Le bon vieux temps

Our new lockdown started yesterday. We're confined to quarters except for very specific reasons for which we need to go out in public. We can shop for groceries, go to the pharmacy, or go out for medical appointments. I called my new dentist's office yesterday and after being kept on hold for 15 minutes I talked to somebody and got confirmation that my Monday morning appointment will not be cancelled because of the stay-at-home order. When we go out, we have to download, fill out, print, and sign an affadavit (une attestation) stating the purpose of our trip and the time of our departure from our residence.

We are also allowed to go out once a day to get some exercise and walk our dogs, but only within one kilometer (about half a mile) from home and for one hour or less. We read somewhere that people are not allowed to cross regional borders. That would have ruled out our trip down to the Limoges area, but even without that restriction traveling so far from home for a vacation would not have been allowed. People who traveled before Thursday midnight to spend this big holiday weekend (All Saints Day) in other regions will be allowed to return to their places of residence next week as long as they carry the affadavit described above.

My slideshow for today shows some pictures of people and places in Provence back in the pre-confinement days, when we could enjoy gathering together and socializing. The title of this post, le bon vieux temps, means "the good old days." And they were, weren't they?



Today's lunch will be deep-fried pumpkin fritters — beignets de potiron. I don't think we've ever made those before (though we have made sweet potato fritters in the past). Tomorrow I plan to make a big one-pot boiled dinner with vegetables (turnips, rutabagas, carrots, pumpkin, potatoes, leeks, celery etc.), sausages, and two pieces of pork, one smoke-cured and the other salt-cured. It's called une potée in French, and there are as many varieties of potée as there are regions and cooks.