Les poissons en France

Mobility

2012-01-24T06:32:00.004+01:00

Well, things are progressing faster than we anticipated. Last Thursday (5 days ago) we took delivery of a 'rollator', which is a kind of zimmer frame with wheels on. The physio had her walking round the room straight away, but yesterday (Monday), Sue walked down into the kitchen! This involves negotiating one step down into the shower room, one step down into the hall, and then5 steps down into the kitchen. The physio had originally talked of needing a long ramp down these 5 steps or maybe hand rails. However, yesterday Sue went for it, and he's now talking about Sue using just a crutch.

Needless to say, Sue was exhausted by the effort involved.

Meanwhile I'm continuing with regular exercise. I want to be in good condition when I finally get to see my heart people in Toulouse in February.

The bike is tucked away on the first floor landing which has become a temporary storage area at the moment. I find 'biking' tedious and I would much prefer to go walking, but, on the bike I'm within hearing range if Sue needs anything. Not that I feel that I need too much 'extra' exercise! I feel that I'm working out anyway. I don't seem to have much time for anything other than running about looking after Sue, the two cats, and doing the housework and cooking and .....

You ladies know what I'm on about!

A Day in the Life ...

2012-01-15T12:08:00.005+01:00

Greet the day ....

washed and dressed ...

catching up on emails ...

lunch ....

chatting to friends.

Hard life, eh?

Velo d'appartement

2012-01-05T19:41:00.003+01:00

That's what an exercise bike is called in French.

So I now have no excuse for not doing my daily exercises! Having said that, it's boring sitting on it and pedalling for 40 minutes!!! The plan will be to walk when it's good weather and bike when it's not.

...and a Happy New Year

2012-01-01T21:12:00.003+01:00

Well, we're starting 2012 in a hopeful frame of mind.

I've just got to convince my doctors that I'm fine and Sue has to keep up the good work to regain her strength. She finished the 4th cycle of her chemo on Friday and everyone is pleased at her progress. She is daily regaining more and more movement and her doctor at Cahor Hospital agreed to change her 'corset' for a weight-lifter's Lumbar belt. This is going to allow her to move about much more freely! They are going to do a blood test in 2 weeks time to check on the level of cancer cells in her blood, then it's to be 2 more cycles of chemo, which will take us up to March. Then they'll do a scan or an MRI.

On Christmas Eve, the carer who was on that day took a photo of us. Subsequently, all of the girls seem to have seen it! However, today they gave us a New Year's card which they'd made using the photo. We continue to be overwhelmed by the generosity of spirit which they all show us.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-27T21:27:00.003+01:00

Well, our Christmas has certainly turned out better than I had feared a little earlier in the year. Sue has continued to progress and, whilst continuing with her chemotherapy, they have taken her off the morphine pump and replaced it with a patch. We are gearing ourselves up to some 'serious' work with the physiotherapist to try to move on to getting out of bed more frequently.

At the same time I've been encouraged by the time spent at my 'Boot Camp'. I certainly feel fitter and I'm hoping to convince the doctors at Toulouse that I'll be ok if I keep on with my medication, stick to a salt free diet and also continue with a regular fitness regime.

It's been good having Guy and Carla here with us for the Christmas holiday. We seem to have had a succession of visits and meals with our lovely friends. So, to round it all off, we want to wish all of you who, for whatever reason, follow our blog, a very happy New Year!

The Lavoir

2011-12-10T20:55:00.004+01:00

As per most rural country villages, we have our own 'lavoir', a small building where the women would wash their clothes. I don't know how old is the one in our hamlet, but it usually only has water in it from Autumn to Spring and, these days, is only used by Serge, an old chap of about 55 who hangs his washing out to dry in it!

So, I was surprised to see 2 workman stripping off the old roof tiles and begin to replace the roof with new timber and tiles. But this is a reflection of the desire to retain the local heritage around us. A desire strong enough to spend community money on its refurbishment.

As you can see, even though we're nearly at the shortest day, we've not had enough water for any to show in our Lavoir.

No Time for Christmas

2011-11-28T19:08:00.006+01:00

Our workman finished putting up our walls on Saturday 26th.

We should now be pressing on with painting etc. but I've got to go off for 3 weeks for 'Re-education du Coeur', or Heart Training. I think what is involved is 3 weeks of physical training including work on the exercise bike, running on a tread-mill and long walks outside in the countryside. I imagine that the idea is to see how good (or bad) my heart can be so that a decision can be made in January if I really do need a heart transplant.

So, I won't be able to think about Christmas till the 22nd!!!

Christmas decorations won't be fancy this year!

Getting Joined Up

2011-11-20T20:15:00.005+01:00

We're very pleased with the progress in the salon; our man has put up all of the plasterboard and is now jointing. He should be finished by the end of the next week (Friday 25th).

The weather has been good lately and so the grass has started to grow again. My neighbour Fred kindly cut the back field for us before it got too long!

I'm hoping that I might be able to do a bit more in the garden; Sue is slowly regaining movement in her arms and legs ... and her fingers. Once she feels comfortable being left I can perhaps garden for say an hour? Who knows how we'll be by Spring!!??

We Got Walls!

2011-11-08T19:31:00.003+01:00

The Dry-liner man (and his wife!) are progressing well and already, the room feels different. It also feels warmer, although I'm sure that this is psychological.

Once the room is all painted white it's going to feel HUGE!

October Omnibus Edition

2011-10-30T10:44:00.006+01:00

Where has this month gone? Mainly spent on Hospital runs and caring in the home. However, on the health front, the chemotherapy for Sue is progressing without many side effects apart from tiredness (on both our parts!!).

The main event of the month has been Guy coming out to us again for another week. He was very useful in every respect, from nursing to gardening. He's finally grown up!

But Guy was also very helpful in helping to prepare the Salon on the first floor. We have tried to maintain some momentum on the house front and have a plasterer/dry liner to start making the room look like a room. We had to move a lot of tools, materials and other sundry rubbish out of it so that the man has room to work. Once Guy and John had done this we took delivery of plasterboards and metalwork, with the help of a few willing friends.

The 'plaquiste' started last Thursday but that day was spent in him organising the materials as the delivery had been either short or oversupplied or the wrong things!!!! Eventually on Friday he was able to start on the job itself and it's amazing just how quickly putting up a few metal frames changes the look of the room.

Whilst all of this was going on, two of our very good friends came over to do some gardening for us. They've made a start on the beds at the front of the house and planted up a bed full of Pansies, so we'll have some nice colour through the winter.

Editor's Correction

2011-09-26T16:01:00.004+02:00

Having read John's last posting, I was horrified to note his defeatist attitude to our current problems. I'm not dead yet, and I hope to be able to continue in the garden, albeit on not such a grandiose scale as we had planned to do!

Some plants will obviously have died due to John not having the time to water in the continuing warm/hot weather, but this will be a new challenge. As long as I can push a hoe and sit and give my orders, there is hope.

Perhaps next Spring, once we know where we are going, we will be grateful for some helping hands in exchange for board and lodging.

We may be down but we're not out yet.

P.S. I hope I won't always look as bad as this!!!!!!

(This was dictated to the slave/24 hr nurse/ handyman with his tail between his legs)

The End of the Dream

2011-09-17T10:03:00.003+02:00

Sue has started her chemotherapy but, at the moment, she can't use her fingers and has no control in her feet. We look set for a long haul although the doctors are trying to set up 'hospitalisation a domicile' which in essence is to set up a replica of her hospital room but at home. Sue will feel a lot more comfortable with this arrangement ( but I'll be dashing around at her 'beck and call'!!!)

I foresee little time to press on rapidly with the house, particularly with my current health problems. And the garden will need a major re-think to try to convert it to 'easy maintenance'. You can see now why I called this piece 'The End of the Dream'.

I will keep on posting as and when anything major occurs but our original dream will have to be drastically revised.

So ..... thank you all for following us in our mad adventure; those of you we know or those of you who we've never met. I hope that you all get the chance to live your own dream.

Sue and John

Dutifull Son

2011-09-12T12:34:00.004+02:00

Guy has come over to see his Mum and is most anxious to help me whilst he is here. So I've been taking the opportunity of a strong 'young' body to start clearing the Salon in readiness for our plasterboard man in October.
I've also used his energy to move all of the roof tiles which were on pallets behind the barn so that it all looks a lot tidier!

Goodbye Digger

2011-09-05T09:11:00.004+02:00

As a lot of you will know, life has intruded upon our plans again; Sue is in hospital with some form of aggressive cancer which is attacking her bones. She's being set up for Chemotherapy and is starting an initial 10 days of Radiotherapy on Wednesday. So, in essence the garden has been abandoned and I've got to get organised on continuing with finishing the house!

Mel and Pat have kindly popped over for the weekend to see Sue, and Mel has helped me finish a bit of trench work for the rainwater pipes behind the barn.

I was keen to get this job finished as I have a potential buy for the digger. We have no further need for it and it will be good to convert it into some cash! So, I was a little peeved when, have finished the work, I jumped up onto the Digger and ...... no starter working!!!!!! At the moment it is abandoned behind the barn whilst I try to arrange 'help'

"Are We Living In England ? "

2011-08-08T18:05:00.007+02:00

I can not believe that it is August in France. No spending all evening watering to just keep plants alive, grass growing an inch a day, enjoying flowers at their best because they have had a copious supply of rain. I am purposely not mentioning the weeds, and hoping that I have managed to take the photographs so that you can not see them. We are truly living in a "green and pleasant land". We have had rain and warmth and as a gardener it makes me very happy. I'm not so sure that the hoards of tourists we have at present are as enthusiastic .

I expect that you have noticed that you only get garden photos sporadically - when things are looking good.

You may recall that earlier this year I was setting up the Christo bed. The idea of it was to create a riot of colour and a jungle effect. I just threw in anything I had to hand, including thousands of seeds which went in very late due to the back problem. I am still waiting for them to flower - more piccies later hopefully. However I have certainly achieved the jungle effect!! Many plants have just been submerged as I did not expect everything to be so vigourous. The photos certainly flatter the bed, but I'm sure the same applies to the pictures in "Homes and Gardens".

Now to more serious matters. John saw his haemotologist last week and she confirmed that he is in remission. We were relieved to hear that he will have monthly blood tests to check that the protein doesn't return. He did do some tiling in the bedroom and was making good progress but it proved a little too soon after he had his defibrillator fitted, and discretion being the better part of valor, he has not done anymore for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately I also had a bad week last week as the doctor gave me a drug for osteoporosis (you name it I've got it in my spine) which didn't suit me. Nevermind we're back gardening again.

