Brain melt

With the temperatures climbing into the mid-thirties (and it’s only June), the woofers and I have retreated into the relative comfort of the ‘shutters down, ceiling fan on full’ apartment. When I was younger, I would think nothing of lazing on a sun bed in the midday sun but those days are long gone. As much as I love the heat, I just don’t want to lie in it anymore. Of course, if the pool was finished, I’d be the first one lounging under the deck umbrella but we hit a little snag this week. My fault entirely. Having been told by Lionel, the construction expert that the foundations were a little short, I stupidly said it didn’t matter. No-one would notice was my exact response which may have been alright except that I had already ordered the pool liner. We need some engineerial ingenuity to fix it all together or get the liner cut to fit. Now I just have to convince Lionel and his team that sweating it out in the soleil is all part of the course. At least Arry has his pool which does make me a little envious.

I blame my blunder on lack of sleep. Whilst I have now moved the pups and Alice into a pen in the sitting room, she is still insistent that her little family should join me every night. This means not only am I subjected to very noisy suckers but with the whelping box sharing my space, it’s not exactly comfortable sleeping. At almost two weeks old, the pups eyes and ears are opening – it’s fascinating to watch how they react to their new senses. Yogi Bear is taking his role as manny/doting uncle very seriously, such a job does require waking me up at dawn so he can join the brood and coo over his nieces and nephews. Out of all the dogs, he seems to be the only one interested in their antics although Mo does peer at them through the pen bars. Alice doesn’t seem to mind the company of a little bear thankfully and although she was initially dubious about anyone apart from myself seeing her babies, she now delights in human visitations. Next week I should be able to get them onto the Societie Canine Centrale, with three of them having been reserved it won’t be long for the rest of them.

I’m back up a ladder in the main house again. For someone who’s scared of heights, I seem to be spending a lot of time challenging myself. Having cleaned all the beams that will form the dining room ceiling, I am now back to sanding. I have put myself forward to Moth as a sort of dogsbody as I feel painfully guilty about him having to stop all his travail to sort out my mess with the pool. Not only is he incredibly knowledgeable about construction, he is also completely at ease conversing over the phone with Lionel. I, on the other hand, practically shake in horror if I see a French number come up on my phone and lovely Lionel has given up trying to get me to understand him preferring to speak to my brother. I’m sure I will get over the fear as my confidence in speaking the lingo grows but for now, I’d rather be up a ladder with a death grip on a sander…..

“When you stumble make it part of the dance. Everyone messes up. It’s part of the dance of life. So the next time you stumble, smile at the crowd, kick up your heels, and dance a jig! The moment you embrace it as your own, no one will know it’s not part of your dance” (Suzy Toronto)