Breakfast
Another cup of coffee
Put the robot in the pool (called Arnie, he has a large, used to be white fabric bag as a filter that looks like a huge pair of droopy pants and makes me smile at the idea of Arnold Schwarzenneger wearing them) and check the chlorine
Fish dead mouse out of skimmer - yuk
Finish off the hat I was knitting to get the gauge for a new jumper
Block and measure the hat - had to get the iron out, which was a start,to wave at the knitting a la Elizabeth Zimmerman
Weigh the hat to see how much wool it took
Pick the raspberries
Taste the gooseberries
Tie up the tomatoes
Deadhead the perennial sweet peas and cosmos
Water the courgettes
Admire the Miss Wilmott's ghost that is just turning a lovely shade of blue
Facebook a bit
Check the emails
Blog...............................
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
Apricots and Hoopoe
Mrs Ayak reminded me of the 'Stats' button on my blog and the blog that has had the most people by hundreds is one called Mimosa and Kiwi Fruit, which was about a trip to the local market here. I wonder if Apricots and Hoopoe will be up there with that and if so, why??
Today we picked our first precious apricots. We have a tiny tree that I am wall training and it had it's first fruit this year. There are eleven altogether and this afternoon the first couple came off in my hand when I was gently testing them. And they are so amazingly better than anything I have ever bought. So juicy. Brilliant.
I also saw my first definite hoopoe sighting this afternoon. We had seen a pair on the grass as we drove in to the drive when we came to visit the house before we bought it and I have heard them in the distance when out walking. They have a a definite hoo hoo hoo call. But this afternoon there were four on the grass.
Yay, a good day.
Today we picked our first precious apricots. We have a tiny tree that I am wall training and it had it's first fruit this year. There are eleven altogether and this afternoon the first couple came off in my hand when I was gently testing them. And they are so amazingly better than anything I have ever bought. So juicy. Brilliant.
I also saw my first definite hoopoe sighting this afternoon. We had seen a pair on the grass as we drove in to the drive when we came to visit the house before we bought it and I have heard them in the distance when out walking. They have a a definite hoo hoo hoo call. But this afternoon there were four on the grass.
Yay, a good day.
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
Cinema
Last night a french friend and I went to see the new Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris. Slightly dubious about the Woody Allen bit but it turned out to be a lovely film with none of the obscurity of some of his others and lots of stunning costumes and sets. Good playing by the actors - apart from a wooden Carla Bruni but then what were we expecting.
Replaying the film to myself in bed later one of the notable things was the angle from which we had been watching!
It must be years and years since I have not been the one that decided where we sat in the cinema. 'No I don't mind where we sit'. So instead of near the back we sat very near the front, in the middle.
What creatures of habit we are that this was the main thing that I noticed.
Replaying the film to myself in bed later one of the notable things was the angle from which we had been watching!
It must be years and years since I have not been the one that decided where we sat in the cinema. 'No I don't mind where we sit'. So instead of near the back we sat very near the front, in the middle.
What creatures of habit we are that this was the main thing that I noticed.
Monday, 6 June 2011
Rush rush rush
After a phone call with a new stairman recommendation first thing this morning, I rang the new guy and asked to see him. He was going out but if we could get there in the next half hour he would be there.
Fortunately his workshop is only down the road, these things are easier for me (in French) face to face, so with a scurry of doorlocking, toast eating, coffee gulping, shoe finding we were in his office in ten minutes.
Lovely guy. Showed him the letter from our solicitor saying what was required. Lots of no problem I'll drop by at 5 on my way back from somewhere and then you can have the estimate by the end of the week!!! He also got a look at our stairman's name on the letter showing what was required from him and was full of 'oh him' 'gallic shrug' ('can't do the noise for silent whistle').
So...........fresh coffee and on with the day. Which is a damp, grey, misty morning with everything dripping. A baking morning I think.
And he came when he said he would and measured and discussed and will look at the numbers and see what he can do by the end of the week. So far so good.
And the cake sank in the middle :-(
Fortunately his workshop is only down the road, these things are easier for me (in French) face to face, so with a scurry of doorlocking, toast eating, coffee gulping, shoe finding we were in his office in ten minutes.
Lovely guy. Showed him the letter from our solicitor saying what was required. Lots of no problem I'll drop by at 5 on my way back from somewhere and then you can have the estimate by the end of the week!!! He also got a look at our stairman's name on the letter showing what was required from him and was full of 'oh him' 'gallic shrug' ('can't do the noise for silent whistle').
So...........fresh coffee and on with the day. Which is a damp, grey, misty morning with everything dripping. A baking morning I think.
And he came when he said he would and measured and discussed and will look at the numbers and see what he can do by the end of the week. So far so good.
And the cake sank in the middle :-(
Friday, 3 June 2011
Well, we seem to be winning!
Staircase report is in now and we seem to be winning! Still can't quite believe it but the expert seems to have agreed with everything that we said and is asking us to get a quote for removing, remaking and putting in a new staircase.
Trouble is, he seems to be wanting this to be done in a week, which seems a bit odd since we have been messing about for two years now but hey we'll give it a go.
Trouble is, he seems to be wanting this to be done in a week, which seems a bit odd since we have been messing about for two years now but hey we'll give it a go.
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Phew stair cases are exhausting
Today was the day that the judge's expert would come and have a meeting with us, our solicitor, the stair man and his solicitor. We also had dear Anne to do translation as required and make sure we knew exactly what was going on.
