Mombrier July 18 and 1 La Tenotte information

Today marks 2 weeks of being in this lovely little setting. It has been really wonderful. Since we were both still sick on arrival we have not been "busy" doing too much. Mostly daily things such as going to the market, cooking, laundry, and for me scrapbooking and Stuart has done some writing/website posts. Today it is quite warm and we are enjoying it. Stuart made breakfast of fried potatoes with the few leftover shrimp added and sliced tomatoes. We went to the pool late in the day because their kids were in it most of the day. I am sure we could ask to join them but I really didn't really want to.

I did dinner tonight. We had a couple of thin steaks, which I sliced up and used fajita seasoning on. We used our last 2 tortillas from the fajita kit, added lettuce and tomato and enjoyed that. 

Now, what about this place? The weather has not been as warm as expected. Our hosts commented on that as well. Yesterday and today have been sunny and nice. We even started a fire at the beginning. Since the smoke backed up a bit, we decided we would rather be a little bit cool that do that again. It did not help the coughing. However, Stuart seems well, while I am still coughing, yet I am much better. Now are we thinking about a couple day trips we would like to possibly make. 

Let's see what else I can say. The kitchen is small and not greatly equipped. For instance, we have one small, cracked ice tray - it functions. When we saw the price of a single ice tray at the market was 8-9€ we decided what we have is adequate, and it has been. The fry pans are exceptional, even if they don't have lids. There is a hand juicer we have not used. We use the box grater almost every day. Dishes are adequate, as is flatware. Overall, we have managed just fine. We have not been able to bake anything because there are no measuring cups or spoons. We hope to find some on our next trip to the market.  There is a microwave and our fridge plus a freezer on top is large by European standards.   

The beds are quite comfortable. They use just a bottom sheet and a duvet, as so many places do now. There are also extras, same for towels. The real plus is the washing machine. It takes a long time to do a load but works well and we are thrilled to have it. There is a laundry facility near the market, but we don't feel we need it. Things dry fine on the clothes rack, either inside or out.   

The floors are rustic tile in the kitchen, living room, and one bathroom. The downstairs bedroom has wood floors; they creak quite a bit when we walk across it. One doesn't think much of it until getting up at night. It seems very loud then. The upstairs bedroom has an area rug over the wood floor and some other carpet attached to part of the floor. The wooden stairs creak on the way up for sure! The claw foot tub upstairs is nice but very deep. I guess that is a good thing for a soak but getting in and out one must be careful!  

The stone both inside and outside make the area so rustic, inviting, and comfortable. During one conversation with Paul we asked about the house and what year it was built, etc. He is not exactly sure because it has been damaged and repaired after WWII, and also remodeling has been done over the years before they bought the place. However, when they were doing some re-wiring, he crawled down into an area and found stone that had a date in the 18th century. He says this is not really proof because when repairs were done, they could have used stone from other structures, this is often the case. Another thing, near the end of WWII the Germans occupied the house they are living in. This is the damage he spoke of as there were bullet holes all over the outside of the structure. I am not sure who but someone paid the owner at that time for the necessary repairs. He said the structure where the down stairs bedroom is was initially from the 17th century! He said he has not been able to find any original photo of the house earlier than the 20th century.  

When we were invited to dinner, we found out the house used to be a winery, there are still four large tanks at the end of the room forming a wall. They have worked long and hard on this house to make it a home, doing almost all the work themselves.  

The trash, recycle, and garbage system is unique and new in this area. They used to have pick up but not anymore. Just a couple minutes from the house is the church and city hall in Mombrier. They have locked bins to deposit all the different categories. There is a key card that we use. I was not very happy with the idea at first but it is easy.