From asparagus to spackle to zebrina

Walt's off to explore the market in Saint-Aignan this morning to see if the local asparagus crop has come in. By "come in," I mean "come down," as in prices. The early asparagus can be pretty pricey, but as the weeks tick by the price goes down and down, to four euros a kilo or less. At about five euros, we start buying.

Asparagus is a springtime treat here. We don't get it year-round, but only in April through June. Locally and in France in general, what we get is white asparagus, not green. The white and green varieties are the same plant, evidently, but the white ones have been blanched by having soil mounded up around the spears as they grow, so that they never see the light of day. Green asparagus are much rarer here. We enjoy both kinds.

Speaking of seasonal, I noticed yesterday that a zebrina plant
that I "rescued" last year, and potted up as a
houseplant, is now flowering.

Speaking of white, I'll be at home painting while Walt does the shopping. I didn't actually go any painting yesterday. Instead, I did some patching. You know how it is when you get started: you suddenly become the world's worst perfectionist. There's a strip of molding that runs all the way up the wooden staircase, against the wall. I noticed yesterday that there was the slightest gap — a hairline crack, really — between molding and wall, and I couldn't stand it.

This is a common and easy-to-grow plant — the kind I like.

Before I could paint, I had to patch. And I found a tube of ready-mixed "spackle" — enduit de lissage, it's called: "smoothing paste" — down in the garage. Putting on spackle (did you know that that is a brand name?) means doing a little sanding before you can paint. And of course you have to wait for it to dry before you can sand it. That takes 12 hours. So I've ended up delaying the job by 24 hours.

Anyway, I'll get back to it this morning. But there's also lunch to prepare. A full day, and a full weekend, in other words.