wayfaringwordhack: (critters: just ducky)
Last year, my mother-in-law started toying with the idea of getting a couple of egg-laying chickens. This summer, we helped her make that a reality.

First there was much cleaning of the site, a bit of land under some pine trees that was overrun by brambles, ivy, and pokeweed. The MIL and I were alone for this bit:



Look at those mounds of ivy runners. I had to use a weedwhacker to cut them because had we continued pulling, we would still be trying to get them all and would likely have uprooted the yard all the way to the house:



Future hen yard all cleaned up and staked out:



MIL and I then did a lot of research and planning and taking apart transport pallets. In the end, we didn't use the pallets. J's brother was able to get a lot of the wood for free.  We took the work-in-progress photos with his camera, so I don't have any of that to show.

Putting in a stone path in hopes of keeping MIL's boots more or less muck free when she goes to inside the hen yard. She can collect the eggs without entering the enclosure:



Remember those 4.5 tons of gravel I talked about shifting? We used the extra to try to keep the perimeter of the enclosure from being overrun again by ivy:



The two ladies, Lily and Cerise (Cherry), named by Sprout because "Lily has a pointy comb like a lily and Cerise's comb is round."




All the workers:



I can take most of the credit for the building design. J's bro did the plans, all fancy like on his computer, and then built the coop. :P  J did the fencing and gate (he went up the mountain and fetched wood for all the posts, etc, more money saved!).

Good practice for the Someday Farm...only our coop will be much bigger!
wayfaringwordhack: (art journal)
I kind of cheated this week.

I only sketched once and that was today because I remembered it was Snippet Sunday. Oh, wait, not true; I did another tiny sketch the other night.  Just fiddling and poking at my illustrated book project. Not really anywhere near it in my head. I'd like to get there, but I have to take care of the broken stroller complaint first (finally got a certificate of irreparability that we've been needing) and get the icky Stolen Car Angst out of my system.*

In other "creative" news, I've been spending a lot of time helping my MIL clear land for and plan a chicken coop. I've drawn up building plans. That counts right? Oh, and I've dismantled shipping pallets. Not so easy and makes me think twice about all those pallet projects I've pinned. :P

___________________
* It is less the stolen car that is causing me stress and more the fact that we're going to have to pay an enormous penalty to Egyptian customs if we don't get it back.  That we have to pay and be penalized for someone else's crime infuriates me.

Snippet

8 Jun 2015 10:49 pm
wayfaringwordhack: (flora: coquelicot)
I wanted to post a snippet last night, but we had an electrical storm, which kept me offline.

I was going to post earlier today and then learned about our car being stolen. That kind of knocked the wind out of my posting sails.

I'm going to do it now, though, late though it may be, because I want to look at something pretty before I go to bed.

I haven't taken many pictures in Egypt, but being back in France makes me want to capture all the nature I can, a digital hoard to take back with me to the desert.  So this week, I took some whimsical photos of flora:

wayfaringwordhack: (art: guitton - housework)
I know we (well, the kids and I) have a long break ahead of us, but it seems like time has caught us up and is flinging us madly about since we got back to France. This is going to sound like a list of complaints, but it really isn't. It's just busyness and things.

Expandthe particulars )
All this to say that I had (have!) grand plans for getting some writing and art done this summer, but I haven't found the time or breath or centeredness to do it...yet.  I'll get there, though.  
wayfaringwordhack: (flora: frangipani)
When we arrived in France last week, I was struck by all the flowers in bloom. My first thought was of how different places have different spring colors. The very next day, [livejournal.com profile] asakiyume posted about the very same thing.

Here is a sampling of spring on this side of the Black Mountains:



Of course, my bouquet-making urge is in full swing. I love a little bit of country inside, and when we get our Someday Farm, there will be flowers aplenty, with some planted just for cutting.

wayfaringwordhack: (wayfaring wordhack)
Sprout and I arrived safely in France on Friday, after a long delay in Paris due to suspect baggage (not on our flight) and baggage that needed to be unloaded because of no-show passengers (our flight).  Sprout was an angel and a joy to travel with, so no worries there.

We spent the first two days here eating well, catching up with family, and just enjoying nature. However, my health has been blah. First wonky sinuses, which could be due to air travel I suppose, then a headache on day two, and stiff and achy shoulders and back today. My theory is that my body is detoxing.  May be a total crock, but the French embassy hired a study done on the pollution level in Cairo: The results showed that the air is so filthy that it has the same effect on our lungs as smoking a pack a day of cigarettes.  So, yeah, maybe not so crazy after all.  I hope the ick passes soon.

In other news, I DID create this week, but I'll post about it tomorrow.