Is This July In the Lot?

2011-07-25T13:55:00.009+02:00

You wouldn't think so. As I look out I cannot see the hills as they are shrowded in drizzle. It has been raining for the best part of the last fortnight. At first I was delighted - good for the garden and all that - but you can have too much of a good thing, especially when you have friends staying. Bob and Jenny our friends were really kind and weeded the "serpentine bed " for me between the showers. It looks really good now as John managed to cut the front grass yesterday. Infact the garden looks very "Englishey" with lots of lush growth. The courtyard grass was about six inches/15cm tall when John cut it. At this time of the year it is normally biscuit brown and not growing. Dont worry I'll be moaning about the heat next week!!

Despite the unseasonal weather we managed to entertain Bob and Jenny with visits to a beautiful garden in the Dordogne and a trip to Albi.

We were all impressed with the catherdal in Albi.

Visitors Coming

2011-07-19T10:28:00.003+02:00

We have friends from England here with us at the moment but this prompted a little surge of preparation work.

Sue's been fed up with the upstairs terrasse for some time, so the imminent arrival of friends spurred her into action, as you can see! Of course, this wasn't straight forward; it involved some trial and error paint mixing to get the right colour.

I tried to carry on with the tiling but shouldn't as it was pulling on the wound where my 'pacemaker' has been fitted. So, instead I've done some work on the stairs that I will be making (in the fullness of time).

It's always nice to see friends, but we wish they wouldn't bring wet English weather with them!

French Lesson

2011-07-14T09:54:00.003+02:00

Events have moved on since we last blogged. Three days after arriving home from hospital, I had a phone call arranging for me to go in on Sunday10th for a 'pacemaker' (or at least that's what we call it in the UK). On the Monday I had the thing fitted (DAI, or in english, an Internal Automatic Defibrillator) which I subsequently found out was there to shock the heart if it starts to beat very rapidly! Further developments will now wait till the beginning of October after I've got over the fitting of the DAI and the chemotherapy medication is out of my body.

Whilst I was in hospital I was sharing a bedroom with an old gentleman of 88 who unfortunately was very confused in addition to a severe shortness of breath (cardiac insufficiency). The main problem was shown during the nights when he didn't know where he was, wanted to get out of bed, wanted to go home, looked for his suitcase, etc. I'm sure you've got the picture. Added to this, when he finally did go to sleep (with the aid of a sleeping pill) he snored extremely loudly!!! So, I had a couple of very disturbed nights. Sue collected me yesterday afternoon (Wednesday) and I slept like a log last night.

Although we've lived here in France for nearly five years now, we still struggle with the language from time to time. especially those words which look the same as a word in English but which mean something else. The morning after my operation, the orderlies (two young girls) asked me to get out of bed into a chair. They were talking of 'faire la toilet' and that I would have more movement. My initial reaction was that they wanted be to sit in a chair so that I could use a bedpan as it would be easier to have a bowel movement. It was only afterward, when they had washed me, that I began to realise that 'faire la toilet' doesn't mean go to the toilet, but to wash, brush teeth etc!!! Also, in the chair I would be able to move easier. A strange french lesson.

Testing Times

2011-07-03T21:38:00.004+02:00

Well, I've been in to Toulouse hospital and am back to 'work' a little sooner than I thought. There was a little confusion (or lost in translation) over when I was to go in to hospital; I received a phone call last Tuesday asking where I was! I ended up going in last Wednesday afternoon and found out that I was scheduled for the operating theatre on the Thursday. They were planning to pass a probe through a vein to get an accurate picture of the heart. However, just before lunch I was told that it was off. So, I was a little bemused when a porter took me and my bed down to the theatre at about 4 pm. I just assumed that they'd decided to proceed after all but no ... the surgeon (a young girl) came into the theatre to apologise to me as the procedure was cancelled; my platelets were too low and it would have been dangerous.

However, whilst I was at Toulouse, I had a 24 hour blood pressure recording and an ECG carried out for 24 hours, I had an echocardiograph, I had to blow into a tube to analyse my lung capacity and the take up of oxygen, and finally I had to pedal on an exercise bike to ascertain my stamina. So .... they've got plenty to look at and they're talking of calling me back in a month's time. Not as quick as I'd hoped but, nevertheless, it gives me longer to get over the effects of the chemo!

Today was my first day of 'normality'! And I was able to start my new duties as under-gardener. The plan is to spend the mornings in the garden, helping to keep it all tidy.

I was, of course, suitably supervised!

My afternoons will be spent in the house and today I carried on with the tiling. A fruitful day!

You Can't Keep a Good Gardener Down

2011-06-26T21:12:00.003+02:00

Our temperatures are mounting; we think it must have been nearly 40 degrees today (Sunday) and it's forecast to be higher tomorrow! So ..... newly planted flowers need watering. Sue has become resigned to living with her back problems and won't let it rule her life. Once the temperature began to cool a little she was out in the garden watering.

She's pleased that her recent plantings of carefully selected drought tolerant flowers are performing well. At least it means that she isn't having to water everything.

Meanwhile, I'm still getting over the final injection of the chemo, although I felt well enough yesterday to start wall-tiling in the en-suite of the first bedroom on the first floor. (Although it meant that I needed today to recover!) I'm trying to make the most of my time as, to our surprise, I received a phone call from the hospital last Thursday and I'm going in for extensive tests next Thursday so that they can get an accurate picture of the state of my heart. We're expecting that I'll be in for about 10 days but I'm hoping that, at the end of it, we'll know exactly where we're heading!

Normal Service Has Been Resumed - ish

2011-06-23T13:52:00.006+02:00

John had his final chemo injection yesterday followed by an MRI scan. It was an extremely long day leaving here at 6am and not arriving home until 7pm. Sandwiched between the chemo and the MRI scan he had the long awaited "conference" involving the cardiac department and the doctor supervising the chemo. It was a rather impromtu affair but the cardiac doctor was the one who had done his heart biopsy ( and bopped to pop songs throughout the procedure). Despite his somewhat unorthordox approach John has great faith in him. He decided to carry out an investigation into the exact state of John's heart now that the chemo has halted the cause of it's problem. Initially he has to go into hospital for about 10 days to have exhaustive tests to establish how bad the heart is and if any thing can be done to improve it's functioning: but we have no idea when that will be. However, the final option still seems to be a transplant, depending on the results of the tests!

Meanwhile he was delighted to be able to do relatively normal things this morning. I am also much improved and have returned to normal duties. However John has decided that I need help in the garden and therefore plans to help me in the mornings and work in the house in the afternoon - subject of course to the state of the body!! So relatively normal this morning was :- start to edge and weed the serpentine bed, build new compost bins in the ruin and move the large stones on which he displays his bonsai to down the allee.

As we have some roses this year because they have not been eaten by the deer I thought I would show you a picture. You will note from the photo that the display has been acheived with the help of strings which we put around the beds to deter the deer. Not aesthetically perfect but better than having no roses.

For the last four days we have had a resident family of hares (Mum, Dad and three youngsters) in the wild flower bed at dawn and dusk. So far they have limited their munching to wild flowers thank goodness. The adults are enormous so much so that Jean-Jacque told us that we had small deer lying in the grass. Sorry our cameras are not powerful enough to show you just how large they are.

Making the Most of the Day

2011-06-03T10:17:00.004+02:00

As has become 'normal', I'm feel really good the day after my chemo injection and so I try to make the most of it. As we've decided to enlist a builder to finish off the 'salon' I wanted to prepare the wood for the stairs, with all of the accompanying dust, before work in the salon starts. (Not that we've found ourselves a builder yet!)

It's going to be interesting to say the least when I actually begin to build the stairs, especially as the design team haven't fully finalised the finish yet; stained wood, painted wood, left natural?

Sue continues to make slow progress with her back. She's now visiting the physiotherapist and she now understands her back problems and what to expect when she gets another attack (which she will). So, whilst I was playing with my wood, she was happily planting out.

Sue's relying on a period of unsettled weather which is forecast for next week, so that she won't have to do too much watering, but the rain always seems to have disappeared by the time we get to it. It was supposed to be raining this morning but we've actually got blue sky and sunshine!!!

The End is Nigh

2011-05-17T20:03:00.002+02:00

I went to Toulouse today to complete my 8th cycle of Chemotherapy. So .... one more cycle starting on the 30th May and the chemo will be finished on 20th June!

Pleasingly, the treatment has worked and the production of the protein, which was going to my heart muscles, has stopped. So we've started looking towards the next phase. What's going to happen next? And, at the moment, the doctors don't know!!!!

My problem is that, even though my heart will now stay 'stable', it is 'fatigued'. I had a long talk with my doctor at the hospital and he told me they don't know what to do. If they do nothing for the heart they are concerned that my quality of life will be reduced, but also, possibly, my quantity of life will be reduced. None of the French doctors believe that the protein in the heart muscles will drain away. So ....... the alternative is to replace my defective heart with a new one!
And the problem here is that I am on the top age limit for a transplant. So if they're going to do it, it has to be done soon.

At one stage they had thought to send me to a top specialist for a second opinion, but their latest thinking is to organise a meeting between us, my own doctor who is controlling my case, a surgeon and a cardiologist. At this moment I'm ambivalent as to which course we take. My view on it is coloured by the fact that, apart from dealing with the effects of the chemo, I don't really feel ill. OK, I know that I am limited in terms of walking up hills or carrying heavy loads but, within these limitations, I'll be able to carry on doing small jobs around the house and in the garden.

Well, as they say, as one door closes, another opens.

In The Land Of The Living

2011-05-14T12:29:00.002+02:00

As you will have noticed, we have been "off air" for over a fortnight. Well, as usual these days it was the dreaded health crash which has interupted normal service. We went to our friends and had great fun watching "the wedding", ie being bitchy about Princess Eugene's hat!! Or was it Beatrice's?

We then had our own street party, well the four of us had lunch in the garden and after that I have been in bed until the last few days. The doctor says it was lumbago ..... I thought you treated that with horse linament and it's fine. Far from it! No pain killers would touch it and the next step was morphine but fortunately I "weathered the crisis" as they used to say and began to improve, if slowly. Fortunately "him indoors" was on a good spell and kept things afloat. Ironically this week he has felt the effects of the chemo far more than in recent weeks.

