Still, I was able to get my cycle ride done - I was getting to the top of my hill about the same time as the sun was reaching the top of his hill, and today I'd worn a sweatshirt - coming downhill in the shade when it's 14 degrees out is nippy. [Well, for me at least.]
I'd done a ten-minute yoga warm-up before going and then did my kettlebell DVD when I got back. By the time I'd vacuumed out the car [I'd moved it so the builders didn't block me in and I could go shopping later; completely forgetting that we hadn't had time to clear our the brick/mortar dust], and washed down the windows [messy, messy carpenters with their masonry saw] I realised that we'd got a builder on site, but only one & no van.
Quick chat to M. Franck, saying the brick pillar to the right of the window was OK [the other one is great/fine/perfect], but please watch the levels and I
I [rightly or wrongly] did sound off about the project management, the second time M. Waeber was complaining about it. I asked him not to say anything... Who knows? Shouldn't have said anything, but at least by chatting to him I know there are at least two artisans/ouvriers who are pissed off at J-M [and you should hear him on the hurried sketches]... Oh well, the worst we can be accused of is telling the truth!
He was still chatting [a very chatty man, to steal someone else's description] when David phoned, so he scuttled off & I did finally make it into the shower!
Today's new word is "transpire" which, when you think about it, is obvious; although I've only ever heard it used about plants giving off moisture from their pores. I had transpired buckets & needed to smell better! Not sure how I'm going to shoehorn that into polite conversation, but as I prefer the jokey chats, I'm up for the challenge.
Got back from my shopping trip, to find M. Franck desperate for water; he didn't know if the outside tap water was safe to drink [it is, but it was M. Alain & M. Gerard I'd told that to], and had been abandoned by his colleagues [taking the water with them] who are off finding scaffolding. Thankfully the bottle of water I put in the fridge the other day was still half full, and I'd got a box of ice cubes. At least they'd left him his lunch!
[It was M. Franck who was talking about "transpirer", not me, but it supplied a missing piece in the jigsaw.]
41°C in the front yard, and the wind's dropped; even the lizards are in hiding.
Another surprise visit: Messrs Mekki & Luparello showed up, and M. Mekki asked how it was going - I said the left pillar was 'perfect' [it's not, but it's so close], but that I'd asked M. Franck to watch the right one as it was coming in a bit...
Later, M. Mekki thanks me for telling them - "grazie mille", and thankfully I remembered to answer with "prego"; M. Luparello confirmed that was OK, so at least I'm being understood in three languages now. [I'm fairly sure M. Mekki has better English that he's let on...].
I asked M. Mekki, and emphasised I wasn't trying to hassle them, whether it would be finished by August break. I think I understood that they will be done - he & M. Luparello are both off on their hols as soon as July is finished. I said, I didn't mind what the answer was, but I needed to know about unblocking the doorway, [Paul, my dentist reckons I can leave the broken tooth (as long as it remains symptom-free) a couple of weeks, but I can't leave it for three months] - I explained I'd spoken to the dentist, and wanted to get back to England, but didn't want to leave the house unsecured...
I said it was just a heads up, and we could talk about it tomorrow, but I preferred that the work is done properly, and there is a delay, that we rush to finish for the end of July deadline. Basically: "have a think and let us know tomorrow"...
Just time to wish them a "buon apetito" and "a domani" before they were off.
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