Anji Patchwork

The day after Valentine's

2012-02-15T11:51:00.000+01:00

Rob and I had been working together for over a year when he finally asked me out. He’d just been transferred to another branch of the bank that we had been working together in so it was okay for us to go out together. The bank had rules about couples working in the same branch for security reasons.

He originally asked me out on Valentine’s night, but I put him off until the next day as Tuesday night was Lady’s night and I always went out with my girl friends. I remember that it was a foggy evening and he had to come from quite a long way to see me, so he must have been keen.

The rest is history and that was 28 years ago today.

ExposeYourBlog !: Contests !

2012-02-08T12:13:00.001+01:00

I’m going to be boring and post this on all of my blogs. As we approach the second birthday of ExposeYourblog!, we’ve re-launched both the surfing and referral contests. All you need to do to win credits surfing is to be amongst the top five surfers of the day. Credits awarded are based on the percentage of blogs surfed, so the more you surf the more you can win – daily and weekly!The referral contest means that you can win credits for referring more members than anyone else daily and weekly. New members must activate their account by surfing and adding their blog.To get links, go to your “Tools” page and click on “My Downline”, scroll down and you’ll find banners and links that you can use to promote ExposeYourBlog!. Or you could write a post about why you enjoy surfing on EYB! and include a link in your post – just like I have.

Don and I are really proud of the blogs on EYB! There are blogs to suit all tastes and you’ll find excellent writing, art and pictures as well as members who interact with each other. We’re building a very special blogging community and hopefully members feel as it EYB! Is being run by real people who care about their members – which is true.

As always Don and I can be contacted via a PM in the forums (don = “Admin”, to contact me “Anji”), via a support ticket or email; forumadmin@exposeyourblog.com . We’d love to hear from you, feedback and ideas are always useful.

Drinking water

2012-02-03T15:26:00.000+01:00

Now you'll understand why we French ladies drink bottled water:

He might just be right.

2012-01-27T17:36:00.000+01:00

Look below at the post “When did the change over happen?”.

Since the beginning of December I thought that I was suffering on and off with a mild case of cystitis. It turns out that my bladder is having spasms. While doing research, I discovered some websites that hinted that this problem could be due to keeping your phone in your pocket.My phone is definitely out of my pocket for the time being. I have tablets to take too, hopefully it will get better soon.

Note to self: Listen when son speaks…

Evacuation

2012-01-20T17:18:00.001+01:00

I went shopping a week or so ago. It was pretty busy in the supermarket when the alarm started. A voice came over the loud speaker asking us to leave calmly and quietly. The message was repeated in English too. So we all walked to the exit calmly and quietly. I found somewhere to leave my trolly/cart, that I would remember, but most people were still pushing their shopping towards the exit.

After a few seconds everyone was coming back again. Then there was an announcement to say that the alert was a computer error. See how exciting life can be?

Eric for President?

2012-01-11T17:52:00.000+01:00

I apologise for bringing up the coming elections again. This time it's good news; Eric Cantona the ex footballer, artist and actor is looking for the 500 letters of support from mayors to allow him to stand for election. He wants to draw attention to the homeless and near homeless that live in the most terrible conditions in our big cities. I mentioned Emmaüs in a post on my Still Learning blog. Since Emmaüs' founder, Abbé Pierre, died in 2007, the homeless have lacked a high profile champion. Well if Eric gets onto the lists, he's got my vote!

This is Eric Cantona's ad about poor housing in France. It is in French, but I think it's understandable, at the ends he asks 'will you take it?'

Joan of Arc; Saint, Sainte or political gadget?

2012-01-08T17:14:00.001+01:00

France has recently celebrated the 600th birthday of St Joan of Arc. Unfortunately for poor Joan, her reputation is becoming more and more tarnished.

Recently a scolar has decided that Joan was in fact a man. The French soldiers would never have followed a mere peasant girl into battle. The reason why the French wanted her to be known as a woman was that the English would have been terrified of a woman sent by God to fight for the French. Was God not supposed to be on the English side? I don't think this theory holds water as the French handed Joan over to the English for execution. I think that would have blown her cover, if there was one.

We're having an election for a new President later in the year. There is a lot of fighting, name calling and so on, as usuall. St Joan has cropped up in the midst of this as she has been venerated by the far right for many years for booting out the English and leaving France for the French. Last week president Sarkozy laid flowers in rememberence of Joan and visited where she was born in Domremy. This has caused feathers to fly as some seem to think that they have exclusive right over the Saint.

To go with the post about telephones

2012-01-06T18:24:00.002+01:00

January 5th 2012

2012-01-05T22:12:00.000+01:00

Rob took this picture this afternoon, just before we went for a very windy walk. It's a hollyhock from last summer which is still flowering! I'm writing this before going to bed, the temperature outside is 18°C = 64.4°F. Like the title of this post says, it is January 5th.

When did the change over happen?

2012-01-04T22:03:00.000+01:00

Olivier hates it when I use words like Gr8 or U R for 'you are' when I send him texts. He tells me that I must use correct English and no wonder standards of writing are dropping bla, bla, bla. Over Christmas he advised me not to keep my phone in my jeans pocket. I answered that I wasn't worried about fertility problems at my time of life. He then went on about no one knows the long term effects bla, bla, bla. I'm supposed to be the sensible one, When did we change over rolls?

They've all gone.

2012-01-02T18:18:00.000+01:00

We had a lovely Christmas and New year. Nothing exciting just Rob, Dom and J-M, Olivier and I. It was the first time J-M has been with us for Christmas so I was a little worried about everything turning out well. My sister in the UK was running around for the same reason. Her son was bringing his girlfriend with him from the States for Christmas for the first time. Dom and J-M left last Monday and Olivier came and went as he had to work at KFC. He was sort of here for new year, but was with his friends. Rob and I watched a film on new years eve. We stayed up, but fell asleep just before midnight. We were woken by the famous Can-Can music finishing and the cries of the dancers from the Moulin Rouge (obligatory for new year) on TV.

Olivier came in for feeding and a shower before leaving for Poitiers for exams and KFC. When he comes home next time he'll be 21! Where did those years go? The house feels so empty now.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T14:54:00.003+01:00

"Happy new year and lots of little children" I only wish you those if you really want them. Have a safe and happy new year's eve.

Tuesday 22nd December

2011-12-22T18:10:00.000+01:00

This morning in town I saw a red admiral butterfly.

I bought the turkey this afternoon. Why do I always forget how ugly they are?

No Christmas story this year. It's in my head, I haven't got round to writing it down. If you would like to read them, past stories are here and here.

First lady carpenter

2011-12-21T21:26:00.000+01:00

I imagine that this postcard dates before 1910. The young lady was called Juliette Caron, she was born in 1882 and was the only lady carpenter in France. She was working on the barracks at Montluçon when this picture was taken. The back of the postcard tells us more;

"The lady carpenter works these days at the machine depot. Dad has seen her.. she works well they say. She works hard and doesn't mind people watching her"

Blast from the past

2011-12-19T14:55:00.001+01:00

A very good friend of mine from way (way, way) back is sorting out photographs and she sent me these:

I was 17 when this was taken

My 18th birthday. I got drunk on whisky mac. The next day I had my first hangover. Oh happy days... I was so thin.

(Thank you Melinda for bringing back some magical memories)

About Joachim

2011-12-18T15:34:00.000+01:00

That's the name of the storm that crossed France at the end of last week. When I was teaching, I had a pupil called Joachim in one of my classes in the special section. He was famous for farting, especially during the first class of the day. Knowing that, I suppose you could say that the name fits.

Two auctions and a lot of washing

2011-12-18T15:32:00.000+01:00

Last week landed us with two auctions. At the beginning of the week we were in Chinon. The weather was cold but sunny and we even had time to explore the town a little. This time we stayed in a new hotel/motel which was situated within walking distance of the auction house. We bought some interesting postcards, some of which will appear on Time and Oft in the near future. We returned home on Tuesday morning, hoping to visit the 17th century town of Richelieu on the way. It was raining so hard we just stopped for a cup of coffee. On arriving home we unloaded, unpacked, re-packed our bags.

