May/June 2007 Part 11

26 May 2007

I awoke to yet another storm with thunder and lightning in the morning but it soon passed over and left the day cool and grey.

I drove to Bati Leclerc as one of the metal holders that holds the curtain rail had snapped overnight! I had the receipt and thought that I may get a replacement as it was obviously a flaw but I was told because it was more than two weeks since I had bought it I had to buy a new one. They are not particularly cheap so I was not over impressed but arguing in French was out of the question! I came home and replaced the holder and put the curtains back up.

I had a session changing plugs; the English ones were getting on my nerves having to use adaptors all the time.

I painted another coat of paint on the pipes in the corridor and first coat on the radiator. During a break in the rain I went down the garden and pulled radishes, picked a courgette and some chard and rocket. I saw I had aphids on the rhubarb and chard!! Something must be done about that. I had the best salad I have had since being here, nice and fresh from the garden plus herbs also from the garden.

27 May 2007
Raining! I painted the second coat of paint on the radiator in the corridor. Just as I was finishing the door bell rang and it was David come to fix my lock on the kitchen door that leads to the outside. It has been getting more and more difficult to open and close from the inside and David had said that he would come and take a look at it over the weekend. After taking it all to pieces it was as simple as tightening a small screw that was right inside the lock – I know if it should happen again! He and Florence were just off to collect the two boys who had stayed over at Florence’s parents. It meant that the two of them had gone out to dinner last night and had some time together without the kids.

I washed the kitchen/passage door down with sugar soap and then sanded it lightly. We had found it in the barn; it had been removed so that the previous owner could have a hand rail for the small step there. Only after taking the door through did I register that the new tiled floor was higher than the original so the door would not fit! I left a message over at David’s as the family was out. When they returned David came to the rescue, he had all the correct tools and took some off the bottom of the door for me.

28 May 2007

Terrible night, the rain woke me up a number of times as it was quite heavy and at 03h00 I started reading to see if it would help me back to sleep, think I finally dosed off at about 06h00 for an hour when I got up and had a hot shower to try and revitalise myself.

David came over to check if the door was OK and if the lock fitted. I managed to get a coat of paint on it during the day but the light was very bad. Rain on and off all day and very strong winds, also it was not very warm.

I had a problem with the computer, there seemed to be a file that had gone missing from the anti virus! How can these things just go AWOL? I guess I am going to have to go over and see Brian and Erica where I can download a new file from the internet (I hope!). They are coming to dinner tomorrow so I will ask them if I can go over on Wednesday.

Having said the above the whole computer then froze on me and after several attempts to close it down I finally managed. On starting it up again I tried to connect to the internet and the anti virus managed to update – all appears to be fine again and the file that was apparently missing is back with the update!! I will never understand computers, they certainly seem to have a mind of their own but this very slow phone connection I have here is a major problem with updating.

When I spoke to Nigel, he said the weather there was also terrible. I had an early night with a hot water bottle and managed to catch up with some sleep.

29 May 2007

Yippee, it was dry and the sun trying to show its face between the clouds. I went in to Chasseneuil to get money for the weekend as I had planned to drive up to Michelle to get (I hope) the remainder of the boxes that they have in their stable. I just hoped that what was left would fit into the car. At least then the next trip from the UK we can get some ‘stuff’ out of the house there. It is such a small house and we simply have too many things there including boxes still to be unpacked from when we left South Africa! I also bought the few things I would need for dinner tonight for Brian and Erica.

When I got home it started clouding up again and I decided that although there were puddles lying in places in the lawn if I did not get the grass cut it would soon become impossible with the small lawn mower. It was very soft in places but I did manage to get it cut. I picked some courgettes for dinner tonight and chard.

I cleaned and tidied the house and then got dinner ready so that I would not have much to do when B & E arrived. I must remember next time I drive over to bring some small plates and a couple more dishes. I certainly need them if we are to do any entertaining but there is no point in buying them in France when we have surplus in the UK.

By 17h00 the sky was black again!

Brian and Erica arrived at 19h00, dinner went well and they only left at mid-night so I guess they must have had a good evening!

I only got to bed about 01h00 and then kept getting cramp, at 04h00 I was walking the floor to try and get rid of it! I have always had a problem with cramps but after a long spell of not having them this took me by surprise and I had no tablets to take.

30 May 2007

Rain, rain and more rain, thank goodness I managed to cut the grass yesterday. I did a bit of painting where I could see but the light was very bad, to add to that I was very tired so all in all not a particularly good day!

