Andy is Coming! Andy is Coming!

     Did I tell you that Andy is coming? 😃  In fact this time next week we should be back from the airport in Toulouse and enjoying Andy's first supper at the cottage.  What are we having, you ask?  I think we'll have an appetizer of paté on pain d'épice, Boeuf Bourgignon over noodles, assorted cheeses and I'm still deciding on dessert.
     I have fixed a number of main dishes in my slow cooker and then froze them so that it will make it easier and quicker while we're out sightseeing all day long.  We can eat lunch while we're out and then come home to home-cooked meals.  Most are French recipes, but I have a few American dinners planned as well.  We won't go hungry!
     I'm a little worried about the weather.  It has finally turned winter!  Cold temps, heavy frost, and there's snow and freezing rain in the forecast for Andy's visit.  But, just like Colorado, the forecasts seem to change daily, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that Mother Nature will be kind.
     Everything Andy and I want to do means being outside, walking through medieval villages and stone fortresses and a trip to the mountains as well as the Atlantic.  So, I'll just keep on checking that forecast and hope the front moves in another direction.  Here are some photos I took this week of the early morning frost.  So pretty, as long as you don't have to be out in it.

My view from the porch - lovely frosted trees

Frost on the lavender plant

Connecting frost crystals

Spikes of frost

     As I prepare for Andy's visit I have been making my lists and revising them as I think of other things to add or delete.  Here's what they look like at this time.

     And, on Friday I have to make a trip to Toulouse (2 days before I go to the airport to pick up Andy - it's an hour and a half drive one way) to the French Immigration Office.  I finally - after sending in the paperwork in September - got a letter from them stating that I have an appointment at 1:30pm on Friday.  The visit will include a medical exam and paying them 250 euros for the privilege of living in their country!  So I have lists for that visit also.  Hope I don't get them mixed up! ha!
     I hope your new year has begun well.  There's always a hope at the beginning of a year - for new adventures, new experiences, better health, better relationships, etc.  I wish that for all of you.  And I shall leave you with a word I found on facebook.  It's apparently an Old English slang word - coddiwomple.  It means "to travel purposefully toward an as-yet-unknown destination."  That's my wish for myself!  In fact I seem to do that a lot here. 😃
     I will not write a blog post while Andy's here, but promise to fill you in all our adventures once he's back in the US.  And before my next visitors appear - Jay and Barb Matheson are coming sometime the week of the 23rd!  Let the new year begin!  And thank you for joining me on my coddiwompling adventures.  Merci!