Family, Chores & Life Stuff
Another week gone in our little rural hamlet and another thousand signs of Spring life are popping up all around us.
Nature seems to accelerate this time of year, as if catching up to the first rays of warmth require a sprint rather than a stroll. Suddenly there are dandelions and daisies everywhere in the lawn, which conjure up bees and butterflies, creating a flurry of activity not seen since last fall. Tulips and daffodils have barreled out of their winter sleep, their green leaves racing out of the ground. Roses have shot out long, red stems, as if testing the weather for more.
Soon the glory of flowers will follow and life will renew again.
As for our little corner of it all, my brother and his family have come down from UK, finally allowed to travel again after last-minute frontier blocks prevented them from joining us in Granada over Christmas. They’re soaking up the sun like sponges and enjoying their first real trip away from home in a long time. Their visit prompts us to go out and visit places we usually forget, as all locals do.
Beginning of the year is also the beginning of the yearly chores from car to house maintenance, and never-ending tax forms. Not always the most fun of things, but basic stuff you just can’t avoid.
Early life, early chores and family time. That’s about the mix of it for this weeks blog.
Family Time
My brother and his family arrived late Friday evening, after taking an overnight ferry from the UK.
The ferry itself took around 7 hours, which for some reason seems so much longer than it should. In my mind the UK is a skip and a hop across the Channel from France, a mere finger-width of sea when you look at it on the map.
Back in my younger days I remember taking a hovercraft that crossed the distance from Dover to Calais in mere hours, a rather cool, albeit noisy transit as the big boat aired up and glided like a bloated whale across the ocean. That no longer exists, but there are ~10 different ferry options that take anywhere from a few hours to 11, as well as the Chunnel (the ~50km undersea tunnel from Folkestone to just outside Calais) which does the whole thing in a mere 35 minutes.
My bro opted for the Portsmouth to Caen route, sleeping overnight on the boat, taking a hour to clear customs on the French side (a post-Brexit joy) and then driving directly down. They were all exhausted, but deliriously happy to be “free” on holiday again after almost two years stuck in UK.
Since his arrival we’ve been taking advantage of good weather and doing all the usual touristy stuff. Market visits, walks around downtown, old churches, the “artists town” (Carla Bayle), drives to the mountains, and selecting a few of the Grand Sites to sightsee. It’s great to have them around, not just for the family time but also to be pushed out and reminded of the cool spots that surround us.
Sometimes local sightseeing is a bit like body re-booting….you need an outside push to get ya going.
Yearly Chores
February is also a chores month, where a lot of yearly stuff needs to get done.
There’s the start of US tax season (a process we get to enjoy FOREVER as US citizens), insurance payments, pellet boiler service, chimney sweeping (required for the house insurance), and mechanical stuff such as annual maintenance on our car and motorhome.
For the first time this year we also had to do a Contrôle Technique (what you’d call MOT in the UK) on our car, an inspection that that checks your vehicle for safety, roadworthiness and exhaust emissions. All vehicles in France have to go through this every other year (except for brand new buys that get an initial 4 year grace period) and if anything is found amiss you only have a few months to fix it. It’s yet another European thing that doesn’t really exist in the USA, unless you count stuff like SMOG certification in CA.
Surprisingly the whole thing went easy as peas, or mostly easy. I booked the appointment online at a local spot, waited while they did the tests, and strolled out a mere 30 minutes and 60 EUR later with a 2-year sticker on my window.
My only hiccup was when the young man started ranting about French politics, a passionate and delicate affair especially during an election year such as we are. I nodded and frowned at what I deemed the appropriate moments, added a few non-committal grunts and mumbles and generally just tried to avoid the minefield as best I could. I must have done a decent job because he said something along the lines of “it’s good to have sensible customers” as I left. Phew…..
Politics, a messy subject in any language.
Love On The Horizon
Love is on the horizon and unlike the former, it’s a subject that’s beautiful in all languages.
Our local supermarket has sprung into action with glorious heart-shaped displays of apples, flowers and of course fois gras (nothing says I love you quite like a heart-shaped piece of fatty liver, right?).
At home we sense it all around us with fine sunshine, cool winds, swirls of birds doing summersaults in the fields and the kind of warm fuzzy you can only get when you fuse into the warm embrace of Nature.
Our dear Polly has felt it too.
She’s been busy keeping the “herd” on track, a complicated job with three more of us in house. She stares at us intensely whenever meal-time is nigh, waits patiently by the door if we go out, and barks to ward off things-that-should-not-exist. The latter is admittedly more of an old-lady thing that often involves noises that jolt her up from a snoring slumber. She’ll go outside and bark at the offending ghost, scan the fuzzy horizon with her old eyes and sniff the air to ensure said-danger has been properly sent off. Then she’ll come back inside very pleased with herself. Naturally, I always praise her profusely.
“Good girl, good guard dog, you saved us again”.
