Monday, Monday
Froggy's back from Berlin. *grins* grumble à la hornets & neighbours
There's a hornets' nest somewhere close to our balcony. I know this because two days in a row a hornet (the size of a small child's fist) came in through our windows and buzzed about before being chased out by Froggy's mum. I have a fear of flying beasts that sting - probably linked to my dislike of needles. So I suggest that we go and speak to the head of the housing association about the problem which we do later that evening.
The president wasn't at home (they live in the apartment above ours) but his wife was. She confirmed the hornet problem admitting that a hornet had flown into her apartment as well. We agreed that locating the nest (once it's located a fireman can be called out to destroy the nest) would be difficult if we went about looking for it alone (our back garden is quite large), so we decided it would be a good idea to try and get more neighbors involved. I suggested I place a note in the entryway to see if we can get some volunteers. She thought it was a great idea and said it would be best to try and reunite everyone on the weekend. I put up a note and a sign-up sheet, putting our name at the top.
Not one of the neighbors signed up - not even the president or his wife. I was miffed.
But two nights later, Froggy found in our post box a nice little message destinated to all the residents reiterating what I had said in my informative note. Instead of trying to rally the neighbors however, the wife (who signed the note), suggested that anyone who happens to see the nest should inform the housing association.
Froggy said that I had done the right thing by informing everyone about the presence of hornets. But he said that unless the neighbours had seen a hornet in their apartment they probably didn't feel concerned. Maybe they will when, during one of the hottest summers ever recorded here in France, when their children are home all day for the summer holidays - playing in the back garden, and when their windows are open - a hornet comes by to say hello.
I planted marigolds on Sunday - my RL mum said that most insects are repelled by their smell (both the leaves and the blooms). grumble
We had a wonderful weekend. On Saturday we reorganized the kitchen cabinets. Now I'll be able to access everything without too much effort. It took most of the day but it was certainly worth it. In addition to the marigolds, I planted chives and repotted my gardenia.
Yesterday we had friends over for lunch: Smoked salmon and herb cream cheese rolls with asparagus and cherry tomatoes for starter, followed by quail (roasted over griotte cherries, roast potatoes and steamed broccoli for mains, cheese (camembert, goat blue and comté) finishing up with cannelés de Bordeaux and vanilla ice cream. Froggy served a nice Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil, a perfect wine for the light flavors of this meal. A bit later we enjoyed macarons with tea and coffee. In addition to generally catching up, the upcoming elections were a choice subject of conversation.
I start my chemo again on Thursday - which means the return of the vampire. But for today I'm just going to enjoy the birds chirping away in the garden.
There's a hornets' nest somewhere close to our balcony. I know this because two days in a row a hornet (the size of a small child's fist) came in through our windows and buzzed about before being chased out by Froggy's mum. I have a fear of flying beasts that sting - probably linked to my dislike of needles. So I suggest that we go and speak to the head of the housing association about the problem which we do later that evening.
The president wasn't at home (they live in the apartment above ours) but his wife was. She confirmed the hornet problem admitting that a hornet had flown into her apartment as well. We agreed that locating the nest (once it's located a fireman can be called out to destroy the nest) would be difficult if we went about looking for it alone (our back garden is quite large), so we decided it would be a good idea to try and get more neighbors involved. I suggested I place a note in the entryway to see if we can get some volunteers. She thought it was a great idea and said it would be best to try and reunite everyone on the weekend. I put up a note and a sign-up sheet, putting our name at the top.
Not one of the neighbors signed up - not even the president or his wife. I was miffed.
But two nights later, Froggy found in our post box a nice little message destinated to all the residents reiterating what I had said in my informative note. Instead of trying to rally the neighbors however, the wife (who signed the note), suggested that anyone who happens to see the nest should inform the housing association.
Froggy said that I had done the right thing by informing everyone about the presence of hornets. But he said that unless the neighbours had seen a hornet in their apartment they probably didn't feel concerned. Maybe they will when, during one of the hottest summers ever recorded here in France, when their children are home all day for the summer holidays - playing in the back garden, and when their windows are open - a hornet comes by to say hello.
I planted marigolds on Sunday - my RL mum said that most insects are repelled by their smell (both the leaves and the blooms). grumble
We had a wonderful weekend. On Saturday we reorganized the kitchen cabinets. Now I'll be able to access everything without too much effort. It took most of the day but it was certainly worth it. In addition to the marigolds, I planted chives and repotted my gardenia.
Yesterday we had friends over for lunch: Smoked salmon and herb cream cheese rolls with asparagus and cherry tomatoes for starter, followed by quail (roasted over griotte cherries, roast potatoes and steamed broccoli for mains, cheese (camembert, goat blue and comté) finishing up with cannelés de Bordeaux and vanilla ice cream. Froggy served a nice Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil, a perfect wine for the light flavors of this meal. A bit later we enjoyed macarons with tea and coffee. In addition to generally catching up, the upcoming elections were a choice subject of conversation.
I start my chemo again on Thursday - which means the return of the vampire. But for today I'm just going to enjoy the birds chirping away in the garden.