Our place in France

My apologies to all my readers, but there is no blog this week. We are both perfectly well and the only problem is that I think my brain has frozen!. See you all next week

Our place in France Chapter 85

This was supposed to be a relatively quiet week with a few items filed in in the diary What a shame it didn’t stay like that! Monday, at least, lived up to expectations and we managed to stay home and get the house tidied after the weekend. Tuesday, we knew had an afternoon appointment for me, but not much else but we soon managed to find more to do. The car needed some work done on it after failing its roadworthy certificate, and we needed to make an appointment for that. And the supplementary glazing which we ordered nearly four weeks ago has not yet arrived so we needed to go and light a fire under someone at the depot. Somehow these things always take so much longer to do that one thinks.

On Wednesday, the car didn’t move from its spot in the lee of the church. Hallelujah! And nor did we rise until about 11.30 am. On Thursday was the appointment for the car and as it was rather early I opted out of going. Can’t think why!! Perhaps because I knew that Friday was going to be one of those appallingly early starts as I had to report to the hospital again before 8 am. Since we have discovered that arriving very early always pays off in the end, we try to get there first and rock up at 7.30. This means that when the queue forms I am at the head of it and am first in and first out for the procedure. Quite often we have ‘done’ the hospital, finished the grocery shopping and are back home again by ten or ten-thirty. Which leaves us a long empty day to fill with pottering around. Currently my ‘pottering’ consists of various forms of handwork – my little family of dolls is growing slowly; I am also knitting a gift for a friend; and then, of course is the tapestry cushion. At the moment, all have reached an impasse. I have run out of toy stuffing for the dolls and the only shop that appears to stock it has also run out but is expecting new stock next week. The wol that I started using for the gift turned out to be quite unsuitable and so I had to find something else in a suitable colour and start again. And the wool which came from the UK to fill the background of my tapestry picture was way to pale and will have to be returned, but in the meantime I have ordered more because no-one locally has anything like the colour I am looking for. When I ask if they can order some for me they look dubious and tell me that no-one does tapestry anymore. Well! I have news for them because I do, and it would be really handy if they stocked the stuff.

So what we did on Friday after the hospital was try to track down some of my requirements. It took nearly the rest of the morning, but when we finally got home again, we still wanted to do a Foreign Exchange transfer to send some of our miserable SA Funds over here so that we can continue to eat. For some reason, FNB make their Foreign exchange page so difficult that it always takes ages but this time we were sure we had got everything right and it still wouldn’t go through. Finally we phoned the Help Line and a very nice lady went through the whole procedure with us again, but she, too, could find no mistakes. Baffled, she  told us to leave it with her and she would investigate. So far, no news.

During the week, there had been numerous emails back and forth about a car that Andre would like to have waiting for him when he gets here at the end of December. Buying an expensive item like that without seeing it is no joke and buying it on behalf of a third party comes a close second. However, ever the dutiful parents, we all piled into our car and traipsed off to Toulouse to view said car. It was a glorious day with not a single cloud in the bright blue sky, but about fifty kilometres down the road the day clouded over and the next thing we knew, we were into thick mist. The closer we got to Toulouse the thicker it became, although there, the overhead electronic signs told us to beware of pollution. Well, whatever…..we were stuck in it all the way. We had been looking forward to having wonderful views of the Pyrenees all gleaming with the sun shining on the snow, but sadly it was not to be. Courtney showed her disgust by curling up on the back seat under a blanket and going to sleep. We had considered leaving her at home but decided that she was too valuable to do that. And she certainly proved her worth when we got to the garage that was selling the car. As the only French speaker among us, she acted as translator as the salesman took us through all the convoluted steps to buying a car in France. I think (hope) we got it all right in the end. Then we piled back into our car and headed homewards once more. We had packed a picnic lunch, but in these conditions we didn’t see much future in even looking for a picnic place. So we pulled into an ‘aire’, a French version of the British Roadside Services. Having ordered some thick hot chocolate, we looked around the cafeteria and saw various people blatantly eating their packed lunches, so thought, “Why not” and brought our lunch in too. Sirens didn’t go off and the police didn’t barge in wielding truncheons, so possibly the management had realised that everyone had at least bought a cup of something and it was just unfair to expect all their customers to go and sit out in the cold damp air. Warmed and replete we continued on our misty journey until………..surprise! Fifty kilometres from home the clouds cleared away and the sun came out and we were back to our perfect day of eight hours before. What ridiculous weather!

