Saturday 5 April 2014

My puff is gone

 I seem to have run out of puff this week. I should have been getting the kitchen emptied out so that work can start on getting the electrics sorted out prior to the cookers being installed next week, because when the kitchen was wired in the first place the kitchen plan was entirely different to what it has turned out to be.

For a start, I never thought I would have a Rayburn wood burning stove, but we have. Delivered from the UK, it has stood in the middle of the hall for the last five months.

 
It's position has been endlessly talked about. How to put the chimney and water pipes in has been endlessly talked about. But the wood has been delivered.
 


 
 
So it is all systems go. Or not, when it comes to the question as to where is my puff. Because I seem to have had a lethargy come upon me, which is not exactly convenient at this time. The electrician comes in on Monday and I still have 30% of the kitchen still to clear. And I seem to have come to a halt. But Lester is trundling on, and has got the potatoes planted, and some seeds done. He has also been hard at work filling in some of the holes in walls of the kitchen.
 

 
....and the chickens and Muscovy boys (who have taken to trying to mate with the cockerels) hiding out in the wilderness of the small veg plot, which has been left to go wild because it is to be the eventual chicken run.
 

 
....and the rotti girls having a romp in the hay....
 

....and Lester having problems with Lissie, who was intent on having a munch on the bay hedge but Lester said she wasn't allowed because she was giving him hassle and was not being a good girl. (Please note the rounded tummy of Lissie. Calf arrives hopefully in about three months time)


.... and sharing with you a sunny moment from down here in SW France. Hope you have a good weekend, and hope your mojo is functioning better than mine.




16 comments:

Denise said...

I am sending you some emergency puff to keep you going, Vera, plus some standby emergency puff which is in a box that you put on the wall and smash open with a tiny hammer when you next need a 'puff fix.'

And now I have just realised that 'puff' is a slang term for marijuana, and that is NOT what I meant at all, and I hope it isn't what YOU meant, either, when you said you had run out. The 'puff' to which I am referring is the huffity puffity wolf-blowing-house-down-puff which I am sure is the puff you meant, because we don't want people getting the WRONG idea, do we??? I am sending metaphorical earth energy healing 'puff', you see, and nothing more sinister than that!!

(Oh, shut up Denise!) xxx

(Loved the piccie of the ducks and hens in the grass!)

northsider said...

Your hard work in the kitchen will be worth all your efforts when the stove gets installed. We have a solid fuel (wood and smokeless fuel) Stanley range and we do all our cooking, run 6 radiators and have gallons of hot water. Do you need to speak to live in France?

rusty duck said...

Take it easy for a while, I can never keep up with you in whirlwind mode anyway!
Great to see the pics from your new camera too, missed those.

Vera said...

Denise, oh dear, I had no idea that 'puff' was another name for pot!

But thankyou so much for sending me an emergency ration of healing, I do actually feel a lot better in myself.

Will link to Home to Heart on Monday evening. The Heart to Heart healing circle starts here on Monday afternoon. This should give us all a much needed boost.
Vx

Dave, my French is not very good but I get by. And wow... you use a wood burning stove all year round. I think that we could use ours all year round as well, but we hope to open for guests in the future and this will demand a cooker which can multi task. In my heart I know that my preference will always be to cook on the Rayburn, and this we shall perhaps do, leaving the other range cooker to cope with times when I need to do huge bake-ups, which is when we have guests.

You have made me ever more enthusiastic to get cooking on my Rayburn!

Jessica, with my mojo gone I can do nothing else but take it easy for a while, but after Denise sent me some 'puff' I can feel that whirlwind mode creeping up on me again!

Jean said...

Vera, it would be abnormal for a human being to feel full of beans all the time. Running out of puff every so often is something we all do and with a bit of a rest you'll soon be back on form.
Such is my experience!
Personally I find my puff evaporates when I am overwhelmed with so many jobs to do that I don't quite know where to start. It helps to just get on with the job right in front of me and ignore the rest, no matter how pressing.

Vera said...

Jean, you are right about the tendency to run out of puff when there is too much to do. Normally I work my way down a list, focussing on one job at a time. But I have lost the list at the moment, so perhaps it would be a good idea to make a new one so my mojo can get going again!

Tim said...

Mojo just the same as yours...
I put it down to "adjusting the clocks lag"...
similar to "2CV lag"....
the body gets to the destination before the car!!

Tim said...

And thanks Jean...
I needed that advice!!
As you well know, we've a few things that need doing here...

Janice said...

I'm sending you my mojo on temporary loan, just until you get the kitchen ready for the electrician on Monday. I'll need it back then so I can get some ironing done!!!

Vera said...

Tim, we have been trying to catch up with ourselves all week because of the time change. But! I used to own a 2CV and I drove it like a maniac. Would have one here but funds do not allow. It was going round the corners which was the best...I used to swing it into the corners like you would do if you were on a motor bike. Used to make my passengers hang on for dear life. And I was in my late forties, and not a mad teenager!

Vera said...

Janice, it's a deal! Nearly got the kitchen emptied but the temporary kitchen is absolute chaos, which will have to be sorted out if we are have anything to eat!

Diane said...

Vera you cannot be on top all the time, but tiredness always seems to hit me when I need all my energy most. Law of averages I think!
Hope you are soon up and running back at normal speed again meanwhile do not over do it. Take care and have a good week Diane

Tim said...

Vera...
we drive Magrat Garlick, our 1989 2CV...
as if she was a racing car or motor bike...
we drive Gytha Ogg, our 1956 2CV...
very much like an elderly duchess...
stately....
but with bouts of extreme excentricity!!

Every excentric needs a 2CV....
or, perhaps for you and the farm...
an Acadiane...
complete with a collection of "dans son jus" dings, dangs and baler twine.
They drive just the same and are way cheeeeper!!

Vera said...

Oh Tim, you naughty person! 2 2CVs. Wow! So what have I just done? Under inspiration from your good self I went on Le Bon Coin for a quick recce, and have absolutely fallen in love with the Acadiane. However, I have hit a bit of a stumbling block. Upon calling over to Lester to 'Come and have a look....' his immediate response was 'Not b.....y likely!' Ah, so a stumbling block indeed. But I shall work on him!

Kev Alviti said...

I hate ot when I don't feel like soing anything. Normally I just have a look on some blogs and see how much everyone else is doing and it guilts me into getting up.
I like your wood pile. That should keep you warm.

Vera said...

Hi Kev, I know the feeling! Its reading about how well everyone is doing and not feeling like even lifting a finger to make a start on what needs doing! Ah well. Hope you don't run out of puff anytime soon!