My Mazamet

Life at № 42 by E.M. Coutinho

Oo-oo-oh WIS-TE-RI-A

Getting the house ready for summer is a ton of fun. I say it every year but it is true, the house looks better each year. Remember when I planted those cypresses? They were my height and now they’re over 6 metres tall. Today Mike finished putting new guinguette lights on the pergola. Tip: don’t buy the cheap ones from Amazon, they’ll barely last a season before they fill up with water. Get the more expensive ones with long guarantees. We found a fantastic set chez lumenxl.fr . Our first visit this year is our in-laws. Mike’s brother + wife arrive mid June. Mike will have just finished his radiotherapy, so we’ll be celebrating. Hormone therapy has begun and he’s had zero side effects which is fabulous.

34 comments on “Oo-oo-oh WIS-TE-RI-A”

  1. Rob Wylie
    April 15, 2023

    Wow – it looks fantastic. Very pleased to hear that all is going well with Mike’s treatment and long may it continue. Sending all good wishes
    Rob

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  2. Helen Devries
    April 15, 2023

    Very glad to hear that there are no side effects of the treatment – always a worry before starting anything medical!
    The house and garden look superb…well worth the work and planning…and I like the parasol set up on the perron. It gives the house a slightly jaunty air.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  3. Dwight Doskey
    April 15, 2023

    Happy for you and Mike. And the wisteria is fantastic; it’s a reminder to me to plant it either in a place where it can roam unchecked, or a place where I will keep it properly trimmed.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • The Pink Agendist
      April 15, 2023

      Hi!
      It’s been ages. It’s an extraordinary plant. In the end did you buy somewhere with your sister?

      Like

      Reply
      • dwightdoskey@bellsouth.net
        April 16, 2023

        I have been following the whole while . . .

                   My sister and I did not buy; my wife and I visited several properties in Mazamet, and were interested in the entire area from Mazamet all the way through to Saint Pons de Thomiere.  In the end, we never pulled the trigger on any one house despite visiting the region three times. 

           My sister Gina is now cash poor and property rich.  She continues to commute to Africa with her job for an NGO, but now owns her house here in Louisiana, an equally beautiful property in Amherst, Massachusetts, and a condo in New York City.  She can’t afford to invest in another house in France. 

           But she certainly wants me to.  My wife Nancy and I leave Wednesday with my 91-year old mother for CDG, where we will be joined by my son.  Despite living in France for four years outside Dreux, and having been back to France multiple times (twice with me), she has never been to either Brittany or Burgundy.  So we will go to both.  First stop for me is always in Chartres, but then we will go to Dinan for four days, then Bayeux, and on to Laon and Reims, stopping in Giverny—which my mother never saw because it was dilapidated when we lived nearby in the early sixties. 

           My wife Nancy may becoming more willing to actually buy.  We will be looking at a few houses around Vire; if for a pied-a-terre right now, it will be a townhouse with no yard to keep up.  But if I can persuade her to move permanently, then it has to be outside any town with a couple of acres to garden. 

           Best of luck to you, to Michael, and to the in-laws visiting!

        Like

  4. Anonymole
    April 15, 2023

    Stunning domicile.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  5. Bizzy
    April 15, 2023

    Wow. It’s real work to keep wisteria trained like that. I had wisteria on a différent house, so I know I’m not sufficiently dedicated a gardener to even try. It looks fantastic.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • The Pink Agendist
      April 15, 2023

      Did the ladder in the picture give me away 😀 In real terms, IT’S A NIGHTMARE!!! By the time I’ve done one full circle around the house it’s time to start again. In practice that means I go around the house four times a year, wall by wall. Then there are the Florentine cypresses which I planted when we moved in… and next there will be the Silver Lace Vine on the pergola. Mike says I overcomplicate everything, and he’s right!

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
  6. Steve Ruis
    April 16, 2023

    It looks like Mike dodged a bullet (even American metaphors involve guns) for which I am grateful. And the wisteria! OMG! Gorgeous!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. acflory
    April 16, 2023

    Love the wisteria and the new pergola AND…I’m thrilled that Mike is doing so well. Things are looking up. -hugs-

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • The Pink Agendist
      April 16, 2023

      I have a love hate relationship with the wisteria, but every time it flowers I’m reminded the work is worthwhile ☺ Hugs back!

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply
      • acflory
        April 16, 2023

        lol – the maintenance…yes. I feel your pain! I’ve only lived with wisteria once, many years ago, but I do remember. 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

      • The Pink Agendist
        April 16, 2023

        Mike says I organise the garden for maximum exhaustion 😀

        Liked by 1 person

      • acflory
        April 16, 2023

        -giggles- beauty has a price!

        Like

  8. clubschadenfreude
    April 17, 2023

    lovely wisteria. I have a plant but it never gets enough light to flower like that. I think the best wisteria I ever saw was at the Alhambra in Granada.

    Like

    Reply
  9. inspiredbythedivine1
    April 17, 2023

    Looks lovely! I’ve a question for you regarding the radiation treatment Mike had for his prostate cancer. I need to get that now. If you wouldn’t mind, could you let me know how that went for him? You could drop a line on my about page or send an email rather than take up space on this post about your lovely home. Thanks.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • The Pink Agendist
      April 17, 2023

      It’s early days, but so far no side effects. We were expecting dry mouth, digestion issues and frequent sprints to the toilet, but none of that yet ☺ He’s getting a treatment that’s 5 days a week for a couple of months. Just minutes in the machine each session.

      Like

      Reply
      • inspiredbythedivine1
        April 17, 2023

        Thanks. Got a feeling that’s what I’ll be getting. I find out in two weeks.

        Liked by 1 person

      • The Pink Agendist
        April 17, 2023

        There’s a lot of mitigation you can do. Eat nothing that causes gas. Take the opportunity to enjoy comfort foods. Mashed potatoes are your friend. No cereal! ☺

        Like

      • inspiredbythedivine1
        April 17, 2023

        Thanks for that. I’ll keep it all in mind. Like a wise man once said, “It’s better to have the shits, my son, than to die from prostate cancer.” Gandhi I believe that was. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      • The Pink Agendist
        April 17, 2023

        I think Gandhi’s body absorbed its prostate 😆

        Liked by 1 person

      • inspiredbythedivine1
        April 17, 2023

        It did! Happens to a lot of celibate mofos.

        Like

      • inspiredbythedivine1
        April 17, 2023

        Can’t believe a gland I had so much fun with my whole life can be cut out and still be causing me grief. I was soooo good to it!!

        Liked by 1 person

  10. Bela Johnson
    April 19, 2023

    Looking good! There is nothing like wisteria, is there?! I grew up with a wisteria vine. They didn’t grow well in Hawaii because it was too hot, and I don’t think they will here because it is too cold. Oh well, we do what we can! I bought a grapevine a couple of days ago, and Chris will build a pergola by the front door on which it can flop. That’s the most exciting thing I can think of right now! Having to dig up 13 greenhouse beds we just filled up last year because of gophers. So we dig each one out and then place heavy wire and then fill them back up. That should do it 🙄 little f$&@ers. Glad to hear Mike is tolerating his treatment. Enjoy your planting time!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • The Pink Agendist
      April 19, 2023

      8 years later and I still have garden confusion. My mind always goes back to that other garden, the one before 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  11. wrookieschu
    April 23, 2023

    Stunning!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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