Tuesday

Travelling day. First up, a quick Lat Flow test. It seems that we don’t need to be tested before the flight but would seem irresponsible not to double check. Thankfully it was clear, otherwise I’d have to get a rapid result PCR to confirm. Time for a quick nap before last meetings and calls before we make our move. We’re not entirely sure what is awaiting us at the airport so best to go early.

Said goodbye to Reg (he’s much fluffier than Meow but actually not half the cat she is), he is pretty cheeky around a burrito though…

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Once at the airport there was a massive queue for the bag drop and not insignificant queue at security. I had a quick chat outside with an old colleague about taking on yet more work while Matt monitored what was happening inside. Eventually through we got to the lounge only to find it was closing at 5 (in 20 mins) and our flight wasn’t till 6. So quickly grabbed some food and drinks before we were asked to leave. Definitely not the relaxed, catch up on work experience I had been hoping for. But we were soon on our way.

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The long term carpark place we had the car at were good though and ready and waiting for us. Within 4 hours from boarding the plane in London we were back at home. Seems Meow doesn’t have a strop about you being away and just ignores you for a few days, although we suspect Uncle Jonny may have been giving her more treats that we usually do. She was more than happy we were back, despite being very well looked after by the Huxtables.

Time for bed though, it’s been a long day.

[20 July 2021]

Wednesday

Need to work but the draw of the garden is strong and need to see what has been happening. Don’t have time to get into the depths of the veg garden today as I have to catch up on yesterday and have another 2 possible projects to be delivered so lots to be getting on with… still managed a quick lap of the garden though.

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There’s not much food in the house and now we are back Matt is keen to test our EU Vaccine Passports so it’s an unexpected date night, in Spain!

10 mins to the border and another 10 minutes into Bossòst, the nearest little town in Spain. One small road-block where the truck ahead of us was waved through and as we prepared to show our papers all they wanted to know was where we have come from. Satisfied with the answer we were on our way. That was easy. Time for Tapas and Estrella (the Spanish national beer).

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Bossòst is a lovely little village by the river and with a nice village square. Fuel seems cheaper here (up to around 25% cheaper) so filled up and no patrols at all on the return journey.

When we got back someone was waiting for us and seems that they were pretty sleepy. Good night all x

[21 July 2021]

Thursday

I am meant to be on ‘leave’ [or at least not working today] but it doesn’t appear to have made the blindest bit of difference. Plenty of calls and things to keep me busy till deep into the afternoon.

However, life is about priorities so I did manage to get out into the garden and make a start on tidying up the tomatoes. Side shoots everywhere and had to be brutal to remove them and the yellowing leaves (mostly due to the side shoots rather than lack of air). I was pretty ruthless though taking out a lot of the lower leaves/branches to allow the air to circulate and strung them up. Only managed to get half way down the row though before I was literally dripping wet (it was so hot, 36C) so was time for a quick dip in the pool.

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Back to the garden and got the second half of that bed done but still nowhere near finished. There were a few holes in the cabbages and broccoli but mostly looking ok and couldn’t find any caterpillars [white cabbage can ravage them pretty quickly if the caterpillars are left to feed on them and need covering]. The cornichons are far too big though, from now on we’ll probably need to pick them every second day to get them at the right size (about 4-5cm long).

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Matt was on the bbq making dinner so I grabbed the opportunity to get a few of the seeds in that Janet and Jo had given to me at the ‘Blog Fan Club’ meeting. I love Osteospermum and they flower for so long they could be useful for next year, if I can make them work and keep them alive over winter. Also popped in some poppies, just to see what happens and if/when they might flower.

Time for dinner (yes, that thing at the front is a sausage. It was much bigger before being cooked. Some sausages in France are ok, but not this one. Luckily the chicken was actually very good).

[22 July 2021]

Friday

Kicked off the day with the standard weekly check-in at work. A few bits and pieces to do but able to do these at my leisure today so was back in the garden. Very happy while I was working through the other side of the tomatoes to see and give space to a bumble bee. Thanks Mr Bumble, hang around as long as you like.

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It was super hot though so couldn’t get everything done before the call of the pool was too strong. Seems Matt was similarly overcome and worked out that his bluetooth headset was the perfect accessory for a Friday afternoon conference call.

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The cat also seems to be rather interested in what is going on inside pool.

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She soon jumped back when she realised that the cover was rapidly sinking, it was actually really funny, if only you could see her face in the last picture you would understand the hilarity that ensued.

Time for me to get some more work done too but I’m going to have to get out and sit in the sun to do it before our visitors arrive. Yay – Jonny and Cressida are coming over so time for catch ups and some rosé. They have been so good while we are away looking after the place. In summary:

While we were back in London and the Tour de France was happening (on Bastille Day) just down the road from our place someone broke into the house (using a key – we knew most of our locks are old and very generic but it seems the keys of that age really are basically all the same – new locks coming right up!)

Thankfully the new security cameras worked perfectly and Matt was watching within seconds of the person arriving so Huxtable security (Jonny and Cressida) was quickly dispatched from watching the Tour nearby to attend the scene. Through the use of the ‘Ring’ doorbell Matt was able to shout “Bonjour! Allo! Yes, you. Yes, I can see you!” at them which scared them away and they were only in the house for a couple of minutes max. The Huxtable security team quickly popped in and having checked the house over and confirmed that nothing obvious was taken they printed up some nice signs for the windows and for the postbox and shut the gates. Although it did seem that they were essentially casing the place (with a chair placed under the opened kitchen window), team Huxtable seem to have saved the day as there was no subsequent evidence of anyone else coming back to the house. Thanks guys, what would we do without you?!

Thankfully nothing was taken and we strongly suspect it was a visitor to the area (wearing a union jack t-shirt even!) trying out houses as it was a public holiday and they knew everyone would likely be out watching the Tour de France. For most of the last 6 months we’ve barely even bothered locking the car at night, although it would be a pretty desperate thief who stole our car.

Matt has of course used this as a (probably pretty good) excuse to purchase a new-fangled internet-connected alarm system that now tells us on our phones when doors and windows are opened and can even flash the lights and play music when various things happen. Probably total overkill but just like when our shed in London was burgled a few years ago, we have quickly turned the place into Fort Knox, even though there isn’t much worth stealing anyway!

About to start dinner and Meow is very interested in the armoire and humane mouse trap. Looks as though we’ve caught a shrew (maybe?) so Matt’s going to have to take it off into the depths of the garden and hope it doesn’t come back, and that its spleen isn’t left on the doorstep in the morning.

Time to relax and prepare for a busy weekend.

[23 July 2021]