Quel Loisir or Chercher un Passe-Temps

Well I am now into week 3 of my first summer of retirement. I was told that I would need to find a hobby to keep me occupied during all the new spare time I will have. Now it has come to my attention that drinking champagne, eating foie-gras and wasting time on Facebook does not constitute a hobby according to European regulations.

So I needed a hobby that would meet a few criterias:
         1) inexpensive, Steve all ready has buying fire places as his hobby
         2) not require a lot of buying stuff, Steve has that one covered as well
         3) something I can do on my own
         4) if I am lucky, it involves exercise, not eating more cheese


Tennis and golf are out due to #1, 2 and 3, even though I like the clothes better in those two sports. So it was a good thing then that I purchased a "vélo" for €20 back in March which made the new hobby cheap, #1. I did take the bike out for a few short  rides back in March and then just few weeks ago got it out of the garage for another short ride: it was hard work, but I needed  #4. Now with our guest gone, it was time to get serious. So last Thursday, out came the bike and off I went. If you know Bellac and the "Chapterie", our neighbourhood, there are a just a few hills around here, with most of them going up. As they say "no pain, no gain" and "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger".  Well I guess I am going to gain muscle I hope and be stronger. Just leaving the house, you start with with a hill as steep as the flight path of a plane taking off, but finally you get to the top of the ridge.

It is steeper than it appears.

There, the road flattens out to wind and roll pass the farms that the area is so famous for.  The roads are single lane with very few cars, more like bike lanes than roads, but being so quiet out there, you can always hear the few cars coming. Also, the French are much more used to bikes on the roads, and for the most part, bike riders are respected by the cars unlike back at home.While there are no cheering spectators to cheer me on like during the Tour de France, the sheep, the goats, the pigs and the horses mark my passage each morning. Even the "tournesols", sunflowers,

wave as I pass. Well today was only day 4, but already I have added another loop to my journey. Now my circuit is just over 11 kms.

But it hasn't been all yellow jacket material. After the first two days, I realized why bike riders wear those funny shorts. On Saturday it was off to the local sporting goods store. Unlike at home when you usually have lots of alone time to check out the merchandise, I was quickly greeted by a very nice "vendeur". I was holding their least expensive style, and asked if they had my size. Now I may not be considered slim, but here in France XL sometimes doesn't quite do it. I am not sure where the locals who look about my size get their clothes, I guess somewhere out there is Monsieur Gros et Grand shop. But getting back to my bicycle pants. He found me a pair of XL in two styles, and I set off to the "cabine d'essayage" to try them on. I was leaning to the style that looked more like shorts, especially since I ended up fitting into a L, but the more traditional style won out for comfort.

Back on the bike the next day and "vive le diffèrence"!  I quickly found out why these shorts are a requirement to ride, especially if you are to be on the bike for an hour or two or more. So now I have two hobbies, biking and garden-ing. After a good bike ride, it feels great to be laying out in the garden. A great pair. I will even keep up my unofficial hobby with the champagne, but just after my bike rides.

Even though I did have to buy a few things for the hobby, the shorts are invaluable as was the helmet yesterday. I was putting the bike away in the garage at the end of the ride, when something caught my attention, and my head hit the door as it was still going up. You just can not be too careful when safety is involved.

Near the end of my ride, there is new fibre optic cable being laid, and some of the local roads are being dug up. The sign the French use to mark this is the following and it got me thinking.

Too many !

Click here, especially if you are a Seinfeld fan: Got me thinking!  (sorry about the commercials)


Eh bien, je suis maintenant dans la troisième semaine de mon premier été de retraite. On m'a dit que je devrais trouver un passe-temps pour me tenir occupé pendant tout le temps libre que j'aurais. Maintenant, il m'est apparu que boire du champagne, manger du foie-gras et perdre du temps sur Facebook ne constituaient pas un passe-temps selon la réglementation européenne.

