No fancy title for you today, apparently this content has been flagged by the moderator so it won’t auto generate one. If you find anything offensive in the below, be sure to let me know won’t you? AI is the future, if you’re happy that the future works, 100% of the time, 30% of the time…. I remember the first time I used an AI image (and I do try not to), it was a post about voting in the general election and the man putting his vote into the ballot box, has 3 fingers. I found it so funny I used it anyway.

It’s 16 degrees at 6.30 am – praise be! Today is the last slog before the temp drops about 10 degrees and the storms come, and I cannot wait! We’re trying not to think about the electricity bill for running the air con unit almost 24/7 on some days, but it’s not a luxury any more, it’s a necessity. We also wonder if we did the right thing by installing a wood pellet boiler instead of a ground source heat pump, but in this old house, even with the insulation we’ve added and the brand new triple glazed windows we’re getting in September, I’m still not sure about the efficiency. I remember the days of having a British Gas boiler, an easy call out in emergencies for an engineer if needed, and connection to an app that meant I could turn the heating on when I was leaving work so it would be warm when I got home. No mains gas here.

The hunters, finally left about 3 hours after they started yesterday, meaning we could release 2 very antsy cats back out into the garden. Although, Barnacle had fallen asleep in the shoe rack by this point. Popular opinion from my Insta community was as I expected, they can get special dispensation to hunt out of season if there’s a perceived issue. A wild boar running amok or a big deer population. I heard no more shots after the 2 that sent me running in from the garden yesterday. I hope their morning wasn’t a fruitful one. I’ll check my trail cam in a moment, and still hope to see my daily visit from fox and badger. They feel like family now, I’d hate to think they were hurt yesterday.

I won’t refill any of the water receptacles this morning, there’s enough to see the garden critters through today, and tomorrow’s storms will take care of the rest.

We need to head to the bank today to pick up Craig’s new bank card as his old one has just stopped working. Thank goodness for Apple Pay. Of course (because France), we can’t have it sent out in the post, although not sure why as pretty sure when our cards expire they get sent out in the post. No idea. This of course involves a 2 hour round trip to our branch in Gueret, which is the capital of our department (region/county), 23 Creuse. The capital of Haute Vienne (Limoges) is closer for us at about 45 minutes away, we’re pretty much on the border between the two. We’d better check the bank is open today (it is a Monday after all), and we might have some lunch out, again if anywhere is open on a Monday. I promise you do get used to this, but it takes a while.

Tomorrow it’s time to crack on with a campaign of housework that has been much neglected during the heatwave. We have our French friends coming for dinner on Friday night, and from Sunday my FIL is staying here for a few nights to critter sit while we head off to the zoo. So beds to make up, bathroom to clean, all that good stuff.

We also have a cooler but dry day coming this week and I have a list of garden chores that are mounting. I watched a tutorial on how to get rid of bindweed on instagram, and I may need to hunt down that man and punch him square in the face. You bunch up the bindweed, put it into a plastic bag, he suggested nappy sacks which I dutifully purchased, spray the contents of the bag with weedkiller and tie it up. In a couple of weeks said bindweed plants will have died back to the roots for easy removal. My absolute arse they will! So now, I have a tonne of bindweed and nappy sacks to remove. Deep joy.

In exciting bird watching news (because I am that age), a new addition to my Life List on the Merlin app. If you enjoy bird spotting and you don’t have this app, well I don’t know what you’re doing with your life. It’s free, developed by Cornell university, and makes identifying your feathered visitors a breeze. I remembered my binoculars today and I’m watching a European Pied Flycatcher (which the app tells me is uncommon), singing in a tree. Merlin identified it yesterday from it’s birdsong, and that little brown bird that didn’t quite look like a sparrow, is either a juvenile or a female. Now I’ve just seen the male. Gives me huge joy. Yesterday it said the Woodpecker was close by, and I knew he was because I could hear him tapping away. It’s so clever.

Enough for now I think. I’m sorry if this daily stuff is dull by the way. We live here, it’s not a perpetual holiday, it can’t always be fun stuff. We’re not constantly facing an engineered crisis or hosting a wedding or retreat like Chateau DIY often makes things look. Everyday stuff just wouldn’t make for good TV would it.

TTFN,

V x

Another hilarious AI interpretation for the featured image for you.

“Create a highly detailed, high-resolution image capturing the essence of a cozy, rustic home interior, reflecting the transitional season of late summer to early autumn. Emphasize elements such as a vintage wood pellet boiler and well-insulated windows that highlight energy efficiency. Illustrate a warm morning light streaming in through those windows, casting gentle shadows that evoke a sense of tranquility. Include subtle hints of the outdoor garden visible through the glass, with cats playfully exploring. Aim for a sharp focus on the inviting atmosphere, blending modern utility with the charm of an old house, while incorporating natural elements that suggest the approaching storms and the beauty of nature”

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