Day 43

I took a trip to Jardiland and all I got was this stupid dog . . .

Do you happen to know why the good folks at the Gillette Corporation don't make lawn mowers?  I can tell you why . . . because it is a bad f_ _ _ ing idea.  I spent a fair portion of my morning hours giving Madam Chabou's lawn a clean close shave with her Mach 3 Turbo lawn mower.  The scope of one's mowing is a bit limited to the amount of extension cordage you have lying about.  I now know why the back portion of the lawn is a somewhat ferral . . . simply not enough extension cord or blade strength to cut through the undergrowth.  The up side?  Only 91 db, sayeth the prominent promotional sticker still stuck to the back of the machine.  This must be the main marketing strategy as the 12 inch blade would certainly not seduce one into buying such a contraption.  Unfortunately, there are also some obvious dangers in manipulating electric power equipment, particularly around a swimming pool.  Yup, you guessed it . . . once again I would test my body's tolerance for electrical current.  Actually, I am getting quite used to my daily dose of electro-shock therapy and believe it may be a contributing factor to my improved psychological health.  A good jolt of 220 has a way of clearing the cobwebs so to speak.

With the morning's focus on lawn care, it was decided that we would venture to the local garden supply store to pick up some plantings and give our garden a much needed face lift.  With flowers to fill our pots, a bit of topsoil, a lemon tree and an orange bush we headed for the register.  We would soon, however, encounter an obstacle that nearly changed our family dynamic.  Situated strategically between the greenhouse and the register sat a temporary exhibit filled with furry friends of all varieties, the most notable of which was a young Pommeranian . . . my wife's favorite breed.  Fortunately, the puppy mill inventory was quite expensive and despite my permission to purchase this canine companion, the sticker shock was too much for my wife to endure.  Back home, we set to the task of planting our newly acquired horticulture and soon had a very pleasant looking garden full of color and fragrance.

We finished with the gardening in just enough time to catch a quick shower, for we would be leaving the kids at home this evening in favor of some adult conversation at a dinner party in the center of town.  Our American friends had invided us for a lovely dinner to lift our parental spirits and in fact provided the babysitter for the evening.  What more could you ask for?  There was to be a third guest at dinner, a jazz musician from San Francisco.  The evening was spent consuming duck breast, aged cheese and local wines intermingled with some very stimulating conversation.  The wife and I were once again back to feeling quite content in our new home town.  These are the kinds of experiences we came here for and this one would not disappoint.  With new recipes in hand and some useful local information passed on in our native tongue, we were pleased to call this day a complete success.