by Anita Weststrate | Jun 8, 2026 | General
Or rather: Judas Coin Last Sunday, I overheard some French visitors (read blog) talking about the artworks: they reminded them of the flower known as the “Monnaie du Pape”. As I’m very curious, I asked if they could show me a picture of the flower. Well, yes: it does...
by Anita Weststrate | Jun 2, 2026 | General
Encounters in the little church The heritage site in our hamlet of “Le Charaix” is a small church dating from around the 12th century. It has no heating, running water or plumbing. By the year 2000, it was in ruins. A local heritage conservation society was then...
by Anita Weststrate | Apr 30, 2026 | General
Driving back and forth between my fatherland and my motherland: Time for a new car This spring, we decided to look for a bigger car, so that we could cover our 25,000 kilometres a year with a bit more comfort and space for luggage. We are fortunate that all four of...
by Anita Weststrate | Nov 17, 2025 | General, The house
And even more water. In the Drôme des Collines in general, but especially on our spot, there is a lot of water in the ground. It can rain heavily here. The rainwater then flows down the hills into the valley in huge quantities over the compact, heavy clay soil. And...
by Anita Weststrate | Oct 28, 2025 | General
Taking the initiative It is winter. I now live in a village of 425 inhabitants , 37 inhabitants per km2, where I don’t know anyone. Where do I start to build my new network? On a walk, we greeted our neighbour ‘next door’ (500 metres away). Turns out...
by Anita Weststrate | Sep 16, 2025 | General
What is that really? How many times in my life did I get the comment, ‘Anita, let go!’ Except from developing allergic reactions to that sentence, nothing else happened.I am still good at planning, controlling, adjusting, and so on. Actually, I’m quite happy...
