Celebrating old folks again

Last year we skipped the luncheon given by our commune, Mazerolles, for its older citizens. This year we attended again. A roomful of old folks (not us, certainly ;-), pushing 100 people altogether, were served a lovely catered lunch, probably one of the best meals like this we've had. There was pineau for an aperitif and the mayor poured Jack Daniels for those who were preferred that. We sat near the ex-ex-mayor and his wife and another 80+ couple who were from Fontainebleau and Paris, but live most of the year now in her grandfather's house (which is now hers) in the commune. The meal started with cream of asparagus soup; we've learned to keep our portions small and refuse seconds since it's easy to fill up on a delicious soup at the start of the meal. Next was saumon en croûte (salmon in pastry), very nice; ordinarily this would be the highlight of a meal. Next came slices of pork tenderloin (varkenshaas or filet mignon du porc) with a nice sauce; scrumptious. Then salad and cheeses, not just one but three. Then the dessert, a bavarois with pears, yum. Then the music started. Various diners, old and young, sang or recited. The previous owners of our house were there, sitting with one of our Condadeuil neighbors (the one we call "Tina's mom", after her gorgeous cocker spaniel puppy). We're not sure why they were there since they no longer live in the area. After a lot of singing, dancing started and we excused ourselves to go home and take Pogo for a walk.

The strikes over Sarkozy's raising the retirement and pension ages continue throughout France. Reportedly there are diesel and gasoline shortages since the strikes affect refineries, but we haven't experienced this yet. It's predicted that groceries will be out of food on the weekend. Road blockages on highways or main streets are common; we saw one today as we passed over a highway on our way home from shopping.

A month or so ago we paid our 2009 French income tax, which seemed remarkably low. This week we got a bill for our 2009 social taxes, about twice what we paid in income tax. Now it seems like a more reasonable amount of money. Whew!

In spite of the cold and drippy weather, work on our roof progresses. All the old tiles have been removed, the felting installed, and a start made on installing the new tiles. They discovered that the flashing around the chimney is in bad shape, so this will need to be repaired while the roof is open. Another expense.

We'll leave you with a photo of our cherry tomato jungle. We have three varieties. One (the tastiest in our opinion) has pretty much stopped producing, but the others, yellow and pear-shaped, are still going strong.