Books, beds and beakery

I'm getting a bit fed up with Kate Mosse's Labyrinth.  I pulled it down to the Kindle a while back and am now about tho-thirds of the way through it.  It may have a bit to do with the transcription for the electronic reader, but her spelling of the name of one of her heroines keeps shifting from Alaïs to Alais and back again, and there are some unforgiveable continuity errors that ought never to have got past an editor.  Still, it's a good yarn, and I think I'm learning a lot about the Albigensian heresy (though in view of the errors, I'll need to read that up separately).  I do have to read it, however: some of it was filmed in Lagrasse last summer, so it'll be a must-see if it makes it as far as the silver screen.  Whatever else, it's a bit of a relief from my other recent reading - Jude the Obscure.  I think I'm Hardied out, having also read Tess and The Mayor in recent months.  But I'm rattling on through Labyrinth so that I can get back to some nice wholseome Nordic carnage - I have some more Nesbø and Mankell on the electronic bookshelf.

Curious week: mild days, days of torrential rain, frosty days.  I got quite a lot of gardening done one day, trimming back some of the penstemons and spiraeas, lopping the tops off the rudbeckias, a few of which are still alive, pruning the roses, and sowing tomatoes.  We got a packet of seed of the little olive-shaped tomatoes that are so good for bruschettas and hot goat's cheese starters.  The packet contained all of 8 seeds, and I've sown four, three of which have germinated so far. 

We've been doing a bit of chucking out and reorganising in the kitchen, and we've also been keeping the Freecycle movement busy.  We've finally bought a big bed with two mattresses to suit our differing requirements, and the old slatted job headed out the other day in the back of one of they Ford vans (well, it was a Mondeo shooting brake actually, but hon. mention for whoever identifies the reference).  A hardly used cathode ray tube telly went off down the hill on Monday as well, and we've passed a whole lot of surplus china and glass to the charity shop and to a residential home.  I suppose one shouldn't be surprised at the vast amount of cardboard that comes with bed bases and mattresses: enough to say that I was glad to get it loaded into the car and disposed of.