this and that

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Ended up spending a great deal of the day doing errands in Bergerac. There's a lot to be said for not letting anybody like a husband tell you where to go to get x, y or z. I FINALLY found the plastic stuff for his string trimmer (went to the place where we bought the bloody thing...), had a ball in LeClerc in Bergerac. They are expanding and re-organizing the joint, which means you can't find anything where it used to be. It's not unlike the Kroger Marketplace they have just opened in Lexington, except there's an evidently unlimited supply of wonderful cheese, at less than half what we would pay for it in the US, wonderful very fresh fish (a bit dear...), great meat, including horse and veal (try finding that on a regular basis in Lexington, I mean the veal; the horse, never), great fresh veg and fruit, things like really good aioli in jars, and "produits regionnaux", e.g., foie gras, fresh and canned, cassoulet, confits de canard, which is duck legs seasoned and cooked for a long time in duck or goose fat, and then canned. It's not cheap, either, but it's a lot better than the stuff I make back in Kentucky, and omg is it good.

Christiane Caillet, one of our friends in Versailles (actually the mother of our friend Isabelle) once said she felt sorry for anyone who didn't live in France; she was looking at a tray of desserts at the time. IMHO she could have been looking at a tray of any food over here.

I also went to this place on the road to Couze (the one that runs by the Dordogne) associated with a Pecharmant vineyard around here (an AOC Bergerac) on my way home. They have wine that you can buy directly from a keg, at basically a pittance (1 euro 95/litre for the good stuff, 1 euro 20/litre for the plonk) and pour it into a container you bring yourself from a gizmo that looks a great deal like a nozzle for gasoline, except it's plastic (and a LOT cheaper than gasoline). Managed to get away with only 1.5 litres of red Bergerac, but also a couple of cans of confit de canard (duck legs cooked in fat again), Montbazillac from 2005 (sweet dessert wine, wonderful with foie gras, called the "poor man's Sauterne", but IMHO the "poor" isn't exactly appropriate). Phil had a ton of stuff to haul up the hill/mountain when I got back.

Aside from that shopping trip, I've finished two novels, started on a third book that is not a novel, but I'm irritated at it already. I'm feeling a bit hopeless because I really do hate housework, and I also really hate living in a dirty house; I seem to have a high tolerance for clutter, but not for a dirty house. This means I need to get my act together and do some more serious cleaning. I am losing the battle of the cobwebs, but I guess I'm not surprised, even though I've actually been working fairly hard at it. Am having trouble with the washing machine; I know these European machines that are front loaded and slow are supposed to be easier on your clothes, but I think they are a PIA. And this one seems to be a bit ill. And I think it's the timer. or whatever they call it. It runs more or less just fine (provided you don't overload it...) until you hit the rinse cycle. And then you seem to have to turn it off (!), make the button pop out, the whole works, and then turn it back on to the rinse cycle, and then repeat, and turn it on to the spin cycle. CRAP. I do NOT want to have a problem with this machine. Problems with the timer or whatever you call it tend to be terminal, e.g., it's smarter to replace the whole machine than to fix them...

On the other hand, I have NO IDEA whether the dryer works or not. The weather is almost perfect. Dry, warm in the daytime, cool in the evening. It worked last year.

The microwave works; the electricity is on; the cooker top works, as does the electric kettle. I may actually manage to clean the china cabinet with its year of mildew and mold buildup, as well as the floor (tile, not smooth, bit of a pain). The plumber still hasn't been around again to deal with the plumbing problems we have, but I am trying not to get excited about it. The cave needs cleaning (where the second bedroom is, "cave" = "cellar", except it's basically finished wiuth a floor, ceiling, walls, doors, potty, sink, beds, etc...) cobwebs, a year's worth of dust, things like that. M. Vontabel (I think that's his name, he's a plumber from French speaking Switzerland) who put in the heating system, came over and assessed the plumbing system. Evidently it needs work, but what has been done to date is to cut off the H2O to the sink in the cave, which means that there is no longer a lot of water on the floor. I have to clean these two rooms out this week. THe toilet still works down there.

M. Vontobel will come back when he can and fix all the plumbing, as I understand it. This is the French system; it happens "sometime"....

In the meantime, I do love it over here. Attitudes towards life are just different. And it's good.

Bon appetit! A bientot!

Lillie