Catching up...

...with some unfinished business...

1. The name Bertie has definitely stuck to the cat. The better we get to know him, the more we realize that he does recognize the name and respond to it.

In fact, I asked our friend who named him, and she told me this about why she called him Bertie: “The name comes via a mascot/brand identity for a type of liquorice sweet in the UK, Bassett's liquorice allsorts. The character in question is Bertie Bassett, and given his colour and the association with liquorice it seemed appropriate.”

So Bertie it is, and I like it. Here's a link.

2. About carrots — we finally did a taste test yesterday. I went and bought some ordinary carrots. We cut one of those up, and we cut up one of the carottes des sables from Créances in Normandy. Walt and I agreed that, raw, the Créances carrot had a better texture and a noticeable sweeter taste.

Then I cooked pieces of each carrot. The result was the same. The Créances carrot had a cleaner, more pleasant, and sweeter taste. It was also more tender.

So that's that sorted, as they say in British English. Les carottes des sables are superior, and selling them coated with sand is not just somebody's clever marketing gimmick. That restores my faith in good agricultural methods and honest advertising.

3. Yesterday was another gorgeous day. We had lunch out on the terrace, and we enjoyed the green asparagus with a home-made mayonnaise. It was a busy day up in the attic. Most of the plaster board is now in place, and electrical outlets are going in.

We don't have the Vélux windows installed yet, however. At last report, the installer might come do the job tomorrow, Thursday. The rest of the electical work will be finished by then, and the plumbing for our new steam radiators will be finished too.

The progress is amazing. We have a good crew doing the work.