Early to rise

The alarm went off at four this morning. Rob had to go into work early to let the camera crew into the Chain tower as today was the la Rochelle Marathon. By eight this morning I’d already cleaned the oven door (no easy task), made the Christmas card list and cleaned the step in the shower. Since then I’ve been working and surfing. I’ve managed to prepare more postcards for online than I usually do. Perhaps I should set the alarm for 4 every morning. Perhaps not.

On Friday I had a chest x-ray. My lungs are fine but they did notice my spine is slightly arthritic (regular readers will know all about that problem) which I’ve already sorted.

After that I spent a few hours looking for something to wear for the wedding. Most shops are more interested in evening wear for Christmas and New Year at the moment, so it’s not easy. This is not going to be a formal wedding and I am not wearing a hat. I’ve managed to find one shop with clothes that I like and will go back again next Friday and try some things on.

I’ve also got to find out where to buy confetti from.

Do you have to die because you are different?

Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance These are the faces of women and men who tried to live their lives as they knew they should.
 

 The memorial page

Time to buy a dress

Dom and J-M came to visit this weekend. Saturday morning we had the agreeable job of shopping for clothes for Dom and J-M’s wedding at the end of December! We went into a lot of shops, some of which were very different to others. Dom found several dresses that she liked in Burton of all places (considering the chic French shops we have here in La Rochelle). As they are having a civil marriage, she decided on a very simple purple dress, with geometric black lines, very 60s. Me? Absolutely nothing. I tried on three dresses, none of which flattered my lumpy figure.

We were exhausted after a morning’s shop and the weather was dull and damp so we just popped out for a drink late afternoon. We celebrated her birthday which was on the 15th and talked and talked.

Next time they will be here it will be Christmas.

Now I know why

Recently I haven’t felt like doing much. I haven’t felt much like blogging or visiting blogs. I’ve been falling asleep in front of the TV most evenings too. My blood test results came back and my thyroid has gone way out again. The Doctor has changed the dose of thyroxcine so hopefully in a few weeks I’ll be back up to full power.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

Down, back and up

This has been a really interesting weekend for me. Yesterday lunchtime, on TV,  there was a documentary about the men who spend their tours of duty manning a nuclear submarine. The film crew spent a week with them. It was interesting to learn how everything fit together within the submarine. Equipment is designed so that it can be moved through small spaces. They even recycle in the galley. You should have seen what they get to eat! (Well, this was a French submarine).

The crew was very interesting and friendly with a proud sense of duty. Of course, there was a lot that they couldn’t tell us and the microphones were switched off during a visit to the engine room as the sound of the engine is part of a submarine’s identity and must be kept secret. Needless to say, the film crew was glad to leave after a week in such a confined space!
 I’ve written about submarines in the past: here and here

 Yesterday evening there was a telefilm about Georges Clemenceau (the Tiger) who was the French leader during the First World War.

One of the monuments associated with The Towers in La Rochelle is the little house that Clemenceau stayed in for holidays by the sea in Vendée. One Christmas Rob was guardian for a couple of days and nights there and we’ve visited several times. ( A short story that I wrote about that Christmas) Clemenceau was also a close friend of Claude Monet and persuaded him to have operations on his cataracts.

 This lunch time I’ve been listening to The Museum of Curiosity. Buzz Aldrin was one of the guests contributing to the Museum this week. He’s really interesting with a good sense of humour Unfortunately, there is only one day left to listen if you want to know the first words he said to his wife when he landed back on earth

It's a gas...

Today is a holiday here in France.  Traditionally everyone visits the graves of their loved ones with chrysanthemums.  As Rob has a job  in the tourist industry he’s at work today which means I am too.  Anyway I’ve finished for today.

Yesterday was quite active.  We had the yearly check up of the gas heater.  All is fine;  a little part needs replacing but nothing dangerous or vital for the moment.  During the afternoon, there was no gas at all.  Problems with the heating are not what anyone needs with the cold weather approaching. It turned out to be builders working on some new houses to be accidently broke a gas main.  It was fixed within a couple of hours.  The best bit was that the gas men came round checking that everyone was back in action and they even offered to turn my heater on again.  Thank goodness they did, it took a while to ignite.  If I’d have done it I’d have panicked. 

 I only knew electricity growing up so I don’t trust gas (though it makes great scrambled eggs!).  When I was in my early teens I remember the police arriving outside our classroom to fetch one of the girls, her mum had been injured when a heater exploded.  I seem to remember it was gas.

Today has been wet and mild – don’t really need the heating much yet.

Teeth and bones etc.

My shoulder still hurts and is very slowly getting better.

About 10 days ago I started to get toothache, really bad toothache, despite the pain killers I was taking for my shoulder. Of course these things always happen when you have to wait over the weekend. In desperation I used some mouthwash which had been prescribed for Rob when he was having dental problems. I thought that my head was going to explode! Fortunately, it calmed down after about 10 minutes and my tooth started to feel a little better. I now have a new dentist and he seems awfully young. He x-rayed my tooth and there was no problem with the tooth. After looking round the rest of my teeth he announced that I have several gum abscesses – I had no idea! For the time being I have mouthwash to use 3 times a day and when I clean my teeth in the evening I use bicarbonate of soda and peroxide which I make into a paste, it has a horrible salty taste. I have a tiny brush for between my teeth. At the end of the week the dentist will x-ray the other side of my mouth and give my teeth a good clean. It’s nearly two years since I last visited a dentist. I won’t leave it so long next time.

 I had my bone density scan last week. All done within half an hour. Apparently my bones are better than most people’s my age. It was nice to see the smiles on the faces of the doctors when they saw the results. I went to have my eyes tested too. My vision is a little better! New glasses should arrive this week.

Rob and I went to an auction last week on the train. The journey there was very agreeable but the train was very crowded in the evening. We spent the day in the only place in France where it wasn’t raining! We got some lovely postcards, a present for J-M’s birthday which was in July and a custom made wooden box for transporting postcards. One of the boxes of cards was from the USA, some are very interesting so I will be posting the best on Time and Oft as I scan them.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

“When did you have your last mammogram?”

That’s the question posed during every commercial break on the 2nd TV channel here at the moment. It’s asked by various presenters.  We’re asked again if we remember after about a minutes silence. I know that mine was the beginning of September. As I’m over 50 I get an invitation through the post every two years to set up a free appointment at the breast center.

Now you’ve read this far. Do you remember the date of your last mammogram?

Sorry about the enormous spelling mistake in the title - now corrected

It never rains, but it pours

When Olivier left for Bordeaux, he knew that he would have to find a part time job in order to make ends meet. Like thousands of other students, he knew it wouldn’t be easy. He went after a Saturday job in a photocopy shop with the idea of doing English lessons here and there to earn more. The photocopy job didn’t come to anything. He went for an interview at a sushi shop over the weekend. He would be delivering sushis. He got the job and started work yesterday at 5 o’clock. The photocopy shop contacted him – could he come after all? He was also contacted by KFC near to here. They kept his CV from when he applied for a summer job, was he free to work?

 He sent Rob a text yesterday evening after he finished work (he never contacts me for anything interesting – but then I don’t do Arsenal speak):  He has decided to stick with the sushis. His boss is ex KFC too, seems like they bonded over that. I think that he made the right choice – more of a chance of tips delivering sushis.

Just time travelling around

Today, I’ve tip-toed through the reading room of a library in Frankfurt, admired an electoral candidate from 1911 and seen a stage coach arrive on a mountain path. Next I will be taking a tour around the steel works and factories where the first locomotive was made in France.

What have you been doing?