At Home

Renting a home certainly has advantages that you don't find in renting a hotel room, but it also means that there's no one coming to sweep the floor or change your linens.  You're in charge of keeping the house clean and tidy, which is actually very nice since it makes you feel at home.  For a long two-month stay, we're not always on the road exploring and touring, so there is down time for us to take care of these things.

 

 

Karl has vacuum duties at home, so he quickly took control of this job in Ginestas.  The vacuum is not a built-in, but it seems to suck very well for such a small machine.

This is the washing machine and it holds a very small load.  My first load came out completely soggy and apparently it was because the belt had come off.  Jeff quickly made it right!

Believe it or not, it takes 1 hour and 18 minutes to go through a load of laundry, and that's a Programme 3 which is for a normal load.  I'd hate to add any other features like extra rinsing or spinning since we'd be at it all day.  I only manage one load per day.

And this is the solar dryer.  Works very well in this above 30 degree weather!  For those of you who remember how taken I was with the laundry detergent Persil that I found in France a few years ago, you'll be pleased to know that I found it again and the clothes smells SO fresh, clean and sunny.

Ah, here is the dishwasher.  For an eco load, which apparently is the most ecologically friendly choice, it takes 9 hours to get through the load.  Needless to say, despite having just bought a box of dishwashing cubes, we've decided to do our dishes by hand.

N.B.  The owner has just informed me that the 3, 6 and 9 hour buttons are to delay the washing process to the "cheap rate" hours of the night.  Very clever and now I've learned something.  Might actually use the dishwasher again, although doing dishes by hand is not so bad.  Gives us a chance to wipe down counters and tables, etc.

We've just bought new appliances for our kitchen back in Port Moody, and I was very conscious of buying Power Smart labels.  My dishwasher takes about 50 minutes to go through a complete cycle of cleaning and drying a very large load of dishes.  I wonder which of these two dishwashers uses more power.

After a morning of cleaning, it's time for a little lunch on the patio.  Nothing like baguette, Brie, tomatoes, ham, pickles, tapenade and a glass - or two - of rosé wine.  Sweet, sweet little strawberries for dessert.  Ah, the good life!

Sainte Eulalie wine.