Thursday, December 27, 2007
Thursday 20 December 2007
A very thick frost this morning, and temperatures still well below freezing. Forecast is for milder weather by Sunday and rain by Christmas Day! It is exactly two years since I signed the papers for this house and got the keys - a day of freezing fog I seem to remember. Today there is bright sunshine, like most of this week, and this morning I have been out with my camera in the village and taken pictures of the shops and the Christmas decorations. I met Marie-Antoinette by the Post Office - I was trying to scrape the ice off the post box to make sure I put the letters in the right opening - and she thanked me for the Christmas card and kissed me on both cheeks and said, as so many people have, that she supposed we were having a lot of family here for Christmas. I do so wish we were; this is just the right sort of house for a big family Christmas party. N and I have discussed it all several times; all we can do is just keep inviting everybody, I suppose, but it is obviously so much easier for them to travel to Paris at this time of year, and to Normandy in the summer.
It was quite an eventful morning in the end; by the time I had got back after my photography, and then gone back to the shop again for things I had forgotten, N had managed to book us an outing in Paris during Kathryn and Iona's visit at the beginning of January. He had been trying all sorts of musical events and shows, but had found nothing suitable, then tried Circuses, and has got seats for the four of us at an afternoon performance at the Cirque d’Hiver, the place where I sang the Saint John Passion at Easter over a year ago. We had seen on the TV news that it had been closed for refurbishment and had just re-opened, and this is a real old-fashioned circus with clowns, animals, woman fired from a canon, trapeze artists etc etc. Also suitable as it doesn’t require much knowledge of French! and good because such things aren’t often seen in Britain these days.
The other event was the discovery of a phone message from DHL saying they had two cases of wine to deliver to us (N was expecting these) and leaving an indistinguishable phone number. We spent some time listening and re-listening to the message and noting various numbers, with no luck; until now - well after lunch - N finally made contact and they will deliver tomorrow.
To celebrate being châtelaine of this house for a whole two years, I am planning a Gala Dinner for this evening with a Normandy Theme, involving lots of apples, cider, calvados and cream. I bought two pork chops from the butcher for only 2 euros 10, and two branches of celery from the little supermarket - I love being able to buy celery by the branch; so much better than having to buy a whole head when you only need a branch or two. When I brought the celery home it still had « 0.29 euros » written on it in biro, no paper bag. N said I should have photographed it.
The boulangerie is now full of wonderful seasonal things - sweets and chocolates, spicy fruit breads and decorated logs, and a notice saying it will be open on the 25th from 7.00 am till 1.00 pm. I shall try to go a little earlier in the day than I did last year. We are proposing to do our pre-Christmas food shopping tomorrow, at the Champion supermarket in Conches.
Friday 21 December 2007
When I went out to get the bread this morning I wished I’d had my camera with me like yesterday; I could just see Father Christmas and a man leading a donkey disappearing round the bend in the road. I thought they had probably been visiting the school, and was amused at the link between the modern idea of Christmas and the Nativity. (Although there are a lot of donkeys in this part of the world...) As I left the boulangerie they were coming back into the village, stopping and shaking hands with people outside the maison de la presse. They seemed to be coming towards our house, so I went in and got the camera and then found them outside the garage, talking to the proprietor; I recognised the donkey handler as the Deputy Mayor and he nodded to me. I asked if I could take their photo from over the road, and they obligingly posed, then waved before going back in the other direction. I then saw the Village Ginger Cat rushing away quickly; I don’t think he cares for donkeys, even at Christmas.
The other Christmas development over the last day or two is the loudspeakers in the street - just like the last two years - broadcasting Christmas music and a sort of local radio; very local indeed, just La Neuve-Lyre. N thinks this is awful; I agree as far as indiscriminate pop music is concerned but rather enjoy the Christmas music (trumpet version of Jingle Bells, for example) and find the ads for local shops and businesses very interesting. I remember listening to lots of it last Christmas morning while queuing outside the boulangerie for over half an hour and will probably do the same this year.
The rest of the morning I spent making mince pies, using last year’s mincemeat from the freezer, and we enjoyed the first of them after lunch. We haven’t been able to go supermarket shopping yet, as we are still waiting for the wine delivery.
Sunday 23 December 2007
A rather confusing and eventful couple of days. We never did get our wine delivered on Friday, despite receiving a phone call from the wine company to check, and their saying they would get in touch with the delivery driver. We assumed nothing will happen during the weekend, so will wait till Monday, Christmas Eve. Because we were in all day waiting, we didn’t get our Christmas food shopping done either, and postponed it till Saturday.
