I’m a day late with the blogging because last night, like many nights of late, we were busy socialising. It would be nice if social activities could be more evenly spread out through the year, but if 8 years of rural living has taught us anything, it’s never turn down an invite.
Our socialising kicked off on Wednesday. We had nothing left to eat in the house and Matt was just considering a supermarket run when the phone rang. It was Marie and Christian who invited us over for a meal that night: perfect timing.
The weather has been atrocious since the beginning of July and that day was no exception so we ate indoors, starting off with aperitifs. Marie made a delicious leek and potato soup, normally a winter dish, but it seemed appropriate. It was so tasty we asked for the recipe, which was apparently leek, potato and nothing else! They know someone down the road with a huge veggie plot so often get lots of fresh, high-quality organic vegetables. To follow we had paté, quail’s eggs and other veg, followed by melon for dessert.
We’re fast becoming very good friends with the pair of them and have invited them to the wedding too, but Marie has an operation just days before so its unlikely they’ll be able to make it. With that in mind, we used them as guinea pigs and played them the three songs we’re performing at our ceremony next month. The feedback was positive and they suggested changing the order around a bit to finish on a livelier number.
The next evening it was our turn to host. Bryan & Carol’s daughter Jenni was over with her 2 boys and her fiancé Tommy for a 10 day trip, so we invited them for a meal. They picked a stinker of a week weather-wise so I’m not sure how they coped all cooped up in B&C’s cottage. Thursday was no exception so we spent the evening indoors. Matt made turkey chilli with cornbread, followed by a chocolate cake for dessert, courtesy of Carol. It wasn’t a late night (Bryan and Carol both looked wiped out and ready for bed from the moment they arrived) and everyone had left by around 11pm.
Having done so much mid-week socialising, we had a quiet Friday night in. The following night, we were invited to Gael & Corrine’s place. The last time we saw it, about a year ago, it was very much a shell and we doubted their optimism when they said they expected to move in before the winter. A lot of work has taken place since then : the house has electricity, a functioning kitchen, lounge with sofas and three bedrooms. There are still some major works to be done like flooring, but it’s really taking shape. It was just the four of us for the evening (again, indoors due to the naff weather) and very pleasant too.
Sunday evening, much to the cats’ discontent, we were out again. This time it was around Lewi and Pary’s place in nearby St Front. Also in attendance was one of Pary’s two sisters, whose name escapes me, and their friend Stephanie and her daughter. It was a milder evening, so we spent it out in their garden. Lewi had made a very interesting Iranian-themed meal which was very tasty, although there was an overpowering amount of lime in the main. Matt made dessert: his new peach cobbler recipe.
You’d think that would be the end of it, but today is a public holiday in France and so many workers end up “doing the bridge” or “faire le pont” ie, taking off the monday too so as to have an unbroken long weekend. This included Emmanuel and Olivier, whom we’d not seen since the spring.
Monday was our solitary sunny day. For once, we had a blue, cloudless sky all day long, and it hit a very welcome 30 degrees. This meant we spent all evening outside which after so much grey was a real tonic. Matt made a mexican-themed meal of guacamole, salsa and chips to start and tacos for the main, using BBQ chicken and beef burgers. Dessert was again peach-based, but this time a crumble. The boys are both in good form. Emmanuel is off to Canada for a month, mostly for work but also for a holiday. Olivier has to work another couple weeks and will then fly out and join him. They are getting back just in time for our wedding in September. They both left us around 11pm so we tidied up and watched some TV before turning in.
True to form for 2017’s appalling non-summer, our solitary hot and sunny day was swftly replaced by a grey skies and rain. A storm is rumbling overhead as I type this and looks set to last the afternoon. Here’s hoping we get an indian summer to make up for this depresssing excuse for a european one…