It's not raining. I wondered if I would ever be able to write that - with the weather since the end of April, having been so awful.
One of my kittens is missing. Gracie is not here this morning. I vaguely remember being disturbed in the night by a cat screaming, and have a horrible feeling that it was perhaps her. I spent about half an hour looking everywhere and calling, but no luck. I wonder if she's stuck somewhere in the huge piles of my stuff which has come over from England and not been sorted in the first longere. I feel very upset about her and can't seem to settle.
Decided to check on the other animals. I put the top down on the car and tried to set off up the lane to let out and feed the animals. I was stopped as I attempted to leave the drive by hoards of people who were watching the horses from the local Endurance Race, as horses with riders were just coming on to my bit of the lane. When I managed to leave the drive I saw parked cars everywhere. People walking to and fro with buckets of water for the horses and bottles for the riders. All animals - sheep, goats, pigs and hens - present and correct - with Robbie, my new ram, standing on the backs of the goats to make sure he got handfed bread first. All animals fed and watered and picked some salad for my lunch from the beds we made this year. The coriander smells lovely, but is beginning to go to seed. Perhaps I should plant another row. At least the weather hasn't affected these vegetables, perhaps because the drainage is so good in the raised beds, surrounded by the old beams from the middle longere.
My neighbour's potatoes - a large, large patch, have all been affected by the rain and have blackened leaves and will soon be cleared and the land rotavated for a different crop. He is not amused. So much work goes into his vegetable field and to see it all wasted is dreadful.
I set off to find a second hand bookshop about 12 miles away, but arrived to find a note stuck on the door saying they were on holiday. So I took advantage of being in that area and drove round to a house I had looked at several months ago with my second son. It was still for sale. Can't quite decide whether to buy it or not. The location is lovely but there is all the work still to be done there, and although I love a project, I still have lots of work to do chez moi.
Arriving back home, I put the top of the car up, as I can't quite believe it is still not raining. I continued my search for Gracie, but still no luck. I fed the other two kittens and my adult cats and then sat down with a cup of black coffee and four very large spoonsful of sugar - lovely. Gracie's brother and sister, Bertie and Lulu, came and sat on my lap to wash and prevented me from reaching the keyboard to start writing. Their tummies felt very round and full, so in view of their inability to remember where to wee and poo, I took them out to the garden and left them to it.
Spent a few minutes on the 'phone to my daughter who moved into rented accommodation yesterday with her son. Then spoke to my oldest son and checked that the three of them and a friend would be here on Monday morning. Apparently, I had it all wrong and they are travelling on Monday nights and not arriving until Tuesday. At least that will give us a bit longer to sort out the accommodation here, which is still being renovated.
Just finished watching Venus Williams winning Wimbledon for the third time, equalling Billy Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Stefi Graf's records. Good match with a challenging opponent in Marion Bartoli. It's now time for my steak, creamy garlic mushrooms and homegrown salad while I see it I want to watch BBC's Live Earth at Wembley Stadium - attempting to raise awareness global warming and the environment. I think perhaps the music isn't my sort of thing. Good steak though.
Both kittens now asleep on the cushion next to me. Seem completely unphased by Gracie not being with them. Going to have another look for her before I finish off some paperwork.
One of my kittens is missing. Gracie is not here this morning. I vaguely remember being disturbed in the night by a cat screaming, and have a horrible feeling that it was perhaps her. I spent about half an hour looking everywhere and calling, but no luck. I wonder if she's stuck somewhere in the huge piles of my stuff which has come over from England and not been sorted in the first longere. I feel very upset about her and can't seem to settle.
Decided to check on the other animals. I put the top down on the car and tried to set off up the lane to let out and feed the animals. I was stopped as I attempted to leave the drive by hoards of people who were watching the horses from the local Endurance Race, as horses with riders were just coming on to my bit of the lane. When I managed to leave the drive I saw parked cars everywhere. People walking to and fro with buckets of water for the horses and bottles for the riders. All animals - sheep, goats, pigs and hens - present and correct - with Robbie, my new ram, standing on the backs of the goats to make sure he got handfed bread first. All animals fed and watered and picked some salad for my lunch from the beds we made this year. The coriander smells lovely, but is beginning to go to seed. Perhaps I should plant another row. At least the weather hasn't affected these vegetables, perhaps because the drainage is so good in the raised beds, surrounded by the old beams from the middle longere.
My neighbour's potatoes - a large, large patch, have all been affected by the rain and have blackened leaves and will soon be cleared and the land rotavated for a different crop. He is not amused. So much work goes into his vegetable field and to see it all wasted is dreadful.
I set off to find a second hand bookshop about 12 miles away, but arrived to find a note stuck on the door saying they were on holiday. So I took advantage of being in that area and drove round to a house I had looked at several months ago with my second son. It was still for sale. Can't quite decide whether to buy it or not. The location is lovely but there is all the work still to be done there, and although I love a project, I still have lots of work to do chez moi.
Arriving back home, I put the top of the car up, as I can't quite believe it is still not raining. I continued my search for Gracie, but still no luck. I fed the other two kittens and my adult cats and then sat down with a cup of black coffee and four very large spoonsful of sugar - lovely. Gracie's brother and sister, Bertie and Lulu, came and sat on my lap to wash and prevented me from reaching the keyboard to start writing. Their tummies felt very round and full, so in view of their inability to remember where to wee and poo, I took them out to the garden and left them to it.
Spent a few minutes on the 'phone to my daughter who moved into rented accommodation yesterday with her son. Then spoke to my oldest son and checked that the three of them and a friend would be here on Monday morning. Apparently, I had it all wrong and they are travelling on Monday nights and not arriving until Tuesday. At least that will give us a bit longer to sort out the accommodation here, which is still being renovated.
Just finished watching Venus Williams winning Wimbledon for the third time, equalling Billy Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Stefi Graf's records. Good match with a challenging opponent in Marion Bartoli. It's now time for my steak, creamy garlic mushrooms and homegrown salad while I see it I want to watch BBC's Live Earth at Wembley Stadium - attempting to raise awareness global warming and the environment. I think perhaps the music isn't my sort of thing. Good steak though.
Both kittens now asleep on the cushion next to me. Seem completely unphased by Gracie not being with them. Going to have another look for her before I finish off some paperwork.
