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Rainbow Cottages in France, 7 lieu dit Street André, Saint-Nicolas-du-Pélem (2026)

14/09/2026

Monday, 14 September 2026

A good sleep eluded me and I'm afraid it was a long night. One problem was trying to get warmer or cooler, I couldn't seem to get it right. Once it was dark yesterday evening, I took up to the field the last of the chicks from the garden. All birds are now installed in the Henbox which should make my life much easier. It's surprising how heavy a cat basket is containing six 10-week-old birds. My biceps should be like those of Mr Universe after four consecutive nights of transferring birds.

10.4°C at 0730hrs. By 0845hrs the sun had to come through although the air was still very fresh, 12.2°C when I walked up to the field to feed everybody. It's always amazes me how many vapour trails there can be when you don't hear any planes at all.

Maggie was here to do the changeover on Honeycomb and a few bits and pieces in my house, before I had to set off for an earlier than usual appointment with the physio. Having to do it on Monday this week as taking someone to the hospital on Wednesday.

The guests in The Hive may have to leave early because of an ailing family member. This is not in anyway a problem, in fact it will be a relief. The guest who left from Honeycomb this morning said that there was arguing coming from their room with the woman crying loudly at 0600hrs this morning and it didn't stop quickly. Clearly consideration doesn't figure in their vocabulary.

My Honeycomb guest left behind the extension cable for his CPAP machine. Luckily he was not driving far today and I managed to leave a message for him and he decided to come back at the end of the afternoon.

I drove to Bourbriac and had a very short wait before going into have my treatment. Off towards I went to Carrefour Market for various bits and pieces, including a head torch as elastic and lens had broken on my previous one.

Back home via the field to collect four eggs, and then to finish hanging out the washing. I strained the honey from the spun frames which have been sitting in the sunshine in a closed box. Still some more to come, so the box is back out on the table as it's so warm. 26°C at 1420hrs.

Chicken soup for lunch and I had defrosted cod and prawns for later and when I drove back up to the field later I took down the heads and shells which they always enjoy. Too hot to walk up the slope 1500hrs and 26.5°C but perfect drying weather with lots of cloud in the sky.

While I was folding my clothes at a garden table, I realized the French verb tromper means to deceive, cheat and betray, and that it's just a coincidence that it sounds rather like Donald's surname.

Philippe returned to collect his forgotten cable and stayed for a chat before setting off again. I brought in the dry washing 27.3°C at 1700hrs.

Too hot to spend anytime in the garden today. Apparently it's going to be much cooler tomorrow, let's hope so.

Cod and prawns in a lemony, buttery, parsley sauce for supper with potatoes and my homegrown tomatoes. Probably WCIL and and a glass of fake Bailey's with ice. My Honeycomb guest left behind the extension cable for his CPAP machine. Luckily he was not driving far today and I managed to leave a message for him and he came back at the end of the afternoon. used to like this but I did not enjoy this glassful and it seemed incredibly strong. Halfway through only glassful I felt quite whoozy.

13/09/2026

Sunday, 13 September 2026

Good news - I don't have to do a changeover today because the guest in The Hive decided yesterday to stay another night. I had to switch him to Honeycomb for both nights as The Hive is booked from this evening.

Six more chicks transferred to the Henbox last night, leaving just six to do tonight. This will mean I don't have to shut them up at night because the automatic door on the Henbox will do it for me. So if it's raining I can stay at home and if I'm tired I can go to bed early.

When I climbed into bed last night at 2255hrs, my watch registered 16004 steps, I was pretty sure I'd sleep well and I did.

When I released and fed the last six chicks in the garden at 0730hrs, it was quite a foggy start to the day, but at 0840hrs the sun broke through, 11.3°C.

Having got a large bag of short dated mushrooms this week I thought I better use them and make some soup for the freezer, so I did that this morning while the laundry was in the machine. Had a conversation with my guest from Honeycomb about his search for food last night. No restaurant open in St Nicolas du Pélem. Someone at the bar telephoned around and found some organization, I'm not sure what, who were having a regular meal, I think in Bothoa. There were about a hundred people there apparently and they allowed him to join them for the evening with lots of food including boeuf bourgignon as the main course. His GPS failed him on the way back and it took him over half an hour to drive the the 5 minutes from Bothoa and find where he was staying here at St André, lol. He seemed to have enjoyed the whole experience.