In the evening N wasn’t very well at all; I think because of a rather old packet of Swiss Rosti well past its date - having not done our shopping we ate something from the store cupboard instead. (I was fine!) This meant our bathroom was out of bounds to me all the evening and some of the night; it’s just as well we have two others. Suggested as New Year’s Resolution not eating anything at all past its « best before » date. Poor N recovered slowly on Saturday; small breakfast in bed, boiled egg for lunch and Heinz Tomato Soup for supper, fortunately we had just one tin left!
I wasn’t sure he should have been driving to Conches for food shopping, but he said he was OK; admittedly it’s not very far or very difficult, and we both agreed we ought not to postpone it again till Monday as we should be waiting in for the wine. We had not been out in the car for a week, and the roads and hedgerows were very white with thick frost, almost like snow. I don’t think I have ever experienced weather quite like this before - very dry and sunny and well below freezing for seven days at a stretch. The promised rise in temperature and the rain don’t seem likely yet, either.
Food shopping went well, except that I couldn’t find any cranberries; there were lots around last year, so was surprised; will look in the village and market tomorrow. When we got back, having checked the internet, N was annoyed to find that the parcel we had sent his son-in-law John had not yet arrived; in fact had only got as far as La Barre-en-Ouche.
This is a saga that goes back a long way; to the end of November I think. John wanted to buy a computer game for Kathryn and Iona over the internet as a Christmas present; it was unavailable in Britain and needing to be posted to an address outside the UK. He asked N if he could have it sent to us (and we would then send it on). N agreed but said we were about to go to back to Paris. Many e-mails flowed to and fro relating its progress; when we got back here to LNL it was at the Post Office waiting, so we fetched it, repackaged it and the next day sent it off again; addressed this time, as John had requested, to his mother-in-law in Billericay, so as to preserve the surprise element at home.
This was some ten days ago, and N was hoping to hear that it had arrived safely, so was annoyed to read while checking its progress on the relevant website that it had gone to Bernay, where it had had its address « amended or corrected » , and was waiting to be collected at La Barre-en-Ouche! We can only surmise that some incompetent machine or Post Office employee read Billericay as Bernay, despite the GRANDE BRETAGNE in very large letters and the address copied on to N’s part of the form which he still has, it having sent it Registered.
N will go to our local Post Office first thing tomorrow (while I wait in for the wine delivery.....) and see if the lovely Estelle can find out whether it is still at La Barre-en-Ouche, and if so whether he can go and fetch it. I also hope to get to the market. Meanwhile we have had a nice quiet Sunday, and have had Nut Roast for lunch - N’s cousin Penny’s family recipe which I found while looking for the Chestnut Stuffing recipe for tomorrow. We bought nuts yesterday, and N sat cracking them by the fire this morning as he thought this was a suitable Christmas activity, and there were many jokes about « getting cracking. » I thought the Nut Roast was better for his still delicate digestion than meat. We also had some home-grown parsnips nicely mashed and a small rhubarb crumble with fruit from the freezer. And then - beside the Christmas tree - we read the next few chapters of The Box of Delights, hoping to finish it over the Christmas holiday.
I have finished reading the final volume of Les Thibault; the end part containing the very depressing journal of the hero, wounded then gassed at Ypres, and dying in the months of autumn 1918 just as peace is declared. I have begun looking at my waiting copies of the London Review of Books, entertaining as usual, beginning with a review of a new biography of Rudolf Nureyev, an article about Nixon and Kissinger and pieces on the Crusades, Hitler, and Mussolini. Always a variety!
Monday 24 December 2007
N got up early and sorted out the parcel problem this morning - he decided after all to go straight to the Post Office at La Barre-en-Ouche. It turned out that the confusion had been caused by the Post Office employee here at LNL filing in an Overseas form instead of an International form; which was why it needed correcting and re-addressing at La Barre-en-Ouche. He then called at our local Post Office for the correct form, and said he thought Estelle looked a bit sheepish about it all, not surprisingly as this is the second or third British parcel which has caused us problems. Anyway, it was sent on its way on Friday 21st.
While all this was going on I called the number for the wine delivery; eventually got though and the two cases arrived as promised at about 2.00 pm, and are now safely in the wine cellar; N used the wheelbarrow to take them there from the front gate.
