Day 52 - SkyLines from the French Lock-down: Checklists

Salut, les amis! (Hi Friends!)  Remember all those plans we made for doing projects when this all began? The windows are all wide open and so are the doors. Is it really that hot? Nope. I need the air! It's time to check one of my projects off of the checklist. It's a short meditation today  - bet that makes you smile!

View of Canigou from the Vineyard above the village

The first post I saw on FB this morning read, "Bienvenue a été!" (Welcome to summer!) While there is still a month to go until summer is officially here, I knew what our friend meant. I can

This is how close we all are!
A photo taken from my roof. 

smell the warm tarmac out in the street as I sit at the laptop in the kitchen and write to you. It is a welcome feeling after the weeks of grey or wet weather. I'm especially happy about the lack of rain at the moment as I have a few DIY tasks to do that need dry air and an open house. I just hope it will last for a few more days. Fingers crossed! As I type this, I can hear three children making a lot of racket with a couple of old bicycles and a skateboard. I don't mind. It's another sign that life goes on even under quarantine. Our across the street neighbor is telling her husband something in a rather high and loud voice. She's a bit deaf and so speaks louder than he needs her to, but he's good-humored about it. I can't tell what it is as I think it's in Catalan. I've only managed to learn to say "Bon dia!" (Hello) and Adéu (Goodbye) which sounds like Ah-day-oh to me.  It's enough to make them both smile when I try to use the words. From that moment on, though, I am lost. It never seems to bother anyone as long as we all smile.

If you cannot bear to have a part of other people's lives enter your life from day to day, and to share your own with them, then French village life is not for you. In my own village the road is about three yards wide. When I open my shutters I often end up saying "Bonjour," to Marlene across the street as she stands on her balcony in the mornings to have her first cigarette. Thankfully the breeze blows down from the church that is behind my house and sweeps the smoke away from my side of the street. 

When I lunch on my terrace,
I have privacy and a view.

The family on the corner are usually getting into the car to hurry off to work but they look up and wave then call out, "Ca va?" (How's it going?) I nod vigorously and yell back, "Ca va!" (It's going {well}). These are the little things I love about my village. There is an intimacy we share after all these years of windows and doors that face one another. It's just like that. I am content with the rituals. Sometimes Dani is in front of her house sweeping the gutter and often has already done mine as well! When I say I will do it, she protests that it is her geraniums that filled both of our gutters with flowers. That's true. But you can bet there are summer mornings when I get up earlier so I could be the one to sweep it!  The children next door on the other side are sweet. Don't tell the older boy I said that - he's thirteen this year. I have a feeling it would be un-cool to be called sweet by "la dame americaine!" His little sister is precious and the last time I saw her, she ran up to hug me. I reflect on the fact that the next time I see her, we will have to keep our distance. I hope to goodness that one day life can be like that again, but I do have doubts. Here in the village where we are spending the lock-down, everyone we know is being extremely conscientious about following good social distancing.

And speaking of life in this village. We got up extra early because we have arranged a morning appointment. When breakfast was finished I said I'd do the dishes since I was staying at home. Y, my French partner, loaded the attestation app in his phone, took his id, the papers for the car

Haven't lifted the protective tape yet,
but it already feels better!

and went off to find his vehicle. For the first time in weeks it was going somewhere! The Service Station that does his "renovation" opened a few days ago. Since it was time for his car to have it's annual service over a month ago, he took the first appointment that was offered. I think he had a happy swagger to his step at this opportunity to go out on a sunny day and not be restricted to only an hour, because the work would take longer than that. 

I got my painting clothes on and set out all the gear. It was time to paint that hand railing in the art-Deco curved stairwell. I know I sorta gave the impression that I'd do it eventually. But those who know me are well aware that once I've decided to tackle a project, I can't really let it rest until its done. The new pot of paint was calling my name. Besides, painting to decorate the house is my super-power.

The cat came over, took one look, yawned as if to say, "Not again!" then went back to bed. This was fine by me. I didn't need any distractions while I concentrated on not overloading the brush, keeping an eye on what I was painting, and not tumbling down the stairs as I worked. Of course, as anyone who has done decorating knows, the most important part of painting is preparation. I have an idea that probably applies to almost

Spring inspires us to do more.

anything we do in life! 

Yesterday, Y sanded down the old paint that was chipped and torn all over the place. Even more importantly, he removed the buildup of time that makes the surface become permanently grimy no matter how much cleaning one does. The taping of the bars where they enter the plaster took a lot of time, but two hours later, I was very happy with the results of the first coat. Tomorrow I can give it another coat and see what we think.  There is a second staircase to deal with in the next few days, but the straight bar should make that an easier job. It still needs sanding, so for the day, I was finished with my tasks.

I was about to text my partner with a photo and say that it was safe for him to come home again, when I heard him call out, 'allo! from out in the street. Yeah, it's a village house, I could hear him, no problem. He admired the new paint and I really felt great. I was as happy as he was that his car is now up-to-date and at a cost that was less than he'd budgeted. So we prepared our lunch, ate and talked about how good it was to have checked a few things off the "to-do" list. We wondered if the energy we felt was the effect of approaching freedom from quarantine or the lovely spring weather. Perhaps, we decided, is was a bit of both. We did the dishes and had our coffee.  I told him that I wanted to sit down to my blog and he said he had some reading he wanted to do. It's still early in the afternoon. Later, we will hear the news about what will happen on Monday when we are released from this confinement. But for now, the sunshine is calling me. I've had my chance to share with you and that is always lovely.  Now I'm going out to sit on the terrace and read with my guy. 

So, if you have a list, and I expect you do, I wish you the energy and possibility to check one or more

The house next door is well maintained, the one beyond that might need a bit of DIY!!

of those "to-do" tasks off before the end of the confinement. If you are already free, then perhaps you can check off a few before the end of the month. However, it's not compulsory! Don't let it get you down. It's easy to make the lists but checking things off can be a pain. Sometimes, if I start to get depressed by how many things are on the list, I take the list and throw it out.  It's allowed. 
A demain, mes amis! (Until tomorrow, my friends!). Link to day 53