I hope everything and everyone is well in LJ-land.
wayfaringwordhack: (Brio)
Today, I got to make up for yesterday's frustrating mushroom incident.

Between a day of telephone calls, vet visits, administrative errands, and shopping, I got to take an hour to go a-mushrooming. This time I went just in front of my mil's house, looking for Marasmius oreades (aka "scotch bonnets" or fairy ring mushrooms/caps). The public lawn is divided in two by a dense line of hazelnuts and butterfly bushes. On one side, I saw a lady busy gathering mushrooms. I almost turned around and went back on the other side. Then I thought, no, I really want to see what she is gathering. So, even knowing that some people are very possessive of their knowledge, I approached her with a smile and asked to see what she had found. She looked a bit distrustful and bothered, but she opened her sack and showed me her caps.

I then showed her mine and asked where she was from. She was wearing a headscarf, which is not typical for French natives, and I could hear she had an accent even though she didn't say much. Again she seemed a bit bothered and said she lived in a house up the hill. I didn't want to push her, but I asked what country she was from. Turkey, she told me, and I told her I was American.  Right away she relaxed, understanding that I was another "foreigner."* 

I wished her a nice day then went back on the other side to let her gather in peace. A few minutes later, she came over where I was, and we started chatting about France and its language, about mushrooms, about traveling, about family. We gathered mushrooms side by side, each pointing out patches to one another, urging the other to gather them, neither person trying to be greedy or proprietorial.

She asked me to walk into the adjacent pasture with her because she was afraid of the cows. She showed me another kind of edible mushroom I didn't know. I told her about lemon balm and where she could gather some. It was exactly the type of chance encounter that puts joy into my day.

Her name is Emine. Upon her invitation, I'll go have coffee with her before we live for Egypt. I think I'll take her brownies and a bundle of lemon balm.  :)

__________
* Not that it matters, but the mushroom thief was Portuguese. 
wayfaringwordhack: (art: guitton - housework)
Something very different today.  This Sunday, you get the joy of a glimpse of the week I just had.  I have been sketching and could show you a snippet of that, but I don't feel like photographing, down- and uploading, so...

Monday: Moved house. Did etat des lieux, which went all right, but I did something stupid, stupid, stupid:  Signed the document without reading it. In my defense, the lady filled it out on her Acer tablet and then passed it to me and asked me to sign. I didn't even think of verifying it, like I would have done had it been written on paper. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. She then emailed it to us and I saw some stuff that I would have definitely questioned, but now it is too late. On the mostly-bright-side, I don't think anything she mentioned is enough to keep us from getting our deposit back. Time will tell. I'm keeping an eye on the mailbox. :-<

Tuesday: Spent the day catching up with my daughter and resting from the move.  Rest made all the more necessary by the itching throat and runny nose that I'd been suffering from for the past two weeks...

Wednesday-Saturday: Catching up with in-laws, tearing up the room and digging through boxes in search of N'Djema's vaccination papers and passport. Yes, even the cat needs a passport to go to Egypt. Also did some packing and sorting for Egypt. And continued to feel unwell, except for Saturday.

Today: Woke up dark and early to go mushroom hunting. Found some, had the biggest one stolen by a rude mushroom thief.* Ate mushrooms with grilled duck breast, mashed potatoes, and sauteed green beans.  Made a gift for a friend's new baby. Finished carrying all the Egypt-bound boxes downstairs so that we can repack them into traveling chests and do last minute, do-we-really-need-this sorting. Started feeling like crud. I think I'm getting the flu. S is sick and my mil might be coming down with something, too... However, I FINALLY found N'djema's papers. Hallelujah!**

And that's what things tend to look like in the Faure household when we are preparing an international move.
____________________________
* I squatted down to get a better look at the ground because I was sure there was going to be a mushroom growing there (perfect conditions).  A woman saw me bend down so she made a beeline for my position.  Just as I turned to my head to scrutinize the ground, she came into my line of sight...and spied the very large porcini mushroom growing just to my left. Since I was squatting, she was able to get to it first. Not that I would have fought her over it. She ripped it up, gloating, "This is a big one," then proceeded to thrash her stick all around in search of others. I was beyond disgusted.

It is public property where we were, the mushrooms being there for whoever finds them, but to my way of thinking, if someone is already there, looking at a patch of ground, back off and give them their chance first. Then, if they don't see the "prize" you can move in and get it.  This lady also wove a figure 8 between J and his dad as they were talking, scouting out the ground all around them.  Sheesh.

** Her papers were in the same box with a writing notebook I've been trying to lay my hands on for the past 4 months. So, double hallelujah.
wayfaringwordhack: (Default)
Back home again. We had a really lovely visit at my mil's house this time around. We went on a couple of hikes (16km one day and 4km the next), which I'll share photos of later, and I feel motivated to get into shape again the better to enjoy the fantastic outdoors.

