Part of an aniti-erosion jetty, I think.
Our weather continues cold and foggy. The fog is stuck right on the ground. It's so bright that it's almost oppressive, and almost painful. I can hardly stand to look out the windows..
It's nice to see Callie as a pup. She's just over a year old in these photos. She died young at ten years and we miss her. She was a touch neurotic and hated riding in the car. Still, she was a lovable dog.
We enjoyed a sunny Sunday yesterday, but it stayed cold all day. We made crêpes for lunch as is the tradition in France for la chandeleur. They were the buckwheat variety stuffed with ham, cheese, and mushrooms. They were tasty and quite filling. I took photos, but I haven't looked at them yet.
Our rental house was not far from the dunes and the beach on the ocean side of the island. We walked Callie down to the sand and she had a good romp around. I think that this was her first time at a beach.
Do you remember the Big Bang Theory? The television show, I mean. I remember Bob Newhart had a recurring role as Professor Proton. He told Sheldon one evening that he had to get to bed early so he could get up in a few hours and wander around the house. That's me.
We saw this place not far from our gîte on the Ile d'Oléron back in 2008. I liked the geometry and the colors. I don't remember going inside for a peek. Maybe I should have.
I'm so glad to see January go. It's been a miserable month. February will bring longer days, if nothing else. I'm planning to venture into town this morning for the market. I need a couple of watch batteries replaced and I've got a hankerin' for some egg rolls from the Asian vendors. I had another fire in the stove yesterday. It made the living room all nice and cozy.
By the way, I just want to let all of you who comment on my posts know that I appreciate your words. I haven't had much energy to reply to comments these past weeks, but please know that I'm reading and enjoying them.
I don't remember what the heck was going on here. Our friend Cheryl was having a Broadway moment, I guess. There's Ken in the background taking a photo of someone's courtyard.
I was able to split some logs yesterday. I built a fire in the wood burner which burned for most of the day. It felt nice, and it also gave our central heating plant a rest. I need to check the tank soon to see how much fuel is left. It's been a chilly winter and we've been using the heat more than usual, especially while we've been sick.
Er... this is not the house we stayed in. But doesn't it look inviting?
My cold is getting better. There's still a lingering cough, but it's no longer vioulent, nor does my throat burn when I do cough. You can read about Ken's doctor visit on his blog. All good news.
One of the first things we did after checking into our gîte on the Ile d'Oléron was to take a long walk around the neighborhood. It was very quiet with little vehicular traffic.
Knock on wood. I'm feeling better this morning. The night was a little bumpy, but that's normal for me. The cough has calmed down and the muscle aches are easing a bit. I hope that this is a good sign. Ken's a few days behind me, so I hope he'll start to feel some improvement, too. He's seeing his doctor this morning; we'll see what he has to say.
Toward the parking lot. There are souvenir shops and a hotel in this photo. And, of course, the lot where we parked our car. Toward the background is a field of globe artichokes, a specialty of the region.
I'm really getting tired of this weather we've been having. It's depressingly cold, damp, and windy. I can't build a fire in the wood stove until I regain enough strength to split logs.
Just one more shot of our friend Cheryl walking Callie at Chassiron. Such a good friend to take the leash like that. This was the first time that Callie met Cheryl and they got along very well. Callie was just over a year old when we took this trip to Oléron. I won't tell you how old Cheryl was.
As predicted, the wind howled through the night again. The house creaked as if it were haunted and rain poured down most of the night. I was up and down a lot, unable to find a comfortable spot in bed. Rain squalls continue. It won't be a fun walk for dogs this day.
We saw our friend Cheryl walking Callie while we were up in the lighthouse. Here's another shot. Thank goodness for zoom lenses!
The wind howled over the last two days. It's calmed down for now. But we're expecting more wind over night tonight. The storm is also supposed to bring in much warmer temperatures.
We walked around the light a few times taking photos of the views. This is just another one.
I"m not really motivated to do much more right now. We're trying to get over this whatever-it-is sickness. Ken's a few days behind me in its evolution. And thanks to all of you who are reading and/or commenting. It helps to lift the spirits.
While Ken and I climbed the lighthouse stairs and enjoyed the views from above, our friend Cheryl took Callie (our dog at the time) for a walk down below, We saw her a few times from above and snapped photos.
The weather is expected to be a little stormy into the afternoon and evening. It's not as cold out there as it has been, but there is a blistery wind.
This ladder gives someone access to the lighthouse glass. On the outside. I don't know if the whole thing can move on rails. If it does I can imagine it being a way to clean the exterior. The light itself is inside and can be accessed from there. But the more I look at it, the more I think it may just be a way to access the roof.
The gift that lingers. That's this coughing nonsense. It's hanging on like monkeys from a barrel. And now Ken's got it, too. It was inevitable.
What is the function of this tower? I have no idea what it is or why it's there, but it stands very close to the old lighthouse at Chassiron.
My throat is not much better today than it has been. Sometimes it feels ok and I can sleep or otherwise relax. Other times it just burns.and I cough and cough. My abdominal muscles ache from the strain. Still no sign of a fever, thank goodness. Good news: the space between coughing jags is getting longer. And I have an appetite, so I can eat. Ken shows no signs of getting it. Overall, things feel like they're getting better, but slowly. I've had this before. It'll fade.