Having hung the washing on the line. I set off for St Nic to watch palets being played this morning but I couldn't find the event at all. I did spot Kris walking her dog but she didn't seem to know either. I gave up and decided to walk in the Bois de Beaucours, so drove out of St Nic to the woods - luckily I keep a pair of trainers and socks in the boot as I was only wearing flip-flops, which are no good for the tree roots all across the path around the lake. Four runners we're the only people I met, so very peaceful there. Reached 5544 steps by the time I got home. I don't think I shall do many more today. Diesel at SuperU has now reached €2.299 per litre ...

Back home via Lou and Sam's where I had a coffee and a chat before coming back to make some chicken soup for lunch and a relaxing afternoon. 23.7°C at 1330hrs.

Guests for The Hive arrived and are not happy that there's not a television. They asked me, what will they do with their evenings, for seven nights? Also, at 1845hrs they went out to buy bread at the boulangerie 4 km away. I guess that's St Nic. I said it's Sunday ... but they didn't seem to think there would be a problem.
... 1900hrs and exactly 25°C.

I have just pushed the wheelbarrow up to the field loaded with the beehive that I brought down yesterday with Christian. How I moved it into the barrow I will never know, it's so heavy, I'm pushing it up the slope was no mean feat. Still all good exercise I guess. 8391 steps so far today. At least I closed the additional non-automatic doors on the Henbox while I was there so needn't go back up later.

12/09/2026

Friday, 11 September
and Saturday, 12 September 2026

0845hrs Saturday morning and 8.4°C, bright and sunny and no breeze. I had to wear a jersey and a scarf to go up to the field to feed the animals as it felt so chilly.

Yesterday's accomplished work was such list. We started with replacing the silicone under bath, finding and replacing light bulbs, putting inline switches into lamp bases and changing plugs. Then on to cleaning out the hen houses and replacing all the hay, resetting the automatic door to the Henbox to come on by light sensor in the morning, installing more perches in the Henbox with the increased number of birds now that I'm taking chicks up from the garden, and refilling all the drinking containers and watering cans.

The aggressive cockerel was despatched and unfortunately, we also had to put a chick out of it's misery - it had a deformed leg and couldn't walk. I had hoped it would improve but instead it had got worse.

Then back to the house to paint the walls and ceiling of Bay 2 and grout the floor tiles. I had bought a long metal desk to use in Bay 2 and this had two coats of spray paint before being put in place.

We then did the honey extraction, only six frames, and they weren't all full. Some honey had set set in the frames. I shall put the lidded container holding those frames outside in the sunshine and hope to harvest a bit more.

Friend Paul arrived and managed to fix the new transformer so that the under cupboard lights now work in the kitchen, which is good news.

The insect hotel I'm starting was proving problematic. The pine cones kept falling out as I was putting them in, so we took it off the wall and I arranged them all before it had a metal mesh stapled over that section.

We pulled dead plants and foliage out of a small flower bed by the kindling sheds and that was taken to the field in the old wheelbarrow. Later when I left to drive to to Rostrenen, the entrance to the field was strimmed.

I had an appointment with Audika, the hearing aid people at 1700hrs. This time it was just to check that the aids were working and to clean them. In 6 months I shall go back for a further hearing test. I also collected another box of batteries.

On to LeClerc where I buy my bread. Unfortunately they don't sell this particular bread in any other store locally so I buy four or five each time I'm near this store for the freezer. Then to Celia and Al's, where we had a quick coffee before Celia and I went for a pleasant canal walk.

Just before I went to bed I had a booking in for seven nights in the hive from Sunday. By the time I finished moving yesterday had done 14209 steps ...

By 0950hrs it was getting warmer and had reached 12°C exactly. I put the container with the six honey frames onto a table in direct sunlight.

Rachel and I had arranged to meet in Lanrivain church car park to go for a walk at Rocleu, but because I can never remember where these places are that we walk, we often meet up in the car park and then I follow her car to our destination. We had a good walk for 90 minutes. I am writing this at 1720hrs and I've so far done 13413 steps today. It's a good walk but quite demanding as a lot of up and down. However, it was all worth it for the incredible light and reflections on the lake when we got there.

Back home via Superu where I met Ginny for a moment or two. Then lunch was prawn salad and a coffee dessert.

I received a booking for The Hive for one night arriving 1730hrs today, so I shall have to do the changeover in the morning as I have somebody coming in tomorrow for a week.

