We hope you all enjoyed whatever activities it is you were doing to see in 2018 and that you have a happy, healthy and rewarding year.
We saw the New Year in with friends in Quimper and had a pretty amazing light show overnight – not because of impressive fireworks but because 2018 began pretty much as we recall the winter of 2017 – with an incredible storm and its associated thunder and lightning.
We had been watching the forecast fairly closely, or I thought we had been, but this storm took us a bit by surprise – as Zeus had last March. However, we were told that this depression had been forecast, and indeed named by the French met office as Storm Carmen. Thankfully no damage caused and our guests, who welcomed the New Year in Priory, were able to ride out the storm and enjoyed their time with us.
Carmen was rapidly followed by Eleanor on Tuesday night (as named by the UK met office) which again, thankfully passed without incident – let’s hope those are all the storms for the winter. I suspect not! Thankfully, we did have some clearer, colder days which gave us some wonderful frost patterns on the Grange roof windows.
The rest of the week has been spent on 2 activities – taking the Christmas decorations down 🙁 and continuing the internal cladding in Grange.
With 2 gîtes decorated as well as our own home, it took best part of a day to take everything down. I always think it is a sad time as it makes the house look a little bare for a few days. Only 11 months before it can all go back up again …. 🙂
The second activity was in an effort, as stated in last week’s blog, to complete Grange as quickly as we can – and have a space to put the boxed Christmas decorations rather than drag them above David’s gym again!
Now, we definitely have 2 distinct, and large, rooms, with only the ceiling left to do in the games room. A little more in the store room but, all being well, I should have it complete in the next week – depending on how difficult the ceiling turns out to be and my battle with gravity!
Village life begins its annual routine again with the Galette des Rois gathering at the St. Hubert this afternoon. Sadly, we have chosen to have a no alcohol start to the year – and Dave has gone further with a pretty restrictive diet for a few weeks – so, rather than put temptation in our way, we have stayed at home but will make up for it at the first Fest Noz of the year in a few months.
À bientôt.