As for me? I’m chugging along in my reboot and still walking as much as I can. Progress is being made as a pair of hiking pants I purchased last month are actually a smidgen too big for me, a phenomenon I’ve not encountered since 2017. Perhaps the wash will finally stop shrinking my clothes now? Plus I’ve gotten spurts of unexpected energy that suggest a Version 2.0 of present-day Nina may actually exist. Perhaps I will re-flower just like the Spring daffodils?
While we wait to that exciting event to happen, I wish you all the love and joy in the world, and a beautiful week to pack it into. Happy Valentine’s Everyone!
Thanks so much for your e mails about your travels & journey in Europe, you have a way with descriptions that capture my imagination like I’ve been there too ! Beautiful. My wife & I are closing in on permanent retiring & looking at a 38-40 ft Show Hauler Class C with lithium batteries / solar to hopefully Boondock using your awesome maps & travels here in the USA , especially on BLM land.
We’ve been fortunate to travel all over the US & also Europe also in the past . I’ve even lived in Italy for two years playing for the Italian baseball ⚾️ Federation for Anzio . We play on making many more trips to Italy & Europe in between our travels here in the US.
Thanks again so much & safe travels wherever they may take you . Be well.
Regards ,
Bob Mariano ⚾️
That is is incredibly cool, Bob. Paul is a huge baseball fan, and is currently deep into learning Italian so he will be thrilled to read this. So excited for your new travel adventures too. Enjoy!
Nina
How lovely your brother and family are visiting.
It is lovely, and they are all so happy to be on vacation. The last few years have been tough on everyone.
Nina
Your story about umming and ahhing in all the right places while getting your MOT is hilarious!
I sooooo try to void getting into politics, especially in casual convo with folks I don’t know. It’s just such a minefield. I kept having visions of nodding at the wrong thing, and that suddenly my car would have all kinds of issues to fix lol.
Nina
Great post and beautiful pictures as always. The undulating green hillside with Polly is amazing. We have an annual auto inspection here in Texas too. They check for all that stuff. Thankfully our RV only gets checked for things like lights and windshield wipers and brakes of course. But not emissions. Our cars are checked for emissions and all the safety stuff. I don’t know if new cars get any grace period. What a good idea to do all those sorts of chores in one month. It seems like it would make things easier to remember and then the rest of the year you don’t need to think about it. I think I’ll suggest it to my husband.
Now that you mention it, I remember all our TX-based RV friends had to go through that annual vehicle inspection. It’s very hit and miss which states have rules on this. For the chores I definitely recommend trying to pack them all in, especially during a slow time of the year. It’s a trick we picked up when we were full time RVIng, as we often only had a few months where we sat still. Now that we’re more fixed, I still find it handy to get all the practical items done in early winter so that we’re free to travel the rest of the year without having to worry about it.
Nina
How wonderful to have so much Spring in February where you are. I’m in Oregon and though we are having some sun occasionally, warmth has not come with it. Am thinking of going for dual citizenship and moving to Europe. Along with US income tax, do you have to pay French taxes? I’ve got tons of research to do yet. Hug sweet old Polly for me.
We have to file our global income in both countries, but there is a tax treaty between US and France which ensures you are not double taxed. Where you pay tax depends on the income type and source (retirement income is treated differently from salary, for example) so it’s more complicated than a simple response. But the short of it is that you do have to file in both places, but you don’t pay twice.
Nina
I can’t imagine having to do TWO sets of taxes! The Cowboy does ours, Emmi and I just retreat! So glad your brother and family finally got to visit! I am soon heading to Arkansas for a family visit.
Thank you. Just your comment that you file twice but pay once is helpful. I have much to research.
I find your ‘take’ on life so uplifting and love, as always, the pictures in and about your abode. Even the mundane things seem fun and exciting as it is in FRANCE!!! It seems i am no longer a traveler and seeing wonderful places thru your eyes is very satisfying and exciting….
Ah yes, “Post Brexit” and “Taxes”. Let me just say this about that. *ahem * (Clears throat) The whole “clearing customs” thing and length of stay visas has come as a big surprise to many, many folks in the UK who now find themselves wanting to travel abroad and no longer having the freedom of movement they once had. I can’t say it’s exactly “Shadenfreude”, but more like, “Did you not not know this?” Of course, it tends to mostly effect those who did NOT vote for Brexit, but is particularly poinant for those who DID vote for Brexit, but are then flummoxed by the results. “Where are all the foreign Lorry drivers?” comes to mind.
And on the subject of filing American Taxes. That’s an interesting one. And one that is difficult to explain to anyone who doesn’t quite understand.
One of our friends, who is now a Canadian Citizen, gave up her American Citizenship, as it was costing them 3 to 4 thousand a year to file her taxes, even though not having any income coming from the States and only ever going back to visit relatives. It just got too expensive. And, there were some repercussions to their Estate in the long term. (I quite honestly don’t remember those details, but did a little “What??” when she told me. Nothing to be fooling with. For someone who worked hard to get Citizenship, and who is married to an American, the answer is simple. You’ll be filing until the day you die. It is what it is. Hopefully you can manage it without having to get professional help, as that’s when it gets pricey. Carry on!