Les Volets Bleus

Over-tired, frustrated, hungry, we arrived in the small town of Monts-sur-Guesnes.  The farmhouse we had rented is called Les Volets Bleus (The Blue Shutters).  It is a two-story farmhouse primarily built of stone around 150 years ago.  The house has a superbly equipped kitchen and can accomodate 10 people.  The town of Monts-sur-Guesnes has an ancient chateau at its center, now occupied by the municipal government and tourism department.  There is a small farmer's market on Saturday mornings which, unfortunately, we were unable to attend, having arrived too late.  After depositing our luggage in our bedrooms and surveying the house and grounds, we set out to find some sustenance.  Another flaw in our planning----it seems that lunch is the primary meal of the day in the French countryside.  The local store opened at 9:00AM, closed from noon to about 2:30PM, then reopened, closing for the evening around 8:00PM.  Naturally we had arrived during the time it was closed!!!  The restaurant in town only served customers with reservations so there was no succor there either for the weary hungry travelers.  Not an auspicious start to our dream vacation............

After a little research on the internet and a frustrating journey to find an open supermarket, we succeeded in acquiring food and wine.  We each went to seperate rooms to relax and get control of our frustrations, then assembled on the covered patio in the rear of the house with several bottles of local wine and cheeses...........a very continental way to re-establish our friendly familial relations.....

What we could see was very pleasing and finally we experienced some positive omens for our sojourn:

The house is situated at the edge of the village, surrounded by fields and open land.  About a kilometer to the south is la ligne verte, a trail covering some 14 kilometers interspersed with various trail-side markers which facilitate a self-guided nature walk.  The shopkeepers and service providers we encountered were all friendly but there were few words of English to be had from any of them.  What little French we possessed, mainly from guidebooks and the iPhone translator app, was totally insufficient for our needs.  But with some tenacity on our part, and a willingness to be of assistance on theirs, we were able to procure groceries, wine, and even get the tires on the bicycles (available at the house for our use) pumped full of air.

We thoroughly loved the experience of living in the country-side, away from the madness of Paris and the tourist areas.  Hopefully we can spend two weeks in Monts-sur-Guesnes next year.......

We Cut the Cord

It was terrible.  We returned from France, settled in at the Mud Shack, turned on the Comcast tuner box/DVR and settled in for an evening of catching up with Don Draper and the denizens of Mad Men.  But the final three episodes had NOT been recorded!!!!  Oh well, guess we can get them online.....

So we opted for On-Demand, using our last rebate for a pay-to-view movie on Leonardo DiCaprio as J Edgar.  As the final scenes were approaching, the streaming cut out leaving only a green screen on the monitor.  The final straw........

Our only interaction with Comcast now is high-speed internet.  The customer service rep to whom we returned the box was very sympathetic when informed of the reason for the divorce.  She asserted that she would have quit the cable provider as well had she been deprived of the final episodes of Mad Men.  But she didn't offer us any discounts or refunds........

We have to admit that we miss some shows in real time---Chuck Todd on MSNBC, PBS Newshour, but, thanks to Google TV, we've discovered a REAL news outlet---Al-jazeera.  Their Newshour actually reports on events occuring all over the world----like the upcoming Mexican presidential elections, the continued strife in Syria, the deliberations of the election commission in Egypt---probably never hear about these on the American cable news channels.  Al-jazeera's coverage is in depth and nowhere near as biased as MSNBC or Fox.

We have reactivated our Netflix subscription and instituted a trial subscription to Hulu Plus for television shows.  Enjoying the original Dark Shadows.  We'll see how much content is really available and will continue to look for good sources of sports programming---but so far the savings over the cable charges have been significant and the delivery of content more reliable.

The internet has the capability to provide information and entertainment.  How much content is available and how reasonably it is priced could change the habits of tv viewers and strike low the mega corporations currently providing this service.  That would not be a bad thing.........

Arrival in France

You need to understand that we hadn't slept since Thursday night.  We boarded the Icelandair flight at 2:30PM EDT Friday June 1 at JFK Airport in New York City.  Jamaica NY to be precise.  We landed in Iceland for a plane change.  It was almost midnight local time Saturday.  The sun was still up.  We boarded the next plane and headed southeast towards Paris.  The sun just sort of rotated in the sky, from the west to the east, without ever "setting."  A whole night with no darkness; a little disorienting, ya think????

So at 6:30AM Paris time Saturday June 2, the intrepid travelers arrive at Charles DeGaulle Airport just outside Paris, France.  After what seemed like many kilometers of stairs and moving walkways, we collected our baggage and stood in the parking garage in front of the Peugeot 5008 SW assigned to us by the rental car company.  The gearshift had markings "R, A, M."  There was a starter button.  On the dash was a lever with a "P."  There were buttons and levers all over, most unmarked.  An examination of the glove box and various other nooks and crannies in the interior provided no assistance in the form of a manual or quick-start card.