Il me fallait donc un loisir répondant à quelques critères:
         1) pas cher, Steve est prêt à acheter des cheminées comme passe-temps
         2) ne nécessite pas beaucoup de choses à acheter, Steve a celui-là également couvert
         3) quelque chose que je peux faire moi-même
         4) si j'ai de la chance, cela implique de faire de l'exercice sans manger plus de fromage

Le tennis et le golf sont absents pour les n ° 1, 2 et 3, même si je préfère les vêtements dans ces deux sports. C’était donc une bonne chose que j’ai acheté un vélo à 20 € en mars, ce qui a rendu le nouveau passe-temps pas cher, n ° 1. En mars, j’ai pris quelques instants de moto et quelques semaines plus tard, je l’ai sorti du garage pour une autre petite ballade: c’était un travail difficile, mais j’avais besoin de la 4e position. Maintenant que notre invité était parti, il était temps de passer aux choses sérieuses. Alors jeudi dernier, le vélo est sorti et je suis parti. Si vous connaissez Bellac et le "Chapterie", notre quartier, il n’ya que quelques collines, la plupart d’entre elles étant en montée. Comme ils disent "pas de douleur, pas de gain" et "ce qui ne vous tue pas vous rend plus fort". Eh bien, je suppose que je vais gagner du muscle j'espère et être plus fort. En sortant de la maison, vous commencez par une colline aussi raide que la trajectoire de vol d'un avion, mais vous arrivez enfin au sommet de la crête. Là, la route s’aplatit pour laisser passer et passer les fermes qui font la renommée de la région. Les routes sont à voie unique avec très peu de voitures, ressemblant beaucoup plus aux pistes cyclables qu’aux routes, mais étant très calmes là-bas, vous pouvez toujours entendre les quelques voitures qui arrivent. En outre, les Français sont beaucoup plus habitués à faire du vélo sur les routes et, pour la plupart, les motards sont respectés par les voitures contrairement à ce qui se passait à la maison. Bien qu'aucun spectateur ne puisse m'encourager, comme lors du Tour de France, Les moutons, les chèvres, les cochons et les chevaux marquent mon passage chaque matin. Même les tournesols, les tournesols, agitent comme je passe. Aujourd'hui, nous n'étions qu'au jour 4, mais j'ai déjà ajouté une autre boucle à mon parcours. Maintenant, mon circuit fait un peu plus de 11 km. Mais ce n’est pas tout en jaquette. Après les deux premiers jours, j'ai compris pourquoi les cyclistes portent ces shorts amusants. Samedi, nous nous sommes rendus au magasin d'articles de sport local. Contrairement à la maison lorsque vous avez souvent beaucoup de temps seul pour vérifier la marchandise, j'ai été rapidement accueillie par un très joli "vendeur". Je tenais leur style le moins cher, et leur ai demandé s'ils avaient ma taille. Maintenant, je ne suis peut-être pas considéré comme mince, mais ici en France, XL ne le fait parfois pas tout à fait. Je ne suis pas sûr de savoir où les gens du coin qui ont l'air de ma taille obtiennent leurs vêtements, je suppose que quelque part, il y a Monsieur Gros et Grand. Mais revenons à mon pantalon de vélo. Il m'a trouvé une paire de XL dans deux styles et je me suis mis à la "cabine d'essayage" pour l'essayer. Je me suis penché sur le style qui ressemblait plus à un short, surtout depuis que je me suis retrouvé dans un L, mais le style plus traditionnel a gagné pour le confort.

Retour sur le vélo le lendemain et "vive le diffèrence"! J'ai rapidement compris pourquoi ces shorts sont indispensables, surtout si vous devez faire du vélo pendant une heure ou deux ou plus. Alors maintenant, j'ai deux passe-temps, le vélo et le jardinage. Après une bonne balade à vélo, il fait bon se retrouver dans le jardin. Une belle paire Je vais même garder mon passe-temps non officiel avec le champagne, mais juste après mes balades à vélo.

Même si je devais acheter quelques articles pour mon passe-temps, le short est précieux, tout comme le casque hier. J'étais en train de ranger le vélo dans le garage à la fin de la course, quand quelque chose a attiré mon attention, et ma tête a heurté la porte alors qu'elle montait encore. Vous ne pouvez pas faire trop attention lorsque la sécurité est en jeu.