Later this afternoon there was a loud buzzing sound in my driveway. There appear to be bees swarming around my sitting room chimney. Christian helped me bring down a hive from the field and we put it on the triangle by my garage in the hope of enticing them in and away from my house. Not really the time of year to get us warm but I would just like them gone from here. Fingers crossed. I collected four eggs from the field.

A beautifully sunny afternoon and at the time of writing, 1745hrs, it's 23.4°C. My guest arrived and we stood chatting in the sunshine for about a half an hour. He is here to have a look at Canihuel which is where his family came from.

1850hrs and no sign of the bees showing any interest in the hive on the driveway. It's surprising how loud they sound buzzing around the chimney.

11/09/2026

Friday, 11 September 2026

Such a busy day workwise and walking early evening. I've done 14096 steps and am finally in bed - exhausted. A very good but tiring day.

I'll do a combined Friday and Saturday blog tomorrow.

Photo of Linaria repens on the canal bank.

10/09/2026

Thursday, 10 September 2026

I forgot to look at the temperature first thing but it wasn't warm and, instead of going out to feed the chicks in my nightie, I actually put a dressing gown on.

SuperU 0930hrs, where I bought reduced ham and mushrooms, also milk. Then I met up with Chris and Ginny at the piscine for today's walk. The path was quite busy this morning with cyclists other dogs and runners. It was not warm and I kept my long sleeve T-shirt on for the whole walk. Each time we go there are more fungi alongside the path. I had wondered whether we would get money this year and view if they horrifically dry last couple of months.

Back home for deep fried battered prawns with sweet chili sauce and lettuce but for lunch then a WCIL. 1230hrs and18°C
Big toad outside the door last night which I moved towards the pond area.

Around 1500hrs, 20.4°C I walked up to the field to collect eggs. Earlier this morning when I'd gone up to check on the new chicks up there, I was attacked by the cockerel, which I'd raised in the garden here so he knew me well. He came up me three times, flying towards my face, and I decided that I would get him dispatched as I'm not putting up with that sort of aggressive behaviour.

This time he followed me but didn't actually attack as he was more interested in the food I was dropping as I walked. I collected five eggs plus one soft shelled one which was thrown to the hens to eat.

While I was on the field, I checked on the hive from which we'd extracted some honey last week. Almost no activity whatsoever. I can't believe that it's a viable hive anymore.

Paul came round for the afternoon and I made pasta with mushrooms and cream sauce with bacon lardons for supper. He tried to fix the flickering lights with the new transformer but didn't seem to want to work. He'll be back tomorrow

09/09/2026

Wednesday, 9 September 2026

8.7°C at 0800hrs and no breeze, when I went out to feed the chicks and then back inside to give the cats their breakfast. When I came back to bed for my second coffee, I saw a large insect on the outside of my bedroom window flyscreen which I couldn't identify accurately, but was obviously some sort of grasshopper or cricket. It stayed there until Lulu jumped onto the windowsill and put her nose against the flyscreen while trying to see what it was.

The sun came through around 0830hrs. As the dishwasher didn't perform properly last night, it stopped about 2 minutes into the cycle, I washed up the few things in the sink by hand. Also I put some personal stuff in the laundry and hung it outside.

Off to SuperU where the diesel price is now€2.279 ... I dropped off my recycling at the poubelles in the town where there was a lot of glass on the approach lane and around the poubelles themselves. I checked out the price of prawns as Dave had asked me what they were here, today they were €7.95 for size 20/30 per kilo and bought three lots of 300 g. Also bought butter, a parsnip, petit pois, Camembert and smoked trout. I met Kris in the foyer as I left the shop. We were both feeling the cold.

Rachel answered my request about anybody walking, but by that time I shared and got ready for physio. Apparently Toby is feeling much more like himself today after a very bad day yesterday.

I went back home for early lunchtime soup and some knitting before I set off for Bourbriac and my physio appointment. Before my physio I shopped at Carrefour for liquorice and cereal bars. There were so many people at the checkout I thought I was going to be late - not that this would normally matter as Maud is very rarely on time, and she wasn't today.

Instead of coming back home the usual way I took a diversion which took me an extra 20 minutes. No idea where I went really, meandering, but I did end up at the Abbaye de Coat Mallouen which I always like to visit and I took a couple of photographs. I drove home by the field and collected five eggs - so pleased that I found their new laying place.

An afternoon of knitting and recorded television, then cold sliced steak with salad and a jacket potato for supper followed by a WCIL.
17.9°C at 1855hrs. Definitely a much cooler day today which comes as a bit of a surprise after all this heat. I'm currently wearing socks, jeans and a jumper. Washing all dried and back inside.

