Winter weather

Hello from a freezing cold corner of our renovation project!

Winter has well and truly arrived, with cold rain earlier this week followed by snow, ice, sleet and hard freezes at night. Max and I drove back from Toulouse in blizzard-like conditions last Thursday – it only lasted an evening but we had lots of snow for a while. Some of the hills around us have not thawed at all so it is a little like living near mountains. Snow does transform the landscape, making it quite magical. The wind is bitingly cold now, as are many parts of this old house. 6 layers of clothing today, a blanket over my knees as I type and the log burners earning their keep downstairs. Everyone is struggling to keep smiling (and warm) in the coldest corners of the house! -5°C this morning and I did not want to get out of bed!

The 2 weeks since I last posted an update have been, as ever, filled with the expected, unexpected, good and bad moments and those events that totally derail our day-to-day life. Life would not be our life if it wasn’t constantly surprising us with events to tackle.

We had a day out in Toulouse a couple of weeks ago to see the immersive exhibition of Van Gogh’s work in a former hydro-electric power station – amazing. We sat in a huge space in deckchairs surrounded by beautiful music and a rolling film of many of his paintings, projected onto walls, the floors and reflected in the various mirrored pillars in the room. It was breath-taking and if you get the chance to visit this touring exhibition – grab it, it is well worth it. I could have sat in that room for hours, but hunger beckoned so we found an Italian restaurant on the main square and had a delicious warming lunch, and a rather nice glass of Italian wine for a change.

We have also continued with our big sort-out of things in the house, progress is definitely being made, slightly hampered currently by sub-zero temperatures in the unheated spaces in the house! We were back in Toulouse last week, as I had the joy of root canal work on one of my teeth, which actually didn’t turn out to be as bad as I thought it would be! Whilst in the area we included a trip to Ikea which saw us trying Café Viennois (surprisingly nice – coffee, milk and chocolate mixed together – not my thing normally) and purchasing some much needed rugs for our bedroom, which is beginning to take shape. We also had a lovely gift from our neighbour, who delivered a pile of oranges for marmalade from her garden near Perpignan (her family home), so I have made marmalade galore – 36 pots so far with more to come! She loves the marmalade so some of the pots will make their way across to her.

Our wonderful post lady was stopped in her tracks recently as one of our trees had fallen across the main driveway down to our house. There must have been a sudden gust to uproot it – perhaps the extremely dry summer weather, then prolonged rain combined with the fact that the tree had died may have contributed to this. Amazingly the wood inside is dry, so more logs for the burner once the wood has seasoned a little. On the subject of wood, sadly a lot of our already seasoned wood got wet – just before this cold snap. Thinking we had sufficient for the winter, we hadn’t ordered any more (actually we couldn’t afford to earlier in the year, with roof repairs to pay for!). Trying to get some delivered in a year when many have turned to woodburners to keep bills down is proving a fruitless task. By chance some of the dead trees in the copse that have been felled but not chopped are actually very dry, so fingers crossed (when not frozen), we can manage until we can get a top-up.

I ended the last post with a promise of a round-up of 2022 – not quite there yet, but also with the thought that : ‘our tomorrows are never guaranteed so make the most of each and every day, for what it is and for what it could be. Life is short – enjoy’. Sadly it seems that Raoul, one of our gorgeous rescue cats, was not to make his tomorrow. He disappeared on 17^th January in awful weather and has not been seen since. We have searched high and low, morning, noon and night, put flyers through the letterboxes of our neighbours near and far in case he is locked in somewhere, contacted local vets and posted on lost and found pet sites, but to no avail. The not knowing is awful, but the reality is that he won’t be coming back. The temperatures have been so low that he would probably not survive, unless he has sheltered somewhere. We are heartbroken as pets become so much a part of the family and this merry band of 4 rescue cats came to us at only 4 weeks old, narrowly escaping being shot by a farmer. Raoul was only 2 ¼, so young, so handsome and loved his cuddles. We live in hope but that hope is dwindling each day and night that passes.

A new week is underway and I am a bit late with this post as it was my son’s birthday on Saturday. We had a relaxing family day, good food (a vegan aubergine curry and vegan mincemeat slice), and even played Bridge with my Mother (one of her favourite pastimes). We are all getting a little better which hopefully makes it more enjoyable for her. My son and I even managed to win a couple of hands – luck rather than technique I am sure.

Before too much time passes I must get this post published. A food and recipe post on the delights of the citrus season will follow later this week. I have tried out a new but somewhat lengthy lemon and pear marmalade recipe – worth the effort, but the longest recipe time frame I can remember.

Whilst at the Van Gogh exhibition I learnt so much about him and his prolific paintings and drawings. Two of the things he said stuck with me: ‘What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything’ and ’La réussite est parfois le résultat de toute une série d’ échecs’ (‘Success is sometimes the result of a whole series of failures’). Thoughts to take forward when things seem tough.

Until next time, enjoy each moment. More snow forecast for tonight here in the Tarn. Freezing fog at the moment that hasn’t lifted all day. Chilly!

A bientôt

Ali xx