We went to see the cardiologist yesterday and felt quite heartened (forgive the pun) when we came away. He says John's heart is obviously damaged but appears to be stable. He is currently wired up to a 24 hour heart monitor which we hope will confirm this. The cardiologist said that he can live a relatively normal life but of course must stop if he is out of breath and not to undertake too demanding tasks. For the first time in nearly 18 months we are looking at interior design magazines and getting excited about moving on - be it with some help from tradesmen. To prove all this, John was working on the landing floor this morning (not the library anymore - that has moved). Hope it does not show too much of a blip on the heart monitor!!

Of course, I have been totally disinterested in the garden in the last couple of weeks and couldn't have cared less as I watched it shrivel in the heat and drought, but today we have rain and my enthusiasm has returned. So far we have nothing in the veg patch but this year; the two old cripples are being realistic and guarding their health, not rushing round trying to water half of the Lot.

Easter Jobs

2011-04-27T18:33:00.005+02:00

Like a lot of other people, we were busy over Easter working around the house. Last year I'd converted an old table for us to use on the terrasse outside. However, the rain had affected it and so, I've put a new top on it.

I'm still a bit 'twitchy' about it getting wet, so at the moment, it's going in and out like a yo-yo!

Meanwhile, the head gardener has grasped the nettle and begun planting up the Christo bed behind the barn. She'd been holding off till we got some rain but we've not really had any all of this month and there's still none on the horizon.

So, back to the old chore of watering!

Maturing

2011-04-20T09:39:00.005+02:00

No not us, although that is certainly true. I am, on this occasion, referring to the garden. Although the house is obviously not progressing I am pleased to report that I am delighted that the garden is approaching how I envisaged it. The glorious weather in April has brought the irises etc in the front garden, on very early. However for us gardeners there is always a down side - we need rain.
I am even more delighted to see the long bed maturing. (I hesitate to say anything but this is partly due to the lack of deer visits recently). I am busy growing perennials from seed, which will tolerate arrid conditions. I am hoping that this time next year most of the earth and consequently the weeds will be covered. The raised bed is also coming to fruition (no pictures at present as I have had no time to weed, and the irises are blooming above the buttercups!!). Finally, we are about to start transferring things to the new "Christo" bed, although the lack of rain is delaying this.

All Strung Up

2011-04-16T16:01:00.003+02:00

The 'new' deer fence is now in operation .... just we haven't seen any deer for ages!

After serious reflection, we decided that we wanted to deter the deer; there was no need to try to make it impossible for them to get to the roses. So, we changed the wire for string.

Hopefully, the string will restrict the deer, but also, it won't be a major job to retie it if the string starts to sag!

We'll let you know how well this works.

Another Deer Fence

2011-04-12T17:41:00.005+02:00

The Head Gardener has been concerned that we have nothing protecting the roses in the 2 beds in the front garden. So ..... we are going to erect a simple 'fence' of wires on posts in an attempt to discourage the deer if they want to nibble the fresh young shots!

We got Guy to finish off hammering the post whilst he was here last week.

(Notice the expert way that the post is being held!)

However, today I got to the point of fixing the wires on one side of the first bed, and .......
Head Gardener not happy!!!!!

After reflection and deep thought, plan A has been rejected. The wire is too thick, which causes problems with keeping the posts upright when I tension the wire. Also, Sue does not like the 'large' tensioners. So, they've got to come off and we'll experiment with plan B ..... string!
More will be revealed soon.

Mummy's Little Helper

2011-04-06T08:55:00.004+02:00

At the end of our son Guy's stay at a school north of Angouleme, we picked him up and he's staying with us till Friday. So, Sue's taking the opportunity to get him helping in the garden (in between writing essays!)

We have stiil a sizable heap of soil which she wants put on the Christo bed before she can start planting it up.

Yesterday Sue managed to combine earth moving with manure spreading. Our friends Annie and Donnie arrived in the morning with a trailer-load of horse manure which went on the Christo bed before the earth moving!

As you can see, we're experiencing lovely weather. We both got the sun on our faces and necks!!!

Everything's Blooming

2011-04-01T19:36:00.008+02:00

We haven't been doing much lately so I thought you would be reassured to see that we are still here! We've had rain for the last 3 days but the forecast is now for a decent period of warmth and sun. So, of course everything is growing like mad. And that means grass cutting.

Sue's efforts in the garden have paid off remarkably well and we have a real Spring garden.

And, whilst I was taking the photos, Sue was busy putting more grass seed out on the bald patches! Even more grass to mow!

A French Weekend

2011-03-21T19:48:00.010+01:00

Our son Guy is currently on a year's Teacher Training course with a view to becoming a Primary School teacher. However, he will also be teaching them French and, as part of his course, he is spending 4 weeks in a French Primary School in Niort, in the Poitou-Charentes region (some
4h 30 m journey north)

We had planned to travel up early on Saturday morning and stay in a cheap hotel overnight. However, the couple who Guy is staying with invited us to stay with them! So, we were treated to 2 days of being wined and dined and being taken out to discover their town and surrounding countryside.

Sue took this photo of me, Guy, Kathy and Marc (in front of some 'shaggy' donkeys!)

We were at a sanctuary to conserve this local race of donkeys which have very thick fur even on their legs.

We also went to a local World Heritage church from the 11th century.

To our amazement, in the oldest part of the church, a very modern addition had been allowed, comprising an altar and font.

We don't believe that this addition would be allowed in Britain, but we loved it.

At the risk of repeating ourselves, we continue to be bowled over at the kindness and generosity of French people!

A Funny Thing Happened...

2011-03-18T19:36:00.002+01:00

....at the vets. Our two cats were due to have their annual injections and so, this morning we put them in their boxes and went to the vets in Gourdon. Lo and behold, we met up with a friend who was there with her cat, so the girls were in the waiting room for some time. Eventually we went into the examination room and Diana dutifully sat on the table whilst she was examined and then injected.

Then it was Cleo's turn. We know that Cleo can be unpredictable and Sue had taken a pair of gardening gloves so that she could hold her. The vet looked at Cleo's teeth but then Cleo decided that that was enough and she turned on her imitation of a wild, ferocious cat. She managed to bite Sue before she was covered by two towels but it still looked as if she would be able to get at the vet. Cleo was put back into her box, at which point she weed and pooed on the table, the floor and all down Sue!!! After a lot ofmanipulating of the box, the vet finally managed to give Cleo her injection through the door of the box, into Cleo's bum.

We'll have to see if all of this performance is going to be worth it when the injections become due again next year.

Deer - Plan Z ...Part 2

2011-03-12T15:56:00.006+01:00

The Head Gardener has been increasingly concerned with the pyracantha shrubs which we bought back in the Autumn to create a 'deer-proof' hedge. They've been living in their pots in our 'ruin' and they were looking a bit sorry for themselves. So ..... as I am feeling a little more like getting out and doing jobs, Sue was keen to get the shrubs in the ground and yesterday seemed like a good day for it!

My part in all of this looked relatively easy .... just sitting on the digger. However, I hadn't allowed for the animated discusion on how best to dig the holes, should it be a trench, and how to ensure that the holes were in the right place. (I don't think that we disturbed the neighbours too much!)

By the time we'd sorted out what we were doing and had dug all of the holes, I was ready for a rest and so was Sue! Time to retire to the Patio.

We planned to plant up the shrubs this morning before the forecast rain arrived at mid-day. But, of course, you can't trust a weather forecast can you! It was spitting with rain when we began at 8.30 this morning and was raining quite heavily by 11.00 when we were forced to stop.

Still, only 7 more to plant as soon as we get dry weather.

How Green ......

2011-03-11T11:15:00.004+01:00

A number of factors came together on Wednesday; the weather was fine and dry, our neighbours were arriving for a couple of weeks, and we had friends coming for lunch on Thursday. So, the gardener dercreed that the front lawn needed cutting to make everything look 'tidy'.

I've not been too inconvenienced with my chemo this week so I felt up to doing the mowing, although there's nothing too stenuous in sitting on the mower and turning the steering wheel!!!

Another Good Day

2011-03-01T17:36:00.009+01:00

I had the 3rd injection of this 6th cycle yesterday, but I've been gradually feeling stronger. I did a bit of work on the barn door on Sunday, and today I managed to get to the point of having a door which we can shut.

I'm pleased because we've had a plastic sheet up at the door since about September.

Meanwhile, having changed the oil in the mower ready for the new season, the head gardener was off and away.

She had been anxious for some little while so that she could reseed the odd bare patches in the back 'lawns'.

So, a good day all round.

Tinkle,Tinkle

2011-02-26T21:01:00.003+01:00

As you will see, seed production is in full swing (it's better this year because we have a bit of upstairs which is warm enough for me to park plants). However, you may be a little perplexed by the array of canes strategically placed over the seed trays and the cat sleeping under the canes. Any ideas? On two occasions, when a litter tray was not available, Diana found my trays of seedlings a perfect substitute. It is bad enough fighting the marauding wildlife outside without having it inside as well.

Who would be a gardener?

Interesting Day

2011-02-22T12:16:00.001+01:00

Yesterday, Monday, was the 'regular' visit to Toulouse for the second injection of this, the 6th cycle of chemo. This means setting the alarm for 5am and setting off just after 6am. Whether you describe this as interesting, I'm not sure! What was interesting was when Sue saw 2 owls fly out of our pigeionnier as she was putting on her coat. She told me about this as she got in the car, upon which I saw one of them fly back. It's really nice to know for sure that we have a pair; let's hope they successfully rear youngsters.

The Day Hospital was heaving with patients when we got there, so I wasn't very optimistic for a speedy turn-round. After they'd taken my blood sample, I was sent for a chest x-ray. When I got there I met up with a receptionist who I had previously encountered. During our previous meeting, we had talked about where I came from in the UK, he told me of another Englishman who lives in the Dordogne who had actually been to the Cavern in Liverpool. It turned out that my new French friend, who is about 55, used to play in a band, and is a huge fan of an English group called The Inmates. This group have been playing since the mid 60's and are still performing now. Jean-Claude showed me clips of them on his ipod and gave me details of their Facebook page. A strange encounter in a French x-ray department.