08/09/2026

Tuesday, 8 September 2026

My worker should have been here today but, the forecast was so bad rainwise that we have changed him to Friday this week. A friend is in Brittany from the UK at the moment and he is coming around to look at my dishwasher in case there's an easy solution.

0745hrs when I went out to release and feed the chicks. I also collected more cat food from the garage and put some laundry into the machine, but not enough to set it off. Brought frozen chicken legs from a freezer back to the kitchen to defrost.

0845hrs and I walked to the field to feed the animals. A few moments later it started to rain but came to nothing so I didn't get wet.

17.4°C at 0915hrs, and the rain started again. I laid the fire in the wood burner just in case it was necessary today. Still raining 45 minutes later and I heated up a bowl of chicken soup and ate that watching the end of recorded BBC Breakfast news, then washed the dishes and saucepan etc by hand. How I hate not having a usable dishwasher.

Mid-morning Paul contacted me and, as he arrived from England on his motorbike and it was pouring with rain, I went to collect him.
It felt so cold when I return to the house that I lit the wood burner.

It seemed that his presence in the house was sufficient to get the dishwasher going, lol. He didn't touch it. I showed him what was wrong except that when I pressed the button it was perfectly alright. Now, I have pressed the button everyday since it stopped working so why it chose today to suddenly work again I do not know. I will use it tonight and see if it really is functional again.

Smoked trout and lettuce sandwiches for lunch with a beer a lot and lots of catchup conversation. Paul cut a bag full of grapes to take back with him and also a few eggs for scrambled eggs. He also had a look at a flashing under cupboard kitchen light and, as a result, I ordered a replacement transformer from Amazon. This should be here on Thursday and he may well come back to fit it for me.

Up on the field, Blanche had managed to get stuck in the fencing between Fanny's and my fields. Paul helped me to get over the fence and he managed to untangle her. Although she was limping to start with, she seemed fine at the end of the afternoon. Thank heavens he was with me, as I couldn't possibly have managed to do it. Five eggs collected today.

After the pouring rain of this morning, the afternoon was pretty much sun all the time as was the evening. 17.4°C at 1910hrs.

07/09/2026

Monday, 6 September 2026

Raining when I went out to do the chicks this morning at 0800hrs, 16.9°C, although no rain had been forecast ... 45 minutes later the sun had broken through and it looked as if it would be quite a pleasant day.

I removed the washing from the hanging ceiling airer in the kitchen and as I dropped it down, it caught it in a hanging plant on the mantelpiece and tipped it out all over the floor. I cleaned up the worst of it in case Maggie arrived while I was out walking, and having repotted the plant, I put it on the mantlepiece in the sitting room area where it should be safer.

Off to to SuperU at 0920hrs and bought milk, a baguette and reduced mushrooms which will be used for soup. Then onto the swimming pool to meet up with Chris and Ginny. Jenny had all three dogs today, Dexter, Bella and Fred. Fred is my favourite. It was dry for the walk but not long. After I got back it was raining again and rained on and off through the morning.

Maggie arrived, and although I wanted to do the car first, we couldn't because of the rain. She did the Small Cottage changeover, my bed, then all my windows, including the new ones in Bay 2, and finally we managed to do the car.

Lunch was a bowl of chicken soup from yesterday and smoked trout on hot buttered toast followed by a WCIL. 23.4°C at 1240hrs.

I fell asleep early afternoon and when I woke up I decided I would go to the charity knitting group which I'd heard about on Sunday at the associations meeting in Rostrenen. The afternoon starts at 1430hrs and I didn't arrive until 1600hrs but thought it was better to go late than not at all.

There were seven other people that are in the room when I arrived who were very welcoming. And explained about the situations that they support. Currently support is going to the Gironde as so many people lost things in the fires this summer. Some people were knitting jerseys but you could also knit bubble hats, Innocent smoothie bottles and I set off making one of these. Patterns were in French but I managed to find a pattern in English on the Internet. (Innocent smoothie bobble hats. For every hat-wearing smoothie sold, Innocent Drinks donates 30p to Age UK to help older people stay warm and healthy during the winter. I presume it's a similar situation here in France. I'll find out the details next time.)

So a good afternoon and hopefully my French will improve as I'm listening a lot to what's going on in the conversations.

Back home and I collected five eggs. Oh, I forgot to say that yesterday I found a cache of a dozen eggs which they'd been laying in a secret place but I now know that place ...

