Back in the Hunter Valley

We have just returned to our home in the Hunter Valley in Australia. We flew from France to the U.S. for a week to visit with my elderly Mum (94 and still living alone and doing well), and then on to Australia. My body is so mixed up time-wise, it doesn't know if it wants to sleep, eat, or poop!

Anyway, the barge is neatly tucked up in Port Castelsarrasin in the South of France.

All is well. If anyone wishes to contact us, we can always be reached on PV's phone, +61 (0)409 383 727.

Settling in for winter.

Castelsarrasin is a lovely town. Everything is at hand including the most fabulous market day every Thursday. Now if the weather would just co-operate... it has been very windy until today... and now it is raining. I hope that doesn't prove to be the norm for winter.

Windy days are NOT for barging.

Peter thinks I am super woman. He expects me to jump off the barge onto the shore with the barge going full pelt in the wind, run with the ropes to the nearest tree which is often across a paved path, wrap the rope around a huge tree trunk, and stop the barge. I have failed three times and our entry into the last three locks has been by gosh and by golly, let alone bumps and bangs.

No one has told us about the wind in the autumn months, but it is ferocious! Our barge does not cope with wind, and nor do I, so I have found out.

And then... we finally stopped on the side of the canal with great difficulty, pounded our stakes into the ground, tied our ropes off... and 2 hours later after the locks had closed, we found that the water level had dropped about 30 cm (one foot), leaving our behind high and dry on silt and the barge tilting at a precarious angle into the canal. PV called the emergency number in France, to find he could leave a message. Miraculously, by about 4 in the morning, the 'lock fairy' had heard our plea and restored the water. We were floating again.

With luck we should be at our winter port tomorrow, and we can relax. However.... our hot water system just blew up spectacularly while Peter was taking a shower! What fun and games we are having at the moment.

Barging is lovely 98% of the time... 1% is exciting, and 1% is just awful.

Spectacular Failure

Peter loves Chinese food, so as a treat, I followed a recipe for 'Chinese carmelised pork ribs'.... it was a spectacular failure with the meat, instead of having a golden glaze, came out black and as tough as shoe leather! Obviously, I haven't quite mastered the oven temperatures in the barge oven.

We are now in Toulouse and it is a blustery, autumal day. We are in the city port, but we keep getting blown around and bumping into the pontoon. It is not very pleasant.