Sleepy town

Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher is a sleepy town. It's lost a lot of its commerce over the years since we moved nearby. After covid, the town moved it's weekly market out of the center and into a larger place. But some vendors never came back. We're left with banks, insurance companies, and real estate agencies. It's kind of sad, but that's the reality in so many rural places.

A street leading up to the center of town from the river.

The house feels cold while outdoor temperatures creep up. Come on, spring! 

We'll cross that bridge when we come to it

Or not. This is the Saint-Aignan/Noyers bridge on Thursday. It was closed with temporary signs set up at the approach. I'm guessing that it was closed so that crews could dislodge tree branches that got stuck under the roadway. That helps the water to flow better. Otherwise, I think, the debris in the water can form a kind of dam beneath the bridge that backs up more and more water as more and more debris gets caught. The road over the bridge is closed so that heavy equipment can work safely and unimpeded.

If you zoom in and look under the red truck, you can see tree branches stuck in the water.

Meanwhile, the rains have more or less stopped (the wind, too, thankfully). Temperatures are rising, too. We're expecting a high of 14ºC (approaching 60ºF) this afternoon. Yay!

Hell or high water

So far, it's just high water. I stopped down on the quay in Saint-Aignan yesterday after a quick trip to the supermarket. There was some action at the bridge. I think some fallen tree branches floated down river and got caught under the bridge. It's happened before. I saw signs that said the bridge was closed and there was a crew working to clear the trees. The closure didn't affect me; I didn't need to cross the river.

These trees and party pavilions are on the tip of the island in the river. Now they're under water.

I'm glad we're not close to the Atlantic. Cities and towns over on the coast are dealing with very high winds and abundant rain. And where there's rain, there's flooding. And erosion that threatens buildings that are too close to the beaches. What a mess. It makes our local wind and rain events seem like no big deal. We can be thankful for that.

It was a dark and stormy night

The wind howled. Rain squalls pounded the roof. It's supposed to calm down this morning and I'm looking forward to that. Today's photo is from last weekend's snow. I know, I'm milking it. Regular readers will recognize the west forty to the right of the garden path. The tilleul (linden tree) is one of the trees that will be pruned before spring, weather permitting. Stupid weather.

I'd rather have snow than this pounding rain and wind we're getting. Stupid weather.

I'm planning a trip to the supermarket this morning. Weather permitting. Stupid weather. We need a few things and want a few others. 

Snowbody's business but our own

The snow is long gone. Temperatures have risen out of the freezing zone. The rain is back and is expected to continue all day today. This is a view from the deck/terrace with a couple neighboring houses visible.

The orange-red color on the railing is the reflected light from the deck light and from inside the house.

The snow is pretty and, for a short time, it lifted our spirits out of the dreary on-and-off of the rain and the over all soggy state we're in.

Snow in the 'hood

One of a few snapshots I took as snow fell Sunday morning. You can see that this was a light snowfall, nothing serious. But it was pretty in places. This is the view from our terrace across the road to a neighbor's property.

Not much snow stuck in the gravel driveway. It did accumulate a little in the grassy sections.

The snow is all gone now. It's not unheard of to have snow in March. We'll see in a few weeks' time what the end of winter has in store. 

A little Sunday dusting

Our "snow event" on Sunday was fun. It was over by mid-day. Most of the snow seemed, to me, to be of the heavy and wet variety. It wasn't cold enough for ice to form nor for the snow to stick on the paved road. This morning the temperature is at 8.5ºC (just under 50ºF). Comfy.

The south and west 40s seen just after yesterday's sunrise from the guest room window.

Right now we're waiting to hear from the landscape guy. The weather has been lousy this winter (but you knew that) and I'm sure it's wreaked havoc on his schedule. Hedges, shrubs, and trees are waiting to be pruned or pulled out. I can't wait! 

No snow. No, wait...

At least not yet at 06h15. It's still dark outside, but we've seen no sign of snow or rain, even thought the weather radar shows us on the line. Ha. Our outdoor thermometer says we're at 1.4ºC, just above freezing. The experts say we'll be back up to double digits by the end of the day.

UPDATE: Snow is falling at 07h00. A slight accumulation is visible on the deck railing. It's still dark outside.

Overcast and raining on a chilly Saturday morning.

I'm not watching the Olympics, but I feel that I get enough information from the news, both on line and televised, to have an idea about what's happening. But don't quiz me. I am watching men's tennis. There's a tournament winding up this weekend in Rotterdam, NL, and another in Dallas, US.

It's raining again

No real surprise there. It's not a hard rain, but it is being blown about a bit by gusty wind. And the wind's in the north today which means cold air. Today the sun rises at 08h01. Three more minutes of daylight. They do add up.

I'm getting ready to head out into the weather with Tasha. We won't go far. 

Water logged

We are soaked. It just keeps raining. There are some breaks and that lets some of the rain either run off or soak in. I usually don't take the camera out in rain so, no photos. I do take the phone on walks, but I don't want it to get wet so, no photos. And I forget to take photos of food (or don't take any because Ken is) so, no photos.

Thankfully, the wind has calmed down. The only thing as nerve wracking as torrential rain is wind-driven torrential rain. And maybe snow. They are predicting snow for Saturday, but I'm sure that it won't last long. It probably won't even stick. But today is another rain day. On a positive note, we are not in a flood zone.

Go away, Nils

Nils is the name of the storm that swept across France last night. It's still blowin' a gale out there, but the wind is starting to subside in our region. We lost power in the wee hours about 02h30; it came back around 04h30. It's still on as I type this. Fingers crossed that it stays on. The sun will be up in couple of hours and we'll get to see if all is well outdoors.