Supper was steak, a jacket potato and salad.
2100hrs and 20°C.

06/09/2026

Sunday, 6 September 2026

Usual stuff done and then I drove off to St Nicolas du Pélem for the car boot out SuperU car park. Nothing really of interest to me. I was so often with the French car boot sales. I bought chilli pepper from the veggie stand and chatted with the seller about tomatoes. I did try some Szechuan pepper on another stall which was very pungent and almost perfumed, not my cup of tea really.

It started raining as I drove home. I went via the field to feed the animals there. 16.8°C at 1020hrs and still raining. My Small Cottage guests had sent me a message that they were leaving, while I was out at the car boot. When I got back, I stripped their beds and put the linen plus towels in the washing machines.

Breakfast was fried kidneys with bacon, fried bread and roast gravy. As I went to collect the laundry from the washing machines, the sun came out, just in time for me to hang it out on the rotary lines.

A bit of admin and then I watched the end of BBC Breakfast and an old episode of Have I got News for You.

Metrofrance.com, whose forecast I receive every morning, announced for this morning 24° and no rain. By midday we'd had a maximum of 22.9°C and at least an hour or so of rain. The forecast is so inaccurate lately that it's hardly worth reading.

I sorted out the stuff in the car again having had to fold down seats and move everything yesterday to get the table into the boot area. It doesn't take long for it to gather dirt and rubbish in it. Maggie is here tomorrow doing a changeover on Small Cottage so I'm hoping the weather will be kind enough to let her vacuum the car while she's here.

My bountiful tomato plant on the driveway has such long shoots that it was tumbling everywhere. I found four long support sticks in the garage and used them to prop it up. Another dozen tomatoes picked from it today. They are definitely not keepers and need eating almost as soon as they're picked, but the flavour is so good.

I've been looking at some of my Facebook memories and the one that came up for this date several years ago was a picture of me holding a toad. Yesterday evening, while I was having a drink with the Small Cottage guests, Lee spotted something moving on the courtyard stones and it was a big toad which I relocated close to the pond.

Supper was a lovely basse côte steak with jacket potato, lettuce, home grown tomatoes and Hellman's Mayo mixed with a little Coleman's mustard, followed by a coffee dessert.

Rachel sent me a photo she'd taken of me at the clapper bridge yesterday in Le Petit Doré which I've attached.

05/09/2026

Saturday, 5 September 2026

0715hrs and chicks and cats fed. Good night's sleep, probably helped by the wine that Small Cottage guests and I were drinking last night. 0900hrs, 15.1°C and the sun was trying to get through in a blue and fluffy white clouded sky.

I walked up to the field to feed the chickens and had to avoid two huge piles of dog excrement one on the driveway and another in the lane - not very nice ...

No one was walking apparently this morning but Rachel did contact me about a walk at Le Petit Doré and I met her in Lanrivain just after 1100hrs and followed her there. She took a really long route to get there and explained that she'd lost the plot on the way, lol.

It was a nice walk, and very pleasant temperature. Just with Claire this morning as Toby is still recovering at home before his endoscopy on Monday.

Celia had left her sunglasses in my kitchen the last time she was here so I carried on to Bonen to take them back to her. They kindly offered me a buffet lunch in the garden which I gratefully accepted. From there I went on to a meeting of the Rostrenen associations to see if there was anything I would like to join. There were a couple of things. We'll see how I feel about them later.

Then to Ti Recup where I bought a book, surprise, surprise, and a slim, metal desk/table to go into Bay 2 once that is finished. One of the chaps there kindly loaded it into my car. It just fitted, so I was lucky. Far too heavy for me to lift out at this end, but luckily my Small Cottage guest answered my plea for help.

Partway home, I realized I hadn't got my mobile. I pulled in to the side of the road and searched the car to no avail. I pressed the tracker tag on my key ring. I could hear the phone ringing. I walked around the car and there it was on the passenger side roof ... Just a bit lucky there I think.

Back home and I cooked prawns in butter and ate them with sweet chili sauce and lettuce leaves.

Just one egg collected from the field and there was one soft shelled one that I gave to the chickens. 1700hrs and 23.8°C.

I watched an episode of Midsomer Murders this afternoon around a large nap in the middle. My Small Cottage guest returned and he helped me get the table out of the boot and then carried it to the garage - thank you, Lee.

A lovely evening, with lots of sunshine and the temperature was 21.4°C at 1900hrs.

Rainbow Cottages in France

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