After about 45 minutes playing with various buttons and levers, Google Maps printout in hand and hoping the address of our farmhouse destination in the Loire Valley was actually entered into the navigation package, we set out from the garage.  Almost immediately a major flaw in our preparations revealed itself.  Months had been spent perusing websites about the area, rules and regs from the US State Department and Icelandair to make certain we complied with the current paranoia that is air travel and did not act like the ugly American tourists of  cinema and literature, but we had not acquainted ourselves with French TRAFFIC SIGNS!!!!!  We knew "a droit" is "right" and "a gauche" is "left" but speed limits?? route signs??  traffic control warnings??  NO CLUE.  So sleep deprived, unprepared, ignorant of the signage, we set off for the 300-plus kilometer drive southwest to Monts-sur Guesnes and the farmhouse we had rented for the week..........

We knew we needed to access a road called Périphérique Sud then Route A-10.  Never saw a sign for the first road but we were able to muddle along and get on A-10.  The turn-by-turn directions we had printed were useless without recognizable street name signs.  Thankfully the nav worked except the volume was so low that it was necessary for everyone in the vehicle to silence themselves whenever "she" spoke to augment the directions on the screen----mostly pearls of wisdom like "At the round-about, take the second exit."  (It took two days to figure out the volume control.)


Also annoying was the distinct hesitation when starting from a full stop.  It took an email exchange with a state-side friend to alert me to the possibility the Peugeot might be a diesel----it was!!!  But so quiet and comfortable compared to American perceptions of diesel power---noisy, smoky, the fuel more expensive than plain old gasoline.......But not in France where gaszole averaged about .20euros per liter less than petrol.  And once I understood that "M" meant "manual" mode, the sluggishness at the low end could be managed with the shifter levers on either side of the steering wheel.


So about four and a half hours after arrival in Paris, after a journey of around 334 kilometers, tolls in excess of 25euros (about $1.25 to the euro), exhausted and famished, we arrived at Monts-sur-Guesnes and the farmhouse that would be our home for the next week.  

Home at Last

After almost three weeks away, the Mud Shack looked pretty good to these weary travelers.  There will be pictures and commentary about our trip in forthcoming posts but first a few salient impressions of the trip to New York, France, and New England.

It was very impressive to see the construction of the new tower at the site of the old World Trade Center.  Even nicer to relax in the courtyard of St. Paul's Chapel, built in 1766.  The old graveyard is a pleasant respite from the bustle of the city.

We spent eleven full days in France, both the countryside of the Loire Valley and in Paris, and never got served escargot.  But I did manage three pizzas:  one at a cafe/bar near the Chateau of Villandry; one from a cart at the Richelieu farmer's market; and the third from Vesuvio Ristorante on Blvd. St. Germain in Paris.  Only the one from the cart offered to slice the pizza!!!  The other two were discs of cheese, sauce and toppings.  I must say all three were excellent.  The other gastronomic treat was the oysters, both from Ile de Re and the Richelieu market.  They were superior to any I've had in years---maybe that's because we can't get very fresh oysters in the desert??  At least, not the aquatic variety....

The full day in Boston was spent walking and shopping for souvenirs for family and friends.  (We were too sick from colds/allergies to do much shopping in Paris.) While I loved the dinner at the Atlantic Fish Co. on Boylston St., the oysters weren't as sweet as the ones in France.  But the Lenox Hotel again surpassed our expectations.  And the true center of the universe is the corner of Brookline Ave. and Yawkey Way!!!  Love the "Red Sockets" parking area and recharging station for electric automobiles....

Friday night we attended a retirement dinner for six teachers from the school in Candia.  It was wonderfully attended and so great to see people we have missed over the five years since we left New Hampshire.  Saturday was spent with friends in Candia and thanks to all for their wonderful friendship and hospitality.

But the best part of the saga was waking up Monday morning in a bed full of canine kids.....

What a week

It's been a while since I've posted----sorry.  Retirement has become busier than anticipated.  But this past week.........The hollyhocks are out of control and the cholla and prickly pear are in full bloom.

Amazing how green the desert can become.  We are having a bit of early monsoon; thunderstorms, soaking rain, something not usually seen until mid-June.  

