65

Welcome to the 65th weekly post of our Baby Boomers Move to France blog.

This is our 37th week in France 4/12-4/18/2026.

We have been in our home in the village of Chabanais in the Charente department of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region of France since the middle of December 2025.

This week, we will have our solar panels and power system installed. Our WiFi is down for the week into next week. I have connected using my iPhone as a hotspot and I am using my iPad to write the blog. Because of the Wi-Fi situation this post is late and is much abbreviated. Sorry for that. Will catch up next week, I hope.

Our home in Chabanais, France

Things on the agenda this week:

• Solar panel install

Weather forecast:

It feels like we are starting a little warming trend this week with highs reaching upper 70s and lows in the 50s. Sunny all week with only a slight and slight chance of rain on Wednesday.

Why this Blog?

Long story short, we are “Baby Boomers” that have moved from Venice, Florida to the beautiful French countryside as retirees. After a little over a year of planning and fretting we sold everything in Venice and made the move on 1 August 2025.

We publish a brief update of our adventures every Sunday to share our experiences, tips and mistakes.

If you are wondering what got into our head and inspired us to make the move, check out some of our earlier posts. Again, if you have questions about our adventure, drop your questions in the comment section below.

This Week in General

Sunday

Sunday was cold and overcast most of the day. I fired up the wood stove and in no time we were cozy.

I love these old half-timber buildings found in the medieval towns and villages throughout France. Of course, this one is a little compromised by the satellite dish on the roof.

Monday: Solar system install begins

While the day was a little chilly the sun was out and it turned out to be a good day for the solar panel team. The Sungreen team arrived and started the project by removing all of the old panels. They were done by 4:00 and had everything cleaned up by 5:00. Next step install the Fuse panel on Tuesday.

Rosie has a nail appointment

EB scheduled a nail trim appointment for Rosie which included her vaccinations for her pet passport too. All went well. The vet checked her chip, and Rosie is now the proud owner of a pet passport. She can travel to Switzerland with us this summer.

The weather turned cooler in the evening, so we fired up the pellet burner, and the dining room got cozy. We played a few games of marbles with the wild red marble. I finally won a game after EB beat me a few times. After dinner we reverted to monopoly in which EB kicked my butt again.

Tuesday: Another beautiful day

Work on the solar panels continues

The Sungreen team arrived and set to work on two fronts. One guy worked on getting the mounting rails on the roof and the other worked on the wiring. He had to drill through the outside wall to route the wires to the new circuit breaker panel.

LOST WI-FI

Wednesday: Solar panel install complete and power switched over to solar

We had a really good French class session this week. EB wasn’t in the mode so it was just me and Ron.

Thursday Hector from Sungreen came over and tried to set up our app. No Wi-Fi and it turns out our American iPhones can’t access all French iPhone apps. We drove over to the Orange store our internet service provider and iPhone store in St Junien. Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy. The sales guy said that we should go to the Apple Store in Limoges.

Friday: Drive to Limoges to the Apple Store

About. We found the Apple Store in Place de Les Banques. Our options were to take one of our phones and have it reconfigured thus wiping out everything, or buy a new phone. EB suggested a new iPad. Brilliant idea and cheaper than a phone.

Since we were in Limoges, we decided to go to the Leroy Merlin store for paint and other stuff. I figured that we might as well go over to Decathlon and buy a new driver. Done!

Saturday: Chores and chill

So that was our week.

Solar panel install. Wi-Fi down. Spent too much money.

French Lifestyle and Culture

Nothing to report this week. Well there is plenty to report, but I will save it for next week when Wi-Fi is back.

Next Week (la Semaine Prochaine)

• Doctor appointments.
• Set up solar app

Weather forecast for next week

It will stay warm next week. In the 70s and sunny.

Signing off for the week

As always, we sign off wishing you all a good week and remind you to take care of yourselves and your family.

So sorry for the late and abbreviated posting. I hope it makes it to your inbox.

Keep in touch and leave questions, suggestions and comments below. We really enjoy hearing from you all.

Wishing you a good week (Bonne Semaine)

Mark and Elizabeth Beiley

Babyboomersmovetofrance.com