River walk vs. city walk

Walking paths along Aude river
Walking paths along Aude river

Heather is going to sleep well tonight. In fact, it’s only 2 PM and she’s already napping on her favorite pillow on the sofa. Up to now we’ve been walking along the river that provides the tranquil, green environment that lends itself to relaxation. Today we ventured into the city for the first time with her since we’d like to take her wherever we go and dogs are typically welcome into most businesses. We may have to rethink that. Continue reading “River walk vs. city walk”

Cathar’ssonne

Hats, almonds, and wine
Hats, almonds, and wine

If you happen to be on Facebook you probably got a headstart on today’s blog post. Last night Bill and I were at the main town square, Place Carnot, for a fair celebrating local products. There were representatives from area farms that produce almonds, cheese, honey, poultry, other meats, and of course, wine. Since the city was a major sponsor of the event, the mayor and several deputies were in attendance and that’s the photo, with us, that Bill has shared elsewhere. Continue reading “Cathar’ssonne”

When 7+7=15

A street in our neighborhood
A street in our neighborhood

In French when you talk about a two-week period you will most commonly hear “15 days” because they include the day you are currently in. Since we’ve now been in the house for quinze jours I thought I’d update a few of those early day posts. Let’s start with the one that’s generated the most interest and concern: Stone cold. Continue reading “When 7+7=15”

Whatzit, wherezit, and whadwe buy?

Cleaning bottles
Cleaning bottles

We went on a shopping trip today and it took hours. Not because we were dashing from store to distant store; we were only in one. Not because we were buying a huge number of things; our purchases barely covered the bottom of the shopping cart. It was because we had a list of everything we were looking for so instead of strolling up and down each aisle, casually dropping items as we noticed them into the basket, we went in search of each one. Continue reading “Whatzit, wherezit, and whadwe buy?”

We are SO English

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Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

If you’re a fan of British television programs, you may have noticed that if a scene takes place inside of someone’s home, when they move from one room to another they might open and close doors between the different rooms inside their house. On our trips to the UK we have found that really was the case so it doesn’t seem so unusual anymore. Then we saw the curtains on the stairway…. Continue reading “We are SO English”

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis

Chocolate Festival poster from the Carcassonne.org website
Chocolate Festival poster from the Carcassonne.org website

You might have to be a fan of movie musicals and/or Judy Garland plus know a little bit about Carcassonne to understand this post’s title, but you won’t need to read French to tell from this poster where we went today. About a year ago when we decided that this town would be our new home one of the first announcements we read about  was for the annual Chocolate Festival in March. Guess what month it is? Continue reading “Meet me in St. Louis, Louis”

How dry I am (not)

Clothes dryer
Clothes drying in the living room

We washed our first load of laundry today. It took two and a half hours for the wash cycle. It will take another 24 hours to dry them; not because the machine is inefficient. It’s because there is no dryer. It’s pretty standard in Europe for the washer to take a long time to complete its mission just as its location is quite common: in the kitchen. Continue reading “How dry I am (not)”