What's with this weather?

One of the reasons we chose this area was the sunny summers and the mild winters. Snow was unusual, as well as sub-zero daytime highs. So what's going on now? Last week's light snow mostly melted away and now we're having serious snow. This is the third winter in a row with serious snow. And it's early this time, so who know what the rest of the winter will bring? The new grill on the wood-burning stove in the kitchen is certainly getting a workout.

Birds are emptying the feeders two or three times a day. We've got lot of greenfinches, great and blue tits, goldfinches, chaffinches, bramblings, sparrows, etc., etc. Sophie is having a field day with all the hungry birds around, so we're trying to keep her inside as much as possible.

We're fairly snowed in. Garbage that should have been picked up Wednesday morning early is still waiting. Mail wasn't delivered today. Ed's choir practice was cancelled today. Roads in the village haven't been cleared, and we doubt if big roads have been cleared either. Leaving in all directions means attacking a hill, so we're just not going out. Ah well, tomorrow's high will be sub-zero, so it will be a good opportunity to defrost the big freezer.

Today we had planned to go to La Rochefoucauld to speak with a real live person about the non-appearance of Ed's Carte Vitale, but that will have to wait till next week Thursday. Or maybe we'll try yet another phone call.

Monday, Ed picked up his new driver's license without a problem. That was amazingly painless. He also took the car to the Toyota dealer to have them listen to its noise. As expected, it will need a new front axle and an appointment has been made for this in two weeks time.