Vers la fin de mon trajet, un nouveau câble à fibres optiques est en train d'être posé et certaines des routes locales sont en train d'être creusées. Le signe utilisé par les Français pour marquer ceci est le suivant et cela m'a fait réfléchir.

When Bellac gets real ....

Worth every kilometre.

We have been here in France for just over a week now, and we are adjusting nicely. The jet lag (décalage horaire) has passed, and we have settled in to a retired life here in Bellac. It is amazing how quickly a day passes and seemingly nothing gets done. It is now Wednesday, July 10 and we, Steve, Puffin (nos chat) and I are getting ready for dinner. Today I spent more time in the garden while Steve was busy with his new found obsession, the wood burner (poêle à bois). He purchased his second one on Friday. He had arranged it on the internet a few weeks back, not quite knowing just how far away it was from Bellac. We set off Friday morning for a full day of driving down to Sainte-Livrade-sur-Lot and back. (about an 8 hour return drive).  We passed the Dordogne and then continued to the Lot rivers. In retrospect, we should have booked a hotel and enjoyed the area, but we will head down again soon. It is a famous wine and historic area. A few years back we canoed along the Dordogne River. Just glad Steve was able to have his €40 offer for an advertised €80 poêle accepted. We used the other €40 in gas, tolls and lunch. Getting it back home, and cleaned up, it seems like a good use of a day. The plans are for it to become our "fire pit" in the back garden come the cooler nights in the late summer and this fall.

It hasn't been needed as of late, as the weather has been excellent, maybe a little hot, but nothing like the previous weeks of 40º.

Flowers or car?

It just means a little work is followed by a little rest in the shade, or like yesterday, a day at the lake. We were off to Lac Saint Pardoux with our friends from down the road, Carl, his wife Sam and their daughter, Emilie. We had a great day enjoying a picnic, a few dips in the lake and even a "pub quiz game".  We were a bit worried because we did so well on the categories of wine and beer, oh well.....


We have also been across the street to visit Christine and Barry for a few drinks last week, had our friend Clare from up the street over for drinks and then visited our French friend Laure and her daughter Claire-Andrea for drinks. We will have to find some other social activities other than drinking some day..... Maybe this is why we did so well on the quiz questions.

Other more mundane things in our first week, our luggage arrived last Thursday, I have taken my bike out for a ride,  and Steve has hit the back roads for his walks. The garden has taken most of my time, as we have purchased plants from all over the village. We discovered a nursery out in the middle of nowhere, purchased a few at the market on Saturday morning, and even more today at the grocery store.

Rochechouart

Well that was last week..... since then there has been a few updates. Sandy from work arrived for a short stay and Carl and Sam hosted the "feux d' artifice spectaculaires" party on Saturday Bastille night. Unfortunately we heard some upsetting news that a man jumped from the town's train viaduct earlier on Saturday afternoon. Then later in the evening/early morning, while we were all down by the river enjoying the band and dancing, an altercation between two young men over drugs occurred leaving one man in serious condition from stab wounds.

Woweeeee!

We were aware of a situation of some sort, but we didn't realize that it was such a serious incident.

It wasn't all fun and games...

The suspect, who was known to the Gendarmerie was arrested. We noticed the officers searching for we think the knife on Sunday, while Carl and Sam saw that they brought in divers to search the river on Monday. We understand the the victim is recovering in hospital. 

The village has seen a few changes, old stores/shops closing, while new ones open up. The rue du Coq and centre of old town has had many murals painted celebrating the 'Sheep' festival which occurs throughout the summer months. The meat truck is back on our street with a new butcher from a neighbouring village of Bussière-Poitevine, delivering meat every Tuesday afternoon. The previous butcher with a meat truck and store has retired. 

Sheep murals throughout town.

