La très bonne vie!

We had four goals for our summer of 2017.
1) repair the water heater leak
2) plan what to do with the back patio/yard/deck
3) eat out a bit more
4) speak more French

My Lunch in Montrol Senard

Well we are well on our way to tackling #1 and #3. Yesterday,  Gary, our plumber, came by to look at the water tank leak and made a diagnosis of its future or lack of a future. We will be leak free in a week or so. He is like a typical contractor and we can't pin him down to an exact date but there are only so many English speaking plumbers in this part of France, so we don't rock the bateau. As with #3, we have had 3 excellent lunches out with our guests, Marion and Heather. The first lunch was at Le Palais right here in Bellac. Even though Google rates it only 1.5 stars, we had a very nice lunch with salads and croque-monsieurs with an excellent side of frites. They were very good and the service was good as well. It was a nice shady lunch on a hot day. Day two was a step up at La Table du Lavoir in Montrol Senard, a small village near by. This was a bit of a gourmet lunch with excellent service and delicious food. We wish we were hungrier, as we only had an entrèe, the plats looked excellent, and the lemon pie was a bit hit. Wednesday took us to Limoges and the heat drove us into Le Versailles restaurant. This air-conditioned restaurant was typical French, and we had the 3 course menu, gazpacho or patè for the entrèe, beef or fish for the plat, and then chocolate mousse or a soufflé wrapped in a crepe. It was a delicious treat. 

Steve's Dessert

Our gourmand tour continued on Friday for dinner. We have heard about the Creperie du Vincou since we have been coming to Bellac. This was our first venture inside. We now wonder why we waited so long. The selection went way beyond crepes, and we discovered that they are famous for their meats. Steaks and lamb were cooked to perfection and served with either your choice of poivre or bèarnaise sauce and of course avec frites. The quiche entrèe was mouthwatering and the tarte au apricots was a big hit. Steve tried a crepe with cheese, ham and potatoes for his entrèe and it was a hit as well, but just a bit too big for an entrée. We left the restaurant feeling full and satisfied but still very hot.... With each meal the deliciousness increased as did the temperature....

As with all good things in life there must be change. Well our change was our guests had to move on. Marion and Heather left on Saturday morning for Mont St. Michel, Caen and then Amsterdam and we were left eating on our own.  These two excellent guests set the bar very high for those of you who follow. We thank all of our guests who brought a small token gift from home to leave as a reminder for us of their visit, and so far the gifts have been very practical, and some we're not sure if they are new or our age is showing :-).
We love the Australian mugs (for our morning coffee) and plates, the wine tumblers (hope we don't wear them out) and the stylish shopping bags.

Steve, Heather and Vern

Marion and Steve

Heather and Marion

Their departure did allow us to take care of a few things, like get a new washing machine. Steve had done some shopping on line to get some ideas and prices, but our neighbour recommended a stop in the local appliance store before we did anything. Well later that same afternoon, we walked our of the shop proud new owners of a lave-linge. When we got home we had to get ready for the same afternoon delivery. This meant taking out the old machine. As we took the hose off the machine, we realized that someone turned off the water, and then it struck us that this might be the problem. We quickly called back the shop to hold the delivery, and ran a quick cycle with the water on, but the same problem. So it was back on the phone and told them we were ready for the the new machine. The young man was quickly here with the new machine, which we carried down the hall into place. He set it up for us, and in our Frenglish he explained the workings of the lave-linge. Not only did he deliver the new machine, he took away the old machine. Great service and if you are ever in need of an appliance in this neighbourhood, we would highly recommend Pulsat.

Now with a few loads of laundry cleaned, dried and put away, the storms rolled in. Saturday's l'orage was more le tonnerre and l'eclair, while Sunday's had beaucoup de la pluie aussi. I did get into the garden to begin the weeding amid the storms and now we have a better idea of what we have. The tomatoes are coming along very well, ready to pick one or two that are ripening on the vine nicely. There are many more right behind. We have figured out how to pick lettuce and the stems left behind are now filling up with nice leafy greens. There are some peppers, cucumbers and strawberries growing well. Our next challenge will be to discover new ways to harvest and preserve the vegetables of our labour. Thanks to Rob and Tric for getting it all started back in May.

Our plans are for a short getaway next week to Bordeaux, highly recommended by Heather and Marion, and then a day at the beach in La Rochelle. We just have to make sure we work around our plumber's busy schedule. Like the soup Nazi, we don't want to upset him. We are also having our second annual Bastille Day fireworks party on Thursday evening. There is an excellent view of the feux d'artifice from our balcon.

So la bonne vie passes slowly and peacefully here in Bellac. Steve is just out the door for the first of his country walks, and I sit here writing but the weeds won't wait.....