tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post4739824546331519603..comments2024-03-18T14:30:31.336+01:00Comments on Living the life in Saint-Aignan: Up up up goes the cost of livingKen Broadhursthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-31713368590948322952008-03-16T09:58:00.000+01:002008-03-16T09:58:00.000+01:00A friend of mine in Olympia was just complaining a...A friend of mine in Olympia was just complaining about gas going over $3.50 a gallon -- I sent her your statistics to compare! She knows gas is expensive here, but I'm not sure she realized how much more...<BR/><BR/>As for shopping in different places, that's certainly not that great for the environment, and then you have to factor in the gas prices too! I agree -- it's fine if you have time, but a ridiculous argument as far as the purchasing power problem goes.Betty Carlsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17155852272383173880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-82361387537780662552008-03-16T06:38:00.000+01:002008-03-16T06:38:00.000+01:00Yes, CHM, that is the tip of one of the pads of "y...Yes, CHM, that is the tip of one of the pads of "your" cactus peeking into the picture of the rosemary. The cactus is still living. I think I have to move it now, before the snails from the ditch come and starting eating it again, the way they did last year.<BR/><BR/>PJ, thanks for the link. There are some beautiful pictures from Provence there, but I didn't find the clôture en osier. I'll look some more.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-81916522977500898722008-03-16T05:47:00.000+01:002008-03-16T05:47:00.000+01:00Is it MY cactus poking its nose at the rosemary?Is it MY cactus poking its nose at the rosemary?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-59598049200213946102008-03-16T02:47:00.000+01:002008-03-16T02:47:00.000+01:00http://www.frenchgardening.com/tech.html?pid=30884...http://www.frenchgardening.com/tech.html?pid=3088406971138973<BR/><BR/>here you go. "clotures" for the garden.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-86620941736112234872008-03-16T02:46:00.000+01:002008-03-16T02:46:00.000+01:00the photos are beautiful. does anybody round there...the photos are beautiful. does anybody round there weave the osiers -- i was just looking at a wattle fence some hippies made in england, in the old style , very nice.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-37713451343449749772008-03-15T15:03:00.000+01:002008-03-15T15:03:00.000+01:00Miss Yuri, try listening to this video and see if...Miss Yuri, try listening to <A HREF="http://ma-tvideo.france2.fr/video/iLyROoaftdAA.html" REL="nofollow"> this video</A> and see if you can get some information from it. KenKen Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-44762524703869550202008-03-15T14:59:00.000+01:002008-03-15T14:59:00.000+01:00Miss Yuri, I saw the interview (or an excerpt) wit...Miss Yuri, I saw the interview (or an excerpt) with the Minister of Finance on the France 2 TV news a few days ago. I don't know if it is available on the web. The finance minister is Christine Lagarde, but you probably already know that.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-78736304193112284412008-03-15T14:57:00.000+01:002008-03-15T14:57:00.000+01:00Hello Claude, did you walk all the way to London a...Hello Claude, did you walk all the way to London and back? What a great way to kill two birds with one stone: lots of exercise and a very low-cost solution to travel. K.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-44161324729315209172008-03-15T14:56:00.000+01:002008-03-15T14:56:00.000+01:00hello, my friend samdebretagne alerted me to this ...hello, my friend samdebretagne alerted me to this post! i'd really like to know where and when this interview with the minister was, and if you might have a link to it somewhere? i'm doing a presentation on monday on pouvoir d'achat and i'm having a hard time finding the right information (there's tons of it out there but not what i need!). thank you!MISS YURIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01396225610340794070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-54900658857272586932008-03-15T02:09:00.000+01:002008-03-15T02:09:00.000+01:00At any price, your flowers are beautiful. I'm lear...At any price, your flowers are beautiful. I'm learning their names as I'm planning to visit our Toronto Greenhouse. I want to recognize them without the labels. I knew the tulip of course.