At this moment in time, I cannot think of a worse task than editing. Apart from being hard on the digits, what with all the tap-delete-shift-delete again-more tapping stuff, peering at a laptop screen for hours on end strains the eyeballs even when you are wearing glasses. I know it all sounds last minute but in my repeated stupidity, I realised I had forgotten to put page breaks in and half the chapters were starting on the left hand side of The Book. I know I’m no Agatha Christie but I do want people to be able to read the bloody thing without getting annoyed at me. Still, only 12 days to go and then, poof! I won’t be able to fiddle with the opus any more.
I have to admit that today was the perfect day to concentrate on such eye-wateringly boring travail as I didn’t get home until 3 a.m this morning on account of a certain little celebration with friends. Yes, I did it. I managed to surprise Denis with my carefully-planned birthday fête hosted by our amazingly generous friends, Abraham and Rosa. How we managed to organise the whole shindig over 3 weeks without him knowing is a miracle in itself but we did and what an incredible night it was with friends and family. D’s daughter, Marina, had somehow got a blindfold on him, driven the short distance to Abraham’s place and get him through the entrance before he took it off. My darling Denis was so close to tears as he was covered in kisses and cheers by his adoring throng, he had to bury his head in my chest for a few minutes to calm himself. Dry-faced a minute or so later, that beautiful smile returned and never left. One happy birthday boy. And before you think I am going to put any photo proof at the bottom of this blog, don’t – I was too busy playing barmaid and busgirl to take any. I am hoping though, that one or two of the at least 40 guest list did. As I said, it was an incredible night, not least because several of our musical amis got a band together with Rosa as the lead singer so we sang and boogied until the early hours. So, as today is actually his birthday – Happy Birthday Denis.
D wasn’t the only one to celebrate this week, Yogi Bear turned 13 on Friday. It seems fitting that the two share their special days so close together as they adore each other. I didn’t throw a party for the Bear though, the vet says he’s got to keep his weight where it is. I have to say, the Bear is looking very fit these days and with the weather warming up – the arthritis is a distant memory for now. He is going a bit deaf and because of it, he has become a little anxious when I leave him so I dose him up on Rescue Remedy – works a treat. I do so love my Bear.
Having had so much rain the week before, this one has been sunny and warm with just the occasional downpour – like the one last night but that only added to the ambience. It must be just the right mix of weather as the garden is literally coming up roses. Big ones, small ones and so many different coloured ones – all smelling divine for both us and the bees. They couldn’t have burst open at a better time as D has begun tackling the now jungle-like terre with the strimmer. There are days when he practically disappears into the undergrowth, the weeds and grass have got that long. Whilst they do protect the ground from turning into dust and help the insect population, I do need to be able to get to the lettuce and not step into dog poop on the way. The lettuce are delicious by the way. Next week, we will start planting tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, peppers and peas – who knew life could be so exciting in a quiet little French village in South-West France?…
“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears” (John Lennon)
Widow plus woofs 