Wednesday 3rd April
There were times this winter when I thought I might never be able to do this again. Just to sit in the sun. It is quite late, five o’clock French time, which only a week ago was three in the afternoon in England. And the sun is shining and warm. I hope it is where you are. The days at this time of the year often start off poorly, light drizzle, overcast, mist on the hills – only to loosen up after lunch when the sun comes out.
It has been a hard day, after four days of comparative rest, though running around after guests is not exactly relaxing either. The garden room (for a while we called it the West wing, but even we thought this a tad pretentious) needed painting. It had been used as an outhouse or storage room for a few years. We had electricity and water connected, and a shower, hand-basin and toilet put in over the winter. We also had the floor re-tiled. It was looking lovely but of course all these new tiles and taps just made the shabby and marked walls even shabbier.
I think they must have used some sort of distemper for the walls, as it is a bit powdery and seems to attract dirt and marks whenever you touch it. Five hours later and half a tin of Dulux brilliant white and it is looking clean and much better, though it may well need another coat soon. It was hard work as the paint seemed reluctant to actually adhere to the walls, and it took a lot longer than I thought. Makes me realise I am not getting any younger. And now for a moment I am enjoying this bliss of late afternoon sun.