Needless to say, the beginning of 2022 hasn’t been without its hiccups. For a start, we have an uninvited guest move in behind the kitchen cupboards – a souris. You’d think having a house with 5 terriers would be a deterrent for a mouse but apparently mine are more ‘live and let live’ than ‘killer instinct’ types. The only one that gave any indication of being interested was Alice except that it was her maternal instinct that was triggered. I have no idea what it’s doing under the sink as there’s no food there but the little varmint seems to have a penchant for chewing away at bits of plastic especially at night – noisily. I was a little concerned that I would suddenly wake up to a power cut but it turned out that this morning’s electrical failure in the kitchen was down to a fuse, not our little nocturnal visitor.
Having had a few weeks with lovely warm radiators and hot showers, it should come as no surprise to those that eagerly follow our chauffage story that the old boiler decided to pack up and the new oil tank needs a refill. I’m sure there is somewhere in a boiler’s contract that states it can only die when the weather is dismal and flipping cold. And only on weekends. Thankfully Max the chauffagiste was already here to fit the bathroom towel heaters and managed to get the hot water back but the heating will have to wait for the arrival of oil replenishment on Monday. Thankfully darling Denis was ready with wings and hot-footed over with electric radiators first thing this morning. And it’s only the first week of January.
Despite the house hiccups, life is slowly beginning to return to normal post family arrivals and departures. All the decorations have been taken down and the sapins lie dejected on the front lawn. We decided to dry out Papa Nöel by hanging him over the gate but after a harsh look from the Mayor as he drove past, we thought it was better to shove him back in the garage lest the police get a phone call. After such shenanigans, Denis and I began clearing some of the outside buildings which probably haven’t been touched for years. One of these will be the garden ‘shed’ so I got to work bravely removing hundreds of old plastic pots and broken tiles – remember the spider incident. The driveway looked like a car boot sale by the time we had finished and it took Denis several trips to the tip centre before we could see the gravel again. I have to say the outside buildings are already looking much better aside from the miles of electrical tubing that no-one seems to want to take responsibility for. I think it’s Pierre the electrician but the chances of seeing him before the apocalypse is pretty slim.
Speaking of arrivals and departures, the man-child is off at the end of the month. Yup, my boy is heading Down Under via the UK to see friends and family before he leaps into the unknown. I’m excited for him which I know sounds a little strange considering my initial reaction when he told me last year but a mum is allowed to change her mind. And he’s not the only one preparing to fly across an ocean, Salome will be leaving the ‘woof nest’ in the coming weeks to head off to her new life with Corey in the U.S. via the U.K too. Unlike Callum’s flight paperwork i.e. get ticket and full vaccination certificates, Salome’s entry into the old mud island is far more complicated. It would be easier to send her direct to NYC than pop her over the Channel what with all the post-Brexit form filling let alone finding a pet service that can actually enter Heathrow with all the Boris vs. Macron restrictions. And there are no airlines from here to there that will allow a 6 kg pup in the cabins although this luxury can be provided on her onward journey to her new home. I shall be sad to see Salome go, she is such a refreshing little character but she was always meant for Corey and I know, like Callum, she will thrive in her new world when the time comes to leave this little homestead. I wonder if I can smuggle a rodent onto the next plane out?…..
“A mouse never entrusts his life to only one hole.” (Plautus)
Widow plus woofs 