So now that we are guestless (by design) we have let our habits slip a little and are no longer in a mad panic to make the kitchen ship-shape before retiring for the night. This has co-incided with a minor cold snap in the Languedoc with the Tramontane blowing cold from the north (fear not , the temperatures are set to rise by 5 to 6 degrees by tomorrow).
Because the temperatures here so rarely go into single figures we have not bothered with central heating. Instead we have a large Godin wood burner in our living room/kitchen which keeps us toasty warm. In the morning first down has to coax this back to life, not a big job, just drop a log on the still glowing embers, and then maybe tidy up the kitchen a little- exactly the work, as period costume dramas tell us, – which was done by a good discreet parlourmaid.
And after that “Simpson” could have the rest of the day off.