Mom arrived the day after I did and I picked her up in Angouleme in the afternoon. Will had been shopping and got things to make our standard turkey escalope recipe which we had with quinoa, bread and cheese plus biscotti that mom had brought along. We had an early night since we were still jet-lagged.
We took it easy on Thursday morning and I tended to a bit of work that had piled up in my absence. Mom and I went food shopping in Nontron and ran a few errands, one of which was trying to find a garage that’s open. The end of August is holiday time for many merchants, including our usual garage. We’ve not done many Km this year, but we’re about to go on one, potentially two road trips, so figured it was time. There used to be one in St Pardoux, but it no longer exists. There is one just down the road from us, but it was closed until this week. So we headed home and started preparing dinner. Knowing that we had guests, Lucien had come by on Tues am with a boatload of courgette, tomatoes and cucumbers. The main that night was Tomato Cheddar pie with Aunt Barb’s crust instead of store-bought and with the garden fresh tomatoes, it came out really nicely. The rest of the meal was salad, bread, cheese and biscotti and it was another relatively early night.
It had been hot and humid on Thursday, but turned much cooler over the weekend. Mom and I went for a walk during the day, but otherwise, we took it easy. We were invited around Josiane and Cami’s that night for an apero-dinatoire. They had a houseful of guests including their daughter Laeti, her man Fred, his mother and three boys, plus a friend of theirs, Babs and her two girls. We had aperos outside, which were pastis and olives, both of which are favourites in the south of France that made a nice contrast to the cool weather. We moved inside for the main, most of which was cooked on the plancha outside. We started with lamb skewers, then moved on to pork chops, sausages and grilled courgette, served with rice topped with a type of salsa that included tamarind. It was all very tasty and washed down with copious wine. Mom had made double-chocolate biscotti and brought some along. We had those with ice cream for dessert, and eventually a bottle of champagne for a digestif. It had been while since we’d seen Laeti, who had been seriously ill last year. She was back on form, and it was nice catching up with her and meeting Fred.
We had a lazy day on Saturday and mainly prepared for that night’s meal. Manu and Mathilde showed up around 8 and we had espresso-tinis with nibbles for the apero. The main was baked chicken legs, a new recipe that was ok, but not great. This was served with Aunt Barb’s courgette gratin, plus another of her recipes and new one for us, tomato and peach salad (veg compliments of Lucien). Francoise had a previous engagement, but joined us for dessert. Mom made a flourless chocolate cake with strawberries and marscapone cream, which was excellent. Typical of nights with Manu, we smoked a fair amount and talked and drank until 2am. Will and I stayed up to watch a bit of telly, retiring around 3am.
Andrew had gone to bed much earlier since everyday is a workday for him. He set off long before the rest of us got up in the late morning. We were all a bit sluggish, and in the afternoon, both Mom and I were complaining of sore throats. We figured it was the smoke / smoking, but when Andrew returned that evening, he had the same complaint. It dawned on us that a few of the Belgian kids were ill with sore throats the night we went around, so we must have caught some version of their illness. Somehow, Will managed to escape, but the rest of us are still suffering now, four days later. Dinner that night was store-bought ravioli with fresh tomatoes, basil and artichoke hearts, with the usual accompaniments. We played cards that evening for the first time of the visit, and then watched telly before bed.
The next day, my nose didn’t stop running and I went through two rolls of toilet paper that day. Mom and Andrew weren’t as bad off, but both had sore throats and coughs. I took the car down to the local garage in the morning and booked her in for tomorrow am for an oil change, new tyres and various other maintenance. Mom and I went for a walk that afternoon and she stopped in to see the Beaufils. We had hoped to have them over for dinner during her visit, but Mauricette is still having stomach troubles, so isn’t up to a big meal. She’s started eating a bit more recently and is due for some test shortly. Figs are now in season at Port 80, so we made a batch of fig, cream and basalmic sauce, with turkey escalope instead of the usual pork chops. This was served with rice and a tomato and peach salad that we enjoyed enough to have a second time. I introduced everyone to Euchre that evening. Will had played before but not for a long time, and we played in family teams. It’s got a few quirky rules, but everyone picked it up enough that we ended up tied at the end of the night.
We were feeling somewhat better the next day, but still fairly crappy. We had discussed a picnic for dinner at St Saud with a visit to chez Roberts beforehand since Mom hadn’t seen the house. Storms were forecast for that evening, so Mom and I stopped by the house after lunch and got a guided tour. Andrew has made a lot of progress since my last visit, and it’s great to see it taking shape. We stopped at the shops afterwards and then came home and chilled before making dinner. We wanted something light and non-meat, so made an Asian style noodle salad with fresh veg. It wasn’t great but hit the spot and we followed up with the usual sides/dessert and then played more Euchre. It was a tense game with lots of back and forth, but Team Roberts finally prevailed, winning the grudge-match by a single point.
Will and I both did some work this morning. Neither of us has much on, just small bits and pieces. Our biggest news work-wise is the latest version of our site that we put live last week. Will did an excellent job with the design, and it more accurately reflects our current focus. For a time, we were the number result on Google for our targeted search terms before slipping back to number three. The newest site has got us back to number two. We don’t get much business directly from Google searches, but it’s a matter of pride to have a top ranking and we’re pleased with the result.
Mom and I went for a walk this afternoon, and now we’re having an apero at home. We’re going out for fish and chips in St Front with Lewis in a bit. It’s Andrew’s last night and he’ll be leaving us first thing tomorrow morning, returning in October. We’re all still suffering a bit from the virulent Belgian Swine Measles Cold, as we have come to call it, but mostly on the mend.