It just keeps snowing. The most we've ever seen since we bought this place.

The year is starting pretty bad. First, on the very first day of 2010, we ran out of gas, and had to spend 5 days without central heating (God only knows why in the 21st century Totalgas makes us go outside, onto our knees, lift a manhole cover, and check the gas level with a flash light... ever hear of the words "wireless" Mr. Totalgas... you've just lost a customer). Thankfully, I have a backup gas-bottle heater and a couple of electric heathers, and the "shed" building (Trish's office and guest bedroom) is electrically heated and has an electric warm water system, so at least we did not smell ripe, and we were warm.

Now Trish had to go back to work in Paris, and we woke up early this morning and all of Normandy was covered under a thick blanket of snow. The radio was saying that all roads with steep hills were closed for all traffic, and since the snow keeps coming down, we'll be stuck here for a few days.



Normandy was not made for snow, and is not prepared. They have very few snow plows, no procedures and not that much salt. Only the major roads are salted, and then only occasionally,



But Normandy sure is pretty under the snow.....

As has been a "tradition" by now, we celebrated the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 with good friends, food and fun. There is no better way of ending the year with like minded people, enjoying each other's company and food. 19 people in total seated at a table.

Our dear friends Davey and Else could not attend, so we were left to our own devices to prepare food and entertainment. Davey is who is a great chef at a golf club in Finland was replaced by a new friend, also a chef, Nicholas, at a golf club (in this case our golf club in Dieppe), who, though couldn't attend the party, prepared most of the food for the evening, leaving time for Trish and myself to mingle with our friends.

Here's the menu:



We started with some delicious hot appetizers, prepared by Nicholas, followed by home made (home being that of Nicholas) foie gras and onion and sweet apple confit, a shrimp, salmon & scallop dish with a home made (by me) cocktail sauce (use a recipe from our friend Carl Chaffee), followed by home made (by Nicholas) lasagna (salmon/spinach and beef) followed by home made (by Christine) chocolate cake with red fruits and cream.

Needless to say, we were all stuffed.



The table was set, and the night's theme was black & white... meaning everyone was to wear black & white clothes..



The first people arrived early, and the ladies got together for a champagne toast. The appetizers and champagne were served in the living room with a roaring fire in the fireplace.



Once all seated, a timer on my camera made a photo of everyone, so this is probably the only photo of me you'll ever see...



The foie gras was a big hit, and quickly we were stuffed..



The Christmas lights and candles in the veranda made the atmosphere romantic and warm..



Lots of photos were being taken by everyone..



Here's the view from the other side of the table..



At the far side were the "young" ones, since they had to sit on a wooden bench..



Some even volunteered to do the dishes in between courses..



At midnight, the usual hugs, kisses & well wishes from everyone.. The new year started well, since desert was eaten in 2010..



A bit of dancing in the kitchen..



Smokers corner..



At 1 o'clock, everyone had to write their new year wish on a piece of paper, and then the papers were redistributed and someone would read the anonymous wish to all, making everyone guess who wished for what..

And that ended a great party. It was fun, and hopefully we'll see another party like that on the 31st of December 2010. Only 365 days to go...

Not having had any construction crew in our house for a year or so, we missed them... so we decided to start yet another construction for our house... a POOL.

We signed for the construction of a custom-made swimming pool, which will be 9 meters by 4 meters, heated constantly to 28°C and covered by a slideable glass enclosure.

The construction starts in April, and should last for the month. But the first bit of the pool arrived today, the Zodiac heat pump:


The reason for the early delivery was that I negotiated a discount if ordered, delivered and paid this year. In the mean time, we'll be doing all the paperwork with the French administrations...

Trish and I had gone for 10 days to the Tuscany, Italy area, first to help our Australian friends celebrate Tils' 70th birthday. Maybe one of these days, I'll post some photos of that event. After the celebrations, Trish and I headed up to Florence (Firenze as it is called in Italy) for a week of R&R.


Our luxury hotel was nice, but too expensive for what it represented.


But it was close to the river, with a nice view.


On the walk to the main bridge, I took sever photos of the river and the old buildings that managed to withstand their devastating floods last century.


Even the newer buildings looked old and stylish.


Like Paris, the bridges usually offer a great view


Notice how some houses overhang the river on the bridge.


But not only over the bridge, also alongside the river.


No, that's not the real David, but a copy. The Italians are not crazy...


Sculptures everywhere, we are truly in the Renaissance capital of the world.


I have never seen so many churches in one spot. Every corner, every square. Many imposed almost Islamic rules on the women who entered, to the point that sometimes Trish had to put on a paper dress, or even refused because she was wearing knee-length shorts....


Here's the inside of the church. It belongs to the Dominican order.


And when you say Italy, you say SHOES, and when you say SHOES, you say TRISH SHOE SHOPPING!


The next few photos are of the Duomo church and Tower, and incredible structure.




Just look at the details of the door.




There was even a Japanese couple getting a symbolic wedding outside. It looked like they had taken their wedding clothes with them from Japan, and did a mock wedding in front of the church. Lots of photos made by these two.




Believe it or not, this is a shop..


YAC (Yet Another Church)


One of the law courts.


YAC


Some building.. not old.


The main square (Replica) which houses several hotels and companies.


Open air market, one of several.


Here are some photos taken from a park on top of a hill, just on the outskirts of Florence.








This was taken from the Uffici museum.


.. and then we went to pasta cooking school... 14 people learning how the Mama makes the pasta...


The chef-teacher made it look so simple...


Even the machine bits were difficult (not for him)


We decided that there is no shame in buying pasta in the supermarket...


Last one, made with my Apple iPhone... a nice meal.... that's what Italy is all about...

