Not much happened early last week. We both started work at a leisurely pace, although Will doesn’t have much on at the moment. I finished up some maintenance tasks that I started over the break, and we both sent out quarterly invoices. I went shopping on Wed in preparation for our visitors.
Anne & Andrew arrived on Thurs afternoon. The weather in the England was cold and snowy, and the crossing was fairly rough. Here, it was warm, but rainy and very windy, as it had been all week. So they arrived a little later than normal, but without any mishaps along the way. We hung out in the afternoon and opened the xmax presents they’d brought along. Dinner that night was Santa Fe Chowder, one of our very first recipes, served with salad, bread and cheese. We had a few drinks and played some cards that evening, and virtually every other night as well.
The folks left for their house on Fri am, and were dismayed to find a number of issues, including a leaky roof and no dehumidifier. The moisture had caused two of the newly laid floorboards to rise up in the centre. They got the dehumidifier working and lit a fire, which helped. They installed the front and back doors that Andrew made, making the place more secure. The main task was to lay the floorboards in the kitchen, which means tearing out the old ones. They came back for lunch and then went back for a few hours in the afternoon. Dinner that night was cod fishcakes with an Asian spinach salad, followed by bread and cheese. Will and I had an unnecessary nightcap and watched a film after the folks retired.
Saturday was Anne’s birthday, so we were tasked with finding a restaurant for dinner that night. It’s often challenging to find one that’s open on Sat night in the Dordogne, and even more difficult in winter. This being the first weekend after the holidays, it was a super challenging. The Beaufils had stopped by earlier in the week and we mentioned this. They suggested a place called L’Auberge de la Truffe in Sorges, about 30 mins from here and luckily, there were open. During the day, Anne & Andrew worked on the house with a break for lunch. Will and I went back with them in the afternoon and helped move and wax floorboards. It had been raining most of the day but cleared a bit in the afternoon.
After coming home and getting cleaned up, with had a video chat with Dave & Amy so they could wish mum a happy bday. The rain started again before we set off for dinner and it was pouring by the time we left. Apart from the harrowing journey, the rest of the evening was lovely. The Auberge is actually a hotel with a bar and terrace, but in winter, only the main restaurant is open. There are a dozen tables, and eventually, they were all taken. We started off with a champagne cocktail flavoured with cherry and vodka, served with salmon mousse and a tomato tartlet. While we waited for our meal, they brought a cold celery soup, except it was fairly thick, almost like a sorbet. Even Will enjoyed it, despite hating celery.
Starters were two different preparations of foie gras for Will and Andrew, and I had scallop carpaccio which was divine. Between courses we had a sorbet topped with eau de vie, which is called a “Trou Normande” chez Benoit. Anne had cod for her main, Will had a roast “coquelet”, Andrew had turbot and I had a beef tournedos in a mushroom sauce. It was all delicious, but not copious, so Andrew and I opted for a cheese course, which was on a trolley and you got to select. Finally, we moved on to dessert which was cold souffle and ice cream for Anne and Andrew, Black Forest for Will and a warm souffle with Gran Marnier for me. Lastly, there was coffee served with petit fours, for a total of eight courses in all. The staff were are friendly and welcoming throughout the evening and clearly enjoyed working there. We’ll definitely be back, despite it being a bit further than we prefer to drive after a meal.
We somehow managed a nightcap after we got home. Will and I watched a film and even squeezed in one more drink, which seemed like a good idea at the time. We were both a bit hungover on Sunday. The folks put us to shame and got in a few hours work that morning, albeit with a slightly later start than usual. They went back in the afternoon, and have now completed more than half the floorboards in the kitchen. Dinner that night was a cheese and onion tart served with salad and brownies and ice cream for dessert.
Anne got a flight out this morning, so Will drove her Limoges and then stopped at the shop on the way back. Andrew has been at the house all day, and I’ve been here working. I got a call this morning about some potential work for an estate agent. It would be a big project, and I’ve already got a lot going on. I’m hoping they can wait for a few months, but of course, they want it done yesterday. Lucien stopped by today to show me a new technique for chainsawing our wood. Since it’s stacked, he stands on top of it saws down through it, instead of cutting each piece on a saw horse, as we do now. Although it’s much more efficient, it looks dangerous as hell, so we’re going to stick to our current method.