First off, a very happy bday to Tante Mimi, who occasionally stops by this here blog. I’ve got a lot of work I should be doing, but equally, don’t want to incur the wrath of our readers, so the clients will have to wait.
I’m still working on the site for the Australian company. I realised that I’ve been working with the managing director, which explains why he’s a bit slow to get back to me. He’s roped in two underlings, and I will be dealing with them going forward. I’m also doing an upgrade for an existing client that I’d like to finish this week and put live over the weekend. Will is translating the Repco Marine site into French, and then I’ll load it into the system. I’ve also got two small projects with Abby on which I’m waiting for content. Will also has a few things on the go including the e-commerce shop for the winery, and the car-hire site. It’s nice to have the work and it’s been fairly steady, so we can’t really complain.
The weather has been much more seasonal in March, with strong winds and some rain. Things are starting to bloom including our magnolia tree, the wisteria and some daffodils. Lucien came by and trimmed the two catalpa trees, something he started doing for us a few years back. More importantly, he also cut the tall hedge next to the garage. It’s now only 1 metre high which means that we can see from the new terrace into the back garden. It wasn’t an easy job and it was amazing to see him standing on the stumps with his chainsaw going at it. We then took three trailer loads of the cuttings and dumped them in the woods near their house. He refuses any form of payment, so we’ll have to come up with a sneaky way to repay him for all his work.
We had a few mid-week activities including a Milhac Loisirs meeting here on Thurs am. It was mostly to discuss the preparations for Easter, which are now mainly sorted. We’re also planning the Fete des Voisins for sometime in June. This will be our joint concert with Laurent, Jackie’s son who lives in Bordeaux and we’re just waiting to hear when they’re all available. I had a doctor’s appointment on Friday to renew my usual prescription. I mentioned that I’d unintentionally lost a bit of weight recently, so I’m having a blood test tomorrow to make sure nothing is amiss.
Our one social activity was on Sat night when we had Benoit, Virginie, Eva and two friends of hers, Pierre Jules and Priscille who live in Bordeaux. They’re around Eva’s age but friends with B&V too, and although we’ve spent time with them, this was their first time at our place. We started with guac and chips and then moved on to two types of enchiladas, one chicken, one with spinach and cheese with yellow rice on the side. When we discussed the meal earlier in the week, Benoit mentioned that PJ is veggie, and I suggested doing something veggie for everyone. He didn’t like that idea but in the end, he preferred the veggie enchiladas to the chicken ones, and everyone concurred. I made my version of Mom’s cherry chocolate cake, and this being the 5th time I’ve made it, finally managed to get the frosting right. We had some vodkas before and after the meal and wine during, but it was a fairly tame night and we were in bed by 1am.
This was partially because I hadn’t been feeling great since the previous week. My stomach started acting up on Thurs and wasn’t any better on Friday. It was a chore cooking on Sat knowing that I wouldn’t really be able to enjoy the meal. Nonetheless, I managed to eat and drink a fair bit and didn’t feel too bad on Sunday. I didn’t sleep well on Sun night and was feeling rotten yesterday, but I’ve rebounded today and am feeling nearly back to normal.
We had band practise Sun afternoon and it went fairly well. M&C are going away for the next two weekends, then we have a rehearsal and then two more weekends without. If we do have a concert in June, this won’t leave much time to prepare but considering that we’ve been rehearsing for 18 months, we should be ok by then.