Wednesday morning we set off for Limoges. The weather wasn't so kind and we didn't really have much time to explore - again! There is an excellent restaurant opposite the hotel where we stayed, so we ate without getting too soaked. Another successful auction for us, though a little chaotic as the experts were holding 6 auctions plus viewings over two days. The drive home on Friday was difficult because of the bad weather.

When we arrived home there was a message from Olivier saying that he would be home on Saturday. Since he arrived I've been washing and drying clothes non-stop. He assures me that he does go to the launderette on the campus - I wonder how often? I hate the smell of his KFC uniform. Reminds me of when Rob came off his bike and broke his elbow. He slipped on some grease accidentally left in the road in front of a restaurant, his clothes were ruined and had that same awful smell.

Being creative - sort of

2011-12-07T21:48:00.001+01:00

I spent 7 hours last Friday furniture building. The instructions said an hour and a half for two people. I was on my own. I've still got blisters on my hand from turning the screwdriver and I had lots of aches and pains on Saturday. It's satisfying to watch the joints close snugly as you tighten the screws. I am very proud of the result.

This week I've put up the Christmas decorations - and very nice they look, even though I say it myself. I had a bit of a panic when I couldnt find the crib, but they were all there waiting for me in a different box to the one I thought they were in.

I haven't even thought about food much. As we have a couple more auctions coming up, I won't be thinking much about it next week either. One of the local supermarkets has a drive in now - I might have mentioned it before. It will be so nice not to have to struggle with an overloaded trolley in an overcrowded shop. I suppose the drive in will have a queue a mile long.

In case I disappear

2011-12-02T10:23:00.001+01:00

I had another final warning from the FBI this morning in my spam. This time with four exclamation marks...

Where did you get that hat?

2011-11-30T18:40:00.001+01:00

I took this photo with my phone before I realised that I wasn't supposed to.

We went to an auction last Friday. The viewing was very short so we spent the remainder of the morning at the shop museum. It was very interesting. The museum was started from a private collection that became too large. If ever you're in Charente Maritime it is well worth a visit.

We bought a very interesting album at the auction as well as some other cards. No doubt I'll be putting some of them up on my postcard blog, Time and Oft.

Two more auctions to come before the end of the year.

A touch of the cosmos or the way to a man's heart?

2011-11-23T10:33:00.001+01:00

For a while I've wanted a piece of furniture so that I could hang up coats and store gloves, scarves and hats as they seem to pile up over the winter months. I found exactly what I wanted online.

Unfortunately it was much too expensive. Then the sales came - still too expensive. I kept coming back to it; wishing. A few days ago, I was looking wistfully at it yet again and decided to think outside my little box. Christmas is coming, say I presented the idea to the family accountant, Rob, as a joint Christmas present? So I went online again and saw that as well as the sale price, there was a reduction of a further 10% plus free postage (even on bulky items) if I used the special offer code!

So I prepared my case and my personal accountant agreed. I was very careful to point out that the reduction totalled to more than 100€. It solved the Christmas shopping problem too - the way to a man's heart!

Now I just have to assemble it ...

Another weeks floats its way across the skies of life

2011-11-18T17:24:00.001+01:00

Dom and JM came to stay for a few days last weekend as it was a holiday on the Friday too. It was good to spend time with them and catch up with their news. We even managed a walk in the sunshine and J-M mended a heater for us and cut most of the hedge. Dom made her famous carrot cake. J-M had never tasted it before, I don't understand how they managed that. While they were here, Dom received an email about a scientific paper she has submitted for publication. It hasn't been accepted yet, but needs polishing up. Can you imagine how pleased she was? Can you imagine how proud I am? Next stop Christmas!

It's still pretty mild here, we don't really need the heating on yet - despite J-M's repairs. We've had sunshine almost all week.

This week I sent out a newsletter to ExposeYourBlog! members - my first! I hope that if you're a member and you're reading this that you did read it. Don has handled the newsletters up to now. I didn't realise how difficult it is to find things to say....

Learnt a bit about how to be happy too. Not a bad week all in all.

Truman Capote revisited

2011-11-03T16:59:00.000+01:00

The quote today on my Google was from Truman Capote, it made me laugh out loud. I'm sorry, but a slightly off sense of humour runs in my family:

"Finishing a book is just like you took a child out in the back yard and shot it"

Here are my other strange posts about him

And another busy week is finished

2011-10-30T12:20:00.000+01:00

Monday was my visit to the Swedish Chef. Everything is fine in that department. Just a blood test for vitamin D (do I look pale) and a scan of my ovaries to do next.

On Tuesday Olivier phoned to say that he’d be arriving home for a few days in the evening. He came loaded with a huge basket of washing. He works at KFC for a few hours every week and I had the honour of washing his uniforms. The smell took me back 10 years…( Rob slipped outside some restaurants on his bike and broke his elbow. His coat came home in a bin bag soaked in cooking fat.) The only positive part was that the trousers dried really quickly with hardly a crease. The rest of the week I was frantically washing and drying despite the rain fog and drizzle which decided to accompany me.

In the mean time, Wednesday I had my last gel injection into my left knee. It did hurt this time, the Doctor said I have small knees and I suppose he touched the bone. It didn’t hurt afterwards so it was no big deal. Now I have to wait 6 weeks to see if the gel has worked, then I contact him about the right knee.

Olivier left yesterday morning, everything washed and a couple of things he’ll have to finish drying himself. The house seems so quiet and empty when he’s gone.

This morning Rob was working. We still managed to appreciate the extra hour in bed, the clocks have gone back an hour. Winter is coming

Pins and needles

2011-10-19T17:27:00.000+02:00

On Monday I went to have the second injection of gel into my left knee. As I said before it wasn’t painful, just uncomfortable. He injected the gel into the same place on the outside of my knee.. I was so relieved as I know from my other injections (for the thread veins in my legs) that the inside of the knee is very sensitive. He told me that’s why they choose the same place, it’s also easier for them that way too. I think that my left knee is easier to move around and behaves better on the stairs too. I’ve just finished my first month of glucosamine. I’m having less pain in my shoulder, though it does depend how long I’m on the computer. As I had a few days break last week it could be because of that.

Tuesday was the vein doctor. Both treatments are perfectly safe with each other. I checked that with both doctors.

Next week The Swedish Chef! (see October 9th 2004)

Limoges

2011-10-16T17:28:00.001+02:00

Last week saw Rob and I headed for Limoges for an auction. I had never visited Limoges before so I was looking forward to visiting the city. Unfortunately, we needed to spend our time viewing postcards before the auction as there were so many to see. Limoges seems to be spread out so we saw some beautiful buildings on the way to the Auction house, even if we didn’t know what they were. We were in a hotel close to the station which is magnificently lit up at night. There was an excellent restaurant opposite the hotel where we ate in the evenings. Not bad for a business trip.

All about knees

2011-10-07T18:56:00.001+02:00

I’ve just started reading ‘ A Farewell to Arms’ by Ernest Hemmingway. I ‘m really enjoying the book, just as I enjoyed 'For Whom the Bell Tolls'. The problem was the description of the knee injury, especially as I had my first injection of gel this morning (I also thought of you Don).

It went better than I thought it would. Firstly I didn’t have the three quarters of an hour wait that I had with the first appointment (though I wouldn’t have minded because I had the above mentioned book with me). The Doctor was very reassuring and said that it wouldn’t hurt much. He was right, it was more uncomfortable than anything and he was quite quick. I didn’t look at what he was doing, I just concentrated on my breathing. Those breathing exercises come in useful for all sorts of things! He just told me not to go on a long walk, or dancing today. Stairs were okay as long as I didn’t go up and down too often.

Tomorrow I can do what I like.As I write, my knee does feel a little strange and it feels ‘ loose’ as I walk. In ten days I’ll have the second injection.

Unconscious Mutterings: week 453

2011-10-03T21:56:00.000+02:00

Quivering :: afraid
Eclectic :: all I can think of is chocolate eclairs whenever I see this word
Superimpose :: layers
The best :: of
Aches :: grace
Vinyl :: black plastic
Hot and cold :: water
Girls :: boys
Wall :: barrier
Baby :: chubby legs

If you'd like to join in every week go here

Call it a bit of a dog's dinner...

