Last night, in the warm 24 degrees of the evening we invited our friends and neighbours around for  l’aperitifs. We thought that it woukd be nice for them to see Karen again, after meeting her at Christmas, and also be the perfect way to start Rich’s birthday celebrations for his birthday on Sunday (or more aptly his birthday weekend because all he keeps saying is ‘it’s my birthday.’)

 

But Dylan the Welshie puppy, or Le Terroir, as we now call her, decided that things weren’t going to go to plan, and decided to get a grass seed in her ear and have an emergency visit to the vet (I have shared this adventure it is called ‘keep her quiet.’) so  our French friends arrived whilst I was still unshowered and in my shorts, and Rich was still in the shower. We did not have the aperitifs ready, and as is etiquette nobody would sit down until Rich arrived.

Karen rushed down in her new outfit she had bought that day, looking very French, and very chic, and proceeded to help me with the food. We had decided to go for a French English fusion, with sausage rolls, pork pies, cheddar cheese and some beautiful baby pickled onions in balsamic vinegar, they are so sweet you could eat them like sweets. In addition we had cornichon, cheese cubes, enrobed nuts, and salted almonds.

Eventually we all sat down to pink gin, whiskey, and pastis, with the obligatory red wine. We chatted…… and laughed despite the language barrier, and found out that the end of the barn, that we thought belonged to Marc, actually belonged to us, we did not know and it now has trees growing through it!

We also discovered that the small barn at the end of ours had, in fact, been the home of marc’s parents. A pretty little house years ago so sad that it is now used as a garage and not much more.

Marc explained that six years ago he lived here alone in his beautiful house, and that slowly this little commune has grown with Luci and Manu renovating what would have been one of our barns years ago, and moving in only four years ago, we moved in three years ago and the rest they say is history. They also explained how our home has the most stunning view of them all, it is wonderful to see how Marc still loves his home.

I love the way we just laugh with our neighbours, they have been so kind. So tomorrow, on Richard’s birthday, they are now all coming to us to watch France in the world cup final.

Vive La France.

 

moisy