First up: Los Angeles tires are NOT good enough for Pyrenean winters. The first snowfall yesterday, made me realize that I definitely need to buy new tires. Yes, there are chains. But, seriously, can you see me kneeling in an icy road on one of the mountain roads trying to put chains on my tires as the cold freezes my fingers? Just not going to happen.

I don’t mind though, as everything looks so beautiful right now. When you go out around 9:30 or so, there are places that the rising sun is just starting to hit. That creates a mist, which rises up from the defrosting fields and hangs in the air, glistening in the sun in front of a backdrop of flame-leaved trees. Truly breathtaking. Especially in the places where the snow covered tops of the mountains are also visible in the distance.

It is starting to make us feel quite Christmassy, so yesterday we pulled our box of decorations out of the closet and decorated the downstairs. We wanted a tree, but with the fireplace down there we just didn’t feel comfortable getting a real one. Since we had had errands in Limoux, we swung by the LeClerc and bought a fake one instead. It’s just little, but it has fiber optic lights and looks quite charming. And, we don’t have to worry about a stray spark catching it on fire.

The errand in Limoux was at the ASSEDIC, or the unemployment office. We discovered that whomever we had spoken with on the phone had given us some wrong information. We needed to fill out a different set of forms which may eventually lead to me getting a small grant available to French citizens who repatriate and need help getting back into the employment pool. Whether I’m actually eligible or not, I don’t know. But it doesn’t hurt to find out.

Speaking of administrative matters, a small parenthesis here: I got my convocation for my next try at the written driver's license exam. It's December 16th. That gives three weeks to study. I am determined!

Because it was an errand at a government office, we didn’t take Maggie with us. I found out this afternoon that she pretty much spent the whole time we were gone crying and barking. I don’t know what we’re going to do about that, as there are times she has to stay home. It’s odd, because she was home alone in L.A. frequently. Does this mean she’s gotten so spoiled she doesn’t want to do it anymore? Or did she make that kind of noise in L.A. as well, except no one ever told us? I guess we’ll never know the answer. Maybe I’m going to have to get someone to Maggie-sit from now on.

Still, she doesn’t get left home alone all that much, so I suppose that we’ll all just have to learn how to cope.

Ciao for now!

R
(see pictures on my personal site.)