Changes

 

Le Houga, France, 2013

My colleagues Paddy and Yacine have left the crew..

And a new home has been found for Henrietta...

I have found a new home in the country side near the office for the remainder of my work with the crew.

Where I can enjoy the peaceful surroundings..

And last days of summery weather.

A visit to Lourdes is on my mind.

View from our office parking lot ... not bad, heh? It's also the view from my office but for an obscuring bush some 20 feet away. Still get to see the horses though..

No MacDonald's for 100 miles around - thank God!
Once a week I cook up an authentic American hamburger ... They love it!

That's an American burger, Belgian beer,and Irish fries - yummy!

Lovely Lac du Houga at sunset last night - early autumn evening......

Late summer weather sneaking in this time of year. Cold and rainy has been here already, two blankets on the bed at night.  Bar-b-q evening meals have been retired..

Small bar-b-q pits are awful! Here you buy a sack of kindling to get the coals going and we still needed to add cardboard (think floating ashes)... But the result was delicious!

Nice lunch today in a smalll restaurant outside Le Houga...

Vibrator working does not disturb the horses at all.

Now for a relaxing Sunday...

Sunday - Day off from QC work. Aftet pancakes, sausage and egg for breakfast caught up on some reading - Three Cities Trilogy: Lourdes, Complete by Emile Zonda. Paddy went of with Yacine to play some golf and I had the house to myself. On their return, Paddy cooked up a traditional irish meal - boiled cabbage, potatoes and ham. It tasted great! Outside was a little chilly, bright moon shining thought wispy clouds into the walled courtyard (not really a backyard). Watched a little of that Garry Cooper and Audrey Hepburn movie in French - really need to improve my French while I am here!

Monday morning back to work!

The office is across the street from a very old chapel, mostly serving an old cemetery these days. No masses are held there and it is likely not open to the public. This part of France is referred to as FrenchTuscany due to the rolling hills, old villages and castles that remain.

Today we went to Lac du Houga for lunch, grabbing some sandwiches and desserts at a pastry shop on the way.

There was enough time for a short nap - at least a little shut-eye before heading back to work -  which turned out to be about 1/4-mile down a wooded lane.

Sunday tomorrow - Yesss!  No work is obligatory in France on Sunday, but I might pop in... Have a nice weekend ya'll!

Today I had a Spanish dish called Paella for the first time since my wedding day. Lovers of this dish are justified - Spanish rice (white rice plus tomato sauce and other condiments) cooked together with chicken, shrimp, squid, sausage and mussels. That was preceded by an appetizer of bean salad with thinly sliced smoked ham and turkey, and followed by a delicious fruit salad for dessert - all for 11.50 euros - about $15.

Did I forget the obligatory bottles of house wine and water?

Yesterday's lunch was at a Deer and Wild Pig Farm - well they call it a "ferm"but it's more like a small hobby ranch, with an appropriately decorated restaurant -think of Strak's Bar-B-Q o r any good steak house restaurant in Texas. My two-meat plate was excellent.Likewise it was preceded by a deer sausage salad dish. I skipped dessert - pants are not fitting as well as before.

Outside my bedroom window at 7 AM....  Town Hall of Barcellone du Gers - Memorial to youths who died in WWI.

Some pics of the townhouse we are renting in Barcellone du Gers

 Dining section with rustic furniture - Simple but utilitatian

My room - spacious but a little noisy from street traffic

 Kitchen has a nice view of the back yard, dish washer, all the amenities..

Egg supplier

Decided to make pancakes for my house mates - and myself. No mix here - all from scratch..

Farm house across the road from the office - huge!

First time working on a crew in southwest France not far from Lourdes, near Spain:

Le Houga Village

Office on the outskirts near a forest