Category: Settling into French life–year 1
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March 26, 2023–Shopping in France (Part 3 of 3)
Welcome to the final posting about shopping (for now at least), specifically shopping in France for clothes and a few other things. You may be interested to know that Europe and the UK just sprang forward one hour last night, so for the last two weeks instead of being 9 hours ahead of our sons…
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March 18, 2023–Shopping in France (Part 2 of 3)
You may or may not know that one of my most favorite things to do is decorate my house, and I love to decorate most when I have the opportunity to be creative, using what I have and what I can find. Our house here in France has given me that opportunity, and as I…
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March 11, 2023–Shopping in France (Part 1 of 3)
Bonjour! I thought I would take the final three weeks of March to dive into one of my favorite past times–shopping. Specifically, what it is like to shop in France. I will do my best to paint a realistic, and hopefully interesting, picture of what it is like to shop here, specifically as I have…
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March 4, 2023–C’est Carnaval de Riberac…
Today was Carnival in our small village with all kinds of activities and food particularly for the children, and best of all there was a parade right in front of our house with a band and tons of children, wearing costumes and face paint, loaded onto floats. They threw confetti instead of candy, and there…
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February 25, 2023–French life potpourri
First, today is special because our youngest son, Caleb, turns 19 today! We are so proud of the young man he has become–he is kind, wise, charming, witty, and smart. It’s so hard not being there with him today and celebrating, as we normally do, with a Betty Crocker Devil’s Food Cake with dark chocolate…
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February 19, 2023–J’ai besoin d’aide
I’ve always considered myself to be a fairly independent, assertive, and adventurous person–overall, I am not scared of change, and I approach situations with high levels of risk with an optimistic attitude, “what’s the worst that can happen?” I know I can also be seen as stubborn, determined, and a bit naive, almost a “Pollyanna.”…
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February 12, 2023–You have to take the stairs…
When we first moved to Bainbridge Island in 2013, my job for the first seven years of our time there was located in Kent, Washington. It was an hour and a half commute in the morning and a two hour commute in the evening, with both trips including a 30 minute ferry ride that I…
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February 5, 2023–The devil is in the details…
As of Saturday, February 4, Repos à Ribérac has been open for two weeks. When we first prepared to open, I was concerned that bookings would be slow at first, especially during the low season. Oh my goodness–have I been surprised! In the last two weeks, we have had three sold out nights and most…
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January 28, 2023–All roads lead to Ribérac…
For many years I have dreamed about what it would be like to run a bed and breakfast. As a traveler, staying in hotels, airbnbs, and bed and breakfasts, I’ve had my own expectations about what it takes for a space to be considered welcoming, warm, clean, and comfortable. Would my guests hold those same…
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January 13, 2023–Doors and love…
I’ve always had a fascination with exterior doors…the various colors, the ones that have windows, single or double ones, and the hardware that makes every door unique. My favorite type of door is solid wood and painted a vibrant color that stands out, and yet is inviting. Through the years, we have lived in homes…
A Cariad Life 