What a lousy day

Grey, wet, miserable, depressing.

But that's enough about me - the weather was even worse.

So with almost no solar energy today I didn't do all that much. When I opened my eye and saw the weather, I closed it again and went back under the duvet. And if it hadn't been absolutely necessary to visit the beichstuhl I'd be there now. 

After breakfast and working on the website for a while I started on the floor in the shower room. But I wasn't there as long as I might have been, and for a very simple reason too. I will swear blind that I bought 5 packets of flooring planks, but I've only been able to manage to find four - there's one missing somewhere. And the result of that is that I ran out of floor with two planks to go.

GRRRRR!

So that means a trip to Montlucon and Brico Depot on Saturday.

To pass the rest of the time I started to sort out the firewood in the lean-to in order to make more space. I could have cut it up as well but I have to do that outside and with it pouring down with rain it wasn't much of a good plan. But there's progress all the same.

This evening I had another meal the same as last night and it worked just as well, if not better. Having a rip-roaring blaze at the beginning heats the oven up quicker and that cooks the potatoes better. Basically, 2 hours for the spuds, 60 minutes for the sprouts and 90 minutes for the rest of the veg. The veggie-burger takes about 20 minutes or so.

I had a few phone calls too. Cécile called me twice and spoke to me for hours. She's giving a dinner party tomorrow night and wants to know if I can help her tomorrow afternoon to prepare. Seeing as I don't have the wood to finish the floor, that seems like a good plan.

Marianne also rang up for a long chat and to tell me about her adventures at Riom hunting down old historical documents. One of these days when I'm not busy, whenever that might be, I'll have to go with her.

After much verbal fencing, she expressed an interest in knowing who I was, and so I explained that I was neither family nor close friend but just an everyday run-of-the-mill friend of no particular significance. She then said that she couldn't give me any more information, but would I care to leave my phone number so that she can pass it on the Bill's daughter - his next of kin;

I don't like the sound of that one little bit :-(