I could find no cranberries at the market - the people at the fruit & veg stall were very curious when I described them, but seemed pleased that I bought more dates. I called in at the maison de la presse for the first time in some weeks - no further shop-fitting has taken place; it still looks fairly ramshackle and temporary, but seemed to be doing a roaring trade. I found a fascinating postcard showing an aerial view of the village - our house is clearly visible, with all the shutters open! I then waited ages in the queue at the boulangerie, and have decided N can go tomorrow.
This afternoon - in the traditional way - I have listened to the Carol Service from Cambridge while making chestnut stuffing and preparing the vegetables for tomorrow. I had a sudden idea and checked the BBC website and found that I could download and print the Order of Service, just as it is always printed in the Radio Times, which made it all much more enjoyable. We listened to the end of the programme - still on the tiny portable radio - while having tea and mince pies in the salon; N said it was like listening to London while in the French Resistance.
Wednesday 26 December 2007
Boxing Day, and there is that special smell in the air of boiling chicken stock. We have spent a very nice couple of days eating, drinking, reading, opening presents, watching TV and DVDs and generally sitting about in front of the fire, punctuated by nice family phone calls. I now have three nice new fat books waiting by my bed, all auto/biographies of interesting women; Marie-Antoinette, Agatha Christie and Simone Veil. N bought me four DVDs of films of instalments of the life of the Austrian Empress Sisi; I was surprised and pleased that they were so easily available. We haven’t watched any of these so far, but yesterday evening watched the film of The Third Man, a present from my sister Issy. I thought it was interesting that both these were as a result of our visit to Vienna; N said it has obviously had a great influence on us. He also gave me a beautiful picture book of Paris and a book about Mozart and postage stamps. I gave him a book of humorously translated « mistakes » in English which I bought in Vienna, which he read and laughed at most of yesterday, also his Cambridge University Diary some time back, and have still to get him a pullover once we get back to some shops.
The best thing about Christmas though, has been the reading of the final chapters of The Box of Delights, our ‘Sunday serial’ which we finished yesterday and today in front of the fire after lunch. Definitely a good idea to read a Christmas Book at Christmas, and to have several episodes over the holiday, not just on Sunday.
I didn’t sleep well last night, perhaps because it was the first night in a week or so that we haven’t shut the bedroom shutters to keep out the cold - the weather changed as promised and it is now mild and wet. But the moon was bright, so perhaps more difficult to sleep. I thought it might also be because I didn’t go out at all yesterday, so this morning decided on a Boxing Day Walk; around parts of the village I have never seen and others I don’t see often, partly prompted by the postcard with the aerial view of the village. It was all very damp and grey and I thought it would have been a very different walk last week, or on a fine day in the summer. I saw lot of interesting little houses though, a variety of Christmas decorations and hardly any people until I got back to the market place with the shops again. Here all was a normal working day, Quincaillerie open, postmen going about their business, builders renovating a shop. I couldn’t help thinking it would all have been very different in Britain. Our postal delivery fortunately brought our circus tickets; I was worried we shouldn’t receive them before leaving for Saint-Denis.
Thursday 27 December 2007
This morning N and I both went to the hairdressers at the same time, something we have never done before. There was a lot of talk with our two stylists about what we had all just eaten over the holiday, and how the English differed from the French in this, and then N broached the subject of Monsieur A and his lack of interest in servicing our heating system. Neither was particularly surprised; one said we needed to go on and on at him and demand an appointment, the other said he tries to do too many different things and can’t keep up with the after-sales maintenance, unlike his father apparently, who had the business before him. She said that once he had come so late to sweep her chimney - after having been asked many times - that it exploded and covered him in soot, about which she was very pleased! N and I plan to drive round to Monsieur A’s « office » and confront him together, when we get back from Paris.
We arrived at the subject of heating by talking about the weather - still so much milder than last week, and getting progressively more so. Our « intelligent » heating system has adjusted itself accordingly, so that the rooms are sometimes a little cooler than expected. We have even heard one of our pigeons cooing outside, and seen him in the garden; we don’t know what they normally do at this time of year, but don’t remember him (or any of his colleagues) being around before during the winter.
Tomorrow we are driving back to Paris, ready for New Year celebrations and the visit of Kathryn and Iona next week, West Side Story and the circus. This means that most of the post- Christmas clearing up will be left until after we get back, probably not before the middle of January, but it can’t be helped, it will just have to be incorporated into an early Spring Cleaning.
We are now ready to start thinking again about selling the Saint-Denis apartment, and buying a new one - an big exciting project for the New Year.
