The end of another era

For the last 11 years (already?) I’ve had an annual appointment with the ‘wimmins’ doctor, who always put me in mind of the Swedish Chef from the Muppets. He’s such a nice man and so polite.

My last appointment with him was a week ago. All is well. He’s retiring very soon and will be replaced by a young woman ‘wimmins' doctor. I’ve never had one of those before, so I wonder how we will get on.

Sort of waterlogged

The weeks have flown by again as I’ve been really busy and a few family issues have been thrown in.

 After visiting the Swedish Chef at the beginning of the month, I decided to experiment with drinking three liters of water a day. I’m still in a little pain from the bout of cystitis. All the antibiotics in the world won’t help if you don’t keep your pee as diluted as possible. The last check up I had came back with no bacteria at all. I don’t find it easy to drink large amount of water. Little and often is the secret. I also refill a half liter bottle so that it seems a little less like Mission Impossible. I'm truthfully managing between 2 and 3 liters a day.

Olivier now knows where he will be working and roughly when, but not for a few weeks yet. He’ll be replacing someone on maternity leave so it’s a short contract. At least he will have his foot in the door and will be able to put experience on his CV. By coincidence it is in the same town as the lycée that J-M is teaching in!

Dom phoned during the week, she has now driven in the snow for the first time. No snow here – just cold.

M-I-L is in hospital. She’s very weak. This month she celebrated her 91st birthday! I hope that they let her go home soon, she hates hospitals.

And another busy week is finished

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

Tuesday

Time to take up the treatment of the veins in my legs again. I really messed up the buses. I looked at the weekend and holiday timetable so I got off one bus only to see the connection disappearing into the distance; I had plenty of time so I walked; it was a lovely hot day. We don’t have many hills around here, just the one I had to walk up to get to the clinic. It was a very hot day by the time I arrived. The doctor told me that her secretary shouldn’t have made any appointments for legs yet, it’s too hot, so she just did a few little veins…

I don’t like waiting for buses, so I usually look at the timetable and walk to the next stop. I though it was a safe option as there wasn’t another bus for 20 minutes at least. The bus was running late and passed me halfway between the twp stops so I had to walk all of the way back again. It was still hot.

I was shattered when I got in. We walk a lot but not usually in the heat.

During the evening I stubbed my toe on the wine rack in the corridor. It’s been there for years, why now? Also I don’t walk around in bare feet anymore as my dad had a toe amputated. I have a very painful and fast turning blue toe. I suppose as long as it’s painful it means it’s ‘okay’

On Friday I’m off for my annual visit to the Swedish chef. That’s a car journey, I just hope it starts….

Tempus fugit

On Saturday evening the telephone line went off so we lost our internet connection with it. Rob went into town twice on Sunday to put the postcards I had prepared onto ebay and to deal with inquiries etc. from customers. I did feel cut off from the world.

Yesterday morning my annual check up with the Swedish chef*. As I was undressing he popped out to his receptionist and collected his post. A parcel from England! He asked me it I minded him opening his parcel. A book on the anatomy of the brain. He was as pleased as punch and before I left showed me some of the pages he’d been send via the internet; Oh yes, everything is tickety boo – I find it quite amusing that Rob pays for another man to tell me I’ve got impeccable breasts! (for my age)

After that, across to the other side of town to collect Dom from the station. She was waiting for me and half of the very busy, too small car park was closed off for resurfacing. Dom is fine and she was very tired. She’s got a job in the university library when she goes back. 7 hours a week. She’s decided that she is going to open a bookshop. I’ve passed her my notes from the Chamber of Commerce about setting up a business. Working 7 hours a week she is going to take a while to save up enough to start a business, but at least she has ideas. Olivier is panicking a bit, I think, about what to do next. In the immediate future I’m pleased to say that Dom has taken up drawing again. She was always very good and I was disappointed she didn’t pursue it more. I am now minus all of my watercolour equipment and would I look for a tin to keep the tubes of paint in?

Olivier looks less like a Hamster now but is in pain still. He’s eating more solid food and is as hungry as ever – he’s making up for last Wednesday when he didn’t eat anything.

Me? Busy doing the washing, of course.

*Rob had his wisdom teeth out the day before I saw the Swedish Chef for the first time!

Now, where was I?

I’m not sure where the time has gone this week but wherever it went, it went quickly. I’ve been very busy with the postcards as usual. Rob and I have been trying to get out for more and longer walks. Though it’s cold, the weather has been really sunny. I didn’t think the autumn colours would be so special this year but on the way back from La Rochelle this morning, there really was every shade of brown, red, orange and yellow imaginable.

It’s holiday time again here, so I have Olivier home and Dom is staying for a few days. Dom is still enjoying life in Poitiers and I got to wash her ‘psycho’ t-shirt. (goes with the association for psychiatric students).

This morning was my annual visit to the Swedish Chef. He was an hour behind with his appointments and really apologetic. Everything is well in that department and he sent off the usual tests to Bordeaux. He also told me that my breasts are the type which are at low risk for cancer. You see, there are advantages to having small ones!

Update
Friday morning I got soaked on my slightly longer walk to work, we had thunder and lightening too. Karin greeted me with some good news. Mr. F is enjoying his lessons with me so much that now one of his colleagues wants to come too!!

Walked back to collect Rob from the clinic where he’s had his 4 wisdom teeth out. The Doctor hadn’t done his rounds so I left without him and arranged for a friend to pick him up later.

My appointment with the ‘wimmins’ doctor went as well as can be expected. He is quite old and as far as I can tell has a Swiss accent, he reminded me of the Swedish chef from the Muppets I had a very thorough examination too, microscope and all. Samples are being sent to Bordeaux as La Rochelle doesn’t specialize in what he needs. He assured me there is no sign of cancer. I just have to wait now.

Finally got round to making the appointment for a mammogram, four months on. Its in two weeks time.

Rob is fine today and I feel really tired. He’s signed off work until next Friday.

I had a little packet from Michelle in the post, souvenirs of her trip to London and Norway. Thank you Michelle, hope you got my e-mail okay.