A Home Day

It was a good thing I had moved all the potted plants under cover of the lanai, the night before, because we were greeted by a white wonderland this morning. Jack Frost had visited and it was bone chilling (though dry cold) outside when I took the moggies their breakfast. They were rather reluctant to go outside, first thing, but they got their incentive with some warm food. The glass window at the end of the lanai was iced, as was everything else. I had to venture out to the bird feeder to take photos, but I had put some wet bread out for birds, last night, and yes, the whole lot was frozen solid!

 The fish pond has ice...

 Plants are fine on the lanai!

 Alfie doesn't look so inclined to go for a drink, on the pool cover, where the water is VERY cold. All the leaves Waz raked the day before, are like 'frosted flakes' cereal! lol.

 These normally maroon colored flowers are now covered in frost. So pretty.

 Going around the back of the house to the vege garden was colder still. The cabbages looked worse for wear, and so did these...whatever they are.

Back inside, and making preparations for our guest's visit.
I set the table, after our breakfast, and then Waz and I had to make a dash to the local Intermarche express for some fresh bread. Being sunday, and a little late (as things bread go, in France) there was little choice. We now know to wait for the doors to open, on a sunday morning, to get the best choice of bread. You have to do what the locals do, obviously. We did find flour and baking powder so I could make scones, however. Well done!

When we met our new friends Julien, Franzi and their gorgeous 1 yr old Achille, on our way to this place, we had been invited to their place for a meal, once we got ourselves settled. As it turned out, they thought we were in a town much closer to their location, an hour and a half east of here. When they invited us to their home for a meal, during the week, we all realized just how far apart we now are.
This meant that we would have been driving at night, in unknown territory, and I am not doing that in my old age. We extended an invitation to them to visit us on Sunday (yesterday) for lunch.

Because they are a blended German/French (her and him) family, we weren't quite sure about the etiquette involved, so we decided to just go 'Kiwi'. This means 'no standing on ceremony' and a casual lunch of hearty vegetable soup and fresh cheese scones, was on offer.
They did get slightly 'lost', on the way here, and didn't arrive until about 1.30pm, but no matter...the soup was hot, and the scones were re-heated for the purposes.

Archille (at sheel) had slept most of the way here, so he took his time waking up and eating before becoming more sociable. Per usual, Waz the child whisperer was in favor. Archille took and instant shine to Waz and was happy to sit on his knee for a period. I move around too much for young kids and animals, so they choose Waz for their company, at least initially, until I have everything sorted and can relax.

We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know this young couple (early 30's) and their most delightful young son, and Frazi had made and brought a very French Apple Tarte. I didn't take photos, sorry...sometimes it just isn't appropriate until we know people better, and they get used to my snap happiness with a camera. We brought the crème fraiche out, and also the crème entiere to go with the tarte. Franzi had some, but Julien preferred his au naturelle.  Small cultural differences!

Archille was given various plastic containers, a wooden spoon with a short handle and some silverware to bang around on the table, floor and containers, and happily amused himself, in between being bounced on my knee, being sung to (silly rhymes!) and two fingered walking...he isn't walking on his own yet. There doesn't seem to be much incentive, frankly, lol. I don't think I have EVER met such an even-tempered one year old. He sang to himself the whole time, and was so easily amused, literally, with a very chesty (he has a teething cold) giggle.

After they departed, around 4pm...when the cold had set in again, we retired back to the kitchen for cleanup. Waz loaded the dishwasher, while I prepared the Sausage and Egg pie, which I had bought meat and eggs for, two days previously.

We had purchased some ready-made Feuillete (puff pastry) for this pie, and I had thawed that in the fridge overnight. I had forgotten that it is in a round, when I should have bought the rectangle...next time! So, the search was on for a pan of a certain size to fit the pastry....not the other way around.
This was going to be a large pie! That means lots of meals I don't have to cook when we go tiki-touring.
I had bought 700grms of herb mixed (Parsley and Garlic) at the supermarket. The butcher was happy to go with me on the weight, as I was eyeing it up for 'filling' the dish. We also purchased another tray of 20 mid-sized eggs. We don't have to keep French eggs in the fridge, unlike American eggs. Good thing, because they take up a lot of space.
I took a chance on the herbed meat, vs the plain, not quite knowing what I was in for, but it turned out really well. I love buying products this way, instead of ready packaged, and highly processed. This is minced, 'in-house'.