A very thick frost this morning, and temperatures still well below freezing. Forecast is for milder weather by Sunday and rain by Christmas Day! It is exactly two years since I signed the papers for this house and got the keys - a day of freezing fog I seem to remember. Today there is bright sunshine, like most of this week, and this morning I have been out with my camera in the village and taken pictures of the shops and the Christmas decorations. I met Marie-Antoinette by the Post Office - I was trying to scrape the ice off the post box to make sure I put the letters in the right opening - and she thanked me for the Christmas card and kissed me on both cheeks and said, as so many people have, that she supposed we were having a lot of family here for Christmas. I do so wish we were; this is just the right sort of house for a big family Christmas party. N and I have discussed it all several times; all we can do is just keep inviting everybody, I suppose, but it is obviously so much easier for them to travel to Paris at this time of year, and to Normandy in the summer.
It was quite an eventful morning in the end; by the time I had got back after my photography, and then gone back to the shop again for things I had forgotten, N had managed to book us an outing in Paris during Kathryn and Iona's visit at the beginning of January. He had been trying all sorts of musical events and shows, but had found nothing suitable, then tried Circuses, and has got seats for the four of us at an afternoon performance at the Cirque d’Hiver, the place where I sang the Saint John Passion at Easter over a year ago. We had seen on the TV news that it had been closed for refurbishment and had just re-opened, and this is a real old-fashioned circus with clowns, animals, woman fired from a canon, trapeze artists etc etc. Also suitable as it doesn’t require much knowledge of French! and good because such things aren’t often seen in Britain these days.
The other event was the discovery of a phone message from DHL saying they had two cases of wine to deliver to us (N was expecting these) and leaving an indistinguishable phone number. We spent some time listening and re-listening to the message and noting various numbers, with no luck; until now - well after lunch - N finally made contact and they will deliver tomorrow.
To celebrate being châtelaine of this house for a whole two years, I am planning a Gala Dinner for this evening with a Normandy Theme, involving lots of apples, cider, calvados and cream. I bought two pork chops from the butcher for only 2 euros 10, and two branches of celery from the little supermarket - I love being able to buy celery by the branch; so much better than having to buy a whole head when you only need a branch or two. When I brought the celery home it still had « 0.29 euros » written on it in biro, no paper bag. N said I should have photographed it.
The boulangerie is now full of wonderful seasonal things - sweets and chocolates, spicy fruit breads and decorated logs, and a notice saying it will be open on the 25th from 7.00 am till 1.00 pm. I shall try to go a little earlier in the day than I did last year. We are proposing to do our pre-Christmas food shopping tomorrow, at the Champion supermarket in Conches.
Friday 21 December 2007
When I went out to get the bread this morning I wished I’d had my camera with me like yesterday; I could just see Father Christmas and a man leading a donkey disappearing round the bend in the road. I thought they had probably been visiting the school, and was amused at the link between the modern idea of Christmas and the Nativity. (Although there are a lot of donkeys in this part of the world...) As I left the boulangerie they were coming back into the village, stopping and shaking hands with people outside the maison de la presse. They seemed to be coming towards our house, so I went in and got the camera and then found them outside the garage, talking to the proprietor; I recognised the donkey handler as the Deputy Mayor and he nodded to me. I asked if I could take their photo from over the road, and they obligingly posed, then waved before going back in the other direction. I then saw the Village Ginger Cat rushing away quickly; I don’t think he cares for donkeys, even at Christmas.
The other Christmas development over the last day or two is the loudspeakers in the street - just like the last two years - broadcasting Christmas music and a sort of local radio; very local indeed, just La Neuve-Lyre. N thinks this is awful; I agree as far as indiscriminate pop music is concerned but rather enjoy the Christmas music (trumpet version of Jingle Bells, for example) and find the ads for local shops and businesses very interesting. I remember listening to lots of it last Christmas morning while queuing outside the boulangerie for over half an hour and will probably do the same this year.
The rest of the morning I spent making mince pies, using last year’s mincemeat from the freezer, and we enjoyed the first of them after lunch. We haven’t been able to go supermarket shopping yet, as we are still waiting for the wine delivery.
Sunday 23 December 2007
A rather confusing and eventful couple of days. We never did get our wine delivered on Friday, despite receiving a phone call from the wine company to check, and their saying they would get in touch with the delivery driver. We assumed nothing will happen during the weekend, so will wait till Monday, Christmas Eve. Because we were in all day waiting, we didn’t get our Christmas food shopping done either, and postponed it till Saturday.