In looking forward, the weather forecast is all sunshine till the end of the month with temperatures later this week into the low 30s. I see a trip or two to the lake or "la piscine". Life will settle in to our slow routine again now that Carl and Sam are back home and Sandy leaves for Paris tomorrow. We might be able to restock la cave à vin. It is looking a little empty... Don't worry that we will get bored, we have a dinner on Friday to look forward to, and then on Saturday night there is the Marchés de Producteurs in the park. This is where local butchers sell their wares and volunteers will bar-b-que them, and then a bottle of wine, or a few local beers, along with the famous pommes frites. The band plays French folk music will into the night. 

I hope all is well where ever in the world you are reading this, and watch for further updates as our time here continues.  

Français sous.

Lots of chairs waiting for you.... 

Completely made of wool, yup, no sheep were injured making this creation, but the sheep festival does include the eating of...

Steve's latest treasure from the local brocante shop

Feux d' Artifice

Nous sommes en France depuis un peu plus d'une semaine et nous nous ajustons bien. Le décalage horaire est passé et nous nous sommes installés à la retraite à Bellac. C'est incroyable à quelle vitesse une journée passe et apparemment rien ne se fait. Nous sommes maintenant le mercredi 10 juillet et nous, Steve, Puffin (nos discussions) et moi-même, nous nous préparons pour le dîner. Aujourd'hui, j'ai passé plus de temps dans le jardin pendant que Steve était occupé avec sa nouvelle obsession, le poêle à bois. Il a acheté son deuxième vendredi. Il l'avait arrangé sur Internet il y a quelques semaines, ne sachant pas à quelle distance il se trouvait de Bellac. Nous sommes partis vendredi matin pour une journée complète de conduite vers Sainte-Livrade-sur-Lot et retour. (environ 8 heures de trajet aller-retour). Nous avons passé la Dordogne puis avons continué vers les rivières du Lot. Rétrospectivement, nous aurions dû réserver un hôtel et profiter de la région, mais nous redescendrons bientôt. C'est un vin célèbre et une région historique. Il y a quelques années, nous avons fait du canoë le long de la rivière Dordogne. Heureusement que Steve a pu faire accepter son offre de 40 € pour un poêle annoncé à 80 €. Nous avons utilisé les 40 € restants pour l’essence, les péages et le déjeuner. Le ramener à la maison et le nettoyer, cela semble être une bonne utilisation de la journée. Les plans sont pour que cela devienne notre "foyer" dans le jardin à l’arrivée des nuits fraîches de la fin de l’été et de cet automne.

Cela n’a pas été nécessaire ces derniers temps, car le temps était excellent, peut-être un peu chaud, mais rien à voir avec les semaines précédentes de 40º.

Cela signifie simplement qu'un peu de travail est suivi d'un peu de repos à l'ombre ou, comme hier, d'une journée au lac. Nous sommes allés au lac Saint-Pardoux avec nos amis de l'autre côté de la route, Carl, son épouse Sam et leur fille Emilie. Nous avons passé une excellente journée en dégustant un pique-nique, quelques plongeons dans le lac et même un "jeu-questionnaire sur les pubs". Nous étions un peu inquiets parce que nous nous sommes très bien débrouillés dans les catégories du vin et de la bière, et bien .....

Nous sommes également allés de l'autre côté de la rue pour rendre visite à Christine et Barry, quelques verres la semaine dernière. Notre amie Clare, de l'autre côté de la rue, est allée boire un verre avant d'aller rendre visite à notre amie française Laure et sa fille Claire-Andrea. Nous devrons trouver d’autres activités sociales que de boire un jour ..... C’est peut-être pour cette raison que nous avons si bien répondu aux questions du quiz.

D’autres choses plus banales au cours de notre première semaine, nos bagages sont arrivés jeudi dernier, j’ai emmené mon vélo faire un tour et Steve a pris la route pour ses promenades. Le jardin a pris la majeure partie de mon temps, car nous avons acheté des plantes de tout le village. Nous avons découvert une pépinière au milieu de nulle part, nous en avons acheté quelques-uns au marché le samedi matin et encore plus aujourd'hui à l'épicerie.

