Goings out and Goings on

 
Goings Out

Our goings out this month have been all about food. We had two invitations to dinner this month - one French  and one English. Both menus were delicious and we enjoyed our friends company in both languages!

Our big outing this month was to the Truffle festival in Lablenque near Cahors. I have never eaten truffles before so this was a new experience for me. There were the usual stalls of wonderful artisan's food to tempt us and also demonstrations of truffle gathering. Then to the main event- le repas gastronomique. Each mouthful was a delight and accompanied by excellent wines. We were with a group of French friends who always take delight in explaining the wines and the food - we take as much time talking about the menu as tasting it. The meal rounded off with some impromptu singing led by our great friend Jean Claude and then the 2 hour drive home. Not cheap and a long way to go. Was it worth it? Ah oui!

Check out the Sunday menu below to see what we ate.

The final going out for me is a trip to the UK leaving today and coming back on the 10th February - can't wait for some cuddles from the grandchildren and a catch up with the family and friends.

Goings On

So what's been happening at the ruin. Well the builders are coming to the end of their work on the structure for the moment. They'll be back later to sandblast and re-point but for now they have all the walls, doors and windows done. As we are on a sloping site we need a retaining wall at the back of the house to give us a terrace in front of the kitchen and they are starting that today. It should all be done when I come back from the UK.

View the slideshow to check out what's been going on this month.

 

			A bientôt

Happy New Year 2013

We wish everyone a very happy and healthy new year.  We will be moving into our new home this year ( not sure when yet) so that is very exciting.

The New Year can be celebrated here up to the end of January and the traditional offering is Galettes des Rois - King's cake - read about it here. We had our first taste on Friday when we had a meal with our friends from the Kiwanis club. Kevin found one of the féves in the form of a vintage 2CV and was King for the evening.

Festivities 2012

We hope you all enjoyed your celebrations this year. Although we miss our family we knew they were all having a great time and we will have them here when the weather is good. I'll be getting my family fix at the end of the month. We are so grateful to our friends who have let us use their house this winter. It meant that we could celebrate Christmas and New year with good friends

Our friend Sandie helping Kevin in the kitchen

Table ready for Christmas dinner

 In the potager

There's not much to do in the veg garden at the moment as it's very wet down there. I am still processing the fruits of our labours from last year though and yesterday I had a marathon butternut squash soup session.  I add a little curry - yum.

The potager isn't idle though. The broad beans I sowed in October are all coming along well and the garlic is poking through and I am busy planning for the springtime when it all starts off again. Nothing compares to the tastes and colours of home grown food.

 

At the Ruin 

Work carried on all through December and picked up again straight away in January. It has been difficult at the ruin as the place is a sea of mud not helped by being churned up by lorries etc. and wellies have been the order of the day. The house is looking great though and we are very pleased that so much of the original building has been preserved. Check out the slideshow to see what's been going on.

Signs of Spring

The days are getting longer, there are signs of Spring already - the hazel catkins seem to have appeared overnight and the orchards are looking wonderful. It's hard to imagine at the moment but soon we'll be back out in the garden enjoying the sun - but we will.

Bonne Année

A la prochaine.