Friday – encore

Those crazy train people on the train, it was Lee and Vicky! Thank heavens they’d had the forethought to get train beers though as I’d completely forgotten to so well played team. They were coming to visit and travelling back with me ensured that Matt would be there ready to collect them. Matt was punctual as always and also bought beer for the weary travellers – what a man, what a man, what mighty good man, yes he is!

It was lovely to be home with Matt and to have visitors again, our first international visitors of the year (Cressida’s son Will was technically first but close enough).

We had a few drinks when we got back and it all became a little hazy, all I know is that Vicky either tripped over and fell on the cold frame or she thought it was strong enough to sit on – it was not, it’s make of crappy Lidl! Thankfully it was only plastic though so no damage to Vicky at least, my English wasn’t that good by this point let alone my french! Time we all went to bed.

[18 March 2022]

Super Saturday

Well, basically rugby. What else is there for the last day of the Six Nations?! Matt had set up the projector and the first game was surprisingly awesome, well done Italy! The second however was a lot of nothing, so I took to the garden during the break and was hard to bring me back after that. I made some progress though.

Last game of the day was England v France. France won and won the Six Nations. They were pretty damned good and deserved it, but still disappointing. So we had decided to drown our sorrows with a test of some of our locally brewed spirits.

[19 March 2022]

Sunday

Lazy day, spent around the house nursing hangovers. Vicky helped me with the potting up. Eventually, after some lunch we even managed to coax Lee up to pretend to help with the pots we were planting up that have been sat in the SaM (salle a manger – dining room), obviously he wasn’t much help as Vicky did one and I did the other.

[20 March 2022]

Monday

Ok, and we are back and ready to rock and roll. Time to show Lee and Vicky what on earth we are doing here. Well technically Matt is. I have to work this morning to follow up on last week but I’ll be free in the afternoon.

So Matt’s taken them off to Luchon to get their hire ski kit and then up to Superbagneres.

Apparently a bit slushy but overall pretty decent spring skiing.

Finally calls are done and I can take the afternoon off. It seems the others are still skiing and keen to keep going, that’s a relief. Matt has charged the battery on the old shitbox car so I’m off. In no time I’m down in Luchon and up the telecabin. It’s great to have your kit already up at the top of the mountain so you don’t have to lug it around, and being that the car is linked to my phone I didn’t need to wait to find anyone. That said we met up quickly at the bottom where the lifts link up which was a small miracle in itself.

I got in a decent number of runs and even managed to beat Lee who’d ‘been on the slopes all day’.

Back to ranch. Obviously they were driving the mountain pass while I took the gondola back to the village where I had parked the other car. Time for more catch ups and remembering what it’s like to have overnight visitors that don’t sleep (it’s better than it sounds, we’ve missed it and are glad they’re having fun).

[21 March 2022]

Tuesday

How is it Tuesday and the end of their stay already?! Good thing is that they don’t leave till tonight so gives us more time to head up the mountain again. This time I can join for the morning too. I’ve missed skiing with Vicky. She’s clearly found her ski legs, despite needing yet another surgery in the near future – not my fault this time btw, and keen to make the most of it.

Unfortunately time tells for us all and Matt and I have work beckoning, we did have to stop for some sheep of course, and for lunch. It’s odd to one minute be up the mountain skiing and the next sat in a t-shirt having lunch in the sun. We left the kids on the slopes while we head back home, they will call when they are ready to be collected and taken to return their gear. Hopefully they don’t get separated as they only have one working phone…

Eventually they’d packed and we took them up to the station. We’d checked the time for the right station and everything (this time at least). Was sad to see them go but guess it’s time to get back to work.

I guess we’ll hopefully start to see more of this but it’s also a bit odd for us, for now. As the opportunities to be out, to travel more freely and the house comes together we will increasingly have visitors. But for us this is day to day life, it’s home, and it’s going to take time for me to adjust again. We can’t be free for every person, everyday, all the time. We’re not (yet) hosting a bnb, we have to work, and sometimes it’s hard to balance that with wanting to see everyone and to be good hosts. It’s odd, and for visitors too I’m sure, but they are always welcome.

[22 March 2022]