26 July 2007

Can't live without it...

Blogger was very flaky early this morning, and then our power was cut at 8:00 a.m. I wasn't able to post anything, even though I got up early to try. Walt did manage to post a topic, but he said it took many tries and a lot of time.

Sunrise in the yard, 25 July 2007

Our electricity was off from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. We had planned a cold lunch — shrimps and salads — so we didn't have to go hungry. It was quite good, actually, and we sat out on the terrace to enjoy the sunlight and warm weather. It felt like an end-of-September day — warm, dry, and breezy.

The gravel road ends where the trees form an archway.

When the power came back on this afternoon, our DSL modem worked for just three or four minutes and then quit. I was afraid it might have been zapped by some kind of power surge. We were already feeling acute Internet withdrawal, and we started getting snappy with each other when we thought we might have a big problem.

I unplugged the modem from the phone line and the power so it could rest for a few minutes. Then I hooked it back up and turned it back on, and — miracle of miracles — everything started working again. Then we were all sweetness and light.

Looking back toward our house from out in the vineyard at sunrise

I don't think we could live without the Internet. Or without the DSL connection. Sometimes we talk about selling this house and moving even farther out into the French countryside. Two things make me doubt that will ever happen: we wouldn't want to live in an area that doesn't produce wine (and there are plenty of areas in France that don't) and we wouldn't be able to live in an area where DSL was not available.

I guess we'll stay put for a while.

7 comments:

  1. I cannot live without it either ;)
    So I can't blame you!
    Good to have you back

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  2. I'm the same-have to have that Internet connection. I'm truly addicted. We finally got DSL here but our neighbors right across the highway can't get it yet and don't know when they will. I think being in a wine area is important in life too. My life would be perfect if an English bookstore would open close by.

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  3. no, we couldn't live without our beloved ADSL!
    Our first Alice Box died one day and when I called for a replacement the woman at the other end of the phone offered 10 free hours of dial-up for the next seven days until our new box arrived. My husband breezes through 10 hours in 2 days! (of course I help too). I argued that we needed more, we were paying for unlimited service after all, and she hung up on me. *sigh*
    And we really wouldn't want to live in an area where wine wasn't produced!!!
    Priorities, priorities. :)

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  4. You sound like my kind of man! Wine, high-speed Internet, what more could you ask.

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  5. It's the biggest drawback to going to Vail, Colorado for the next week...no internet in the condo! My family of three is totally hooked. But I emailed (see??) today and they said that the local library has Wifi...and I see a number of coffee shops do too...so maybe it will work out.

    Ken, I have to tell you that the light in those first two photos is fabulous. They are both very, very special pictures.

    Meilleurs voeux!!

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  6. love your sunrise walk series, please don't stop. everything looks so beautiful in that light, including the grass and the grapes.

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  7. Here in Olympia I realize that my parents' connection is much faster than the one we have in the country, even though it is officially a broadband connection. I can't believe that less than two years ago we didn't even have broadband. We all use the computers more now -- I'm not sure if that's always a good thing, but sometimes it is.

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