For months now, I've been meaning to get back to my art journaling, and a LJ friend's resolution to a 30-day drawing challenge finally gave me the kick I needed to pick up some charcoal last night and do a quick sketch. Now I have to draw again today and the next day and the next, and I'll finally be back into the habit.

Mahorais_girl
I haven't been writing of late--just the odd thought here and there--what with our guests and all, but I'm back into it now. Speaking of, I need to post a Sunday Snippet. That shall be another post. And I shall make an overall writing update post, as well, but that too will be another post. Tomorrow, with the photos I promised almost a month ago...

And speaking of "back," here is a bit of news I promised to get back with, too:  It is official--as in truly black-on-white, telegram, you-can't-take-it-back official--we are moving to Egypt. Julien will start work 25 Oct, so that means our move date will be a few days before that.

Time to start learning a few phrases in Egyptian Arabic.
wayfaringwordhack: (Default)
Our Aussie friends left today, so I'll be back online again, but maybe more so once we leave my mil's house at the end of the coming week.  Yep, here again because we came with S and S to enjoy the Bastille Day fireworks at Carcassonne.  Photos of that coming tomorrow.  

Sadly, our friends arrived sick, and I caught their crud (only not so bad) a few days in.  Because of all the ick, we didn't do much. The Sprout is manifesting signs of it today. :-<  I hope goes through it as quickly as I did. In any case, I predict much caring for a congested, aching baby in the coming days.

Anyone care to tell me what I missed? What have you guys been up to?
wayfaringwordhack: (writing: paper flames)
When I'm at the mil's house, I just can't write. There is something about this place that eats my writing brain.

I have been busy, however. I smocked a too-big tank-top that I made in....oh, 2009, before leaving Mayotte. Remember the one I wore in Paris while pregnant, [livejournal.com profile] frigg?  That one.

I made a pillowcase for Soëlie.

I made a cushion for a chair that I'm renovating for S and painted the chair as well. I could have finished reassembling the chair today, but I need to buy some hardware.  Tomorrow, I hope. I want to show before and after photos.

I also painted a flower for J's gram's birthday, which we will be attending Saturday. Don't feel like uploading a photo now, so I'll share that later, too, if I think about it.

Oh, and we sorted stuff for Egypt.  

Tomorrow, weather permitting, we are going to Millau to camp, and Julien will go paragliding. Then Saturday, birthday party, drive to Bordeaux, pick up friends from airport, and a week of holiday fun will begin. Who knows, maybe I'll even write a little...
wayfaringwordhack: (art: shroom sweet shroom)

This morning, we all woke with the dawn, only to find the sky cloud-clogged and the air full of a heavy drizzle.  We doubted the garage sale was going to go forward, but my brother-in-law went gamely forth with a loaded car, just to make sure. The event organizer said that if it rained, the sale could happen inside, but there wouldn't be enough room for everyone. When she said it, she made it sound like the sale would be cancelled since not all those who paid for and reserved their places could fit into the community center.

Turns out, even though Mat was an hour early, he was too late. The inside was full of tables and our name was not on any of them. Meaning we were welcome to set up shop outside, in the rain, which was no longer a drizzle but a steady fall.

Since we had parasols but no waterproof awning/tent, we nixed the sale and spent the morning setting up my mil's Mother's Day present*, a weather station, ironically enough.  Instead of the picnic we prepared for the garage sale, we went out to eat and had a tasty, copious lunch.

There are worse ways to spend Mother's Day, but I just wish I hadn't spent the last week digging through boxes, washing dusty bric-a-brac, and laundering musty garments and sports material. I wish I wouldn't have slept so poorly in anticipatory dread of having to wake so early.

Wouldn't you know, tomorrow's weather, like that of the previous 8 days, is supposed to be fine and dandy with not a raindrop in sight. 

____________

* Mother's Day is the last Sunday of May in France or the first in June if the last one in May is Pentecost


wayfaringwordhack: (flora: coquelicot)


J is working in Paris for three weeks, so S and I have left the shining silver waters

Socoa across the bay

for a sea of red near Manou's house.

in a field of poppies

We came for a visit, yes, but also so I can (hopefully!) sell some stuff in a community-wide yard sale this weekend. It has been an adventure, delving in dusty boxes and moldy corners, looking for things to get rid of. We have accumulated so much in the past 11 years and 6 (major) moves. Sadly, we have little of value to make the visit financially interesting (assuming the predicted rainstorm* does not come and there is a decent turnout), especially considering that the car trouble did not go away as we had hoped. It is back with a vengeance, and I have to take the car to the mechanic tomorrow. We'll see how many pretty pennies repairs will cost then.