2011-10-01T17:33:00.001+02:00

Yesterday Rob and I went out for lunch to celebrate my birthday which was earlier in the week. I was going to take pictures of what I had to eat. I forgot until after I'd eaten and took photos of the empty plates instead. For some reason I can’t get the pictures onto the computer this time. You’ll have to make do with a picture of a breakfast I had a week or so back after going to the lab for blood tests.

(I couldn't even get that one right first time)

Back to school - time for excuses

2011-09-27T18:44:00.000+02:00

I think that this list was sent to me by a friend who teaches in the US. I've been hanging onto it for a moment and decided to share it after rereading it today. It brought tears of laughter to my eyes.

Ashamed to be British

2011-09-25T17:51:00.000+02:00

Can you imagine the thoughts of people abroad when they see scenes on TV of children in the UK as young as 8 years old fighting in a cage? One of the fathers defended himself by saying the practice is not illegal. This makes it okay, does it?

The fights take place in a social club where alcohol is served to adults.
These boys aren’t boxing and they aren’t using martial arts which involve discipline and training.

What kind of parent allows a child to do this? We’re supposed to protect our children and help them to grow up into responsible adults. Everyone knows what happens when children of that age are recruited into armies. They become ruthless killers because they are too young to have learnt the difference between good and bad.

I’m putting a poll up in the side bar for a week. I hope you’ll give me some feedback on this in the comments too- or am I just a soppy mother hen?

Mmmmoo!

2011-09-23T14:26:00.000+02:00

I just don’t know what to say about this milk bottle label. I grew up on a farm and I like cows, but sexy?

How to earn money the hard way

2011-09-19T21:53:00.000+02:00

This weekend Dom and J-M came to stay. As always it was lovely to see them and they cooked me a birthday meal in advance. Salmon and spinach lasagna as Dom isn’t eating meat.
On Sunday we got up really early, braved the weather and held a stand at the local ‘Loft Empty’; a kind of boot/garage sale. I took along one or two odd postcards to sell (I haven’t got a licence to sell just those on a stand) and some old plates, DVDs and perfume. Dom and J-M sold some chairs; their new flat is a little small for all of the chairs that they’ve acquired. Well, it poured with rain, became hot and sunny, the wind picked up and then it rained again and so on, all through the day. The sun burnt my nose and Dom was surprised to find that she’d been burnt too when they arrived home. I covered the cost of the stand. I don’t think I’d like to spend too many days trying to earn a little money that way.
The house is always so empty when they go home

Knees

2011-09-19T21:51:00.000+02:00

Friday was the day of my first visit to the rheumatologist about my knees. I had to wait rather a long time but he was very nice once I got to see him. He told me that my knees were in the early stages of arthritis. It was best to avoid anti inflammatory drugs if possible and that I should benefit from having gel injected into my knees. The gel is also what they use to fill out face wrinkles. He doesn’t off that service; he said. He also prescribed a form of glucosamine for me to take. If the gel works I shouldn’t have any more problems. Although he recommended that I didn’t take up mountain climbing. I will have three sessions of gel during the month of October.

Another page is turned

2011-09-11T17:33:00.000+02:00

Olivier came home this weekend to collect his papers to use while he’s waiting for his driving licence and everything he needs for another year of study. He’s packed up the Renault 5 with all of his gear and headed for Poitiers. As I write this I’m waiting for a message to confirm that he’s arrived in one piece. I bet he unloads the car first.

Next week he’s starting a part time job in KFC’s. You know, I’ve never tasted Kentucky Fried Chicken before. We’ll be popping up to see Dom and J-M’s new appartment in a couple of weeks hopefully. Perhaps I’ll get to try some then.

He just phoned to say that he arrived safely.

Gentle Otter

2011-09-02T19:23:00.000+02:00

This week Keith at A Taste Of Garlic wrote about a non French blog for a change. Now I’m directing you to a post on that blog about something happening today – not in the middle ages. If you have a minute please send a few words of support. Don’t forget to have a look at the rest of the blog while you are there.

Not people, socialists

2011-09-02T19:02:00.000+02:00

I haven't got anything agaists Socialists. I made an error in my post about Greenpeace. The banner read "85% of Socialists"

We saw a report on the news about a giant turbine being taken out to sea and sunk. It will produce electricity and will change the direction of its movement as the tide comes and go. If it is successful there will be more. Unlike wind turbines you can't see them at all.

It wasn't what I thought

2011-08-31T22:33:00.002+02:00

Last November I wrote about being stung by a European hornet. In fact it was an Asian Giant Hornet. (Picture is not for the squemish) These hornets didn’t exist in France until around 2004 when they accidentally arrived in a shipment from China. They are a steadily spreading throughout France. One of the main problems is that they kill bees in large numbers, have a nasty sting and it is very difficult to dispose of their nests. No one knows how to get rid of them, the powers that be are hoping that climatic conditions or disease will kill them off

Greenpeace protest

2011-08-27T21:23:00.011+02:00

Yesterday morning there were some special visitors who came to visit the Saint Nicolas tower– but not for the view.

This week has been the annual Summer University for the socialist parties in France. They always come to La Rochelle. The election for a new President will be next year and the socialists have to decide who amongst them will be the candidate for the parties on the left. There is much debate about this. Not much is said about what they will be doing about unemployment, crime, finance, education, health and… nuclear power stations.

These members of Greenpeace decided to ask the socialists “85% of French Socialists say no to Nuclear Power, what about you?” They are very careful about safety as you can see in the first picture. Unfortunately the wind picked up as they took their banner down.

31°c = 87°f

2011-08-21T17:02:00.000+02:00

That’s what the thermometer says. Fortunately I can close the shutters to keep out the sun and open all of the windows so the house stays reasonably cool. It’s still very hot though. Surprisingly enough, I’ve been seeing and hearing flocks of birds gathering. It can’t be migration time already, can it?

I’m off to look up cold accompaniments for cold chicken. We should have rain and thunder after midnight - Whew!

Time traveller II

2011-08-18T17:38:00.005+02:00

This postcard was sent in 1915. German Officers, now prisoners of war, are being escorted separately from their men. I did some research and discovered that sunglasses weren’t worn in the 20th century until 1929. Though forms of ‘sunglasses’ have been worn for many centuries. Can you see the man wearing them? As far as I can see the card has not been tampered with.

Is he another Time Traveller?

All aboard the Transbordeur

2011-08-15T15:42:00.010+02:00

Last Friday Rob and I went for a day out and spent some of the time visiting the transbordeur de Martrou (Transporter Bridge) near Rochefort sur Mer. The bridge was built in 1900 by Ferdinand Arnodin, who built several in his time. The bridge at Rochefort is the only one left working in France, The rest were destroyed in WW2. Passengers and vehicles were pulled across on a platform, driven by steam. I was amazed at how quiet and smooth the trip was, although no longer powered in the same way.

Since I’ve been selling vintage postcards I’ve learnt to appreciate bridges. Look at the beautiful patterns of the girders. Mr Arnodin, who didn’t learn to read and write until he was nine because he used to play truant, loved solving problems.

The bridge was in use until 1967 and also appeared in the film 'The young Girls of Rochefort' released the same year (If you watch till the end you'll see how the bridge works). Now after being restored and made safe since the 1990s, tourists can cross back and forth, visit a very interesting exhibition about the bridge and explore the surrounding countryside.

We didn't see them go by!

2011-08-10T18:03:00.004+02:00

Around Christmas 2009, Rob and I were having a cup of coffee...

...when Google Earth passed by

Impromptu music

2011-08-05T20:50:00.001+02:00

Dom and J-M came to stay last weekend. We had good weather – yes, there was about one weekend’s worth. On Saturday evening we sat outside and had a barbeque. A little while before we were to start a neighbour knocked on the door and informed me that they were having some friends from Quebec. He explained that it might be a little noisy later on. I thanked him and told him that we could tolerate a little noise as he had been so polite.