C'était la semaine dernière ..... depuis lors, il y a eu quelques mises à jour. Sandy du travail est arrivé pour un court séjour et Carl et Sam ont organisé la soirée "feux d'artifices spectaculaires" samedi soir à la Bastille. Malheureusement, nous avons appris avec inquiétude qu'un homme avait sauté du viaduc de la ville samedi après-midi. Puis plus tard dans la soirée / tôt le matin, alors que nous étions tous au bord de la rivière à écouter de la musique et à danser, une altercation entre deux jeunes hommes pour cause de drogue s’est produite, laissant un homme gravement blessé par une blessure par arme blanche. Nous étions au courant d'une situation quelconque, mais nous n'avions pas réalisé qu'il s'agissait d'un incident aussi grave. Le suspect, connu de la gendarmerie, a été arrêté. Nous avons remarqué que les policiers cherchaient le couteau dimanche, alors que Carl et Sam ont vu qu'ils avaient amené des plongeurs lundi pour fouiller la rivière. Nous comprenons que la victime se rétablisse à l'hôpital.

Le village a vu quelques changements, d'anciens magasins / boutiques ferment, tandis que de nouveaux s'ouvrent. La rue du Coq et le centre de la vieille ville ont fait peindre de nombreuses peintures murales célébrant la fête des «moutons» qui se déroule pendant les mois d'été. Le camion de viande est de retour dans notre rue avec une nouvelle boucherie du village voisin de Bussière-Poitevine, livrant de la viande tous les mardis après-midi. Le boucher précédent avec un camion de viande et un magasin a pris sa retraite.

En regardant en avant, les prévisions météorologiques sont tout ensoleillées jusqu’à la fin du mois avec des températures plus basses de cette semaine dans les années 30. Je vois un voyage ou deux au lac ou à la piscine. La vie va s'installer à nouveau dans notre routine maintenant que Carl et Sam sont rentrés à la maison et que Sandy part pour Paris demain. Nous pourrions peut-être réapprovisionner la cave à vin. Il semble un peu vide ... Ne vous inquiétez pas, nous allons nous ennuyer, nous avons un dîner pour le vendredi, puis le samedi soir, il y a les Marchés de Producteurs dans le parc. C’est là que les bouchers vendent leurs produits et que des volontaires les vendent, puis une bouteille de vin, ou quelques bières locales, ainsi que les fameuses pommes frites. Le groupe joue de la musique folk française dans la nuit.

J'espère que tout va bien où que vous lisiez dans le monde et soyez attentifs aux mises à jour à venir.

Nous sommes ici! Encore!

Rue Traversiere before dawn.

It is now Tuesday, July 2 at 4:16 am and we have been up for several hours already. Our journey began on Sunday, June 30 at 10:00 am with a Bel Aire cab ride to the airport. The driver was on time and it was a great ride, well within the estimated cost. Thanks! On arrival at the airport, we noticed it was much busier than usual, even the driver said he hadn't seen it like that. Entering the airport, you couldn't help but notice the crowds and lines. The queue for the international security check in was half way down past the check in counters. We were worried that we might not have the time in the lounge before our flight. The Air France/KLM check in line was not too long, and we were quickly at the counter. We were fine, but when the agent got to the cat, she had to call over the supervisor. She examined the documents from our vet which showed the cat had the 3 things France needed:
    1) a rabies shot
    2) a chip implanted
    3) a clean bill of health
We were unaware that there was a specific document that also was needed, that was hidden away on the airline's web page. With a lot of discussion, and almost tears, she succumbed to her love of cats, and Puffin's cute face through the carrying case, and attached the Cabin Baggage tag to Puffin's carry case. She wished us well and hoped that her decision would not come back to haunt her. More about this latter. She also put Fast Track stickers to our boarding passes which helped us by-pass the extremely long lines and we got right through security. We were wondering how this was going to work. Steve had to carry just Puffin through the metal detector, which with all the crowds around her, we were glad she was on her Xanax. She was a trooper. With Puffin back in the carry case, we were off to the lounge for a well deserved beer or two before boarding thanks to the time saved by the Fast Track stickers. Sitting there, we thought about what might have happened if the agent wasn't willing to forego the form, but in the backs of our minds was the reception we might get in France trying to explain to them why we don't have the form.