The president, his vice-, and the secretary of education all came out in favor of marriage for anyone.  I know my personal thoughts on this matter have been, to quote POTUS, "evolving" and they have basically arrived at the same point that these luminaries expressed this week:  We are all equal, or we are not.  I thought it was rather sad seeing a black, sorry, African-American, bishop of some evangelical sect taking the negative position on this issue and sounding very much like he had gotten his civil rights so now it was okay to deny them to another subset of the citizenry.  Very sad.  I really wish "Christians" would understand that Leviticus is NOT in the New Testament, which purports to be the Word of Christ.

Finally, yay, Congress!!!  The House passed a budget.  It allows for an increase over the previous budget deal for buying missiles and other armaments while cutting food stamps and Medicare.  The priority is the killing  of unnamed enemies while allowing American children, American poor, and American aged to starve, suffer, and be denied medical treatment.  Way to go!!!!!  

I took advantage of New Mexico's early voting yesterday.  Want to guess which party I supported??  

Why I Don't Want to Move to Las Cruces

In the previous post, there was some mention of reasons to move, and not move, to Las Cruces.  Today would be a perfect example of why one might not move here.   It's sunny, about 80 degrees F, no sign of moisture in the area.  A cold front will be coming in, lowering those temps to (don't all gasp at once now) the low to mid-60s.  Hey, it's March.  Gotta expect some of that cold weather to get the flowers ready to bloom in spring, right???

But , back to today......It counts as one of the 350 days of sunshine because it's clear skies, as in not overcast with clouds.  But that doesn't mean you can see the sky.  Preceding the cold snap is a wind event. Wind speeds should average around 28mph today into this evening.  Gusts should tip the old anemometer at around 60mph.  That's high gale wind speed.

This is an agricultural area.  It's after harvest but not yet time to fully plant the fields.  Ground lies somewhat plowed, dry from the lack of rain (this is the desert still)---perfect conditions for dust storms.  And that's what we are in the midst of.  The sky looks like the sky over a Los Angeles freeway in the middle of the evening rush hour----a sickening shade of brown.  None of the mountains are visible, all obscured by blowing dirt.  Air quality is rated "Extreme Unhealthy."  As we drove to our lecture series this morning we saw people "walking" their dogs---as in, the humans walked with the chihuahua in their arms so the little beast wouldn't blow away...........

So repeat again, "I'm NOT moving to Las Cruces....[repeat 3X or until it sinks in]" and enjoy your winter weather, even though most areas haven't had that season yet.  We'll think of you next time we watch the Weather Channel and you are getting hammered while we are in shirtsleeves and in the middle of a cold snap at 60 degrees............

Lessons of Retirement

So it's been about a year and a half since I pulled the plug, or should that be cut the umbilical cord, with participating as a productive member of society to bask in the glow of retirement.  So.......

I imagine there are some lessons I've gleaned from my past 18 months.

The primary emotion I experience is joy coupled with  amusement.  Every time I read on Facebook about my daughter catching a train or plane at around 5:00AM, great peals of laughter resound about my study.  Sorry, but that emotion pretty much extends to my attitude aboout all the worker bees.

It's well worth the extra dollars for a Sam's Club Advantage Plus membership just to be able to go there before the general public.  The lines are shorter and the atmosphere is generally less hectic.

Tasks that are required don't need to be performed immediately.  Manana doesn't mean "tomorrow"; it means "not today."  And any chore or choice of activity can expand to take up more time.  When time is no longer wasted being "productive", the choices we make in spending time become more deliberate and fulfilling.

Common wisdom suggests that as one ages it is necessary to continue to challenge one's mental faculties in order to avoid mental deterioration and its accompanying dementia.  For some people, this means becoming Sudoku or cryptogram addicts.  My choice is re-learning the electric bass and guitar played during my frivolous wasted youth.

And, believe it or not, attending lectures.  A major perk to living in Las Cruces is New Mexico State University and its Dona Ana Community College.  The DACC operates the Academy for Learning in Retirement which offers lectures in the auditorium of an assisted living community in the city.  Normally the lectures are an hour and a half each and run in a series of four lectures on a topic.  Past lectures have included mathematics, history of New Mexico, and the recently concluded series on jazz music.  Upcoming series titles are "Economic Policies and a Tour of the Heavens," "Narco Violence in Mexico," and "Torture and Intelligence in the US War on Terrorism."  These lectures are usually presented by professors expert in the field.  For example, the jazz series lectures were given by a performing musician who is well reviewed.  Check out the ALR website for more information.

But whatever you do, don't retire to Las Cruces.  Too much traffic, too windy, dust storms block views of the mountains, the students jam up all the clubs and restaurants by the university;  you do not want to be here.  Keep repeating that to yourself..........while those of us already here continue to enjoy the 350+ sunny days and the spectacular Organ Mountains.