But worries aside, the Black Mountains are beautiful in this season, the field behind Manou's house is full of daisies and golden blooms, and the roadsides are watched over by waving grasses.  Just the loveliest flora for a rustic bouquet.

rustic bouquet

________

* I first wrote "trainstorm."  What would a trainstorm resemble, I wonder? 

wayfaringwordhack: (praying mantis)


Ah, good ol' French markets. They just wouldn't be the same, and especially not in the south of France, without charcuterie. Bring on the lengths of sausage and slices of cured ham! Bring on the rillettes and jamboneau. You can keep the terrines, pâtés, and cans of cassoulet, if you like. I enjoy cassoulet, but only homemade. I am a foodsnob, after all. 


 
And a bonus photo: A Mahorais boueni in Mazamet. Madame la Maman said there was quite a community here, and she was not mistaken. 
 
 

Surely not

1 Sep 2009 07:28 pm
wayfaringwordhack: (Maki World Domination)
 Surely it cannot be good to have one's chest literally vibrate with stress at least twice a day. :(

What do you do to remain zen when there is an unshutoffable, unescapable source of stress in your environment?

Help. Please.
wayfaringwordhack: (sunflower - closed)
 A combination of busyness and general blah has kept me from posting of late.  The busyness I can explain; the blah, I cannot. I have many things to share and the lot of you have posted a surpassing number for me to comment on. (Even though I haven't been posting, I have been faithfully keeping up with my flist.) But I just don't feel like reaching out. It's almost like I think I'm going to get burned. Silly, I know.

I don't think I'm grieving for Mayotte or the life there. I'm not generally that kind of person, and truth be told, I haven't much thought about Mayotte since being back. I'm thrilled to be here in continental France and moving toward the next chapter in our lives.

But there is this wait before the world trip, and there are a plethora of things to organize, do, and buy for it, and there is a family wedding to prepare and prepare for, and there is the fact that we are squatting at my mil's house. It's hard not having a space of one's own, for me anyhow. Maybe that is what is wrong with me. I never have any alone time here. My attention is constantly, constantly being solicited. I'm on overdrive, often emotionally, and that is the most wearing on me. 

I guess been doing what I can to cut back, as it were. I've been shutting down but not meaning to shut out.

So, this is just a "hello" and a "how are you?" and a "I'm thinking of you."
wayfaringwordhack: (Default)

1) I must say that WiFi and high speed adsl connections really rock! I'm mucho in love.

2) I have not written a single word since we've been back in France. I must rectify that. The muse has not been complaining, however, and I guess that makes it easier to give in to visiting, relaxing, and the need/desire to rest. Still, I have a deadline and must meet it. 

So says I.

3) I am having a devil of a time getting used to these long days. The sun sets around 9:00 p.m., and around 7:30 p.m., I think it is only 4 in the afternoon.
 
4) I've already been to see the eye doctor, dentist, and a general practitioner (tomorrow, we return for the first of our vaccinations for the RWT). Yesterday, I had a CAT-scan, and all is well. My mother suffered a ruptured aneurysm a few years back, and my great-grandmother died from one. Because of my frequent headaches, I thought it was something worth checking out.
 
5) I get to sleep with a blanket! It's so soft, like a teddy bear. And I get to cuddle with my husband. No sweating, icky "Ugh, don't touch me" feelings.
 
6) We've already been to two art exhibitions and an outdoor light and sound theatrical production (in the medieval city of Carcassonne). We have two concerts, an annual village fair, another expo (African textiles), and a RUGBY match programmed for this weekend.

So nice to be back where we can go to cultural events whenever the whim takes us.

Pictures to follow...

Le retour

5 Aug 2009 05:45 pm
wayfaringwordhack: (thé)
We are back safe and sound and tired. But not as tired as we could be. My, but one could get spoiled traveling business class, which is what we did with our accumulated travel miles.

I'm happy to be back, and I was more moved to see the sun rising over the coast around Marseille than I was to leave Mayotte. It felt like a homecoming. Rare for me.

The most beautiful thing I saw during the flight was when we first flew into view of the Mediterranean around Banghazi, Libya. The moon was full, or so close to it that I couldn't tell the difference, and down below, a lit-up city in the form of the Eye of Horus. A golden pathway of moonlight on the water brought to mind a poem by Rimbaud, which I have in a box of books from Sancerre. A passionate, exuberant stranger gave the book to me one night in Paris. So many symbols and memories and beauty converging as we flew toward a new life. A beautiful moment for the spirit as well as the eyes.

I could go on, but there are things to get done.

Thanks for all the comments of well wishes.

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