Today, Wednesday, October 2, was our first day to begin work at 8 a.m. Although it was still dark when we got up at 6:30, it felt good to head off to work when the sun was shining at almost 8. Today’s task for Cathy, S, and I was to dig up bulbs, weed and prepare both new beds and the old bed, trim the dead stuff off the bulbs, then replant these bulbs. Nicky came along while we were working and said, “I should take a photo of the three of you doing this. I should have brought my camera down.” I suggested that she use my iPad and she did. So we have some wonderful photos of the garden and the gardeners, thank you to Nicky.   T was working in the garden, too, but he was in another section, burning some garden debris – a nasty job, mostly because of the smoke – and he didn’t make it into these photos. But he is in the photos later in the day. Cathy and I left the garden a bit before noon and went to the Wednesday Outdoor Market right at the top of our hill. We prepared a lunch to share with S & T down in the courtyard of our apartment building. We bought a roast chicken and roasted potatoes, lettuce & tomatoes for salad, 3 different cheeses, a fresh baguette, melon, pears, and apples, and two small tarts, one apricot and one strawberry. S & T don’t drink wine during the day, so Cathy and I also abstained, though the four of us just might share a glass or two this evening. Our lunch was relaxed, delicious, and pleasurable, with weather so very perfect and such good company. After some cleanup, everyone except me took off for the beach. Not me? Truthfully, I just wasn’t up to it. They tried to talk me into going. They even offered to go someplace else, someplace I wanted to go. But I really wanted to stay here. My attention is moving in the direction of Nice and the upcoming workshop and I am very much enjoying getting myself ready for that. I have been corresponding with the nine students who will be attending and I am getting more and more excited all the time. It will be sad to leave Bormes-les-Mimosas and everyone I have spent time with here, but I am looking forward to the next adventure in this long journey of mine. And…I am especially looking forward to Carl joining me in Nice on October 17!!! I have missed him. I also wanted to stay “home” to write this blog post. It is a simple post about a simple day – a day that I have enjoyed, as I hope you will enjoy these photos. In the evening we had the most wonderful wine and gab session with S and T out on our patio, and got to know them much better. What stories!! The plan is to continue this friendship even though we will all be far away from each other soon. After all, it truly IS a small world. Sorry, no photos from that. Everyone needed a rest from my camera.