Our blogging schedule is still out of whack and will likely remain so until the new year. Today is the shortest day, and the sun is just setting as I type this at 17:15. In fact, it’s overcast and raining, so I can’t actually watch the sun go down but I like knowing it doesn’t happen until after 5 o’clock. It’s not been too cold of late, but plenty of rain which is normal for this time of year.
We’ve been taking advantage of the crap weather by doing a fair bit of socialising. We had dinner at Paul’s on Thursday along with Francoise. His wife Nathalie is on a training course so he’s on his own these last two weeks. We had a variety of nibbles before starting dinner with a curried pumpkin soup made by Francoise, followed by a veggie tagine seasoned with Paul’s honey. I made carrot cake cookies for dessert, opting for something that would last for three nights. We chatted and drank before breaking out the cards for a bit, then calling it a night around midnight.
We had Marie and Christian over for dinner on Friday night. We invited M&M but they were having dinner around the new neighbours. We started with espresso-tinis and nibbles followed by pork chops with roasted apple, fennel and sweet potato served with garlic mashed, followed by cheese and carrot cake cookies. They are both big supporters of the Gilet Jaune movement, and went to two different town-hall meeting with the Deputy and Senator of the Dordogne. These were organised by the government and held all over the country to allow people to express their opinions directly to their representatives. Along with the concessions already made by the government, I believe the movement has served its purpose and should be disbanded. M&C don’t agree, and support the extreme demands made by the far left (and right), such as citizen referendums. We spent a long time discussing this which grew a bit tiresome. Despite that it, was a nice night and they left around 11.
Saturday night was dinner at Rigit’s. It was meant to be with friends of theirs who are visiting from the UK but Rich got the dates wrong and they didn’t arrive until Sunday. So it was just the four of us and we had a lovely evening. Bridget made a tomato pesto soup to start. Rich made comfort food comprising veggie pasties, with homemade pastry that was light and flaky, served with potato gratin and green beans. He’s a great cook, but on occasion, things go a bit sideways; they didn’t this time and everything was perfect. Dessert was lemon meringue, and was later followed by the last of the carrot cake cookies. We hadn’t seen them in a number of weeks, and has a pleasant time catching up. We left around midnight and then came home and watched a film.
Not much happened on Sunday except band practice, which mostly went well. We may get in another one before the end of the year but if not, will resume in January. I had choir on Monday and am really enjoying it. We’re doing a number of the same songs we did in Milhac, except they sound 100 times better. Paul was feeling under the weather so I went on my own. We went to Perigueux on Tuesday, finally getting our pizza fix at our usual place next to the cathedral. Then we went to the Prefecture where I picked up my carte de sejour. They got my country of birth wrong, but the lady said it didn’t matter so I took the card anyway. Our final stop was to pick up Anne and Andrew’s car and that went smoothly and were back home by 4pm.
Work hasn’t let up for me at all until today when I finished off my last bits for the year. I’ve got a phone call shortly with a guy in the States. He’s the designer that did the Vineyards Bordeaux site, and they recommended us to him. I’m hoping it will be a relationship like the one I have with Abby, and the sites will be larger and more interesting than our usual fare. Will hasn’t had as much going on, but has been keeping busy cleaning the house, and trying to find a chimney man for his parent’s place. In fact, he’s there now meeting with guy number three, so hopefully, that will be a successful meeting and he’ll be able to start in January.
Last night we had Paul and Francoise over for dinner, which is becoming a Thurs night tradition. She will be staying here, so we showed her around the house before sitting down to cocktails. They’re both fans of the espresso-tini so we had a couple of those before moving on to tamale pie, served with bread and salad. Francoise made two desserts, a rolled sponge with nutella centre and coconut cookies, both excellent. It didn’t take long for the cards to come and out, and we taught Paul how to play Euchre. It was him and me vs Will and Francoise and it came down to the wire, with us winning the tie-breaking game by one point. We drank a fair amount and were all feeling alright when they finally left us sometime after midnight.
I’ve got prepare for my call now. We’re leaving for the UK tomorrow for xmas, which Will will recount for you in his next post.