waiting again

So, we got to France, we met Stéphanie and her mother who both offered us fantastic hospitality. We partook of much delicious coffee & food (well, it was France, after all), including la galette des Rois. Kate won the prize, la fève, from the cake and so got to wear the crown and is now also due a year of good luck - hurrah! However, it also apparently means she's supposed to buy the cake for next year's celebration. I wonder if she realises she's going to have to go back...

Stéphanie's dogs were quite adorable, and we particularly admired the boys who were the sweetest of all, jostling each other good naturedly to be first in the queue for cuddles from the strangers. Kate fell in love with Armas who kept snuggling up to her demanding to have his chest scratched. He reminded me so much of Keskiyö which is, perhaps, unsurprising as they share a sire. Lucky for us, though, Taika fell in love with Albmi. Or something like that. Here they are having a little get-to-know-you game.



The video was cut unfortunately short when I accidentally hit the stop button with fingers numb and shaking with cold. If anything, it was even colder in Normandy than in the UK and with lots of snow. Albmi wasted no time and we got what we wanted quickly and with a minimum of fuss. As a result, we actually changed our return journey home to a day earlier. And it was lucky we did, as it started snowing as we left and by the next day, when we were supposed to be leaving, the road to the ferry port was impassable.

Much like the roads home when we arrived Tuesday night.

After an enforced stopover in a hotel near Stonehenge, we finally made it to Kate's where I collected Maija, who had been keeping Jerome & the children company while Taika was away. Late morning yesterday, I finally got home. No one can say we didn't put a great deal of effort into this event.

But now we have to wait again to see whether it worked. And I guess Kate will be watching Taika with hawk eyes to see if she is showing any telltale differences in behaviour.

Courting