Brrrrrr

Mirepoix

 

It's cold here today.  There's really no other way to phrase it. I had hoped to have to go out only for the newspaper--yes, I am hopelessly addicted to La Depeche.  But I had to make a run to Carrefour because what I thought was my spare stash of toilet paper turned out to be paper towels. Not that there's much difference in the texture. Fortunately I had some to spare....but I don't like to let some of my supplies get perilously close to exhaustion.  So, I bundled up and took myself off to Place Carnot. 

On the way back, I ran into Bob and Chris.  Bob is a hot climate guy and he is really unaccustomed to this cold.  Chris was telling me about how good the persimmons have been.  They are everywhere in the market.  Seasonal produce--I love it.  We chatted a bit, and I headed off for home. I then ran into Sophie, my upstairs New York neighbor. She, too, was not dealing well with the cold.  We both commented that we'd done our research and Carcassonne was not supposed to enjoy these temperatures.  Unfair!!!  I felt very connected to the neighborhood; it was like Saturday mornings at Fred Meyer in Brookings, only with better food.

Stopped for the newspaper and chatted with my friend there about driving, the snow, and cooking. She suggested that if I were to get an international driver's license, I could rent a car and see some of the countryside.  I told her that Monday Jason is taking the three of us, Bob, Chris and me, out to see some more of the surrounding areas, starting with the Monday market in Mirepoix.  Bob wants to see the mountains, and we will go up part way into the Pyrenees.... not too far, though, because the roads are snow-covered.  And if I wanted to be around that stuff very much, I would have "vacationed" in Mount Ashland.  I think that things are supposed to return to normal next week, and I will be very glad of it.

Article with photos---

http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2013/11/23/1759327-neige-16-000-foyers-prives-d-electricite-dans-la-region.html