It hasn't been a lovely winter. Overcast, rainy, and cold most of the time. And both of us were sick for about two months. Nearly everyone we talk to says they had this virus, whatever it was. Our doctor told us it was "something going around." I'll be happy to see March go.
At the risk of jinxing spring, we are enjoying more sunny days. It's still not very warm, but the sunshine helps it not to feel too cold. I'm hopeful that we have more and more sunny days as April arrives.
The vineyards around us are looking very spring-like. No leaves, yet, but there are buds forming on the vines. Pruning continues and the vines are looking quite neat and tidy. Some parcels that are normally pruned by now are not, making me wonder if they're scheduled to be ripped out. Time will tell.
I'm getting a few more things done in the yard while the weather is decent. I ripped out an overgrown sage plant on Friday. It was way past its prime and we hardly ever harvested its leaves. I wonder if it's like our oregano that doesn't have much flavor unless it's dried? Oh well, it's too late now.
We enjoyed a mostly sunny day on Friday, with another expected today. Of course, cloudless days are often chilly. I ended up putting a fire in the wood burner in the afternoon to take the chill off and to give the central heating a rest.
When the sun does shine in this time of year, it casts shadows around the rooms. This is a corner of the dining area with the Eiffel Tower and its shadow. Our friend Cheryl gave us the tower. It came from Pottery Barn, if memory serves, back in San Francisco. Back in the olden days. The little wiry figure (sold separately) has magnetic feet.
This image is from our 2018 trip to the Vendée on the west coast of France. It's the city of Niort and one of its churches, Saint André de Niort. We had Tasha for just over a year at that point.
I've got to get out with the camera one of these days and take some new photos.
We had some left over radish leaf pesto sauce and thought it would make a good base for pizza. I made the usual crust dough. I make it in the stand mixer then let it rise for about three hours, so putting it together first thing in the morning makes it ready for lunch. The recipe makes enough dough for two individual pizzas.
Before topping it, I shaped half the dough with my hands (I've learned that using a rolling pin presses too much air out of the dough), then covered it with a towel and let it rise for about twenty minutes. I spread the pesto on, using a brush to bring the sauce almost to the edge. Then I added cooked and cubed chicken breast, bell pepper cut into strips, and garnished with black olives. I also sprinkled some grated parmesan on top at the table (remembering that there's already some parmesan in the pesto itself). Yum!
The best way to preserve primroses? Photography! But don't fret. The real thing will be around for a while. Mowing won't happen right away. Usually, by the time I cut the grass, the primroses are past their prime.
Sunrise is at 6h44 this morning. Each day, for the time being, we gain about three minutes of daylight. We're still on Winter Time until the weekend. Then Sunday we'll turn our clocks ahead and enter Summer Time. It won't be light so early in the morning, but it will stay lighter later in the day. I think I've got that right...
Primroses, as I've certainly mentioned before, are called primevères in French. That's derived from the latin primus, meaning "first." They're among the first flowers to appear in spring. I got all that from Wikipedia; I'm no flower expert.
One day, should the weather cooperate, I will cut them all down with the first mowing of the season. With the weather we've been having, that won't be anytime soon. The ground is still very soggy.
