgundy, Zurich, and Bobbio in northern Italy, where he was eventually laid to rest, evangelising the Gauls and other continentals . His connection to Luxeuil is strong; he founded the abbey at Luxeuil around 590 after he went into seclusion in the Vosges. The tiny chapel at Sainte Marie en Chanois near Annegray (20 mins away from Luxeuil) attracts pilgrims to this day.
He appears to have his own fan club at http://www.ewtn.com/library/mary/fr91303.htm and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbanus where he is described as a bit of a looker. He was also severe in will and favoured silence, private confession, penances and self mortification; hermit-like he would live in caves surviving on forest herbs, berries and the bark of young trees. Despite the stunningly beautiful views at Sainte Marie en Chanois, below, he imposed a severity on the landscape and pilgrims to this day cross themselves at the entrance to his cave and lie on his stone bed which forms part of the little chapel. There is a spring at which you can dab water on your eyes.
His fete is celebrated on Nov 21.
Bizarely St. Columbanus is the patron saint of motorcyclists.
Saint Columban , c.540-615, Irish missionary to the continent of Europe, also called Columbanus. He was trained in the abbey at Bangor. He and 12 companions, including St. Gall, sailed to France (c.585), where they set out to eradicate the general impiety that had grown up under the successors of Clovis. He went into seclusion in the Vosges, and c.590 he founded the abbey at Luxeuil . His Celtic practices and austerities eventually alienated both ecclesiastical and civil powers. Involved in the hostility between Queen Brunhilda and the Frankish bishops, he was generally feared by them all and was exiled. He went (610) to Switzerland and to Bregenz, seeking to reestablish Christianity there. Hostile reaction caused him to go (612) to Milan. At Bobbio he set up an abbey. There he died and lies buried. St. Columban was a considerable scholar, and all his foundations became known for their learning. He composed a rule for monks, which was later completely replaced by the longer and less austere rule of St. Benedict. Feast: Nov. 21 and, in Ireland, Nov. 23.
Bibliography: See B. Lehane, The Quest of Three Abbots (1968); C. H. Lawrence, Medieval Monasticism (1984).
Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.
The cave, located adjacent to the chapel, and now caved-in. The 'bed' forms part of the neweer chapel.
Not so good looking here...
The views
the langue d'oïl (oïl language) as opposed to the langue d'oc (Occitan language, also then called Provençal) (Oc and Oïl are the words for 'yes' in their respective dialects).
September brought a visit to friends in Nancy, a 2 day trip for moi to Switzerland plus a birthday and a couple of bikes for 2 lucky children.
The weather is cool and crisp - great for riding the bikes to school. We have bought our first vegetables in ages as the garden in coming to an end. The trompette de la mort has started to show (black trumpet of death mushroom), and the Mont D'or fromage vacherin is finally in the shops. Tonton Denis has shot his first wild pheasants and bought round a male and female, heads lolling, feathers awry and blood still drooling from beaks (to the great delight of the children). No doubt these will be cooked with the trumpets as they (the trumpets) are great with game. The fromage is only produced from 15 August to 31 May, when the cows are first brought down from their alpine pastures. We currently have a medium sized cheese, still wrapped in it's pine strip, aclimatising to room temperature before it is spiked and flooded with white wine and made into fondu in a hot oven. That may be all we eat tonight, with a fresh green salad and crusty old bread. All we are missing is the skis!
By the way, a trip down memory lane for my siblings - remember plucking chickens in the big laundry sink at home? Here they take the birds into the forest for a wild old plucking! Heaven knows what a visitng rambler might make of the large mass of feathers strewn across their path. They also burn the remaining smaller feathers off rather than using scalding hot water.
Trumpet of death. Despite it's name these are safe to eat and fantastic with game. At the moment cellars across Europe are drying out thousands of these little mushrooms ready to store in tuppaware. The mushrooms are peeled in two and then placed on newspaper for several days.
Townhouses in Nancy. I could be in London.
Detail from the Roman Spa in Nancy
Eyes bigger than tummy?
Best friends meet again. Nancy.
Birthday outfit.
This Maison was moved from Zutzendorf (Alsace) to Sainte-Marie park 1909
The centre ville park in Nancy. I could almost be in Melbourne...
Flowers and bees
The animation put on by the town of Nancy at Place Stanislas for 'le temps des Lumières'.
Place Stanislas in on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and was built by the former King of Poland-Lithuania (and father-in-law to Louis XV)
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