Lori

Posted you a Private Message

Battypuss - absolutely love a good sense of humor. !

We recently had what looked like honey bees in our chimney. I kept noticing them in our living room and then heard what sounded like hundreds of them in the chimney. Went out, brought some wood in, opened the fireplace door (carefully) and lit up a fire. Let it run all afternoon and into the evening. Luckily it was not a really warm day here (Vaucluse). It has only been a few days, but, so far, I have not heard or seen any bees. I do hope this works, but it was really nice to know about the Pompiers as I had no idea what the "pest control" people are called here.

Thanks Lisa. I will give it a try during the holiday season. Sounds so good.

Thanks to you all. I have enjoyed reading all the different posts. Learned a bit too. We need the charger because the car doesn't get used enough. My husband is always overseas (well practically always) and I can only use one car at a time (stop laughing). I try to use the Toyota (the one least used) to take my daughter to and from school, but have noticed in winter, this is simply not enough use and the battery will sometimes go dead. I am embarrassed to continue asking my neighbor to help me. I did manage to learn how to use the jumper cables - don't laugh. I suspect that will be all I ever need. Just wanted to know about the battery charger as a last resort. There is a Feu Vert in Carpentras, so I can check out what they have if it comes to that. Thanks again, Lori

Bought the mascarpone today. Oh my !!! It is SO good. Can't believe I have never tasted it before. Lisa, your recipe sounds fantastic. Is it an actual recipe or do you just put it together without measurements? If you have a recipe and are willing to send it to me, I would love to give it a try. You could use the private message system if willing. Thanks.

Thanks everybody. I will give the Lidl cream cheese a try. The only problem I have with the St. Moret is that it is not as firm as Philadelphia Cream Cheese and therefore is a bit more fragile.

Does anyone have any recommendation on where to buy a car battery charger. Never bought one before. Are they all pretty much basic or should I look for specific features? May sound stupid, but always left these things to the husband (who is overseas for the moment). Thought LeRoy Merlin might be an option, but perhaps an auto parts store would be better?? Any suggestions out there?...Any idea what a fair price would be?

Thanks Lisa. I have never actually tasted mascarpone, but I have certainly seen it all round here. I will give it a try. Do you think it can be used for the traditional cream cheese/powdered cake frosting?

Does anyone have any idea where I can find cream cheese? Auchan had been carrying a very similar Dutch variety of cheese called "Cremette." However, they have run out of stock and removed the name plate where it was located. I have several holiday recipes that call for cream cheese - not to mention Cheesecake. I have tried using the St. Moret, but it is really not the same thing. Any advice? We are in the Vaucluse.

Thanks to all. I think I have come to the conclusion that we can eat at 12:30 (picnic fare - baguettes, jambon, saucisse, cornichons, sliced veggie tray, etc., etc.) and I can have one or no glass of wine (others do what they wish). As we will be walking along the beach, taking coffee in the village and then walking around town, etc. 6 to 7 hours will pass since the eating of lunch before we get in the car to go home. And, it is SO true, a glass of wine with lunch can definitely zap your energy level. A vigorating walk (or two) along the beach should help us ALL wake up. I'll take a look at the website.

Thanks Helen & Dick: I guess if the driver only has one glass of wine at around 12:30 pm, with lunch, then doesn't drive until around 7:00 pm, he/she should be okay. It is always hard for me to find someone in the group who won't have ANY wine with lunch. I find that a lot, not all, of my friends don't take one or two glasses of wine that serious, but I do. So, it will probably be me that does the driving. And, yes Helen, it could be raining up a storm. That would certainly ruin things. Planning for Oct. 30th at this point and planning to go somewhere near Ste Marie de la Mer (near Arles). Thanks for the info. Had no idea of the time frame. Now I have a better idea. Lori

I can't honestly tell you what the price per KW hour is, but I can tell you that we gave the electric heaters a try last winter - to compare fuel over electricity (yes, we are crazy). The 3 electric heaters we used brought us the largest power bill we have ever had. We were quickly brought into reality that electric heaters cost a fortune ! And, we turned them off every time we went out. Stick to the petrol based ones. That way, you don't get a whopping bill after the fact. Lori

