Wednesday, February 26, 2014

You can't stop the waves but you can learn to surf.






Nine o'clock. The plumber arrives at the front door.  He's not expected. '' Just passing and wondered if there was anything that needed doing ? ". At the Rickety Old Farmhouse there is always something ' that needs doing '. Bob and Sophie find the plumbers shoes to be a source of great interest. An olfactory delight.

The plumber finishes as the satellite man arrives. Two old dishes are taken down and replaced with a single, larger, one. We can get the BBC news again. He charges €200  which seems reasonable considering he's been clambering on the roof for an hour. The satellite man, somewhat half heartedly, tries to interest me in a subscription for Sky - €75 a month. '' That includes the sport ".  Bob and Sophie discover that if you stand on an old satellite dish it rocks. This keeps them occupied for all of ten minutes. Rockin' Pons.

Finally, it's the turn of the oil man. We've used  4,000 litres of heating oil since October. 'The font' thinks this reasonable for a 9,000 square foot house. Angus thinks it's extortionate. Bob and Sophie aren't allowed to say hello to the oil man . Heating oil and furry coats are not a combination made in heaven. They bark in frustration.

A summer storm blows up. Blue skies one minute, battle ship grey clouds the next. Lightning. Lots of lightning. Bob doesn't notice. Sophie does. She runs inside in a panic. There is an incident in the hallway. Our first 'incident' in four months. It's soon mopped up.

Out for the ten at night 'pit stop'. Sophie finds a hedgehog in the garden. This is a cause of great delight. Bob, being the strong silent type makes no noise. Sophie does her deliriously happy dying pig scream and alerts the whole village to her find.

Just another 'quiet' day in deepest, deepest, France profonde.


12 comments:

VirginiaC said...

The PON duo have their own Playstation3.....the grooming table is certainly providing lots of entertainment for them.
Happy for you that you have BBC news again. I get BBC America news feed on my dish.
Angus a photo of Bob and Sophie rocking out on the dish would have been a treasure.
By the way I love today's quote.

WFT Nobby said...

Oil tank filled. Plumbing problems fixed. Satellite dish sorted. All in one day? is this a record?
I look forward to newspaper reports of a sudden and dramatic increase in French workforce productivity…
Cheers, Gail.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if that Sky Man might come to 0565? I might try to contact him.
We currently rely on wood burners and thermal layers. I shudder to think what our oil consumption will eventually be here.
Poor Sophie, Merlin agrees that thunder and lightening are no fun at all.
Stay warm!
x

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

Amazing. Workmen turn up when not expected. And if a date and time had been agreed upon, there'd be a no show. Hope you can get the Rugby now....or will it be the Cricket.

XXXOOO Bella & Roxy

Anonymous said...

I'm beginning to think "rickety" is a bit of a misnomer! Is it really 836 sq m? You could fit our house into that nearly 13 times. What lucky Pons they are!

Julie said...

Watch the Cricket? How could you, such torture for some of us !

SAS said...

Thank you for the chuckles this morning. I am such a fan girl of these two. They are so gorgeous and have such personality.

Kari said...

The community isn't placing very many service calls lately and the workmen are out cruising for work, is that it? Fuel oli as spring breaks?
In the today's first photo Bob and
Sophie look, well, like adults
rather than pups. They're a
handsome pair but it is a bit sad to
see puppyhood being left behind. It
was a magical time, wasn't it?

Angus said...

There's still a lot of mischief left !

MLou said...

I concur with Virginia C...a photo of the rockin' pons would have been a keeper. I do like the "table for two" shot though. Very envious of the green grass.

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Given that their personalities are so similar to those of Edward and Apple, I've almost decided it must be a boy vs girl thing.
The "deliriously happy dying pig scream" is particular Apple-esque.

Emm said...

After many years living in very cold winters, I found that silk long underwear is worth many gallons of heating oil -- lightweight, easily washable.

Have you tried a thundershirt for Sophie? I've heard many good reports.