So, yesterday we greeted, with the statutary hand shake, and I went in to have the x-ray taken. When I came out, my friend told to come round to his side of the reception desk where he showed me an e-mail from some member of The Inmates! It was in english but he had been unable to find anyone to adequately translate the phase 'pulled through'. Jean-Claude had obviously been ill and they said that they were pleased that he'd 'pulled through' it all. Sue and I laughed about this new example of the strange but pleasant things that crop up in our 'French' life.

Look!!

2011-02-16T21:35:00.002+01:00

The day I feared would never come again arrived today. John did some more work on the bedroom ( a spot of rectification). For this to happen on the third day after his chemo is a total miracle, but as the footballers say "we take each day as it comes". He did have to have a sleep before going to his book club but these signs of normality are very encouraging.

Coincidence

2011-02-13T06:45:00.004+01:00

Our friend Paul, of chauffeur and B&B proprietor fame when we limped to Guy's graduation, met someone he knew and enquired about the health of his family. The man told him that his wife wasn't very well. Paul, mindful of previous "ear bashings" from his wife for not finding out what was wrong, enquired further. It seems that she has exactly the same as John with the protein being deposited in the heart, and has even just completed cycle 5 of the chemo. It really is a very rare condition.

St. Valentine

For many years, like Father Christmas he has flown over our house, but this year we had an "outing" to the cinema. Well I can assure you that really is an event as we haven't been for hundreds of years!! We thoroughly enjoyed the "King's Speech" and the drink afterwards with our friends. I was a little concerned as we ended up walking halfway round the small town before we found a bar open. A fortnight ago John wasn't able to walk 20 yards with out being out of breath, but he managed this hike extremely well.

Our owl has been calling vociferously for a mate for about 3 weeks now, much earlier than last year. When we arrived home last night John saw another owl fly into the pigonnier to join him. Has St. Valentine been really active this year and we have a "love nest" in the tower?

What's for Tea?

2011-02-12T11:50:00.004+01:00

As we have highlighted previously, Spring isn't too far away, and the head gardener is beginning to get a bit 'twitchy'. Lots of seeds are germinating and so lots of pricking out needs to be done.

So that's why we needed such a large kitchen!!!

Some Good News on the Health Front

2011-02-09T20:57:00.002+01:00

Some of you will know that we visited the cardiologist in Cahors a week ago for a check up. John was very out of breath walking to his clinic and when the doctor gave him an ECG he noticed that his heart beat was still irregular. Instant deliberations with the cardiologist in Toulouse resulted in, and I quote, "the heart is in a period of instability, come back next week".

John has certainly been markedly better in the last two days and I was delighted that he managed to walk round the garden centre and the supermarket yesterday. He has not been able to do this since early November. Hence we were not totally surprised when the ECG he had today confirmed that he nolonger has an irregular heart beat.

Cycle Six of the chemo starts on Monday (all being well) . If John could feel as he does today for the rest of the treatment it would make his life so much more comfortable.

Wildlife

2011-02-09T08:30:00.003+01:00

I was just sitting here eating my breakfast and looked up to see a small flock of migrating red kites flying over head.( I needed to refer to "the bird book" to establish that information). Yesterday lunch time we watched a buzzard catch and enjoy his lunch in the allee.

I listen every week to a radio 4 programme called Saving Species. It does take a world wide view but predominantly discusses British issues of habitat loss, creating wildlife havens etc. A couple of weeks ago I felt moved to write to the programme telling them how living here we take things like butterflies, red sqirrels, barn owls etc. for granted. I suppose at that minute I just needed to say how lucky and privileged we feel. (You have all heard this so many times that I must have subconciously deduced that there was another anonymous voice out there with which I could communicate).

Fine, I had got this off my chest. So you can imagine my total surprise when I received an email from the Presenter explaining some of the reasons why wildlife is so much more abundant 'chez nous', followed up by a thank you from the production assistant. Do they not receive many missives from their listeners? I really appreciate that Brett Westwood took the time to reply to my musings and print his email below.

Dear Sue,
Many thanks for getting in touch and for your observations. There's no doubt that parts of Europe including France that have been less intensively farmed and have a much richer wildlife. Land use is definitely part of the reason, but some of it is for climatic reasons too. As we head south in Europe the number of species increases, and one of the pleasures for me of visiting western France is finding insects and plants which have only a toe-hold in the UK, or aren't there at all: praying mantis, lady orchids, re-backed shrikes…the list goes on.
What France does have, especially in the west and south, is a less intensive farming economy and some substantial areas of forest, heath and wetland. Here in the UK we have begun to appreciate what we've lost in the past by re-creating larger areas of wetland into which we're reintroducing cranes…they're also colonising naturally and numbers are at their highest for several centuries. Red squirrel conservation is now entering a new phase , boosting populations and keeping the greys at bay. So projects are under way, but there’s a long way to go! The biggest challenge is to create landscapes which are resilient, and which offer lots of niches for wildlife…that's what some areas of France still have, but even here they are still reducing.
All the best and thanks for listening
Brett
Brett Westwood
Presenter, Saving Species
NHU Radio
BBC Bristol

Spring?

2011-02-05T16:18:00.002+01:00

Whilst it seems a little too early to think 'Spring', we have some nice, warm and sunny weather arriving.

It has even cheered me up!! Need less to say, Sue is out there full of enthusiasm. She insisted that I went out with her and she showed me the snowdrops blooming and the small daffodils just on the point of opening their flowers. So ... even if this spell isn't Spring, we know that it is not too far away.

Bulletin

2011-01-28T17:59:00.002+01:00

Issued from the Hospital at 5.30pm i.e. I have just spoken to him on the phone. He said that he went down at 10 o'clock and was back around 12. Procedure was a little uncomfortable but hailed by everyone as successful. He has had ECGs and lots of blood pressure checks and says he feels fine - and certainly sounds it. He had a platelets transfusion so lets hope they hang around until Monday so that he can complete cycle five of the chemo.

Up and Down

2011-01-26T09:01:00.002+01:00

You will realise that both of us are not comfortable with continually reporting on health matters. Even though we obviously realise the seriousness of John's condition, our gut reaction remains that health problems are an inconvenience that get in the way of the rest of life. However we have come to the conclusion that reporting on the blog is the easiest way to keep you all informed of the current situation, particularly as it is constantly changing!!

John didn't have the "repairing the electrical circuit in the heart" procedure scheduled for last week, as his platelets were too low. The Cardio department blamed this on the chemo and the Chemo department blamed it on the anticoagulants administered by the Cardio department. There we are left in the middle!! Our local doctor also added his "tu penuth" and changed John's medication. Too many cooks comes to mind.

Much scratching of heads and discussion at Toulouse on Monday when we went for the usual chemo. The platelets had again crashed to an incredible low (normal 250,000, Johns were 33,000). Can you tell that we are becoming armchair experts on platelets!! However, much to our surprise they gave him a transfusion of platelets and then gave him his chemo. Apparently transfusion platelets (more trivia) are of a poor quality so we are not expecting them to permanently boost his own. However he has PASSED HALFWAY, although we do not expect it to be plain sailing all the way from here.

He is scheduled to go into hospital on Thursday for the heart procedure on Friday and home Saturday.

One Step Forward...?

2011-01-13T09:53:00.002+01:00

Whilst I don't want this blog to become a continuing litany of my ailments, at the moment my health has rather overtaken both of our lives!

Yesterday I had an appointment with the Haemotologist who is controling my chemotherapy. She speaks good english and so we were able to be sure that we understand what's happening. I'm now halfway through the treatment and she was able to show us that the production of the protein which is going to the heart has drastically reduced. The results so far of my chemotherapy are very encouraging and indicate that, at worst, my heart function will be stable (as it is now), or, at best, my body will be able to purge the heart of the proteins to give me a normal heart function. Having said that, one can not talk of a cure, only of remission, as there's never a guarantee that the condition won't come back.

That was yesterday's good news. Just towards the end of the consultation with the haemotologist she listened to my lungs and chest and declared that I have an irregular heart beat! So, I had to have an ECG, and then take the printout back to the Doctor who's administering my chemotherapy. He looked at it and then faxed it to the Heart department. 3 hours later I was given an appointment in the Cardiology department for next Monday. I'm going to have to stay in overnight so that they can do 'something' ( not sure what!) In the meantime the local nurse is coming to the house morning and evening to inject me with an anticoagulant (rat poison?). Whilst this was all very unexpected, it shows how quickly the system reacts to any problems that arise.

We never know what will happen tomorrow, and perhaps it's just as well.

What Would Jamie Think Of This?

2011-01-11T09:35:00.002+01:00

You realise we dont have too much to say these days about our life in France, as it is on hold. However you may be interested in this "snippet" which John read in the local paper. I would say that it must have been a slow news day, but on the contrary I have to admit that it is about the extent of "news" in these parts.

The Lunch Menu for 3-11 Year Olds at St Germain School.

Monday

Starter Cabbage with Grapes. Whether the cabbage is cooked or not I'm not sure, although I suspect it is a cold starter of raw cabbage with grapes.

Main Course Toulouse Sausage and puree potates

Cheese

Fruit Compote

Tuesday

Starter Soup

Main Course Lasagne Bolognaise with salad

Cheese

Fresh Fruit

Thursday

Starter Grated carrot

Main Course Cheek of beef with carrots in gravy

Cheese

Trifle

Friday

Starter Cold Meats

Main Course Fish fillet in a seafood sause with rice

Cheese

Seasonal fruit

Typical family fare we believe.
NB - the children do not go to school on Wednesdays, a throw back from the days when they attended school on Saturdays we believe.

Off We Go

2011-01-04T10:56:00.002+01:00

First of all let us wish you all a Happy New Year and we wish ourselves a "healthier" New Year. We have always said that "if you've not got your health you have nothing", well we've found out the hard way.

Can you tell that we both feel a lot more positive today? We went to Toulouse yesterday expecting John to not have the treatment, as the results of the blood test he had last Thursday showed that lots of things were worse. By mid morning the doctor told us that yesterdays results were good enough to have the injection and even some things, like the platelets, were up to normal. Today John is a different man, doing little jobs that he normally just can't be bothered with. Perhaps the tap in the kitchen will get tightened? We are aware that this may well be a false dawn because the day after the first treatment of a new cycle has been good before. Furthermore I can move my neck through 180 degrees today for the first time in weeks. The two old crocks are creaking forward!