Planning a picnic in the not too distant future. We would like to bring a bottle of wine with us. If we each have two glasses (regular wine glass size) how long should we wait before driving home? We will be near the sea, so we plan to walk for a few hours (after lunch). Don't want to drive with the alcohol still in our systems. Anybody have any idea? Or, do we have to leave the wine behind and take water?? It is a full day, into evening outing, but wine would only be consumed at lunch. Thanks so much for the help. Lori

We have the Bialetti too. We like the strong flavor it gives to coffee. We use the LIDL Italian Espresso. It really turns out good with the Bialetti - less appealing with the electric machines. I put the bottom and top of my Bialetti in the dishwasher to get rid of that messy bottom. This may dry out your rubber sealing ring, but I always have a stash of extras in the drawer. I don't know if you are supposed to put it in the dishwasher, but it hasn't stopped it working well. Just a suggestion. Oh and, we didn't have much success with the Magimix Espresso/Capuccino machine. We bit the bullet and invested nearly 400 euros on the machine, but after one year, it was always in need of some sort of repair. Made pretty good coffee, but with the cost of the machine, its life was too short for us. Also had a hard time finding shops that could make the repairs... FYI

Peter is correct. We are American and the situation you describe fits our situation. Our cost for private medical coverage is quite reasonable and good anywhere in Europe. Thanks for posting some good tips Peter.

Jeff - I think you need to get another devis. Those requirements are ridiculous. Our electrician is also our plumber. I can give you his number if you like and you can ask him the facts. He is an honest man and very up to date. He is in the Vaucluse, but I would imagine this is a country-wide issue. He is also extremely good at what he does. He never said anything about such requirements. Our work was done in 2002/2003. He completely re-wired our 260 m2 home and changed out all the plumbing. Your local Mairie may also have some advice on this or can point you to the right organization.

If you are not buying a secondary home, we had no problem getting a 100% mortgage with credit agricole. We too used our deposit money to renovate the house. They had no problem with it. My husband's income, at that time, was earned in the U.S.A. We provided tax returns and pay stubs, plus a copy of his employment contract. It was so easy, it was scary ! Be sure to inquire about early pay-offs to your mortgage. There can be extremely high penalties for this if you take the low interest rate fixed mortgages. Good luck to you.

We bought a 180 x 200 bed from literieland. I believe they have shops all over France. They will also custom make a bed for you whatever size you wish. Have never been able to find sheets that fit our California King Bed here. Have to order them from the States. Oh well...

Logan: Private message sent to you. Lori

Not sure where you bank, but we have our account at Credit Agricole. When we first bought our house, we had huge expenses and needed lots of cash. They simply changed our account to allow a much larger weekly withdrawal for a set period of weeks, then it went back to the ridiculous 300 euros per week. You might give this a try..

Ryanair has bus service from Paris to Beauvais?? Do they have this information on their website? How can I determine where the bus picks up passengers and the cost? That would be great.. Thanks for the info. and any further data you might have..

I am taking my daughter up to Paris for a flight to the States. She is 10 years old, and will be traveling as an unaccompanied minor on the plane to the States (visiting Gramma). I will get her to Paris and onto the plane, but then she's on her own. After that, I need to get to the Beauvais airport to take a cheap flight to Glasgow. I have no idea if there is any bus service from Charles de Gaul to Beauvais - or any other type of service. I've looked at their website, but this is not mentioned. Anyone out there have any idea?? Thanks.

As a family of 3, one 10 year old child, me and my husband, we could spend 90 euros (I think that's 60 pounds?)per week on food, but just food. Not things like wine,canteen tickets, or having friends over for an apperitif or dinner. And, that is just as has been said by others here, shopping at the Lidl, the Leader Price and LeClerc. They are all within 500 meters of one another, so no extra gas is spent taking advantage of the bargains each one has to offer. I cannot imagine how a family of five could eat on 90 euros per week. Perhaps they eat only rice, pasta, frozen and/or packaged items which can sometimes be cheaper. No way to fresh veggies, fruits and meats on that budget.

Interesting too.. one day when I was walking my neighbor's 3 year old to maternelle, she stepped in a pile. I did my best to removed her shoe and clean it off (ugh). When I told her Mom what happened (it is a French family), she said "oh, was it her left shoe or her right shoe? If it was her left shoe, that is good luck..." I'm not kidding..