In the evening N wasn’t very well at all; I think because of a rather old packet of Swiss Rosti well past its date - having not done our shopping we ate something from the store cupboard instead. (I was fine!) This meant our bathroom was out of bounds to me all the evening and some of the night; it’s just as well we have two others. Suggested as New Year’s Resolution not eating anything at all past its « best before » date. Poor N recovered slowly on Saturday; small breakfast in bed, boiled egg for lunch and Heinz Tomato Soup for supper, fortunately we had just one tin left!
I wasn’t sure he should have been driving to Conches for food shopping, but he said he was OK; admittedly it’s not very far or very difficult, and we both agreed we ought not to postpone it again till Monday as we should be waiting in for the wine. We had not been out in the car for a week, and the roads and hedgerows were very white with thick frost, almost like snow. I don’t think I have ever experienced weather quite like this before - very dry and sunny and well below freezing for seven days at a stretch. The promised rise in temperature and the rain don’t seem likely yet, either.
Food shopping went well, except that I couldn’t find any cranberries; there were lots around last year, so was surprised; will look in the village and market tomorrow. When we got back, having checked the internet, N was annoyed to find that the parcel we had sent his son-in-law John had not yet arrived; in fact had only got as far as La Barre-en-Ouche.
This is a saga that goes back a long way; to the end of November I think. John wanted to buy a computer game for Kathryn and Iona over the internet as a Christmas present; it was unavailable in Britain and needing to be posted to an address outside the UK. He asked N if he could have it sent to us (and we would then send it on). N agreed but said we were about to go to back to Paris. Many e-mails flowed to and fro relating its progress; when we got back here to LNL it was at the Post Office waiting, so we fetched it, repackaged it and the next day sent it off again; addressed this time, as John had requested, to his mother-in-law in Billericay, so as to preserve the surprise element at home.
This was some ten days ago, and N was hoping to hear that it had arrived safely, so was annoyed to read while checking its progress on the relevant website that it had gone to Bernay, where it had had its address « amended or corrected » , and was waiting to be collected at La Barre-en-Ouche! We can only surmise that some incompetent machine or Post Office employee read Billericay as Bernay, despite the GRANDE BRETAGNE in very large letters and the address copied on to N’s part of the form which he still has, it having sent it Registered.
N will go to our local Post Office first thing tomorrow (while I wait in for the wine delivery.....) and see if the lovely Estelle can find out whether it is still at La Barre-en-Ouche, and if so whether he can go and fetch it. I also hope to get to the market. Meanwhile we have had a nice quiet Sunday, and have had Nut Roast for lunch - N’s cousin Penny’s family recipe which I found while looking for the Chestnut Stuffing recipe for tomorrow. We bought nuts yesterday, and N sat cracking them by the fire this morning as he thought this was a suitable Christmas activity, and there were many jokes about « getting cracking. » I thought the Nut Roast was better for his still delicate digestion than meat. We also had some home-grown parsnips nicely mashed and a small rhubarb crumble with fruit from the freezer. And then - beside the Christmas tree - we read the next few chapters of The Box of Delights, hoping to finish it over the Christmas holiday.
I have finished reading the final volume of Les Thibault; the end part containing the very depressing journal of the hero, wounded then gassed at Ypres, and dying in the months of autumn 1918 just as peace is declared. I have begun looking at my waiting copies of the London Review of Books, entertaining as usual, beginning with a review of a new biography of Rudolf Nureyev, an article about Nixon and Kissinger and pieces on the Crusades, Hitler, and Mussolini. Always a variety!
Monday 24 December 2007
N got up early and sorted out the parcel problem this morning - he decided after all to go straight to the Post Office at La Barre-en-Ouche. It turned out that the confusion had been caused by the Post Office employee here at LNL filing in an Overseas form instead of an International form; which was why it needed correcting and re-addressing at La Barre-en-Ouche. He then called at our local Post Office for the correct form, and said he thought Estelle looked a bit sheepish about it all, not surprisingly as this is the second or third British parcel which has caused us problems. Anyway, it was sent on its way on Friday 21st.
While all this was going on I called the number for the wine delivery; eventually got though and the two cases arrived as promised at about 2.00 pm, and are now safely in the wine cellar; N used the wheelbarrow to take them there from the front gate.
