Hello and welcome to 2009 at La Vie en Foussais.
I lost my blogging mojo a little toward the end of the year and ended up somewhat neglecting you, my faithful readers. But fear not, for I am back and ready to update you all on our comings and goings over the last few weeks.
We have been busy preparing for Christmas…
Joe had his concert (”Arbre de Noel”)…
we trecked back to Grimsby in the car for Christmas…
spent some great times with our family…
and friends…
returned home to Foussais to some very happy cats,
enjoyed a fun (and very long) new year party with our great friends The Dixies…
And to top it all, today saw our first proper snowfall
So that’s brought you all up to date. Now lets get on with enjoying what 2009 has to offer!
Here’s another round-up of what’s been going on with us just recently.
More fun with friends and families
Last weekend was another throroughly enjoyable one.
Saturday was spent entertaining some friends who have a holiday home near Cognac. It was a beautiful day so we erected our big old makeshift table alongside the normal one to make a long surface for Lisa to fill with a wonderful French-style feast. When we discovered the old wooden door we envisaged it being used as a table for such an occasion and it was nice to finally make the most of it.
We had a really excellent day with great company, lovely food and brilliant Vendéen sunshine.
Then on Sunday we took my parents, who were staying for the week, across to Ile de Re for the first time. As chance would have it the Dixies were also entertaining parents at the time and we ended up meeting them on the beach and having a great day together. The respective grandparents got on just as well as the parents and children do, which was really good to see. The kids were especially impressed with Kevin’s dad, who showed great creative flair in building a landspeeder and a pony out of sand. Very impressive and far more than Kevin or I could be bothered to do could hope to achieve 
Our favourite felines…
Charlie and Lola continue to entertain us. In the last week or so they have been exploring the great outdoors, having finally had their injections (thus leaving us another €100 worse off!). They are thoroughly enjoying themselves chasing around the garden, climbing the trees and hiding under the cars. We do really need to get a cat-flap though. The days are still pretty sunny but the autumn winds are getting chillier and having the door open half the day is making the house feel like an ice-box! I feel a trip to the pet shop coming on.
A room with a view
This week I decided to rearrange my “office” (I like to call it that but really its nothing quite so grand). Some friends very kindly gave us a corner desk that they no longer needed and very nice it is too. However, this has meant that I have spent the last 6 months facing the corner of the room, which is not particuarly interesting or inspiring and made me feel rather like a naughty schoolboy! So now I have taken command of the room by rearranging things so my desk looks out of the window and I have the whole room in front of me. A much nicer arrangement which allows me the chance to appreciate the fine view out of the window and down the lane to the lake.
The only downside is that now I look rather like a receptionist. Not physically of course, but the arrangement of the desk is such that Lisa feels like she has come to make an appointment when she comes in the room!
Preparing for Paella
Tomorrow night is paella night - a big social event in the village organised by the school. Everyone will gather in the salle polyvalente for paella (or chicken if you prefer) and a disco afterwards. This marks quite an occasion for us as it was on the eve of the paella night last year that we first came over to see the house with the kids. We met Marion, our estate agent, the morning after and it sounds like it was a pretty wild affair. This will be 2 new firsts for us - our first French disco and our first taste of paella. Fear not, I will be posting a full account of the evening in due course!
Get in touch
Finally, you may have noticed I have added a “Contact Us” tab to the top of the site. Here you will find details of the various ways in which you can get in touch with us. Feel free to connect with us using any of these methods and say bonjour!
I love autumn. Every day the landscape is changing from green and yellow to brown and gold.
There is one particular tree in the car park at the top of the main street through Fontenay-le-Comte. Each time I have seen it over recent weeks it looks different. Here’s how it looks now against a brilliant blue sky.
Mother nature has a really good idea of what looks nice hasn’t she?
This weekend we were joined by the Dixies for an explore in the forest at Mervent. It wasn’t specifically a mushroom hunt, us being the worst mushroom hunters since time began, but we came equipped with our books for identifying the good/bad ones, plus a (small) bag to carry them home in. Just in case!
We began, as all good explorations should, with a picnic dinner. Having filled ourselves with bread. cheese. crisps and fruit (NOT eggs…) we marched off into the woods. We quickly marched back out again when the kids heard the approaching sound of hunting dogs - la chasse was in full swing, so perhaps walking through that part of the forest was not such a good idea!
So we diverted round the edge of the woods and wound our way down to la Pont du Deluge. This is our favourite spot due to the lovely stream flowing through the trees that the kids like to try crossing on precarious stepping-stones. There was no chance of them getting wet on this occasion however, asd the stream was virtually dry! What a disappointment.
Undaunted by the lack of flowing water, we set our sights on harvesting the chestnuts that were littering the ground. Always the hunter-gatherers, Kevin and Sylvie were very excited at the thought of taking them home and adding them to the evening’s meal. So we all started trawling the area for the green spiky balls (…behave!) that sheltered the chestnuts.
After pricking ny fingers several times, and being the geek that I am, I fashioned a “gadget” out of a twig for picking them up, for which I was basically laughed at. Meh,,,some people just don’t recognise genius when they see it
In the end we collected quite a haul and, supplemented by a few edible mushrooms, we had our starter for the night:
Or so I thought…….
In fact, THIS was my starter for the night:
Clockwise, from the top, we have spleen, tripe and veal head. Not pictured is the pigs trotter.
Yes folks, Sylvie had lined me up with a traditional French bush-tucker trial as a challenge especially for me! How kind……
So, with the pride of a nation at stake I did my bit for blighty, closed my eyes and sampled some slices of these French treats. I have to say, they weren’t as disgusting as I thought they would be. The spleen took me back to school dinners eating cold liver. And the tripe and veal head were vaguely like the inside of a cheap pork-pie. Pigs trotter was just a fatty pork chop with very little meat. I managed to eat a little of everything and thereby took another step along the path of integration into proper French society
Luckily. the rest of the evening passed without further challenges and I could sit back and enjoy the lovely birthday meal that Lisa had prepared. The company, once again, was excellent. All the kids played like they were life-long friends and the adults could just relax and chat…and try not to fall asleep *cough*Sylvie*cough* 
Another excellent night. With everyone sleeping over it was a very relaxed affair, followed by a very lazy morning. The perfect end to my birthday celebrations and the first of many more such occasions I suspect.
