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a daily habit. Creamy Camembert, nutty Comté and salty Bleu d'Auvergne with slices of
apple tasted like heaven. Through the window the light of the moon highlighted the con-
tours of the vines, reminding us why we were here. An owl hooted in the barn across the
courtyard. Our city life felt a world away, although it was only ten days since we left.
I fell asleep as my head hit the pillow. At three that morning I woke to the lashing rain
of a summer storm and found Sean running around the kitchen placing pots and potties in
strategic places. Our one-day-old home was a leaking ship.
The next morning droppings in Ellie's pram confirmed a mouse infestation. We soon real-
ised they were everywhere, eating our food and Ellie's milk-stained clothes in the washing
bag. My days became consumed with the Mouse War. I opened the bin and they leapt out at
me, bungee-jumping over the edge. They woke us at night. Each time a grey blur streaked
across the floor I jumped three feet in the air and screamed. I couldn't bring myself to pick
up a dead one let alone deal with a live one; so much for a less stressful life.
At first we encouraged them to leave with expensive sonic devices. When it became clear
that they would not take the hint we moved on to other methods. As the week progressed
we deployed mousetraps, rat traps and mouse 'chocolate', a supposedly irresistible but leth-
al mouse snack, carefully placed behind skirting boards where we were sure that Sophia
could not get them. In between trips to France Telecom to try to get our phone connected
I bought all the mouse-killing devices I could find. My French was improving as fast as
my blood pressure was rising. France Telecom wouldn't connect us because the previous
owners didn't officially disconnect their phone line.
As a counterbalance to these stresses of our new life I found chocolate in the supermarket
which offered
une touche de sérénité
, a touch of serenity. This dark chocolate, filled with
bits of cherry, promised to aid the fight against daily stress thanks to high levels of mag-
nesium. Two 100-gram slabs were all that was required for my daily dose.
For more healthy fare I discovered the Gardonne market 4 kilometres away, its stalls
groaning with vegetables and fruit, farm-raised chickens and more. I relished the seasonal
produce, loading up on the bounty of late summer: punnets of plump tomatoes dressed with
large sprigs of basil, myriad different lettuces from purple and smooth to bright green and
frizzy,rubyplumsandearlyapples.Therewassomethingtherapeuticaboutshoppingthere,
enjoying the banter between stallholders and the care they took with finding exactly what I
was looking for.
Fortunately the two girls were taking the mice and the move in their stride and I wasn't
even sharing my cherry delight with them. Sophia started school two days after we moved
