I am really getting a bit pissed off with my intermittent connection to the internet. I intend to look something up and what do I get ‘Ooops Google Chrome could not find www.Google.co.uk.’ Or even, ‘service unavailable – error 503’, (mozilla). I managed to get through on Internet Explorer but I could not copy and paste the first three lines of this text….

So I am typing this up on Microsoft Word. Would I do better using another system I ask myself. I hear that Apple have a good system, have even heard of Linux (what is it?) – shall I go with them next?

I like to communicate and at the moment communication via the internet is the best option for me. What did we do 15 or so years ago? Letters, telephone and telegrams followed by visits via car, bus or train ..

We still have to take some branches off a lovely Blue Spruce. This tree is blooming now – it is not a spring bloomer (and I am allergic to conifers) so it will have to go…. Our telephone line is caught up in some of the branches. We have taken out the branches of the Maple that the line ran through, but we are still having connection problems. These trees were planted some 30+ years ago by the previous owners of this house. We have taken out three conifers so far and a weeping willow that was seriously ill. The trees had not been well maintained at all. There was also about 25 Silver Birch competing for space and were extremely tall and spindly. At least they gave us plenty of firewood and some parking space. We have put in some specimen trees more suited to our situation.

Talking of the regular telephone line it is absolutely appalling, there is so much static that conversation is very difficult.

We had a guy come to visit – he is a tree surgeon employed by the local Electrical Company checking the lines and wanting to know who owned which trees where the lines passed through. I think that some of these trees are ours and will need to be pollarded. No great problem – I just hope that when they are cut back our telephone line will be better. I will, though, contact France Telecom afterwards and ask them to come and have a look at our telephone line which is so slack that it is almost touching the ground!

So what has been happening chez moi…

We have been dog sitting for the last week. A delightful dog called Ben – he is a collie of large proportions and rather overweight. His mistress had to go back to the UK for her sick father, and his master had to follow very quickly - Jenson and Ben are pals, mates, hounds that get on. They are both very social and enjoy each others company – they are good for each other. Just one problem though…. We have two cats – Ben chases cats, he chases them with a vengeance.. So we now have two stressed cats. At least the cats can shift under the furniture and out the door, but dear galumphing Ben has to make his way around the furniture, slipping and sliding on the floor, before he can get to the said door, and, by then, the cats have made it up to the third branch on the nearest tree where they sit and taunt the dog, mieow.

I have been making changes in the house. Something that has been needed for a long time and it is working. Moving furniture from one wall to another and what a difference it has made, there is now more light and space. My man was not sure that it would work but he is pleased with the result.

I have many wine glasses of various sizes and quality in a glass fronted cabinet. The cabinet was to be moved, after taking a redundant radiator off the wall, and I took out the 60+ glasses (I didn’t realise that there was so many!) and took them through to the kitchen for washing and polishing and was aware that himself was watching me…. hmm... I found a clean and dry tea-towel and threw it at him. He took the bait and actually dried and polished the glasses…. Result!!!!

Cabinet was cleaned and polished then moved to its new location. The shiny glasses were put back on their shelves. Another cabinet was moved into its place next to the glass cabinet and our lounge was transformed…

I think that I am motivating him a bit more (he is even cooking more often) as I am knuckling down to serious cleaning, clearing bits and bobs etc. – de-junking I suppose. We have bought the necessary to paint the walls in the kitchen – once our canine visitor has returned home then we can pull the stops out and start on the walls. I must admit that Ben is leaving a lot of hair and dust around the place – grrr – it will fill my vacuum cleaner!!)

We do have another immobilier coming to visit in the next week or so…. Got to make the place sellable!!