Celebrating Andree and Kat

 Here the birthday girls embrace above the cake formidable made by Ryan - foret noir, served with bitter almond ice cream and little biscuits made by Alecia - which followed on from Kats chocolate cake, Jaqui's  tarte tatin with chantilly, Petes seafood and mussel nibbles and my huge pile of fairly random sandwiches. I made 2 pots of tea but had hardly any takers - 3 bottles of blanquette, however, disappeared...

 We passed a very happy afternoon:)

real winter/ false spring dance

Today we all wish Andree a Happy Birthday! She has requested peace and quiet. (It is an amnesty only.)

Had a great lunch - mergez and chips - at T Rex with Rushton and Clare. Forgot camera but they are looking good.

Can't predict from one day to the next whats happening with the weather; here is our town with the snow melting off the roofs, viewed from Janey and Pams house. Below is a free-range cockerel - one of several that roam the garden on the mountain, no doubt protecting the place from marauders. Below that is Bieke at supper last night -  nothing fancy, spaghetti and mushrooms - wonderful to shop talk for an evening. She leaves for Ghent tomorrow, alas.

 

cold and white

There are signs of life in the market but not many - if you have a choice, stay
indoors and keep warm;)

Beautiful Friday

Yesterday,  Friday, the sun shone... this morning it is freezing and snowing.  The huge thrilling excitement of yesterday is that T Rex re-opened its hallowed portals. Its been closed for ever - can't remember - (since the owner got depressed.) He's leasing it to another who is currently being inducted- Patrick - and nothing has changed, allelujia. Though hes proposing a new menu anon.
Drawn by this magnet John flew in from Ireland, got off the last train and came straight to dine with Mike. Margaret is joining him next week.
Interesting that hes developed a halo since we last met.

 

Its all going to be different soon though. Had a nose at St Gobain  yesterday, see below, which is being transformed into a restaurant. Its a lovely building, huge, being done up well and with no chi chi - looking forward to a class restaurant in town, though my vulgar tastes will never quite abandon T Rex.

great thursday

 Dinner last night at Kats which was amazing for me - I was like a cork out of a bottle not having left home for so long, what with a succession of colds and so forth [thats enough on colds. Ed.]

Fear I was oppressively noisy. Delicious meal; curried eggs with pomegranate seeds and salad, 2 things that I can recall the taste of but don't know what they were, coconut Thai curry was one I think and the other wasn't, both yummy; salad, cheese and lemon cheese cake that Elaine made and should start making commercially for the local restaurants, IHMO.

My photos are tragic and pointless. The guests were Elaine and Eric, Mike and Pete, the conversion was broad and wide ranging and we saved the world.

Here is a sharp clear and coherent photo from the same camera of the Thursday market - which flourishes in its low-key way -

 

and here is a hazy photo of the cat that has taken to sleeping in Andrees garden in its own little greenhouse.

bunking off

 Chesty cold still in place in common with most of the world, we talk of little else (or at least I do -) So when Kat offered a chance to bunk off and visit Charlotte I leapt out of the studio singing allelujia.


Haven't seen Charlotte since she and her husband left Esperaza a couple of years ago for the far side of Quillan. It is dangerous to leave Esperaza. I keep saying this and no-one takes any notice until there's trouble and I'm proved right again - indeedie - my cold dates from the fateful day in November when I visited Nice, got stuck of an immobilized train and spent the night in a ... but never mind, eh.

Burglary was Charlotte and Kevins problem They have rottweilers and the dogs were drugged. Burglars got their stuff, plus the neighbours stuff  and the insurers haven't paid up on the grounds that they left a back window open on a security latch. So they are selling the little thats left and going back up  to Normandy which is a shame for us. Shame for them too. Keep hearing about insurance loop-holes - shutters must be closed if you leave the house, doors must be locked even if you are inside, can it all be true?

