Saturday, May 13, 2017

It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable.


A still, calm start to the morning. Sophie chases the collar doves, barks at the woodpeckers and then heads across the village green passing the swaying Jesus as she goes. Her two rear legs power, slightly stiffly, away. Who would have believed six months ago she would have recovered like this ? It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable.


The wind has shaken some early ripening figs from the trees that line the track down to the stream. Sophie finds them. She is greatly taken with early ripening figs. She is 'encouraged' along before she turns into a fig. During the passage of the day we'll find out whether the figs are as keen on her.


Amazon delivers a parcel of books. The box has burst and been taped up by the Post Office. The dust covers on half the books torn and crumpled. This is the second time this month that Amazon have crammed too many books into a package that's not strong enough to hold them.

'The Font' has ordered 'The Kingdom' by Emmanuel Carrere. According to the FT reviewer, a masterpiece. Angus reads the summary on the back cover and decides it's very 'worthy'.



9 comments:

WFT Nobby said...

Lovely photo of Sophie by the church. She is looking very fluffy!
As for the books, I'd go for the P.J.O'Rourke.
Cheers, Gail.

Taste of France said...

My experience with Amazon is the opposite. An order of 12 books, and they arrive one at a time, each in a huge box.
Maybe Amazon has only one size of boxes?

Kathy said...

Angus, I hope you tell Amazon about their poor packaging in the review!
I just sent an Amazon gift for Mom to my sister, who can deliver it, she had to repackage it in a new gift box, it was filthy! Grrr!
Wonderful to see Sophie up & running again!

rottrover said...

My experience has been that Amazon customer service is quite responsive. Oh, and Sophie is looking especially adorable this morning.

Coppa's girl said...

We have had no problems with parcels delivered from Amazon UK to us here in Spain (said with fingers tightly crossed !). The largest item we've ever ordered, so far, was a carpet cleaner which arrived in pristine condition, box undamaged. I wonder if something happens to your books once they arrive this side of the channel? Do the French Post Office vent their spleen on parcels from abroad !
Ripening figs and Sophie's tum - oh dear !

Emm said...

We've had decent delivery service from Amazon -- do your orders come from the US or the UK? Maybe there's a difference in their systems.
I just came across, and ordered, a little book called "The Elegance of the Hedgehog." I can't deal with quite so much of the real world these days as I watch the various meltdowns in DC.

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

Perhaps collar doves are good for rehabilitation! I've ever had any problems with Amazon (US) here in Oz, though I tend to go for ebooks now--bookshelves being overloaded. Love having lots of books to choose from, and get a bit frantic if I find I've only got one left. Was the box labelled 'FRAGILE'! That usually encourages rough treatment.

Unknown said...

Your Amazon box looks so familiar. We purchase a special cat food through Amazon; the boxes typically arrive looking like yours. A very feeble grade of cardboard is used to ship heavy items. Comments regarding poor packaging are ignored. Last week’s box had split apart and been braced with plastic straps to continue its journey; several cans of cat food had traveled on separately to oblivion. This is all within the U.S. We did receive a refund for the missing cat food. My, you seem to have touched a nerve here!
P.S. Those are wonderful photos of Sophie.

At Rivercrest Cottage said...

Wondering if it might be wise to order a few at a time (assuming you have Prime and pay no shipping) to avoid the overloading issue? You have to beat them at their game. Our books come 2 or 3 at a time in well packed boxes. Just a wandering thought from an old bag of 67.