PossumGirl

[quote user="Tresco"] Dick, ask J why she thinks people in Norway and Sweden mock double glazing? Of course there is a benefit to shutting the shutters, especially in the dark! [/quote] Tresco, I didn't know there was a controversy about double glazing!  We're getting ready to start replacing windows (how many get done will depend on the all important devis!), and were definitely planning on getting double glazing.  Is there a reason NOT to?  Other than the cost, of course. PG

[quote user="Tresco"] Throwing all the shutters open on summer mornings is something that probably only really happens in films[:)] [/quote] Actually, Tresco, I do that, but only for a couple of hours to let in the morning cool, then as soon as the sun starts really hitting the windows, I close the shutters again. I also find that keeping the windows closed keeps it cooler than leaving the windows open behind the shutters. PG

[quote user="Bassman"]Well on this week's edition of No Going Back... the number plates were blurred out [:)] maybe someone read this thread LOL They were all happy at the end as well, leopard boy has put in an appearance and their "chalets" (which look more like apartments to me [8-)]) have all increased in value by 20,000 euro! What I find really strange is that those 2 were on 6 figure salaries in the UK..... doing what? [8-)] if brains were dynamite they couldn't blow their noses[:-))] [/quote] Actually, I think the plates have been blurred sind the beginning of the series; maybe to keep their car from being stolen? I don't remember what the wife did, but I think the husband was an investment banker.  Scary, huh? PG

Well, my optical mouse/pen arrived today.  It does take a little getting used to after using a standard shaped mouse, although I think it's easier to use than a touch pad.  It allows you to use it both right and left handed and does permit you to write as well, although my handwriting is so awful, I can't imagine wanting to do much of that! PG

Anything that was on the property when you purchased the house belongs to you, as far as I know, unless it was stated otherwise in the paperwork. We had a fair amount of stuff left by the previous owner, which we did give to her, mostly because she also has another property next door.  However, after a while, it became a bit awkward and everyone told us to no longer do it because we were being taken advantage of.  Sometimes, it's worth it to keep peace; but if you need the space cleared then just get rid of it! PG

There is a woman in our village who has done this and she seems quite happy and settled.  She has several dogs, lots of friends in the village and is quite active.  I think it's like anywhere else, it's all in the attitude. PG

[quote user="wen"]Yes, the episode about those two plonkers who bought the fancy place over in Provence with two swimming pools and guest cottages springs to my mind. .[/quote] Oh, I remember this one too.  They really were totally clueless.  On the other hand, when we bought our house in L.A., we were first time homebuyers and there must have been somebody watching out for us, because we did things in pretty clueless way ourselves.  We were damned lucky that there was nothing wrong with it, because 9 years after we bought it, there was the huge L.A. earthquake which struck about two miles from our home.  It did NOT fall down around our ears, which was very nice. PG

I've gotten used to using right handed mice in my left hand, it's just a question of adjustment.  What's odd about this is that it actually won't move the cursor if I use it with my left hand.  I usually roll it around on the arm of my chair, but it will only work with the angle of my right hand, not the left hand. My guess is that the laser mechanism has started to "go" somehow, and it now has to hit the surface at a specific angle. I've ordered an optical pen-shaped mouse form Pearl, so hopefully when that comes my problem will go away. As to life being more complicated, for us, it definitely is that.  Can openers for right handers are big problems, and of course, there is the whole "scissors" issue.  I do have a very nice pair of lefty scissors and I won't allow my right handed hubby to touch it! PG

I've been using a Microsoft cordless laser mouse for about 18 months.  Even though it's a right hand mouse, I use it left handed. That is until recently.  It absolutely refuses to work if I use it left handed!!  I suppose that it doesn't like the angle or something.  I hate having to use it right handed, which is very uncomfortable.  Why are most computers prejudiced against us lefties??? PG

I haven't tried it yet, but there is something called jajah.com that seems to offer a very inexpensive service. You need a computer to connect to them, but once you put in your phone number and the phone number you are calling, it connects the call and does ring you back on your land line, so you aren't actually using your computer for the call.  It sounds quite interesting for those without something like Skype or Yahoo services. PG

