Make Up Your Mind!

I am referring to the weather here...Yesterday we saw three seasons in one day. Waz sitting at the kitchen table looked out the kitchen glass doors and said "Is that HAIL?" Sure was! The double paned glass doors were back to freezing cold having been much warmer for the first part of the day.
We had gone so far as to turn off the heater in the entry hall, because it just wasn't that cold anymore. Hmm...maybe! It is freezing in there now, but will take too much precious energy and our euros to but the heating back on, so we freeze while moving through this space now.

I was awake at one minute to 7am, immediately before the alarm went off. First thing to do is open the curtains. WHAT??? Frost on the cars? This is nuts! We enjoyed somewhere around 11C yesterday...until the hail arrived, and though we had the fire going again (didn't the night before) last night, it wasn't THAT cold. The rolled up thermal cover for the swimming pool also have a layer of frost on the top. We have so been  enjoying the bourgeoning Spring, in these parts. New buds everywhere, the vines are looking less like dead twigs, sprouting little pink leave nodes, and some crocuses even reared their heads in the neighbors garden! Joy!
Loving the daffodils and hyacinths everywhere in gardens and amongst the rouble that is the neighbors house...we hear someone has bought it. Steph came by for coffee yesterday and filled us in on all the gossip in the hamlet. She says the new owners will be here next month, probably.  They must be VERY enthusiastic, because the place really is a pile of rocks. There is always potential, right?

When we first arrived, I lopped off the old rose hips and dead tips, and am now gratified to find the rose bush at the back door is coming into fine leaf.

 All the neighbors daffies are now blooming, and they  are a little ray of sunshine, even when it rains. They just hang their heads, but continue to bloom, bless them:)

 Crocuses fight their way out of the weeds. I cant get down there yet, but perhaps I will in a week or more.

We have watched with much delight as these old fruit trees have come into flower. 

Candles of buds are poised to spring forth their new life on the neighbors shrub.

This mature Wisteria by the back door is now budding also. In France, a wisteria climbing over your walls is almost de rigeur. This one climbs the side of the house and along under the upper window. No doubt it will be in full leaf before we leave here.

 Hyacinths, if not very good specimens, are appearing in the most amazing places...and plenty of them.
This lovely swath of Daffs is in the front 'garden' of the aforementioned pile of rocks-house. The hyacinths are thriving there too, much to my delight.

I  went on a small tour of discovery, after my  walk, and this time with the camera, as you can see. I am always happy to discover mother nature's designs, and this is a classic example of it. The wisteria clings to the upright post on the house. Isnt this divine!...ha! pun intended!

 under a small balcony the duck stays out of the weather. This is supposed to be a door bell, I think, but the house is a bit confusing for the casual passers-by...lots of doors and not sure which bell to ring. the wisteria is really a nuisance, and strong enough to push over solid uprights, in my experience. Another of those vines  like bougainvillea which is very hard to get rid of, once established.

 The view from the back...or is it the front door??

Yesterday we arrived home in time for lunch after a quick trip into Riberac to drop off a document at the accountant's and visit E.Leclerc Supermarche. We were sure we had found the butter chicken and curry paste previously consumed, there, and went in search. Also in today's search was a pillowcase for my new long and round pillow. We found that, also a fluro vest and light bulbs for the car, which are required by law to keep in the vehicle. We are also required to have two breathalyzer test kits in the car...or so we have been told. As we dont have the car yet, we will deal with that another day.
We did find the butter chicken paste and some other curry, but not quite what we were looking for.

The owners of the house have ordered a new vacuum cleaner for the house. Of the two that are here already, one was inherited, and despite my best efforts to take it all apart, clean thoroughly and reassemble, doesn't want to work the way it should...and it's a Dyson! The second one is also a Dyson, but of the wand variety. As the final effort to make it work better, Waz looked up how to take that apart, on the internet, did so and also washed the filter in the top. I am happy to say that it worked really well this morning, before it died due to lack of battery power. We are hoping that it is just the need to wash the filter that was making it work poorly. Time will tell. Anyhoo...the new vacuum cleaner didn't arrive....we got home at half noon, and the driver left us a note saying he had tried to deliver it at 12.04! Wouldn't you just know it! Sheesh!  Usually they arrive here around 4-6pm, so we thought we would be home in plenty of time. Bummer.

We did everything we were told to do on the card left by the driver, and went to their website. Its in French, but Waz is getting very adept at translating, using software, and we still couldn't get the info we desired...namely...When were they going to deliver it??

We did ask for help, after phoning the number on the website, and found there was no English option. Saskia has ascertained that we can pick the box up in the nearby town, probably tomorrow. Phew!

Much easier than waiting around all day for something that isn't going to be delivered.

In the meantime, Waz stayed here while I took the recycling and trash up the road to the bins. Not far, and I decided to do some further walking on my own...a bit of a trip risk, given that I'm still wearing the arm brace when out and about, but I went slowly and deliberately.

I have had the arm brace off for most of yesterday and today, unless travelling in the car or walking outside. Slowly trying to gain strength in the bicep, which is resisting, so I wont rush it. Good to have a bit more movement...as long as I dont twist my arm...in the forearm. Not having the muscle power to raise my arm is frustrating, but I really dont want to do anything to harm it further. Bruising still coming out on my left knee, and some other places. I also think I bruised some of my ribs on the right side...Yes, sometimes it takes a while to find everything that is hurt. Im more determined than ever to be SUPER careful and deliberate in everything I do. I have asked Waz to do the same. We are both not very good at taking things slowly, but having hurt myself a number of times this past year, Im feeling a bit 'old' in the scheme of things.
A slower and more deliberate life cant be a bad thing, surely? After all, isn't this why we are moving to  France?


We went for a walk outside to the pool deck, this morning, just before lunch. I took a chair into the sunshine and just soaked up some Vitamin D, there. We retrained some vines, back over the wall that were strangling a tree with very large buds on it, checked to make sure the pool cover was all intact, and examined other places that needed to be examined.
I found a memoir I want to read, so I am going to take myself back out to the pool deck to sit in the sun and read.

Bye for now.