17th - 18th December
We spent the first day and a half being shown around the house and the various odd jobs we needed to do whilst Tony and Jenny were away. The house is a 16th century watermill and is absolutely amazing. The garden has a river running through it and the surroundings views of the snowy Pyrenees are breath taking. We walked Haribo (the gorgeous labradoodle), played with the girls and saw everyone off to their flight to England. Funnily enough they would be ice-scating at Brighton Pavillion the next day! Spent our first night alone getting aquainted with our new house and watching a movie on the huge TV.
Isabelle and Elodie at horse riding. ^
19th - 25th December
Our run up to Christmas couldn't have been better. We took Haribo out for an hour or so each morning - which wasn't exactly a chore through this beautiful area of France. We did a bit of gardening, re-hung curtains and I grouted the tiles in the upstairs hallway. Nothing very difficult and we had all our jobs finished by Christmas Eve. Along with these couple of hours work each day we also cooked and ate alot of food, drank a silly amount of alcohol and took full advantage of English Sky TV, the Wii and the Xbox! On Christmas day we had fizz and salmon for breakfast and after skyping the family Pete cooked a roast that could have fed the village. We couldn't find any crackers in France so I made some myself - including home made hats! A fantastic Christmas - we are very lucky to have had this opportunity, it would have been cold in the van.
Walkies. ^
The awesome garden and house. ^
Hanging out. ^
Christmas Day! ^
26th - 28th December
Unfortunetly in the night on Christmas day Pete woke up with severe toothache. Neither of us got much sleep as we tried to cure him with pain killers and hot water bottles. After not much sleep Pete spent the day in alot of pain and by the evening it had only got much worse. On Friday we went out into Foix to find a dentist or A&E, neither of which was open. We bought loads of strong drugs at the chemist instead, but none of them worked. Thankfully Jo, Pete's aunty, speaks fluent French and was kind enough to call around local dentists and find one we could go to. So Saturday was spent in the dentists - the guy was very nice and friendly and he showed us the nerve he had taken out that had been causing all this pain. After about an hour in the dentist chair Pete was cured and with a big smile we headed home for a drink and some sleep after three nights of none!
29th - 30th December
One job we had left to do before Jenny and Tony returned was to have a bonfire with all the cuttings from the garden. The pile was about 10 foot wide and 8 foot tall so we were pretty pleased with ourselves when we finished it. The family came home on the 30th and we had Raclette for dinner - a hot plate that you cook on at the table - which was great with duck, bacon and blue cheese.
Bonfire. ^
31st December - 1st January
On the 31st we went out to a Ski Resort in some nearby mountains. The girls and Jenny went skiing on the small slopes whilst me and Pete had fun sledging. It was a gorgeous sunny day and a really fun day out. For New Years Eve Jenny and Tony were having a party in their games room in the garden. Pete cooked a chili for dinner and we had an amazing night, involving a lot of alcohol and doing the macarena. There are quite alot of expats in the area so it was fun to have good English piss up! News day was a bit of a struggle but Jenny and Pete cooked an incredible roast dinner to cure us all. Thank you 2013 - you were an amazing year for us!!
In the mountains. ^
HAPPY NEW YEAR! ^
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