It's a been a great lead-up week to all the festivities. Parties and more parties, Christmas markets and portes ouvertes all over the place. It was Chinon's turn this weekend, with stalls all over the main square as well as inside the mairie. Christmas decorations in Chinon are simple but very effective. The main surprise is the ice rink in the old part of town. It's difficult to give the dimensions, but you can probably get about twenty people on it at the same time. Such fun.
The origami chef has been extremely busy - cooking as well as folding paper. Drinks events have needed a few eats to go with, so he's been in baking mode for the last few days. He's also been making Christmas decorations, so we have some great stars suspended from the ceiling - red, gold and white. The stars take about two hours in total. Thirty pieces of paper to be individually folded and then stuck together. They look so lovely. He made a couple to help decorate the meeting room of one of our Anglo-French groups. There are also some table top style Christmas trees in sizes of medium and small, in different shades of green and a few presents for friends - a mobile of birds, some spinning tops and a great game of leaping frogs - and they do leap! It's a bit like tiddly winks - only with frogs! Squeeze them down, let go and they leap, ideally back in the box in which they are kept, which is also a Mike origami special.
So one day to go before our Christmas. Dec 24 is the main day here. We're into Chinon early tomorrow morning (23), to pick up our order from our butcher and a few last minute things. We're out for lunch tomorrow over in Ile de Bouchard. Then back home for another baking session and present wrapping. We've been invited to the family dinner of near neighbours Jacqueline and Norbert and their family. We feel very privileged to have been included. We've met everyone before a few times, but this is a little different. Very kind of the family to include us. We wanted to contribute to the meal, which is a big affair. So we're looking after the apéros & amuses bouches, some wine to go with the main dishes. We've made a few small mince pies as well, to go with the yule log dessert. Eleven adults and five children. It's been such fun finding little prezzies for the children. It will be a late late finish, so probably December 25, we'll be recuperating. Boxing Day doesn't happen over here, it's an ordinary day, but we're cooking lunch and have local friends to join us. It is also market day, so we'll be going back into town, for bread and a few other provisions no doubt, in the morning.
There are various things planned between Christmas and New Year, but N Y Eve itself, we're going round to friends nearby - just a ten minute walk at the most, which will be lovely. New Year's Day, a lot of people go out to lunch, so that's what we've decided to do - Les Années Trente at Chinon.
We're so looking forward to everything - a great way to end one year and start another. And we have our first visitors of 2014 from the UK, towards the end of January. We are all going to the big St.Vincent celebration in Cravant, which happens every year on the last weekend. It's an amazing occasion.
Mike and I have had such a wonderful year. We count ourselves very lucky to be doing what we're doing, and to have such great friends, family and neighbours in our life, albeit scattered about all over the place, as well as here in France and the UK.
Happy holidays to everyone. Have a wonderful time and may 2014 be everything you would like it to be.
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