The early part of the week was quiet and mostly filled with work. This was mainly the new villa rentals site, and by the end of the week, we had something to show the client. Now we’re waiting for content, which means we can turn our attention to other projects.
Paul came over on Thurs night and we rehearsed some songs from choir. We went over our voice on some songs, and he helped me with the prononciation on the two songs in Occitan. When we finished, Nat joined us for an apero. She was accepted for a training course in leatherwork, so she’s been busy with that and really enjoying it.
We had a rare three night weekend, starting with Queen night on Friday. This was a two part event in Nontron: screening of the Freddy Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” at 6pm, followed by a concert of Queen songs by a local group. We went with Benoit and Virginie and ran into Jo and Camille, as well as Jenny. The film was excellent and did a great job of telling the story of Freddy and the band. The concert was a bit of a let down after the film. Although the singer and guitarist were both excellent, the sound wasn’t great and they lacked stage presence. We stopped at B & V’s for a night cap and were joined by Eva and Sam. Since we only had a sandwich between the shows, Benoit brought out bread, cheese and homemade cured ham that we feasted on until coming back home around 1:30.
The next morning, I had my first ever osteopath appointment in St Pardoux. He was recommended by my doctor, and seconded by Jenny, who is friends with his partner. He lives in Tours but comes down every other weekend to see patients here. My back hasn’t been great for the past few months, so I figured I’d give it a try. I’m pleasantly surprised with the results. He poked and prodded my stomach and cracked my back in a few places, so it didn’t seem like he did much. But ever since, I’ve had considerably less pain and feel as if I’m standing up straighter. He also correctly divined that I had digestive issues when he found out I had scoliosis.
As is often the case with B&V, after doing something one night, we’re invited around their place the next night. Since we already had Sun plans, we hadn’t planned to do anything on Sat, so accepted. I was asked to bring dessert, and we all decided on Sweet potato pie since I didn’t get to make it for Thanksgiving. I was also asked to bring dessert on Sunday, so I decided to do a pair of pies and made double crust on Sat. I’ve combined two recipes and I’m very pleased with how they turned out. The crust was light and flaky and not overdone. We were joined for dinner that night by Steph and Laurence who were visiting from Bordeaux, and Eva. Benoit often likes to do his version of a meal I did, so he prepared a mini-Thanksgiving except with roast chicken instead of turkey. It was served with pan fried potatoes, roasted sprouts and stuffing. We chatted well into the evening, with Laurence winning the prize for person-who-can-talk-the-most-even-when-no-one-is-listening. Steph is a musician and in a few bands. He played DJ and introduced us to some new (old) music. We left around 1:30 and went right to bed.
We had a leisurely Sun with our only chores being making pie and band practice. I made pecan pie this time, a second attempt that was better, but still needs refining. It was our first rehearsal in a few weeks, and we weren’t too rusty. Dinner that night was at Paul and Nathalie’s, along with Francoise. It’s been raining here since Thursday, finally stopping today, so we were lazy and got a lift. Dinner that night was Tartiflette, a Savoyarde speciality made of potatoes, lardons and lots of cheese. This one was made with Reblochon, which is layered on top and forms a lovely golden brown crust. Although not originally from there, Nat lived in Savoie for 20+ years and definitely has the recipe down pat. We started with nibbles including vodka tonics, bought specially for us. Everyone enjoyed the pie but it was a bit heavy on the pecans, so a bit much after the heavy meal. Being a school night, we left around 11 after sampling genepi, a liqueur made from the eponymous plant that grows in the mountains.
We both worked yesterday and I went to choir. Nat’s training has taken her to La Rochelle, so I drove to choir since Paul is carless. I’m really enjoying choir now, and only sorry that it’s not in Milhac. Andrew arrived today, but I will leave that for Will to recount next week.