05 February 2012

Snow all day, sans discontinuer

I just checked MéteoFrance on the computer, and the site shows snow in Saint-Aignan all day today, ending in the evening. And I checked MéteoX, the radar site, and sure enough, you can see the line of clouds extending from the northern point of France all the way down to the southwest point.

A radar image of our Sunday morning weather in France

I think the frigid air over eastern France, and all of Europe east of France, is going to block the front where it is now and keep us under snow for many hours. This morning, Callie did what she did yesterday morning — she woke me up before 7:00 and begged to go outside. I let her out of the front door a few minutes ago, and I can confirm that it is snowing out there.

The western half of France is under a snow warning, and
the eastern half is under a frigid-temperatures warning.


Yesterday morning, I wasn't so quick to understand why Callie was behaving the way she was. I just thought she wanted to "play with" the cat — chase him around, trying to herd him. You know what the say about herding cats. Anyway, it's unusual for the dog to ask to go outside so early. It must have to do with the drugs she is taking — she's off her schedule for peeing and pooping.

A very fine snow is falling in this picture that I took
from the living room window 5 minutes ago.


The good news is that Callie's cough stopped within a few hours after we gave her the first cortisone pill. She's still taking cortisone every morning and antibiotics every afternoon. She already seems cured, and I assume her fever is gone. The vet said taking her out for her regular walks can't hurt her, even though it is so cold — minus 5ºC right now by our thermometer. That would be 23ºF.

Braising Belgian endives in a pan on the cookstove

Yesterday, in anticipation of spending the day inside and needing some hearty food, I cooked a few Belgian endives. If you don't know, endives are little lettuces that are grown in the dark so that the leaves don't turn green. They are bitter greens, so you cook them with lemon juice or even a pinch of sugar, along with butter and garlic, to make them milder.

Gratin d'endives au jambon from a while back

These I'll wrap in ham slices and cover in a cheese sauce before baking them in the oven for an hour or so. I've done it so many times before, and blogged about it. Meanwhile, weather sites are reporting heavy snow in Tours, Montlouis, and even Saint-Aignan. It's almost time for me to take the dog out.

11 comments:

  1. We've come home to steady snow (about 10cm deep now and rising) and our downstairs toilet water inlet pipe has frozen so we are a single toilet household until it thaws I guess.

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  2. We just hope you two are not freezing. Welcome home.

    Our heating system is coping so far. Walt's getting ready to go out and chop some wood so that we can have a fire.

    We have at least 5 cm of snow on the ground, and maybe closer to 10.

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  3. S & S, I assume your car battery didn't let you down when you got back to the Touraine...

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  4. Snow was forecast for yesterday in Derbyshire - the predicted time for it to start was 3pm and sure enough it started at 2.30 !!
    We only have a couple of inches so far so that's not too bad. It seems impossible that a couple of weeks ago it was 13˚C - today it is -3˚C.

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  5. The current weather in France reminds me of the winter of 1956, a few years back! January had been balmy In
    Paris, and all over the country, so much so I left my house plants outside. As I recall the temperature dropped something like twenty degrees Celsius or more over night. It was +15° C on the 31 of January and -5 or -10 C° on the first of February.

    I lost all my nice house plants, some family heirlooms. In the Var region most olive trees froze to the ground. Just like the winter of 1941 for the amount of snow, that one was a memorable winter for its bitter cold.

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  6. glad Callie seems to be doing better......i remember some of those drugs make em want to drink more, hence more trips out.....stay warm....

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  7. Snow now stopped here, looks like about 12 to 15cm [I haven't ventured out with a ruler... yet!] Everything crisp, clean, white and QUIET! A peaceful Sunday... no chasse. Moved the old Merc into the barn on Friday to keep it warmer... well, it is warmer by about 4°C... BUT IT IS COVERED IN FINE POWDERED SNOW. AAAAAAGH!!!!

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  8. Hearty warm food, a happy dog by your side, and pretty white snow outside -- the best!

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  9. How could anyone who reads your blog not know about endive? I make a salad with using mangoes and oranges, and sometimes, Grand Marnier.

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  10. Snow gives us an excuse for warm comfort food and perhaps Grand Marnier! No snow here in Oregon, but with all your talk of frigid weather and white stuff, I succombed and made a hearty beef and mac/cheese casserole. I will enjoy some of the leftovers while watching the Super Bowl later.

    Callie beside me in front of a fire would be an added bonus. I, too, am glad the antibiotics are doing their job.

    Mary in Oregon

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  11. Best wishes Callie - good to hear the antibiotics are doing their stuff but they can really upset your internal workings, wiping out friend as well as foe. A little natural yoghurt may help perhaps (tastes, allergies etc permitting). WV is "calister" - good health the calliester!

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