We were just having a little drink while the barbeque was warming up, when I heard someone paying a banjo. A bass guitar joined in next, followed by an acoustic guitar and later some drums. While we were eating we were treated to a jam session and some blues! It was brilliant. They can make noise like that as often as they like. Once the music had stopped there was very little noise. We heard cars leaving a little after midnight. What nice neighbours we have!

I phoned Dom earlier, she was just finishing the writing of her first paper. By now she’s on holiday for two weeks. They are moving. They’ve found a new flat/apartment at the top of the road where Olivier has just moved out of. It sounds really lovely, they‘ll have an extra room that will act as an office. I hope that we’ll be able to visit them soon.

Am I the only one that thinks that time seems to have speeded up recently?

Phnd md qtuhgick!

2011-08-01T11:32:00.002+02:00

The ‘good’ start to last week continued: On Tuesday, the Renault 5 needed to go to the garage for a service. I don’t know the way there so Rob said ‘Follow me’. It worked really well until I had to wait for 10 cars to go by before changing roads. We hadn’t discussed where I should head for if he went too far ahead. No signposts to the part of town where the garage is. I pulled in it call Rob, but it didn’t help me much as I didn’t know where I was. He advised me to head into town and go to the garage from there (I know that route).

So I was in the middle of town in heavy traffic slowing down and the car stalled. I kept calm, turned everything off, put on the hazard lights and checked that the car was out of gear ready to start up again. The car refused to start. With a lot of impatient drivers whizzing round I started to panic. A nice young man offered to push me onto the kerb, which just happened to be an empty parking space. I was so grateful. He then ran off to help a young woman who had fallen over (‘Tomorrow’s News’ or a Guardian Angel ?). With shaking hands I sent Rob a text message, the title of this post is what I wrote. He realized something was wrong and phoned me back straight away from the garage. The garage manager has been looking after us for 25 years now, so he listened over the phone while I tried to start the car again.

They both came to rescue me and our garage man replaced the spark plugs and took the car off to service. When we collected it the following day he presented us with the bill – no charge for coming out to fetch the car.

It does pay to build a good relationship with your local garage, even if you don’t know where it is. Unfortunately he’ll be retiring at the end of the year.

Aïe !

2011-07-25T12:10:00.002+02:00

…Is what French people exclaim when they hurt themselves. It’s pronounced ‘eye!’. Yesterday when I was cleaning the shower, I splashed my eye with cleaning product. Fortunately I was in the right place to be able to wash it out quickly. It didn’t hurt for long but it was really red. During the evening it started to hurt a little as I was watching TV and not moving my eyes around much.

Before I went to bed I had to open a new bottle of the eye drops which I use every day because of allergies. Being the good person that I am I decided to reread the leaflet that comes with them in case there was mention of not using the drops if you got something in your eye like cleaning products. Hydrochloric acid is noted as one of the ingredients!

This morning my eye is fine thanks – just a touch of conjunctivitis in the other eye…

Did you know that if you take medicines for long periods you should check the leaflet enclosed from time to time as they are updated every now and then?

Out of Africa and Out of Africa revisited

2011-07-22T16:11:00.000+02:00

I was watching a news report on TV about the droughts in some parts of Africa this year. An elderly lady was being interviewed and she was saying that she had never seen such bad conditions all her life. They asked her how old she was. She was the same age as ME! It’s easy for us to appear youthful physically; we have such easy lives…

Out Of Africa was on TV last night. When it first came out I dragged Rob to the cinema to see it. He fell asleep and my French wasn’t good enough to understand the subtleties of the plot. Although, I did enjoy the shots of the magnificent scenery. At last I understand why she wanted the land. I don’t think we see enough of Meryl Streep these days

Fireworks

2011-07-15T14:22:00.001+02:00

Part of last night's display. See yesterday's post

Fireworks

2011-07-15T14:19:00.001+02:00

Follow your star

2011-07-14T13:00:00.001+02:00

Years ago Rob gave English lessons to a young man. I don’t remember his name. The young man was passionate about pyrotechnics. Rob remembers the young man's grandmother telling him to take his studies more seriously and forget about fireworks, get a real job and so on…

To celebrate July 14th in France, he provided the main firework display for Paris, by the Eiffel Tower and two weeks ago, the fireworks to celebrate the marriage of Prince Albert of Monaco to Princess Charlene.

You don’t always have to listen to your grandmother

In which I sit and talk

2011-07-04T16:54:00.002+02:00

I finally got round to making a video of myself. I’m sorry about the quality of the image and the sound. Any tips on how to improve it will be gratefully accepted.

Perhaps you could help too?

2011-06-26T14:29:00.002+02:00

Today I’m writing about two very important blogs created by a blogging friend, Dirty Butter. We met up because of the chat box on ExposeYourBlog!. We discovered that we have a lot in common, though we live across the world from each other. We sell old stuff online (DB antiques and collectables – me vintage postcards) and we both used to teach.

Can you help? Every parent knows the agony of their child losing his/her favourite soft toy. Here is an amazing blog to put searchers and toys together. Anyone can help, anywhere in the world… spread a little happiness!

A second idea from DB: As everyone knows in April and May this year a lot of people in parts of the U.S. lost everything because of the tornados. In April and May a lot of young couples are busy preparing for their weddings. Imagine losing the wedding dress you’d dreamt of and saved up for. A special site created to help would be brides have their wedding after all. There have been many generous donations of dresses. Now the problem is to find the brides to fit them. If you know anyone who lost their dress or needs help with preparations because of the tornados, please tell them about this site.

As if there wasn't enough to do already, DB also has a couple of other blogs, Yesterday’s Memories and Day to Day with a Movement Disorder in which she talks about coping with Essential Myoclonus and some of the medication she has to take

Ahhhh time

2011-06-21T11:54:00.002+02:00

One of Rob's colleagues sent me this:

Cat on a boat plays with dolphins

My A-Z

2011-06-17T15:36:00.001+02:00

Picked up at One Step Up (and Two Steps Back)

A. Age - 55
B. Bed size - double
C. Chore that you hate the most – drying the dishes
D. Dogs – None, I used to have a Border Collie called Elkie
E. Essential start to your day – an orange
F. Favourite colour - purple
G. Gold or silver - gold
H. Height - 5'6"
I. Instruments you play – I played the ‘cello for four years at school and I used to have a guitar
J. Job title – self employed deltiologist (postcards)
K. Kids - 3
L. Live – Charente Maritime, France
M. Mother's name - Margaret
N. Nicknames – Anji, gorgeous mummykins
O. Overnight hospital stays – For each baby, 5 days and nights in hospital and one night when Olivier had concussion
P. Pet peeve – can’t think of one for the moment
Q. Quote from a movie - "Don’t cry” Tom Hanks in You’ve Got Mail
R. Right or left handed - right
S. Siblings – two younger sisters and a little brother
T. Time you wake up – the alarm goes off at 6am
U. Underwear – clean and paid for
V. Vegetable you hate – cabbage
W. What makes you run late – Having to look for someone else’s lost property
X. X-rays you've had – back and lots of my teeth
Y. Yummy food that you make - Quiche
Z. Zoo animal – elephant, but not in the zoo

It’s Red Bull time again

2011-06-16T15:42:00.000+02:00

For the third year in a row, the Red Bull cliff diving event will be held on Saturday in La Rochelle. The divers will dive from the top of the St Nicolas Tower. Both Rob and Olivier have extra hours, being around while everything is set up in the evening after the tourists have left. Rob got home at 2 the other morning. We’re still tired! No exclusive pics I’m afraid, everything is strictly controlled and copywrite.

Dom and J-M came for the weekend. Dom has had her hair cut to celebrate the end of her master’s years. She looks like Meg Ryan in ‘You’ve got mail’, especially when she runs around the house in her jim-jams. In September she starts her Doctorate, she’s managed to sort out her funding without too much trouble (but a lot of stress). We had a great time. We went to a brocante (boot sale/ garage sale) and found some interesting bargains.

Yes, I now have my very own laptop and it has a web cam (don’t they all?) so I might do a vlog one of these fine days. Just have to wait until there is no one at home…

Normal Service...

