The End of a Journey

Well, back to the real world in a few days. Both good and bad. Good that I get paid again. Bad that I'll have less time to nurture my new skills. Good that I'll, once again, have a short term purpose. Bad (and good) that I have identified an alternative purpose that is hard to penetrate. Whatever. We all have to pay our mortgages, that much is inevitable. We just have to enjoy ourselves as much as possible while doing it. And hopefully be able to plan for the future too. The best thing is that I have not one single regret. My brief time away from work has enabled me to learn skills that, had I been working full time, would have taken me two years of weekly evening classes to gather. Much more than that though. I got to:
- spend quality time with the important people in my life (Mo, Si, Tom, Mr & Mrs P senior, Stew and most of all Mrs P).
- develop all sort of recipes, most notably my hand made bread recipe. Best organic ingredients sourced from France and UK.
- make great new friends, mentors and future colleagues
- perform some vital renovations to my flat
- learn a s##t load about me

Some pics:

Some of my tools

Wood pieces (some unfinished!)

My bread

This is, however, just the beginning!

A new beginning...

Plutus has been away

Hello! No, I've not been lazy, I've been on holiday. Mrs P and I were in the south of France for a short while. Wonderful time had by all, well both! We got the Eurostar to Avignon, picked up a car, drove to St. Laurent du Verdon, drove round the Gorges du Verdon, drove up Mont Ventoux, drove to Orange, drove through Chateauneuf-du-Pape, drove back to Avignon, dumped the car and chilled a little after driving a little over 1000km in our surprisingly capable diesel Fiat in four days. Then got very stressed by the prospect of not being able to return home due to the fire in the tunnel. I shall not post my opinions of Eurostar/Eurotunnel nor any details of my personal experience until I am satisfied with the compensation I receive! Instead, here's a couple o' pics:

Atop Mt. Ventoux viewing our journey back down

Gorges de l'ardeche

Mrs P looking out of the Chateau in Chateauneuf

Of the four places we stayed I adored Le Moulin du Chateau in St. Laurent du Verdon and loved La Banasterie (and their dog) in Avignon. Le Moulin is run by a wonderful Swiss couple called Edith and Nicolas who operate a relaxed, beautifully decorated B&B that forces you to relax, eat well and enjoy yourself no matter how much you resist. La Banasterie is a slightly more busy place due to its location in an Avignon back street but is similarly tranquil. Typical provencal colour schemes and decor really make this place a wonderful find and Mouchi (sp?) the Shih-Tzu is an amazingly friendly little chap! If you are planning a holiday to Provence and fancy staying somewhere more elegant, charming and personal than a hotel check out:
http://www.moulin-du-chateau.com/
http://www.labanasterie.com/

Since I've been back, I've been baking bread with my newly acquired French ingredients, making lovely chicken stock from our roast chicken remains, perfecting some of my woodwork pieces as well as starting a couple of new ones, enjoying sleeping in my own bed and embarking upon some futher horticultural training at the Chelsea Physic Garden.

So much to post about, so little time...