Grocery shopping

I'm planning a trip to the grocery store this morning. To do some grocery shopping. Some might call it food shopping. Others might call it going to the supermarket or, more simply, going to the market. The name of the establishment might figure in what you call it. As in going to Price Chopper or Kroger, Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. Many are open 24 hours a day. What you're getting there is implied: food.

Depending on where you live and what you like, you might also be going for alcohol. I think that most food chains in the US sell beer and wine. Food stores here in France also sell liquor. In New York state, where I grew up, there is still no wine to be had in grocery stores (supermarkets). There are state-licensed establishments for that. Since 2023, liquor and wine stores in New York can be open between the hours of 10am and 10pm on Sunday (or between 9am and midnight the rest of the week). When I was a kid, beer could not be sold before noon.

Where do you go for food? Wine and spirits? 

That's just nutty

This is the walnut tree that grows out among the grape vines behind our house. The nuts it produces each year are small and not very good. Certainly not worth the work of shelling them. That said, I used to see one of our neighbors out there gathering them from time to time. He must have had a good use for them, but I never spoke to him about it.

The walnut tree at sunrise.

Today's another three-minute day for increasing daylight. The forecast predicts dropping temperatures as the week goes on. Ugh.

Sunrise

The sun rises at 08h08 this morning. We will gain another three minutes of daylight today. This is according to one of the weather sites I visit daily. I'm ready. More light, more warmth. Bring it on.

Sunday's sunrise over a neighbor's property.

It's getting to be time to do some outdoor work. Nothing heavy, yet. I'd like to trim the hydrangeas, for example. Maybe it's too early. Working in double-digit temperatures would be nice on a dry day. We'll see. 

Recovered slice

The pizza damage from Friday wasn't as bad as it could have been. It took me a good half-hour to clean off the pizza stone and the oven, but it wasn't difficult. The pizza itself didn't look good but, as I said, it tasted just fine.

A slice of the rescued pizza.

One of the reasons for the faulty crust, I think, is that I mis-measured the flour/water mixture, making the dough wetter than it normally is. I'm also using a softer flour than usual and that might have had something to do with the stickiness of the dough. I thought I had compensated for all that, but apparently not. Oh well. Better luck next time!

Pizza day

The sauce was tomato with ground chicken. We added sliced mushrooms, canned artichoke hearts, and two types of sliced cheese from the Netherlands (Edam and Maasdam). Yum!

Pizza fixin's. My mise en place.

There was one little mishap, totally my fault. I didn't realized that part of the first pizza had stuck to the peel. When I jerked the peel to slide the pie into the oven, the toppings went, but the crust stayed behind. Oops. I had to work quickly (with the oven at 270ºC, about 500ºF) to pull it all back together. Fortunately, most of the mess stayed on the pizza stone. It looked horrible, but it tasted fine.

Today is pizza day

I'm making pizza for lunch today. We have some tomato and chicken sauce in the 'fridge, left over from a previous meal. We'll root around in the pantry for some other toppings. I'm thinking canned artichoke hearts and mushrooms. Photos may or may not get taken.

In the "didja ever notice" catetgory: Did you ever notice that after a cold spell, while the outside air starts to feel warmer, the house acts like a refrigerator, seemingly sealing in the cool air?

Un temps maussade

That's the word of the day. Or week. Or month. Maussade. Gloomy, dull, and dreary.

Tasha doesn't mind the weather. She's a Shetland after all.

On the bright side, I've decided to make a coq au vin some time in the coming week. Ken got us a chicken from the supermarket and we haven't had a good fricassée in a while. Something to look forward to! 

Muck

It's wet outside. Very wet. Our house sits at the top of a high spot. The vineyards are planted to maximize drainage. The ravines that drain to the river below are running. Water still manages to collect. Nearly everywhere one tries to go, one is constantly splashed. One's feet sink into muddy ground. The cuffs of one's jeans are soaked. Leaf litter collects on one's shoes and boots. I, for one, am not happy.

Water stands in the tracks of shoes and boots and vehicle ruts. The ground has the consistency of a wet sponge.

However, I know things will dry up after a while. It's more or less the cycle that we're more or less used to. And I'll likely be back to complaining about the hot, buggy summer that we're pining for now. Spring is a toss up; it can go either way. It could go both ways. But, whichever way it goes, we'll surely complain about that, too.  

Full of crêpes

We're not really full of them. There were only four, but they were large. And we ate them up with butter and Ken's home-made plum jam. We didn't make savory crêpes this year. Maybe next year.

One of four crêpes we enjoyed for dessert on Monday.

As promised, it rained most of the night. Even more rain is on the way. Joy. 

La Chandeleur

Today is Candlemas, one of the multitude of Christian holidays on the calendar. The tradition in France is to eat crêpes on this day. And so we shall.

I'll try to remember to take photos of how it goes. There's not much in the way of new photography on the blog right now, mostly because the weather makes taking photos a pain in the butt, what with all the gloves, hats, and other winter accoutrements one must deal with, not to mention the chilly temperatures. I'm hopeful that we'll get back on track as spring approaches.

Oh, in the USA it's Groundhog day. How do you cook those things? 

Hey! It's February!

Here are some things: Today is February 1. The moon is full. The Australian Open men's final (tennis) is today. It's a hunt day (the season closes at the end of February). There are 327 days until Christmas. And it's Tasha's birthday month! She'll be nine years old. Woof.

It's been a good two weeks!