The flight was uneventful, but sleepless as these thoughts of dread kept our minds on the tread mill. A few movies and meals and two trips to the toilet for Puffin, all was fine. She was a little squirrelly in her case, but overall she traveled well. Thanks to the two Air France blankets that we used to soak up her pee....

As the sun began to rise, and the plane was over French airspace, premonitions of our arrival loomed over us. Even though we have always been fortunate to have little go wrong on our travels, there is always the first time....

The trip from the plane to the customs hall was quick and painless, and even better when we saw that the queue was very short. We got through in about 10 minutes. Then to pick up our luggage, the the final hurdle looming ever closer. At the baggage carousel, the Air France agent let us know that many bags did not get on the flight and we would have to make a claim. The very nice Air France agent in the baggage department helped us use the kiosk to make the claim. The nice thing is we didn't have to lug our luggage around to get the car and it will be shipped to us in a few days. Now the walk of shame through French Customs and hoping all will be well. I'm sure that they are watching from cameras, as no one is there, but we kept walking and then quickly through the exit door into France, much like the Ikea commercial, start the car and just keep going.

Now normally I am well prepared for travel and have read through the documents and know what to do. Well with all the excitement of retirement and a false sense of knowledge, we headed to find the Renault agent to pick up our lease car. The map on the form showed that their location was in the parking lot of Terminal 3, so off we went, without reading that we should have called them to arrange a shuttle pick up. Well we knew better. After a walk out to a vacant building in the far reaches of the parking lot, we headed back to Terminal 3 for help. We approached a woman wearing the airport uniform and asked. She wasn't sure where it was, but she asked another woman at an airline desk, and finally, she saw the guru of airport knowledge and asked him. He gave us advise, which didn't seem to make sense to us, so I asked if we could use his phone to call the number we had. So he dialed and handed me the phone. The car company was a little miffed that we were now in Terminal 3 instead of were they thought we would be, Terminal 2, but he sent the shuttle to pick us up. The driver was very understanding and within a few minutes were were back to eastern outback of the parking lot, instead of where we were in the western outback. Not long after, we were in the middle of a Parisian traffic jam, which our GPS kept trying to avoid, but enough of the slow back roads, we though it would be better to be on the slow but moving 104 around Paris. Even our French bank cards worked at the toll booths, a far cry from chasing after a blown away credit card on one of our first toll booth adventures.

With a few switches of drivers, and a few stops and even a mutual nap, we made it to Bellac, a record of 7hrs, should have been 4 1/2. After a quick stop at the grocery store for basics, we were home opening up the house. All was well as we turned on the water and electricity and opened the shutters. Even the wifi turned worked right away. Puffin spent time wondering getting acquainted with her new home. A far cry from a one bedroom apartment to a 3 story house.

After settling in, we had a frozen pizza and some of our favourite deli salads and a bottle of red. Our neighbour from across the street popped by to say hi. Right after dinner, early by French standards, we were in bed before 8:00pm.  It is always a process to get over the jet lag. We knew we would be up early, and by 2:00 am we were wide awake. With a little luck and a nap latter, we will be able to stay up later tonight, and sleep until a decent time. Mornings come late here in Bellac, as even as I type this at 5:00, it is still dark outside. We make up for it at night as it is light right now till almost 11.

This morning Puffin had her first adventure. We opened up the door to the second floor balcony, and out she went to investigate. Turning our back on her for a second or 10 minutes , she made a leap to the deck below, from back door dormer to deck (12 feet) unawares to us. A few minutes later, Steve heard scratching at the back door, she wanted in, well at least she knew how to get back in the house. Later today, we are off to the store to buy something to fence off future leaping possibilities.

Well breakfast calls. We will post pictures of the over grown back yard and more once the sun comes
up.

The hard work continues.

Down by the river.

A French Cat Nap

Beginning to tame the jungle.