House For Sale

front of the house


We've decided to put our house on the market. Actually, it's been on the market since early last summer, but this has been a very quiet year, real estate wise. We would prefer to sell the house ourselves, since agent's fees in France are around a whopping 10%!

So, here's our house. Now, who wants to buy it?


kitchen


kitchen and corner of living room - cat not included


top floor


top floor, beams and skylight


shower


On the main floor the house offers an open plan living room with a working fireplace, dining area and full kitchen with plenty of storage space. All appliances are only 3 years old.
On the first floor there is a landing, big closet, new, big, bright shower room and a large bedroom with built in storage cupboard.
The grenier has been renovated into a large room with visible beams, Velux window and two large closets. It is currently used as an office and spare bedroom. There is possibility of creating a roof terrace.
All of the windows are double glazed and have screens.
Some of the furniture may be included in the sale.
There is a private, 200 square meter, detached garden just one minute walk away from the house with an olive tree, plum tree, fig tree, apricot tree and table grape vines. It is secured with a door that locks and has power and a well.
The street is very quiet and the house is on the edge of the village. Walks into the vineyards and the hills are just around the corner.
The village has a small grocery store run by a very friendly woman where bread is delivered every morning. A library, a post office and a wonderful café/bistro, open all year, make it a perfect place to live or enjoy a holiday.
There is a lake 10 minutes away and 5 minutes up into the hills brings you to the stunning, medieval Cathar town of Minerve. Olonzac, which has a vibrant market every Tuesday morning, is just a few minutes away and the Canal du Midi is 10 minutes away. Carcassonne is a 35 minute drive and Narbonne is a 30 minute drive. Mediterranean beaches are only 40 minutes from the house and Spain is only 70 minute drive south.
If you like to play golf, there is a golf resort development underway within 10 minutes of the property, which will include a championship 18-hole course with club-house amenities.
It is a beautiful, ideal place to live year round or an easy holiday home which you can lock up and leave.
All this for only 115,000€!

And no, we're not leaving France! Pin It

Photo du Jour

This was hanging in the waiting room at the doctor's office. It was a tiny sign, about the size of a large index card.
Nothing posted about not smoking while pregnant, I noticed. Pin It

La Fête du Fromage

One of the mobile fromageries that come to the Olonzac market is owned by a pair of friendly and gregarious guys who I find very helpful in my quest for new cheeses to try. Last week I stopped by their truck to have a chat with them and taste a few samples. I ended up falling in love with and buying a cheese that they called Fromage de Trois Laits and some Bethmale, which I've already tasted and written about.



The lush Fromage de Trois Laits was a rich mélange of unpasteurized cow, goat and sheep's milk that was produced in the Pyrénées mountains where it was aged for a minimum of four months. I did a bit of research on this cheese and found several types of cheese from the Pyrénées that were a mixture of cow and sheep milk, called Mixte, or sheep and goat milk, but not all three. Anyone ever heard of it?
It had a dense and creamy texture that I thought was just perfect! The flavor was sweet, buttery, mildly salty and very voluptuous. If you can get a hold of some Fromage de Trois Laits, you must try it!
A glass of Graves sec or a Jurançon sec would compliment this cheese nicely. Pin It

Photo du Jour

all the little yellow spots in the center of the photograph are quince rotting on the ground


A field full of quince and persimmon trees. Sadly, they were all falling to the ground and being eaten by fruit flies and worms. I helped myself to a few of each. Figured the insects had plenty! Pin It

A Sublime Sunday Lunch in the Sun

l'entrée - paper thin slices of zucchini and eggplant, the large one wrapped around Parmesan, arugula and cream, the other around Rocamadour cheese, served with Champagne
Pure heaven!


hot chihuahuas!



we were sitting in the sun in front of the three doors, but it got so hot that we had to move the table into the shade



le plat - cooking thinly sliced beef on a pierrade



the most sublime of all sauces - Béarnaise



some fantastic, smooth Faugères and a lovely Minervois la Livinière were enjoyed by all



le dessert - sabayon au fruits rouges


Yesterday we spent the afternoon in the company of our friends Jean-Pierre and Agnès, who made an amazing, delicious lunch. We were ready to take up permanent residence by the end of the afternoon.
A Sunday in the sun to remember! Pin It

Carte de Séjour Watch

73 days since it expired...and counting Pin It

Photo du Jour

Olive tree against a stunning blue sky.
This was yesterday in our little corner of France. It was a truly gorgeous day! Pin It

Like To Cook Recipes

Check out the recent recipes over on Like to Cook:

Spinach and Chickpea Soup - fragrant and delicious

Greek Potato and Olive Stew - all roasted together for a fantastic vegetarian feast

Red Beans and Rice - Caribbean style!

