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”
We celebrate four evenly-spaced events each year in a gourmet restaurant – my birthday in April, our wedding anniversary in June, Jean Michel’s birthday in October and the anniversary of our first meeting in December. This year, because of the coronavirus, we have celebrated in a restaurant only once, in June, and I managed to …
Continue reading “Lockdown #2 Phase 2 – Day 8 – Reconfinement Phase 2 – Jour 8”
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”
Pansies are for thoughts. This post is dedicated to all the family and friends I haven’t seen for many months due to Covid. Yesterday we celebrated a virtual thanksgiving with my children and their partners in Boston. At least they are able to see each other regularly. We can only hope for better days ahead. …
Continue reading “Lockdown #2 Day 28 – Reconfinement Jour 28”
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”
President Macron has just announced what lockdown will be like for the next few weeks and I am more reassured that I expected. New cases have gone down in the last month from 60 000 a day to 20 000. From 28th November, all shops will be open again with a strict protocol limiting the …
Continue reading “Lockdown #2 Day 25 – Reconfinement Jour 25”
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”
We are having our first cold days here with 1 degree at night and under 10 during the day despite the sun. Gardening will be put on hold for a while. We are told the second wave peak is over thanks to lockdown but we need to stabilise. Everyone is clamoring to have non-essentials shops …
Continue reading “Lockdown #2 Day 21 – Reconfinement Jour 21”