2011-05-19T16:16:00.000+02:00

... will be resumed s son as possible. There is even talk of a new laptop for moi!

Everso Slightly Drunk

2011-05-06T07:52:00.002+02:00

I recommend you read his posts about his slightly strange family based somewhere in Canada. Not only that, he writes well.

I’m only doing this for the ExposeYourBlog! credits…

More notes to add to yesterday’s post.

2011-04-22T12:23:00.000+02:00

I forgot to mention that when we walk around the village after dark, we hear at least 3 nightingales singing. They really do sing beautifully. Only the lonely male sings at night.

Do you remember these? They were nightingales and unfortunately they never came back again. Being so close to the house was obviously too stressful for them

Nature notes and stuff

2011-04-21T18:11:00.000+02:00

Summer seems to have arrived within a week of winter. I’m sure that we’re going to pay for it. Strange things have happened in the garden, I had tulips and daffodils where I didn’t plant any. I think the birds must have uprooted and dropped bulbs at some point. There were lots of violets on the lawn too. One morning a couple of weeks ago, I opened the shutters just as it was getting light and I saw an owl on his way home. Rob and I stood in the park one afternoon when the leaves weren’t quite out and watched a squirrel make its way along the tops of 5trees before losing track of it. I’ve had my phone ready every time I walk through the park hoping to get a picture of the jays. no sign of them this year, nor across the road.

Dom came for the weekend. We went window shopping together and I showed her my short cut to change buses which takes me past a row of birch trees. She explained to me that they were the only trees that would grow in region of Russia where she stayed a few years ago. She and J-M will be back in a couple of weeks. I know they are making a special effort as they both have a lot of studying and preparation to do. Dom is preparing what is called her ‘mémoire‘ in French. I don’t know what the word is in English, I know it’s not a theses. I just discovered the difference: At her level of studies Dom hasn’t created a concept or new theory yet. This only exists in France it seems. J-M has finished his written exams and is preparing for his oral exams. They have a good system. They leave home every day and work in the library, very businesslike.

Olivier is home for two weeks before his exams. Not much sign of him revising… When he arrived home he’d got a copy of the Financial Times in his hand, so I suppose that counts

Next week I’ve got exam supervision, that seems to have come round again very quickly

How things break and that link

2011-04-03T09:53:00.000+02:00

Aha! I’m putting the link at the bottom so that you’ll read my post first…

This morning I broke my beloved Pyrex ® bowl. it’s the largest of a set of three and was so useful for salads, mixing things and making porridge in the microwave. This morning I made porridge in the microwave and the bowl slipped out of my hands as I was washing it. It shattered, which was quite a shock; Fortunately I had my glasses on, as it was a bit of an explosion.

Yesterday we received two large albums of postcards through the post. They were sent by an auction house a long way away and were well packed inside a box, each one in a large, extra strong, bubble pack bag. Wrapped one inside the other, the bags were perfect for containing the pieces broken bowl. Strange how things tie up.

* The link, it came from a Linky and Dinky newsletter. Hope that your name is on the right list!

(* For once this was something I could see better on AOL)

April 1st

2011-04-01T16:01:00.000+02:00

Twenty five years ago today, we moved into this house.

Four years ago I officially started up my own business.

This morning I discovered that my name is the second sexually active female name in the US - How’s that for a claim to fame? Though I think I’m getting a little old now….

ExposeYourBlog! is 10 months old today and still growing.

Spring has sprung

2011-03-28T15:48:00.000+02:00

This photo was taken just over a week ago; the blossom has fallen now . For a few days I had a layer of pink petals in the bottom of the bath every evening. Now the tree is covered in leaves.

I took this all by myself with my phone. When I get the hang of putting what I take onto the computer, you’ll get to see more.

The Queen saw me in my knickers!

2011-03-20T10:46:00.000+01:00

I recently left a comment on a post by Connie. It was about school uniforms. Just before I started secondary school at the age of twelve my mum received a list of what I’d need and what I should wear for school. Right down to underwear! I really don’t know how my poor mum afforded all of these new clothes for me – which she had to repeat for my two sisters and brother in later years.

She had to buy the uniform from specially named shops and they were very expensive, but hard wearing. She bought me a ‘lovely’ skirt which was much too long – she said I’d grow into it – I never did grow that tall. Miniskirts were in and we all used to roll up our skirts and hold down the lumpy waistband with a tightly done up belt (non uniform, but well hidden).

In the summer months we were expected to wear straw boaters. They made excellent Frisbees. Can you imagine the glee on the very last day of school as these horrible clothes were consigned to the bin? I clearly remember cutting my school tie up.

For sport in our first year we wore a pair of navy blue knickers (over the regulation navy blue knickers we were already wearing) and a white t shirt. I can assure you that it was very cold in the snow and ice the wrong end of a hockey pitch.

One day the Queen was visiting somewhere locally and we were told that she would pass by the school at a certain time and we would all be out on the pavement to wave to her. This coincided with sport for my class and being the youngest (and shortest)we would be standing at the front. So that is how the Queen saw me in my knickers.

A little update

2011-03-02T15:18:00.001+01:00

The 22nd February was Olivier’s 20th birthday; he wasn’t going to come home despite it being the holidays and then I got a message to say that he would be home. I saw him long enough to wish him a Happy birthday and then he was out with friends. He did manage to eat one meal with us during the 5 days he was at home.

The blossom is starting to open this week. Unfortunately it has gone very cold again, hopefully not cold enough for a frost.

We used up our 3Gs in just over half of a month. The idea is that we now have a slower internet connection until the 12th when our 3Gs will be renewed. We haven’t noticed a slowing down – not that any slower than slowest could be possible. Our phone line has been now been cut off. I phoned the answer service without thinking. It’s very strange to be told that your phone number does not exist anymore.

Changes

2011-02-19T11:59:00.000+01:00

Our AOL box died on us in the early hours of last Friday morning. It was so frustrating, so many things to do with no internet. I worked offline as much as I could, but I do a lot of research too, so I was pulling my hair out by the end of the day.

Dom and J-M arrived that eveing and he was on his phone straight away trying to sort it out. Would you believe his call was answered immediately. It seems the box was at fault. On Saturday, Rob went out and bought us a 3G key (I’m not sure what you call it in English). This gets the internet out of fresh air as far as I’m concerned. The only problem at the moment is that the key is only on one computer at a time. It is also very slow. Rob is going to buy a box so that 5 computers can benefit from the key at the same time.

I wouldn’t have thought it but I was suffering from severe internet withdrawal symptoms most of last Friday and Saturday.

Bring on the sunshine

2011-02-04T17:12:00.001+01:00

I met my friend Robert this morning and we stopped for a brief chat in the park. We were both wishing for some sunshine. He asked me if I could find some on the internet; I didn’t find any, but I found out how to make a sunshine:

☼ ☼ ☼

The sun didn't shine today, but I did try.

Saint Angela de Merici (1474 – 1540)

2011-01-27T11:04:00.000+01:00

Today is my ‘fête’! Celebrated in France, fêtes are a nice way of celebrating our names . Today we remember Saint Angela de Merici who founded the order of Ursulines. The order was founded primarily for the education of girls and care of the sick and needy. January 27th is the anniversary of her death . She is patron Saint of sickness, handicapped people and the loss of parents.

Birds

2011-01-26T19:11:00.002+01:00

Recently I’ve noticed the starlings on the move in the mornings. I was opening the shutters one morning and thought that the wind had picked up. The trees weren’t moving so I looked up to see thousands (?)of birds flying over. The next time they were flying pretty low between the houses. The weather was milder so I wonder if they were flying low enough to spot insects. There were certainly a few feeding off the lawn later in the day.

This evening we went for a walk in the pouring rain and an owl swooped silently by.

The post about the new Doctor

2011-01-24T19:04:00.000+01:00

Friday; I needed to renew my prescriptions so I went to see the new Doctor in the morning. The morning was different for a start, the old Doctor had his surgery in the evenings. I took my blood test results for the last year,test results from the Swedish Chef, the scan of my thyroid from two years ago, my prescriptions and notes about anything else I could think of.

