February in Languedoc

February in Provence is suppose to be cold and windy with the Mistral blowing and keeping us inside. Last year we would have agreed. Without central heating we gathered around our radiators and electric fireplace, wore flannel lined blue jeans, thick coats, wool scarves, fur hats, and fur lined boots. It was cold!

This year, the weather has changed. Now some say this is how it usually is and others say global warming and others say, just enjoy it. And so we are.

If there is a little bit of sunshine, we all enjoy lunch in our outdoor cafe in Uzes. - February 2007, lunch outside!!! Just bring your coat and scarf for when the sun sets behind the buildings.

We've hit a few movies lately with Jean sitting on my side telling me how the plot is thickening as I try to understand what they are saying in French. But as usual they talk way too fast for me on the silverscreen and I have no chance to ask them to slow down. La Mome , the movie about Edith Piaf was fantastic and the singing was so touching that you could cry. A real throwback to what France was about. A few others were more family movies with Zoe, Danse avec Lui is about a man who heals people through horses. It is a beautiful movie that only the French can make. Interestingly with a theatre full of kids and the movie listed as GP there were still a few love scenes in which we put our hands over Zoe's eyes. No one else seemed to care. Ce la Vie. That is life and love is part of it.. so they say. Jean says to Zoe, "they are being a little amoure." Which sounds so pleasant as he says it in his perfect accent to her. Great she respondes. "a little amoure" a little love.

One day after the movie we took Zoe bowling. With gutter holders she did quite well as I remembered the first time I went bowling with my Dad I got 44 and a strike. I can't believe that piece of trivia is still in my mind. I read somewhere that part of the problem with life today and a sense of community is that today everyone bowls alone rather than in leagues as my Mom and Dad did growing up. Every Wednesday night we all went to the bowling alley while they bowled in a league. We did our homework in the little tables overlooking the alleys and ate french fries with the other kids. If we were lucky we would play a pinball machine or get to throw a bowling ball at the end of the game. Maybe if we all started to bowl in leagues again we would feel less stress!!!

The weather has been overcast, a bit rainy with bits of sunny days in between. The outdoor cafes are booming for lunch when the sun peeks out and the winter hikes have been beautiful.