Janvier, février et Printemps sont proches !

So we hit Les Gets for some sunshine and snow and a bit of late night dancing at the chalet for New Years, which was a real hoot and lots of fun. We loved every minute and have really understood that here in France you have sunshine, sea and amazing surf, you've got the south coast where you can live it up with the St.Tropez crew and wine and dine on the yachts, head south to the beautiful Antibes and soak up the sunshine or you have the alps and the Pyrénées with views to die for and some of the best skiing... this country is so big you can get the hustle bustle of inner city life with shops fine dining and the spectacular tour eiffel in Paris, then you can go further and lose yourself amongst the vineyards and orchards that are surrounded by the old manor houses with their crumbly stone walls... I've not even hit it all and there is so much more to see, but here in France it seems you got it all.

January was a busy time, spent trying to keep warm, temperatures fell to minus five most days and we had Christmas to take down. We had 12ft Christmas trees to start with... by the second week though we had pretty much cleared it all... but it was cold! The days started with beautiful sunrises and ended with stunning sunsets, most days the sky was an immense blue and that we were thankful for. Every house seemed to have their shutters closed and all you could see in the horizon was the smoke from all the chimney tops - a sure sign that everyone was huddled by their fires keeping warm. The villages and towns became even more quiet as the days got colder and the markets, leading up to Christmas were full and noisy but they were much less so, the farmers wrapped up in a thousand layers selling their produce but half the traders that you would normally see. However cold it got it was never that bad, having the wood burner to warm your toes and your almost frozen hands was such a good thing and dinners, mostly stews and hot curries with lots of bread kept us going. The houses here are made of stone - they are cold and they hold the cold so they take a while to warm up but once they do - its bliss, with a glass of red wine and feet by the fire snuggled under the blanket...

After a good couple of weeks of this really cold spell we had an amazingly warm spell - the temperatures rose about 10 degrees and we enjoyed it! 

The cold weather didn't last very long, nothing worth complaining about like we are so used to doing in England. It got perceptively warmer and we anticipated Spring with longer and warmer days. We took jumpers and scarves off and this February temperatures have reached 22! Eating lunch outside with the sun on our faces... opening windows and doors and our shutters have stayed opened for the last few weeks. We have been warned that there is rain due and lots of it... so we are not getting too excited just yet but we know we have so much to look forward to! 

Days are spent working at the house doing repair work and renewals where needed. Being an old house like many that are in these parts there is so much to look after -we are becoming more and more aware as we spend more time there. You have to care for it and look after it, through the cold and frost especially. We have realised that with doors and windows open and a few logs on the fire breathes life into it. The sunshine works like magic though, bringing the warmth and its amazing how much more energy you suddenly have! The birds too are in full force, I have never seen so many birds, so many different birds and it makes you realise that here, the weather, the seasons especially rule the land... 

The light at this time of year brings so much contrast, deep long shadows that highlight everything making long cracks and lines look graphical. I have been so much more involved with my camera recently - the light is something special and I love nothing more than capturing it! We spent a lazy afternoon walking through the small lanes and cobbled streets of La Bastide d'Armagnac, not a soul in sight but it still remains to us, a very magical place.

Not without my bread!

Lazy sundaze with a beer

So the birds are out in full force - you can hear them, the country side suddenly is filled with bird song and guess who's been exploring that much more...! Coco! She is good, meaning we don't see everything she gets up to but I guess like a teenager comes home just to eat and before you've had a second to stroke her, she's out again! I guess you can take the city out of this one! We thought she was far too 'princessy' to be messing with birds and mice, little did we know... We have Spring and Summer to look forward to yet! Unlike Battersea, there are no boundaries to this garden...

Une nouvelle année blanche, Les Gets

The bearded ones!

New Years Eve, what more could you want... Happy Days

It was me that kept this little one up New Years eve!

So we headed to Les Gets to bring in the New Year... Stunning scenery, plenty of sunshine and blue skies, snow, snow and more snow, log fires and plenty of apres skiing... need I say more! It was an awesome start to the year and we were lucky to have had time with friends too. We drove there from here... a slight detour en route added an extra couple of hours but otherwise about 10 hours all in... a bit far but worth it. We have yet to experience the beautiful Pyrénées, which are practically on our doorstep!

