Nothing much

It's terrible to write a blog post just to say that you have nothing much to say. The last pictures I took go back to Thursday morning. So no help here, really — you've seen them if they were worth posting.

Okay, okay, I know I say I don't have anything much to say and then I write paragraph after paragraph.

We took the day off yesterday and just stayed home. Walt did some cooking. I didn't do much of anything, except go for a nice walk with the dog in the afternoon. It was very gray and misty, but surprisingly warm, all day. No matter — we built a fire in the wood stove anyway, just to chase away the feeling of damp.

I talked to S. on the phone in the afternoon. She was busy with her visitors from the U.K. and was going to dinner with them and a good English friend of hers who lives up in Valaire, near Blois. We've invited S. and her house guests over for an apéritif this evening.

That means I need to go out and do some shopping this morning. I'll go over to the outdoor market in Noyers-sur-Cher, across the river. I'm in a phase now where I enjoy that market more than the one in Saint-Aignan on Saturdays. The Noyers market is smaller, but there are some very good vendors there. The Saint-Aignan market is too crowded.

One good feature in Noyers is the stand where they sell poultry products, including ground chicken and turkey as well as terrines — pâtés — of rabbit, duck, turkey, or pheasant. And of course fresh chickens, guinea fowl, and ducks. There's a vegetable stand that sells the variety of potatoes called bintje, which make very good frites and mashed potatoes. I can't find them anywhere else around here. All the other vegetables there are nice too.

And oh, I almost forgot that there is a very nice charcuterie shop in Noyers too, as well as a good bread bakery. It's convenient to pop into those shops before or after buying things at the market stalls, while I'm over there.

There's also a very good cheese vendor at the Noyers farmers market. The man who sells cheese in Noyers works for the same company that sells cheese in Saint-Aignan, where the stand is staffed by two women. I like them and I like the man in Noyers too, and the cheese is always fresh and appetizing. But in Noyers there is seldom a line, whereas in Saint-Aignan you sometimes have to wait 10 or 15 minutes on line before you get served. The cheese seller has the time to advise you and choose your cheeses carefully.

He also likes to chat. Last week he told me all about his dog. The poor dog died recently at the age of 17. A new dog is on the way in. We had quite a long and friendly discussion.

So small markets can be just as attractive and enjoyable as big markets. Size isn't everything.