January

Happy New Year!

My new year's resolution (the first one I have had in many years) is obviously: write a blog! I have never been a blogger, never tweeted or twittered so this is an exciting cyber space adventure for yours truly.

We spent New Year's Eve 'en famille'. We went a bit native and had rabbit stew for dinner in a cassoulet sauce with toulouse sausages, and generous helpings of sautéed cabbage, all washed down by a Gaillac red (our new favourite 'Rotier'). We were happy bunnies, excuse the pun. We managed to finish a big Almond Pear Tart with lashings of cream and rolled in front of the TV to watch our family favourite 'Singing in the Rain',  with much singing and hilarity from the audience. Just before midnight we trooped outside for the family tradition of setting off the world's worst fireworks. And they were impressively bad: small, pathetic and completely unreliable. The expression 'the only way is up' did not apply to these  rockets as they whizzed dangerously low over our heads and nose dived onto the car-park below. The timing was perfect and the last rocket went off, and UP, with a screeching whistle and a bang, on the stroke of midnight. A toast with a glass of bubbly, Nuit Blanche from La Combelle, ended our lovely evening. Good times!

January started with a heavy frost, foggy mornings and sunny afternoons. Still recovering from that slouchy coach potato  feeling of Christmas overindulgence, our family set off on some spectacular dog walks. We walked through woodlands, fields, and vineyards and usually ended up at the local café in Cordes for a chocolat chaud. It does not have to be 30C to enjoy this beautiful country! Happy days!