"The Ol' Boy"

2010-12-28T09:56:00.005+01:00

Well he has been just that for the past month. His entire body seems to be being "bashed" and he is so tired. Ever since the doctor who is in charge of his case told him "your body is standing up to the treatment very well", it hasn't. We went to Toulouse yesterday with a view to starting cycle five, knowing that if he still had traces of his "English Cold" they would not give it to him. You've guessed it, he didn't have the injection. However I was extremely pleased that they are taking steps to revitalise his body. More iron, Human protein (the stuff the cyclists in The Tour de France take illegally) all with a view to boosting his red blood cells so that he has a bit more "go". This morning miraculously he feels OK - we'll see if it lasts until after lunch.

Our friends Judith and Simon joined us for Christmas Day and Boxing Day and we all enjoyed ourselves eating, a little bit of drinking, playing cards and being friends. John and I slept in the two thirds completed bedroom and we were delighted that we were lovely and warm despite the very low temperatures over the holiday. Viva la insulation!!

In England

2010-12-20T20:00:00.005+01:00

We've just spent the past 5 days in the UK. Guy was very keen for us to attend his graduation ceremony for his Master's Degree so we flew over on the Tuesday in time for the ceremony on Wednesday.

It took place in one of the halls of Manchester Uni, and Guy was very proud of his achievements.

We were fortunate not to be stuck in England by the snow, but Ryanair flew out with no delay. Warmer here in the Lot.

The Mad Gardener

2010-12-07T16:15:00.004+01:00

She's at it again! We're currently enjoying a small weather front which is passing through. We've been experiencing temperatures up to 13 to 15 degrees for the past 2 days and it should last till tomorrow afternoon. Then it's forecast to rain with the temperatures dropping to -1 overnight. We're then back to temperatures of max 4 degrees with the chance of snow showers. Soooo ....out she went and then I have a request to help her start up the lawn mower. This did involve cleaning the spark-plug, but I felt that she didn't have to look so surprised when it started up ok!

She'd obviously got a bee in her bonnet about the weeds and tall clumps of grass in the 'new' lawns. Not any more!

Owl Sighting

2010-12-03T20:22:00.003+01:00

This morning, at 6 am, we were about to set off for Toulouse for the start of my 4th cycle of Chemo. We were pleasantly surprised that the temperature was between 1 and 2 degrees. However, it had snowed a little in the night and, as I brought the car to the front door, it was a gentle mix of rain and snow. And then ..... in the house lights I saw a barn owl fly into the pigeonnier. We were so pleased to see that he is still using it. I say 'he' as we had always assumed that it was a female, but last summer, we watched a falconry display and they played the mating call of the male Barn Owl; we realised that 'our' owl was a male calling for a mate! Let's hope he finds one for the Spring!

Deer - Plan Z

2010-11-30T20:48:00.005+01:00

In Cahors there is a garden centre which I visit frequently as they often have large consignments of plants which they sell very cheaply so I called in yesterday to see if they had any " choisyas" left from last week's promotion. They didn't but they had some pyracanthas which are also on my wish list. I bought two for the long bed in the back garden. However on the way home I began to reflect that as they were 5 feet tall and very prickly they would be ideal as a hedge on the boundary of the front garden, the main thoroughfare for the deer in the front garden.

So I rushed out this morning in the pouring rain to find out how many we needed and .... off to the garden centre! They always sell out very quickly so we could not afford to delay. Buying 25, even better price!!

I know John is not himself at present but any resemblance to Benny Hill is purely coincidental.

Brrr!!

2010-11-28T15:18:00.003+01:00

You can see the reason why nothing much is happening here in the South-west .... it's too Brrrrr cold. We are having the same cold spell as in England, albeit not quite so severe. But it doesn't make us feel inspired to get cracking. This, combined with the fact that I'm just feeling exhausted from the Chemo, means that there really isn't much to report. Not that it's stopping the gardener too much .... there's a lot of leafing through books for inspiration, a lot of organising of seeds for the next year's campaign and a lot of taking of cuttings for next year's bedding out. She's managing to stay cheerful!

Good News

2010-11-19T20:32:00.003+01:00

John has been really poorly this week. He is exhausted all the time, cannot get comfortable wherever he is, he can only eat very small amounts and anyway everything tastes horrible despite my continual attempts to prepare something to tempt him. This seems to be the norm for anyone undergoing chemo therapy but it is frustrating for John (although he's too tired to remonstrate now) and I dont like to watch him looking worse each day.

However today he saw the head of the nephrology department, the man who is in overall control of his case. I casually said to John how old was he, envisaging a grey haired gentleman in his late fifties, none of it, he's about 35!! John said he was very thorough and told him that they were very pleased how his body was withstanding the treatment. John then went on to enquire when they would know if the regime is having any effect, to which his reponse was "Oh we know now it is working". As you can imagine that news bouyed us tremendously, even though John still looks and feels horrible.

We do appreciate the support from all you Blog Followers and are sorry that we are in a hiatus regarding The House Project. Never mind, I am using the time usefully to consider future developments in the garden. I have made a detailed study of plants suitable for our micro climate and ordered thousands of seeds!! Meantime I have just completed planting 500 tulips ( well they were 500 last year but they have multiplied to more than double that - as my back knows).

Happy Gardener

2010-11-13T17:56:00.005+01:00

The winter migrants have arrived early this year. Plants have invaded the bedroom!

It's a complicated story how this has come about. Last Thursday a couple came walking up the road and were looking at the garden and at Sue's plants in the porcherie. I went and had a chat with them and, in the course of the conversation, Monsieur Gardener described how he successfully took Lavender cuttings. I imparted the information to Sue and initially she was sceptical. But .... extensive research on the internet showed that he was correct ... and Sue found out that they require bottom heat. So, into the bedroom they came! And, today, Sue was 'rectifying' the rest of the cuttings.

Can you see that smile? She does enjoy her gardening!!!

Is this the Cavalry?

2010-11-10T18:31:00.006+01:00

We're in a spell of wet and windy weather and so, the gardener can't get out to play. She has therefore been kept indoors and, for the last 2 days she's been painting for me.

Yesterday was fine as she was doing the walls, but today, she started on the ceiling. This was quickly found to be not good for the dodgy neck. So, the cavalry quickly showed itself to be Dad's Army! The cavalry had to call for reinforcements and I found myself stopping my work on the tiling to finish the painting.

Fortunately, The painting only took till lunchtime, so I was able, finally, to finish laying the tiles in the en-suite of bedroom 3. Phew!

Oh Dear....

2010-11-06T12:50:00.001+01:00

.....not only am I getting grief from you English for not blogging often enough, but we had JJ phoning us up from Paris wondering if things were ok as we'd not posted for a week!!!!!

If truth be told, we haven't blogged because not much has happened. This week I had an injection at Toulouse and since then I've been fatigued, hence a lot of sitting about. But, even if you're not fed up with hearing about my illness, I'm fed up with talking about it.

Last Sunday, before my weariness, we called in a small Plant Fair in a nearby village. The reality turned out to be 2 stalls of plants and the rest were Bric-a-brac stalls. Nontheless, Sue managed to find plants to buy. However, you do come across the strangest collection of old boys at these do's.

To bring you up to date with the house, I've been trying to continue with the tiling in bedroom 3, but my boss wasn't fully happy with my work (she's been trying to be kind and saying that it was because I don't feel well). So I've been having to do some rectification work before continuing. Oh well, we'll get there in the end.

Meanwhile, Sue's been busy in the garden; weeding, splitting and moving plants, taking cuttings, tying in roses .... all the myriad things that gardeners find to do when plants stop growing.

The End of Summer

2010-10-30T13:27:00.003+02:00

Well. summer is officially over. Our 'summer' residents, JJ and Nadine have left for their winter home in Paris.

So now we are left here but not alone this year. Fred, Cynthia and their daughter Elsa now live in our hamlet so I anticipate some better Christmas decorations!

Autumn

2010-10-29T21:05:00.009+02:00

I suddenly realised yesterday that it is almost November. It wasn't obvious from the weather as I was outside working at gone 6 o'clock and I was sweating. I came in shortly afterwards to prepare dinner and then realised that the late Autumn sun looked spectacular on the Quercy Oaks which have suddenly changed colour. I grabbed the camera and set off round the garden. Not quite professional standard but I hope it gives you an idea of the scene which inspired me. Dinner was somewhat delayed!!

We are also aware of what time of year it is by the copious quantities of potted chrysanthemums which pop up everywhere in this week before All Saints Eve (Toussaint in France). The pavement opposite our village shop was covered with chrysanths earlier in the week but when we went to take a picture today there were only 5 left. So the remaining ones outside the shop in the next village will have to suffice.

We just couldn't imagine about 50 pot plants being left outside a shop in England for nearly a week. At Toussaint people put these pots of "mums" on the graves in the cemeteries.

I have had my eye on a piece of rotting tree root for over two years. It was in the hedge on the way to Gourdon and has recently reappeared as the Summer vegetation died down. As we had the trailer connected this morning John suggested that it was a good opportunity to "harvest" the root. Yes its "arty farty Susan " again.

Not quite sure what the finished "sculpture" will turn out to be or indeed whether it will survive my inept attempts at turning it into a piece of art.

Spic and Span

2010-10-28T09:13:00.003+02:00

Having seen our french neighbours busy shutting down their house for the winter, I noticed that JJ gave his shutters a quick coat of paint. So, as the weather forecast is for some rain soon, I took advantage of the sun to protect the doors and shutters that I made about 2 years ago.

Having done the job, we realised that we ought to repaint in the spring. Everything looks so much better that it would be sensible to get the benefit of it all summer long rather than during the winter.

Omnibus Edition

2010-10-24T16:50:00.005+02:00

I don't feel as if I've blogged for a while, or has a lot happened?

My treatment has been delayed as the platelets in my blood have fallen too low to be able to continue. We went down to Toulouse last Thursday but the blood test confirmed the low levels and so I wasn't given the injection. I now have to have a blood test on Monday ( thankfully locally) and will have the injection on Wednesday if the amount of platelets has increased.

So ....... we've been making the most of dry, sunny weather to do some 'closing down for winter' tidying jobs. Having said that, we realised that my clearing of the drains to the grease trap hadn't been successful, so Friday I had my head 'down the 'ole' again .... this time with definite success! This job is going to have to be done every 6 months!

Out in the garden, Sue has started on the Autumn/Winter clear out of the beds; the frosts have finally put paid to the flowers. I've mown the grass, although not for the last time, and put the summer furniture indoors. However, it's raining today, so I've been continuing with the tiling in Bedroom 3; it's nice to be doing something constructive again!