Trio of Tomato and Chèvre Tart - a surprising, autumn batch of tomatoes in the garden, all tarted up Pin It

Photos du Jour

Our garden.


Yesterday the clouds cleared up and the brilliant blue skies and sunshine came back. We need the rain, but Thursday and Friday were so dark and gloomy with showers...couldn't wait for that to end! Pin It

Photo du Jour

First it was the wine, now she's going after my croissant! Pin It

Photo du Jour

Detail on an old, rusty gate. Pin It

World Pasta Day

Today, October 25, is World Pasta Day!
I wish I had known earlier. Already ate my dinner...and it wasn't pasta.
merde


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Photo du Jour

Our neighbor's house with beautiful vines creeping across it. Pin It

The Recipe With The Lamest Directions EVER- Thank You Rachel Ray

First of all, let me just say that I have no opinion about Rachel Ray.
When we left the States and therefore access to The Food Network, she was still doing little shows like $40 a Day and I thought she was fine. Not great, but not terrible either.
I've read that people now either love her or think she is the devil's spawn. Whatever. As I said, I have no opinion one way or the other.

That may have changed today after attempting one of her recipes.
It's official title is Potatoes With Chorizo and Onions. I'm taking the liberty to change that to The Recipe With the Lamest Directions EVER.

I read it through and thought that it looked pretty straightforward. Had all the ingredients on hand and there's nothing better than some smoky, spicy sausage cooked with potatoes and onions. I read the bit about flipping the potatoes and onions so the chorizo was on top and thought that part looked a bit weird. It was.
And virtually impossible.

Everything is loose in the pan, so it doesn't turn neatly, so the chorizo doesn't end up on top. It gets all mixed in and by this time it was nice and crispy and didn't need to cook any more.
Why didn't she just say to take the chorizo out of the pan with a slotted spoon, layer the potatoes and onions, stir them around a bit, then put the chorizo on top before putting the other pan on? I ended up having to pull each little slice of chorizo out, burning my fingers in the process.

Lame, I tell you.

It was delicious though. Creamy potatoes, sweet onions and caramelized bits of chorizo.



P.S. what is the deal with EVOO? Does it take that much longer to say Extra Virgin Olive Oil than Eee Vee Ooo Ooo? Pin It

Photo du Jour - le Chocolat

The two layer, gâteau au chocolat I made over the weekend.
You don't find cakes like this in a French bakery!

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La Fête du Fromage - Trycorne du Berry

We tasted another fermier cheese from the Berry region this week, Trycorne du Berry, along with a a cheese that we haven't had since the very first Fête du Fromage, Saint-Nectaire.

The Trycorne du Berry is a férmier, raw milk, sheep's cheese from the picturesque Berry region of central France. This was a fabulous and interesting cheese with delicate, grassy and mildly salty flavors. Its texture was creamy and firm in the middle, and oozing around the lightly moldy, edible rind. (see the blue-grey spots on the cheese in the photo above) I thought it was spectacular and would definitely look for this one again!
Drink a glass of Pouilly Fumé alongside.



The Saint-Nectaire Férmier was as good as I remembered. Creamy, buttery, nutty and melts in your mouth!


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Photo du Jour - le Soleil

More gorgeous vines under clear, blue skies.
I love autumn in the Minervois! Pin It

Photo du Jour

La Bacchante au Biniou circa 1897

Taken in Béziers on the Place des Bons Amis.
A biniou is a musical instrument, similar to the bagpipe. Pin It

Photo du Jour

A treat for petit déjeuner. We don't have a bakery in the village so we rarely eat croissants for breakfast.
Probably a good thing!

This one was nice and dark and perfectly flaky. Pin It

Sunday Lunch

We have wonderful friends with big kitchens (ours is really small) and big dining spaces (again...tiny) and big terraces (don't have one of those) who like to have us around for long, Sunday lunches. We reciprocate, but on a smaller scale. Having six around our table is a stretch, having eight means moving large pieces of furniture around.