 No time to sleep in on Sunday. We had to be ready to go to lunch in the Salle de Fete at midday and this was a special lunch. All the people who had helped with any village and commune events during the year, were invited. So having helped shred mountains of fish for the Estofinade, I was invited. And Courtney also got an invitation for waitressing at the same event. And Neels got one too by association. The special lunch was scheduled to start at midday, so at about five past, we ambled down the hill to the hall. An hour later we were still standing around although we had been given aperatifs and some delicious snacks. Knowing these affairs only too well, we tried not to have too many snacks but when the starter was served (a large mushroom vol-au-vent) I realised that I shouldn’t have had the third one. The starter and its feather-light flaky pastry was to die for but was quite large. The main course came around already served – a huge spoonful of hache parmentier - cottage pie to you and me- with a cheese topping over the mashed potato. It is a very rich dish under normal conditions but this one was made of duck mince, which is not the most light-weight of meats. The server was ladling out the same amount for the whole hall – farmers, young children, old ladies, the whole lot. Needless  to say, I couldn’t finish my serving although the farmer sitting next to me went back for seconds! Then came a giant bowl of green salad, followed by cheese and then profiteroles filled with a sort of chocolate cream. Then they produced champagne and finally coffee. And they still weren’t finished with the days events. Still to come was the commune treasurer’s speech and then  the election of new board members. I probably let the side down as I slid out when Courtney left to go and study just after the champagne. Next year I will go an hour after the advertised time and hope to arrive just in time!  All in all though, it was a good outing and this year we actually knew some people to talk to and to sit with. It made all the difference.

Our place in France Chapter 84

A thoroughly dreadful week! This is far too early for deepest winter and yet here we are with daytime temperatures in the low single figure and night-times dropping down  to below freezing. If it is like this now, what will it be like in February, allegedly the coldest month! However, there is always a chance that we will get snow this year which could be fun for the young. I have to admit though that the supermarket seems to feel that Christmas is imminent and has erected a giant teddy bear in the foyer and an even larger Father Christmas in the parking area. There is no picture of the Father Christmas because I was just not prepared to stand in the rain to take one. I am pretty sure it will be there for a while and surely the sun will shine one day.

The chilly weather is not at all conducive to early rising and we have beaten all our previous records of staying in bed late. On Wednesday, we shamed ourselves into finally getting up just in time to shower and dress before lunch at one. Quite appalling behaviour! But why not? We both have good books to read, and under the blankets is cosy and comfortable, and all that finally gets us up is hunger and thirst. I recall a few years back that our friend in Peyrusse Vieille told us that she stayed in bed for three days because it was so cold, and she should be used to it. Not that that is any real justification; it just makes us feel better to know that we are not alone in our appalling behaviour.

Because of the bad weather, we kept putting off going shopping although we started running out of foodstuffs round about Tuesday. I am becoming a past master at concocting meals out of almost nothing. How lucky I am to have such a long-suffering husband. Of course once the weekend arrives and brings Courtney with it, I feel honour-bound to provide something more adequate, which is why we went shopping on Saturday morning in the pouring rain. Everyone was dashing into the store and the tiled floors were slippery with wet shoe prints but there was a sort of jolliness about it all, and no one (except perhaps ourselves) was complaining. As a bonus, we saw a deer standing in the road on the way home and Courtney tried to take a picture of it when it ran down into a field, but it was too far away and didn’t come out. What a shame! It is ages since we saw one anywhere close to the road.

I apologise for the lack of news this week but since we spent an awful lot of it in bed and only took the car out once…………. . You get my meaning!

