tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post2098152815684436028..comments2024-03-29T13:11:25.325+01:00Comments on Living the life in Saint-Aignan: Quiet hereKen Broadhursthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-74835350337645438852009-03-10T01:25:00.000+01:002009-03-10T01:25:00.000+01:00Your town in North Carolina - it's on the coast bu...Your town in North Carolina - it's on the coast but where? It looks lovely although I would rather be in France.<BR/>SamSam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15358601435867848753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-28619056656627022062009-03-08T09:42:00.000+01:002009-03-08T09:42:00.000+01:00Judy, I agree with you entirely (and I envy you yo...Judy, I agree with you entirely (and I envy you your "strange" weather). One reason Walt and I decided to relocate ourselves to France was the existence of a small-town life free of big-city stresses but not isolated or remote. We have to drive to Blois or Tours for some shopping, but for everyday errands we have all we need here in a pleasant environment.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-55067550452137253062009-03-07T23:39:00.000+01:002009-03-07T23:39:00.000+01:00@The Beaver, that valet parking doesn't surprise m...@The Beaver, that valet parking doesn't surprise me too much. When I lived in California, my feet never touched the ground. I walked down my stairs to the car, drove to the office, took a few steps on the paved parking lot surface, and entered the building. That was that.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-68640991963387909712009-03-07T21:39:00.000+01:002009-03-07T21:39:00.000+01:00It is hard to find a happy medium here in many par...It is hard to find a happy medium here in many parts of the US, in my opinion. Shopping is a good and necessary convenience, but so much that is done in many areas of the US these days is the cheapest construction, adding nothing to the landscape. Small-town US these days has fallen prey especially to ugliness in the way of highway strip malls. Still, in more affluent areas, the problem grows, too... we have a new "fad" coming in now to replace enclosed shopping malls. I forget what the term is, but the resulting presentation is a couple of miles of parking lot with big box and typical strip-mall stores, one right next to the other, but all stretched out so far, that you have go back to get into your car after each store, so that you can ride to the next store you want to go to. If you want to hit Target, Office Max and Home Depot, you have to drive to each one. It's annoying.<BR/><BR/>If you move to a spot that is at all country-like in setting, you're a far drive from any quality products, though... certainly no baguettes being delivered!!!<BR/><BR/>I'm sure France is falling prey more and more to the big-box stores, but smaller towns still seem to be able to exist, with protection of their aesthetics and history... at least more so than here, I believe.<BR/><BR/>p.s. 82°(27C) here yesterday!!!!!!!!!!! It was nutty! My sister in Boston still has 8-12 inches of snow that fell Monday, and we're getting sunburned walking at the Botanical Garden :)) Today it's 70s (around 23C). <BR/><BR/>JudySeine Judeet (Judith)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07407353544376132484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-6154259369266927072009-03-07T18:39:00.000+01:002009-03-07T18:39:00.000+01:00Back there, you never walk anywhere except in park...<I>Back there, you never walk anywhere except in parking lots and inside the big-box stores.</I><BR/><BR/>Ken<BR/><BR/>In some places they have valet parking so some people don't even walk in the parking lots. I was surprised to see that in and around Dallas when I was flying there for business in the late 90's. <BR/><BR/>Funny word verification: <B>ancrer</B>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-12739557813465323502009-03-07T16:57:00.000+01:002009-03-07T16:57:00.000+01:00Hi Linda, thanks. Yes, I can imagine that where yo...Hi Linda, thanks. Yes, I can imagine that where you are is like where I was. It's all the same in the U.S. these days.<BR/><BR/>Hello Susan, no frogs or toads yet. It's toad time. I can't wait -- and neither can Callie.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-79388938771659681462009-03-07T16:54:00.000+01:002009-03-07T16:54:00.000+01:00Hey Ken, you got frog or toad spawn yet?Hey Ken, you got frog or toad spawn yet?Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06472449597146519943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-1762423132372705382009-03-07T15:56:00.000+01:002009-03-07T15:56:00.000+01:00Oh boy big box stores, don't get me started. I tr...Oh boy big box stores, don't get me started. I try to avoid them like the plague. Interesting that all retail in the US is in dire straights except Wal Mart. The same stores are every where across the US selling the same things. Your roads in NC look just like Edwardsville IL. You're right Ken the Americans go shopping and the French gather their family when times are tough. I think that is very telling. <BR/><BR/>It looks like spring is coming to your town and I am looking forward to your pictures. Love your blog and I am glad you're back.TryingHardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11598084690617343428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-83937179225328516622009-03-07T15:31:00.000+01:002009-03-07T15:31:00.000+01:00Hi Carolyn, I know what you are talking about. Yes...Hi Carolyn, I know what you are talking about. Yes, there are advantages and disadvantages to living so far from shopping. The advantage of being far away is that you organize your life to minimize the number of trips you need to take. Most people live so close to the strips that they spend their whole lives there, driving from store to store on a daily basis.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-45273680415964795652009-03-07T15:17:00.000+01:002009-03-07T15:17:00.000+01:00Ken, I think someday every foot of highway in the ...Ken, I think someday every foot of highway in the US will be lined with stores, fast food, gas stations, and churches. It’s sad, because natural beauty is being destroyed wherever ground is leveled to build big stores and bigger parking lots. Maybe the economic downturn will save our natural landscape.<BR/><BR/>France respects its agriculture too much to let that happen. They do a better job of creating agricultural and industrial zones.<BR/><BR/>We’re lucky, like you and Walt, to live in a fairly rural area. It's 4 miles to the post office, 4.5 miles to a place that sells pizza/videos/milk, 13 miles to a small supermarket, 40 miles to tofu and organic anything. In one direction we can drive 25 miles before we pass a store or gas station. This has its pluses and minuses.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-78122750764771520452009-03-07T14:49:00.000+01:002009-03-07T14:49:00.000+01:00Jim, I know about Chambray-les-Tours and the east ...Jim, I know about Chambray-les-Tours and the east side of Bourges. When were you last in America?Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-79731078708878724762009-03-07T13:54:00.000+01:002009-03-07T13:54:00.000+01:00'Here, we drove 40 miles from the east side of Tou...'Here, we drove 40 miles from the east side of Tours to Saint-Aignan, through Vouvray, Amboise, and Montrichard, and we didn't see a single strip mall.'<BR/><BR/>Slightly rose-tinted specs here I think Ken. The French are pretty good at strip malls – Chambray-les-Tours, eastern outskirts of Bourges, even the eastern outskirts of Bléré – on a minor scale.Jim's Loirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06696024920441263899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-64445178170938881082009-03-07T11:48:00.000+01:002009-03-07T11:48:00.000+01:00Hi Ken,What a strange picture ... When I opened t...Hi Ken,<BR/>What a strange picture ... When I opened today's blog and saw only the top of the first photo, I thought it was some abstract painting. Great shot! That pond surely has artistic potential! MartineAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com