Build That Wall!!
Maeva, a special needs teacher from Brittany, Angelina and Amy, two professional chefs from the US and myself worked on a dividing wall in the house this October - we made an earth and straw mix for the upper part and a straw and slip mix for the lower half. This will provide some sound insulation between the two rooms upstairs at a minimal price - the straw is 3 euros a bale, the earth is free ... we just bought a few pieces of wood for the straw and slip structure.
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| Maeva and Angy mixing the straw and slip. |
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| We brought the straw and slip mix up to the room in buckets.... |
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| ... built a form work and packed it in. The boards can be taken off after 24 hours ... Angy enjoyed periodically saying 'build that wall' referring humourously to Donald Trump's idea of building a wall to keep Mexicans out of the US .... |
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| A well earned break .... |
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| ... and some time spent watching Donald Trump send ups. |
It's Apple Season
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| We had great fun trying to pick perfect apples from the trees for storing (apples without blemishes or bruises will store better) ... here shaking the branches and catching the apples in a sheet ... what we really need is that special tool with a secateur and little bag ... one day!! |
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| Maeva in the trees. |
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| Some of our beautiful apples.
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Oh the joys of having two professional chefs in the kitchen
It was a real pleasure to have Angy and Amy here for a week - they enjoyed harvesting fresh organic produce from the land and rustled up numerous fabulous vegetarian and vegan dishes.
Working in the Forest Garden
We spent a day in the forest garden putting down layers of cardboard followed by manure (sheet mulching to prepare land for planting next spring) as well as weeding and harvesting some food.
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| Maeva brought manure and levelled it over the cardboard. |
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| Amy digging out dock plants. |
Under Cover Agents?
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| Under cover agent Amy ... with the two American girls often dressed in black ... I did wonder if they were special agents on an assignment to seek out anarchist activity .... |
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| Special agents Angelina and Amy hitchhiking to their next assignment. Thank you Maeva, Angy and Amy for all the fun and the amazing cooking ... |
Hi I'm Angelinas mother what a fabulous idea on construction with Earth and straw...I just purchased a home and I was looking into using old clothing shredded for insulation. Thank you for welcoming my daughter into your home. She has so many wonderful memories and speaks highly of you
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