L'Echiquier, Seth's Blog

6th Aug 2010

12h00 – Late night last night not just because Roger and I went to La Damoiselle in Saint Fargeau for dinner, very good it was too, thanks Roger, but because I had that afternoon discover the Personal Video Database (PVD).  It does everything I think I need ….

• It can import from my existing data.
• It can get more extensive data from loads of sources.
• You can add custom fields; for example I have 2 catalogue numbers, 1 for the main file and 1 for the Sony jukebox.
• It cross references just about everything, films, actors, directors etc etc.
• It can export data in a variety of formats and if you are not happy with that you can write your own.   I export data to my existing MS Acess database where I have printouts already set up.

I like it a lot, so much so it kept me up until 04h00 messing with it.

L’Echiquier web-site.

08h30 – Someone – SOMEONE – had put two good bottles of fizzy cider in the freezer for 20-30 minutes to cool them down quickly for the BBQ on Monday night.  However they seem to have been forgotten and the bottles had frozen and burst.  The freeze drawer was now smelling delightfully of apples and a firm foam was over most things.   Glass shards were everywhere.  So it was clean-up time for me.

100% cloud cover not a breath of wind, we really do need some rain and it looks like today might be the day.   Low last night of 14°C, temp now 19°C.

There’s carnage in the living room, Cressida (the newest cat) had a young coot last night and a shrew this morning, there is something else hidden somewhere I can smell it – I found it under a wooden box.  Cressida has not yet learned NOT to hunt things she does not want to eat.  The other cats were all waiting for breakfast and just ignored her while P cleared up the blood.  Cats, who’d have them.

P’s off to Paris for a couple of days so I’ll be on my own, had thought I would change the central heating pump.

L’Echiquier web-site.

09h30 – Up a bit late this morning it was gone midnight last night when we got too bed.  A successful BBQ, everybody brought something, wine, bread from Nichola’s bakery at Mezilles.   Had two trianglar sunshades (from JYSK at Cosne sur Loire) on flying ropes that protected us from the slight showers, the BBQ itself was under an umbrella shade,  snowball-lights (IKEA) and vine-lights (Habitat) lit the whole scene.  P had prepared a vegan bean dish, which was absolutely delicious, and a salad.   Meanwhile I tenderised some pork which I grilled with beef sausages (merguez) for the omnivores.

The night finshed with Roger and Frances on guitars and Pauline, Stephie and Frances singing.

19h00 – Just finished a BIG shop in Auxerre, went to the organic shop Germinal, part of Bio-Coop, then headed off to Leader Price to stock up on paper products, toilet rolls, kitchen rolls tissues etc.  Finished off at Brico-Depot where I bought a new central heating pump, an automatic bleed valve and some more special fixing nails for the garage roof.   Then finally Botanique garden centre where we bought nothing, that’s a first.

Despite many, many visits to all these places I still need a map to find my way around Auxerre.

L’Echiquier web-site.

09h30 – P thinks we have some Purslane in the garden.   Got home late last night from Saint-Bris via Béon.  I did not go to the concert but took some photos around the village,  this was foreshortened however by a shower of rain.   I returned to the car to read my New Scientist but had failed to bring my Petzl Zipka headlamp or borrow P’s and the car interior light was not good enough for me to read by.  So I tried BBC Radio 4 on long wave and got surprisingly good reception.  Next thing I knew P was back in the car and I had missed what was on the radio.

10h00 – Summertime and the sun-flowers are twisting.  Went for a short walk to take

Drooping sunflowers.

photos of P in the sun-flowers.   Unfortunately the petals have started to drop due to lack of rain, so no correct picture was available.  Cats all present and correct.

17h00 – Started to set up the BBQ area, the new position had worked well for the DIY pizza night and we had 7 arriving this evening, people not pizzas.  Roger, Veronica, Catherine, Frances, Stephie and Saskia.

L’Echiquier web-site.