Callie

Salut Sweet ! D'abord, il n'est pas une question de parfait français, plutôt l'effort, c'est à dire, il est plus important d'essayer..... et je comprends toujours ce que tu veux dire! Nous avons transporter la jument et son poulain de chez leurs proprietaires à un pré pas très loin. Ils veulent eventuellement faire le sevrage (de séparer la mère de son bébé). Triste, mais nécessaire. Qu'est ce que tu as comme chien ???? Nous avons deux Bergères australiens qui se comporte comme deux ados très désobéissants. C'est ma faute parce que je ne prends pas le temps de les dresser.....

Bonjour les filles - désolée pour la manque de communication....euh...le travail m'a bloqué pendant un moment..... (toujours des excuses....) Il est très triste dehors mais je suis allée aider des amis transporter une jument et son poulain. C'était la première fois que le poulain est monté dans un van, mais avec beaucoup de patience, de calme, tout était bien passé. Il faut jamais être pressé avec un tel travail ! Le pauvre M. Callie devrait passer le matin à l'Ecole de Cavalerie à Saumur ou il donne des cours en anglais une fois par semaine. J'ai dit "le pauvre" car quand il est parti ce matin, c'était dans un brouillard très humide, et il n'avait pas trop envie de quitter la maison ! A+

Odile, he must look at the TF1 meteo too much. The worst cold and wet weather is always at Aurillac and Langres ! Not quite Swiss Jura !

We have a Godin wood burning cuisinière which we bought over ten years ago. It had sat in an outhouse for over 25 years, unussed, before it found its way to the depot vente where we bought it. It has a back boiler so heats water anbde radiators. Like Sweet, it's the best thing we ever bought. On cold days, it gives a warmth to the kitchen unlike anything else, and cooking on it is a dream. The newer Godins have a bigger firebox than ours, which is difficult to keep going all night. There are days when it draws very slowly and we can't get the temperature up beyond 250 or 300. But other days, it heats up very quickly to 400°. We are lucky because we have a bottomless supply of wood, but even if we didn't, I couldn't ilmagine living without it !

If they are deciduous, they are probably poplars. The lower branches are cut to encourage growth upwards and to reduce the number and size of knots. Poplars grown nowadays are ready to harvest at about 40 years old, though of course they can be left longer. The wood is less dense than poplars grown in the past because of the speed of growth, and the need to get a return on the investment, though after the first ten years or so, they are not high maintenance. The wood is used for roofing timbers and pallets, among other things.

There is an organisation called the CLCV (a bit like the Citizens Advice Bureau) which specialises in problems with renting properties. They have a team of lawyers who are fully conversant with the law. They have a website which will show where the nearest office is. You can join them for a very small fee and they will then give you free legal help. We used them ssome years ago when we had trouble with one of the well-known French insurance companies.......we won ! www.clcv.org I have no idea if they have any English speakers working for them.....

I saw some of these at a Salon d'Habitat recently in Angers (49). They really chucked out the heat and have no smell, nor do they need a chimney/flue. They vary hugely in price - some of the really smart designs will set you back 2000€. There are much cheaper models at the Brico places, but I haven't seen them working. A litre of biofuel, made from beetroot, costs about the same as a litre of diesel fioul at the moment, but is a lot more economical, particularly if you only want one heater. It is available inmost brico shops. Your best bet is to look on internet because there is a huge choice now. The you will obviously need to see thyem in action ! We are looking at the possibility ourselves as we have a room with no possibility for a flue. It's down to cost now.... But the advantage is that you can move it around - and take it with you one day should you decide to move !

Frenchie - Nicolas Le Floch était SUPER (il est beau aussi !) et j'ai réussi à comprendre beaucoup mieux que la semaine dernière.  Ils ont bien capturé l'atmosphère de l'époque avec la brume, les odeurs.  J'adore les chapeaux tricornes et les manteuax longues.  Même leur façon de monter à cheval ressemblait les vieux tableaux. J'aurais bien aimé regarder James Bond aussi, mais......regarder une emission comme N Le Floch, c'est mon leçon français ! ![:D]

Smells distinctly fishy....

J'ai oublié - Est-ce qu'il y a quelqu'un qui a regardé "Nicolas Le Floch" mardi dernier sur France 2 ????  Je l'ai trouvé très bien fait avec beaucoup d'attention aux petits détails.  Mais j'avais besoin de me concentrer parce que les noms comme "La Marquise de....de la...." et "Le Comte de.......de....." m'ont confondus (??  muddled [8-)]).  Il y a une autre épisode ce soir, et je l'attends avec impatience ! [:D]

[quote user="Clair"][quote user="Callie"]En fait, demain c'est "Guy Fawkes Night"......il faut bruler des éventails ......mais qui ??????[/quote] [:D][:D] un éventail un épouvantail Pas de Guy Fawkes en France, mais je suis sûre qu'une effigie de Sarko fera l'affaire! [/quote] Oh merde.....je mélange toujours ces deux mots....... comme chenil et chenille.......[:'(]  Il est penible d'avoir une memoire comme une passoire [:'(] Peut-être une effigie de Sarah Palin serait drôle....!  La pauvre..... "Ah bon ?" (also useful if you aren't convinced but it can be taken as being a bit superior, depends how you say it !) J'adore les expressions comme "effectivement" "justement" et "en effet" though I nearly always forget to use them at the right time.  

