Tiled

The tile is up on the walls. And it looks pretty good. Today is grout day. Ken took some photos yesterday afternoon, but I haven't yet. Maybe today, once the grout is in. Then the plumbing contractor comes back on Monday to install the fixtures and the glass enclosure. We're getting closer to the finish line!

An unusual sight: immature grapes in the fall vineyard.

The days sure are feeling short now. Especially since we've been under a thick overcast for a while. There may be a "super moon" up there, but I'd prefer a super sun. Oh well, this, too, shall pass. Today is expected to be unseasonably warm, but windy. Maybe I'll get some work done outside.

Go for the beige

After a forty-five minute, last-minute, drive up to the tile showroom on Tuesday, we have decided that the tile we didn't think we ordered is actually the tile we did order. Both of us remember the tile we thought we ordered being more of an olive green color. But it's actually more of a beige color. We both scratched our heads when we were shown that no green tile exists and, even though the catalogue shows our tile as dark green (I did write in the catalogue that the tile we selected was lighter than in the photo), the tile we chose is beige. The color is called nuez which, in Spanish, means "nut."

More orange and gold in the vineyard. Very little beige.

So, after a week's delay in the shower construction, after I insisted that the tile people were wrong, and after Ken and I drove up there to prove them wrong, it turns out to be me who was wrong. We're going ahead with the beige-that-is-not-green. We did pick it out, after all. And we are in possession of it. Our tile guy (who has been very patient with us) is expected to come by this morning to lay the nuez tile.

Sometimes you feel like a nut. This is one of those times.

Duck and veal

Not together. On Sunday we had a lunch of blanquette de veau (veal stew in a cream sauce) and on Monday a lunch of duck legs with glazed turnips. Today we'll have the veal leftovers. Both are classic French dishes and both are good fall/winter meals.

The grape vines are losing their leaves quickly now.

It's not really cold yet, but it's not warm, either. We're under clouds right now with rain off and on. I'm building a fire in the wood stove every afternoon; the central heating keeps the house warm in the mornings. Right now a thermostat setting of 18.5ºC (65ºF) feels good. We might need to increase that as winter builds in, but neither of us like the house to be too warm, especially over night. The wood fire gets the living/dining area much warmer than that, but the loft is cooler and that's where we spend the evenings and sleep, so it works out fine.

Periodic puppy pics

Saturday morning was basically overcast, but there was a break in the clouds in the southeast just long enough for the rising sun to peek through during my walk with Callie. The vineyard is beautiful with layers of gold and brown right now. Callie likes to walk on the edges between the vines and the woods.

Callie enjoys her extended back yard.

One of the growers has already started pruning his vines. It seems early, but he's doing it. The vines next to where Callie is standing in the photo are pruned down to one cane. As winter comes, more and more of the vines will be pruned down.

The deck in autumn

Here's the current view from our deck. Many trees still have most of their leaves. Except for our two red (now orange) maples; they're almost done. It's time to get out there and rake. I'll spread the leaves on the vegetable garden to help keep weeds down over the winter.

The view from our deck across the road toward our neighbors' property.

It's also almost time to get the table and chairs into the garage for the winter and to clean up and cover the barbecue grill. We've been taking plants into the new greenhouse, but we still have a few to move. There's no threat of a freeze any time soon, but as December approaches, the risk rises.

Dearth

Of photos, that is. I need to get out more with the camera, but it's difficult this time of year. The shorter days mean that I'm out with Callie when the light isn't particularly good. In the middle of the day when the light is better, we're busy with lunch (our main meal of the day). I don't like taking the camera out when it's raining, either. That's no fun.

The leaves of different varietals turn different colors in the fall, as these two vineyard parcels illustrate.

The moon will be full on Monday. Right now, it's big and bright in the evening sky (when there are no clouds). Callie barks at it, of course, the same way she barks at hot-air balloons. Then, when the moon is past full, it hangs in the morning sky until it sets. And Callie barks at it when we get outdoors. I worry that her morning barking might bother our neighbors, but no one has ever mentioned it.

Long weekend

Today is a day off for many people in France as they remember the end of the First World War. It's just another Friday for us, but we don't get our regular bread delivery and the hunters will be out roaming the vineyards and woods looking for pheasants. Callie and I saw one just the other day while walking.

The old storage building in the vineyard behind our house.

The tile for the new shower came yesterday, but it turned out to be the wrong color again. This time it was not our fault. The boxes were marked with the correct color name and code as the catalogue shows, but the tiles inside were a different color completely. I'm not talking about subtle shades of the same color, I'm talking the difference between green and ivory. It's not rocket science. They're going to try to correct things on Monday since they're closed today for the holiday. Sigh.

So yesterday, the tile guy finished building the bench inside the shower and the small wall that's part of the enclosure. I'm hopeful that the right tile will come and he'll get that all done during next week. The plumbing/heating contractor swept our chimney and cleaned the wood stove yesterday, so we're good for another year of fires.