Pepé le putois ?

I don't know why we have a plastic skunk in the house. Perhaps it commemorates an encounter between our former dog, Collette, and one of the stinky varmints not long after we moved into our San Francisco house. Picture it: the summer of 1995, just after we moved into the house. We had just gone to bed when we were suddenly aware of the peculiar odor. Yuck. At least the dog was in the house. Or so we thought. It wasn't long until we realized that the dog's door to the back yard had been left open and that she was sitting on the bed, literally dripping with skunk juice, seemingly proud that she was able to chase the offensive animal out of the back yard.

It was a night I'll never forget. I don't need the reminder.

We spent the rest of that night and most of the next day laundering bedclothes, spraying cans of air freshener and disinfectant onto the mattress, and showering the dog. It was fine opportunity to test the "bathing in tomato juice" method for dealing with the smell. At best, I can report mixed results. And that's being generous. We gave up the fight at home and ended up taking Collette to a groomer to let the pros have a go. After a while (we're talking days, many, many days) the odor began to subside.

So, maybe Ken got the plastic skunk. Maybe someone gave it to us as a "gag" gift. I don't remember. But I will always remember that night thirty years ago.

Errand day

I got the notification that what I ordered on line from the vet is ready, so today's the day to cross the river and retrieve it. And I have a haircut scheduled. No rain today!

The apple slices are arranged on a layer of home-made applesauce in a blind-baked crust. Ready for the oven!

Here's an apple tart ready for the oven. The apples are called "honey crunch." They're tasty, sweet and crunchy. I think we ate almost half the pie after lunch. 

Xmas cactus

It never blooms at Christmas. But it's not far off this time. So this year I'm calling it a Groundhog day cactus. It's had blossoms for quite a while and, just the other day, I realized the blossoms were opening.

Our Groundhog Day cactus. Just below it is a jade plant.

This week I'm planning a trip over to the vet's office. I ordered some dental chews for Tasha and she needs a refill of her flea and tick medicine. And I noticed that today is our first (maybe second) three minute day. Meaning that we gain three full minutes of daylight. Yay! On the other hand, we're socked in by fog.

I almost forgot

Here's the finished linguini with white clam sauce that we devoured enjoyed on Sunday\. I was just getting ready to take it to the table when I remembered to take a photo, so it's not staged, it's not perfect. Just a quick snapshot.

Served in a wok and garnished with fresh parsley.

I woke up to rain this morning. It's only 6.5ºC (about 44ºF) outside, so there's no threat of snow. Still, it's going to be a quick, cold, and wet walk with Tasha when the sun comes up in about an hour. 

Thank you, come again

This is the receipt for the clams I got on Saturday. SARL stands for Société à responsabilité limité (Limited Liability Company). Gump is the name of the company (probably the owners' last name. They're located in a town called La Jarne, a coastal town just south of La Rochelle in the Charentes Maratime. Sales person ID (V6). Ticket number. Date and time of sale. Scale number. I'm not sure what the "PLU" means. Units used. Item (in this case, cockles disgorged, without sand, although there was some residual sand that came out when Ken fed the clams some cornmeal). The details (weight, price per kilo, cost in euros). Number of items. Total cost. Cash, 21.92 (although that's wrong because I used a debit card). Tax information. Thank you, and see you soon!

And that's more than you wanted to know.

Clams casino

LOL! I crack myself up.

To market, to market...

...to pick up the clams. I'm headed into town this morning to pick up the coques that I ordered last week. While I'm gone, Ken will make some sea water substitute so we can let the little clams cleanse their digestive tracts. He adds cornmeal to the mix to give them something to eat and some flavor.

A couple of hot air ballons over our hamlet in the Cher Valley.

We'll let the clams hang out in their "sea water" over night out on the deck. It's cold out there and they'll enjoy it. I hope. We'll cook them tomorrow. They probably won't enjoy that. 