Décembre, Noël et plus encore soleil... et quelques petits pâtés

Sunshine Happy

A busy start to the month with a charged and intense visit to London. A brilliant few days meeting with friends and using the public transport system in ridiculously cold and white snowy weather - we survived and we can both honestly say that we don't miss the tube for starters and are quite liking the relaxed vibe that rural South West France is providing. We did also trek up to Edinburgh to celebrate Lyndsey & Ali's wedding, no we thought that the stresses of travelling in minus degree weather across London everyday just wasn't enough... We were the very few that managed to make it there and back in 24 hours though, and no we didn't fly! It was totally worth it and the train journey up north was just magical, a winter wonderland of complete virgin snow enveloped the country side and the train trailed through the most beautiful landscapes. The wedding was held at the stunning Institute of Physicians and we were spoilt with fine wine, good food and Scottish entertainment - whats that jig called? Love it! Got everyone dancing - brilliant. Thank you to the love birds who are living it up in Costa Rice, nice.

Gingerbread Man, Fourcès 

This side of France has been getting colder day by day and there was a small patch where we too were pretty frozen. However, not quite like London, no where near as much snow but out here in the sticks it gets pretty cold. I found myself most nights huddling next to the fire - literally, till hands, feet and face are hot, bum too! Hot water bottle in bed every night, that's when most of the arguments start - we only have one and once you got that by your feet in the bed, you aint sharing nothing!

Lac, Le Houga

Lac avec la glace

Early Morning, Le Pehaou

The countryside has slowly started changing, colours slowly falling from the trees to reveal different hues and tones. Sombre and bleak are not the words that I would choose at all, in fact far from it. Yes, it has been cold but not quite bitter yet, we have that in January and February. There is still green and a bit of dark amber, not so much like the vibrant hues of Autumn but we are still seeing all of this mostly backed by a gorgeous immense blue sky. Remembering London and I can't really tell you about the sky so much unless we had a stunning sunset but also cause I never really looked up. Here, we are looking, more than ever before - its just amazing.

The Christmas market in Fourcès was full of all things that you want in the lead up to Christmas, roasted chestnuts, hot mulled wine and crepes! This is where we venture, normally on a Sunday to browse through the brocante and relax, Its a village we have been to a few times now and we love it there. It always rains hard when we go but not this time... maybe St.Nick had something to do with it!

'A Crepe for your beard sir?'

Noël

Marrons Grilles

There were trees, the biggest ones you ever did see, mince pies, enough for a King and then there were lights, crackers, ribbons and sparkles and a Christmas wreath that we made all for a special Christmas at La Forêt. Mistletoe from the tallest tree was cut down and hung, holly was poked in every corner, oranges were pierced with cloves and Santa's little elves were at their most busiest. Christmas cake served drunk after a few sittings with the ol' Armagnac and butter that was laced with the finest of tipple - all in preparation for a Christmas to remember...

The Nordmann Fir

We got Sunshine...

... and we got snow!

So for this special Christmas, you will need...

Mince Pies

And a Winning Christmas Cake!

Before...

...And after!

Mistletoe overlooking the Courtyard

The Proud Cock

A Little Frozen

At Le Pehaou we decked the halls with a bit of holly and treated ourselves to a Christmas tree too. There's something rather exciting about being able to hang stockings by the fireplace and huddle by the fire whilst its cold outside... I have never had a real wood burner before and I have to say that it is ever so rewarding after a hard days work to light it, sit back enjoy the smells of oak burning and feel the ambiance of a roaring fire. Coco seems to love it too and will often curl up right in front or even next to it and snore away...

Duck a la Laura & Jon! Yes we had a duck this Christmas, which we glazed in top notch marmalade, stuffed with sage and clementines and served with a homemade Armagnac (of course!) and cherry jus! It was cooked to perfection, which we were very pleased with and was just divine. I really would recommend it as it was easy, hard to overcook and a real difference to white birds which we are so used to eating.

So that's all I got this time folks... we are taking a few days and heading to the Alps to spend New Year with friends so until next year, have a good one, eat, drink and be merry. 2010 has been a terrific year and I feel hugely positive that 2011 will be too - for us all. It was about change and positive direction. My Cellandia card business was launched and has been received with great interest and December I created the first Christmas card collection, all are now on my website www.cellandia.com. We left our busy London lives and our Battersea cottage (!) and moved here, we have embarked on this journey which has been both hard and stressful but equally if not more highly rewarding. From one spectrum to the other and we are embracing it more and more day by day. The last four months have been a huge learning curve for us both - the adjustments from inner city life, which lets face it can get a little monotonous to the most rural country living, back to basics and then some - we have come a long way. Look at Jon, his face is covered in hair! Not forgetting the best part of 2010, our engagement, a special time for us both and what an amazing year it has been. I cannot wait for the New Year and all that it brings.

So with all of that, we both wish all of you Simply The Best for 2011!