Night market, Cadouin, July 27

So we went to the night market at Cadouin again tonight. Lots of fun, good food, although the oyster guy has apparently lost his lease on his spot because of problems with his source or problems with its lack of germs or something (sob...I did want oysters...). so I had moules frites again, some wine, the local plonk (e.g., Bergerac rose chilled and Bergerac red, not chilled). It is, I must say, not a bad way to spend an evening. Ken and Val Day were there, as were Paul and Pam. None of the other usual suspects. Phil had this dish that is a piece of pain de campagne (country bread) with a disk of goat cheese, a couple of walnuts, and a drizzle of acacia honey on it, heated up in a microwave (micro-onde, sounds better in French, but what you'd do in another setting is put it in an oven or grill over a fire). I had to settle for a crepe with Grand Marnier, which I guess isn't too bad (the bread/goat cheese/walnut/honey concoction was gone by the time I wanted it, and I did NOT want a whole one, so....)

Tomorrow will be crazy. Gotta go to the bank and sort things out there. Phil has to stay here and sort things out with the technician who will deal with the sewer (I hope; Phil knows quite a lot of French but doesn't communicate all that well with the locals who speak Occitan; I don't either, but it's a bit easier for me, I must say, so maybe he won't get here until after I get back).

Have to get some more bread, to make smoked salmon sandwiches for Wednesday (Delta flight, NOT Air France, we leave from Bordeaux at 1:30 p.m., go to CDG, and leave there at 4 something, on Delta, need FOOD...). These will go along with our pate en croute from the boucherie on the square in Lalinde, e.g., the one with the wonderful meats in it (almost certainly pork and duck, along with pistachios and Lord only knows what else) and the foie gras down the middle. If you have to suffer on a trans-Atlantic trip, you might as well eat well, I always figure.

And then we are going to Ken and Val Day's for lunch (12:30 for 1:00, as the Brits always say...), a swim maybe, and whatever. I need to get a great deal done before we go there, because I probably won't get much done after we get back. So there.

The weather has been gorgeous. Hot in the daytime, but not too hot, and what they consider humid here is NOT what I consider humid (although 88 and 65% humidity is a bit uncomfortable, but it's been that hot only ONE day since I've been here, and FOUR days since we've been here, what with me and Martin going to England and all that). Nothing like the HHH days we get in Kentucky (hazy, hot and humid), and NOTHING AT ALL like the dreadful heat and humidity in Texas. It has NEVER been so hot and humid at night that it was hard to sleep.

According to my sources (all British), it is lovely here until usually late November, when it gets cold and damp. Like you can eat outside in the evening in September, October and some of November. So there. Does anybody out there want to come over here with me later (but not much later) this year?

Do I want to teach this year/next semester/next year? Don't know...life is short, and I fear I'm not bored yet...

Best, Lillie