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How are you surviving the canicule, folks? Here in the Pas de C. the last few days have been quite bearable but it seems to be hotting up again. Nothing like the 37 degrees some of you downsouthers have had to bear, though.

Finally run out of water from the butts though so it will be hosepipe; no restrictions here yet.

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Absolutely horrible down here.  A tiny sprinkle of rain a week or so ago.  Didn't amount to anything really.  No real rain in months.  Been under water restrictions since April.

Now at Level 3 Crise restrictions.  Quite serious.  The Spring water offered to certain of the small town center homes (including ours) has been completely shut off (happens when Level 3 is reached).  It would not suprise me if our regular water begins to be rationed (by the SAUR authority).

We are now wondering if this is going to be the 'new norm.'  If so, we will want to purchase elsewhere - which throws an entire brick in the plans. 

Supposed to be our LAST house purchase.  VERY VERY risky to purchase in a department/region you don't really know.

Grateful for the air fryer.  Wouldn't dare turn the oven on in this heat.  No end in site for the heat.  The weekend is supposed to bring some storms, but they often don't develop.  This time lets pray to whomever/whatever you pray to that they arrive !

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@Lori - Very Important Question here... your air fryer - can you cook cakes in it?! 🤔

On other matters - OH and I have long pondered the question of moving (permanently) from the grey winter skies of Normandy (usually November through April) to somewhere with a better climate. After all, we reason, if it's 30°+ in July and August, once retired we would just avoid doing much in the afternoons. But the last couple of years - particularly this year - have taught me to be careful what you wish for. I'm not convinced 35°-40° are freak occurrences and if it's too hot here in southern Normandy, the heat would be too activity-limiting further south.

However, moving is expensive. If I were already in the south and the layout of the property allowed for it, rather than move I'd probably look at providing myself with summer quarters - lots of shade on the north side of the house, a covered summer kitchen, perhaps more insulation, etc.

We don't have clima but even in our south-facing house, the 2-3 ft thick stone walls, shutters + insulation and a ceiling fan has kept things bearable indoors, at worst 24-26°C max. We have absurd quantities of foiliage against the walls  which helps. Our bedroom is behind the greenery. We have massive pruning sessions in late September.

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Edited by Catalpa
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Catalpa,  it is seriously difficult to stay cool in temps such as we have down here in the deep south, though our house is not the best to keep things cool.  2 fans the norm chez moi, no air con .. shutters closed most of day, likewise windows, you get fed up of living in gloom.  Winter can be just as bad, but the opposite, you don't go out still, but this time because it is too cold and windy - yes even in the deep south.  And houses are difficult to heat and get warm.  As you say, be careful what you wish for.

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We had 42°C in Nantes at the height of the July heat wave.  Our apartment on the 5th floor has 3 south facing bedrooms with external shutters. Closing them at lunch time and then the north facing living room balcony door has kept us cool ( there is no shutter needed on this window, so we never lose our view of the Loire)  An evening/night cross breeze (we sleep with all the windows open) cools the place back down for the next day.  One oscillating tower fan for the evening.  I have just installed a ceiling fan in the bedroom for the odd night when there is no breeze.  We did not give it any thought when we bought the place in 2016, but looking at the new developments where they crowd many building in a small footprint, the chance of a clear passage for cooling winds seems to reduce.  They keep the parks open 24/7 during these periods, it is surprisingly cool under the leafy trees.

Still getting our daily walks in though, starting a bit earlier to keep up the 8-10 kms a day.

Edited by Lehaut
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23 hours ago, anotherbanana said:

Well, probably right to wonder where to buy given the weather; but I also understood that most of the property you have been shown was rubbish anyway and, by the sound of it, seriously overpriced.

Why not think of coming up the the Loire Valley or, say, round Nantes?

Thanks for the suggestion.  We took a very brief look at the entire country just to see what 300,000€ will get.  Criteria: must be a minimum of 90m2, have a terrain at minimum of 1000m2 and be piscinable.  There was plenty to choose from in many areas of France.  It is just that we know nothing about the areas.  Can't be in the middle of nowhere either. 

Nothing much in the Southeast of France at that price.  No surprise there.  The Gard has a few areas that are a good bit less than where we are.  The southern Ardeche to some degree too.  We are now including those areas in our search.

 

 

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22 hours ago, Catalpa said:

@Lori - Very Important Question here... your air fryer - can you cook cakes in it?! 🤔


 

 

22 hours ago, Catalpa said:

 

 

Yes, it is supposed to be possible.  There are several recipes for cakes in the cookbook that came with it.  I've never tried it.  Not doing much baking lately with the heat.  Rarely turn on the oven and since we have been unable to get our long daily walks due to 40 degree full sun heat, we've been cutting down on our food intake.

If you consider an air fryer, be sure to study carefully the interior size of the fryer.  We made sure to purchase one of the larger, well rated ones.  Some are really very small and don't hold much.

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Last night, I thought I was going to die from the heat.....I am serious.  Went out into the garden, not a breath of air, heat beating up off the terrace, the grass too dry and scratchy underfoot to walk on.

The one thing that has saved us from expiration is the guest bedroom in the sous-sol.  There it is several degrees cooler than our bedroom.  Just a thought, Lori...if you buy again, look into the possibility of sleeping in the sous-sol. 

