It’s been a moment. Actually, it’s been longer than a moment. It’s been months of pandemicmania. And we, in this area of Pennsylvania have now entered into the “yellow” phase. That means more businesses are opening.
Aggressive mitigation my ass. I can’t even go inside a bank to have documents notarized. And I wear a mask!
Don’t even ask me how this “Yellow” phase is working, but the local Hallmark store opened and on Saturday, Bonaparte and I drove to his bank to have a document notarized and we could not enter the bank as only the drive-through and lobby for ATM use was opened.
Hmmmm. A Hallmark card store vs. a Bank. I guess it’s more important to buy a friggin’ card than it is to have an important document notarized.
Anyway, with our trip to France cancelled, I am making every effort to bring France to our humble chateau! And that means going overboard with the flowers.
You see, at the Marché Forville, the choice of flowers available is astounding. As are the choices of produce and tons of other goodies. And I liken our local Produce Junction as a little Marché Forville of sorts.
Just a sampling of the flora available at Marche Forville in Cannes. Thank goodness I took photos. And yes. I’m getting ready for a pity party this afternoon!
And after not being able to enter the bank, we drove over so I could purchase flowers to fill our home with lots of pretty petals and greenery! But I’m going to backtrack a bit.
I purchased six vases worth of flowers yesterday–but more on that in a while!
We had severe storms this past week. I think Mother Nature has had it and she let us know. Tornados hit, which is a rarity. Trees were knocked down and over 100,000 homes are still without power. We were the lucky ones.
A little glimpse of the damage that was done in this area. It was horrific!
I was at work. The power went off. And seriously, you gotta love Corporate America. I was given a choice to stay and wait for the power to go on or go home and take Personal Time Off, PTO for short. Let. Me. Tell. You. There was no way that I was going to leave to take any PTO. As one of a total of three people in the office , this was not what an executive choice I was expecting. No. I stayed till five waiting for the power to return and listened to music.
View from my cubicle
The next morning, power in the office was still off. My boss sent me a text stating I had to take PTO (which was not her doing) and after a brief meltdown, simply because nobody puts my PTO in a corner, it came to fruition that I better take my anger out in a positive way.
I refuse to allow Mother Nature to dictate my time off. That PTO of mine is sacred to me!
And so, I got a bucket. And water. And cleaning products. And got down on my 65-year old hands and knees and scrubbed every baseboard in the house. I also scrubbed the vents and the wainscoting. Much to my ultimate surprise, I wasn’t as sore as anticipated.
My cleaning ammunition. It was a filthy job that needed to be done!
This ungodly and shameful chore commenced at 8:00 AM and by 10:30 AM was complete. And when I glanced at my phone, I noticed another text from my boss. She was trying to reach me because the power went back on.
How filthy were the baseboards, and vents? Does this give you a clue? Shameful? Should be but it isn’t. It’s a job well-done!
Now, understand something. Whilst cleaning I wore an old white tattered pair of denim shorts, a baggy t-shirt, no wig, no makeup and no underwear. It is imperative that I am absolutely comfortable tackling a filthy, grimy chore.
Realizing that I could hurry into the office and make up the two-hour time difference rather than lose any PTO, I quickly shed those shorts to add panties. The shorts then went back on. The baggy shirt came off, a bra went on as did a more presentable shirt.
Plopped on some hair, put underwear on, changed my shirt and flew into work!
I plopped a head of fake hair on, slid into loafers, grabbed the car keys and sped. In fact, when I arrived at the office, my boss’s reaction was “Did you fly here”?
My only answer was “Pee. Tee. Ohhhhhh”. She got it. She gets me!
And I spent a pleasant day at work knowing that I didn’t have to take any personal time off. But she also reminded me about the “Yellow” phase. In other words, she reminded me my pandemic office honeymoon was about to end. More coworkers will be arriving. I’m distraught!