The pie dish was a little large for this ready rolled pastry, but I managed to make it work.
First down was some ready grated gruyere cheese, then sliced eshalotes (I cant tolerate normal onions) and then the minced sausage meat, in small portions, making room for the egg to go between the patties, when I break  them into the pie.

 This is what it all looks like before putting the top on. I break the egg yolks into the mix because otherwise you get dry yokes, when it is cooked. Some like theirs whole, however.
I use my finger to 'wet' the sides with egg, to make the top pastry stick to the bottom. I also put some more grated cheese on top.

 Voila! There is the cooked pie! Vent holes are essential when you put the top on, and I hand crimped the edges to keep them together while cooking.

 The finished result was excellent. the pastry isn't as flaky as we had thought it might be, but this turned out to be a good thing.

 Sunday night's dinner. Cabbage, Broccoli, Scalloped potatoes and Sausage pie. It was excellent!

What a lovely day, if a bit exhausting. Having company that is new, can be a bit daunting, but we felt very comfy with Julien and Franzi, and look forward to seeing them when we return to their area in January through April. Exhausting because of the running around in preparation. I did have to vacuum before they arrived, and do the usual cleaning of bathrooms etc...just what you do for company, right?
Kitties were kept outside during their visit, as Archille is still at the crawling around the floor stage, and the cats do like to get on the counter and table to see what they are missing. Im not a proponent of such behavior, so they get short shrift when they are found to be in contravention of Mon's rules.:)

There always comes a time, in our travels, usually a week to 10 days after arriving somewhere, that I 'hit the wall'. This trip is somewhat of a vacation for the two of us, so relaxation is part of the plan. I am not a daytime sleeper, but occasionally I will nap, if my eyes don't stay open on their own. I put head down, cat on lap, about 8pm, and an hour later opened my eyes...barely. This was a good sign, and meant that I had finally relaxed.

Doing all the night time things...feeding moggies, closing shutters to keep the warm inside, building a fire and keeping that going, and meals, dishes et al, finally a cup of tea and sit down.

We hit the jackpot again last night, with all 6 moggies inside ready for their trip down the stairs into the Sous-sol (basement). They were reluctant to go, of course, especially Elsa, whom we had to coral behind the sofa, and then entice out with a bowl of food. She is rather an elusive creature, but we finally got her downstairs with the others.
This morning, I found that ALL the cats had slept on our car, which is now in the garage because of the frost outside.

I have a routine in the mornings, where I get the cat food ready, and outside the kitchen door, open the shutters while out there, and tidy as needed. I do this hastily, as it is freezing outside. I almost trod on this poor frozen creature that one or more of the cats had played with in the dark, last night. They weren't interested in it this morning, however.

 Again, the fishpond was frozen, and thought some of the cats dried to drink from it, they were out of luck.

 The ice was indeed solid!

 I had gone outside earlier to see what the noise was, and discovered the council workers clearing branches from the power lines, as they do the world over, no doubt. The sun is still across the road, and hasn't hit this property yet.

 Such a pretty view. Too bad about the power lines in the middle:(

 The chairs by the pool were pretty frosty too!

We have had out breakfast and many cups of tea, this morning. We are waiting until about 11am to venture outside, not going very far, this am, but returning to nearby towns that looked interesting, when we drove to Rocamadour, the other day. Pompadour is the ultimate destination, with Chervix also in there somewhere...perhaps first up?

So, I leave you now, and will get some warmer clothes on for our adventures. We will no doubt return for late lunch and enjoy the warmth (of there is any) in the afternoon sun.
Ciao for now. Have a wonderful day.