The Loire Valley and especially Blois
That flag you can see in the distance is a Breton separatist flag. Not many people fly flags in France unlike Germany and the United States where it’s a popular practice. According to news reports today, lockdown may be eased on 15th December after all because families are going to get together for Christmas regardless. …
Continue reading “Lockdown #2 Phase 2 – Day 11 – Reconfinement Phase 2 – Jour 11”
After the constant rain yesterday we were pleased when the sun came out briefly this afternoon and we could go for a walk. I thought this wreath and pansies were very welcoming. There were another 11 500 new Covid cases today, a far cry from the figure of 5 000 which is needed to end …
Continue reading “Lockdown #2 Phase 2 – Day 10 – Reconfinement Phase 2 – Jour 10”
Seen on our last walk, which was not today. It was too cold and rainy to set foot outside the house so we stayed by the fire reading and playing cooperative Scrabble. And I finally cooked my Christmas cake. Vu pendant notre dernière promenade qui n’était pas aujourd’hui. Il faisait bien trop froid et pluvieux …
Continue reading “Lockdown #2 Phase 2 – Day 9 – Reconfinement Phase 2 – Jour 9”
We saw this phone delivery truck three times in the space of 15 minutes on our walk this afternoon. Everyone must be buying new phones! Today was Black Friday in France, postponed by a week to enable newly-opened local businesses to participate but I find it hard to imagine there was a same day delivery …
Continue reading “Lockdown #2 Phase 2 – Day 7 – Reconfinement Phase 2 – Jour 7”
So we made the most of our new freedom – 3 hours and a radius of 20 k for physical activity – to go mushroom foraging in the forest. During the first half hour we only saw a few inedible russulae then suddenly we came across the most enormous hedgehog mushrooms in an area where …
Continue reading “Lockdown #2 Phase 2 – Day 1 – Reconfinement Phase 2 – Jour 1”
On our walk today – the last where we will be limited to a radius on 1 K and one hour (tomorrow we are gardening at my holiday rental before the first frost) – we went past what is usually a duck pond and couldn’t see any ducks. But as we got closer we were …
Continue reading “Lockdown #2 Day 27 – Reconfinement Jour 27”
One of the things that keeps us sane during lockdown is our fireplace. It makes the long evenings very cosy. Our house was built in 1584 according to the stone plaque above the mantel. L’une des choses qui nous aide à garder le moral pendant le confinement est notre cheminée. Notre maison fut construite en …
Continue reading “Lockdown #2 Day 26 – Reconfinement Jour 26”
Only the stumps of our bay leaf tree are left but we have a lot of mulch and some firewood. Our Covid figures are improving despite the fact that France now has 49,232 deaths against 40,987 on 11th November, an alarming increase. Loir-et-Cher, the area in which we live, has 4 people in intensive care, …
Continue reading “Lockdown #2 Day 24 – Reconfinement Jour 24”
That tree you can see towards the right is a bay leaf tree or Laurus nobilis which we have decided to cut down as nothing will grow under it except strawberries which are not easy to pick on a slope. Jean Michel cut down about 1/3 today and put about half of it through the …
Continue reading “Lockdown #2 Day 23 – Reconfinement Jour 23”
This photo was taken when we left the market this morning. It was 1 degree. The second was taken 2 hours later on the way home, after going to Biocoop, the organic supermarket and Intermarché, the regular supermarket. It was 4 degrees by then. Next Saturday we will only have to go to the market …
Continue reading “Lockdown #2 Day 22 – Reconfinement Jour 22”