With the lockdown #3 coming into force, school effectively finished for a three week break on Good Friday (the 2nd April). For such a religious country, it's actually strange that they don't have Good Friday off. And also odd that I've not actually noticed it before this year. Anyway, that was it. School: done. Easter weekend was actually pretty quiet. Iain had no match, but with the new restrictions, we couldn't really go anywhere.
Easter Saturday: Iain was helping Olivier with all the trees, we went up to meet them at about 4.30pm for afternoon tea and a beer. It might've been hard graft but Iain actually really enjoyed just being out in the fresh air and doing some manual labour for a few hours. They did find a bird's nest in the trees and tried to re-home it but we aren't sure if the mum will return.
As you'd imagine, on Easter Sunday there was chocolate everywhere! I am now a couple of weeks into my intermittent fasting routine so I managed to hold off until afternoon tea. We had chilli for dinner and invited Matt Phillips round for a feed. Always nice to feel like you're looking after people.
The weather continued to be absolutely glorious into Easter Monday so we took advantage of it (and tried to work off some of the chocolate) with a big bike ride through Gelos and around Pau. We covered just under 9km. Good work all round.
On Tuesday, William had his first proper homework session. We didn't really follow the homework tasks in the lockdown last year (primarily because we weren't on the school email list 😦) so this was William's first official experience. And he loved it. He set himself up at his desk and just wanted to do more and more. It's great seeing how much he loves to learn. As long as he's happy though, and not trying to get the work perfect every time.
Wednesday: Mur Protect here most of the day fixing the wall in the office. I needed to cancel my physio appointment as I had to be here for the duration. I wasn't quite sure how long it was going to take but he wasn't done until about 2.30pm. While we were stuck indoors, William watched the guy like a hawk and helped me make pulled pork. Hopefully one day, I'll be able to ask him to make it himself and he'll know exactly what to do.
I wasn't at all prepared for the amount of mess the wall work was going to make. I knew the guy would be drilling, but I just didn't anticipate quite how much dust it would create, and how it would end up everywhere. There was no warning. There was no tarpaulin coverings. It felt like the entire house got a dusting. Absolutely brutal. I left Iain to strip the couch in the office and start the cleaning process, and I went to meet Sandra and Julia at Château Franqueville in Bizanos. It was actually my first time up there and it was absolutely beautiful. Coupled with the beautiful spring weather, it was simply stunning. And we came home to perfect pulled pork. Score. Fish joined us for dinner too.
On Thursday morning we caught up with Nadia and Liana and went for a big walk / big ride around the château park. Amazingly, it was the first time Nadia had been in the forest part and both her and Liana loved the new adventure. We hung out for a while in the square tree park and had some morning tea; a much needed sugar hit after all the energetics.
On Friday, I had my first physio appointment with William in tow. He was actually really good, and (reluctantly) did all the exercises. Geoffrey was really patient and interactive with him so I was very relieved that it all went well. After we finished, we went for a wander through Les Halles' farmers' market, picking up some sausages, cheese and tulips and using some french in the process. When we got home, we broke out the seed packets from our Auchan trip and began the planting process. It was actually a very timely activity as it let us really tidy up the garden. When Iain got home from work in the afternoon, and it had started raining, William and I were still outside, in our waterproofs, repotting things and moving things around. I am absolutely determined to bring some colour back to the place this year.
That night we had arranged to have a facetime with Katie and Steph. As we're one hour ahead here, it was well after 9pm for us when they were ready to chat. While waiting, we quietly passed the time with a good old game of quarters. Classic. As ever, it was brilliant to see Oman and Broon. Hopefully it wont be too long at all until we see them again in the flesh. Bloody covid.
Saturday: With a late night under our belts on Friday, Saturday was a bit of a slowish start. The weather was great though so we went for a big bike ride down to the Billère playground at the end of the golf course where we ate a sushi picnic lunch and skimmed stones. When we got home, we cleaned a bit more of the house from the wall dust. Erugh.
Sunday: The weather was rubbish. Actually, it was some of the coldest, wettest weather we've had for weeks so we were a wee bit thrown but it all! We spent most of the day at home, pottering around and cleaning more of the place from the work, and catching up with other chores like fixing a broken bit on the couch. We finally managed to get out for a much needed cobwebber in the late afternoon. Amazingly, we managed to catch the only dry part of the day but it was soon home to snuggling in front of the actual fire. (Yes! In April!) Below is a photo of the flats just behind the château. We might've been here for almost four years now, but I'm often still utterly amazed by the old french architecture here we live. The closer you look, the more you notice just how ramshackle it all is. Utterly brilliant.
Additional holiday (lockdown) week? Done.
LM.
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