Alexis

Oh yes!  A bit of forward planning....

I nurture my cobwebs all year so they are nice and BIG for Christmas. A quick squirt with either silver and gold eh voila! They are also pretty good for putting on wounds.....

Can't be a knocking shop as they only trade in the afternoon by the hour.....   don't they?[:P]

What a bunch of Girlies you are!!!! Spiders DO NOT EAT big people.  Don't worry!  They eat flies so must be encouraged. Now, worms are dangerous.  Did you know that they are small snakes.....?[:P]

I can recommend a charming, small hotel for about the same price (or so I found when I was looking) Eclos de l'Eveche.  You will find a site on google.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but didn't Redcap move over a couple of years ago?  2005? I seem to remember giving him a route....he is perhaps still lost!!!

Farmers around me are so poor they don't pay tax. Selling a few cordes of wood won't make a lot of difference on their impots form.

This is a complicated subject and it is often better to go and visit the Notaire.  A lot of money is at stake sometimes. However, from January the law is changing and it will become much easier to change the marriage regime to contract universal with no visit to the tribunal.  So says my SIL because as it stands now, 40% for her and 30% each for her two daughters if BIL dies. So children are basically 'in control' and we all know of families where Mum has not enought money and wants to sell up but it is blocked by the children to safe guard their inheritance. The daughters have yet to sign...they could both refuse.  This actually happened to MIL years ago.  Guess which daughter??? We have a donation entre epouses.  My property remains mine as it was purchased before I married OH so it is just for a house we bought together. I will be glad to leave the inheritance laws behind.  I have never known a country for counting their money before the poor parent even dies.  Or even falls ill!

It should be fine if it has lots of booze in it to preserve it. I have a pudding that I made at least four years ago and when I got it out the other day and had a look at it, the top looked a bit dry but yes, I will be cooking it this year.  I will either feed it up with brandy or cut that bit off...

No, I don't think it is that much to re-connect.  We asked only the other day about cutting off our supplies whilst we were away but the current is not actually cut with a man coming and putting a 'seal' on the meter, just switched off and we telephone when we return.  About 15€.  If you get new tenants, they pay! Don't panic, one day they will want utilities and they will get caught.  If you have their address, tell EDF etc. Nice surprise for Christmas[;-)][;-)] I don't know what happened to replying to you.  It was just your message, a big empty space and the post button. Doesn't matter.

The trouble with using wood is that it is bloody hard work. First there is all the cutting and stacking then, and you can bet thousands of pounds on this, even though you have a good supply in the house you can guarantee that when you need some more it will rain torrentially for four or five days...and the wind will have whipped the bâche away so it is all wet. Trust me! There is also the well know fact that if it isn't that cold, the fire will burst into life but if you need a fire before you freeze to death, it won't even smoke! I'm not bitter!  No, no.  Lazy, perhaps!  I like my petrole but is it me or are the bidons getting heavier to lift into a caddy?  Old age I expect.

True what PG says...there may not be a choice. I live in a beautifull village with no mains gas;  an enclosed courtyard garden - no oil tank;  no access for wood and if you think I am carrying cordes of wood all the way through the house...[:'(] We have petrole heaters and I must say they are excellent, especially since we bought the posh ones which you plug in. Only softies have central heating.....[:D]

If it is in their name, you are not responsible.  The utility people will chase them up.  Now they have moved out, they will want electricity, water and telephone for their new abode and they won't get them if they have a big red cross on their name. The utility people may come round and cut off the meters and then you have to pay to be re-connected in your name. This happened to me with an electricty meter when the tenant had not paid.  I would let the utilities know though.  Your tenants could just say that there was an error and their post wasn't forwarded... How did you manage to jigger up the reply service?  Well done!  Even I haven't done that yet[:D][:D]

I agree about checking the dates.  I put my glasses on now to have a look.  I've been 'done' in the past. All chickens going into a battery house are injected to prevent salmonella.  I have done a lot of these injection jobs.  You are more likely to pick it up from one of those family run fresh from the field places I believe.

Well, I'm not very technical. I hope to be around at least for some of the time...! I really ought to ask about it on the other section.  I don't even know how laptops work but I do know that OH had one in the hospital that was sans fil so I am sure it can be done.