Once a year in France, they have the Day of Music, a day that anyone can play music wherever they want. But it's not only amateurs who can play, cities also organize musical events with professional musicians.

The city of  Feck'em (also known as Fecamp); not only organized a music festival, but also a festival of the sea, involving boats and all products from the sea. But the highlight of the weekend was the Celtic Legends concert and show on Saturday evening. So Trish and I climbed on the BMW motorcycle and headed over to Feck'em.

Everywhere you could see bands playing music:



At 22:30, it was time for the Irish dancers:



Dancers and live music made it a real Irish evening.



The show was well executed on a large stage.



There were 1000's of spectators for this free show. For the photograph amateurs, this photo was taken in the pitch dark, at 15,000 ISO!



We stayed for a little bit over an hour.



Here's the last photo (at 6400 ISO) of the stage and public. At the far end, you can see some of the restaurants and the new museum being built.

Every so often we decide to throw a big party and invite all out friends. But what would a party be without a) great friends, and b) great food. For that reason, we invited our best party-going friends, and of course, one of the best Chefs around.

Davey and Elsa Doughan joined us on Monday, 29th of December, coming from Finland, via Switzerland by car, while on the same day, Carl and Judy Chaffee flew in from Singapore where they had been celebrating Christmas with their daughter.

On Tuesday, we all drove down to Etretat (Davey played the dog, but sitting in the luggage space of our Renault Espace....) and we had lunch at Dormy House, partially paid for by the hotel since they overcharged Davey last time he was there.


The food was reasonable, but the ambiance was great, and the view over Etretat spectacular.

Afterwards, after a long lunch, we drove back home, and started preparing the dinner for the 31st. Davey had hashed out a "simple and short meal" for the New Year. Here's what was on the menu:

As is Davey's style, everyone within earshot gets something to do during the preparation. No one, except the cameraman, escapes working in the kitchen.

So, here's the first video (of three videos) of the event (please excuse the video editing, I'm still learning).  (just click on the video for it to play)



The following day was a busy day. Cooking started at 7 in the morning, and finished a few minutes before midnight. The table was set for 19 people!!!!



Davey needed to pick up all his strength for the marathon cooking feast:



Once nighttime came, everything looked really nice and decorative:



Here's the 2nd video of the cooking and preparations for the dinner (just click on the video for it to play):



At 19:00 the remainder of the guests started arriving, and at 19:30, the first of many toasts were held:



Here Davey is explaining Jean-Charles about the cooking challenges



At 8 o'clock, everyone adjourned to the table, and the wine started flowing:



While Jean-Charles served the wines, others were admiring Davey:



The Celery soup was almost ready:



The Scallops got a slight grilling before slipped onto the plates



L-R Elsa, Carl, Isabelle, Gerard, Christine, Stephane and Patricia.



R-L: Davey, Judy, Alain, Jeannine, Jean-Charles and Anne



Thumbs Up from Sabrina, Benoit and "Bob".



Here's the final video of the evening, the party itself, food and song!



L-R: Stephane, Patricia, Amani, Sabrina, Benoit:



All enjoying the food:



All hands on deck! Christine, Trish and Judy helped putting the food on the plates:



Davey making Blinis:



The well marinated cod was receiving its final touch (while Trish looks on):



Waiting with anticipation for the next course:



The marinated cod (in milk and coconut) is simmering away



The salad made from beetroot leaves is being prepared:



Two lovely ladies, Christine and Trish:



The Pope blessing Bob.....



The cod is served with the salad...while Judy looks on and helped by Benoit:



Ready to be served (we ran out of white plates):



The stuffed cabbage is simmering away:



The cabbage was stuffed with minced lamb, rice, mini oranges and spices



Jean-Charles is contemplating all this wonderful food



Stuffed Cabbage and Smoked Potato Cakes... yummy



Davey started the Eurosong Sing Festival. Songs were sung in Finnish, Irish, Chinese and French



The fruit for the dessert and the lemon pie were ready:



Just before midnight, the souffle's were ready.



Desert was served the following year :-)



And that ended the year in style. Everyone was happy and filled the the brim. There is no better way to end the year.

Happy New Year to you all! And remember, the financial crisis is sooo 2008!!

Christmas 2008 was spent in Normandy with our friends Christine and Jean-Charles Duboc, their son Benoit and his girlfriend Sabrina and her two kids Maxine and Clement.

The house was all nicely decorated, complete with a Christmas tree.



Kids and Christmas mix very well, and you could see it in their faces.



The evening was wonderful, and we all put on several kilos of extra weight, thanks to Christine's incredible cooking skills. Duck... hmmmmmm

Here's a video I made of the evening:

Saturday saw an interesting evening at the small seaside resort of Veulettes-sur-Mer {link}. Friends of our friends Isabelle & Alain have a small Blues combo, and they were playing at a restaurant at Veulettes.

So several of us went to listen to Malcolm McCallum & Tim McGlue play the Blues.



Both played very well, real blues, and the evening was very entertaining. Good food, good friends and excellent music. The only down side was that Trish was not there since he had caught a chest cold, and thought it was wiser not to go.



The music was hot. You don't often see French people tapping their feet to the rhythm of the music, but in this case they did, a sign that the audience really enjoyed the music.



Tim McGlue sang with a real blues voice, and played the harmonica like a real Chicago bluesman.



Malcolm McCallum played the acoustic guitar with some slide guitar thrown in. Very well done.

Here's a 3 minute video I made of the event. This is my 3rd video, so please excuse my amateurish editing...

Our several centuries old church in Vinnemerville is getting old, and the steeple needed to be updated. The experts decided to replace the steeple, so off it went (you'll find below the photos a video of the event...).

They brought in a large crane, and after several weeks of work cutting into the steeple and placing holders, it was finally time to remove it.