A blustery day

I woke up this morning to the roof creaking in the wind. It's going to be blustery all day today, with intermittent rain showers. Better than that monster storm they're talking about in the eastern US this weekend. Although a small part of me is kind of jealous. But a big storm like that would cripple most of France. They're just not able to handle snow and ice on that level. Be thankful for what you have. Or don't, in this case.

The balloon (same one from yesterday's post) touched down on the vineyard road just outside our hamlet.

We're still planning on getting clams on Saturday. Maybe a photo op? 

Boring January

In a way, it's a good thing. "Nothing much happening" applies to the bad as well as the good. Still, the weather is boring. Not freezing, not warm, very wet and somewhat windy. Walks with Tasha are shorter on the coldest, darkest, and wettest days. The holidays are done -- except for la Chandeleur (Candlemas) in February, an excuse for a whole country to eat crêpes. We're both dealing with health issues that are not very serious, but are annoying nonetheless. Not much can be done about outdoor work right now. We're waiting for the landscape guy and his crew to trim the hedges and do the other pruning and trimming we asked for. The television news is bizarre or boring and, more often than not, both. Wet January is not a wonderful time for local sight seeing.and travel farther afield is just not in the cards right now.

Waiting for Spring. Up, up, and away!

So, with not much going on, there's not much to blog about. I am enjoying watching the Australian Open on tv (tennis season is back!). The days are getting longer, our clocks will "spring ahead" in two months time.

A day off

Nothing much going on here. See you soon!

Sing Polly Wolly Doodle

I don't know why that old song popped into my head this morning. So I looked it up. The song has it origins in American slave culture. It transitioned into the very politically incorrect and, what were rightly described as racist, minstrel shows of the early nineteenth century. The shows fell out of favor after the Civil War and, by the turn of the century, all but disappeared from American theater.

A hot-air balloon floating over the vineyard.

I only bring this up because of the actor/comedian/singer Bette Midler who, back in the 1970s, spoke this line in one of her shows on HBO, recorded in Cleveland, no less, and viewed one late night during a sleep-over at my cousin's house. I quote: "Life is real, life is earnest, sing Polly Wolly Doodle all the day." The "real" and "earnest" part was, I found out much later, penned by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in "A Psalm of Life." Since seeing Midler's show on tv, that line has been seared into my memory. It pops out every now and then, like today. As I said, I don't know why.

Oh clam up!

I did go to the market on Saturday. The fish monger was there. They had no coques (cockles). But, if I wanted some for next week, they could be ordered. So I placed an order for a kilo. Next weekend we shall feast!

Little clams called "cockles." Photo from fall of 2020.

The crowned heads of Europe

Old Christmas. The Epiphany. Twelfth Night. Call it what you will. Here in France you're likely to hear it called La Fête des Rois (Festival of the Kings). All of them refer to the day in the Christian calendar when the three kings of orient supposedly arrived in Bethlehem with gifts after the birth of Jesus. Ceramic tokens are baked into cakes called galettes des rois. Whoever finds the token hidden in his slice is crowned King for the day and gets to wear a stylish (not) paper crown that comes with the cake.

The giraffe comes from Africa, the souvenir of a work trip Ken took in the '80s.

Our ceramic token this year is the face of a wild boar. I didn't take a photo. I did pack the token away with all the others we've collected over the years. The paper crown adorns a Moroccan tajine on the buffet. It (the crown) will be gone soon. 

Ready to take a chance again

I'm going to the market in Saint-Aignan again today, hoping that the fish monger is back and that she has cockles. It may be that she and her crew are still on January vacation and I'll be out of luck. Still, we need some bread and I want to get some egg rolls. I hope that I don't have to come home empty-handed.

Dried grape vine tendrils wrapped around a guide wire.

Some of you might recognize the title of today's post as the theme song from the 1978 American film "Foul Play," starring Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase. Barry Manilow sang the theme and it was a huge hit that year.1978! Barry Manilow! Lordy Moses. Old fogey alert: I remember Hawn from "Laugh In" and Chase from "Saturday Night Live." 