Our Doctor (I still think or him as ours) was a smart man who liked interesting shoes and different shirts. The new Doctor was very casual indeed. I know I shouldn’t say it - rough and ready – sorry. I started to explain to her about being pre-diabetic. There are two schools of thought on diabetes; she’s in the one that says you are either diabetic or not. I’m not. I can have a test every six months. I can have a test for cholesterol once a year. Fortunately I’ve learnt how to eat to keep the numbers down over the past few years. She also tut-tutted because I’d had the urine tests where you collect urine for 24 hours – I don’t need them as I’m not diabetic. As if it was all my fault. At least I got my thyroid tablets.

We can change our Doctor here very easily, I’ll see how it goes

Extra terrestrial

2011-01-21T17:50:00.000+01:00

More exams this week. I think we’ve finished for the season. On Monday morning the bus I was on stopped by the station and an extra terrestrial got on. he put a smile on my face for the rest of the morning. There was an awful lot of giggling in the back of the bus later too.

The lost man and me

2011-01-14T21:41:00.000+01:00

I was preparing lunch around midday and looked out of the kitchen window onto the street. There was an elderly man looking very confused and lost so opened the kitchen window to ask him if I could help. He had a lot of difficulty speaking and could only answer ‘yes’. I popped outside to talk to him properly and asked him where he had come from and his name. He couldn’t remember and could only say ‘yes’. I tried to think of questions that might help him to remember, but he couldn’t. Locking up the house we set off down the road and round the corner. I rang the doorbell at a house where someone was home and the person there didn’t recognize him. She phoned the retirement home the other end of the village, but everyone was present for lunch. We set off in the other direction to see a neighbour who is on the local council and is married to a villager born and bred.

My neighbour didn’t know him either, so we all set off trying to jog his memory walking though the local streets while my neighbor telephoned the gendarmes who said that they were on their way. The post office closes at one In the village so I spoke to the post office lady who was just arriving home for lunch. She didn’t know him either. She fetched a chair and a drink of water for the old man who seemed grateful. The gendarmes seemed to take ages to arrive, their base is only 10 minutes away. We left him in their care.

My neighbour’s wife has just phoned. The gendarmes eventually took the old man to the emergency department at the hospital where he was known. The line was bad so I’m not sure whether he’s been reunited with his family or taken back to the home that he ‘escaped’ from. At least he’s safe and sound now.

Olivier was very worried, he’s home for the weekend and heard me lock the front door. He went into the kitchen to find a half prepared meal...

WD40

2011-01-09T11:39:00.002+01:00

WD40 has been around since 1953 It got its name from the inverter Norm Larsen’s attempts to make water-displacing spray. The product we use was his 40th attempt to get it right!

I used it to spray on the damp car engine the other day and we use it to lubricate stuck screws, I have used it for stain removal (though rather smelly) and to clean the fiddly bits around taps. Here are 2000 other ideas you might be interested in.

How about this one? "Removes a Boa Constrictor stuck in engine compartment of cars"

The spray can is the same in France, except for the language. You can spot WD40 anywhere.

Empty house

2011-01-07T21:57:00.002+01:00

Things seem to be returning to normal at last. Dom went back to Poitiers just before the New Year and Olivier went back this morning, we took him to the station just before 7. He was supposed to go back yesterday, but discovered his exam was this afternoon; Unfortunately Rob had trouble starting the car this morning after the cold, humidity was very high as the temperature went up. He started it in the end. We sprayed WD40 around. Neither of us could remember where to put it.

I’ve had a slightly upset stomach for a couple of days, this morning was Olivier’s turn. He didn’t take his exam, he was too ill. He went to see a doctor this afternoon and phoned to let me know that he would live. He hasn’t got any food in. Fortunately Dom lives close. Last I heard she was taking him something round to eat. She’s into making soup at the moment so he’ll be okay.

Now I have all of the washing to do and what seems like a very empty house.

Bye, bye 2010

2010-12-31T15:49:00.000+01:00

On the whole I think that it’s a good thing that 2010 is on its way out. Looking back over my blog entries, January saw pictures of snow - December too. February is good for birthdays, Olivier and Christian are both February boys. 2010 say the hurricane Xanthia passing through. Unfortunately we drove through the village where there were several deaths quite regularly. It’s still shocking to see the bricked up houses that used to be people’s homes. In March I was still posting about the aftermath of the storm.

Then McAfee did an update which closed down a lot of computers including ours. 2010 wasn’t too cheerful, was it? Nothing interesting to remember in May.

June saw the opening of ExposeYourBlog! A few of us got together disgusted with the way that the owners of BlogExplosion were treating members and volunteers and created our own blog traffic exchange. This is one of the nicest parts of 2010 for me. Being part of building up a new blogging community and making a lot of new blogging friends. June saw celebrations too. 25 years of marriage on the 17th and Rob’s 50th on the 30th.

Only two posts in July!

In September we visited Dom and J-M in their apartment and moved Olivier into his. Christian had also moved out of his Grandma’s and was renting a house with a friend which they eventually bought. I fell over and my knee is still swollen. I celebrated 55. (me!?)

Autumn: Doms’ birthday in November. Mild weather brought, wasps and a hornet as well as the annual hoovering up of spiders, but twice this year.

Time flew by and the year finished with snow and cold weather. We are lucky compared to a lot of places.

I’m looking forward to 2011. As Rob said earlier tomorrow will be 1.1.11. That must be a good omen all those ones - a fresh start.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T17:55:00.000+01:00

There are a lot of people who this year will not be spending Christmas exactly as planned. Some elderly people will be alone because their families can’t get to pick them up because of the snow. Many people will be sleeping in airports and railway stations. Wherever you are, I hope that you manage to have the best Christmas you can manage.

Dream time

2010-12-18T16:11:00.000+01:00

We were going to the restaurant in the village and decided to sit at a table on the beach. (The restaurant is a about mile from the beach). There were 4 of us, me Rob and I think Dom and J-M though I couldn’t see them. As we approached the tide started to come in very quickly and was pretty rough. The sea was a beautiful silvery blue with white crests. It was freezing as it landed on the stones of the beach. So we started to move away and came upon Howard Hughes talking to groups of pretty girls about his aeroplanes. He would only talk to pretty girls as long as they didn’t start asking intelligent questions, when one of the girls tried to ask a question he rammed a microphone down her throat. We made for the beach again and other people were hurrying away from the sea, but they came from other times in the past. We knew it was getting colder but I was surprised that I didn’t feel the cold. Then I was in an old fashioned shop selling things (food?) and a woman said I was dishonest. I was very upset about being called dishonest because it wasn’t true, though I don’t think anyone else thought that. I could still see the sea through an arch in the rocks and people leaving.

A picture on Mary-Lou’s blog triggered the dream I think. Here’s more.

About that phone

2010-12-16T19:03:00.000+01:00

This week is exam week every morning for me. It’s gone very well considering I’ve been getting up at 5.15 in the freezing cold and had lessons and a clinic visit to fit in. Last day tomorrow.

One little incident which almost made me laugh out loud: I was with one of our few male colleagues. He’s a very nice man, a gentleman, he keeps well away from any flirting and teasing which goes on, that kind of gentleman. When he noticed that one of the students had her phone on the chair between her knees; Students aren’t allowed to have their phones on them during an exam, he confiscated it and wrote a report out. He wrote that the student had the “telephone between her legs” – sorry I have a dirty mind, I couldn’t help wondering if it was on vibrate…..

They'll take good care of you

2010-12-11T14:55:00.001+01:00

Rob has been on a First Aid course this week. If you visit the towers in La Rochelle* and have a heart attack from climbing the hundreds of stairs you can rest assured that Rob and his colleagues will shave your chest and use a defibrillator to shock you back to life. They learnt other useful things too. Rob did his last course 22 years ago when I was pregnant with Dominique (or was it 24 years ago, when I was pregnant with Christian?) and was surprised how things have changed.

From next year in France there will be other changes. No more feeling for a pulse, apparently it’s not much use. Also, no more mouth to mouth, that doesn’t do much either and could be dangerous in this day and age of HIV and other nasties. What’s it like in your country?

