Wine high school

High school wine fair poster from the Carcassonne.org website
High school wine fair poster from the Carcassonne.org website

When I was in high school you had two choices about what track you were going to take. If you said that you wanted a “technical” education then you got to take classes like metalworking, carpentry, food preparation, automobile engine repair, and other hands-on instruction. You know, the fun stuff. For the rest of us who said that we were college bound then out came math analysis, calculus, physics, and 17th century literature, for example. Yep, the knowledge that we all use on a daily basis. In France you get some additional choices including the ability to go to a high school that concentrates on the agriculture of your part of the country. Guess what they grow around  Carcassonne: grapes. And what do you make with grapes: wine. Yes, in France you can go to high school and learn how to make wine. Continue reading “Wine high school”

Required to acquire…no longer

Fresh bread at the market
Fresh bread at the market

Downsizing has long been a part of our vocabulary starting nearly 30 years ago when Bill moved up to Chicago. I already had an apartment full of furniture, as did he, so when the moving van arrived from Dallas and we jammed all of our things together, some things had to go. It took a couple more moves, first to the West coast and then to the East, before we bought our first house together and downsizing took a back seat to consumption. That lasted a few years and then came the move to Atlanta and it was all going to change…so we thought. Continue reading “Required to acquire…no longer”

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)”