Unknowns

Thank you Donald Rumsfeld.  Much as I would like to forget you, your aphorism about known and unknown, unknowns is resonating with us now.  I  have my own take on it in our current situation..
France is a known, unknown: much as we like to think we have it figured out we know that unknown things will happen,such as the ATM eating my bank card and the bank cancelling both of them.  Sound familiar? It did the same thing last year.  Fortunately we transferred the account to this town and we will be here a little longer but it is still inconvenient as they send the cards here and mail the PIN numbers to our home, in California.  If you are looking for recommendations for which banks NOT to use in France, let me know.  We have other cards so it is not a show stopper but leads to some interesting interactions such as when I refilled the rental car with diesel at a local supermarket.  After the lady swiped my US (non PIN) card every which way through the machine I offered cash.  Fine, but after much interaction with the computer the cash draw wouldn’t open to give me change – the help of a strong road worker didn’t do the trick so she reached into the cupboard, produced a small crowbar and “et voilà” - change.
The other known, unknown is boats, especially to us relative newbies. I was relieved that ARMIDA seemed to survived the winter and that my jury-rigged cover was intact, until I discovered a couple of small drips of water as I prepped the bottom of Armida for antifouling paint that lead to further investigation and the discovery of excess rust inside the keel.  This will require some welding before I can finish the antifouling.
So now we have the intersection of two known unknowns in the form of a French Boatyard which epitomizes the unknown unknown. We might get the welder on Thursday and it might only take a day – or not! And we haven’t started the engine yet or filled the water tanks so we might find other things! Oh well, c’est la vie.  We just hope we can get in the water and someplace nice  before our friends, Toni and Craig arrive at the end of the month or we will be serving them wine and cheese on our back deck in the middle of a dusty boatyard.
Otherwise all is well. Lilou seems to really like France and the activity – she is angling for a promotion to Ambassador but she needs to learn a little subtlety first – “I’m here and I’m happy” works for some but not all.  Rosie is not too keen on changes but is adjusting slowly. She is perfecting her role of lookout on land by alerting us to the approach of other dogs before we can even see them.
Fortunately both our unknowns come with delightful experiences and surprises and we hope to have some known, knowns to report soon.