Big Mama: LOST IN FRANCE

Saturday market in Thuir, France

Your favourite blogger is back! You're not rid of me that easily!

I've been lost in France for a week. That is - I've been on the annual girls' trip to my house there, something we've been doing now for nine years. We are former colleagues who used to work together in a bank in Oslo in the eighties, and because our work place was extremely male dominant, us few females stuck together and made our own space - weekends away, girls' nights out etc. (Not that we didn't enjoy our constant male companionship at work - far from it - but we just needed a time-out every now and again)!

One of my friends brought me cat candle holders from Krakow

The fabulous thing about these girls is that - apart from being crazy and funny and generous and sweet and serious - they are so incredibly helpful. The first three days, when the wind was howling around the corners, working outside was not an option (dust and leaves everywhere, especially in your eyes). But then the wind stopped, and all of a sudden we were living in a different world and the girls got down to it. They removed the winter pool cover and started cleaning the pool until it became swimmable. They weeded flower beds and got rid of strange stuff that had grown through the terrace. They killed weed roots with scary products. They sprayed ants and other creepy crawlers to death. They trimmed high growing hedges. They stuffed rubbish sacks with grass and dead leaves. They watered newly planted flowers.

And me? What did I do? I cut down this triangle of undergrowth:

Not living permanently in France, the most sensible thing is to have as few growing patches as possible to tend to - in other words - bury everything under concrete! So this is basically what I want to do with this little spot of "greenery" - pave it over and place some cosy furniture on it, and a potted plant or two. When I discovered oats here - spread from the nearby field with the vigorous wind - I was even more determined to get rid of it!

And I cooked - when we didn't go out for meals. I made shoulder of lamb, bouillabaisse and Boeuf Bourguignon and I put lots of wine in everything! Well, why not.... in France.