As Matt foretold, our weekend was very much consumed by the above-mentioned event. Before I get to that though, a quick recap of the week. It’s mild out today, but it’s gone grey and yucky. It’s a contrast after a week of the most amazingly sunny weather. I can’t ever remember a February so mild, and it’s set to continue like this too.
Matt saw the back specialist in Périgueux on Wednesday and it was all as expected: it’s healing OK, take it easy, there’s nothing much else to do, it will take time. He’s got a prescription to see a physio – there’s apparently a guy in Brantome who specialises in lower back issues – so we’ll see how that goes. He’s been swimming since so does seem to be improving.
In other news, Mum and Dad’s house purchase is progressing. They’ve received the first set of papers, now signed and returned. They’ll need to come out for the next part of signing the actual acte de vente, which could be ready as soon as next month.
On the work front, we both continue to be busy. I’m fairly sure 2017 is the first time we’ve both been busy at the same time, which is all good news for the Port 80 coffers. Two of my sites went live this week, both of which have been kicking around for quite a while. One is for a painter and I started it last March. The other is for my bete-noire client, the wedding planner. I started this in December 2014; a mere 25 months ago. It is of course, not actually finished (it will never be finished as long as I live) but at least it’s live and I’ve sent out the bill. I’m also making good progress on the art gallery site that was a referral from uncle Bud. Oh, and we had a new enquiry the other day too, so there’s no let up in sight for me. Matt’s still working on his big US project, but his usual clients all seem to be conspiring to distract him by all suddenly needing something doing.
Ok, on to the weekend. We went down to Milhac on Friday afternoon for part 1: stetting up the tables. That done, we returned home for a quiet night in (and a cheeky espressotini). On Saturday, we went to see Alain at Musique en Herbe to borrow the sound equipment for the event. This all went smoothly right up until the very end when he asked us, again, to play at a gig this summer. I flatly said no, he asked why and so I told him. And this did not go down well. He’s since put up a cryptic rant on his Facebook page and has sworn that never again will he lend out his sound equipment to any local association. We hope he will backtrack on this when he calms down, but if not, then Milhac Loisirs might be in the market for some speakers and microphones.
Drama over, we dropped off the stuff at the venue, came home to bolt down lunch, then Matt headed off out again to assist with preparations. I stayed at home and gave the house a big clean and got the second guest bedroom made up. This was to accommodate 3 of the 14 members of “Les Sarreloups” – the traditional Savoie band who were the entertainment. The idea was a sort of cultural exchange, so in return for a free meal and lodgings, they didn’t charge for their performing their show, just for the travel. And the next day, they got to see some of the Dordogne.
Matt came home around 6pm and we were soon back to Milhac to get ready to welcome guests. In the end, we had about 60 show up, which was better than feared, but not great by any means. Sophie pointed out that the last soirée was a let-down and that may have discouraged people. The good news is that everyone who came really enjoyed it. I was manning the bar so missed a lot of the entertainment, but it was popular and they got the crowd dancing at the end. They had full traditional costumes, which they’d made themselves, and they told stories and a few played instruments. The previous event suffered from a last minute change of caterer, but being a Savoyarde herself, Sophie was in charge of the meal, and she’s a great cook. It was scrummy and rich : sausages, cheese and pasta.
At the end of the night, we brought our trio of entertainers back to ours. They brought us a few gifts of local specialities, including a bottle of Chartreuse that we foolishly dipped into despite being very well oiled. We chatted to them for a bit and then all said our goodnights.
The next day it was our turn to do the entertaining. Well, I say “our”, but I stayed at home and put the house (and my head) back in order as best I could. They all went to Brantome for a tour of the caves behind the abbey, something we’ve never done before, and had a stroll around. Afterwards, they had a big Perigourdine meal at Sophie’s before getting their bus back to the Savoie. Matt then had a final task – returning the speakers to Alain, who apparently was back to being all smiles again for some reason. We had a very early night after all that running around and will probably do so tonight too.
And tomorrow, Matt begins his journey back to Minnesota to celebrate his grandmother’s 100th birthday. As usual, he’s spending tomorrow night in a hotel by the airport and catching the flight the next day. It looks like he’s in luck too: it’s apparently no colder there than it is here at the moment, which is impressive for February! Right, that’s all from me.