March and April

March and April have been fairly quiet months. Ed has finished the wall tiling in the kitchen and bits of useful shelving are going back into place. Lighting has been installed under the cabinets on the sink side. With the tile in place, the rest of the window surround can be finished.

People who have visited recently will appreciate that the light switch and electric outlets at the end of the peninsula are now installed on the wall again. The blue block behind them is a transformer that allows continued use of our old American kitchen appliances. (And, yes, someone needs to wipe down that refrigerator door!)

Our big outing for March was the Bach à Pâques festival in Deux-Servres. We spend two nights in the area and attended four concerts over three days. It's an annual event that we've attended several times since we've been here.

We did a bit of touristing while our friend Bill visited in April. We went looking for an octagonal church that we thought was at Nersac, but turned out to be in nearby St Michel. The 12C building was originally used has a place to house pilgrims on the St Jacques de Compostela path.

We also took ourselves to see a little art exhibit at an abbey in La Couronne. The exhibit was so-so. The abbey is largely in ruins but once had a huge church, some of which is still standing.

The remains are now disconcertingly close to a factory that is in the process of being closed, to the dismay of its employees.

Our weather continues to be unseasonably cool and drippy, sometimes stormy. This has resulted in some dramatic sunsets light coming low under dark clouds.

Lots of wildflowers seem happier than we are with the weather. Primroses and violets that started blooming late last year have really popped out. There are violets everywhere. Some photos of seasonal wildflowers are here.