I was surprised about how nervous I felt about this. Real pre-exam nerves. Lots of cleaning and tidying. Dog decided she would sit in the car and ignore it all.
Our solicitor had charged nearly 500 euros for this morning's work so she had better be worth it. (Fortunately most was paid for by our insurers so the 150 euros we forked out is the first we have had to pay for 2 years of meetings/experts/judges.)
By 9.30 am everyone but our solicitor had arrived so gave them a cup of coffee while we waited and the judge's expert made polite conversation.
For the first time since the stair case was put in, the stairman put in an appearance, his solicitor's office had obviously sent the junior clerk. The expert was a very professional, large 4WD driving, pale suited man and our solicitor arrived with a huge briefcase (she's tiny) and wearing a very fetching, black lace lined with flesh coloured fabric, number.
All sat round the kitchen table but very formal, announcements listing why we were there by the expert. Our solicitor was asked to speak, then stairman's solicitor. Fairly amicable so far but our solicitor was getting her points across and stairman was already floundering. Then off to view the stairs.
We have had two other experts looking at these. Basically they cost a lot of money and are badly fitted. Experts want to know about whether they fit the 'norms' for making staircases.
We had given up on listing all the tiny mistakes - masses of filler, gouges, not square, cut wrongly, endless things - but the expert seemed to want to know, so off we went with measurements and photos of everything. The other guys had said that the fact that the top step wasn't square was the 'dangerous' thing and maybe that the spindles weren't strong enough. BUT this guy just measured the width, said they should be 80cms and they aren't. Triumphant glance from our solicitor whilst he continued with his measuring.
Our solicitor was brilliant, clear summary of what was going on, absolute disdain of the other girl who could only keep muttering that it was 'artisanal' and therefore you should expect some rough edges. Stair man tried to say that we had agreed plans (there are no plans) that we had been to his factory to see the work (we had been to the factory to chase him up because nothing happened for such a long time) that because I had agreed that the bottom step could protrude a bit I had realised that that was because it was the only way it could fit and I had therefore agreed that it should go across the door!
Eventually everyone had had their say and the expert said that there would now be his report in about a week for all our approval and a final decision (possibly) in another 3 months or so.
'How do you think it went Madame'. 'They are not wide enough, that will be all it takes'.
I was surprised about how nervous I felt about this. Real pre-exam nerves. Lots of cleaning and tidying. Dog decided she would sit in the car and ignore it all.
Our solicitor had charged nearly 500 euros for this morning's work so she had better be worth it. (Fortunately most was paid for by our insurers so the 150 euros we forked out is the first we have had to pay for 2 years of meetings/experts/judges.)
By 9.30 am everyone but our solicitor had arrived so gave them a cup of coffee while we waited and the judge's expert made polite conversation.
For the first time since the stair case was put in, the stairman put in an appearance, his solicitor's office had obviously sent the junior clerk. The expert was a very professional, large 4WD driving, pale suited man and our solicitor arrived with a huge briefcase (she's tiny) and wearing a very fetching, black lace lined with flesh coloured fabric, number.
All sat round the kitchen table but very formal, announcements listing why we were there by the expert. Our solicitor was asked to speak, then stairman's solicitor. Fairly amicable so far but our solicitor was getting her points across and stairman was already floundering. Then off to view the stairs.
We have had two other experts looking at these. Basically they cost a lot of money and are badly fitted. Experts want to know about whether they fit the 'norms' for making staircases.
We had given up on listing all the tiny mistakes - masses of filler, gouges, not square, cut wrongly, endless things - but the expert seemed to want to know, so off we went with measurements and photos of everything. The other guys had said that the fact that the top step wasn't square was the 'dangerous' thing and maybe that the spindles weren't strong enough. BUT this guy just measured the width, said they should be 80cms and they aren't. Triumphant glance from our solicitor whilst he continued with his measuring.
Our solicitor was brilliant, clear summary of what was going on, absolute disdain of the other girl who could only keep muttering that it was 'artisanal' and therefore you should expect some rough edges. Stair man tried to say that we had agreed plans (there are no plans) that we had been to his factory to see the work (we had been to the factory to chase him up because nothing happened for such a long time) that because I had agreed that the bottom step could protrude a bit I had realised that that was because it was the only way it could fit and I had therefore agreed that it should go across the door!
Eventually everyone had had their say and the expert said that there would now be his report in about a week for all our approval and a final decision (possibly) in another 3 months or so.
'How do you think it went Madame'. 'They are not wide enough, that will be all it takes'.
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Rubbish that I KNOW is true
Spinach makes you strong like Popeye
Carrots make you see in the dark
You must not go swimming for at least an hour after a meal
Everyone must get out in the fresh air every day
Riding back to the engine makes you sick
Cats are always she
Dogs are always he
You must NEVER write in a book
If you hold a guinea pig up by its tail its eyes will fall out
If you don't at least acknowledge a magpie you will have bad luck
My mother had eyes in the back of her head..........................
Carrots make you see in the dark
You must not go swimming for at least an hour after a meal
Everyone must get out in the fresh air every day
Riding back to the engine makes you sick
Cats are always she
Dogs are always he
You must NEVER write in a book
If you hold a guinea pig up by its tail its eyes will fall out
If you don't at least acknowledge a magpie you will have bad luck
My mother had eyes in the back of her head..........................
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