Sunday 9th, Another beautiful warm and sunny day. Very unseasonal! I got fed up with work and took a walk around the Gare d’eau seeing signs of spring everywhere. Stopped for an ice-cream at Jan’sand ate it sitting out in the sun looking at the river. Everyone was out to play, even the farmer had bought his family to town on a carriage towed behind his tractor!
Monday 10th, Franglaise today was rather special. We headed off into the Jura where Nicole and her husband George have built this amazing eco-house. It has made extensive us of straw bales and has many other heat and energy capturing devices. For me the most attractive element was the wonderful wood. The project took them seven years. During the tea break at the end of the language conversation session the two Georges disappeared to get us a “surprise”. This turned out to be sap/water from the silver birch tree. We all had a small glass and were assured that it would rid us of all poisons and toxins in our systems. We then went off to the forrest to see how it had been captured.
Sunday 16th. At Last! The DIY is done and Helen and I gave the flat a spring clean this morning. I have to say that I am very pleased with the finished job. I celebrated with an ice-cream st Jan’s this afternoon. It was another lovely spring day. The lowering sun picked up the church roof across the apartment gardens where the lawn is full of daisies and the Forsythia and Magnolia are in bloom.
The guest bedroom is a good size, I enjoy the “Zen” bathroom and the large, living-in kitchen which accommodates the dining table. The bistro set by the Juliet balcony in the lounge is an ideal spot for breakfast, looking over the gardens, and it catches the morning sun. Don’t forget that if you want to see a larger view of any photos on the blog you just have to “click” on them.
Monday 17th was not only St Patrick’s day but also Jana’s birthday, what is more the significant 60th. A lot of fellow boaters met at the Royal Wock in Choisey for lunch. It was a complete surprise for Jana and the staff came up trumps with a birthday tarte and a gift of a porcelain bonzai Orange Tree.
In the evening, following a glorious sunset, (as seen from my kitchen window) a number of women met on Sue’s boat where Mal produced a really splendid cake. On Monday evenings a lot of the men get together to play poker!
Tuesday 18th Jacquie and I went for a ride along the river and then followed the Rhone & Rhine canal. It was really pretty with cowslips and carpeting the floor of the adjoining forest, wood anenomies.
Wednesday 19th. Into the book swap above the museum to clean the windows for Germain today!
Thursday 20th. First meeting of VilleCo the body of towns folk under the direction of Charles Gerrard (Owner of H2O) that is trying to re-generate the town and which since I now live here and consider this in my interest, I have become involved with. It was in the back room of the PMU Bar. Municipal elections take place here shortly so we had the representatives of the three Mayoral candidate lists present. It was of cource all in French which is challenge enough on its own but I do not think there was a time when less than three people were all talking at the same time!
Friday 21st. First dinner party in my newly refurbished apartment. Helen and Steve; Henry and Steph and Germain. A lovely evening.
30th March. Had lunch with a friend at Jan’s on the quayside today. Lovely balmy day, a little hazy but pleasant. Went for a walk afterwards and took photos below.
The last picture is of one of the really long (110m) grain barges that still carry commercial cargo. In fact commercial cargo is much bigger in Europe than in UK where it is almost non-existent. The rivers are so much bigger. St Jean de Losne is as far north as they can go on the Soane (which started off as the Rhone south of Lyon) as the locks north of town are too small for them. There is a big grain silo on the south edge of town and I caught this one just pulling away. You can tell how heavily laden it is by the low free-board!
capetocarpe 
Hi Sandy, I left a message at the end of January, not sure if you saw it. The flat looks absolutely lovely – well done. A huge amount of work quickly done. Good to see all the familiar pictures and ornaments in their new places! So glad you are settled and enjoying yourself. I think of you often and miss you lots. Paula
Wow, you have been busy and it looks like we’ve missed some great social occasions. Look forward to seeing you again in a few weeks when we return to Liberté after my back is “fixed”.