Escapologist Cats

2010-10-19T20:47:00.007+02:00

We had agreed to look after our friends' 3 cats for a week and they duly arrived, somewhat scared. When they were put into the 'pen' 2 of them immediately climbed up and disappeared into a small hole between wall and roof. To Sue's relief they did reappear at feeding time. The week went by, but one of the cats, Bella, continued to hide at the top of the walls. Sue took it upon herself to try to block up all possible hiddy-holes, without total success I should add.

Today was the end of their stay and so we needed to get them back into their travelling cage. We thought that we would grab them whilst they were feeding, but Bella wasn't going to fall for that. She was like greased lightning and was back in her little hole before we knew it. So, drastic measures were required, and I began to 'demolish' the tops of the walls; I removed stones all along the top of the walls so that I could at least see the cat.

We got to the point where we had the cat surrounded and I attempted to grab her by the scruff of the neck and pull her out. Needless to say, she escaped and, as Sue tried to hold her, she bit Sue on the hand ..... deja vue comes to mind here! After some more demolition, I had the cat and we stuffed her into a cat box, giving us the chance to view the devastation.

So, a trip to the Doctors, 8 days of antibiotics, anti-inflamatory tablets and paracetamol, and Sue's hand will be fine. M. et Mme. Evans have a lot to answer for!!!!!!!!
(It's a good job they're our friends!)

Autumn Colour

2010-10-17T12:54:00.005+02:00

The weather forecast indicated frost 2 nights ago, so Sue rushed out to take photos of our 'autumn' garden. Since we've started to get a little rain, and the temperatures cooled down, the garden has burst back into life. It is almost as if we have a spring garden and an autumn garden; during the summer it just survives!

The frost is forecast again tonight, so that should see the end of all the colour!

As for me, I'm in the middle of the second cycle of the chemo, and I've spent the past 3 days on the loo, hence I've not done anything. We're back off to Toulouse tomorrow morning (in the frost!) and hopefully, they can either give me something for it, or adjust the levels of the medication.

A New Beginning

2010-10-12T09:42:00.007+02:00

I can honestly say "the grass is greener" here now. Three days ago I was astonished to see that some blades of grass in the courtyard had germinated and were an inch high. Following the weekends rain we now have a green haze in the courtyard. Very promising. Unfortunately there is no similar success under the pergola. The ants are obviously still active and have harvested the seed again; evidenced by piles of grain the size of saucers in various places along the length of the pergola.

I am delighted to report that John has started tiling the floor in the ensuite of bedroom 3. His heart medication seems to now be the correct balance. One never imagines that some one receiving a course of "chemo" has so much get up and go. We are of course not counting our chickens but it is lovely to have the "old " John back.

Yesterday was the start of cycle two, so we set forth at 6am in driving rain, having first fed and toiletted five cats (ours and our friends 3 in the porcherie). We joined the Toulouse ring road at 7.30 and immediately found ourselves in a traffic jam. We normally encounter a lot of traffic as people are going to work and it takes about half an hour to get from the motorway to the hospital. However yesterday we got into the hospital at 10 o'clock. Apparently the Fair People were demonstrating about the disruptions caused to them by the new tramway. Its a good job we're not going today, there is a General Strike!!

Dans le Merde...Again

2010-10-07T18:58:00.006+02:00

I was quietly enjoying myself this afternoon mowing the grass, when Sue reported water leaking in the kitchen. It appeared to be coming from the washing machine, so we had to drag it out from under the work top. Further investigation, in conjunction with the fact that we've noticed a water leak from an external soil pipe, led us to the Grease Trap. All of the water from the kitchen passes through the Bac a Gras before entering the septic tank, and this was blocked solid with grease. Upon talking to JJ, he cleans his out twice a year, and ours has been neglected for 2 years!!!!

So of course, I ended up with my arm down in the bac nearly up to my shoulder, with Sue boiling up kettles of water to try to soften the grease.

We eventually managed to unblock the pipes, but you can guarantee that it won't happen again!

Back To It

2010-10-05T19:02:00.007+02:00

I've felt really good for the past two days and so, I've been able to resume work. I've managed to finish the first coat of emulsion in bedroom 3, and put a second coat in the en-suite.

Sue's told me that she can finish the painting in the bedroom when we have days of bad weather, so the next job for me is to tile the en-suite. It's nice to be 'doing' again!

Sue and Irving have dug up some of the remaining Irises from the veg patch, with a view to planting them in the 'raised' bed. As you can see, Sue made herself comfortable before she started to trim them!!!

Now that we are in to Autumn, and with 'proper' rain, the Nasturtiums on the 'raised' bed have started to give a lovely display.

This is what we were hoping for during the summer!

Grass, Grass

2010-10-04T11:55:00.013+02:00

Irving has done a splendid job preparing and seeding the courtyard "lawns". We had heavy rain this morning so I am expecting germination tomorrow.

As we have now lived here for four years we do not often find new flowers or wildlife to tell you about. However, Irving and I were going for a walk the other day down towards the river and we noticed some "crocus" growing in the meadow adjoining the river. As they were lilac with large stamens I immediately assumed they were safron crocus. On the way home I began to reflect that safron crocus grow on the driest,stoniest most impoverished soil possible and these crocus were growing in fertile moist conditions. Could they be colchicums (Autumn Crocus, Naked Ladies) ? A quick look in the wild flower book confirmed that they were. I always forget that flowers we commonly grow in our gardens were collected from the wild at sometime.

Lap 1

2010-10-02T15:20:00.002+02:00

I'm pleased to report that I'm now home, having finished the first round of chemo and, so far, I have not experienced any significant side efffects. As I remarked before, the program has seemed to change with every visit, but I was sent home today with dates for my next round of treatment and, hopefully, this is how it will continue. I will only have to go to the hospital in the morning, have blood tests, the intravenous injection, be monitored, and then come home in the afternoon. I have this twice the first week, twice the second week and then a week 'free' at home. So, each cycle lasts for 3 weeks and I'm to have another 8 cycles, which will take us to the end of March.

We'll see how we get on with Lap 2.

Meanwhile....

2010-09-27T10:44:00.008+02:00

Whilst we are coming to terms with John's hospital regime we have a friend Irving staying with us. I knew him from my junior school days at Bovingdon so we go back a long way. When he arranged to come and see us we did not know that John was going to start his treatment, so I am sure that his stay has not been quite what he envisaged. However we have benefitted enormously. He has prepared the courtyard lawns for seed sowing, tidied the irises and the veg patch and he's still got 10 days left!!

However as usual here a funny thing happened whilst we were working in the potager the other day. I decided to turn the contents of one of the compost bins to check that it was ready to use. As I did so I felt something go up the leg of my trousers. Irving said I screamed the place down as I thought it was a snake, all be it a little one. Eventually the trousers had to come down but just a bit of earth fell out so I calmed down and continued working. After two or three minutes I could feel something again, so down with the trousers once more and out jumped a tiny little mouse. He was thoroughly traumatised, well wouldn't you have been, and froze for ages before eventually returning to the adjoining compost heap. Irving said he would not have believed me if he hadn't seen it.

I just have to show you my sweet potato crop. You will recall that I began growing them in my bedroom in January from a supermarket "potato". They have been eaten by furry wildlife all the time they have been in the potager, so quite honestly I did not expect to find anything in the ground when I dug them up. However.... hey presto I was delighted. Out will go King Edwards next year in favour of "les patates".

So Far ...so far

2010-09-27T08:10:00.003+02:00

The marathon has started ... or so I have now realised!

We have gradually arrived at a fuller understanding of what will be involved in the treatment of my 'problem'. Those of you who know me well will appreciate that I like to understand exactly what is going on. So it has been exasperating that, everyday, it seems that I've been told something different. Before I went in to hospital, I'd been told that I'd have to stay in hospital overnight for the first intravenous injection. Then I went for an assessment prior to my admission and was told that I'd have to stay in for 3 days. Once I was actually in the hospital, this then became 4 days. Then having seen a specialist haemotologist, who is actually in control of my treatment, I was told that I'd have to stay in hospital at least 5 days for every 2 injections.

The problem seems to be that there is a failure of communications between the haemotologist who is controlling my treatment, and the Nephrology department, who are administering my treatment!

At the moment, I will have to have 4 intravenous injections of 'chemo' in conjunction with a large dose of steroids, over 2 weeks. Then I should have 2 weeks at home. So each cycle takes a month, and I will be having 9 cycles .... which takes us through to about next June!!!! My fear is that, once I'm fully in to the treatment I'm going to find that I won't be up to working in the house, and the thought of a 'wasted' 9 months is somewhat depressing. Still, no going back!

More news to come when we get told something different.

Autumn Harvest

2010-09-19T08:02:00.003+02:00

Our latest visitors have coincided with a cooling off of the weather. Autumnal temperatures seem to have arrived a little earlier this year and we were concerned that we would have a frost last night! So Wendy and John gave us a hand harvesting; no point in losing the last of the vegetables for the sake of picking them early.

We perhaps were a little too worried because the temperature this morning is only 4 degrees so we've escaped the frost! I won't be getting out the thermal underwear just yet.

Let Sleeping Cats Lie

2010-09-15T18:42:00.003+02:00

I was shocked to see our two cats sleeping together out on the dining room terrace. They were soaking up the autumn warmth even though, as far as Diana is concerned, there are problems if they're breathing the same air!!!

Most of you know now that I'm finally going to start a course of treatment for my little medical problem. I'm off to Toulouse Hospital on Friday for an initial assessment, with a view to starting chemotherapy next week. Should be interesting.

Decorating Crew

2010-09-12T09:05:00.004+02:00

The weather has cooled off a bit and we've both been able to consider pushing on with the new bedrooms. Sue suggested that we ought to paint the en-suite of bedroom 3 before I start laying the tiles (easier than having to clean paint off the tiles!)

Whilst she was rollering away, I've been continuing to fit plasterboards in bedroom 2.

I'm sure you can see the signs of the 'arty-farty' interior designer Anything to keep her happy!!!

Busy Squirrel

2010-09-07T18:35:00.005+02:00

Today we had our first 'proper' rain since the beginning of June ..... the gardener is delighted evenlthough it really is too late now. However, for some reason, our local squirrel decided that it was a good day to start collecting walnuts!

