A few weeks ago, one of the old-timers in the little French town where we live led a historical tour.

More than 50 people turned out to listen to the town’s wise man, the one who owns 300 globes and a thousand maps, talk about the long history of the little Languedoc town.

“Here is where the first tower was built, about a thousand years ago. … The people lived in the circle of buildings around the tower, 30 or 35 hearths. … The town population peaked at 700 early in the last century. It is now 611.”

Well, not anymore.

This weekend, we moved into the apartment we have purchased here in town …

The home is on the south side of the little community, oriented to the southeast, with lots of morning sun and a fairly expansive view of fields and vines and trees.

Not everything is ready to go, led by the kitchen, which at the moment is empty, aside from the new water lines our contractor put in.

But we have a complete bedroom and bathroom upstairs and a living room, with TV (and a plan that shows the NFL, as well as the whole of the English Premier League), and a refrigerator and a microwave.

So we can live here, and we are doing just that, as of yesterday.

That would seem to make us permanent residents … and the local tour guide should be updated on the population of the town, which has just gone from 611 … to 613.