At 7pm US time we always had a toast to Scotland and so realizing that we would not be able to stay up til 1 french time we decided to continue the tradition and at 7pm wished all those in Scotland a Happy Hogmanay.
We were invited to a New Year's Day celebratory luncheon by Leslie and Frank whom we had met at the Remembrance Day dinner. The guests were English and french and the food was outstanding. A baked whole salmon, pork, turkey accompanied by starches and vegetables. And no meal is complete without desserts and coffee - oh my they were delicious. A little bubbly is always so festive too. A truly delightful day and a good start to a new year.
We have been helping the french economy by replacing the110V appliances we had to leave behind. We find it easier to shop online to find the best prices and products and the delivery is very fast. The couriers always have to call Linda to get directions and she has been so kind dealing with these. We are having a bit of a struggle with one company which has taken our money but won't deliver the TV until we prove we are who we say we are. Changing addresses puts up a red flag and even my PayPal account was put on limitations for a couple of days.
Banks are also very security conscious. We emailed a letter to the bank giving them the instructions about the wire transfer to the Notaire's office for funding the house. We were assured the money would be transferred the next day but of course it wasn't. We were then asked to fill in a form, sign, scan, email back; again we were assured the money would be transferred the day before closing but it actually wasn't until about 1 hour before our appointment with the Notaire. >>>Very stressful<<< However, the Notaire was entertaining while remaining professional, reading out loud each page, asking questions about the property. Interesting fact: Any major work done on a property in France can be safeguarded for 10 years by an insurance policy. If a policy has not been purchased the homeowner can still claim against the artisan for 10 years. But when the property is sold and a problem occurs within the 10 year time frame the new homeowner would look to the seller to rectify it and the seller would look to the artisan.
All done in one hour then big hugs were shared by us and the Salters as each couple went its separate ways.
That was on Thursday and on Friday night we decided to move the next day. It was sad to leave Linda and Rod and we will miss our happy hours with them.
We bought quite a few furnishings and other items from the Salters and they also left quite a few so we are comfortable (although I would not recommend eating cereal or porridge with a fork - very messy) until our own 'stuff' arrives on Wednesday. I just hope they can find us.
In the past we have depended upon our good friend SeaRay to set up our TVs and DVDs. I ordered a Sky digibox on EBay which allows us to watch British programs for just the cost of the box. It was so simple to connect. The telephone and Internet were much more complicated but through pictures in the installation booklet, a little bit of written french knowledge and luck I finally had everything working.
Brian has the wood burners under his control keeping us warm night and day. This was the first fire he lit in the living room. We purchased about a year's worth of firewood from the Salters. It is stored in one of the outbuildings. We are fortunate enough that the other wood burner is plumbed to heat water and send it up to the bedroom and landing radiators on the second floor to provide heat without incurring energy costs other than the wood which we would be burning anyway. There is a portable propane burner in the kitchen which is quite fast at heating that area. We have 'central' oil heating through a furnace which heats the radiators but so far we haven't had to use it. Like most of the world, we are experiencing a mild winter although we can't compete with the 70F (21C) temps in Jacksonville.
Our closet shopping (10km/6 miles) is the Intermarché in Chef Boutonne ('head' of the river Boutonne) and so we will adjust to another new store. There is a convenience store only 5km in Couture D'Argenson - such a romantic sounding name - which is open all week including Sunday mornings and it is quite well stocked and not too overpriced. Actually bought a smooth red 2010 Côtes du Rhône for 2€07 ($2.60) and a tasty homemade quiche we had last night.
There were 4 movers ( 3 guys and 1 woman who handled the inventory) and the driver of the big truck whose only apparent responsibility was to smoke cigarettes and watch the movers........
They unloaded from 8 til 10 then politely asked for cafe. A french family would have known better and offered first. They had a 15 minute break speaking rapido french all at the same time.
Then, the truck was empty so it left.
Before departing in two trucks stuffed with the paper and cardboard which had surrounded the furniture, and as many boxes as I could speed-unpack two of the movers courteously shook hands with us. The french are very polite. The other two said bye going off for their two hour lunch.
All that remained was setting up the table and beds. The entertainment center certainly entertained us. We have so many leftover pieces which don't appear to fit anywhere.
The boys left at 4:30 wishing us 'bon courage'. They don't even know the half of it!
 |
| kitchen facing back door |
 |
| kitchen facing utility room |
 |
| living room looking into dining room |
 |
| landing from bathroom |
 | ||||
| the bedroom to finish We unpacked yesterday and today and have many more days to go to be fully reunited with our stuff. One of the first treats was to put our starter sheep herd in the garden. More to follow soon.....baa baa baa  |