'He' spent most of the day coming down from our tree alley, across the rear courtyard, over the wall into JJ and Nadine's and off, we think, to John and Lesley's garden where there is a walnut tree. We think that's where he's going as it's the only walnut tree in the vicinity. Certainly, it's walnuts he's after as he does the return journey with a walnut in his mouth!

PS I had a phone call from my doctor this afternoon saying that I should expect a call from Toulouse hospital. It seems that they've finally sorted out what my problem is, (very rare), but they are ready to start a course of treatment. We'll see when we get the call!!

More Help

2010-09-05T10:01:00.005+02:00

September is turning into a busy month. We've got our friends Paul and Jennifer staying with us for a few days and they'd like to help us, although we're quite happy to relax with them! However, we have used their services in the evenings to water, especially as we're watering JJ and Nadine's garden as well as our own whilst they've gone off for a holiday.

Paul has also been useful in the kitchen .... opening bottles!!

It's that Time of Year Again

2010-08-28T10:24:00.006+02:00

End of August and it's the village Fete again. It started last night with the meal and then the 'dance' which can be heard all over St Germain till about 4 in the morning. The music and dancing is then repeated every night till Monday night!

As a prelude to the weekend, we get visited by fund raisers who leave us a plastic rose (!), a pot of honey and a brochure of events.

And lo and behold, we were in the publicity!!!

The photo was taken during last year's fund raising run when Guy and Carla (and Yoda) were with us.

This year's theme was Jamaica and so, when we got to the village, we were greeted by lots of Rastas.

Needless to say, they were drinking Pastis and not rum!

Concrete Developments

2010-08-22T15:26:00.004+02:00

Our fresh, young work force have been helping me with the concrete floor in the en-suite of 'Bedroom 3'. I had to admit that I wouldn't be able to do it by myself as it involves mixing the concrete, then carrrying it up 2 flights of stairs!

Despite a late start (we were out to a restaurant last night) we have put an initial layer on the floor before the temperatures got to 30 degrees.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will dry out sufficiently to allow the top coat in the morning. (Haven't told them that yet)

Reinforcements

2010-08-20T09:13:00.005+02:00

Guy and Carla arrived out here on Wednesday and quickly started to earn their keep ..... moving earth.

It's encouraging to see jobs suddenly progressing moving forward. Shame they're only here for a week!

Reassurance

2010-08-15T13:31:00.003+02:00

Just a quick post to let you know that we are still alive - we are aware that one or two of you get concerned that that is not the case when we have not blogged for a few days.

No excuses, it is the socialising season around once again. Last Monday we went with our Book Group to an open air production of "The Importance of Being Ernest" by Oscar Wilde. We start the proceedings with a lovely picnic where everyone contributes something and then watch the play. The actors are an English company who tour the area each year, mostly performing Shakespearean plays. They are very professional and we thoroughly enjoy the productions, although the choice of play this year John and I felt was more like a pantomine. "Praps we just aint cultured enough"!!

Later in the week we had friends to stay and then we were out for a meal with other friends who invited a number of their French neighbours. Guy and Carla are arriving on Wednesday and then we have friends coming during the next month, so the blog postings may be a bit erratic.

John has still heard nothing further from the hospital, although they have assured us that he is not forgotten. In fact he has had a couple of good days and has been putting plasterboard up in the en suite in bedroom 2. I have recovered from my neck problem now as long as I listen to my body when it says "that's enough".

I hestitate to say this but we dont seem to have had any deer visitations lately. Whether its the rattling red and white tape, human hair, a urine based concoction or just luck I cannot say.

Ooh Aah

2010-08-07T13:01:00.009+02:00

I warned you back in May that I hoped to be "ooh aahing" about the garden later in the summer as the plants I had grown from seed came into flower. Well as usual, things don't go according to plan and what with ill health and consequent "abandonment" of the garden, coupled with four legged infestations, my being proud of the garden has been a little delayed.

The following are a few pictures of the front and back gardens that I am proud of.

The Christo Bed

2010-08-03T21:59:00.005+02:00

We have been instructed by readers to carry on blogging regularly even if it is about manure. Well you have asked for it! We have not exhausted our manure supply yet so we are now putting it on the "Christo" bed, i.e that pile of rubbish behind the barn. The builders left a bare patch of earth after they had installed the drainage field and I had the brainwave to turn it into another flower bed. So for about a year we have been putting compostable material on it so that it will have one end higher than the other.

You are no doubt asking why is it called the Christo bed. Christopher LLoyd (known as Christo) was a famous gardener and gardening journalist who died a few years ago. He was famous because he inherited the family pad and immediately grubbed up the traditional rose beds and planted " a jungle". In particular he completely disregarded colour and actually, clashing colours were his forte. So anything I like that doesn't fit into the other carefully crafted colour schemes will end up in the Christo bed.

More Monsters

John and Lesley and their grandchildren arrived at lunchtime carrying a washing up bowl. Inside the bowl was an enormous caterpillar (11+cms), even bigger than the one we found a few weeks ago. Of course we were enlisted to scour the internet to identify it.

It turned out to be a Death Head Hawk Moth, so named because the adult has a marking on its head that looks like a skull. Apparently they found it walking across the lawn and when they put it back there it began burying itself in the earth, presumably to pupate.

A Deer Fence???

2010-08-01T19:02:00.003+02:00

As you should be aware, the deer are continuing to cause problems; in particular they love roses. Whilst we have taken temporary measures to protect the beds of roses in the front, it is a bit more problematic with the climbers on the pergola. The thoughts of tubes of protecting wire around each rose didn't enthrall and so, we're working on the theory that we can discourage them from entering the garden by blocking their entrance across the fields. (Ha, ha!)

You need to be made aware that this red and white cordon is not the finished article but an experiment to see if the deer can be kept out of the garden. It doesn't match the aesthetic standards required of a fence in this garden! We will keep you advised of the success (or not) of this latest deer scaring initiative.

Now, Where's the Grass?

2010-07-31T21:33:00.005+02:00

We're very pleased to report that we've finally got a base of manure on all of the proposed 'lawns'.

My assistant (the head gardener) insisted on helping, even with my misgivings on 'the neck'.

The next stage will be to tread all over the manure to help it settle and then start laying a covering of the top soil we bought from our french Del-boy. We're always moving something from one place to another!!!!

Medieval Fete

2010-07-29T20:21:00.005+02:00

We have had comments from some of our regular readers to point out that we have been a little tardy and not posted any blogs for a while. Well we haven't been doing anything very exciting. We didn't think that you would want to know that we have been continuing to collect manure every day, and after tomorrow's load we will have covered the two courtyard "potential" lawn areas ready to have the soil laid on top. No, John is not in hospital and infact he is still waiting to hear the result of his heart biopsy which was sent to another laboratory. He has more energy some days than others.

However yesterday was exciting. Some friends of ours are part of a team who are heavily involved in the renovation of a village chateau about ten minutes drive from us. The Mayor is very young and enthusiastic and was fully supportive when the village was asked to stage a medieval fete. They were all relieved when everything went off very well. All the villagers wore appropriate costumes and there were games and stalls throughout the ancient village.

In the evening we all congregated in the chateau grounds for a banquet. We were entertained throughout the evening/night (French "dos" never begin until it's time to go to bed) by a fantastic troop of muscians, actors and jugglers. The food, prepared and served by the village commitee was excellent and of course washed down with copious quantities of " medieval " alcohol.

We rolled home very happy and contented and just gave a tiny thought to those who were due to report at ten o'clock this morning for clearing up duties.

"Warfare"

2010-07-20T12:24:00.007+02:00

We have had a number of enquiries regarding the success or otherwise of the deer repellent. So far the jury remains out. "Deirdre" obviously continues to visit the back garden as a few things show signs of nibbling but I can live with that. However, her or some of her mates have found the roses in the front garden. Now we are not just dealing with an insurgency here, this is all out war!! I got up one morning and noticed that there were no flowers on the roses in the left hand bed and they had been a picture. Strange! The next day there were none on the right hand bed and my worst fears were confirmed. As an urgent expediant we threw wire netting and twigs over the roses so that we would not lose them all. The trouble is, if they are prevented from eating something they move on to something else. This morning I checked other plants before I looked at the roses but today, no disasters.

We continue to collect copious quantities of manure and the dreams of a grassed courtyard come ever closer.

As John was unloading the last trailer-load of manure for the day, he saw a huge, green catterpillar.

From our searches online we believe that it is a Great Peacock Moth, the largest moth in Europe!

Belle Vue

2010-07-16T13:20:00.003+02:00

Having finished the wall, I've cleared the heap of soil and removed the cement mixer so that we can finally see what we've been working towards!

In the fullness of time, the expanse of horse manure will be a swath of grass leading the eye out to the back garden, but, for now, you can see how we're trying to link the house and courtyard with the back. Another piece falls into the jigsaw!

Pushing On

2010-07-13T08:16:00.004+02:00

Just at the moment, we feel that we're marking time. Sue's only just getting back into the swing of things and my health issues are dragging on without resolution. The results of the heart biopsy have shown negative, ie the protein that they were looking for in the heart walls wasn't there! I've got to wait for an appointment with a different doctor in a different department down at Toulouse.

Meanwhile, JJ's well of 'contaminated' water awaits a plan of action. He bought a little DIY kit to test the water in the well and it's indicating that it's got Kaka in it (that's french for poo). So, we're figuring out what to do about it, hoping that we won't have to dig up the courtyard to check the pipes!

The temperatures are continuing unrelentless in the 30's and Sue's resumed the battle of trying to keep things alive (even with our various watering systems). Meanwhile I've been trying to continue working to finish in the courtyard but, over the weekend, I felt poorly. We went to see the Doctor yesterday and he advised me that, with these high temperatures, I've got to take it steady, drink lots of water and wait for a more specific treatment once my problem has been identified! Still, I have nearly built up the wall!

EVENING

It was cloudy this morning so we were able to bring home 3 trailer loads of horse manure from our friendly lady, Marie-Lise. I was then determined to finish that b***** wall, so I made a mix of cement and went for it. Needless to say, at that moment it began to clear and become hot! Nevermind, it's done....at last.

At some stage I will have to joint up the wall, but we can live with that for the time being!

