It's better than it is, wasn't it?

My back is much better these days. There are still some minor twinges now and then, just to remind me, but they are fewer and farther between than a week ago. I even skipped my anti-inflammatory drug on Sunday so that I could be awake at a garden party with no ill effects. I'm still being careful about moving my neck and head and I'm still wearing the neck brace most of the time, and especially to bed at night.

Part of the vineyard on a hazy August morning.

We're really getting close to finishing the painting. Ken's done a great job having taken over the painting of the large sloping ceiling and higher walls. I've been working on priming the closet doors which doesn't involve much moving around. They're primed now, so I'll fill in some holes with putty and wait for that to dry before putting the paint coat on. I've also been fiddling with hardware and have started the process of removing the painting tape from the floor.

We are anxious to be done. The next step after painting will be the clean up. The floor needs a good going over to remove the inevitable drops of paint (we used drop cloths, but you can't cover everything) and leftover dust and dirt. Ken wants to give the steps another coat of varnish.

Then we'll start moving the furniture up. There's a lot of moving to do because we are essentially re-arranging the entire house. But there's nothing really big or heavy to deal with and we'll be able to manage it pretty easily. Then the rest of the house needs a thorough cleaning as we put it all back together. We skipped spring cleaning this year because of the construction work, so now it's time to pay the piper.

After all that, there's the garage and utility room to put back in order. They've served as our storage and staging areas for construction and painting. It'll be nice to clear out and clean up before the weather turns cold. We'll also have the plumber back to hang the radiators in the new space sometime during all of this.

Thistle get ya

Late summer is thistle season and the vineyard is full of them. Sometimes I wonder how the grape vines manage with all the other things growing out there. But most of the things that aren't grapes grow on the margins or in the large fields that lay fallow in between vine parcels.

Thistles among the grape vines.

I think the vineyards, fields, and woods are at their most colorful this time of year. When summer's rainbows touch the ground, they leave behind green in the grasses and leaves, white in the wild carrot flowers, yellow in the little daisies, blue in the wild chicory, purple in the thistles, and orange in the giant slugs.

Then happy little bluebirds fly... oh, never mind.

Painting right along

A little each day. On Saturday I put another coat of primer on the woodwork and the lower walls in the last section. Ken did another coat of paint on the corners in the middle section. Today he plans to finish the primer on the upper walls and I will continue with the closet doors. We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Little flowers preparing to open for the day in the vineyard. This one almost looks like a paintbrush.

One bit of progress is that we dismantled the big scaffold that our contractor loaned to us and took it downstairs. We don't need it anymore. And that's made a big difference. I've also started replacing the switch plates and soon I'll start removing the painting tape.

It sure feels good to look at what we've done and realize that we didn't have to pay someone else to do it. Of course, if we had, it would all be done by now. But that doesn't matter.

Morning dew

On my morning walks with Callie the two of us often get our feet wet. And dirty. Sometimes it's the result of overnight rain. Often it's dew condensing on the grasses and plants at sunrise that soaks our feet. And wet paws pick up all manner of loose dirt.

Tiny dew droplets cover the petals of these wild flowers in the vineyard.

That's why, on most mornings, Callie gets what I call "the undercarriage wash." She goes into the shower in our utility room for a rinse-off. Then I dry her with a towel. This happens twice a day in rainy weather and most of the winter. How many dogs do you know who get a daily spa treatment?

We're nearing the end of our painting job, at least for the new attic space. There is still the big job of the stairwell and hallway on the main floor where we're removing decades-old wallpaper. That job will wait for a while. At least until we're moved in upstairs and we get the garage and utility room cleaned up and organized. And we've rested our weary backs.

The waning of summer

I hate to say it. I hate to see it. But it's happening. Summer is winding down. The grapes are ripening. The wildflowers in the vineyard are wilting away. The days are getting shorter. And cooler.

One of the sunflowers in our vegetable garden is starting to droop. We'll harvest the seeds!

We're finally getting tomatoes, eggplant, and sweet corn from the garden. Another sign that we're moving into harvest time. The moon is getting full. A harvest moon, I suppose. It won't be long, just about a month, until the equinox and then it will really be fall.

I saw the doctor yesterday and he essentially agreed with the radiologist. Nothing serious. He told me that we'd hold off on cortisone injections for the time being and that he'd continue my medication (anti-inflammatory) for another two weeks. He also gave me a prescription to see a chiropractor. That's a kinésithérapeute in French. So I'll have to find one and make and appointment. I've never been to one before, so it will be a new experience.

You can be sure I'll tell you all about it.

Turns out they're red

Remember that bunch of green grapes I showed you back on July 13? I wasn't sure whether they'd turn out to be white or red grapes when they ripened. Well, now I know. Take a look:

Red grapes ripening in the vineyard. Harvest time is nearing!

This is certainly not the same bunch, but it's from the same row. Obviously red. Which varietal? Darn, I knew you were going to ask and I haven't got a clue. I do know that it's either gamay, cabernet franc, côt (also known as malbec), or pineau d'aunis. Those are the four primary red varietals grown in our region. But you have to be more of an expert than I am to identify them from this photo.

We haven't heard yet when the harvest will start this year. Usually it gets under way in mid to late September, depending of course on the weather and which vineyards are ready first.

Getting back to it, slowly

Since my back injury, I've been kind of taking it easy. I did paint one day, but only baseboards and corners and one small low wall. No reaching or tilting my head up. And I wore the neck brace the whole time to keep from aggravating anything. But that was only one day.

A planter filled with summer flowers next to the church in Saint-Aignan.

And Ken hasn't been inspired to do much, either, although he made some more progress on Monday with one of the end walls. The paintbrush on a stick helped him to get a lot of the corners done high up without needing to climb on the scaffolding.

But we really need to continue. We're not that far from done and it will be so nice to finally put the paint cans away and move some furniture. There is another low wall I can roll today. Then I can get started on the closet doors. I can prime and paint those using sawhorses. No reaching or climbing. And Ken can continue on the ceiling, being careful not to push it.

I also need to head out to the pharmacy and the post office first thing this morning. While I'm out I'm going to stop by the doctor's office and make my follow-up appointment. Then it's back home to hit the paint cans!