Ascension Day here in France and businesses are shut for the day, along with most supermarkets and schools. Because it's a Thursday, many businesses and most of the schools have taken the eminently sensible decision to faire le pont, which for our youngest two means that it's a five day break as they don't have school on Wednesdays anyway. Chances are the roads, the big ones at least, are full (relatively speaking, for France) of travellers on short breaks. I wouldn't know; I worked the Wednesday and we're not going away, too many things to do on the home front, and with UPL hors de combat for a while, a lot falls to me.
One of those things was cutting the grass, and this year I'm doing it the lazy way. This does not mean we've got ourselves a wallaby, however. Cutting the grass is a tedious chore that is not improved by the mower having lost its squeeze-the-bar-and-go-forward ability, so now it's just push-and-swear, and that, along with the thought of emptying the grass collector every two minutes (there's a lot of grass and it's long) made me choose to just cut-and-leave. The result looks a little like the garden's got some weird disease, but it's good for the grass to have its cuttings left in situ, apparently. I also chose not to clear up whereever the dogs had done those things they need to do, though I did try to remove sticks, stones and various toys as and before I got to them. Mind you, there were still plenty of one-legged Action Men and their 3 wheel drives out there to save from further carnage and destruction.
Time was saved; one and a half hours this time, compared with the three it has taken in previous years. Still, the way the damn stuff grows in spring and summer, it will need doing again soon, but we'll give it a chance to grow a bit before then. Next on the agenda is the pool and the pesky leak in the bottom...
22 May 2009
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Ah so glad you haven't forgotten the leak in the pool...hang on I have a list here somewhere for when that's done..ah yes here it is , build 2 more raised beds,mend bridge,build conservatort.. and I was thinking about perhaps digging a small stream across the grass to to feed the pond...!!
ReplyDeleteOver here we never pick up the grass - give the clippings back to the earth, I say. Have a good five day break - it sounds as though UPL has a fine list of things to keep you amused.
ReplyDeleteShe's forgotten the porch for the front door and finishing off the tongue and grooving I've started in so many places.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is a moment when I rejoice at living in a tiny apartment, and getting my exposure to elegantly maintained lawns, trees, flowers over in Central Park.
ReplyDelete(Not really true. I would much rather having a garden of my own!)
Best wishes.
Stay in the small apartment, Frances. You may know from past experience that the more space one has, the more possessions are mysteriously acquuired to fill it, so one has to keep enlarging the space.
ReplyDeleteMore than 20-odd years ago (and they were odd), UPL and I lived in a one bedroom apartment/flat, and space was at a premium. Now we're in a three/four bedroom house that's nearly 200 sq. metres of living area and space is still at a premium. I'm sure that children contribute to this, but it's still frustrating.