Colin got back from France as scheduled, and all of his tests were ok. While there he helped the cycling club with their annual youth races in Angeau – the kids are so cute.
And the winning team was – the local organizing club Guidon Manslois (Colin’s club)!
I’m glad for many reasons that Colin is back but a big one is that I really don’t like being alone in the house at night. It’s frequently windy and things blow around and make noise – kind of freaked me out a couple of times.
The garden is coming along nicely – the weeds are tenacious, but so are the gardeners!
The Tour de France has started – the first three stages were in northern Spain and now they’re working their way north, then east. We’re both very sad that Mark Cavendish has crashed out as we were sure he would break the stage-win record in this, his last Tour. I was somewhat cheered up yesterday, however, when Michael Woods won on the Puy de Dome.
We’re trying to find a used pram or stroller for Henry – he can’t walk as fast or as far as he used to and Colin often ends up having to pick him up. In search of one we drove south yesterday to see if we could find one at a large second-hand furniture place but she didn’t have anything appropriate. She did have a beautiful german shepherd guard dog and a black cat with orange eyes.
We’ve put up a fly screen on the french doors so we can now have them open in the early part of the day – nice breezes come through. But all windows and shutters get closed by noon or so to keep the heat out. Our swims are later now also – usually around 7:30 or 8:00 in the evening because of the heat, and also the angle of the sun.
My arm rash has come back and I’m treating it with apricot kernel oil so I don’t end up looking like a leper. As long as I stay out of the direct sun it subsides and isn’t itchy so mostly I’m staying inside during the day and doing any of the outside stuff in early morning or late evening.
The herb garden is doing very well, especially the basil. I’ve made pesto twice now (for pizza) and it’s awesome to be able to go out and pick it, then crush it. I don’t have any pine nuts so have been using almonds – but what else would I use in almond-growing heaven?
We’ll be having fresh cherry tomatoes soon as one of the plants has gone crazy and already has fruit on it – small and green now but in a week or two…
Most mornings I do a bit of tai chi and chi gong on either the front terrace or the side terrace – it’s so peaceful and quiet and I get to see the sun come up over the hill to the east.
The birds have finally discovered the bird feeder and we now have to fill it every couple of days.
We had a nice lunch out at the bar in Los Cerricos – once again the cats were hiding from the heat.
The Ikea delivery arrived! We met the truck down at the restaurant/gas station and they followed us up to the house – now the office is full of the new kitchen in boxes.
Henry tried to walk on the pool cover again – luckily I spotted him right away. It was ok when he got out on the winter cover as it was tied to the sides, but the summer cover just floats and even a smallish dog like Henry caused it to start sinking. Fortunately he was near the shallow end so I just went down the stairs and fished him out – wet shorts was a small price to pay.
I finally went for a bike ride – not long but getting hot by the time I got home – I’ll have to leave earlier next time.
Sally McKenzie's European Adventures 