The pace of life here is very slow... every day I wake up with the sun and thank my lucky stars that I don't have to get on the metro and the bus for an hour and a half. More so this week, as there will be another strike in Paris this week, starting tonight and going on probably until the weekend. I feel sorry for Suzette, there is no way she can get to work with this, and it would be the same for me if I were in Paris.

Alec and I are still working our way through problems, one by one, but this week Leo is here, so everything is a bit noisier than usual, given his phone addiction, and he has also brought a technical guy with him, a new one I haven't met before, who is Spanish. He speaks heavily-accented English, but thank goodness, not with the same sort of Hispanic accent as the Dwarf had. I really feel the Dwarf was a one-off, as all other Hispanic types I have met have been totally charming. For those who wonder about the Dwarf's present wherabouts, he did leave our company, and joined another consulting company in the UK. They have apparently sent him to a customer some place in the provinces where the accent is very strong, so I guess it must be a situation of mutual incomprehension... it amuses me to think of it.

The weekend was also very restful, I went shopping and swimming on Saturday. Shopping was just into the main street to buy a few necessities, like a scented candle from Zara Home and some Greek aromatherapy bath foam. Sunday I went for a walk through the Old Town and around the Venetian Walls, only remnants of which remain. Goodness, the Old Town is seedy and rundown, lots of the buildings are unoccupied and derelict, once you get off the main street. And there are so many that would be lovely if done up, I fantasise about buying one and doing so, but I think they would be quite expensive. Apparently most of them are in the hands of the same few people, who want to make a killing out of them one day. The other thing is that, if you do get one reasonably, the permit process for renovation is extremely long, it would be a test of patience and perseverance.

As indeed is dealing with lawyers......... the lawyers in the USA keep on asking me for payment for application and issue of a work permit, I keep on writing to them to say they have the credit card details (my boss's, not mine! although mine just arrived here this morning) and what do they mean, issue of a work permit? Because I don't have one and never have had. I was instructed to bring photocopies of my passport and French residence card with me, as they would be urgently needed for the application. I phoned the lawyer here last Monday, and she was going to send someone to pick them up, well, this still hasn't happened. I am following a policy of not getting agitated about this, as there is no way that I can control what these lawyers do (basically nothing, in my opinion).

I have managed to do stitching nearly every day, I am well-advanced with the birthday present, and I have started "With All My Heart", the pink biscornu from Blue Ribbon Designs and Elegant Stitch. I brought so much with me, as I am determined to get a few more finishes this year, after the disastrous record while I was at the last project. I have half-knitted socks too, that only require a little bit of effort. And I'm looking forward to starting another big sampler, I really wanted to do a few of these this year, and so far I've only managed Toccata 1 and most of Point de Reprises.

Actually I must make an effort with David's birthday present, I am listening at the moment to Leo phoning him in Poland and giving him a hard time about external designs and when things are going to be finished. I can only hear David faintly, but he sounds tired, and I think he's getting up really early on Monday mornings to catch a plane. Now Leo is going on about VAT, poor David...