We had another social week, starting with dinner at Paul and Nathalie’s on Wed night. They wanted to have us and Francoise over, and it was the first time she’d seen the house since Nadine and Jean Claude moved out. We had nibbles including homemade hummus and cocktails before the meal which started with salads and then chicken and fig tagine with couscous. This was followed by cheese and two desserts, one made from chestnut paste and the other, a chocolate mousse using the liquid from the chickpeas instead of eggs as the thickener. We ended the night with a digestif before heading home and watching telly. Both Nathalie and Francoise are horsey people, so they got along well.
We had curry on Friday chez nous with Francoise, the first time since the menu has been updated, and possibly the first time this year. Between us, we ordered a few of the new items and they were decent, but not amazing. Will got a chicken dish that was relatively spicey and Francoise got two prawn dishes. We also got a bunch of starters, bread and rice, so no one left hungry. I had some coconut left over from Mom’s wedding baking last year, so used it to make some bars that were not bad for a first attempt, but not great. We introduced Francoise to Euchre, and she quickly picked it up since it’s similar to a few of the more popular French card games.
I had a very dodgy tum the next day, which wasn’t helped by the peppers in the dish I ordered. I rallied in time for the evenings activity – Virginie’s birthday dinner at their place. As usual, it was actually at Benoit’s mom’s place next door, and it was a small gathering for them. The only other non-family was Fred the baker and his partner Marie, the one he had the affair with. They’re now officially a couple and this was the first time she’d come to a social event, despite having been invited many times before.
It was a typically copious meal, starting with margaritas and champagne, served with a heaping platter of charcuterie, and two pizza-type dishes: a pisaladier and another with creme fraiche, lardons and cheese. Then we sat down to roast pork with homemade mayo, two types of broccoli, and braised cabbage with a meat gravy, all washed down with three different reds. The cheese was a spread with herbs and loads of garlic, although no one had much of it, and then Fred’s dessert, a multilayer frozen cake with whipped cream, meringue and two types of ice cream. We made our way back to B & V’s and had a few too many vodkas. We left around three and made our way home very slowly.
Of course, we were invited around for lunch the next day to finish the leftovers. We showed up at B & Vs around 1, had a quick vodka, then went next door for the same meal. It was equally good the next day, although harder to eat. Will showed the pictures of our driveway / terrace which is now nearly done. We went back and had another drink or two with Benoit while Virginie dozed on the sofa. Jenny and Loic stopped by around apero time, to say thanks to Will for sorting her computer and return his jacket. Loic likes the site Will did, and he brought over a bunch of photos of his wares. We weren’t terribly hungry so had lunch (sandwiches) for dinner and watched a film.
Benoit was meant to turn up today to do the last bits of work. It’s mainly just a stone path between the house and terrace, plus other small clean-up jobs. In any case, it should be all done by the end of the week, when we’re allowed to use the driveway / parking area. Work for us is very quiet, which is just as well since we’re without Internet at the moment. I’ll soon be building a second new server for the remaining sites, and migrating them over. I’ve got a few bits of client work but not much. Will is waiting for content, although he may be able to move forward now that he’s got the photos.
I finally got out the strimmer and started to do the side of the back garden next to the road. It’s a bit slow going since I’m not sure I’m doing it exactly right, but I’ve finished about half of it now. We’ve still not piled up the recent batch of wood, but now we’re waiting for Benoit who offered to cut it up while it’s still in bundles. This will mean more work stacking it now and again in the log-shed, but will save time since we won’t have to cut it up.
It turned cooler over the weekend, and we’ve even had a bit of rain. We even lit the stove for the first time this season, but it’s meant to warm up now a bit. We harvested all of our plants on Saturday, the last sunny day. They’re now cut up and drying in the guest bedroom. It wasn’t a great harvest, but we’re only now finishing up last years, so we should be fine in any case.
The article about us and the Perigord Beers people came out on Friday. There were a couple of mistakes, one to do with the price of the site, but it was a positive story and nice to be noticed, even if nothing comes of it. (Note: we received an enquiry for some translation work from a company in Perigueux, so it’s already bearing meagre fruit).