Quiet week

Not really too much happening here. We're still recuperating from the activity and stress of the last weeks and not accomplishing much beyond sleeping. Ed has an ear infection that leaves him frequently dizzy, so he's really taking it easy. We might have to find a family physician sooner rather than later if it doesn't clear up soon.

We're were wondering why we felt so stressed and realized that we packed the house in 18 days, where we thought it would take at least 3 weeks. Now we realize we should have allowed even more time, so that we had extra time to visit with friends before we left. We had the idea to have an "empty house" party like we did when we left Houston, but there just wasn't time. And now we're feeling sad for all the folks we didn't see.

Weather-wise, after a really warm spell, we've had a little gray bit, with bits of rain, but today has been sunny again. Ed worked all day putting siding on the back of the garden shed, which needed covering. We will move the rose that's been growing up the now-dead poplar onto the sunniest corner of the shed, and hope it will survive to grow up and over, full in the sun. Onto another corner, we'll move a bit of honeysuckle that seems to have come up volunteer in a big pot in the garden.There's already a rhododendron at one end and a clematis on the other. Quite festive, perhaps, if it all works, with rhodo, rose, clematis, and honeysuckle blooming in succession.

Last weekend, Ed put up a bird feeder, but there haven't been any takers yet. We've found that in sunny weather birds fly into the new terrace doors. These seem to reflect the trees outside and must look like a shady glen to the birds. We've put up a stick-on pinwheel that happened to be here, that we hope will deter them before there's a serious injury.

Wednesday, we had an anniversary lunch at a nearby restaurant, where we've seen lots of Dutch people before. We were the only people there this time and chatted with the proprietor, who turns out to be Dutch, living here for 18 years. It was a good chance to practice our Dutch, although it's our French that needs the workout.

On Thursday, we ordered a new poêle de fioul (oil heater) to replace the one that was damaged by the leaking roof.We will have to go pick it up the day after l'expert from the insurance company visits. We're hoping the insurance will pay all of it, but the thing needs to be replaced, so it has to be done regardless.

After a few doubtful days, Lydia has been making progress settling. The last couple of mornings, she has been waiting on the landing in front of the bedroom while Kaye prepares her morning food in the kitchen below. And in the afternoons she has made some further explorations of the empty mezzanine. Today we're happy to report that she's made leaps and bounds, though. In the afternoon, she slept in a sunny spot in the middle of the floor, rather than in her hidey-hole behind the closet or on the bed, which showed a bit of confidence or relaxation. This evening, to our great surprise, she came downstairs, on her own, as we were finishing our wine after dinner. Several times she came into the kitchen with us, then went out into the vast living/dining room to explore. We waited patiently while she alternated exploring and visiting. All very nice and cat-normal. Maybe she's really going to settle in, after all. :-)