71: Hot but not humid in France and US taxes are finally done

Welcome to the 71st weekly post of our Baby Boomers Move to France blog.

I can hardly believe that this is our 43rd week in France 5/24-5/30/26. Just nine more weeks and we will celebrate a whole year.

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. We are loving it.

This week,

EB volunteers 2 days at the Cancer charity store. We will help out at the “Day at the Races” charity event. The Fair wraps up its visit in Chabanais . We are planning a few days in Duras towards the end of June. We will stay at the AirBnb that we rented our first 3 months in France.

Our home in Chabanais, France

Things on the agenda this week:

• The fair wraps up in Chabanais on Sunday.
• “A Day at the Races” charity event
• French class
• Dinner at the Barrier on the terrasse
• Chores

Weather forecast:

Hot, hot, hot with highs in the 90s this week. It is something called a canicule. More on that in the French Lifestyle and Culture section

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

Too hot to do much more than reading.

We waited until 8:00 PM when the weather cooled and walked over to check out the fair. I forgot my phone so didn’t get any pictures. I didn’t realize that there are so many young people in the area. They were all having fun on the rides and games.

The vendors really shoehorned their trucks and amusement games and typical fair rides into the tiny Chabanais venue.

You can see that the shops are pretty much blocked off. Ian and Penny of Cafe Lillian were very upset.

Monday: Whit Monday holiday

Another hot day, but inside of the house was comfortable. That said, we decided that we should buy a couple of fans to augment the fans that we already have.

EB watered the garden.

I reviewed our investment options. We have been meeting with an agent that works with a company called Hoxton Wealth that is very familiar with American expats living in France. We are having trouble accessing our accounts from France, so we need to get this straightened out.

PICTURES AT THE FAIR

I had this plan to take pictures of the fair in Chabanais. We had walked over on Sunday, but I forgot my phone so no pictures, no problem the fair was going to be in town on Monday. Weeell, not exactly. Monday was the day that they were taking everything down. By the time that we walked over it was essentially closed. Big disappointment because I really wanted to share pictures. It will have to wait until next year.

I did get this one, but the crowds are gone.

Tuesday: Another hot one

EB was scheduled to work at the cancer charity shop from 10 to 1, and I had a decheterie run to get done.

It was a quiet day at the charity shop and the decheterie was hopping. I had 3 bins of garden waste along with some cardboard and other trash. The decheterie is so well organized I was in and out in no time.

After lunch EB and I headed into St. Junien to buy some household items and groceries. We wanted to check out the new Brico Depot. We were a bit disappointed as they didn’t have what EB was looking for. Of course we will give it another chance.

We are still having issues with the solar power app connection to the Wi-Fi

The app seems to be working off and on now. Sungreen will send a couple of technicians out to check on the app and also to seal the roof tiles in early June. They apply the sealant to help protect the tiles from mold and lichen growth. Over time the roots of these lichens get embedded in the surface and eventually damage the tiles.

This picture is a pretty dramatic comparison of our roof and those of our neighbors. Ours is the roof on the right, then our immediate neighbor and then the neighbor 2 doors down.

Wednesday:

Not much happening today.

I did get some stakes in the ground to support the tomato plants.

French class was a little different this week. There was an exposition at the Salle de Fete about the French treatment of “gypsies” or “Tsiganes” during World War 2. Since our classroom is part of the venue our teacher walked us over and translated what we were seeing. There was something like 6000 Tsiganes in 33 internment camps mostly in the German occupied region of France. The conditions for the men, woman and children in these internment camps were very harsh. I wish my French was better so that I could understand everything. It is another example of man’s inhumanity to man in the 20th century. I’m thinking of the Jewish internment by the Germans and US internment of Japanese during the same period. It is good that the French are living up to the harm, shame and disgrace of it.

Despite the horror of this Tsiganes treatment it is nothing on the scale of what has been happening in the US in the 21st century. Are we doomed to repeat this stuff over and over again?

This poster says The internment of gypsies in Angouleme Aux Alliers. Angouleme is located about 1 hour drive from Chabanais. At the bottom of the poster mentions the construction of the social center for the fight against discrimination and for equal rights.

Thursday: Sunny and hot

We did make some progress on a couple of projects. EB worked on the summer house and it looks prettier every time she touches it.

New curtains

All of this work doesn’t seem to bother Rosie

Golf

No golf this week. OMG I might lose my swing again.

That left time for yard work. EB cut back a bush that she wants removed. I started on the removal. Chain saw, hatchet and shovel all came in handy and may a good start on a very difficult task.

Friday: Summer house window washing and dinner at the Barrier

Weather is cooling off a little and we completed the window washing task. I had purchased a window washing kit that included a long extension so that I was able to reach the windows on the outside. Not bad for the first effort.

Also on the list was replacing the sun faded curtains. EB had found “black out” curtains on Temu and they worked out perfectly.

We finished our chores for the day and got ready to go out to dinner at the Barrier. A 5 minute walk.

You enter onto the terrasse through the door on the side of the restaurant. The sunshades offer plenty of shade and the murals on the walls are tasteful and fun. Behind EB is an old Citroen panel truck that has been converted to a bar. The whole place is really cool and we will be back.

Dinner was delicious and including a bottle of wine and an after-dinner drink we only spent 65 euros. Our reservations were for 7:30 and we were seated immediately we finished up around 9:30.

By the time we walked home the weather was really nice. We stopped just outside the restaurant to take a picture of our summer house with the lights on. You can just make it out in the middle of the picture. Check out the ancient walls.

I noticed this gorgeous red car parked as we were walking home. I had to take a picture.

Saturday: EB works at the charity shop and I got a little more yard work done.

Elizabeth said that they had a good day at the shop and sold over a 100 euros for the day.

I got a little more yard work done and got my days’ worth of exercise. I got the stump of the bush out and replanted some of the Cala Lilies.

US tax return update

Great news from the US today. Our US tax return is done. We signed return via docusign and I’m happy to report we only owed just over $500. What a relief!

Hugo

When EB got home we made a Hugo cocktail garnished with mint from our garden. We relaxed for a bit, then started dinner prep. Salmon on the grill and rice and the veggie salad.

So that was our week.

Pretty quiet week. Planning for “The Derby Party”. A little yard work and we checked off some chores on the list. Finally got our US tax return signed and happy for the news that our tax bill was not crazy.

On a very sad note, our friend Debbie Federesel has passed away. She was in hospice after a sudden medical episode and we are hoping that her husband was waiting for her to join him in heaven!

French Lifestyle and Culture

What the heck is a Conicule???

Heat wave of at least 3 days which constitute a health risk.

From Le Monde I learned that this is sometimes referred to as a dome of heat. France and western Europe have been experiencing intense heat that is completely unprecedented for the end of May. Tuesday was the hottest day ever recorded in May in mainland France with an average temperature of 24.8 degrees C (77 degrees F) nationwide. Locally we were close to 90F. Meteorological summer doesn’t officially begin until June 1st.

There is a lot more details and technical information about heat waves and heat domes and canicules in France. The meteorological service had noted a marked increase in the rate of temperature rise as compared to previous decades.

Suffice to say we had a couple of hot days this week, but it has cooled off nicely for this weekend.

Next Week (la Semaine Prochaine)

• Sunday, “A Day at the Races” charity event.
• French lesson
• Prep for Derby party and then the Party.
• Golf with Ron on Thursday

Weather forecast for next week

Definite cooling trend with high temps in the upper 70s and chances of rain.

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.

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