Last night, however, is something else.  Even in the sous-sol, I nearly had a screaming fit and OH had to open the window wide and put up the insect screen.  After many weeks' of disturbed nights, I did get to sleep eventually and woke up this morning, deciding that perhaps I could survive after all.

The high temperatures, however, is forecast to go on and on with no respite in sight.

In the day time, I soak a large cotton shawl in cold water, wring it out and put it round my neck and chest.  That does make it more bearable, that and sitting in the car with the air-con on at 15°

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We used to have a house in Burgundy until 2019 and one of the reAsons for selling up was the 40 degree heat. Although that sort of heat is manageable at the coast with sea breezes,inland without a breath of fresh air is stifling. We spent our visits in the gloom with the shutters closed bringing a bed downstairs to make sleeping more comfortable and not seeing anyone in the village from one day to the next as no-one ventured outdoors unless they had to.

The worst visit was when the air-con in the car packed up!!

can I recommend a sports wet towel. It is made of a special fabric that once wet becomes quite cold and is great for keeping one’s neck cool.

when we bought the house we experienced ‘proper’ Burgundian seasons with warm summers and very cold but clear skied winters. Over time the different seasons disappeared, winters were mild, spring was dry and summers very hot. It all became too much and with a lot of soul searching and sadness we sold up. 
 

Hope you can all find a way to keep cool.

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On 03/08/2022 at 15:10, anotherbanana said:

 

"Hope you can all find a way to keep cool"

We just bought a portable air-con unit to cool our bedroom down when it's too hot to be comfortable.

Monday 18 July  was peak heat here in south central Brittany following weeks of hot weather. Monday's forecast temperature was high 30's to early 40's after a few weeks of early to mid 30's, so this old stone house had absorbed and stored that heat, which was making our normally cool bedroom increasingly uncomfortable.

We spotted that Lidl had an offer on a portable air con unit on the previous Friday, not their own rubbish Silver Crest brand but a widely available brand called "Comfee", so took the plunge and bought one.

www.archyde.com/lidl-comfee-air-conditioner-cheap-.../ -

That price is a tad out of date, we paid €200 at Lidl

Went out next day and bought a sheet of 15 mm plywood and a sheet of polyglass to made an insert for our inward opening casement bedroom window for the warm air exhaust from the air con unit.

The maximum daytime temperature on that Monday outside our kitchen door was 44 C !

We ran the air-con for about 18 - 20 hours in total including for 12 hours overnight on the monday as the bedroom was 35 C - really cooled it down to around 23 C. We also used a fan in the room to circulate the cool air to cool down quicker.

We also ran it for a couple of hours on Wednesday last as the bedroom was too hot for comfort, cooled it from 35 C to 25 c - much more comfortable !

 

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Harnser, that is my maximum for sleeping 25°.

The previous few summers, we have had to resort to sleeping in the sous-sol bedroom for perhaps a few nights.  This year, we have slept there every night for nearly a month.  So I have evidence to think that this summer is indeed different.

We also have a sitting-room in the sous-sol but the TV there is ancient and we do not get all the channels.  I can do just fine with no TV but that is not the case for OH.

Perhaps I should buy a new TV and solve that particular problem.

My daily walks have now been reduced to a quick turn round the village in the morning and I can feel myself getting increasingly sluggish and dispirited.

I notice that the farmers around us are cutting the grass in their fields in order, I think, to gather what they could.  In other years, they'd use their "water canons" but I don't think even watering is sufficient to save their crops this year.

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Lori, did you read the bit specially for you that I posted?  It's now on a previous page.  It was to say that, should you move again, it's a good idea to choose a house with a room in a sous-sol that you can sleep in.

Our sous-sol is about 5 ° lower than the main living quarters "upstairs"

Still very hot today but at least there is a breeze and so it's bearable

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Thanks Menthe.  We have certainly considered your suggestion.  At this point, simply finding a house we like anywhere in the Vaucluse anywhere near budget is proving most difficult.  Adding in specific requirements makes it that much harder.

We are now looking into the Southern Ardeche and sections of the Gard.  Both are less expensive than the Vaucluse.

 

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On 07/08/2022 at 13:27, Lori said:

 

We are now looking into the Southern Ardeche and sections of the Gard.  Both are less expensive than the Vaucluse.

 

Lori...if you don't like the heat avoid these areas of France. Really, don't move to these regions.

It is only going to get worse. 

The Gard is the hottest place in France ! And beside that, it is not even very nice. 

I just spent a week in that area and it is far far tooo hot. Could not wait to get away. 

Forget what you thinking and move NORTH ! 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by alittlebitfrench
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Thanks ALBF.  We don't know the northern areas of France (short of Paris region).  This is to be our last home purchase.  We have to know what we're doing.  We know this region pretty well.  Yes, parts of the Gard are very unappealing.  Others are nice.

Warm yes, always has been.  I don't like very cold winters.  Not fond of a lot of snow.  And could not cope with rain 60% of the year.

 

Edited by Lori
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3 minutes ago, Lori said:

 

And could not cope with rain 60% of the year.

 

France needs 60 % rain a year. If not, we will either burn to death or starve to death.

The situation in France is that critical. 

We need it to rain everywhere constantly for the next 3 years TBH.

If it does not, my kids have no future. 

 

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