A New Year Begins

Happy New Year to All.

I have to take you back to last year just before Christmas.
Lara and her family live at the other end of our village and we decided to take the kids carolling 'on the night before the night before'.
Decked in red hats and singing voices in tune we began at our next door neighbor's. Madame happened to be out back feeding her rabbits and chickens when we arrived. She thoroughly enjoyed the unexpected visit, joining us in the french songs.
(click on the photos to enlarge them)

                       













 
                                     At the next house Monsieur opened up his window to listen.

Five year old Elliot (left) sang Vive Le Vent (Long Live The Wind) to the music of Jingle Bells  and we joined in at the chorus. We continued throughout the village, everyone loving the kids; some giving candies. Next year we'll be more techno with music from a smart phone.



We attended a couple of parties before Christmas which were delightful and delicious plus we went to quite a few Christmas markets around the area. These are filled with homemade and retail items for very reasonable prices.






On Christmas Day/Brian's birthday we had a quiet dinner by ourselves and lazed around. Santa kindly gave Brian an iPad and he absolutely loves it and I am so proud of how he jumped from a Kindle to this so easily. It is probably the best gift he has ever had although in the beginning he called it many bad names.

So the New Year rang in and the old out but we didn't hear it - ZZZZZZ...
                                                                                                                            Maybe Next Year!!!


We have been having quite a bit of rain and the area across
the lane is a lake again. This view looks towards the front of our
house and outbuildings
                                                                                         

 We love looking out the living room window at the temporary 'lac'

especially  when the sun is making it glitter or when the last stages 

of sunset are reflected.

looking south       looking north

 We still have one room to finish. It will
 become the master with en suite and walk in closet. In France you must have permission to add a new window to your home. This is to prevent 'overlooking' your neighbor(s) property, not a bad idea. Since we don't have anyone at the side or the back we are quite sure our application for two windows will be accepted. In order to start the process a visit to the Marie (Mayor) of our commune was necessary. A lovely English women in the  same village agreed to go with me to translate. We picked up the forms and the information we needed from the Marie's assistant and then I asked Beverly what did I owe her for her help. She replied - nothing, in the country we don't charge each other, some exchange eggs or rabbits. I explained we had neither! She laughed and said not to worry. We will pay it forward by helping someone else.


The house next door has been empty for several years but in October a young English bloke bought it with a mind to renovate it and his outbuildings.  He works on the oil rigs in Nigeria and still has obligations in England so it will be a long term project. We had a tour of it and although he has a lot of work to do he also has great vision about how it will be finished. Reflecting on the pictures of our house's beginning renovations , we know what is possible and we are thankful we only have that one room to complete.

Brian is doing so well learning more french (augmenting the french he learned 58 years ago), speaking to french folks but I am still struggling to open my mouth (I know, I know my friends would say I never shut up). I started french lessons a couple of weeks ago. The program is run by the government and the courses were originally designed for french illiterates, but judging by my fellow classmates, it is now for the English illiterates. It is 2 1/2 hours every Friday afternoon. It costs a whopping €5.00 minimum but most people gave more as that is an unbelievable price for the YEAR!
Not only is it a small price to pay but in true french hospitality  coffee  and cookies are brought out near the end of class and we just have to wash out our own cups. Sweet.


Le Médecin
Prescriptions have to be renewed every three months.  I have noticed that a months worth of pills are actually only for 28 days and three months 84 days. Strange. Renewal means a visit to the doctor's office. I have been there when I had booked an appointment time and there was no one else in the waiting room. I have been there during the hours 'sans rendez-vous' (without appointment) and the place was packed. I think it is a bit off a social gathering thing. Also, as you enter the waiting room it is customary to say Bonjour and everyone answers in kind.
Interesting to note: the doctor works by himself answering the phone, inputting and printing the prescriptions, making appointments at other facilities, etc. We give him  €23.00 and 70% of that will be reimbursed into our bank account. The other 30% will be paid by our Mutuelle insurance company. Most people have "Top Up Mutuelle Insurance" which would be similar to a policy in the USA to cover what Medicare doesn't. The other point of interest at the doctor's office is that the very small toilet/restroom does not have a sink or even antibacterial hand wash. Hmmmm.

