I realized yesterday, after uploading the first in a series of photos I've taken in the town of Domfront (pop. 4,000) in Normandy, that I've been there with my camera not once but twice. So I have more photos than I thought. Here are some I took in May 2005 when Walt and I went to Domfront for the first time.
I had read about the town when we still lived in California and really wanted to see it. We were on our way back from the Cotentin province — the coast and the towns of Carteret and Barfleur, among others. We were traveling with our dog so our options were slightly limited. And I remember that the weather in Normandy was cold and windy.
I had read about the town when we still lived in California and really wanted to see it. We were on our way back from the Cotentin province — the coast and the towns of Carteret and Barfleur, among others. We were traveling with our dog so our options were slightly limited. And I remember that the weather in Normandy was cold and windy.
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I'm finding it more and more stressful to write and publish this blog. I guess the stress has a variety of sources. Here are some of them: blogging complications due in great part to the (flaky) Blogger software, the troublesome boiler, the long confinement, and the lousy spring weather.
On the boiler front, we had another technician in day before yesterday. The company that installed the boiler is now working up an estimate for what it will cost to fix the problems we are having. That should be interesting. I think they really botched the installation five years ago, and we've had a lot of trouble getting them to listen to us, even though we pay them $300 dollars a year for a service contract that covers emergency service as well as annual maintenance. I have finally decided to call for a technician every time the boiler starts acting up, even though some of them have just insisted that there is no problem. I'm hoping that they will get tired of my phone calls and decide to address the real issues.
On the boiler front, we had another technician in day before yesterday. The company that installed the boiler is now working up an estimate for what it will cost to fix the problems we are having. That should be interesting. I think they really botched the installation five years ago, and we've had a lot of trouble getting them to listen to us, even though we pay them $300 dollars a year for a service contract that covers emergency service as well as annual maintenance. I have finally decided to call for a technician every time the boiler starts acting up, even though some of them have just insisted that there is no problem. I'm hoping that they will get tired of my phone calls and decide to address the real issues.
As for blogging, I'm finding myself lost in my photo archives much too frequently, and the flaky "new" interface that makes it much harder than it used to be to compose posts, refine the format, and upload and resize photos doesn't help much. Besides, I'm living too much in the past, I think, rather than in the present. That's because of Covid confinement, of course.
Several bloggers whose blogs I like to read have just given up, at least for now. Even though Covid restrictions in France have been eased, I feel like I need to wait and see, before breaking the confinement, if there is an increase in new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths now that people feel freer to gather together, go maskless, and just generally take more risks in public. Getting the second shot of the vaccine might help me relax, but we still don't know when that will happen. Walt got his first "jab" on March 12, which was 10 weeks ago. I got mine on April 2, so it's been seven weeks. I asked at the pharmacy a few days ago, and learned that the minimum wait between first and second doses is nine weeks.
Finally, I would like to get out and work in the garden a little, at least to help get the plot completely prepared and planted, but the weather is not cooperating. It rained off and on all day yesterday. Maybe we won't have rain today or tomorrow, as forecasts promise. End of rant.
I think every one has periods like this in their life where everything seems to combine to make it insurmontable, until things clear up. Then, it's back to life as usual.
ReplyDeleteWith your boiler, you're experiencing la mauvaise volonté des choses qui nous servent. Let's hope they'll find what's wrong.
Of course, we, your happy readers who are not bloggers themselves don't understand what is implied preparing every day a blogpost with pictures. How frustrating it is to cope with all these traps that Google enjoys placing at each step. Maybe you should take a vacation and, if you want, post only a photo or two until you feel ready to come back to your daily routine? We'll always be happy to see you back refreshed
DeleteWell, I don't see Google as an enemy. I just think the people at Blogger aren't very experienced. It is free software, after all. From what I hear, some of the paid blogging tools aren't much better. Progress comes with its costs! For example, big parts of the Notre-Dame-sur-l'Eau church were torn down to make room for a new road in the 20th century.
