“France is shivering...” Our temperature this morning is –8ºC; that's +17.6ºF. The cold wave is expected to last into the middle of next week, and more snow is predicted for Sunday. It's cold in France, but it's even colder in Eastern Europe, and it's colder in the eastern half of France than here on the west side.
So far, our pipes haven't frozen. The house is warm enough in the afternoon and evening. We still take the dog out on her regular walks, but today we have to drive her over to the veterinarian's office. Callie has developed a cough. It's gotten gradually worse over the past two or three days.
The dog is still eating normally, and she's energetic on the walks. She ran after a deer yesterday afternoon. However, she sleeps during much of the day, and isn't as interested in playing indoors as she was a week ago. We don't know if the cough is related to the cold weather.
Bertie the Black Cat seems to be doing fine. He's been coming into the house in the afternoon and either spending some time sitting on the fireplace hearth by the wood fire, or sleeping with Walt on the downstairs sofa, which is also near the fire. Callie stays upstairs in the loft space, sleeping.
The loft space we had finished off in 2010 is well insulated, and it doesn't get too cold up there. There's a light wind from the northeast these days, but it's not strong enough to be a problem. We still turn the heat off overnight, and the house is pretty cold in the morning. Right now, the inside temperature is just 11ºC, or 52ºF. It's slowing warming up.
We've had colder mornings here at La Renaudière since 2003, but not many. The pictures in this post are ones I took around the vineyard and hamlet on Tuesday afternoon. The snow has melted a little since then, and the north wind has blown some of it out of the trees. Even though afternoon temperatures stay below freezing, the sun shines brightly, resulting in some snow melt.
So far, our pipes haven't frozen. The house is warm enough in the afternoon and evening. We still take the dog out on her regular walks, but today we have to drive her over to the veterinarian's office. Callie has developed a cough. It's gotten gradually worse over the past two or three days.
The dog is still eating normally, and she's energetic on the walks. She ran after a deer yesterday afternoon. However, she sleeps during much of the day, and isn't as interested in playing indoors as she was a week ago. We don't know if the cough is related to the cold weather.
Bertie the Black Cat seems to be doing fine. He's been coming into the house in the afternoon and either spending some time sitting on the fireplace hearth by the wood fire, or sleeping with Walt on the downstairs sofa, which is also near the fire. Callie stays upstairs in the loft space, sleeping.
The loft space we had finished off in 2010 is well insulated, and it doesn't get too cold up there. There's a light wind from the northeast these days, but it's not strong enough to be a problem. We still turn the heat off overnight, and the house is pretty cold in the morning. Right now, the inside temperature is just 11ºC, or 52ºF. It's slowing warming up.
We've had colder mornings here at La Renaudière since 2003, but not many. The pictures in this post are ones I took around the vineyard and hamlet on Tuesday afternoon. The snow has melted a little since then, and the north wind has blown some of it out of the trees. Even though afternoon temperatures stay below freezing, the sun shines brightly, resulting in some snow melt.
I hope Callie is OK. Absolutely the right thing to get her checked by the vet.
ReplyDeleteShe looks and sounds such a lovely dog!
From one of Callie's many fans.
Hope the dog is good.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of insulation did you use in the attic conversion?
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteWe hope that Callie gets on OK - we are just back from the Vet's Office at Noyers with our cat, just think we almost met for the first time!
Carol
Sorry we missed you, Carol. The vet said that Callie's throat is inflamed and she has a slight fever but her heart and lungs sound fine. She gave Callie cortisone pills for the sore throat and an antibiotic to keep the infection from getting any worse. Hope your cat is okay too.
ReplyDeleteH.P., laine de verre. That's fiberglass.
ReplyDeleteOh, a 20 cm thickness of fiberglass insulation is what they put in.
ReplyDeleteOh, our little Callie with a fever and sore throat?! I just never even think of animals getting a cold or anything like that.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are just great, Ken!
Judy
Poor Callie. Luckily it isn't anything serious. Is she allowed to go out on her daily walks, or does she has to stay in until it gets a little warmer?
ReplyDeletePoor Callie. Hope the meds quickly do the trick. ... Meantine, I'm sure you'll spoil her rotten :-)
ReplyDeletemy daughter just had a throat thing in paris....wonder if pets get the same bugs....hope callie feels better soon, at least she is eating....guess she does need extra sleep if she is feelin poorly....
ReplyDeletewhy do u turn off the heat at night?
Martine, the vet said the walks were fine, but also said not to push too hard.
ReplyDeleteAntoinette, you can count on that!
melinda, Callie is sleeping now. Maybe the cortisone for her sore throat makes her drowsy. As for the heat, we usually turn it off by noon and then build a fire. The fire goes out by bedtime and then we turn the heat back on in the morning. Trying not to burn too much expensive heating oil. I like sleeping in a cool or even cold room/house.
Glad to hear that Callie isn't suffering from anything too serious... get well soon Callie!
ReplyDeleteHope the cortisone pills help Callie . May be she picked up something during one of her walks
ReplyDeleteKen I heard that the cold weather will go on for a week.
Keep warm and take good care of yourselves and a "Get Well" wish to Callie.
I don't think I've ever heard a dog 'cough', and all during my childhood we always had a dog.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever get thermal inversions there resulting in "burn bans" for fireplaces?
ReplyDeleteLovely pics. I hope Callie's ailment is minor. That's a cold house you wake up to! Hope you're enjoying your beautiful views and nesting within.
ReplyDeleteNo, Dean, we never have burn bans. Plenty of people here heat exclusively with wood — at least that's the impression I got nine years ago when we were looking for a house to buy. They'd be out of luck. I think it all has to do with topography and population density.
ReplyDeleteStarman, a dog couch is very unlike a deep human cough. It's hard to describe — a dry hack but very quiet, actually.
Hmmm, I wrote a get well note for Callie, but it didn't post. I hope she gets well asap.
ReplyDeleteI slept in an unheated attic the first nine years of my life. I still enjoy a cold pillow, but get grumpy if our temp gets below 68. Guess I'm getting old!
Hi guys - Paul and I met you (and Callie) one afternoon in St Aignan after we'd recognised Callie fromt he photos on this blog. We still check in from time to time and wanted to send a get-well-soon hug for Callie all the way from Australia.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes - stay warm
Sylvia
Hello Sylvia, thanks for the good wishes for Callie. She seems to be doing fine. Her eyes have brightened up again, she's stopped coughing, and she's interesting in playing now. So all is well, except that it's so damned cold here now and predicted to stay that way for another week. Ken
ReplyDelete