To conclude Chuck’s visit: we had a lovely and very copious meal at Les Saveurs that evening – 3-4 courses apiece, all washed down with some tasty wine. Afterwards, we made our way back home to do some serious digesting over a few games of cards followed by an early night. I can’t remember anything of note happening on the following day, so I shall skip ahead to Thursday: Chuck’s departure day. His train to Paris left Angouleme at 4pm, so we decided to break up the journey with a stop-off at Nontron’s new restaurant, L’Éloquence (the place run by the young couple we met through our friend Morgan).
The owners have had a very good season, which was great to hear. Nontron is in dire need of restaurants for one thing, and for another, we’re still on board to build them a website so we’re glad their business is doing well. We’re expecting a call from them in the coming weeks, just as soon as things quieten down a bit for them. We had a nice meal out on their terrace and afterwards pressed on to Angouleme. We stopped off at a DIY store to pick up a picture frame for a print of ours and then took Chuck to the station, where we said our goodbyes.
Since then, Matt has been making much progress on his various projects, principally on the back office work management tool he is building for our big transport client, Vortex. Phase 1 of this is more or less done now, so we are waiting for feedback from them before moving on to the next. In the interim, he has plenty of other things to keep him occupied. For my part, I am frustratingly still waiting on several clients before I can do anything. I gave one a chase up (a simple site for a gite) and managed to get that moving somewhat but it has now stalled while the client finishes up the text. I’ve done a redesign for a previous client on her request and I am very pleased with the result – however this too is on hold until she has some time to spare.
A lack of occupation, the change in the weather (raining, grey and cool) and a few other things are all combining to dampen my spirits a little at the moment, but I am trying to keep chipper. The saga with our unwelcome stray cat continues to add to my disquiet. After just a couple days on his meds, Louis rallied magnificently, was walking without a limp, and even caught himself a bird so we thought we were out of the woods. Unfortunately, two days later, he was inexplicably limping again. The wound looked to be healing very nicely with no sign of infection, so we couldnt work it out. In the end, after calling the vet, I ended up taking him in again for a checkup. Embarrassingly, on the morning of the appointment, Louis wasnt limping at all and was in fine fettle, but nonetheless, I took him to be looked at. The vet confirmed the wound was clean and that there was nothing amiss. To be safe, he was given a booster shot and since then, he seems on top form. I was most relieved that there was no charge for the second visit, given what the first one had cost.
In the interim, and not to be outdone, the Smoo had his second run-in with the bully cat. Just like Louis, he had a bite on his leg, which had become swollen and unusable. His eye was also puffy and weeping, so it was clear to us what had happened. Seeing as we had a stock of antibiotics for Louis, we were able to dose up the Smoo as soon as we realised and – fingers crossed – it looks like that swift action paid off. Our wee yellow devil has bounced back with gusto – convenient, seeing as we’re pretty much out of meds now. At least he is easier to administer – the Smoo will eat pretty much anything so getting 2ml of liquid and one tablet down him is as easy as sprinkling it on some food, et voila.
Louis is an altogether different matter: a highly fussy eater with the appetite of a wasp. Getting him to take his medication is definitely a 2-man job involving a special plastic syringe (and a fair amount of scratches). We obviously need to sort out the stray cat and will be joining teams with Lucien to get him dealt with. Apparently, there are organisations in the area that come and collect errant cats, clean them up, neuter them and then release them again. This is far preferable to the ‘brick in a sack and throw it in a river’ option – but if it comes to it, we’ll do whatever is needed to stop our boys getting beaten up and infected. It’s an expensive time of year as it is without regular vet bills thrown into the mix.
On expenses, recent new ones include filling up the gas tank for the year, booking the car in for its control technique (MOT) and the inevitable but unwelcome arrival of our annual taxe fonciere bill. Money definitely feels like it is going out faster than it is coming in at the moment. Still, at least it is coming in.
On to nicer things: our friends Richard and Bridget (‘Ridget’) are over again on hols and we caught up with them last night for dinner at their place. With them is a friend of theirs from the UK called Kevin, and of course their new, hyper puppy, Vinnie. We had a great time, and enjoyed the veggie curry that Ridget and Kevin collectively prepared. They’re over for a while yet, and their son Alex is joining them next week, so we’ve invited them over to our’s next wednesday to return the favour.
We also have our next confirmed visitor: our friend Kevin will be dropping by for a few days in just over 2 weeks. A voracious traveller, he is currently in Andalucía and will make his way home to London via some friends in Bordeaux, and then us. We’re looking forward to seeing him, as always. Right, that’s all I can manage. Of the two of us, I seem to have acquired the larger hangover after last night’s dinner (Matt wisely eschewed the red wine and stuck to vodka). I am going to settle down with a book, I think. A bientôt.