You can see from the photo why we love it so much here! The weather is amazing--it's hot, yes, but it's dry! Yesterday it was 43 degrees (above 100/we didn't even want to figure out how hot that really is) but we close up the house, & it stays relatively cool. We do hope our handyman will arrive soon to show us how to turn on the AC, just in case we need it.

Maison(s) & Jardin:

We feel like we've made significant progress on the house. The living room is now a sunny yellow, the ugly fireplace somewhat neutralized, & a new Ikea rug installed. The kitchen cabinets & walls are painted, & now I realize we will have to neutralize the green tiles. They are pretty but they are outdated too. This whole house is much more modern than our others have been. (We've gone from the early 1700s to the 1990s with our houses. Every one of them has "talked" to me, & I've listened. This one is no exception.) So eventually, I will paint the wall tiles, & have the countertop replaced along with a new sink & a new cooktop.

And by the way, speaking of houses, we've sold our Charleston coach-house on South Battery, & bought a building on Church Street where we can combine our residence (a loft, once we convert 2 apartments) on the second floor with Les' office on the first. See our picture album called "Changing Houses Again" for further details, if you are interested.

And speaking of Charleston, we were so saddened to hear about the mass shooting at Mother Emmanuel Church. We were impressed with the reaction of Charleston leaders, & moved by the 10,000 people holding hands on the Ravenel Bridge in support of the victims & their families. We were touched by President Obama's heartfelt eulogy, & his rendition of "Amazing Grace". We hope the spirit of unity continues in our beloved home town. And we continue to support gun control. This should never happen again, but unless we get rid of guns, it will.

We've had fun with trips to the marche brocante (antiques & collectible market), the resale shops, & Ikea. We had to buy a new washing machine at our new favorite appliance store called DARTY, also the source of our new oven & new dishwasher, installed by David, our winter handyman. And I've enjoyed the joys of French paint, which is excellent. No fumes, no streaks, no issues, as long as you follow directions, & do your prep work.

We've also has some wildlife issues that were quite amusing. Two baby birds flew into our roofed terrace, & couldn't get out. For an entire day, the poor mama tried in vain to get them to leave. Apparently, this was their first flight, & they didn't want to try a second one! We waited it out & after about 6 hours, they were, all of a sudden, GONE. Amazing how our terrace was taken over by 2 tiny birds. We've also had amazing ants who eat, of all things, plaster! When I was redoing the fireplace by plastering over the brick, those tiny insects would carry off the bits of plaster I sanded off. All gone now, back to their plaster paradise, due to a product called "Natruen Anti-fourmis".

Little Adventures:

We have explored the area too. We had an interesting visit to the "Musee des Trains" in Nimes, where they showcased a very old steam train. It arrived in the station every 10 minutes in a cloud of steam, then withdrew to come back again. They had 15-20 trains through which you could walk, some dating back to our first train trip through Europe in 1968. We both remember the beginning of the TGV, (tres grande vitesse or very big speed train) which is now morphing into the LGV, even faster than the TGV. They have clocked the latest high speed at 579 kilometers an hour. Who knows? Our grandson Henry, a train enthousiast extraordinaire, may end up working in the SNCF network one day.

We've done a little walking (some just down to Sommieres & then back up, some an actual "balades" in the mountains) & a lot of eating (in cafes, salons de the, restaurants, & at home)! We've discovered a few seaside towns & some lovely villages. We've spent lots of time at home improvement stores. Les has found a gym & a golf course he likes. He played 18 holes last Friday with 3 wonderful Frenchmen & enjoyed it very much. I've been to a hairdresser (& former trumpet artist) who has arms that are full of tattos. We've been back to our favorite guinguette (La Famourette) for a lovely afternoon in the shade & a delightful Sunday dinner. We have tickets in July to see Michel LeGrand in concert.

So, if you want to SEE, instead of READ, what we've been doing, check out our picture album called "Weeks 2 & 3:Tech Truama, A Tale of 2 Chateaux, et Maison et Jardin".

We hope you are all enjoying your summers, & wish you, in advance, a very Happy Fourth of July. Vivent les Americains! Vive L'Independence!

Hugs, Les & Elise