was going to be late this morning for a rendez-vous, to save time decided to do two things at once..walk the dog and pick up smokes. had Ruby on her morning-wee leash which is a reeled-up stringy thing that gives her more freedom, me less control. on way to tabac for cigs, she acted up at another doggie…i stopped walking and bent over to give her a talking-to when 'BUMP', oops! the fellow behind (directly behind my behind) me didn't notice and sort of, um well…bumped into me, in my bent over state. serious contact (!), and he put his hands on my hips to keep us both from falling completely over.
was that a date?
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another visit to the dentist, number 4 of 5. i'm not sure what he did exactly, only know that it involved my sensitive gums, pointy things, and pain.
oh, and i need two more appointments to take care of some minor cavaties, not part of the original plan, but ok. i'm game. -
i picked up my dusty french book last night for some review. i had spent some time this past weekend at a french-heavy BBQ and wanted to clarify a few phrases. the standard book isn't much help. i need to find one that teaches useful things like: -"Has that mayo salad gone bad in the sun?"
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took the train (and bus, due to a tunnel cave-in near Monaco) to Menton today for a visit with Aunt Peg and Natale…proper Italian lunch (ooh, new cheeses!), walk around the back passages (by the little old lady feeding two dozen cats) behind thier building for an incredible view of the mountains..and then back on the train, still light out at 8:30, enough so to have a view of the sea on the ride home.
mom wants them to visit us before Aunt Pegs visit ends on the 14th…Peg doesn't want to drive, Natale doesn't want to take the train…i think niether one really wants to leave Menton! -
holiday phone call to the Q's in Door County for the Fourth…Grandma Mickey sounds great, says i'm the "hero" of the family? does she know i don't have a job?
MaryGrace wants a painting; "I'll pay money for it you know". um, yeah, that is the idea.
seems everyone's favorite is One Red Boat (see Mondays entry below). sorry, Suzanne got it first. maybe she'll hang it in Door County and arrange viewings.
Cousin Jack had a great time on his visit to Antibes, says Uncle Bert is "awesome". can't get much better than that, especially from a 13 year old.
Uncle Johnny is still a pervert.
made me a little homesick for summer in WI. try explaining "s'mores" to a frenchman. -
oooh, was i spoiled today. spent the Fourth of July in Cote d'Azur style at a villa on Cap d'Antibes…Miss Liz had me up to the villa she works at (owners are away, help will play!) on the pretense of sketching/taking photos of her cat Jessica..she wants a series of pen and ink portraits…well, poor suffering Jessica allowed us to take a few photos which i will work from later..that only took a few minutes. so what to do the rest of the day? lie in the sun, swim in the pool, have a little lunch on the terrace, drink bottles and bottles of rose and enjoy the incredible view.
i added my own personal touch of high-class to the day by spilling lunch down the front of my white shirt and falling asleep in a chaise (twice) in the midst of conversation. -
you should have seen it ..the air conditioner fiasco continues. first, mom spent a fortune on it (the day after poor suffering Suzanne left) after waiting two hours in the hot sun for the appliance shop to open. they got the last one. delivered immediately, Bert and I lugged it up the three flights of stairs. it's german made, Bosch, so though very hi-tech and sleek, it is also very, very heavy. ok, plug it in, attach the pipe, put the pipe out the window (seems counter intuative to me) and jerry-rig the window doors as closed as possible with a tea towel. but wait, the room is too open and big for efficiency…close all the doors to the other rooms, but what about the doorway sans actual door? ok, stand on a dining chair and NAIL a duvet into the wall. a nice duvet by the way. i left at this point, to go for a swim in the sea, the most effective way to stay cool i know. and a very passive way indeed. i returned a few hours later to an oven. "we overheated it". ok, the manual says when it overheats to empty the water resevoir. "there's a manual?" dear god. the drainpipe is way on the bottom of the thing and when you open it to attach the pipe, water just flows right out onto the floor. Bert lifted it (hernia!) over the mop bucket. one broken mop bucket. one wet floor. one still very hot room. ok, water empty. turn it on. HOT air out the vent, the cool air going out the window!! wait til store opens after weekend, arrange for appliance store to come take a look at it. they picked it up, figured out the thermostat had been installed backwards, were able to fix it and redeliver it that afternoon. poor old guy lugged it up the stairs. voila! it works! cool air out vent, hot air out window. but still not actually having any effect on the room. the weekend gave Mom time to buy a curtain rod and a bedsheet (aka curtain) for that nailed up duvet, however the bedsheet, depackaged, turned out to be a fitted one. found other flat sheet, pinned around curtain rod, mounted thanks again to kitchen chair. Bert decides "our real problem" is that there is no air circulation..so, unplug my fan (requiring moving of bed for access to newly purchased and much coveted extension cord) and put it way on top of the armoire..like a ceiling fan. but now, "the other problem" is that too much air is coming out/going in the window space that allows the vent out….Mom, on dining chair with broom stick, hoisting blanket to top of window. no luck. then the ladder comes out of the storage closet. ok, got that now. window covered, doorway covered, fans in place. towels-on-floor method of water draining perfected. hmm..room still not getting cool.
meanwhile, i'm on the terrace enjoying the evening drop in humidity and lovely breeze.
mom's going to unload the air conditioner on a friend tomorrow. -
Le Tour de France is coming up, Mom and Bert are keen to see the Gap-Marseille leg (about 2-3 hours drive from here), though it is far too late to get hotel accomodation. hm, camping? that i would pay to see!
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word is the McMullen family reunion was a big hit, fun was had by all..and even the St.Louis summer weather was cooperative..not too hot and muggy.
it's hot and muggy here..hottest June on record. mom bought a portable airconditioning unit, which is supposed to cool down at least the livingroom. any minute now, yep, it's going to feel cooler in here. any second..just have to wait…
splat. (me, hitting tile floor in puddle of sweat, victim of heatstroke) -
i'm probably totally embarassing myself with all of these pictures of dental work, but anything for family (Aunt Anna)! another two hours in the chair this morning, but what a difference! (very hard to convey in photos, desole) "Je fais des sculptures" as my dentist says. pic one before, pic two after steps one and two, last pic after today's step three. (the spaces between will diminish, that's from having to keep the composite separate)
two more appointments to go, but i'm not sure what else he's going to do?!
by the way, my dentist does a pretty good rendition of "God Bless America".
