Why would we want to sell our Onrust? Well, we don't really, but we'd been having grief about a hydraulic leak from the time we got her. And the Skipper was just worn out with the upkeep of four diesel engines, plus the cooling, plus the electrics, plus the plumbing, plus the bilges, plus the hull, not to mention the hydraulics. I couldn't argue with that, because he was doing *all* the work and said he just longed for some house mechanics for a change.

In the end, the hydraulic leak was found (inboard) and fixed the very day we sold her. So we sold her. Our best consolation is that she went to a very knowledgeable professional skipper, who will understand her hiccups and know what to do about them.

But what about us?? The Skipper, me, and Louie the cat? well, we went home to our old house in Lot-et-Garonne. And it's a long way from Paris! But It is a rich and comforting place in its own way.

We spent the coldest months of the winter in Santa Cruz, California, where we always see our family for the holidays.

But then in February, here we were in Aquitaine again. And here we have stayed, except for one long weekend in Paris for an infusion of excitement, and a lot of photo-taking.

I would like to make an aside here to exhort you all, when you drag-and-drop your photos onto the hard drive, to make sure they are really *there* before erasing the original files. Why am I saying this? Oh, no reason. I just want *you* to have all your Paris photos when you get home.

I often ask myself if Paris has anything to match our view, above. The answer is yes, of course, but in its own Parisian way. Our way now is all about Aquitaine.

Louie the Cat loves it here, what with open spaces and insects and rodents and a few feral cats to deliberate with. Both feral lady cats had litters a few weeks ago, one of which I can find and therefore feel responsible for. The other, who knows? But the mama turns up here for meals. What debased person could turn down a nursing mother when she begs?

The other day I put the kittens that I could find in the bathtub along with a pan of kitten food, and they ate like starving things. So they are old enough to be weaned, which means that mama needs to be spayed now. The vet will give me a discount on a stray cat. If I can catch her.

Now, if I were in Paris, I might be working on getting opera tickets, but in the country, one's mind is taken up with more basic things.

So, here we are, down in the south-west of France, right where the three departments of Dordogne, Lot-et-Garonne, and Gironde come together. We live in one department, go to market in another, and bank in the third. The real advantage, though, is that when you go to the wine co-op, there are hoses of Bordeaux wine and Bergerac wine, and the local Duras (Lot-et-Garonne) wine. You fill your own container from the hose of your choice. Yes, of course you can taste them all first.

We were surely the only people we knew in Burgundy (remember St Jean de Losne?) who brought back cases of Bergerac wine with every trip home. That Burgundy is kinda thin for our taste!

In fact, I can't see us back in Burgundy any time soon, unless the barging bug bites us again. Not likely, says the Skipper. But the Canal de Garonne is only about a half hour from here, and there are plenty of just plain boats there. We may yet get back onto the water. Here in the south, where we belong!

And Paris? Any time. It's only a quick train ride away.

Look at the contrasting shopping styles, left (That's an accordeonist uder the umbrella). Some days we yearn for the elegance of Paris, other times we just want the simple life (ha).

Ah, the myth of the simple life. Did that kitten just slither behind the armoire? There's another litter on the roof? Anyone have a ladder to get some cherries before the birds take them all? What ate the courgette plant? We have to thin the apples? I hope *someone* likes figs, as we have four trees . . .