Local readers

Yesterday we had lunch with our neighbors. We were invited by Maryvonne and Bernard, who have the house across the street. They live in Blois and spend summers out here in their country house. They had invited us, our neighbors Annick and Jean-Michel (who are my age), Josette (whose an ex-neighbor, really, because she sold us her house and moved to Tours), and Gisèle (a friend who doesn't live in our neighborhood but on the other side of the village).

Three of the people who were at the lunch yesterday are in their mid- to late 70s. One is 80. Three are 60-ish, and one is approaching 50. You can figure out the average for yourself. All of us are but one are retired from the working life.

I noticed yesterday that Annick referred to our neighborhood, which I call a hamlet in French, as a "village." She said a lot of the "villages" around our commune are getting street lighting. That's something we don't really want. We want to see the sky and the stars at night, and not have that soft light obliterated by harsh electric light. I might have to talk to the people at the village hall about light pollution. Annick said the street lighting is not likely to come to our area any time soon, so that's good for now.

Maybe it won't happen in our lifetimes.

Josette told me yesterday that she has discovered this blog. I was surprised. Her daughter Sophie found it when I sent her an e-mail a few days ago. There's a link in my signature. I don't think I had ever "had e-mail" with her before. Josette said she and Sophie spent some time trying to decipher the text, but mostly they looked at the pictures. They could kind of see what it was all about.

I hope I haven't said anything about the neighbors in my blog that they don't like. And I hope they don't feel like I'm violating their privacy or or spying on them or keeping secrets. My motives are honorable, as you know. I'm doing all this en tout bien tout honneur... as they say.

I've added what they call a "page element" in the sidebar column on the right side of the screen to explain to French-speaking readers what this blog is all about. I wrote it for my neighbors and others who don't speak or read much or any English.