A serious case of optimism. Maybe fatal, maybe not….
I was stupidly optimistic this morning. I went out and tried to start Bessie at 6am. She started first time.
Read more about… A serious case of optimism. Maybe fatal, maybe not….
Archive for November, 2006
A serious case of childishness.
I’m still walking to work – it’s only 6km and so far, it’s been dry every day. Realistically, I only have to walk as as far as Super U as, anyone on the road between there and the abattoir will be one of my colleagues and will thus stop to give me a life. Today it was the lovely Rachel!
Does it really matter?
As Bessie is still ill, I am walking to work and back – or trying to, at least. Picking up hitch-hikers (even when they’re not hitch-hiking) seems to be the national pastime over here – and the weird thing is, everyone seems to know who I am and where I live! I am sitting here, in my study, trying to reply to all the mails, drinking a glass of Cotes be Beaune and listening to the Goldberg Variations (thanks Father) and pondering a bit about my life here. Five years ago, a car breaking down would have got me very stressed – now all I think is “Does it really matter?” No, not really – I’ll either get another one or go back to the pushbike (also called Bessie) – As they say, worse things happen at sea!
All the best
4 years today
It was four years ago, today, that I drove off the ferry to start my new life in France. A lot has happened since then and I have spent some time, recently, thinking about whether I made the right choice. At some point, over the weekend, I shall be writing up the notes I have made and putting them up here. The question that I shall ask myself will be Has it been a success? Now, that will be a hard question to answer as, five years ago, I was an IT Service Manager in the city, trying to help my client sort out the mess that resulted from September 11th. Now I put boxes on pallets in an abattoir.
The questions that I shall be asking myself will be as follows…
Have I written a novel (the reason for coming to France in the first place)? – Yes!
Am I happy now (and content and comfortable with myself, who I am) – Yes!
Do I have a future within my current work environment – Yes (I think).
If I find myself in five years time, still putting boxes onto pallets in an abattoir – will I still be happy? – Yes (I hope).
I think that some of the reasoning for my life change may be interesting to anyone who is thinking about doing the same thing themselves. But, that aside, the main reason that I shall be doing some life analysis is for myself – to ensure that I’m still on track.
All the best
Freezer Clearout!
I’ve finally decided to clean out and defrost the freezer. It’s something that I do once a year. Thus, I have been eating all the things I’ve squirreled away there (finding some suprises along the way – ice cream… yum, yum).
Now, all that is left are five large packets of sliced pork belly – the question is, what to do with them?
Father brought over a copy a copy of Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery by Jane Grigson when he came over last week. A quick scan through only shows appropriate recipies for Rilletts which is not really what I am after, so I am going to have to go it on my own.
A Serious Illness of a Close Friend (maybe fatal, maybe not)!
A very close friend of mine became seriously ill last night – it might be fatal (I do so hope not). I’ve known her since January and since then we have been together almost every day. Sometimes she has let me down and has often been pig-headed and stubborn-minded. But she’s a friend, you know, what can you do?
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Pigeon Pie!
Michelle, the landlady of my local bar, gave me a brace of pigeons last Monday. She then spent 10 minutes explaining how to cook them. Then the rest of the customers joined in. At that point I had about a dozen ways of cooking my 2 pigeons.
The next day, at work, I asked Denis (who is constantly trying to teach me French – not the language, you understand, but how to be French – far more important!) as he started to explain, some of my other colleagues joined in. Now I have about 40 methods for cooking my 2 pigeons.
Father’s visit.
Father came to visit last week.
We ate, the first night, at Le Prieure de Clisson in Josselin – to be recommended.
We started with Cassoulet de Escargots and had rabbit for the main course – excellent.
Strange evening at the bar
After work on Monday, I stopped off at my local bar for a well earned beer. Mondays are difficult for us as we have to start out by packing (for freezing) anything that we put into the fridge at the end of the day on the previous Friday. When I say ‘fridge’, don’t think of your kitchen fridge, think instead, of a fridge the size of Basingstoke!
Freezer clearance
I’ve been trying to clear out the freezer so that I can give it a good clean out. I am down to 5 packets of sliced pork belly. I’ll be looking at the recipe books (particularly Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery by Jane Grigson that Father bought over last week) and then cooking the lot in one go (for freezing)
I shall then be filling the freezer with whatever is on offer at work. Ooh, I think I’ve got a pig cutting, chopping and slicing evening coming up!
All the best
