Home alone -- well not really

Today's the first full day on my own (with Callie and Bertie to watch out for me) while Ken's away. I was awake between three and four a.m., tossing and turning. Then I woke up close to six. Then, before I realized it, it was after seven and I was still snoozing. So I got up and started the morning routine.

Another view of the car dealership in Le Grand-Pressigny.

It's a little different for me these next two weeks. Usually Ken will rise first to make coffee, feed Bertie, and turn on the heat (it's not automatic because the timer mechanism is broken and costs way too much to repair on our twenty-year old boiler). After he eats, Bert will come inside to snooze by a radiator. This morning went smoothly. Coffee made (tastes good), cat fed (he was waiting), and the boiler fired up normally. Now I'm writing this before heading outside with Callie for her morning walk, followed by her feeding. In between, I have to sneak the cat out of the living room to keep Callie from seeing him.

I read this morning that the Socialists held on to Paris in the municipal elections. Both candidates are women, so the capital was going to have its first female mayor whatever the result. I also read that the extreme right party, the Front national, picked up several smaller cities and did generally better than they ever have. That's not so good, as the center-right party is going to have to somehow deal with this growing far-right faction.

Warm

We're expecting high temperatures around 20ºC (high 60s F) for the next few days. I got more grass cut on Saturday so that most of the yard has now been done. The section that I call the north forty remains to be cut. That's where the little prairie of primroses is and they're still in bloom, so I think I'll wait a little more before cutting them down.

This sign identifies the workshop (atelier) of a car dealership in the Southern Touraine.

I will certainly take advantage of the warm weather to get some other chores done. Mainly, I want to power-wash the deck and the PVC fencing between the house and our road. I'll probably do that tomorrow, as using power tools outdoors is not allowed on Sunday afternoons.

Today is also the second round of municipal elections. I don't think there will be voting in our town, however, because the current slate of candidates was elected outright in the first round last weekend. Ken talked briefly with our mayor yesterday over the fence and she told him, "Je continue." We think that means that she will continue on as mayor for another term (six years). In small towns, the mayor is not directly elected but chosen by the council after the election.

Last day of winter time

We'll be turning our clocks ahead tonight in preparation for entering Central European Summer Time during the wee hours of Sunday morning. Our bodies are already waking up earlier (as it gets light) and wanting to go to sleep earlier, so the change will be nearly imperceptible.

Pretty purple flowers escaping from someone's garden in Le Grand-Pressigny.

On Friday morning I raked up one of our garden plots and planted spring seeds: radishes, chard, spring onions, spinach, and chervil. We'll see what comes up in a week or so.

International mail

This is a typical individual residential mailbox around here and, I suspect, all over France. Ours is similar, but green instead of beige. When we moved in, our mail carrier stopped to tell us that we needed to get one like this because the old mailbox (which is built into one of the gateposts that flank our driveway) is non-standard. We dutifully complied.

"Stop Pub" means that these people don't want any advertising junk mail delivered. I wonder if it works.

We're picking up a friend this evening who's returning from a trip to the US. I'm sure he'll be glad to be home, at least glad to be off of airplanes and trains. Those trips are long and exhausting.

The Shadow knows

You can see what's behind the gate, but who knows what evil lurks behind the golden ochre door?

Seen on a street in Le Grand-Pressigny.

The temperatures are supposed to be warming up as we approach the weekend, but today looks like it will be cool and damp. Perfect day for a veal stew, blanquette de veau.

X marks the spot

These little symbols are everywhere in France. Maybe even Europe, but I don't know about that. They have to do with walking paths, trails, randonnées. The "x" means that you don't go this way. If you are following a trail, you go where the horizontal lines point. The "x" tells you that the trail does not go that way.

X marks the way not to go.

I'm not an aficionado. I don't know what the different colors mean, and I assume they mean something or other. But I've followed a few of the local paths and learned a little about how to read the signs.

Just hanging around

I don't know what the story is here. Maybe a scarecrow in someone's garden, maybe a kid's prank, or perhaps a stuffed-animal suicide. Whatever the truth, this bear has seen better days. I nearly missed him, of course, thanks to that camouflage outfit he's wearing.

If he's supposed to be a scarecrow, the camouflage doesn't really make sense, does it?

Ken and I aren't just hanging around this week. On Monday we saw some friends for lunch and had a very nice day. The car needs a new battery (the old one is nearly eight years old), so Ken's going to the shop to get that done. He's also preparing for his annual trip back to the US to visit his family. I've got some spring crops (radishes, chard, herbs) that I want to plant out in the garden once the rain lets up and it's time to power-wash the deck for the season.