Last Sunday we spent the afternoon eating, drinking, laughing and watching one of the little ones swim. The house and garden has come a long way since last spring, the site of the nine hour lunch. This time it was about a seven hour lunch. Guess we're losing our stamina...


creamy pumpkin soup inside


stuffed pork loin with roasted cherry tomatoes and potato gratin


I brought dessert, but no photos were taken. It was a dense, rich, flourless chocolate cake called (Almost) Instant "Fix" Chocolate Heroin Cake. I used some coffee liqueur and didn't add any nuts. It was delicious and a highly recommended recipe!


she decided to swim even though it was only about 68 degrees outside


and the other little one did what he normally does, sleep


Today we're invited to another friend's for lunch. It's a long, lazy Saturday lunch this weekend! Pin It

Photo du Jour

The church in Beaufort, a village a few kilometers away, not the Beaufort where the sublime cheese comes from. It's vaulted chapel dates from the 15th Century. Pin It

Home

He's home. And he ain't happy.
The drugs are wearing off so he's wobbly and whining. I would be whining too if I had to wear that thing around my neck for the next five days. Pin It

Photo du Jour - Ce Matin

The views this morning on my way back from the Veterinarian's office. The light was so beautiful! Almost makes me want to start getting up earlier in the morning.
Almost, but not quite.

We'll be picking up Tico later today. Pin It

Taking a Beating

Yes, here I am, once again complaining about the never ending bureaucracy that is knocking me around, chewing me up and spitting me out.
I won't go into great detail, but my Carte de Séjour has been expired for two months now and just last week I received another letter from the sous-préfecture asking for more papers, more attestations, more justificatifs. Flashback to ten months ago when we were doing the same thing for my husband.

They want to know that we have enough income to live on. I guess being here, paying taxes and supporting the local economy for almost five years hasn't proven our case yet.
They want an attestation stating that I will not work without prior authorization from the authorities. Which they've already granted me. Which I asked for. From the authorities. Obviously they're not convinced in this area either.
They want copies of tax returns from 2006. They already have them in triplicate.

Oh. My. God.
When. Will. This. Get. Easier?

Why do they grant some Americans 10 year Cartes de Séjours with no problems? Is it just our sous-préfecture?

If I didn't love it here so much, I might have given up by now. Pin It

Photo du Jour

Along the Canal du Midi. Pin It

Photo du Jour

Such a beautiful house! Pin It

La Fête du Fromage Fermière

Two férmier cheeses were tasted this week, one sheep's milk, Le Brebis du Berry - "Le Palais," and one goat's milk, Le Balnot.

Le Brebis du Berry is a little. unpasteurized ewe's milk cheese from the Berry region of central France, an area that is renowned for it's goat cheeses such as Selles-sur-Cher and Crottin de Chavignol. Fromage de brebis is not as common, so I was happy to try it. It had a creamy, soft texture with a lovely, sweet and grassy flavor and a mild, earthy aroma. We thought it was sublime!

Le Brebis du Berry was produced at la Ferme des Bruyères.

Pair with a glass of fruity Beaujolais or some Chardonnay.



Le Balnot, a fromage de chèvre férmier, comes from the small town of Ferrals-les-Corbières in the Corbières region. Just down the road from our village, as a matter of fact... The farm where it is produced is called the Chèverie La Balnautière.

This cheese had a tangy, somewhat mild, citrus-like flavor and a semi-firm, creamy texture. It was delicious, but I must say we preferred the brebis. I think a glass of white Sancerre would be perfect with this chèvre.


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Photo du Jour

See that swollen bubble thing on his little neck?
He's going in for surgery this Friday to remove the cyst that's blocking his salivary gland and causing that swelling.
Poor little guy! Pin It

Photo du Jour

A long, quiet road through the vines. There are such beautiful views everywhere! Pin It

More French Habits

Ok, so I've written about some French habits I find bizarre.


Now for some that I understand and happily embrace and participate in!

I love the 2-3 hour lunch.

I love the outdoor markets and cafés.


I love the scarves.

I love the cheese course.

I love the way our neighbors all say bonjour and bonsoir when we pass each other on the street.

This list could go on forever.... Pin It

Photo du Jour

Speck in his fluffy, white "diva" bed that I bought in New Orleans at Chiwawa Gaga - A Small Store For Dinky Dogs. Pin It

French Habits

Living in France has fulfilled one of my greatest dreams and although I complain endlessly about my seemingly endless bureaucratic hiccups, I love living here!

Alas, there are certain habits of the French that I will never pick up, nor understand.


I will never swoon over Johnny Hallyday.

I will never belly up to the bar for a glass of Pastis at 9:45 in the morning.

I will never hang my panties out to dry in front of our house.


I will never learn to appreciate Steak Tartare.

I will never understand why men often face the traffic when they pull over to pee on the side of the road.


Ah well, vive la différence! Pin It

Photo du Jour

Château de Ventenac wine cooperative, along the Canal du Midi. Pin It

Photo du Jour

Arches everywhere! Pin It

Photo du Jour

Moules de Bouzigues at the market.

Bouzigues is a charming little village along the Etang de Thau that has been a center for oyster and mussel production since the time of the Greeks. Pin It