Friday, November 29, 2019

29/11/2019 Back home.......

Maximum temperature in the Charente today 13C, minimum 5C. 8 mm of rain measured this morning. 15km/h Westerly winds with gusts up to 54 km/h!!

Just to keep you up to date with what is happening at home in France while I go through many, many holiday photos.  Part 3 to follow soon.

Down the road, autumn colours and energetic cyclists.

Looking the other way - grey skies.

Home and a very wet road.

Struggling roses in the garden...

As above.

Snapdragons.

Moss.

Homegrown ginger root.

Homemade mincemeat ready for mince pies.  All made from our own homegrown dried fruit.  It will be interesting to see if the pies taste better than the usual bought ones 😊


See also my


27 comments:

  1. I had no idea that you grew ginger in France. Looks good too. We buy it frequently and use it a lot in Asian dishes.

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    1. I am never without it, I use it a lot in cooking. I grow it in summer or else in the greenhouse. Cheers Diane

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  2. Beautiful series of photos. I hope the wind gusts did not cause any major damage.

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    1. Thanks a few plants blown over but nothing serious. Earlier in the year we had an apple tree blown over which was a bigger problem. It is now well staked and it is a tree that is about 10 years old! Thanks for the comment and the visit, Diane

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  3. I imagine the homemade mince will make a better pie. Let us know.

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    1. I hope it will be better, I will be disappointed if it is not! Yes will let you know. Cheers Diane

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  4. A nice series of photos. My favourite is the first one.

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    1. I have to agree with your choice. I missed the shot in the morning, but as I had to return p.m. I did mot worry. Much better in the afternoon, the cyclists added a bit to it 😊 Keep warm, Diane

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  5. I love mince pies! And I’m sure your home made will be fabulous!

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    1. How good to hear from you, I hope you are well. All the very best Diane

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  6. We are having wet days too and at this moment it is raining outside and I can hear the thunder. Good ginger harvest. Oh yes, your pies are going to taste great. Have a great weekend!

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    1. I hope the mince pies will taste good 😊 It is st have a good weekend also. Dianell raining here, We had such a dry summer now we are saturated. You have a good weekend also, Diane

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  7. Hi Diane - I too was interested in the ginger root - it's huge ... wonderful to have around. I'd love to come and spend time with you learning about drying fruit and bottling etc - I've never got round to do it ... and Mum was in Cornwall - so that solved that problem ... visiting was social - not work! Lovely photos - I hope you've got sun today ... that grey was the pits!! Cheers Hilary

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    1. Sadly no sun and the rain is still coming down as I type this. Summer was sooooooo dry, now the lawn is a quagmire, it needs cutting but there is just no way we can cut while it is so wet.

      Drying fruit is so easy if you have the right equipment. I am far better at drying fruit than vegetables but I do manage both. I have a 9 layer Excalibur, not cheap but I think it is worth every penny.

      Cheers Diane

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  8. Thanks for the visit ad the comment. Nature can be very beautiful, sadly it can be cruel as well. Best wishes Diane

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  9. Nice to see you home Diane. Gorgeous autumn colours still around 🍁 oh I'm 100% sure your home made mince pies will taste better than store bought. As much as you wish for a few dry days I'm so hoping the weather forecast for rain on Friday actually happens, I might clean my windows on Thursday then it will definately rain 😉

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    1. Haha, cleaning your windows is like cleaning the car, almost certain to rain! Looking forward to making the mince-pies with my own mincemeat. Something I have not tried before. Take care and have a good week, Diane

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  10. Welcome HOME...theres no place like home!! I am sorry you were sick and hoping that all is better now.

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    1. I love my home, but it I do miss the wild life of Africa, it was so good to be back there with very special friends. Keep well Diane

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  11. I'm going to have to google mincemeat!

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    1. I only read the recipe to give me an idea as I used all our own home dried fruit, cherries, plums and figs and then some frozen cherries as well :-) Hope you find a nice recipe, Diane

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  12. Oh, Diane - such a wonderful trip you and Nigel had although I'm sorry for the illness.

    Your photos, as always so very beautiful. I had to smile at your 'piggy back' ride. I always loved seeing the animals; I love zebra's and of course giraffes. Such beautiful creatures to behold.

    Thanks again for sharing your adventures, and beauty that you're surrounded with at home also.

    Hope to be back soon! Thank you for reaching out in your email; it made me feel happy!

    xoxo

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    1. Thanks Sally for the comment I know you have little time at present. I hope that all your family problems are very soon at an end and that you can return home. Take care and have a good week, Diane

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  13. Seems your flowers are confused to still be blooming.

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  14. I use a lot of ginger, never occurred to me to try and grow it. Gorgeous photos!!!
    Amalia
    xo

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  15. The colours of the leaves at this time of year are quite striking.

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  16. Was interested to see you grow ginger, Diane. I use it in cooking from time to time. It tends to be sold here in large quantities, but we've found that it freezes well and is then very easy to grate in a frozen state when we want to use it.

    I'd love to taste that mincemeat in a mince pie!

    Best wishes - - - Richard

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