Continuous improvement

The more questions we ask about the forthcoming kitchen refit, the more changes we make.  Still, things are moving forward: we've ordered the working surface (quartz), wall tiles (less glossy than the current lot), sink and, we thought, floor tiles.  We're hanging on to the recently laid floor tiles since the footprint of the kitchen furniture won't change much, and had hoped to order just a few to fill in for any alterations.  Two days after order, I get an email 'Hi, David' from some complete stranger announcing that the tiles are discontinued, though not before he'd debited the Gaga card.  Snarl: we only have a couple of the originals left over.  Anyway, things are moving forward, though it looks like an autumn rather than summer job, assuming the final estimate is acceptable.

In consequence, we're looking at trips out from Another Place in September.  Flights are to be had from the Préfecture city to Porto, and trains from one of the sous-Préfectures to Madrid, so we might treat ourselves to a holiday within a holiday.  At least we ought not to have to spend the next visits Pierre-chasing: he seems to have finished the rendering now, and has been paid on the basis of a few photographs.

The oriental poppies are just about over now, as are the iris sibirica.  Fortunately, the roses are getting into their stride (as too, of course, are the greenfly).  The grass is not looking too bad, and it's such a pleasure to be able to walk on it again without waders.  I gave it a cut yesterday, and the fettlers will be here on Friday to weed and feed.  Good value: when I tried a DIY approach, we finished up with a bigger hole in the housekeeping account and a zebra-striped lawn.

We cropped the first pot of first early spuds a few days ago - a variety called Rocket, the growth whereof lived up to the name.  The flavour is nothing special, however.  The others are ready to crop as well, but we'll just draw on them as required.  Martyn's carrot sowings are starting to show leaf, but the beans continue to sulk (though the dwarf French ditto are starting to flower).  The onions seem to be doing OK.

Goldfinches in the garden this morning: they seem finally to have cottoned on to the fact that there are nijer seeds to be had, and so favoured us with a brief visit - three of them.  I haven't heard the cuckoo for a few days, perhaps because of slightly better sleep quality.  Much as we dislike the magpies, their juveniles are quite entertaining, and are pecking at the gutters, or at whatever lurks in them.

The last few days have been good enough for us to get a bit of gardening done, and to sit outside for a while.  Not a wholly unalloyed pleasure: sneeze, sniffle.  Oh well.