I’ll tell you. For the most part, the people I work with are good eggs. But there’s that minute contingent I refer to as “groundhogs”. The ones who pop their heads up from their cubicles to “watch” every move others make. The little snitches. They snitch if someone laughs. If someone talks too loudly. If someone isn’t being nice to them. If someone is eating. If someone is breathing.
You know the person I’m referring to. They can’t keep their eyes or mind on THEIR work so they have to play the role of office snitch! Little groundhogs sticking their faces over their cubicles. Get back you rodent!
If you work in or have ever worked in an office, you know the type I’m referring to. My workcation is about to end!
So, back to the flowers.
I was struck by the incredible number of white flowers that were available at Produce Junction and was immediately brought back to those times at Bonaparte’s aunt, Danièle’s apartment in Paris. She loved white roses and she loved her orchids. The apartment was always filled with flowers.
The table in Daniele’s living room was chock full of orchids. Ahhhh I miss this view!
Suffice it to say I went a bit overboard.
I couldn’t help myself…
….flowers just make me happy…
….and I’m saddened by the fact our visit to France this summer was cancelled..
…and strategically placed throughout the house..
..they bring a smile to my face!
It didn’t stop there. We bought plants for the deck. It’s odd how this year there appears to be a shortage of geraniums, which I love for the outdoors, and the ones available were inches from death.
Seriously. Bonaparte purchased the last of the remaining “good” geraniums!
I went with an assortment.
We’ve got some Lavender..
…and Rosemary and Begonias..
…and I took the Poinsettias from indoors and brought them outdoors…
…and we’ve got a Lilly
….and I did the dirty work (as usual) while Bonaparte cleaned up after me (as usual)!
All I want is to be reminded of the terrace at the apartment in Theoule we’ve rented for years. We had it for this year and I was looking so forward to waking up and having breakfast overlooking the Mediterranean.
Flowers on the terrace at Theoule. Oh I miss this view in the morning!
And in the evening, I was looking forward to sitting down and spending hours over dinner. Watching the sun set upon the sea, listening to Bonaparte complaining about the large cruise ships destroying the beautiful vista. I just miss it so much. And part of that is I work so hard all year round. At this stage in my life, I always envisioned a retirement of pleasure so that I could enjoy the years that remain.
I miss those delightfully lingering dinners on the terrace!
Why, I even miss the way Bonaparte complained about large cruise ships ruining his view as we sat down to enjoy the Mediterranean!
But I’m trying to do my best by setting a nice table for our summer dinners on the deck at home!
Can I click the heels of my Tropezienne sandals three times and be back on the terrace at Theoule?
Alas, that is not to be and I’ll be working till my last breath. And that is why my personal time off is sacred to me.
Yeah. I’m crying because there won’t be ANY travels!
Later on, I’ll venture out to another plant nursery to find some plants that’ll hang loosely as they grow. I want to sit on our deck during the remaining warm months before the sun sets earlier and earlier. I want to squint my eyes and pretend that the rooftops across the way are the Mediterranean Sea with tiny whitecaps. I want to look at the plants and pretend I’m back in Theoule.
This view just ain’t happening this year!
And while sitting outside, we’ll listen to a compilation of French pop music that I added to my Spotify!
This is an actual playlist from my Spotify! You can tell I’ve been on Spotify for a long time–it’s in my pre-Lartigue last moniker! But I’ll tell ya, there’s some great songs on this playlist!
Tonight, we will watch a French movie starring Danièle and the actor of the best speaking voice of all time—Charles Denner!
Daniele co-stars in this film. And it’s got subtitles!!!
More surprises in the cast! Yves Robert, Daniele’s husband and the singer Sacha Distel. I’m guessing he’s not gonna sing in this movie!
Hmmm. I wonder what Charles Denner is holding in his hand and I wonder what Daniele is sidling in over!
As we near the different phases of this pandemic, I wish to remind all to not have a false sense of security. Please remain safe and well!
Stay safe. Stay well. It’s time to buy more plants!