As I write this, Max the chauffagiste is busy drilling a hole in my lounge wall so he can put in a thermostat. Frankly, I’m surprised he’s here at all considering last night’s football and the corresponding text messages he was sending me. His presence this morning is very much appreciated though because it’s flipping cold outside. Yup, we are officially in winter temperatures now with the thermometer barely touching above one or two degrees. Denis is convinced it’s going to snow soon so has started to wrap up the younger trees to protect them over the next few months. I doubt we are going to have any of the white stuff in the near future but with the ground and surrounding landscape covered in frost, better safe than sorry.
Most of the past week has been about getting the last of the Christmas decorations up and the illuminations working, including wrapping the big fir tree outside in strings of lights using a giant bamboo stick ( a novel idea – should patent it). I think our stunning display of twinkling stars and Père Noël sitting on the corner wall prompted the Mayor into switching on the village’s seasonal street sparklers – if there was a competition this year, we all know who’d win. Denis has been inundated with requests for his home-made sapins, we could make a few bob I reckon and such is the popularity of our stuffed Santa Claus, Denis has bolted him to the chair in case he gets stolen. And with the two of us off to search for the main house’s Alpine tomorrow, everything is beginning to look like Christmas. I’ve had my hair done too.
Two new ‘residents’ have taken up their places chez nous; a massive tumble dryer delivered by Max – in his words “you can stick Arry in it after his run” and the sideboard I found in Adolphe’s second-hand emporium. Whilst the retro piece of furniture probably won’t get used until the summer, the Tardis sized sèche-linge will come in useful once the family wot can make it here, arrive in a couple of weeks. At the moment my spare room is doubling up as the laundry which is all very well when it’s just Mumo, me and the woofers but there is a limit to how many sheets and towels I can hang in there. Mind you, it will be more of a skeleton family gathering this time with Moth not being able to make it in account of the extortionate airline costs from Kenya, Callum staying in Australia as he can’t leave until his visa renews in February and Louis and Kate (niece and nephew) joining their brother at his home in Namibia. Nevertheless, I am as always looking forward to entertaining those wot can make it here – hold off on those strikes please. And snow….
“Winter is not a season, it’s an occupation” (Sinclair Lewis)
Widow plus woofs 