*Link to webcam. The port is empty at the moment because it is being cleaned.

Monday

2010-12-06T19:08:00.000+01:00

I’ve had a bit of a strange day today. This morning I was supervising an exam at the school of commerce (yes, it’s that season again). I had to get up early and leave in the dark, in the pouring rain to catch the bus. Then wait in the cold waiting room for 20 minutes for the next bus. The waiting room isn’t heated in order to stop homeless people camping there for the day. When I finally arrived, the building has changed and the reception area split up into three different desks. Fortunately the exam department is in the same place.

There were 4 of us looking after about 60 students (we thought we were having 80). Most of the students this morning were Chinese and studying tourism in English so their French is not good. I gave out instructions in two languages. Nothing was straight forward at all. Then the wait for buses and home again. Next week I could be working there for 4 mornings. When the weather is like it is at the moment I’d rather work at home.

This afternoon I’ve been at the mercy of AOL – again. Perhaps there are so few of us left in France on AOL we’ve all been put onto the same decrepit server.

One thing I did manage to do this weekend was put up the Christmas tree and Rob to put out the outside decorations. I’m looking forward to Christmas but I haven’t got into the spirit of Christmas just yet.

Another week skids by on the ice rink of time

2010-12-03T21:28:00.000+01:00

After getting wet and frozen on a visit to the next town for an auction. last weekend was spent in the company of Dom and J-M. Dom has decided that she wants to study more about artificial intelligence – does the name Susan Calvin ring a bell?

On Wednesday I did something really stupid. I couldn’t get online. I was really pulling my hair out. Fortunately Rob had a half day and when he got home and couldn’t get online either. He telephoned one of his colleagues who is geeky. He told Rob to try pulling out the plug and putting it back in again. It worked – why didn’t I think of that? We’re still suffering from very poor internet connection, nothing to do with that though

Yesterday was the day that we woke up to snow. No school for the children and no buses. It was nice to walk through the village and, because of the snow, to see everyone enjoying themselves. It started to thaw out pretty quickly and now we have nasty frozen, half melted snow.

We've got snow!

2010-12-02T15:56:00.000+01:00

Well, it is unusual for us.

This was the view from the kitchen window this morning.

From the street.

Rob didn’t go into work, too slippery for a bike and the buses weren’t running. This afternoon he’s ‘working from home’ busy with the timetable for work.

Black Friday to Cyber Monday

2010-11-24T21:28:00.001+01:00

If you’re shopping online over this weekend and you’re Googling for gifts, you might come across one of my ads. There are the products I’m running ads for. They are targeted at the US market but some of them do overseas shipping.

Christmasdepot.com: Sell Christmas lights all the year round, indoor and outdoor, lots of imaginative designs. Accessories and other decorations too Their artificial Christmas trees are made in America. Don’t Ship outside the U.S.

Abernook: lots of ideas for imaginative gifts for all of the family – all occasions. Now ship abroad

Timeless Message In A Bottle: These are unique ‘Message in a Bottle’ gifts. For shipping outside the US you will need to email them

AGiftPersonalized.com: Thousands of personalized gifts for every occasion you can imagine, especially Christmas. From Friday 26th to Monday 30th; Cyber Monday - Deal 25% off at A Gift Personalized, code 25offall

All About Gifts and Baskets: Amazing Gift Baskets and cookies galore,some for under $25! Only ship to mainland US

HipsandCurves.com: Oh la la lingerie for the larger lady – why should the slim ones have all the fun? Ship Internationally

www.AfterglowCosmetics.com: Natural and Organic beauty products. Get ready for the party season. FREE Priority Mail Shipping over $100, Ship to US and Canada only

Strapya Inc All the little bits and pieces to make your cell phone complete as well as anime. Look out for special offer codes on website. Ship worldwide

OrnamentShop: Choose from over 3000 personalised decorations for every occasion, especially Christmas; This is also the website where you will find real Piggy banks. Shipping to US only as far as I can see.

Well that’s my little contribution to Christmas shopping 2010.

I’ll show you mine if you’ll show me yours

2010-11-23T21:20:00.000+01:00

In reply to Sue’s Tuna Fish Pie, here’s the recipe that I use to make Impromptu Tune Fish Casserole. It comes from The Sainsbury’s ‘American Sampler’ by Patricia Lousada, published in 1982

2oz (50g) butter
1 green or red pepper, seeded and chopped
7oz (198g) can of tuna fish, drained and flaked
8oz (225g) Chinese or other egg noodles
10 1/2oz (295g) can of condensed cream of celery or mushroom soup
5fl oz (150ml) carton of single cream
½ teaspoon (2.5ml spoon) curry powder (optional)
1oz (25g) fresh bread crumbs
salt

Gently heat 1oz (25g) of the butter in a small frying pan and sauté the pepper until it is soft. Remove from the heat and stir in the tuna.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring 4 pints (2.5 litres) of water to the boil, add 1 tablespoon (15ml spoon) salt* and the noodles and boil briskly until the noodles are ‘al dente’ – with quite a bit of bite left in them. Drain the noodles, pour them into a greased ovenproof dish and toss with the remaining butter. Pour the tuna and pepper mixture over the noodles.

Empty the soup into a bowl and mix in the cream, and the curry powder if you are using it. Pour this soup mixture over the tuna and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs. Bake in a pre-heated oven, Gas Mark 7/425°F/220°C, for 15-20 minutes.

*This much???!

I’ve adapted the recipe over the years as I couldn’t find good old condensed soup here. I made up packet leak and potato soup and thickened it with flour or I made a sauce using whatever vegetables I had, flour and milk I also use pasta to make it too.

Anyone else got a tuna recipe they’d like to share?

The invasion of the hornets...

2010-11-23T13:36:00.000+01:00

Continuing the hornets saga. Our Mairie (town hall) is situated in the park and I walk through the park every morning. This morning, returning home, I was very surprised to see blue flashing lights and a fire-fighter’s van coming into the grounds. The fire-fighters were greeted by our village policewoman who pointed to a huge hornet’s nest high up in one of the trees It was like a huge ball suspended from a branch. Now the leaves are almost gone from the trees it had come into view. At that point I met Robert, my elderly friend, so we watched them looking at it and he told me that someone had pointed out another nest to him in a tree in the middle of the village. Hopefully next year we will be rid of them.

When we were small, my two sisters were attacked by a swarm of bees one hot Sunday morning. The owner of the hive decided to move them (not a good idea on a hot day). Years later people were still giving us advice on what to do if you see a swarm coming. Lie face down on the ground, the swarm will fly over you. When they are swarming the angry bees stick to and sting whatever gets in their way.

An amusing review of ‘The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest’ film.

Dance of the young lovers

2010-11-19T16:25:00.002+01:00

I had my first Christmas card this morning from my aunt. She included a newspaper cutting about my cousin Paul who is going to have his beard and hair cut off for charity in the new year. Here’s the story and a podcast.

This is one of the songs from his Blood, Fish and Bone album, Dance of the young lovers. His blog is here

It’s called progress

2010-11-17T21:39:00.000+01:00

Since the beginning of the year we can’t buy the old type of light bulbs. I’ve been replacing old with new low energy ones as they stop working. The new ones are awful, not as strong as they say they are and take three minutes to get up to power. My retired student says that she and her husband have one on their stairs, very dangerous for elderly people (they are both in their 80s). Before we always turned off the light when we left a room, now we tend to leave them on. The worst part is knowing that I shouldn’t have to change them until 2018.

Secondly, our region of France has now switched over to numeric TV. J-M very kindly fixed us up with his old box and an internal aerial. Up until the change over we did have more channels and then they went strange on us, but I discovered that this would be normal in the days prior to changeover. Since the changeover we can get 3 of the old channels (there used to be 6) and two new ones. That means 5 out of the 19 we were promised. We do have an old telly. Fortunately, Rob watches the news and that’s about all. I watch Cold Case (on a channel we still receive) but I can’t watch Medium or N.C.I.S. anymore.

Oh well, there is always ironing to do I suppose.

Happy Birthday!

2010-11-15T18:14:00.000+01:00

Happy birthday to Dom, 22 years old today.