I finally got started on Labyrinth this week.  I'm not that far into it yet, but I find I don't like the way she writes in the present tense for the modern chapters.  That works when someone writes in French, but I find it very odd in English. The chapters in the past read better, in my opinion.  I haven't decided if I like it or not yet though... PG

I know that even our friends in Paris wondered if we wouldn't be bored in a small village. We haven't had TIME to be bored!  We have more trouble keeping from having too many people to see, too much visiting to do, too many walks to take, etc.   If I actually want to get work done, I can't set foot outside my front door. And, even L.A. had a few days of cold and rain in the winter![;-)] PG

We, too, were with Groupama until we had to change from the CPAM to a different caisse. They always paid well.  Now we're with the Mutuelle de l'Aude and they seem to be excellent as well. The prices were pretty comparable. PG

[quote user="Deimos"] (That said you will find lots of different people with different opinions of dog diet). Ian[/quote] Ain't that the truth!  A lot of the BC folks I know feed raw.  That doesn't work for us for a variety of reasons, so we've always stuck with a commercial diet with small bits of "extras" mixed in.  I know some people are against the "extras," but I can't help it; I'm weak. Maggie was a rescue and we don't really know what her life was like before us, but I do know that I've often thought she has an eating disorder.  She will turn her nose up at even the most tempting treats if she is stressed in any way shape or form. If she feels we're "forcing" her to eat, then she acts as if she's being beaten.  So, I find being able to leave a dry food available for her to eat when she is ready is less stressful for all of us. Her being non-food motivated has always been a problem even with training.  There is nothing that you can feed her that is more tempting that chasing a cat or a squirrel, or even the possibility that there MIGHT be a cat or a squirrel to chase.  She'll actually take food from your hand, to be polite, then drop it on the ground uneaten. She's a very, very weird dog. PG

Actually, I think that might be "Barking at the Moon" rather than "Baying." PG

[quote user="Christine Animal"] Possum, I couldn't find the ingredients on the sites either.  But here is what is on the bag and there is yeast: Cereals, Meat and Animal Derivatives (min 21% chicken), Derivatives of Vegetable Origin (min 5% beet, peas, green leaf and flax), Fats and Oils, Minerals, Yeast.  BHT as antioxidant.   [/quote] Figures.  Almost everything does!  I guess that for now, it remains Burns (even though the Diva doesn't actually like it!!).  I understand that Solid Gold "Baying at the Moon" is going to be available from a distributor in Germany sometime next month and we might try some of that.  It is a grain free food, and she did very well on EVO (also grain free) when we were living in the States. PG

Christine, I did a search and so far none of the sites I've found list the actual ingredients!  Can you see if it has Brewer's Yeast in it? Thanks, PG

It also insisits that you use Internet Explorer as your browser, which is a problem for those of us using something else such as Firefox or Opera.  Too bad.  It seems like an interesting product. PG

Thus again proving that there's no such thing as bad publicity! If I went to their place though, I would have to insist on NO LEOPARD SPOTTED ANYTHING!!!! PG

I keep hoping that they're NOT as clueless as they appear and that it's all in the editing.  That could happen, couldn't it?  Really, someone reassure me! PG

I suppose it does make sense if there are subsidies involved.  I know that California state universities have different fee structures for California residents than for non-residents... PG

[quote user="Ron Avery"]Perhaps the French address gives the game away[:)][/quote] But, couldn't you still be only a UK citizen and still have a French address?  Or, is it the residency that counts, not the nationality? PG

[quote user="Ron Avery"]One thing you should be aware of is that if your daughter goes back to the UK for futher education, she will be treated as an overseas student and subjected to the fees that are applied to foreign students.[/quote] Naive question perhaps, but how does the UK know you are a dual national unless you tell them?  I've been a US/French dual national for 26 years and as far as I'm aware, neither country knows or cares about the other... PG

Doesn't bother me either.  The only time I EVER felt insulted was many years ago (I wasn't all that old at the time) when someone saw a photo of my husband in my wallet and asked if it was my son!  I felt suicidal...[:(] PG

When I was growing up, some of my relatives would say, "May you grow like an onion, with your head in the ground and your feet in the air."   It was clearly a translation of a Yiddish saying and to this day, I'm not actually sure what it means, except that I don't think it's supposed to be a good thing! PG