DeleteI really don't want to take a vacation unless I can travel. I'd like to come back to the U.S. right now, but I'm not sure I want to be on trains and planes and in hotels for the 24 to 36 hours it take me to make the trip. I'd also like to see other parts of France and stay in gîtes, but now it's spring and we have the vegetable garden to look after for the next five or six months. As for the boiler, we are suffering because of the incompetence of the people who installed it. One thing they did, for example, was to mount the sending unit, which allows wireless communication between the boiler and the thermostat upstairs, behind the huge metal contraption that is the boiler. That effectively blocked the signal, so the thermostat was useless. We had to convince them to move the sending unit, and they did. Then it started working. They should have known better. And listened better.
Unfortunately, I read from more bloggers nowadays that they experience the same. I can only hope it's temporarely. Take a break for a short time! But please, don't give up. I enjoy your stories every day! All the best from Perth, Jan.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jan. I'm not sure I know how to take a break. Blogging a lot like walking the dog every day. If you don't do it, your life seems incomplete. Like you've let somebody down.
DeleteAnother beautiful town on our tour. You've been blogging for a long time and I can understand having moments like these when it feels more like pressure than pleasure. I also understand feeling like your dwelling in the past. I've heard so many complaints about new blogger. That part is supposed to be easy, especially after all this time. Thanks for sharing what you do.
ReplyDeleteIt is frustrating to have to spent more time tweaking HTML code than working on content. But good content in a crummy format isn't very satisfying. I had some training in HTML coding back when I worked in Silicon Valley. The composition tools were rudimentary back then. That's what the latest Blogger software is like.
DeleteYes, certainly can be frustrating dealing with unhelpful blogging software and unhelpful technicians. My blog, published periodically mainly to update family and friends and those interested in restoration projects, is set up with Weebly, has now been bought out by Square, and is also becoming much more difficult to post on. Seems they really don't want to host blogs where you aren't selling stuff or annoying readers with ugly Google Ads. Bless you and Walt for continuing yours so faithfully. I'm sure all of your readers would understand if you wanted to post less frequently, but please don't stop altogether!
ReplyDeleteI've been posting daily for so many years now that I can't really imagine stopping. It's an important part of my daily routine and makes me feel I've learned and accomplished something.
DeleteI certainly never thought I'd still be wirting "virtual vacation" posts for the blog more than a year after I started. Since we had to cancel two trips to gîtes in 2020, I haven't had a lot of new material to post.
ReplyDeleteLove your daily posts, you are first on my click list - have been for years. If the formatting is less perfect, let it be, we are here for images and text. Take care,
ReplyDeleteThanks. I try to keep the format simple, but even doing things that was is harder now than it was a year ago.
DeleteKen, have a look at this (also gorgeous) blog (from today): https://perthdailyphoto.blogspot.com/2021/05/is-ten-years-long-enough.html#comment-form
ReplyDeleteOh, I hope that the weather clears up and allows you to get out into the garden, soon. Everything you're feeling is understandable.
ReplyDeleteI can’t even imagine the difficulties you’re having with blogger to create your wonderful posts. Take a break, create shorter, simpler posts, rant, cook, read a book, yell at the incompetent boiler people. Do whatever you need to do to feel better. We’ll back you all the way.
ReplyDeleteDomfront is now on my must visit list but then, I say that about every beautiful village you show us, don’t I. ;)
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll be able to travel soon. By the way, I've found a B&B just three miles from our house that is run by a French woman and her daughter. The daughter lived in L.A. for 18 years, and is glad to have American guests she can speak English with.
DeleteYour past is my present! I've never been to Domfromt and I'm discovering this interesting place with you and through your own eyes. It was fun to look for that small church and find it's so poetic name! Notre-Dame-sur-l'Eau!
ReplyDeleteApart from other considerations, look at your blog as a teaching instrument. You've been a teacher and you know that what you teach is mostly your past, i.e. what you have learned yourself. We, your readers, learn a lot from your posts. Either directly from your posts, but also from people who care to comment and, finally, from the research induced by all the above.
I've seen you prepare your daily posts and know how much part of you daly routine it has become. I buess you are hooked as much as we are. Merci!
It was such a pleasure to go back to Carrouges with you!
Deleteyours is the first blog I read every day forever! I know all your readers appreciate the work it takes to publish each day. After the year we've had, I'm sure a lot of people have similar feelings. I hope y'all can find a 2nd shot soon. Doesn't France have enough doses to offer them? Yikes. What is the limit on time between doses?
ReplyDeleteThanks Melinda. See my comment to Evelyn below...