Our place in France Chapter 83

This last week seems to have been somewhat disorganised again – it seems to be the way our lives go now, but when  I look back, I honestly can’t see why it feels like that. I just know that we seemed to have been overwhelmed with texts and emails and WhtasApps whizzing back and forth all the time, all requiring this or that piece of information. Which may well account for what I am about to say!  And that is……..I now know, certainly, surely and without a shadow of a doubt, that I am definitely losing my marbles! And how do I know that? Well……the most exciting and stupendous news of last week did not even get a mention in the blog and if that is not proof of losing my marbles, I don’t know what is! And the news? Well, only that the second member of the family is moving to France and will be starting work in Colomiers near Toulouse at the beginning of 2018. We are all over the moon about it and this news was partly responsible for the many texts and WhatApps that flew back and forth. As we had been looking for rental properties that would suit them, for some time, we could now step up our efforts a notch as we a date to work with. Then we got the news that they had booked their flights over here and suddenly everything began to be REAL. So on Friday of this past week, the two of us, and Courtney, took a drive to Gaillac, about an hour away. This is the town where Cassidy will most likely go to school, and not far from there is where we had found a dear little cottage for them to rent. Along the way, we found ourselves driving along one of those avenues we love so much. Because it seemed to be so long, we thought it would be fun to measure the distance, but even we didn’t imagine it would turn out to be five kilometres long. That’s a lot of trees!

The cottage is called Les Tournesols (The sunflowers) and I’m sure that in the right season, it will be surrounded by fields of these plants. At the moment, everything is a bit brown and dry, but the view from the cottage is lovely. It stands on a small hill and looks out over farms and fields for miles and miles. Finding it for them was quite a mission as it had to be the right price; in the right location and pet-friendly. This last I had thought would not be a problem as the French take their dogs everywhere with them, but strangely, not to rental houses which means that a lot of the ‘perfect’ places had to be discarded when I came to the bit that said ‘No pets’.

Still, we had a good day out and although we couldn’t find a picnic site to enjoy our lunch, we had fun anyway.

On Tuesday, we had a most frustrating day when we spent all day at home waiting for a parcel to be delivered. When it hadn’t arrived by 5 pm, Courtney phoned the Helpline and was told that the courier couldn’t find anyone home at the address. A blatant lie, if ever there was one, but we let it go when the parcel was promised for Thursday. So on Wednesday we all rushed into town to search for a bathing costume for Courtney. Yes, I know – buying a bathing costume in winter is hardly sane but her sport for this term will be swimming and the pool is heated so off we went. Villefranche was strangely quiet as we entered the town  and the penny soon dropped – it was a public holiday and nothing, simply nothing, was open. What a nuisance! So the shopping had to be delayed until Thursday which meant one of us had to stay behind in case the parcel arrived. Since I don’t drive, I drew the short straw and stayed home, but that was wasted because it still didn’t arrive. By 3 pm I was fuming and rang the office demanding the parcel. The very long-suffering fellow on the end of the line looked up the tracking number and told me that it definitely was delivered and was signed for by someone with a completely unknown name. Apparently, this time the courier could not actually find the house! I was now livid! What’s to find? With only five houses in the main village square, how hard did he look I really don’t think he was ever here. The next day we were out all day but just as we returned a call came in to tell us that our parcel was in Villefranche at the Netto supermarket. By now we had given up all hope but agreed to drive into the town to fetch it, but only next morning. So off we went again. Courtney and I went in and when I asked for a parcel that had been left there, the cashier was not at all put out. It turns out that this is a regular drop-off point for parcels. Finally we had our parcel! And I will never use DHL again. That may sound a bit harsh, and it would be if this was the first time this had happened but it wasn’t. DHL don’t like having go to out-of-the way places, it would seem

All’s well that ends well though. Courtney has her new phone and a costume and is pleased with both. We can sit back and heave a sigh of relief and try to get our breath back before the next chaotic week. Before then, we have question for anyone who may know the answer. Earlier in the week, we looked out of the  window and saw 30 pigeons lined up on the church roof. I’m pretty sure pigeons don’t migrate but they looked for all the world like the swallows lined up on the telephone wires prior to setting off. Does anyone know why they were there?