Charlotte maintains her sang foid and is as strikingly beautiful as ever; Kevin does neither but it still on form:)

Beautiful day. Here is Rennes-les-Chateau perched on that little hill, viewed from the alley by the school, by Frank and Liz's old place.

and here is Oswald. Back from her dreaming about 4 days ago, shes dozy but thinking about breakfast. Simply wonderful to see her again.

spring

 I am laid up with a cold again and bored with myself; cant do anything that requires more than a 2 minute attention span.  Heres a pic of my last attempt at a walk - hardly more than a few hundred yards.
And heres a photo of the house hive - the bees are out already. They live in the chimney and under the floorboards and have done for at least five years. This causes a certain amount of problems in the summer when they share our lives without  discrimination.
We have taken advise on how to move them to a happier home on the hill but it seems that they are too embedded. Anyone know a bee keeper who can coax queens out without demolishing the chimney and pulling up the floorboards?

relaxing with Pete

Pete hosted a film night last night - so Ryan and Alicia, Ian and me sat about and drank sanglier and ate crisps whilst watching a movie. Since I'm snorting with another cold, it was a pleasure to chill out - hope I haven't passed the germs on to the others.

For lack of any other snap, here's the message from the little park by the entrance to Esperaza, before the old bridge; not many communes have a surrealist quoted in their midst.

Its like spring today, mild and misty. Forecast is good for the weekend. Enjoy, everybody!

twilight trot

 This evenings' stroll upriver was a pleasure... the violets are out and the recent great winds have left much firewood lying about. You just have to fish it out and dry it first:)

pope ratzo goes...

zoey

 Bit late to introduce Zoey - she leaves today. Here she is managing her fear of Lily, extremely well.
Ryan and Alicia made dinner last night; beet and carmelised walnut salad, (with beetroot and walnuts from the garden); Tuscan bean soup with Parmesan slices; baked apples and ice cream; cheese, of course -

Had a lovely couple of days despite the rain - please come back when the weathers better and see  Esperaza in its full glory

another regret

Regret forgetting to take photos last night.... Esperaza being cold dark and wet Pete got volunteered to take us (Alicia, Zoey me) to the Casino. That's not the corner shop Casino, its the gambling den of vice at Alet-les-Bains. Lots of bright lights and laughing faces, could have made lovely pix...
I had rung them to reserve a table for dinner and they had said, its was the buffet and you couldn't reserve, just turn up. So we did.
Been to these things before (with Claudine) - regular users get a card and they can swipe in themselves and their guests. Its good-
Alas; they they said we couldn't eat because we weren't clients, despite the fact we each gambled and lost 5 euros.  Then we were left wondering which of us had enough of a crust in the back of a cupboard to feed us all. Monday ain't good for restaurants even in the season.

Fortunately the Moules Frites of Normandy was open though empty and we had a heap of moules and a mound of frites and we enjoyed it all. Then apple pie and wine at mine. Thoroughly good evening. The visuals remain in my head.

Kate 'n'cake

Kate and Oscar shared their birthday parties on Sunday with the customary Blanquette and cake party. The tribe dropped in and were still arriving as I left; Kate has the stamina of a very fit gal:)

My dreadful camera is developing some interesting foibles. This attempt to snap Kate has turned into and orange and toaster crown for a passing child, hmmm....

Its still raining, but mild. Zoey arrived yesterday from London and has only seen our paradise as a dark and muddy puddle. Hope it clears up for her.

Quiet and cold-

- but the blue tits are engaging. There were 9 distracting me earlier. Miserable weather but good painting light.

Bravo le marche

Despite hideous cold, fierce winds and the occasional snow flake - or little hail stone - the market soldiered on. Lots of our friends available to take coffee with. Mr. Huit a Huit reminded me that this time last year the gendarmes were turning people away from the market because of the snow; things could be worse. And according to Mr Huit a Huit, they soon will be. It is the season.

Many thanks to the sweetheart who left a bag of little oranges on my door handle:) Spotted a Vitamin C deficiency, no doubt. And many thanks to Andy and Louise for a superb soiree this week which I forgot to photograph, stupidly - fault of the gin.

Took a look at last years blog to check it out and found Karim featured at the opening of his gallery. May both rest in peace...miss Karim and his work, his enthusiasm for mad projects, his zest and his intelligence.


   tilling-sur-aude.blogspot.fr/2012/02/inagural-event.html