The family diva sits by the front door in readiness to head off in the car. Bright and sunny up here on top of the hill. Foggy and chill down by the river edge. Sophie stops, mesmerized, watching the yachts bobbing in the mist. There are times when she will stand transfixed for minutes on end. A PON lost in wonder. Today it's clear she, and she alone, is seeing angels dancing on the water.
Five weeks since the dog car went to the garage. Over a week since anyone has called to update us. This morning a letter has gone from the lawyers to Volvo. The lawyers operate at a measured pace. The French legal sector will not be rushed. I feel ever so slightly guilty at this unseasonal turn of events but the feeling soon passes.
The big car is looking the worse for wear. Brown muddy paws and white carpets cannot be separated - no matter how hard you try.
Talking of trying hard, the mayors secretary finishes her Christmas decorating. Tinsel is wrapped around the metal railings outside the town hall door. A sparely decorated tree is propped in a corner by the municipal wall mounted defibrillator. How festive is that ? Village traditions and routines , although unprepossessing, are sturdy. Wars and pandemics can threaten but not uproot them.
Carol # 20 fromWashington DC. People gathering like this seems strange. Can it only have been last year ? : https://youtu.be/PeNjYKM5RzM?t=7381
14 comments:
Dear Angus, Merry Christmas. Thank you for your blog. Like many people this year "I have travelled little in reality, but often in my mind", so I have loved reading about your part of the world and viewing the links you include in your posts. I wish you, "The Font" and Sophie all the very best from Auckland, NZ for Christmas day and 2021, and of course Enzo hopes Sophie finds some food hidden in her Christmas presents!
Even if the dog car eventually does return, it seems unclear whether Sophie would deign to ride in it - she looks quite comfortable in her current spacious surroundings. It does seem that this holiday season keeps forcing us to realize how greatly things have changed. I've been writing holiday cards at work today, and it seems so strange not to be able to say "let's together sometime early in the new year." Meanwhile, we are going to a restaurant tomorrow night for the first time since March. We've made a reservation to sit outside at our favorite Indian restaurant - it will be cold but pretty safe, and Charlie can come too. We do Christmas German-style on Christmas Eve, and the plan is that Santa will visit while we are dining and the presents will be under the tree when we return. My kids are now 18 and 20, but they are still quite insistent about this. I suppose this is our own sturdy tradition.
No, no, Angus - the big car doesn't look the worse for wear - just lived in! Like mine! I'm with Lisa, I don't think Sophie will want to ride in the "ordinary" dog car, now she's used to such luxury. A diva has her reputation to live up to after all.
Hari OM
...or pawhaps the solution is that Volvo will settle with a new 'dress' car, and the current carriage will become the princess's by default..?! YAM xx
There again perhaps we could do with just one car and warn passengers to look out for stray hair and mud ?
You would think any sensible dog owner would have recognized that a car with white carpets and light grey trim was just asking for trouble.
Sturdy transitions defy logic - which is the way it should be at Christmas. PONs - and Charlie - also fall into the flying in the face of logic category.
Enzo can be sure Sophie will spend her Christmas sifting through wrapping paper in search of biscuits.
It is heartening to see traditions survive, inside the Rickety Old French Farmhouse, and in town. Joyeux Noel, and thank you, especially for the wonderful photographs and the music. /Fay
I'm afraid that white carpets are not a good idea anywhere, in any circumstance!
It's sad that now, whenever I see a film of people all crowded together, my first thought is "that's rather risky".
Cheers, Gail.
As I won't be able to "check in" for a few days, I'm wishing all at the Rickety Old Farmhouse - Angus, The Font, Sophie, and any C-A-T-s - a very Merry Christmas and a new year full of joy! Those wishes extend to all of your readers, as well. I think my occasional comments are rarely seen as I comment late in the day, but many thanks for this most lovely blog.
Merry Christmas Stephanie!
Stephanie - A Merry Christmas to you and yours .
Merry Christmas Stephanie, from us here in sunny Spain.
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