I could find no cranberries at the market - the people at the fruit & veg stall were very curious when I described them, but seemed pleased that I bought more dates. I called in at the maison de la presse for the first time in some weeks - no further shop-fitting has taken place; it still looks fairly ramshackle and temporary, but seemed to be doing a roaring trade. I found a fascinating postcard showing an aerial view of the village - our house is clearly visible, with all the shutters open! I then waited ages in the queue at the boulangerie, and have decided N can go tomorrow.
This afternoon - in the traditional way - I have listened to the Carol Service from Cambridge while making chestnut stuffing and preparing the vegetables for tomorrow. I had a sudden idea and checked the BBC website and found that I could download and print the Order of Service, just as it is always printed in the Radio Times, which made it all much more enjoyable. We listened to the end of the programme - still on the tiny portable radio - while having tea and mince pies in the salon; N said it was like listening to London while in the French Resistance.
Wednesday 26 December 2007
Boxing Day, and there is that special smell in the air of boiling chicken stock. We have spent a very nice couple of days eating, drinking, reading, opening presents, watching TV and DVDs and generally sitting about in front of the fire, punctuated by nice family phone calls. I now have three nice new fat books waiting by my bed, all auto/biographies of interesting women; Marie-Antoinette, Agatha Christie and Simone Veil. N bought me four DVDs of films of instalments of the life of the Austrian Empress Sisi; I was surprised and pleased that they were so easily available. We haven’t watched any of these so far, but yesterday evening watched the film of The Third Man, a present from my sister Issy. I thought it was interesting that both these were as a result of our visit to Vienna; N said it has obviously had a great influence on us. He also gave me a beautiful picture book of Paris and a book about Mozart and postage stamps. I gave him a book of humorously translated « mistakes » in English which I bought in Vienna, which he read and laughed at most of yesterday, also his Cambridge University Diary some time back, and have still to get him a pullover once we get back to some shops.
The best thing about Christmas though, has been the reading of the final chapters of The Box of Delights, our ‘Sunday serial’ which we finished yesterday and today in front of the fire after lunch. Definitely a good idea to read a Christmas Book at Christmas, and to have several episodes over the holiday, not just on Sunday.
I didn’t sleep well last night, perhaps because it was the first night in a week or so that we haven’t shut the bedroom shutters to keep out the cold - the weather changed as promised and it is now mild and wet. But the moon was bright, so perhaps more difficult to sleep. I thought it might also be because I didn’t go out at all yesterday, so this morning decided on a Boxing Day Walk; around parts of the village I have never seen and others I don’t see often, partly prompted by the postcard with the aerial view of the village. It was all very damp and grey and I thought it would have been a very different walk last week, or on a fine day in the summer. I saw lot of interesting little houses though, a variety of Christmas decorations and hardly any people until I got back to the market place with the shops again. Here all was a normal working day, Quincaillerie open, postmen going about their business, builders renovating a shop. I couldn’t help thinking it would all have been very different in Britain. Our postal delivery fortunately brought our circus tickets; I was worried we shouldn’t receive them before leaving for Saint-Denis.
Thursday 27 December 2007
This morning N and I both went to the hairdressers at the same time, something we have never done before. There was a lot of talk with our two stylists about what we had all just eaten over the holiday, and how the English differed from the French in this, and then N broached the subject of Monsieur A and his lack of interest in servicing our heating system. Neither was particularly surprised; one said we needed to go on and on at him and demand an appointment, the other said he tries to do too many different things and can’t keep up with the after-sales maintenance, unlike his father apparently, who had the business before him. She said that once he had come so late to sweep her chimney - after having been asked many times - that it exploded and covered him in soot, about which she was very pleased! N and I plan to drive round to Monsieur A’s « office » and confront him together, when we get back from Paris.
We arrived at the subject of heating by talking about the weather - still so much milder than last week, and getting progressively more so. Our « intelligent » heating system has adjusted itself accordingly, so that the rooms are sometimes a little cooler than expected. We have even heard one of our pigeons cooing outside, and seen him in the garden; we don’t know what they normally do at this time of year, but don’t remember him (or any of his colleagues) being around before during the winter.
Tomorrow we are driving back to Paris, ready for New Year celebrations and the visit of Kathryn and Iona next week, West Side Story and the circus. This means that most of the post- Christmas clearing up will be left until after we get back, probably not before the middle of January, but it can’t be helped, it will just have to be incorporated into an early Spring Cleaning.
We are now ready to start thinking again about selling the Saint-Denis apartment, and buying a new one - an big exciting project for the New Year.
# posted by Chez Katherine @ 7:55 AM 
