une toute nouvelle année

Weather is absolutely fantastic a bit cooler with some rain this week but on the whole, bright and sunny, we are still able to walk off the Christmas x-mass!
I cannot believe that it has almost been a whole year in France, and we are still loving it.

Despite my first line, it is now the end of Jan, it has rained a lot, unusual i am told, our neighbours are telling us the rain here, must be like being in England !?

Aramis and his anti cloaking dog device!

Porthos in his transporter, transport me away from the dog device

Anyway we had a great Christmas, new year would have been good if Marc had been well unfortunately he had a re-occurring illness which stops him eating anything other than liquids, thankfully he is on the mend now. So we have been taking each day as it comes since then, some tennis, some Milou walks.

The kittens were all spayed and neutered on new years eve, so that meant we thought we ought to stay in with them and make sure they were ok. Quick recovery i am glad to report even for little Darcie.

come on Milou, i know you don't know which one of us is stuffed?

Milou has probably done all her growing unlike the three "house rugs" as Marc affectionately calls them, they are six months now and Milou heading for ten months. Sometimes they all drive us crazy...but i think in the long run worth it.

Milou being Milou enjoying the smells of the river Save, wondering where she can find a spare kitten to annoy

christmas our new family in france

I have lost this post in the ether twice..so please forgive me if it is a little short.

some people including myself have (very inconveniently ) a birthday next to Christmas as if the Christmas period was not enough. So anyway we will start with mine on the twenty second of December, actually it started on the twenty-first in my favourite spa and market town as requested.

very pretty church

on Saturday we had grand plans of a tapas in the undercover market with friends and then cooling off in my my favourite spa. Best laid plans, our friends could sadly not make it and Marc luckily had a plan b up his sleeve, Chez Lulu on the Col de Palomier, we have heard it is pretty good and then a mountain walk with Milou. Great to be up in the mountains and on a very beautiful day but the restaurant was shut. 

It was worth the trip up there just to see a shepherd and his patou and a hard working collie take a very big flock of sheep further up the mountainside. marc had plan c also...

one of my favourite towns, bagnere de bigorre

We went into bagneres, way to late for tapas in the market, but there was another restaurant that marc had always wanted to try. It was fantastic! Simple ingredients the food was really tasty, a twenty euro

set menu with wine on top ....but the food was amazing, presentation and the taste was sublime.

The veloute of cucumber and celery with a fish mousse was brilliant and even the addition of potatoes and brussels did not put me off the main course! They had not infiltrated the sauce and the sauce was packed with flavour as was the stuffed chicken leg. This was followed by a three tier dessert, a palette cleanser and coffee...

fantastique!!!

On the day itself Marc cooked me snails and a french rack of lamb, also thoroughly tasty from my very own chef.

col de palomiers 

Then follows a little sample of our own for Christmas eve and Christmas day...we have kept the pintarde (guinea fowl) for new year..that did not happen either, but that's a different story

scallops with lemon butter

Darcy and Portly (as he is now known) ginger mouseminster!!

porthos pretty on pink

three of my gorgeous family...

Some Christmas eve faire, we bought too much at Christmas like we always do and have now simplified our meals for Christmas and new year and shared it over the three days, rather than one.

The tree was down twice polystyrene baubles all over the bed in very tiny fragments, Milou and the rest of the contents all over the floor, so the lights and tinsel then went up in the spare room, or our tv room.

Happy New Year and a big thanks to my followers, i hope you will continue to follow the mad, but very good lives of our household in the Hautes Pyrenees, and wishing you all a healthy and prosperous new year for 2014

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