Catching up

While Kaye was gone, Ed was busy painting the living room. It's now Vanille, a color we originally tried in the kitchen but didn't like there at all. It's creamy, but a bit yellower than Kaye would like, but Ed likes it and it will do quite well. We've ordered the paint for the mezzanine now and will pick that up on Friday. Meanwhile, Ed's putting flooring in the dressing, the walk-in closet on the mezzanine. 

We made a big order of shelving and cabinets from IKEA and paid for it to be delivered since there were a few pieces that would be difficult in or on the car.  It was all delivered -- all but one piece for the bit Kaye would like to start on next. So we're waiting for re-delivery of the single piece. We will probably go to Bordeaux one of these days to get other odds and ends.

The weather is a bit warmer, but largely gray and drippy. The birds have really discovered the feeder and empty it twice a day in this cold weather. The lawn is becoming littered with empty sunflower seed shells, even though we move the feeder fairly regularly. 

More sad news. Last Friday, we had Lydia put down. In the last days she's been eating very little and was very weak. It looked like walking was painful, and even sitting was uncomfortable. When you sat on the step in the living room, she wouldn't come for the petting she previously enjoyed so much. She had a few months of good life with us here, but it was time to go. We buried her by the rhododendron down by the shed and put a little rock there. We miss her cranky presence. It's the first time in a long time that we've been without a cat or two, and the house feels very empty. 

Several weeks ago, Ed went to a doctor in La Roche to get a prescription refilled; that doctor didn't speak much English and referred Ed to another doctor, also in La Roche, who speaks quite good English. Kaye went to this doctor last week to renew her prescription and get properly enrolled with him. We should be able to claim all these visits and prescriptions once we get registered with the national system. 

And, we finally got our forms from the Dutch bureauracry, so on Tuesday we gathered up more papers, took our Dutch forms, and went to Angoulême to register with the national healthcare system. Well, we gathered up a lot of papers to take with us, but we missed one. So we will go again tomorrow to try again. It seems like we'll be able to finish it up in La Rochefoucauld, which is much closer. We hope.