 I chose to go for a blood test; it has been well over a year. As I had to fast I was thankful for an 8:30 appointment this past Wednesday. A lovely lady took down my information and then Brian and I waited. I watched a female phlebotomist, smartly dressed in a suit (no white lab coat) and high heels call patients in and had I confidence in her abilities. However, as bad luck would have it, at my turn it was the young guy who called my name.  He jabbed my left arm and after much squirming and squeaking on my part he had to withdraw the empty needle. I was in a state and probably very pale.  I reluctantly raised the sleeve of my right arm and he managed to draw the blood. He asked Ca va?(Are you well?) and I answered Maintenant! (Now!) If I sound a bit of a wuss about needles it is because I  have very sensitive veins, so here's hoping it is another year til I have to go back. The results were received in the mail by me and my doctor on Friday - how's that for fast service! Of course I have no idea what they mean as the measuring systems are different in Europe than in USA and the acronyms have no meaning whatsoever.

Unlike last year's Deep Freeze so far we have had only two 1/2 days of snow and long may that continue.
We had to buy more wood as we had used up the supply bought from the previous owners. Brian rang up Robin whose neighbor supplies well seasoned logs. Robin loaded it, brought it to us and he and Brian unloaded it. Brian then had to cut it into 3 as the meter lengths are too large for the wood burner.              

Knowing this in advance by several months he had purchased a stand, which he had to reinforce.




  He had bought it from a BIG truck which comes around about every 6 months. Advance warning coming in the form of a catalog.

 This truck seems to carry everything. We had fun dog-earing the catalog pages gushing over all the products but, in the end we only bought a few items.




 I have started walking on Mondays with Lara. I write that tongue-in-cheek as we have only been out once. The weather has stopped us but that first day was sunny and a bit cold but very refreshing.  We walked  two and half hours on the small lanes and through the forest. I took this picture that day.  The vegetation appears to be growing out of the water but is is actually under the crystal clear stream running under a little bridge.

It is so much easier to be GREEN in the summer. We don't own a clothes dryer so in winter laundry has to be dried in front of the fire. It is sometimes an all day affair arranging and rearranging the clothes on the stand, but I just love to use the top of the wood burner as an ironing tool pressing  the items onto the top of it to hasten the drying time. I tell Brian that not everyone has their socks and underwear ironed, not to mentioned pressed jeans and beautifully folded napkins!
 I often marvel at the wood burner's usefulness and versatility - iron, dryer, source of heat and comfort  Because I don't have to cut the wood, get it from the shed, empty the ashes and set the fire in the morning when it is cold, my feelings are definitely more romantic than poor Brian's, he who does it all.
Along with the wood burner we have an oil furnace which we wanted to control by thermostat. At first we were told it would have to be wired - that would be easy, drilling through two feet thick stone walls - NOT! But, in the end we found one which is controlled by radio waves, is portable and pre-programmed.  After a few fits and starts we have it working well controlling the temperature.

We thought about getting an outside cat: Lo and behold over time several showed up and everyday Brian feeds them along with the little birds.   Sadly, sometimes the birds feed the cats...

         The antics of these cats are quite amusing

Ms. Tufty Ears

 Three out of the four are tame and live at Lara's house being fed there and probably at a few other houses as well. The fourth, which we named Ms. Tufty Ears, appears to be 'with kittens'.  We shall know soon enough.
If Angus sees a cat on our property (he yowls)  we let him out to chase it. He has no hope of catching it since it easily out runs him and jumps the wall to safety. We like to think of this as a self motivated work out. He usually has to have a long, long nap afterwards.






Sometimes the wildlife comes inside: our living room coffee table leg (made out of an old wagon wheel).  Brian gently removed it to the outdoors.

Indoor stealth snail

We have been in our house one year now!
That's all the news for the first year of the month and I will try my best to write more often.