J'ADORE la Flammekueche.... je suis allé passer quelques jours avec Monsieur Callie à Strasbourg en mai. Une très jolie ville....avec beaucoup de magasins......et trop de tentation...... Très bon système de bus et tram, des batiments magnifiques;...etc etc. Il fait très beau cet après-midi - il faut que j'en profite ! La météo n'est pas bonne pour demain, alors je vais balayer des milliers de feuilles et après, je ferai un bon feu ! ! En fait, demain c'est "Guy Fawkes Night"......il faut bruler des éventails ......mais qui ??????

J'ai pensé que personne n'avait envie de parler en français. Odile, ou est-tu ????? Je suis en train de traduire un livre français au sujet de l'entraînement des chevaux. Je n'ai aucun problème avec la traduction elle-même. Mon problème c'est qu'il faut qu'il soit écrit dans un style facile à lire. C'est à dire, d'une façon "fun" et "enjoyable to read" en anglais. Je ne suis pas vraiment écrivaine et une fois traduit, ce livre doit être effectivement ré-écrit ! ! ! Tant mieux, comme ça je ne peux pas traîner dans les rues.....

I think you would probably have to talk to someone who has gone through the medical bit to find out what the regs are here. I believe the rules might have changed, but, for example, a few years ago, British physiotherapist friend was not allowed to practise here in France in her own cabinet. But if the local hospital had need of her services.....she would be allowed to assist. But it's possible that for a doctor, it may well be different. I work with doctors as a Secouriste Equipier (I have the same diplôme as the Pompiers) and I find them great to work with. A lot of them have done overseas work, including disasters like the Tsunami so they used to dealing with emergencies, which is part of what we do. Certainly in our area (Maine et Loire), the one English speaking GP near us is inundated with non-French speaking patients who will come from miles away. In France people are at liberty to go to any GP they wish, in spite of having to actually register with one particular GP. I would have thought that French GPs would welcome someone who spoke English. I know our GP says that he sometimes siwhed he spoke English because sometimes he is afraid that sometimes his patients may not have understood him, and vice versa. I'm sorry I can't be of any practical help, but do give it a go - because i believe you would be welcomed with open arms (but of course it does depend on the region !) Best of luck !

Hey, the fitted sheet one was great ! I had nearly got there (did the first bit, anyway) but somehow they never looked quite right. I shall have to take all my fitted sheets out of the 'closet' and re-fold them......no, I'm only kidding ! Buty I'll give them a go next time ! ! !

.....yes, like "How to iron a shirt"...... Joking apart, though, nicely folded towels do look....nice !

Just think, if McCain wins the election and stoofs in shortly afterwards, Sarah Palin will become the US President ! Now THAT is scary !

Shepherd's Pie - but made with lentils, not meat ! Yum yum.

I'm sure I heard recently that the cat's eyes in the UK are beginning to show their age and that they were eventually going to be replaced with something different.  The clever thing about cat's eyes is that they self-clean when they retract themselves as a car runs over them.  Given that they last a lifetime, why change the system ?  Oh, no, don't tell me, not enough money in the coffers.[:(]

If you look in the Michelin Camping and caravan site book, you will find all you need to know. It's a useful book, which we don't buy every year because of the cost, but gives a good description of each campsite, whether it's in a quiet location, shady, cost of electricity, pitch etc.

Perhaps Percy Shaw never got to France, but I also hold with the "not invented here" version.

I second what M says. French campsites are brilliant. A lot of them close during the winter months, but most municipal ones stay open all year. Prices vary according to how many stars they have. We like the smaller 2 star sites which have showers, loos, washing up facilities and somewhere to wash clothes. Some have washing machines. The big more luxurious sites have all sorts of extra facilities - swimming pools, a bar, restaurant, disco etc. At all of them it is possible to have electricity - you just need to make sure you have your own extension with you. Not 100% sure of prices, but you are probably looking at between 15 euros to 45 euros a day, depending on the site. I'm sure someone will put me right....!

Ta, Bugbear

A little question, Bugbear, though nothing to do with your posting !  I assume from your signature that you too have a Mac.  Which serveur/browser do you use ?  I find Safari won't let me do smileys, so I am obliged to use Camino.  Any comments please??[8-)]

Love it, Bugbear ! [:D]