30 November 2013

Transport Strike

Taking it to the streets!  A tax on French transporters that is unfairly not assessed on all other non French trucks. The truckers blocked all but two pistes of the toll booths. Civilized rebellion. The protester that handed us the paper apologized for the inconvenience. 


29 November 2013

Autumn Afternoon


After so many years in the beauty of the central coast of California with its subtle season changes, the almost abrupt and grand arrival of autumn here in the South of France still amazes me.  The air is crisp with smoky tinges.  The days are so much shorter than the long hot days of the summer...you have to push yourself to not begin to hibernate! The sun is a glorious contrast to the frost tinged vineyards.  How blessed are we to live in such a magnificent place!!




25 November 2013

La rénovation encore!!


And so it begins once more...This time we start with the attic.  In the never ending battle to halt all cold air from entering our cosy abode and lower the evil EDF power electric bill, Mike has torn down all of the existing ceiling in the attic to replace all of the insulation and reseal it with proper drywall.  In doing so we have also added about 80 cm of floor space to the main guest room!  It seems so much more spacious!! 

Next phase is new tile flooring in the lower part of the old section of the house and finally moving the kitchen to where Mike's office is and creating a cosy tv room in the current kitchen.  Gotta get my head around the fact that we will live in a dust storm for the next year!!