The sore throat burns and I'm coughing a lot, even to point of not being able to sleep. I guess I'm not as far along the road to recovery as I had hoped. Sigh.
The Chassiron lighthouse is part of a collection of structures at the point of the Ile d'Oléron. I have no idea what they are all for. No matter.
The cold is diminishing and I felt much better on Sunday afternoon. My appetite is back. But I have a lingering sore throat. It often happens like that for me. I'm drinking herb tea for the next few days.
This is another view from up in the Chassiron lighthouse. This time, the lighthouse shadow steals the show. You can tell by the markings on the ground that I'm facing the northeast, sort of.
Still having aches and pains, and a bad sore throat. See you tomorrow. I hope.
Last evening, as we were settling in to watch television, I got the sniffles. Then I felt chills, little aches and pains, and I started coughing. Yikes! I took some paracetamol for the pains and a couple of antihistamines to dry me up and a throat losange for good measure. That worked pretty well and I was able to sleep more or less normally. This morning the symptoms are not so bad. Ken reminded me that we had some covid sef-tests in the medicine cabinet, so I did one. Thankfully, it came out negative. So now I can just treat my symptoms until they go away. I'll let this be a lesson to myself to be more careful with hand disinfectant and washing. It's easy to become lax. By the way, my vaccinations are up to date, so that's a good thing. Oh yeah... my blood type is O Negative.
Here's a view of the grounds below the Chassiron lighthouse. The designers added compass directions in the stone and plant patterns. How thoughtful!
How many times do you get to use the word "whence?" Ken and I made it to the top of the lighthouse (224 steps). We spent some time taking in the views from all directions (and recovering from the climb) before heading back down.
Our mornings are still below zero, but the highs seem to be getting a little higher each day. My blood work got done yesterday. Now I can log in and download the results. The woman who checked me in was puzzled as to why I was getting the blood type. All the other blood work is covered by the national health system and our supplemental insurance policy. But the blood type test, since is wasn't required for any medical reason, was on me. It cost 24 euros. I'll write it down on the vaccination record card that I keep in my wallet and also in a file on the computer.
The other day, I counted twenty merles (blackbirds) feeding under our apple trees. I wonder where the other four went. The birds were picking through the fallen fruit looking for small insects and worms, I assume. They can see us watching them. If we make a sudden movement, including opening the curtains, they scatter to the taller trees for a minute or two before resuming their meal. We're happy to have them, helping to break down the apples and helping to keep the population of bothersome little critters under control.
I've got an early appointment at the lab this morning for une prise de sang (blood work). It's the routine every-couple-of-years blood checkup. I've been fasting since yesterday afternoon, as instructed. I'm also going to learn my groupe sanguin (blood type). The lab will only tell you what it is if your doctor asks them to. So I asked the doctor to do that. I haven't known my blood type since I was a kid in school. Whatever it is, I forgot it long ago.
Huff! Puff! Almost to the top!
Step by step! I'm sure I rested at some point during the ascent, but I don't remember how many times.
This morning's low temperature is -3.4ºC (so far) according to our thermometer. As always, I'm assuming it's a couple degrees colder out in the vineyard. Our roof windows are frosted over. It's Ken's turn to walk Tasha this morning once it gets light out there.
I'm not sure I would try to walk to the top of the lighthouse today. Maybe with several rest stops along the way I could do it. But I don't have to worry about that now. It's been done.
We're below zero this morning. In degrees Celsius, that means below freezing. The puddles might be frozen over when we head our for our morning walk.
We walked from the parking lot to the lighthouse. We had decided to go to the top. Two hundred twenty four steps up to the top. Could we do it? We were with our friend Cheryl from California and she decided not to attempt the climb. Lucky for us, she offered to walk Callie around so Ken and I could give it a try.
Yesterday was a cold one. It got up to about 4ºC (about 39ºF) on the high side and down to just about freezing on the low.I had a fire in the wood stove most of the day. But it was dry. Some of those puddles are starting to drain away. This morning we're at freezing (0ºF) and the high is expected to be a little lower than yesterday. But we should have clear skies, and another two minutes of daylight.
We had some snow yesterday. No accumulation, and it didn't last long, but it was pretty while it fell. It rained for most of the rest of the day. The dirt road that goes out through the vineyard is an obstacle course. The obstacles are flaques d'eau (puddles). Going off-road is no better. There are puddles in the grassy parts. Where there aren't puddles, the ground is soggy and squishy and muddy. Yuck.
It's cold again, just above freezing. We're planning a hearty meal of couscous today. We have most of the ingredients on hand, but one of us may make a trip to the market for the rest. I'm hungry already.
Yesterday's photo of the newly trimmed hedge was taken from our west-facing guest room and shows most of the hedge that separates our property from the road. Today, I'm posting a photo of the back hedge at the western end of our yard. This section is more or less perpendicular to the other; they intersect at the tall conical (sort of) bay laurel just visible in the lower right. We had this section reduced in height by about half many years ago.