Thinking of spring

It may be a tad early, but I'm thinking of spring. One of the signs of the season is the flurry of tax reporting forms that show up in the mail (e-mail mostly these days). Then there's the annual reporting of kilométrage (mileage) for the two cars that makes us eligible for a small reduction in the cost of our car insurance.

A roe deer caught munching on spring growth.

Then I saw this photo of a deer out in the vineyard from back in 2013 (I think). We see many deer in and around the vineyards and in our neighbors' yards through the year. Our property is fenced, so we don't get many deer in the yard. When they do get inside, they panic trying to get out and can hurt themselves. It's difficult to maneuver them to the exits so we can close the gates behind them. Tasha's herding instincts kick in, but she's never been trained to herd. She has to be kept indoors when we have a deer in the yard so she doesn't get hurt herself.

This time with shutters open

Here's another view of the new shutters (and repaired door) that were installed on Tuesday. You can see some ivy on the wall. Our landscaping contractor is scheduled to remove that this winter. Then, we'd like to patch those fissures, but probably not until summer. It goes without saying that the inside of the shed is a mess and needs to be reorganized.

Shed with new shutters open. That red spot is Tasha's leash.

Our current weather is mild. More rain showers are expected over the next few days, though. I'm glad the shed work got done in this relatively short dry spell we've had. 

It's done!

The contractor showed up on Tuesday morning and got right to it. By mid-day, he was done. So here's a first "after" photo with the window shutters closed. I'll do another with them open for tomorrow.

That 20+ year old door looks like new! The shutters are new.

I hope the the PVC shutters last a long time. That door is PVC and we had it installed just over twenty (!) years ago. It had torn itself from its hinges not long ago, so that was repaired yesterday.

Hurry up and wait

Our contractor called early Monday morning to postpone. We were having some rain showers. Most of our project is outdoors. So he postponed until today (Tuesday). There's no rain in today's forecast. Hope springs eternal.

Stained glass in the church in our town.

The waiting is the hardest part.

I don't have a photo ready for today. I'm getting ready for the contractor to arrive to do the garden shed door and window shutter. I did get the shed kind of cleaned up yesterday, mostly along the wall where the work will get done. I hope it's enough. When I worry about stuff like that, Ken always reminds me, "he's probably seen worse." Ha! There may be photos in the next day or two...

Xmas day, 2025.

Here's a recent shot of the outside. It will serve as my "before" shot. 

A bust. Mostly.

Market day was kind of a bust. I forget that the holidays are winding down and many vendors take time off this time of year. The fish monger was among them yesterday. No seafood at the market. The bakery in town was closed. No bread or pastry. Luckily for me, there was a vendor from a bakery in another town. They make good products and I got what I wanted at her stand. The Asian guys were there, but when I walked past I had completely forgotten to stop for some egg rolls. Maybe next weekend.

Puff pastry cake filled with frangipane.

One of the pastries I wanted was une galette des rois, the traditional pastry for the epiphany holiday. I've made my own in the past, but not this year. I though it was good. Ken said we've had better. Neither of us has found the fève (that little token that's hidden inside the cake) yet.

This morning I'm working on straightening up the garden shed a little so the contractor has clean access to the window and door inside and out. The weather us supposed to be ok tomorrow, so I'm hopeful. 

 

Market day

I haven't been to the Saturday market in St.-Aignan in quite a while. Weather and other issues have kept me away. But today I'm heading back (weather permitting). Hopefully I'll find some coques (cockles) from the fish monger. We're planning a dish of linguini with white clam sauce. If there are no coques, then I'll get some fish. Either way, I've got a hankerin' for seafood!

Dreams of summer.

In other news, I got a text yesterday from the guy who did the shutters on our windows, not to mention the garage door. He's coming on Monday to do the garden shed door and shutters. Woo-hoo! It's been almost a year waiting, I'm not sure why. We're also gaining a full two minutes of daylight today. Spring is on the horizon. 