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-80848382368656083282008-03-14T22:27:00.000+01:002008-03-14T22:27:00.000+01:00Like autolycus, I heard that prices had been going...Like autolycus, I heard that prices had been going up in the UK. I found that my hotel, the tube and food in general was more expensive.<BR/>Back to Paris, I heard this morning that it was the right time to go to the US, for us Europeans and that seemed to me to be rather a stupid comment. No doubt it's good for people who have the money, but to the others, ça fait une belle jambe !<BR/>Not to mention you guys and the problems you are probably having with the exchange rate.<BR/>Sorry for not visiting for such a long time, but I was away from home ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-6193717152640652332008-03-14T16:23:00.000+01:002008-03-14T16:23:00.000+01:00We're tightening our belts down here too. Thank h...We're tightening our belts down here too. Thank heavens I love to cook! We hardly ever buy prepared foods, eat meat only once or twice a week, and eat mainly rice/pasta/beans and fresh vegetables and fruit. Better for our health in the long run anyway!<BR/>We eat plain yogurt every day so I'm considering investing in a yogurt maker if it will save us in the long run. <BR/><BR/>If only I could get the right to work. Soon....I hope!<BR/>Hang in there!Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18245742506531002363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-69324888236138308792008-03-14T15:01:00.000+01:002008-03-14T15:01:00.000+01:00CHM, I thought that was "osier" but I didn't know ...CHM, I thought that was "osier" but I didn't know for sure. The people who work in the vineyard use the osier branches to tie up bundles of grape-vine trimmings.<BR/><BR/>Susan and Simon, thanks. I'll check out the recipe for "petit salé".<BR/><BR/>Autolycus, I noticed a headline in the New York Times regarding upset abut new "sin taxes" in the UK.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-49868508429486791722008-03-14T14:22:00.000+01:002008-03-14T14:22:00.000+01:00I agree with Susan and Autolycus, it looks very mu...I agree with Susan and Autolycus, it looks very much like what we call an "osier" in France, which is a "saule," salix sp. Its long, slender and flexible branches are used to make baskets. <BR/>I'm keeping track of the dollar's free fall, and wonder with anxiety what I'm going to do in France later this year. I believe in miracles!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-43278461405295627812008-03-14T12:41:00.000+01:002008-03-14T12:41:00.000+01:00It's interesting looking at prices in France - the...It's interesting looking at prices in France - the things on special at the supermarche look incredibly cheap, but some things are expensive compared to London. There is no obviousl logic to what items will be the expensive ones. either.<BR/><BR/>We noticed the same thing when we first moved to the UK from Australia (although it is too easy to remember prices as there were when you left, as opposed to what they have done now - the price of meat in Australia be a pefect illustration)<BR/><BR/>Interesting that you are talking about buying bulk when things are cheap - last visit we bought a rather large amout of pork belly for not much money. I have salted half of it for petit sale, and Susan used the other half for a week's worth of pork casserole.<BR/><BR/>I have put the petit sale recipe on the blogSusanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06472449597146519943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-12879793052595272502008-03-14T12:24:00.000+01:002008-03-14T12:24:00.000+01:00Yes, I was thinking a coppiced willow, but it's a ...Yes, I was thinking a coppiced willow, but it's a bit hard to tell without some leaves!<BR/><BR/>Prices: we've just had this year's government budget, which has whacked taxes on to alcohol (to raise money and to be seen to be trying to wean us off binge drinking), but that hardly bothers me, neither does the much-vexed question of fuel prices (since I live in London, I don't keep a car). But milk is clearly more expensive than chez vous, and food prices generally always seem to be a bit more than in France.Autolycushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17642868944400656922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-22820977115383585782008-03-14T10:11:00.000+01:002008-03-14T10:11:00.000+01:00I think your mystery plant will probably be either...I think your mystery plant will probably be either a willow Salix sp or a dogwood Cornus sp, with those coloured withies.<BR/><BR/>SusanSusanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06472449597146519943noreply@blogger.com