I went straight off to bed in the evening as soon as I had spoken to Nigel.

31 May 2007

I had a good nights sleep and woke to yet more rain; I am beginning to wonder if it is ever going to stop. I cannot believe all the watering I had to do in April to get the new grass away and now we are waterlogged!

I did a bit more painting and went down and checked the veggie garden when we had a short break in the rain. All looks OK and I managed to pick enough for salad for tonight. The apple tree appears to be growing well but as with everything else I am sure it needs some sun. There is water lying all over the place!

I decided to rub down one of the bedside cupboards from the spare room. Not an urgent job but one of the few things left that I can do in the house. If this weather keeps up next week I will have to take the shutters off and try to rub them down and paint them in the barn. The trouble is the light is not very good in there and it is not very warm either but..... The only other job left inside the house was the internal wooden doors but as Nigel is far better than I am with gloss paint he has said he would do them. I am OK with painting the doors that have the glass panels in, there is not such a big painted area!

1 May 2007

Heavy rain over night but it was dry though very overcast at 06h30. I got up and did the washing and took a chance on putting it out on the line. I kept a very close eye on the sky in case I had to rush out and bring it all back in again but the sun sort of made its way through the clouds at 15h30. By then the washing was still a bit damp but the sun quickly dried it out.

I varnished the bedside cupboard and gave it a second coat in the afternoon; it only took four hours to dry. I did a few other ‘touch up’ paint jobs but with driving up North tomorrow I did not want to start on anything too serious that would have needed finishing off.

I tidied up the spare room and made the beds in there as we may have friends who are on a camping trip dropping in sometime in June. Maybe with all this weather they will put off the idea of a holiday in a tent!!

I planted an off shoot from the big fig tree last week half way down the garden, it looked as if it was seriously unhappy at the time but I see today the leaves have perked up and it looks like it may be happy once more. There are very few figs on the main tree this year, perhaps it does not like this weather as it was laden last year.

So much for the sun by 18h20 it was raining again!!

2 May 2007

I was up early and on the road by 06h30. It was a pretty uneventful trip and I arrived at Michele’s at 14h00. I saw a convoy of Morris Minors along the way. I guess it must have been a club run. Noel was in Spain but they had a South African builder there working on their new Gites (holiday apartments). I had not met him before, he seemed to be a very nice guy with a very strong accent and Michelle had some difficulty understanding him!! We had a very late dinner as Michelle was working with the horses until after 21h00; they have a new mare so now there are 3 horses to look after. I eventually got to bed at mid-night!

During the afternoon I loaded up the car with everything we had left there, I left just enough room for me to fit in and drive back.

3 June 2007

I made an early start and although it was difficult to see cars coming up behind as I had no vision out of the back at all the drive went well and I was home at 14h30. I unloaded the boxes and unpacked some only to discover we have too many glasses and not enough space for them! We always had a bar in S. Africa so there was plenty of room underneath. I discovered the extra saucepans that I had been looking for and a number of other things that I have not seen since S.A. David came over later and was just in time to help me carry in the last few boxes. I was very tired.

4 June 2007

I had a very bad night, I think was over tired and my back and right hip just kept aching, probably the result of two days sitting in the car for a long period and lifting, packing and unpacking boxes. I could hardly move when I got up in the morning and not much improvement during the day. I went on to a full dose of anti-inflammatory tablets so I hoped by tomorrow I would see some results.

The weather was overcast but not raining so I did manage to get 3 loads of washing done. Blankets, sheets, table cloths etc that were packed in the boxes in the stable all smelt terrible so they really needed washing ASAP. I did not need the smell in the house either. Other than that it was a wasted day as I could not move enough to do any other jobs.

15h00 the heavens opened and I ended up with damp washing draped all over the house!!

19h35 the sun was shining again!!

5 June 2007

It was grey and damp up until about 14h00 then a watery sun came out and it remained like this for the rest of the day. I unpacked another couple of boxes and put the rest up in the roof of the barn until we have more cupboard space. My back was a lot easier and I managed to lift then fairly easily. Octavie dropped in while I was unpacking and chatted for about three quarters of an hour. I really had difficulty in following her this morning, I think that because I was still tired my powers of concentration were lacking seriously. It is fine while she just chats and I can get the gist of what it is about but when she asks a question and I can’t follow it is difficult to say the least.

I weeded the garden and painted the first coat of paint on the spare bedroom shutters in the afternoon. I also rubbed down one shutter on the kitchen window.