Its been a busy old week. And a flipping cold one too. I woke up this morning to a frosty view from the balcony which considering the balmy temperatures we had last weekend, was a bit of a shock. We’ll have to start wrapping the citrus trees soon and drag out the Christmas decorations from their summer hibernation – Denis and I have already planned our festive extravaganza. As we drove over to chez Abraham’s last night, I noticed a few of the village residents had already bedecked their homes with fairy lights, a little early perhaps but with the last of the social get-togethers closing down for a few months, we all need a bit of cheer. Yes, our regular Saturday night social, chez Abraham’s, has closed its doors for a few months. Apart from being absolutely freezing, the place needs a make-over with a little help from yours truly.
Speaking of doing places up, I had the chance to help my good friend Laetitia, she who runs her family’s vineyard in Rouffiac, organise a wedding. A couple from Colorado who have a second home in a nearby village asked me if I knew anyone that could house the celebration and as Jacey, the bride, wanted a view of the sunset to be photographed with, I suggested Closteisseire (the vineyard). Actually I also mentioned chez Abraham’s too but Jacey thought it was too big for what was to be an intimate joining of hands. I’d never met either her or Joshua, the groom, before – Joshua and I have been pals via Facebook for a while, since we discovered we lived close to each other and were both looking for tradesmen. A few days before the big event, I caught up with Jacey to show her the venue and since they were here at the time, I dragged Sophy and Rene with me. Luckily, the bride loved the place and assured by Laetitia’s father-in-law that it wasn’t going to rain on her big day, she planned a couple of sites to put up the flower arch for the pics. Well, they may not have had the forecast they’d hoped for, windy and wet was the afternoon but Joshua and Jacey tied the knot in the warmth of the tasting room, accompanied by his two children, beaming smiles and quite a few tears around. I feel a new career coming on.
Trying something new is part of the fun of living in the middle of the countryside so I coaxed Callum into going mushroom-hunting or as I like to refer to it, chasse aux champignons. Our expert guides, Denis and Rashid, arrived at the crack of dawn and we drove off into the deep, dark forest. I can’t tell you where, such sacred sites are kept secret in case another fungi fancier decides to take his pick. Now, if you have read previous blogs, I have partaken in the sport before under the careful eye of Denis but it seems, my son is a natural. Paired up with Rashid, Callum beat Denis and I hands down in the moss. I have to admit I thought I was doing rather well until my other half told me I’d loaded my sac with fake chanterelles (the stalks are a different shape I was informed) but with the new champignon champion’s hoard, the freezer is now full of various woodland edibles. The massive Cèpe he heaved out of the ground taking up most of the space. Hidden talents obviously run in the family.
If the last couple of weeks have been all about introducing old and new friends to my little corner of the world, the next few days will be counting down to Christmas and the bonds of family. The whole lot of us together for the first time in two years, having the surprise of my boy from Down Under being the icing on the cake. Despite my occasionally rocky relationships with some of my siblings, I am looking forward to everyone talking over each other and arguing about who gets the last mince pie. And as most will not be arriving until the 25th, we’ll be stuffing ourselves the following day which means Denis will be there to – we’ll probably both be still trying to digest his family’s feast from the night before, combining families as well as friendships…
“The best things in life aren’t things” (Mike Ness)
Widow plus woofs 