Here she is when she was three being an elf at the school end of year festivities.

Another one gone...

2010-11-14T12:34:00.001+01:00

Sometimes you find a new blog only to find it’s gone. Today it’s the turn of Dufusdownbeat, a music blog, to bite the dust. The last post is about the Rolling Stones’ Under My thumb, with a clip from Ready Steady Go.

It made me think of one of the presenters, Cathy Mcgowan, we all wanted to be like her, all of that lovely shiny hair. My research led me to this little gem of her miming and messing about with the Rolling Stones – and don’t they look young? Thanks to Dufus.

Hidden benefit

2010-11-13T14:59:00.000+01:00

A few days ago I hurt the side of my foot in the edge of a rocker on a rocking chair. The pain kept me awake for two nights with its coming and going. There was no swelling at all and walking was no problem. I’d also had difficulty sleeping because right my shoulder and elbow were aching (too much computer probably)

No pain at all today (the part of my hand which was stung is better too). Then I remembered something about bee stings being used as treatment for arthritis. I checked to see if I could find anything about the medicinal benefits of hornet stings. Nothing really as bee stings come up on Google more. Has anyone any ideas?

Mummy!

2010-11-12T17:25:00.000+01:00

I was just getting the washing inside when I disturbed a European Hornet on my pullover which stung me. I’m applying an ice pack - it hurts a lot.

Lots of sympathy please.

A lucky escape

2010-11-09T21:37:00.000+01:00

Rob and I had planned to got to an auction in Chinon on Monday. This involved travelling the day before and staying overnight n a hotel. Just like we did last year in September. As we’d be going by train we knew that once there, we would be relying on the once a day bus service to get to the auction house on the outskirts of town. When the catalogue came it soon became apparent that by the time they got to any of the bids we might be interested it we’d have left to catch the bus.

For the last two days we’ve had storms and rain, especially on our coast. We’re so glad we didn’t go, we’d have been stuck in the middle of nowhere with nowhere to go in the cold wind and rain.

The river of life flows on

2010-11-05T17:56:00.000+01:00

I’ve been to see the doctor twice recently. Once for the usual check up and renewed prescription; All of my test/examination results are excellent. This week I had my flu vaccination which apparently includes the new flu too. I also asked him to look at my knee which I injured two months ago. It still has a swelling on the side. There’s fluid trapped in it, I’ve got to massage it with some gel every night for a couple of months and it will disappear – hopefully.

I was suffering from headaches for about a month. I tried to resist taking too much paracetamol because it gives you… headaches! I cured it by buying a new pillow. - Woke up the next day feeling completely different and no headaches since.

Our doctor will be retiring at the end of the year. He’s been here since I was expecting Dom, she’ll be 22 in ten days time. That’s an awful lot of family history passing under the bridge. He’ll be replaced by a lady doctor.

Talking about time passing. Have a look at this. You have to scroll down to read what it’s about.

You can't win them all

2010-10-30T21:28:00.000+02:00

Today was a little different. Rob had a message yesterday from a friend who keeps an eye on the auction house in town. There were a few boxes of postcards coming up this afternoon. We spent the day in town and had a good look around – like tourists. We had a lovely lunch in the little square (triangle really) by the magic tree (meeting place of all young people with guitars and funny cigarettes for many years until they took the low wall away). I had toasted goat’s cheese salad with walnuts, apple, goat’s cheese, etc. and Rob had salmon tartar (but I didn’t tell him that the salmon was raw) which he really enjoyed. We went to the auction and waited patiently for our lots to come up… we were outbid. That’s life.

We also found the house which had been the home of this lady. Rob took a picture with his super iPhone and will forward it to me tomorrow.

A lady I’d like to meet

2010-10-27T22:58:00.000+02:00

I haven’t done the 'meeting the other parents' bit yet, but I’m really looking forward to meeting JM’s mother. I don’t remember all of the details exactly but I seem to remember something about her having a Citroen 2CV and two Dobermans (Dobermen?) when she was young.

The family has an apartment in Paris where JM lived when he was studying there and his younger brother lives now. Unfortunately his younger brother arrived home one day after visiting his parents to find the place taken over by squatters. Can you imagine how upsetting that must have been? He phoned home and I’m not sure how quickly his mother came, but when she came she was armed with chains ropes and super glue (again I’m not sure of the details exactly). She started to board up the shutters and doors with the ropes and chains. Of course the squatters wanted to know what the hell was going on. She told them as they wanted to stay there they could, but they wouldn’t be able to get out. They left.

A few weeks ago the family home was burgled during the night. She bought herself a Rottweiler.

Now read Keith’s post about breaking the law in the UK

Halloween

2010-10-26T22:01:00.000+02:00

Before you roll your eyes and stop reading. I thought I’d tell you about how Halloween has changed in the little part of France I live in the past 20 years or so. When the children were small the big dressing up and asking for treats day was Mardi Gras. There would be knocks at the door all day if it fell in the school holidays.

Then Halloween started up and little by little grew and took over from Mardi Gras. We even organised a big Halloween party for the children in the village, with prizes for the best costumes. When I was an English assistant in Primary and secondary schools it provided and excellent lesson in Anglo Saxon culture, followed a few days later by the story of Guy Falkes

Now both Mardi Gras and Halloween seem to have been forgotten by the children for some reason. Despite half hearted attempts to sell costumes, wigs and masks in some of the shops.

November 1st is All Saints Day and is a holiday in France. Traditionally people visit the graves of their loved ones and leave chrysanthemums. It’s a good moment for a family get together. It’s lovely going shopping at this time of the year, the shops are full of pots of Chrysanthemums.

What do you do in your country?

Catch Me If You Can

2010-10-24T19:30:00.004+02:00

Rob and I took a little time off yesterday afternoon. As it was pouring with rain we put on a film. Not only is Catch Me If You Can worth watching, it has one of the best opening title sequences, on a par with the first Pink Panther film.

Update on my eyebrows

2010-10-20T21:38:00.000+02:00

It’s been 3 years since they dropped out due to stress I think. They are coming back very slowly. I hadn’t been drawing them in because I didn’t want to clog the hair follicles up, but I was getting fed up with a straight fringe in my eyes most of the time. I took my courage in my hand and left a comment on Cherelynn’s blog Makeup University Inc. asking for help. I got a very quick reply and she suggested drawing the eyebrows in with eye
shadow first then using a soft crayon; I tried it and it was so easy to do. I couldn’t believe how good they looked. I’m still working on getting the thickness right, but they look pretty natural and now I don’t panic when the wind blows.

Cherelynn has all sorts of advice on her blog and giveaways too if you live the other side of the (Atlantic) pond. Well worth a visit.

Can I put the record straight?

2010-10-20T21:06:00.000+02:00

In order to start receiving a state pension in France you have to have worked for 41.5 years. People who are entitled to retire at 60 will be people who started full time work before the age of 19. This means that they didn’t go far in their education and worked in low paid jobs. Most people in low paid jobs work well into their 60s in order to obtain a decent pension. Nearly every one works extra years to bump up their pensions. People who work on the black market never get a pension and work until they die or become too infirm.

The marine biologists I used to give lessons to calculated they could start thinking about retiring after they were 70.

Just a thought

2010-10-14T21:16:00.000+02:00

I just wondered it anyone else had noticed: As far as we know, the miners that were trapped underground seem to have managed to get along reasonably well together. Do you remember the behaviour of some of the inmates of ‘Big Brother’ (in France ‘The Loft’)? It made me think….

I can dream

2010-10-12T21:02:00.000+02:00

I got to have a go with Olivier’s Blackberry. We were coming home after taking him to his lift to go back to Poitiers early on Monday morning. We could hear music and as a car was overtaking us at the time thought that they had their music turned up loud. A second car overtook with it’s music, the same music, playing loudly. I assumed they were listening to the same radio station. Then the music played again. Olivier was phoning us (his phone) with his friend’s phone to tell us that he’d left the blackberry on the back seat. We had to turn around and go back to the pick up point. Fortunately they had only lost 10 minutes. They both had lectures at 10.15.

I expect that’s the closest I’ll get to using his phone.