
Pawprints on Placemats
Hello from a very rainy Tarn today.
I hope you have all had a lovely week and enjoyed the introduction to our local town Cordes sur Ciel on Wednesday?

Yesterday was my eldest son’s birthday. He is staying with us at the moment, studying for his degree online due to the ongoing pandemic. As a surprise we had a Zoom meal with his younger brother Alex and his grandmother. Alex cooked the exact same food at his flat in Manchester – great fun. We also realised it was the 21st day of the 21st year of the 21st century – quite a day!
The house is still really cold, but slightly less so than a week ago. I am only in 6 layers of clothing today – an absolute dream! I mentioned last week that the winter logs might not last – well they haven’t. We have just had to order another delivery of wood – log stacking on Saturday again.

This week has been one of good news, apart from an ongoing issue with UPS to try to find out where a package is and when it might be delivered. 10 days on and it would appear that the package has arrived in the Tarn. So close. Will it arrive today? Maybe even by the time I finish this. I will update you at the end if it does or you may hear the fireworks in celebration. On its 2 day delivery schedule it spent a week in London, several days in Paris and arrived in Toulouse this morning and is now getting closer (a story that is becoming sadly quite familiar post Brexit).
On the good news front, after many weeks being submerged in admin, we both now have permanent social security numbers and official paperwork arriving by the day. So exciting … it has been a long wait, not helped by the pandemic. This may seem odd to you, but all these things represent progress in our new life here. Now perhaps we can focus on work and getting on with the house. Painting has been on hold due to the sub-zero temperatures – too cold for the paint and definitely too cold for the hands that paint! We have been busy reorganising rooms and creating a painting/sewing space on the second floor (where we will one day have our walk-in wardrobe), as we had projects scattered all over the house and with the kittens that doesn’t work so well. Think little paws in paint! We have also been working our way through all my fabrics to get some inspiration for one or two of the bedrooms and putting together more mood-boards. More on that in the coming weeks.

On the subject of kittens – an update on our 4 furry friends – sorry 5 as we don’t want to leave Bear out. The kittens are now about 20 weeks old and so much bigger. They are all very keen on the chairs by the fire or a warm lap for a snooze. They all love to be stroked and are quite happy to barge each other out of the way to be first in line and stay there. They have now developed beautiful markings and their tails are getting bushier – who knows how they will turn out. The boys look very much like Thai Siamese cats – Louka has kept his blue eyes, but both their coats have darkened. Raoul, the largest of the 4, is probably the most timid but at the same time likes to flex his claws – at times he reminds us of Wolverine (from the Marvel comic X-men). Anya is still the baby of them all and very affectionate. Nina has become stick obsessed so is a big fan of fire lighting time when the kindling arrives. The girls are doing very well with Bear, always stopping by to give him a little kiss. All goes well unless they think they should attack his tail! Bear is long suffering and at times impatient with them. He has been quite jealous but is beginning to relax a little.
They are now into everything so nothing is safe. They are becoming avid hunters of anything and love to pounce on all moving objects. It can be quite risky! There are lots of dusty corners they find their way into – so we are finding paw prints everywhere – a complete giveaway as to where they have been! It is quite funny most of the time, not however when they are sharpening claws on precious objects or trying to assassinate plants…
This week has also been a kitchen week – not decorating but marmalade making. I have made the first batch of the year – 5 fruit with blood oranges, lemons, oranges, lime and bergamot. Although I say so myself – my best marmalade ever, the flavour is amazing. I am just preparing some bergamots to make bergamot marmalade to see what that would be like and will let you know. The recipe will follow soon as it is such an easy recipe, as long as you like chunky marmalade. I also made mincemeat brownies – what a great addition to brownies. If you have a favourite brownie recipe, add a good tablespoon of mincemeat to the mixture before it goes into the tin to bake. It makes the brownies much gooier and utterly delicious – assuming of course you like mincemeat (or even brownies).

That’s it from me this week. I will be updating the website over the next few weeks. I am still quite a novice at blogging, but learning slowly. I really would love to know what you think about Coffee and Chocolatines, and what you would like to hear about. Let me know if you have a moment.
Have a fabulous weekend and week ahead and see you next Friday.
A bientôt
Ali xx
PS The package has finally arrived and it has stopped raining!


2 Comments
sally walden
I love hearing about your new life. You may be a novice at blogging but you are a natural.
Ali
Thank you Sally – that is very kind of you and I am glad you are enjoying it. Ali