Happy New Year and whacky weather

2011 Happy New Year.Well the new year kicked off well here with more cracking waves and the continuation of our good weather.We have just had 2 weeks of sensational weather with numerous days of high teen temperatures.We had a couple of mornings at 17°- unheard of in the middle of winter here.We feel like weve had a holiday to break up our season this year.No waves for the last week with the warm south wind

Xmas cheer,ACCCHHOOOO! and pumping waves

After resolving my allergies problems in OZ,i have developed more here and every couple of weeks i'm having a pretty bad day,so I'm off to be screened next week.Not much fun with lots of sneezing and none of the medication theyve prescribed so far works
Xmas has been and gone with a big lunch here with 14 of the family.Big day with lots of food and wine.The waves have been pumping for the last 2 weeks with 3 stand out sessions.Last tuesday, a barrell fest in 4-5 ft waves,perfect clean conditions and not many surfers.I was very lucky and definitly jagged the best ones.The same bank as the quik pro was on and similar waves.Yesterday ,same spot ,a heaving solid 6 ft was not for the faint hearted.I saw some ridiculously serious and perfect waves,but wasnt as lucky as the last time;I picked off one big bomb which made it all worthwhile and a couple of smaller ones but i came in tired and feeling that age was catching up with me.Until this morning, 4-6 ft pumping and only Another aussie Darren, jez and i .A great session with some good barrels.The water is still around 14° so its not too cold and the last couple of days have been high teens ,so great weather too!

Winter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The rain stopped 2 weeks ago.It rained for about 5 weeks with only 1 dry day each week.Wet and windy ,i was going batty!!!!!!!!Then last week it cleared up and got really cold;it snowed everywhere in France except for this region.The last week weve had really heavy frosts with wednesay and yesterday being the coldest ,-6° and -7° in the mornings.BBBRRRRR!!!!!! At least it wasnt raining,until i woke this morning to -YES!!!!! more rain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its not too cold, maybe5 or 6°.Again ,its snowing everywhere else but here
Lola has been home from school with a bit of a flu this week.A viral thing thats kept most of her class at home.She's alot better today and i'm sure she'll be better for her school xmas break which starts tomorrow.I'm sure santa will be good to her this year as she has worked very hard at school and had excellent results
Were getting organised for xmas and preparing for the xmas lunch here with 14 of the family coming.We're the only ones that can fit them all in together.looking forward to plenty of good food and wine.
I have only been surfing once a week lately with the conditions being less than ideal.I had a good session last week with jez and i and 1 other guy brave enuogh to tackle the cold conditions.It was 3-4 ft and some fun Left and right peaks,not perfct but we have to take what we can get at the moment ,so if its offshore and surfable we jump on it right away(even if its 2°-3°)Water temp is still not too cold at 14°, so its still bearable and i havent needed my hood yet so its not too bad. Its usually colder on the beach looking at it than it is in the water; and of course getting changed afterwards isnt much fun.With 2 winter wetsuits and 2 sets of bootys it means i can always have a dry suit to put on- definitely makes it easier

Ugly weather

Its that time of the year again,Stormy,windy and so much rain! Weve had only 3 dry days in the last 3 weeks.Its so wet !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Its not even winter yet and its grey and darkIt hasnt been very cold but it will come soon.No waves for the last 2 weeks ;I've spent a lot of time stocking our firewood;Jez lost a couple of trees in the big storm 2 years ago and said i could have them if i wanted to cut them up.So with what he had( and theres more)i should only need to buy a couple of vanloads this year.I've finished the garden shed so i now have somewhere to stock the wood under cover.i can fit enough wood to last (hopefully)about 6-8 weeks

Grande Lustre

Well i have finally found the light that weve been looking for the last 2 years.Not really a light but a' Lustre' . Very heavy,around 70-80kgs,made of forged steel, a handmade masterpiece that needed some serious anchorage.It feels like were living in a castle every time we look upat it.I was looking for some timber in a second hand yard and stumbled across this little treasure.It was in really good condition and a quik rub with some steel wool to clear up alittle surface rust and its wiring was good too ,it was ready to hang in no time.80 euros later it was an absolute bargain.The photos dont really give the impression of its size.At nearly a metre across and 1.3 metres high is very big and perfect for this big room
I've finished rendering two walls and its looking good.The garden shed is done and i'm getting our firewood ready for winter
The waves have been pumping and have had more good wavesthis week and last week.The waters still not cold so thats good too