You will be thrilled to know that we have finally had some rain, the proper stuff too. Drizzle is the best kind when you want the garden to get a decent soaking, heavy downpours just make mud. Unfortunately, we had the winds too which howled their seasonal song non-stop for three days blowing any good mood about the rain right out the proverbial window. At least Denis and his brother, Thierry were able to dig out a fairly sizeable piece of terre below my apartment balcony so Lionel can dump a load of cement in it. Max chauffagiste is about to put solar panels against the wall, apparently grass is no good to bounce sun rays off – we need concrete apparently. As much as I hate seeing part of my little apartment garden being ripped up, I have discovered its a great way of getting rid of the bits of brick and mortar left over from the rest of the house projects that have been piled up randomly outside. Denis even managed to lay a pathway down with some paving slabs I found in the back of the old chicken house, something I would have been more thankful for except that he wasn’t supposed to be lifting heavy things and now he’s hurt himself again. If he says “ce n’est pas grave” one more time, I’ll hit him where it is serious.
We went on a little shopping spree mid-week. Whilst I was at Abraham’s small-holding a couple of weeks ago, chatting and drinking that delicious local grape, I had spied several aisles of old theatre seats circa 1900- the ones that flip up their plush cushioned bottoms. Perfect for what will eventually be my library upstairs. Adolphe, Abraham told me, had left them there as he didn’t have space in his second-hand emporium but I could buy whichever row I liked. Hence the shopping trip. Denis and I popped over to Adolphe’s place, our man had invited us anyway as he had a new girlfriend – an English one, that he wanted me to meet. That and he had found a 1960’s coffee table – perhaps a quick peek would be in order? Sarah, who it turns out is Scottish, was very chatty and easy to like, I get the feeling Adolphe is rather smitten by this one – a change as his usual ladies are half his age, Sarah is closer to mine. The next hour or so was spent whizzing back and forth across the main road, the only thing separating Adolphe’s and Abraham’s properties, choosing the right set of chairs and oohing at the gorgeous mosiac- topped table all of which are now safely tucked into the remis for a little bit of restoration work. I’m itching to get started on my upstairs but at the moment, there are no stairs – just the loft door accessed by a ladder. Lionel is due to begin putting a new ‘entrance’ in at the end of the month, probably wishful thinking on my part as he hasn’t been able to finish his jobs outside yet because of the other thing I wished for – rain.
With Spring just around the corner, we finally got around to the local garden centre on Friday to buy the first potager plantings – lettuce and spring onions. My beau is of the firm opinion that salad is always on the dining table when the weather warms up so chose a couple of varieties whilst I moseyed through the cacti section. Very few things survive on the verge that banks the other side of our front fence during the hot summer, apart from rosemary, so I decided prickly desert dwellers would be the perfect inhabitants. They should also stop that dog who lives in the next street from running up said bank and encouraging my woofers into a noisy confrontation through the wire. It might make Sherman think twice about digging another escape route too seeing as he can no longer use the ones down the back.
I’ve been a good girl all week, tap tapping away at the second Book. I can’t say I’m liking what I’ve written so far, the flow is a bit hit and miss but Sally editor is murmuring positives so me and my keyboard haven’t come to blows yet. With the cover of the first done, I’m just waiting for Cal to finish preparing the photographs. And The Book now has a title. I’m happy with it even if my darling son told me it sounded like something a middle-aged woman with too much energy would think of. No, I’m not going to tell you – I have no doubt I’m going to be spending next week trying to decide which font best compliments my amazing nephew’s cover design. No, you’re not seeing that either. I’m still hoping for a May release date – just in time for summer, sun-warmed solar panels and a lot of salad…
“An optimist is the human personification of spring” (Susan J. Bissonette)
Widow plus woofs 