Adding a bit of whimsy to the holiday tree, this is one of two Life Savers ornaments in our "collection." The other is green. They must have been stocking stuffers from years back, but I don't remember exactly who stuffed them and when. No matter. I put them on the tree every year.
I have some unused roasted pumpkin in the fridge, so I think I'll make another loaf of pumpkin bread today. Now I have to decide: walnuts or pecans? Hmm...
Here's another favorite tree ornament of mine. It was a gift from a friend in California many years ago. The tree depicted is either a coastal redwood or a sequoia. I'm not sure which. I'm also not sure if it's actually made from redwood, sequoia, or some other wood. Whichever it is, the ornament reminds me of our time in California and the friend who gave it to us. And that's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
The winds finally died down last evening. While the little tornadoes of fallen leaves were fun to watch, I'm glad they're gone.
I'm out of photos. Again. So here's a little Christmas from 2018: one of my favorite tree ornaments. This year's tree isn't set up yet. I like to wait until about the fifteenth before decorating the real-fake-Swedish holiday tree.
That same weekend we'll order our holiday bird from the poultry vendors at the Saturday market. This year we'd like a chapon de poulet (a capon), one of the traditional dishes for Christmas in France.It should be ready for pick-up on the twenty-third.
Yesterday morning, while walking Tasha, I saw a complete rainbow in the northern sky. The sun was just up and peeking through a gap in the otherwise cloudy sky. A passing rain squall provided a dramatically dark backdrop for the rainbow. The grand arc was brilliant and unbroken from its "ground" points on either end. I wonder if each of those ends had its own pot of gold. I didn't have my camera, but I know I would not have been able fit the whole thing in a frame. The show lasted a good ten minutes before fading away. Ah, nature!
Last Sunday, our town held one of the several randonnées pédestres (nature hikes or walks) that they hold each year. A route is planned and marked and the walkers (who sign up in advance) follow the route over the course of a Sunday morning. Many of the annual walks follow routes through the vineyards and forests around us. I caught this glimpse of participants on a route that took them through our neighborhood and out into the vineyards beyond.
I took Tasha for her walk on this particular morning and had forgotten about the hike. For a brief time we were among the early walkers, but we soon scooted over onto a path by the woods to avoid the larger groups. Tasha gets very excited when other people (and dogs) are out on "her" route. When we got home, she stood guard at the deck window, barking at each group of randonneurs as they passed the house.
That's it, for now, from our short trip to Angoulême this past October. The drive home, however, was not to be without drama. We packed up the car and did a final walk-through with the owners of the gîte we rented. When I started the car to leave, it made an awful screeching sound. I engaged the clutch and it stuck, the pedal refusing to leave the floor. Uh-oh.
The screeching got worse and our host said it sounded like the clutch was going. Not to worry, he said, you can still drive the car. After a few tries, the clutch pedal loosened up and I was able to get into gear. I stalled the first time, but it got slowly better. We decided to try to get home. We'd take the autoroute all the way to minimize gear shifts. I stalled again at an intersection on our way, but we got going again and the clutch pedal was feeling better. We got on the autoroute and headed for home. The whole way in fourth gear.
I stalled again at the toll booth outside Poitiers, but that was the last time. I was able to negotiate the remaining toll booths without a problem. We were almost home, just passing the supermarket in Noyers across the river, when WHAM! Some guy rear-ended us. I saw him in the rear-view mirror not looking ahead when he hit us. We were approaching a traffic circle and were rolling slowly, so it was just a "tap," but it still shook us up after the two-and-a-half hour drive from Vindelle with a failing clutch. We didn't even get out of the car. We took a look at the bumper when we got to the house and there was no damage to be seen. I guess that's what bumpers are for, after all.
The following week, Ken made an appointment at the garage and they installed a new clutch. I have no idea why the old clutch failed. Thankfully, it worked well enough for us to make it home safe and sound, albeit a little shaken.
Ken and I (and Tasha) walked a big loop after leaving the center of Verteuil-sur-Charente. We made it back to the car and decided to drive up to the church (we were parked just below it) and take a look. While on the grounds, we were rewarded with the best view of the château all morning.
So the temperature has indeed dropped below zero (freezing) this morning. Ours will be an invigorating walk today. We'll be in the low single digits all day. There's even some talk of a little snow over the next twenty-four hours. Fortunately, we're well stocked and don't need to venture out on slippery roads.
This painting in Verteuil surprised me. At first glance, it looked so real that, for a brief moment, I thought it was. After all, Halloween was right around the corner. But I quickly realized it was a mural. A darned good one.
The permanent crown is in. It took about an hour, forty-five minutes longer than I thought it would. Lots of adjusting and grinding and polishing to get the bite just right. I bit down on so many test papers that I think the least they could do is to make them flavored (mango! strawberry!). But it's finally done. And, aside from some very minor soreness in my jaw, it feels like nothing ever happened. That's a good thing.
