It started last week when we went out for a lunch with our friends up the road. It was a curry place which looked as though it would be good - uses fresh ingredients and so on. We were really looking forward to it as we hadn't been 'out' since leaving NZ. So we got there and it was not quite Fawlty Towers, but almost. The people were a little weird, the place was a little weird (holes in the ceiling, silver insulation on the ceiling, several unfinished bits and colours in the loo, a small screen to separate the kitchen and dining with the kitchen looking like something out of a 1970s camping grounds, the people sitting behind us while we ate....) Anyway, the company was great and we laughed all the way home as we tried to think what were the fresh ingredients in the meal. We joked that the only thing missing was the funny walk.
Then Wouter tried to start the car but it wouldn't go - earlier in the day he tried it and it wouldn't work then, but he thought it was because of all the rain we'd had on the weekend - which, by the way, was average by NZ standards! So he hopped on the bike and cycled down to the local garage. They arrived 10 minutes later with a huge tow vehicle. "Bit drastic", I thought, but no - our little baby was taken away for a check-up with the main suspect being the fuel pump. However, on further inspection it turned out to be water in the electronic box. Blast! (actually a stronger word was used) So it was taken to Limoux Citroen garage and we would be without a car until last Friday or so, and it would cost 500 euro to fix..... Well, we can't be without a car, and without having it fixed the car won't go, so it's hardly a choice. On Friday we were told Tuesday.
So on Tuesday this week the lady from the garage called around. Happy to see her, I said "the car...." (in French), but she said - no.... long story, but it appears there are more problems - oh really? - yes, it looks like the car has been driven into a river. At this point I was startled as I thought she told me someone HAD driven the car into a river. But she was saying there are 3 electrical boxes, and 2 of them are so full of water they are shot. So double trouble, but triple the cost. And it will take - possibly - another 3 days to fix..... So maybe we will have the car back by the weekend. I said to Wouter that we didn't buy a Citroen but a Citron (lemon)! Our kind village neighbours up the road took me food shopping on Friday as we were having other people over for dinner so I had to get some food in.
OK, having that out of the way left room for more things to happen. Wouter has been trying to work with some masonry and of course is unfamiliar with it having worked with only wood for years. So the mix went everywhere, the batons wouldn't sit where he put them, some Dutch swearing.... But he thinks now he has the hang of it, so perhaps this is one good thing.
While he was busy yesterday I was working on the computer when an antivirus window popped up telling me that there was an upgrade and we shouldn't be without it as otherwise we are unprotected. So, thinking this was a normal upgrade I clicked download, then forgot about it as I was busy with other things. Normally Wouter takes care of such matters. This morning he tried to run a scan which didn't work. So I told him what happened yesterday. Makes sense. But do you think we could get the application to run, install, or give us any useful information with which we could email for help?????
So after spending a long time searching their site, logging a query then checking the faqs as recommended, I lost my query, which I think ended up somewhere in deepest, darkest Czechoslovakia. No problem, I thought, I will email them. Wouter took time away from his own frustrating masonry and found a contact address but not the current key. Blast! Anyway, I thought still no problem, we will just provide the old key, an explanation and surely it will be fine. I took some screen shots which would be helpful to show what happens when you try to run the application, composed the email, uploaded the attachments, and when the screen refreshed, all the text was missing from the email. Tried clicking the back button, but that takes you completely out of the email you are writing, so completely frustrated by this point, I re-wrote the whole email. Bad enough to write about this experience once, never mind having to remember what you wrote and say it all again.
To top off the day - well, it wouldn't be complete without another story, would it? - it's quite windy but sunny, and because it has been a little unsettled over the last week and the plumbers have been here fixing pipes and drainage I didn't do much laundry. So I thought I'd catch up on that while I did work in the garden. Having hung it all out and nicely blowing in the breeze, or rather, almost blowing sideways, it dried in no time and I promptly brought it in only to find that some of the things had been so blown about by the wind that they are now badly out of shape - Murphy's Law says that these will be the items you like best or are the most expensive or are irreplaceable. So we will be happy if, by the end of the week, the car is back and working properly and we can just get on with our work without any funny business and we can pick up another supply of wine to replace our soon-to-be-depleted stocks after a few frustrating days!
Meanwhile we have been watched by a religious lady on the hill. A couple of weeks ago she wasn't there, but because some flowers were lost, it gave this appearance. In a couple of weeks time she will be gone.
look carefully above the roof
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