"Del Girl"

2010-07-08T22:12:00.004+02:00

We were returning from today's trip to the manure lady when I noticed a man digging a trench with a mini digger at the bottom of the road and putting the soil into a lorry. It is fantastic soil down there in the valley so we stopped and I did " a bit o' wheeler dealing" and within a quarter of an hour we had a load deposited in the alley. It was so good that I thought we needed another load, so "Del Girl" sprang into action and we got it for two thirds the price of the first load. I was so pleased because it was still half the price we had been quoted by the builders merchant. John said we were just buying back our own soil as when it rains our soil is wahed down into the valley. The trailer load of manure was abandonned as John had to make two trips to the cash machine in the village. You really never know what is going to happen next here.

Any volunteers for earth moving???

If At First You Dont Succeed........

2010-07-07T22:33:00.004+02:00

I think we are on plan Y in our attempts to stop the deer eating the plants - plan Z being to fence all the property which we can neither afford nor is it practical. John's cousin saw a TV programme about Hampton Court Flower Show and it featured a garden as it would have been in Shakespeare's time; lo and behold complete with deer deterent i.e. muslin bags full of human hair. I had read about this before on the Royal Horticultural Society website so decided to give it a go. Whilst I was having my hair cut today I negotiated an indefinite supply. Chantal guessed immediately what I wanted it for so it is not just an English "old wives tale".

Armed with my bag of hair and supplemented with John's trimmings and an old pair of tights (no muslin bags readily to hand) I made the "rats" and we hung them in the deer runs. We await developments!!

It's that time of year again we are on the manure run, and will be as long as our stamina lasts. We are still trying to make soil for the courtyard lawns so John has started to spread it.

"By George I Do Believe She's Got It"

2010-07-06T21:58:00.005+02:00

At last a successful watering system. Not exactly high tech but it works well. Whilst the kettle is boiling in the morning one of us will have to nip out and turn the tap on so that half the serpentine bed will be watered before the sun gets on it. We plan to have the "drip system " operating as well, so woe betide any plant that dries out.

We were duly admiring our accomplishment this morning when Nadine put her head out of the window and said "good heavens it's Versaille!"

It Never Rains but.....

2010-07-03T21:00:00.007+02:00

It's been scorchingly hot the past few days; into the 30's, so we (or at least the gardener) have been praying for rain. We were therefore pleased to get up this morning to find that there had been a really heavy downpour in the night. However ...... mid morning JJ came to see us, fearful that there was a problem with our Septic Tank. The water in his well had all gone cloudy! He does have a 'thing' about his well which is outside his barn the other side of the wall I built last spring. He instantly thought that one of the pipes from our tank had broken and was leaking effluent into his well.

After a lot of peering and umming, I finally went to investigate the end of the pipe from the gullies outside of our front doors. At the moment the pipe ends in a hole dug in the ground at the back of the barn, and the intention was to take it on down to the veg patch. But you know about intentions! After due consideration , we (JJ and I) decided that, following the recent storms, when half the hillside seems to have been washed down, with a lot of it disappearing into our gullies, the pipe must be blocked and leaking out somewhere, ending up in JJ's well.

So, out came the digger again.

We cleared a section of trench and then I allowed water from the hosepipe to flush out the silt and debris from the pipe until the water ran clear. Hopefully that will have cured the problem; we'll just have to wait to see if JJ's water in the well clears.

The next job will be to buy some lengths of pipe to take the water away down the hill. Yet another job which seems to have appeared out of nowhere and jumped straight to the top of the list!!

Seemed Like a Good Idea

2010-06-29T21:34:00.003+02:00

I started to fit the spraying jets to the watering system this morning but, when I turned the water on to see how far they reached so that I knew how far apart the jets needed to be ......... pathetic!

Our problem is lack of water pressure. Firstly we are the end of the line and we're not sure how far the water's already come from the village's own water tower. Then, by the time it's come over 100 metres from our outside tap to the first of the jets in the beds, there just doesn't seem enough pressure left to give a decent spray. So we figured that, by the time there's some 30 jets in the line we won't get anything.

As a result, we charged off to Cahors this afternoon to take back the unopened packets of 'bits' and have changed them for a 'drip' sytem, We're not sure how well this will work, but we feel that it must be better than nothing. Time will tell.

Cracking the Whip

2010-06-28T21:57:00.005+02:00

This morning the Head Gardener was sorely tried by the lack of water pressure in the hand-held hose, and she forcibly voiced her thoughts to the garden labourer!!!

So, I tore up my sick note and started to set up the 'automatic' watering system which we bought some weeks back. It hadn't made it's way up to the top of the Urgent list....until today. I feel sure that the Gardener thought that it was just a matter of laying tubing on the ground, connecting little jets and away you go. However, I managed to convince her that the tubing wasn't going to last if it lay ontop of the ground across the road and out came the digger.

I had to take the tubing across our 'alley' where we drive the lawn mower, but then it had to go across the road up over the hill, the one the chasseurs (hunters) use in the winter.

Fortunately no one wanted to go up the hill whilst I was doing this. There's about another day's worth of work to get the system all set up for the serpentine bed at the front, but I expect it will rain now!

Back to Normal

2010-06-26T17:56:00.003+02:00

...well, almost!

The summer has finally settled in; hot, sunny days with temperatures nudging 30 degrees.

Since I came home from hospital I've been working in the garden so that, without Sue's careful ministrations, it won't revert to a wilderness. But I felt that it was time to recommence buiding work. As it was going to be hot today, I was up and out (relatively) early and made some cement to continue with the courtyard wall.

My intention was to work in the garden after I'd used up the cement, but it was already getting hot at half past ten so I spent the afternoon in Bedroom 3 organising the lights in the en-suite. There's always a back-up job!

Sue is improving slowly but steadily; she's found the neck support a great help. You can tell how much better she feels as she's begun to potter in the garden and has been busy looking on-line at different plants that deer are not supposed to eat. (I don't think I'll persuade her to get a gun)

News from the Old Crocks

2010-06-22T16:32:00.004+02:00

Well, I'm back home again after my latest visit to Toulouse Hospital, nearly at the point of resolution! I don't like to think about how many times we've thought that we were going to receive a diagnosis. I had my heart biopsy last Friday ( which really wasn't a big deal, lying on the table talking to the surgeon) but, of course, I didn't expect the lab to be working over the weekend. So, Monday morning I was sent home still awaiting to find out what is being deposited in the mucles of the walls of my heart. The opinion is that it is a protein, amylose, which my bone marrow has started to produce and which my body can't break down....so it's collecting in the heart muscles .... a rare condition!

Following a definitive diagnosis, I'll be back to Toulouse for the start of a course of treatment. What is reassuring is that there isn't anything physically wrong with the heart, it's this 'secondary' condition which is causing the problem. So, the prognosis is really positive....can't wait to get back to doing things again!!!!!

Meantime, the other crock finally went to the doctor today who told her that she has Arthritis in her neck and only time will cure it (although, of course it won't be cured, if you see what I mean)

So there she is, neck brace fitted and pills in hand! Isn't it good, this gradual aging process. Still, Diana is taking her ageing without worrying.

Flaming June!!!!!

2010-06-16T18:21:00.006+02:00

When is our Summer going to ever start?

We seem to have had rain since forever, and, as you can see, we're about to grow webbed feet.

So, even without me tripping forwards and backwards to Toulouse Hospital I wouldn't have been able to do much work on my wall in the courtyard.

Naturally, the gardener isn't too pleased, especially as she has a problem with the deer who are continuing to wreak havoc in the beds of the back garden. They don't seem to come to the front of the house, so the front garden is developing well, even though the rain is battering everything down.

I'm hoping that we might finally be getting to the bottom of my heart problem. I'm going back to Toulouse for a heart biopsy on Friday to finally, and hopefully definitively, see what is being deposited in the muscles of the heart wall. Lets hope that life, and summer, can then start again in earnest.

Never Rains But It Pours

2010-06-13T21:53:00.004+02:00

Last Thursday we were scheduled to have a storm in the afternoon but did expect one which started at 1 o'clock and was just about tailing off at 10 in the evening. John took himself off to Toulouse hospital early in the morning as I was not fit enough to drive down to Toulouse and back up to Limoge to collect our friend Betty. However our friends Sue and Jon kindly stepped into the breach and agreed to collect Betty. However there are breaches and there are breaches and I dont suppose for a moment they expected to encounter the conditions which they did. The tempest raged all the way there and back, except on their return journey they had to contend with floods and torrents of water gushing across the roads. Betty's plane eventually landed an hour late having landed once but then taken off again instantly. Presumably not being able to stop due to the volume of water on the run way.

Meanwhile, chez nous, there was feverish activity with every one trying, in vain , to keep the water out of their caves. Suddenly I forgot the "bad back" which I had been nursing all week as I tried to change the direction of the "river" which was rushing down the hill and flooding the porcherie. After about 20 minutes I succombed to the greater forces of nature!! We ended up with an inch thick layer of mud and slurry in our front porch but nothing inside.

On returning home Sue and Jon had to start bailing out their own cave and kitchen. I bet they'll think twice about doing somebody a favour next time.
However in reality we got off very lightly here compared to Cahors which had cars swept away as roads became rivers. All the new cars in the Ford garage ended up in a heap of useless metal. I hope to add some pictures courtesy of the local press, when my technical assistant returns from hospital.

Its all cleared up now despite 2 days of more thundery showers.

Nibbles

2010-06-09T17:16:00.007+02:00

You may remember Sue spending a few days making little piles of earth and then planting Nastertium seeds. They've started to grow well ....

..... perhaps too well, because last night they were found by a deer. We had to chase her off twice, and this morning we could see the results!

The gardener was not happy to say the least!

Sue decided that we needed some potatoes and that it was time to investigate our crop.

You may not realise that she's just spent 2 days in bed with a bad back....in fact she'd forgotten herself till I reminded her!

Sue lifted some respectable potatoes, although I think they've not finished growing. Her work was made a bit more difficult as we've had a day of very heavy showers. No sign of settled summer weather yet.

What's Up, Doc?

2010-06-07T17:17:00.003+02:00

I've been back to Toulouse Hospital again for an MRI scan which should have shown exactly what is my problem. But it didn't! We know what is my problem; a hardening of the muscles in the heart walls. But what is causing it remains a mystery. I think the doctors have gone away to ponder their next course of action. Meanwhile my medication has allieviated my symptoms, so I'm getting back into the swing of things.

We are still experiencing unsettled weather and so, as today was lovely and sunny, I spent the day on the courtyard walls.

Slow and steady progress.