In other words, I fixed it so it no longer works at all. It was on its last legs anyway, so I don’t feel too bad. Recently, it would run but only with no choke so I read up on line and the general response was the spark plug, or carburetor. I changed the spark plug so the only thing left to do was clean the carburetor. I did that today, put it all back together and now it won’t start at all. Both Lucien and Bryan came by and both said that’s the one part they wouldn’t touch, so perhaps I was a bit overzealous. I may try to take it apart again, but ultimately, think it’s time for a new mower.
Since the last entry, I planted a few rows of corn. I had to buy four more bags of seed in order to fill the space, and will plant them in two more batches. I also planted coriander and will plant carrots. Soon I’ll get some tomato and squash plants and get those in as well. Lucien says it’s early but it’s been such a mild year I’m feeling brave. The garlic and some onions are coming up nicely and will appreciate the loads of rain we’ve had over the past two weeks. This has done wonders for the lawn, much to my dismay.
We organised a last minute dinner on Friday with Bryan & Carol and Nadine & Jean Claude. I made oven-fried chicken with roast potatoes, green beans and carrots which went down well. Strawberries are in season so I did them in a tarte for dessert. We hadn’t socialised with B&C for some time and it was nice to pair them with some french speakers for a bit. They all got along nicely and left around midnight.
We went around to Ute & John’s on Sat afternoon to do some PC repairs and then an apero. Her PC is very old so takes forever to do anything which was unfortunately because it was laden with problems. Between Will and I, we got rid of the major annoyances in a mere 2 hours and were then rewarded with some bubbles and nibbles (and a bit of cash).
On the work front, Will has a new client! It’s a referral, although possibly not direct, for a chateau in the Charante, about 45 mins from here. In brief, they have a new site but had a falling out with the person managing it. Will has stepped in and got the site working, which is good since the previous person pulled the plug when she got the axe. He’s got a bit more work to do on it, and possibly some other business from the same place.
I’ve been slaving away on two projects. I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice to say they are progressing and I should be done with both in a few weeks. I was starting to worry that I had nothing in the pipeline, but yesterday I got a call from Alan, and friend and long-time client who needs some work done. He can wait a few weeks, which works out well for me.
Tomorrow is a public holiday, la Fete du Travail (labour day), and just about everything is closed. It’s certainly in the top 3 most important holidays of the year in terms of things being closed, for example, the swimming pool. Being self-employed, we won’t partake of the day off.
Will’s tooth problem has returned. It nearly went away with the antibiotics, but has come back yesterday and he’s got a blocked ear again. He went to see the doc today who was very sympathetic. He prescribed more antibiotics so hopefully, they will do the trick.
On a happier note, Anne and Andrew have booked to come see us in mid-May. We’re very much looking forward to it!