DeleteI'm always slightly amazed at how you both manage to find something interesting to post about every dayI don't think you're alone in your frustrations - nothing original occurs to me in the daily lockdown round, and I don't find the tentative lifting of official restrictions exactly encouraging, even with both jabs done and the Covid statistics still moving in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel about Blogger and blogging. I nearly gave up myself recently, especially having to introduce comment moderation to spare readers from the antics of a vile troll. (Who still lurks in wait for the opportunity to vent her nastiness.)
ReplyDeleteJust ticking over is good and many of your devoted readers are thrilled to read about your adventures in France, past or present. The future will come back one day!
I keep looking at the mini manor on the last photo. I think I'd love to live there.
ReplyDeleteJe ne sais pas ce que je ferais ici, cloué au lit, sans les trois ou quatre blogs que je lis tous les jours. Le tien, et JMG, que je consulte plusieurs fois par jour. Le tien pour relire ton texte et regarder encore les photos et JMG pour les importantes nouvelles du jour qui m'intéressent et les nombreux commentaires qui m'apprennent toujours quelque chose.
DeletePlease bear up, don't stop, having a rant or two helps, the inconsiderate complications will pass, we love what ever you post!
ReplyDeleteLove half-timbered architecture. The village looks beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWe hear your frustrations. The lack of sunshine makes some of us miserable, pair that with heating problems, blogger problems and this god awful covid 19- perfect storm! Incompetence is interesting. I remember my mother having to teach household helpers how to do basic chores- it is so aggravating but we were all young once and had to learn skills. You are fortunate to be able to share your love of France and writing skills with us via your blog and we benefit here in our little community. Maybe someone 200 years from now will discover your "Living the life in Saint-Aignan! Surely as I type there will be sunshine and a second dose of the vaccine for you, until then we are here for you virtually if that helps.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are right about the blog staying on line for a lot longer than I will stay on this Earth. Right now, my plan is to talk to the doctor who gave me the first Covid shot next week, as I approach the nine-week date, and see when he thinks he can give the the booster shot. If he says "in early July" I plan to go to the pharmacy and ask them to give me the shot. I've already talked to the pharmacist. And I have an official paper saying that I was vaccinated on April 2.
DeleteWe all like anything you do. Your frustrations would drive me nuts; hope things smooth out soon.
ReplyDeleteI am nuts enough without all the hassles. Walt and I both made progress yesterday, before the rain and wind returned overnight.
DeleteWell, the way I see it, bloggimg is to be savvy enough for exposing events and ideas for the world to see. And the world reacts by posting comments with answers and other ideas. In my humble opinio, a blog is a living thing and if there couldn't be un exchange, I'd say it is probably useles. You say, Qu'avez-vous à me dire? That's it. A conversation, with strangers as well as friends and family.
ReplyDeletePart of my motivation has to do with all you commenters. The other part is posterity. Do you think this blog will survive me. I hope so. When I was teaching French language courses in the U.S., such a blog would have been a great help to me.
DeleteOh, I just wrote a long comment and when I hit preview it disappeared. ARRRRRGH!!!
ReplyDeleteMy comment was that I appreciate all the work you put into making your blog accurate, informative, beautiful and many times with interesting technologies that make it more intriguing. I stated we probably don't have boiler issues but there is always something that we have to put up with and continue putting up with it until something ends. Not fun but that is life. Oftentimes hair-pulling life. I have always chosen your blog to open right after I catch up with the NYT, msn and yahoo news. Keep it up, Ken, especially during this pandemic-time, it has really been a pleasant place to be each day. Merci.
Who would have thought we would still need the boiler going on May 21? It has cut itself off twice this morning — another windy day.
DeleteWhat they all said, and feel free to rant on!! I learn a lot from you and appreciate it hugely.
ReplyDeleteIs another blog platform a possibility, or are they all pretty much the same?
Can you do a scaled-back approach for a time, perhaps two or three times a week? We would miss the daily dose, but you'd have one less stressor and more free time.
As for time between shots, I read the other day that extended time from first to second is good, it gives your immune system more time to do its immuning thing (note the technical terms here).
"Reading" your recent posts is like reading expensive illustrated books on Châteaux de Dordogne ou Carrouges, un château de Basse-Normandie. All this is timeless!
ReplyDelete