This is the neighbors' snowball bush. It blooms every spring, even more so now since it was pruned back not long ago.
Today is haircut day for me. Tomorrow is the second holiday in May. This one marks the end of World War II. I'm not counting Cinco de Mayo. The French don't celebrate that one.
This is a different cropping of yesterday's photo that zooms in on one of the vendors at the Montrichard market. Guess what he sells! That's right: fraises (strawberries) and asperges (asparagus). He's not the guy that I usually buy from. I don't remember ever seeing him at Saint-Aignan's Saturday market.
The heating technician arrived at about 11h00 yesterday morning and did his thing. Everything looks to be in tip top shape. Good thing, too, as our heat came on early this morning, the first time in about a week. It's close to 7ºC (around 45ºF) out there as I type this. Brrr. And grrr.
Our "busy" month of May continues today with a scheduled visit from the people who service our central heating boiler. The technician's expected some time this morning and he'll (it's always a guy) spend about an hour inspecting, cleaning, and replacing parts. We purchased the service contract oh so long ago when we had the old boiler (the first reference I could find in the blog is from 2010 and it says that we bought the contract "a few years ago").
This photo is the third (and last) one I took last Friday in Montrichard. I was standing on the town's main street looking up the hill through the market. You can't see much of it in this shot. Sorry about that..
After a near perfect weather week (shorts and tee-shirts!), we're having a cool down. Some forecasters are predicting rain, even thunder storms. Others are predicting no precipitation at all (at least in the short term). Everyone seems to agree that it will be much cooler this coming week.
I was able to get the grass cut over the past few days. Yesterday I got the weed-eater out and started attacking the edges, including the garden path. The mower can cut to about six inches of the path's raised edge. The rest has to be done by hand. And I used to do it by hand until we got the weed-eater last year.
As planned, I drove over to Montrichard yesterday morning. I had time to wander around at the market and picked up some asperges blanches, une barquette de fraises, and une botte de radis. Then to a bakery for deux baguettes. After that, I went to my appointment at the optical shop and ordered my new glasses. They should be ready in around eight days.
It was a beautiful day with a bright blue, cloudless sky. After lunch I finished up the grass cutting. Now the weather is supposed to turn again. Back to chilly mornings and maybe some rain. We shall see.
I'm heading out this morning to the market in Montrichard. I'm hopeful, but not optimistic, that I'll find okra at the health food store there. There probably isn't much of a market for it here. We do find it in the larger produce stores, but the closest is a good forty minute drive away.
I also have an appointment at an optical shop for new glasses. It should go pretty fast since I don't have to choose frames. I have two pair that I like a lot, so it's just a matter of getting everything measured. Once the lenses are made, I'll go back to have them fitted into the frames.
This is the "other" log pile on the Artsy Organized Neighbor's property. It, too, is very meticulously stacked. Last year we noticed that a lot of people with wooded land harvested logs and stacked them. Word was that wood for firewood and other purposes was fetching a premium price. Whatever the reason, a lot of wood got harvested last year.
As I've mentioned, today is la fête de travail (Labor Day), a major holiday in France and around Europe. Yippee! A day off! LOL
