12 May
I said I was going to go to the hairdressers but that never happened. I called Marie to discuss her upcoming dog-sitting dates and schedule a dinner date at her place BUT I cannot speak and understand French on the phone! She slowly said “I will come to your place at 6pm tonight and we can talk then.” What a gal!
We had pink garlic soup and it was delicious! And we finished up some leftovers. Marie came at 6 as promised. We got all discussions successfully completed and enjoyed some French chat time. Well, I did NOT actually ENJOY the chat time because my brain was screaming to STOP!
13 May
We drove to the village of St Thibery, just a short distance away, to see a Roman bridge and a 13th century mill.
It was a nice long walk to get there with little or no one along the way. That was perfect–Toby is such a pill if we meet up with other people or especially other dogs. There was lots of water in the river that flowed next to the path we walked. At the mill there was a man who talked to Howard in English as Howard took photos. On the way back home I chose to drive through the center of the little village. What a mistake! It is so nerve wracking to negotiate your way through these petite villages. The streets are no more than alleyways but I must say that more often than not the person driving towards you will give way or be polite in getting through.
We came home and had scallops, risotto and pink garlic soup. The scallops were from the supermarket’s frozen food section. They were FANTASTIC! Better than any scallops we’ve had at home (or even at restaurants). They were so sweet and tasty. I vow to buy a whole freezer full so that we are prepared in the event we’re hungry with no food in the house.
14 May
Last night Toby woke us up sneezing like crazy. I thought: Oh no–he got a foxtail up his nose! The vet had warned us about the dangers of foxtails. I was remembering that there were foxtails on the hike yesterday. Although I had a vague recollection that this has happened before at home. So I tried not to let worry take over. Dog collars seem to be no problem. Hurray!
I did a little planning for when the Kohlmann’s get here next Monday.
We had baby artichokes that were perfectly sautéed and luscious (the trick is simmering them for 5 minutes before sautéing them). Also eggs baked on a bed of roasted tomatoes. Yum.