Can we teach the gardener to vacuum?

This could be the title of the book that will almost certainly never be written - it sums this place up to a 't'.

The maid is away for a couple of days - she let us know it as a throw-away comment as she left for the weekend on Saturday.  In fact, aside from the sheer volume of washing up we seem to generate, it's a bit of a delight and I'm scrubbing away at the things that have had years of a cursory wipe in lieu of washing up.  However, for some, the harsh reality of not having  maid is harder to deal with and when the dogs had come in, rolled around on the carpet and generated a good old mess, the question, genuinely, was 'can we teach the gardener to vacuum'.  The idea of doing it yourself wasn't really there - nor was the fact that a gardener is here to garden.  He probably could hoover, but it's not his job, and really, really - we can cope for three days without a maid. 

In other news, there is little news. It's tractor mending time for Dirk, the smaller of the tractors has blown a head gasket, I had a quick lesson in what that meant but it didn't really go in.  Not that he knows what he's doing, there is plenty of guidance required from John who does know a thing or two about tractor engines.