Blow me down!

What a day and night. First, the boiler in the central heating system shut down. We think, or I should say that technician who repaired it thinks, that the system's water pressure was down below where it should be. Hmmm. We've never had this problem nor do we have an explanation as to why it happened. So far this morning, almost 24 hours since the repair, everything is working as it should. Knock on wood.

Old wooden stakes being pulled up for replacement. Circa 2012.

Then, last evening, a predicted storm moved up the west coast and we got the southern edge of the system as it made its way up to the English Channel. Like I said, it was predicted, but we rocked and rolled all night nonetheless. The power went off once, but it came back pretty quickly. It's still dark outside, so we can't see how the neighborhood fared. The center of the storm is moving north and east through Belgium as I type this.

The wind is calming down now and I'm hopeful that there's little to no damage out there. Tasha has a grooming appointment this morning. So far, it's still on and we're warm. 

Pause

A quick post today of some of our recent snow. We're dealing with a problem with our heating boiler. Back soon.

The lone poplar and some snow.

 

More wintery sights

The forecast is for more snow on and off during the day today. We'll see. The temperature is hovering around zero again this morning. *UPDATE* As I finished writing this, I notice that it's actually snowing now. Very pretty.

Parts of the north and west 40s with frost.

I had a self-inflicted panic this morning when I got an email saying the electric company intended to cancel our account due to non-use of their web site. Yikes! Turns out the web site in question belongs to a partner or subsidiary (not sure which) that handles some services on behalf of the electric company. Once I figured that out, the panic subsided. I don't use that web site for anything, so I just canceled it myself. I feel better now.

More freezing fog and a dusting

This photo is from a couple days ago. Since then (last night), it snowed again. Not much, but we have a fresh dusting of the white stuff.

Frozen fog on the carport and trees around it. It's much more pronounced this morning, and there's snow on the ground again, but it's still too dark outside for photos.

The temperature is still negative this morning, but it's not as far from zero as on recent days. I enjoy winter and I like snow. In small bursts. I'm no longer used to those northeastern winters that I grew up in oh so many years ago. 

Freezing fog

We're having an episode of freezing fog. Everything outside is coated with a layer of heavy frost. We stayed below zero yesterday so the frost couldn't melt away. This morning we're about two below, an improvement. But is still frosty out there.

Frost on grape vines.

I think snow would be better. We're staying in, only venturing outside for short walks with Tasha. I haven't seen the sand truck in our street yet, so the roads probably aren't bad. 

A neighborly gift

At some point on New Year's Eve we found this gift bag hanging from our front gate. Inside was a bottle of local bubbly. The bag says, "Happy New Year's Eve to you both!" The initials are those of our neighbors, one of their good friends (who stays with them often), and their aging mother. What a thoughtful gift!

Festive!

This morning it's almost -5ºC outside. That's about 21ºF. Yikes!  

Icy

We woke up to -3ºC again this morning. The roads are icy. Thankfully, we don't have any reason to go out in the car right now. The weather people are predicting lows approaching -6ºC (about 26ºF) as the week goes on. I'm glad we got the heating fuel delivered.

The holiday lights I strung up before Christmas have gone dark. I'll take them down soon (no ladders involved) depending on how icy the terrace gets. 

Frosty

Not the snowman. Since the snow melted away, we've been getting some more or less heavy frosts in the morning. With temperatures just under freezing, the early morning dew freezes on almost every surface, sugar-coating our world until the sun (when there is sun) melts it away.

A frosty field with birches from many winters ago.

Our heating fuel was delivered as promised on Wednesday morning. The tanker truck pulled up at 07h30 and everything happened in the dark. Thankfully, the truck was equipped with lights and the driver knows our place (the Americans!). We should be set for the rest of this winter and well into the next, depending on the weather. 

Happy New Year!

 Live long and prosper! We're down to -3ºC this morning. Shiver.

Our hamlet in the snow. From 2012 (I think).