Farewell Vienne

So as our few days with my husband's family is sadly coming to an end I thought I'd do a little review on my favourite things La Boeuf - it goes without saying that a sejour with my father & mother in-law always means eating the most amazing food, I don't think I've ever eaten the same dish twice (unlike in our house where the only four dishes I know how to cook adequately rotate too regularly). This stay has been no exception with sumptious meals of homemade Boudin-blanc, Magret de Canard cooked in a honey sauce served with delicious gratin of potatos and mushrooms, Roast Chicken with Gratin of Cauliflower, my new favourite dish (I'll post the family recipe later) Gratin of Endive, Fondue of course, Cote de Veau with Roast Potatoes and Tian of Aubergine (from their garden) & Tomato,  Quenelles de Brochet  with morilles and cod, Filet Mignon of Pork in a cream, prune and Armagnac sauce, Cabri au fourre (mountain goat from Ardeche baked in the oven)....is your mouth watering yet?

My mother in law.... for all the laughs she has given me over the last few days - whether she meant to or not! Where do I start... when she picked us up at the airport she nearly drove us into a roundabout she was so excited at seeing her grandson. She had lovingly created a cosy nest for our family of three with a changing table and lots of new toys for her grandson but most amusingly was her addition of two books, discretely placed on top of our clean towels. The first, 'Eduquer ses enfants'/'How to educate your children' by Aldo Naouri and 'Je ne sais pas Maigrir' / 'I don't know how to lose weight' by Dr. Pierre Dukan (the diet book taking France by storm), the old me would have taken offence ("what is she trying to tell me here that I'm fat and my child is unruly??") but the new me (it's hard but I'm trying) laughed about it. Then we woke up one morning to find she had taken the liberty of helping my son with his daily routine with a glycerine suppository (without checking with us first) - I tried to be annoyed but the happy / guilty grin on my sons face as he bounced on his grandmeres knee made me crack - he didn't look too aggrieved so how could I complain! She has taken our little guy every morning and given us a few hours sleep which we desperately needed so I'm so grateful to her

The Lie-ins with my husband... as mentioned above, I thought I was going to have a meltdown with the accumulation of 4 months of complete sleep deprivation. These last 5 days we've managed to sleep in an extra 3 or 4 hours in the morning as Louis is minded by his grandmother and oh my god I think I'm starting to remember what it feels like to be a functioning human being again. Put it this way I havent broken or dropped anything / left the house unlocked / ironed my hand instead of the clothes since I arrived which is a major breakthrough! That said - my brain is still very very tired and speaking french is proving more of a struggle than ever before, usually it only takes me two glasses of wine and I think I'm fluent... turns out it takes a lot of mental energy to have a somewhat decent french accent - I know this as I've been speaking french like 'a vache espagnol' the last few days.

It's been wonderful seeing Louis surrounded by his French family, he's the first grandson so he has been completely spoilt by his grandparents, aunts, uncles and his two cousins.

So until next time - thanks for all the good times, a bientôt!