The section I didn't show is the eastern section, along the property line between us and our neighbor to the east. I didn't take a photo of that section, for some reason.
Once again, the hedges are trimmed and neat. The guys do very nice work, and they clean up well (I know what you're thinking but I'm talking about the hedges). It's a crew of three. The eldest seems to be the site foreman. He's been with the company since we started hiring them back in the Oughts (I think). He does the tops of the hedges while standing on a mobile scaffold. The next guy in line is younger and he trims the sides of the hedges. The third guy is youngest and he does the cleaning up.
The guy who owned the business retired not long after we started hiring them. The new owner/boss was one of the senior workers on the crew back then. Now that he's the owner, he mostly supervises and/or operates heavy machinery (like when they dug up the garden path a few years ago). The only complaint I have is that he's not very good at regular communication. There are times when I wonder if he's going to show up, or if the business has gone under.
We agreed back in October that he and his crew would do our hedges in early December. So we waited. Christmas came and went, then New Year's. It was just this past Sunday that he emailed to say they would come on Monday. That moved to Tuesday because of the wind we were having. I have remember to be patient. I understand that weather can really mess up his schedule. I've learned over the years that if we wait long enough, he will eventually get to us. Still, it would be nice to get an email or a text in the meantime. I don't want to be petty, but the waiting is the hardest part. See what I did there?
And weirdness. Just a few minutes ago, while I was working on the photo for today's post, the lights went out. Well, everything went out. And it's pitch black outside. Fortunately, we have a couple of flashlights at hand. I checked the circuit breaker panel in the utility room to be sure it wasn't just us. It wasn't. Just as we were preparing to unplug the refrigerator and freezer, the lights came back on. So far, so good. Now I get to reset the digital clocks that don't have battery backup.
Yesterday I made a "king" cake for the Epiphany. Well, tried, anyway. I decided, for some reason , to make my cake square rather than round this year. I could say that I didn't want any leftover scraps of dough, but I don't think I thought that far. What a mess it turned out to be. The finished cake looked like a cobblestone from the Middle Ages. I got the fève, but there was no joy in it. We ate the cake, and it was tasty, so I guess it wasn't a total failure. I didn't take any pictures. Sorry.
On the plus side, the landscape crew showed up and did their usual bang-up job on the hedges. I will take photos of them if we have some breaks in today's predicted rain.
This is the petit train (literally "little train") touristique that we took from St.-Trojan on Oléron to the beach I've been posting about. I looked up petit train on Wikipedia and found a surprise. This is not a petit train at all. It's a real, albeit small scale, train in that it runs on rails. A petit train, or tram in English, does not normally run on rails, but on a road surface, often in large parking lots (think Disney). I think the term petit train is commonly used for any small train or tram that carts tourists around. I don't think anyone would question the use of the term for this vehicle.
As I feared, the landscaping crew canceled yesterday. The wind was just to much. They're coming back this morning and, although rain showers are predicted throughout the day, I think they'll be able to work.
I didn't make the king cake yesterday; we had a lot going on in the kitchen. But I plan to do it today. I'll try to remember to take some photos!
Yet another storm system is passing through today. We're on the edge, as we so often are. And we have to go out in it; the Peugeot is going into the garage this morning to have its timing belt replaced. It's something that has to be done every ten years or so.
The other weather-related pain in the butt thing is that our landscape contractor sent us an email yesterday saying his crew would be here this morning to start the hedge trimming. I don't know if the wind will force them to cancel or not (they've worked in yucky weather before), but if they do cancel, who knows when (or if) they'll be able to come back?
This is part of the beach at the southern tip of Oléron as it looked seventeen years ago. That old tree trunk may be gone by now. The beach resembles a wildlife preserve more than a beach for bathers, which was fine for us. Our dog at the time, Callie, enjoyed running around in the sand.
The predicted weather system is coming through now. There's far less wind and rain than I expected. And the temperature is a balmy 10.9ºC, about 52ºF.
This is a seafood restaurant on the Ile d'Oléron. We had lunch here before taking a little tourist train to a beach close to the Atlantic side of the island. I don't remember what, specifically, I ate, but I know it was seafood.
Today is our first "below zero" day of the winter. It's about one degree below the freezing point, according to our outdoor thermometer. It's probably a little colder out in the vineyards. The forecast is for rising temperatures through the day as another rain system moves in. There's virtually no chance for snow.
The citadelle at the southern end of the island of Oléron was built in the seventeenth/eighteenth centuries on the ruins of a medieval castle. Today, visitors can take in the views from up on the fort's ramparts.
I was lucky yesterday when the rain stopped just before sunset and I was able to take Tasha out for her evening walk. It was still a soggy and muddy mess since it had rained most of the day. Tasha didn't mind. I spent the afternoon dismantling the holiday tree and the ornaments. Away it all goes for another year.
Oyster cages on the Ile d'Oléron off France's west coast.
It's blowing a gale outside this morning and a big band of rain is moving inland from the coast. The wind is expected to die down a bit after the rain front moves through. It's going to be a lovely day. Not.
