We have had fun this winter with the new wood burner - we have even cooked jacket potatoes in it - why ? Just cos we can ! It has made a huge difference to us though, and sometimes we just sit and watch the flames, in companiable silence.
While I am home, although we manage to get small jobs completed, we try to spend time together, and Craig tries to get more done while I am away. That way his time goes quicker, as he can be quite isolated on his own.
My birthday in December was spent in the UK with me working, and as Craig's is in January, we were able to celebrate the two together this year. We were in fact invited to a party - two friends with birthdays at the same time (one French and one English) - so it was a celebration all round. The protocol here for this type of party, is for you to take a plate of food, and some drink, and add it to the table. If the party is given by French people, it is not the 'done thing' to take a bottle of wine, as it may be construed that you don't like their wine, which is a little bit of an insult. Also, never take Chrysanthemums - they are the flowers used for funerals !!!
Craig's birthday in fact, didn't start too well, as we discovered all the chickens had been killed over night. Last year, we lost them to a fox, and this year, it appears to have been a pine martin. It had chewed through the door of the chicken coop, and you could even see the teeth marks. Not the best thing to face, first thing in the morning.
The weather here is the driving force which decides our days activities, and the wind and rain this year, which England also had, was horrendous. We are also at risk in these conditions of power cuts, which affect us greatly. This means we have no phone, internet, TV, lights, no cooking facilities etc of course, so we try to prepare when we know the forecast. We check the batteries in the torches, and arrange candles - it can be quite romantic ! However, we become aware of our isolation, and the risks of trees falling down and causing damage or injury. I lie awake some nights listening to the creaks and groans around us with a little nervousness.
We did have snow that settled this year, for the first time since we have been living here. We had heard rumours about being snowed in, during previous winters, but it has never happened to us, although we try to be prepared just in case. It does look so pretty when the snow lands, but it didn't last very long.
We decided that we would sell our little van - it was getting very little use, and the brakes kept sticking due to this fact, which meant extra work for Craig every time we wanted to use it. The Controle Technique (CT, like an MOT) was due, and it would need work to pass. We advertised it, and managed to sell it quite quickly, which was another weight off our minds. It saved on financial outlay as well of course, with no insurance to pay out for etc. A good and sensible move on our part really. In fact, we bought a trailer to replace it. It is big enough to take to the tip, big enough to fit plaster board in, but small enough to store quite easily.
The car however, needed to pass its CT as well, to make it legal for me to drive to the UK, and be covered by our insurance. The process for registering a car here has been written about before, but, like all things French, is a lengthy bureaucratic procedure. Firstly the Certificate of Conformity, then changing the headlights, before the CT, and then the paperwork from the Tax Office, and finally the trip to the Prefecture - Oh, of course, then the number plates ! As I wanted to get all this completed before my next trip, the final step, the visit to the Prefecture had to be in Quimper. You can do this more locally, but to get the details, 'there and then' it necessitated a trip to Quimper. This isn't too much of a problem, as this town is very pretty, and we quite enjoyed a walk around for a few hours.
A bonus, as I've said before of travelling to and from the UK is the fact that I can buy/bring back things that we are unable to obtain here, and the biggest thing so far, has been a new oven ! You may remember that ours broke a few months ago, and we were managing with the smaller oven of the two, but that we had been unable to replace it here, as we were governed by the casing and sizes that we had already got in place. It was easier to buy in UK, and bring over, and once here, Craig had it unpacked, fitted and working within a few hours of my arrival !!
Arthur always seems to benefit - a very spoiled dog, I think ! - and he may have a new bed, or biscuits maybe. Never toys - he has had numerous toys, that he never, ever plays with. Throw a stick, or a ball for him, and he just looks at you !!! The field has many sticks lying in it, from various attempts over the years.
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