18 April 2010

Stranded

Well, here we are — stranded. Poor us. There are no flights in or out of Paris (or anywhere else in northern Europe). The French trains, or a good number of them, are on strike. We can't go anywhere. I guess we'll just have to make the best of it.

Despite all the news about a cloud of volcanic ash and dust floating over all of Europe, we are having beautiful weather here in Saint-Aignan (and all over France, I think). Walt mowed the grass for the first time yesterday. Today I'll do some planting in the garden.

Red cowslips (coucous rouges) have come up again,
out on the edge of the vineyard.

We are enjoying a couple of days of peace and quiet, since the construction crew took the weekend off. There was talk of rain tomorrow, but Walt said the forecast has changed and now we can expect bright sunny conditions for the beginning of the week.

A nice walk with Callie yesterday morning early, in full sun

That means we can do some more work in the garden and yard, and it means the Vélux windows might very well get installed tomorrow or Tuesday. That will really transform the new upstairs room. It's going to be fun to move back in when the attic conversion is complete. We are getting a new three-story house.

10 comments:

  1. It's lovely to see pictures posted of everything looking green at last. We are having a warm spell here too, which is so uplifting after the cold greyness we have had for so long.

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  2. Lovely photo of the trees with their young leaves and Callie enjoying the sunshine and freshness.

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  3. Spring is something, isn't it? Your photo with Callie looks like an English landscape or a Corot even. My dad used to say that Spring got better every year of his life and I agree.

    I'm glad the ashes are blocking out your sun.

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  4. One of the loveliest time of the year!

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  5. Don't go ANYWHERE!!! The weather is finally NICE!!!!
    You have to get out there and take pics.. We will be seeing you guys next week-- We'll be in the area from 21 - 24 April.. Can't wait to see you both and Callie and Bertie!
    Hugs, Leesa

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  6. Everything looks lovely.
    I feel sorry for all the runners who trained long and hard to run the Boston Marathon here only to
    be victumized by nature.

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  7. I'm not really a flower person, but I like those red cowslips.

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  8. This is turning out to be a wonderful spring. Glad you're safe out in the country and not stuck in an airport somewhere.

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  9. You deserve a lovely spring and summer to come after your extreme winter.
    Looks like Sue and I made it out of Paris just in time (Sunday 11), other wise we would have been stuck in Paris indefinately. Poor us!!!

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