We’re in the midst of a short but intense heatwave here, so you’ll forgive me if this entry is a less-than scintillating read. First off, the news from Minneapolis : Chuck is having to be given oxygen pretty much all the time now, with the result that he can’t be as mobile as he’d like. But he’s otherwise OK and I even got to say a brief hello to him. Matt’s been flitting between spending time with his Dad, clearing out his apartment, and doing what work he can from over there.
On this side of the pond, the main news is that the parents are now oh-so-very close to having a working landline and internet. I went over to see them on Monday to plug in their router, with partial success. I think they need some sort of converter to be able to plug in their phone, so will have a look when am next in Super U. I had a physio session that afternoon in the pool, but didn’t enjoy it very much as I was a bit sore from my gardening activities at the weekend.
That evening I ate chez Lucien and Mauricette, who promised me it would only be a light, casual meal. This meant it only consisted of four courses. After a round of his homemade punch, we dined on homegrown asparagus with mayonnaise, followed by turkey breast escalopes with a ratatouille. After the obligatory cheese course, we ended on a clafoutis, washed down with a chartreuse. L&M are well and are currently doing some DIY maintenance jobs on Mauricette’s mum’s house in the village.
I woke on Tuesday with both a sore hip and a sore jaw and as a result, was feeling a bit down in the dumps. I did a little work, then a little cleaning but soon called that off and sat outside with a book. Minutes later, a large yellow helicopter came swooping out of no-where, flying really low to the ground. My first thought was it was surveillance-related and so I panicked a bit as it flew over the veggie plot. I later learned that it was a medical copter, and it had come out for our neighbour, Gael. He is an ex-beekeeper and still has a few empty hives on his property. He was clearing one of these out when he disturbed a nest of hornets. Gael is a giant of a man, but six stings in quick succession made him collapse and damn near go into cardiac arrest. After an overnight stay in hospital, he’s since returned home and is fine. I cooked myself a pasta dish that evening, gave the garden a water and then watched some TV with the Smoo.
My jaw was a little improved the next day, as was my mood. I worked in the morning, including sending out yet another quote. I have at least half a dozen sites on the go now and while all is quiet at the moment, all hell could break loose at any time. So, it’s a little vexing that I can’t do much on any of them without input from the client concerned.
That evening was fish & chips night in Saint Front and I’d arranged to go with Paul & Nathalie, Françoise and Mum & Dad. I drove us all there, apart from Françoise who biked straight from work. It was about as crowded as last time, only this time they’d hired a saxophonist to murder some classic songs while we ate. We were too close to him for most of the meal, which sadly wasted a french-speaking opportunity for the folks. Still, there will doubtless be others. After the meal, Mum & Dad left to feed the cat and the rest of us had a cleanser and a game of cards chez Françoise.
The weather for the next 4 days followed the same pattern. Despite clear skies being forecast, each morning was densely overcast. Then it would burn off throughout the day. For Thursday, this was welcome as I had some running around to do. I had an overdue haircut first thing, then went with Dad to the phone shop in Nontron to get them some french SIM cards. This necessitated two trips as you need a ridiculous amount of paperwork to buy a SIM card, some of which we didn’t have with us. Their mobile phones are now active, allowing them to cancel their UK contracts.
That evening, Françoise and I were invited to Paul & Nathalie’s for a meal. I had half a mind to stay home as the cats were in a state, particularly Louis who’d spent all day mewling and following me around. In the end, I went anyway, and had a nice meal of lemon turkey breasts served with new potatoes, followed by a lemon tart. I left soon after to find Louis little improved but grateful for my early return.
Lucien called round the next morning to ask a favour of Dad. As the folks have a lesson with Françoise on a Friday in any case I said we’d see him later. In the interim, I realised the kitchen was in a vile state, so I attacked it. Lucien’s issue was to do with a sealant for some glass-paned doors and Dad gave what advice he could. I was invited to Manu & Mathilde’s that night, but really didn’t want to go out again. Mum had also made me pizza for dinner, so I declined the offer and spent a quiet night with two mollified cats.
I took advantage of the cloudy morning on Saturday to finish cleaning and then I harvested 5 of our plants that are now drying in the loft. There was an event on in Milhac that evening, and I went with Benoit & Virginie. I got to theirs for cocktail hour and quickly discovered that B was in one of his foul moods. He’s spent all week having nerve pain in his arm, so at least there was a concrete reason for his temper this time.
We got to Milhac for 8pm where over 100 locals were sat down enjoying a meal of fish & chips and various other seafoods. There was also music, but like the saxophonist from the other night, it was less than welcome in my view.
At the end of the evening, Benoit bumped into a local who claims to be a healer. He waved his magic hands at Benoit’s arm and the latter immediately reported an improvement. Virginie then asked the healer to try and heal my hip. Unlike Benoit however, I didn’t get an instant fix. Guess you have to “believe” or something. We predictably ended up back at La Marthonie for a few cleansers after the meal, meaning it was gone 2am when I got home.
Sunday was therefore not too productive. I spent much of the day dozing out on the terrace, wanting to get in some sunshine before it got too hot. That evening, I went down to Jenny’s, where her equestrian centre was celebrating their 2nd gold medal. There were about 30 horsey people there, including a very hungover Sam, and Paul & Nathalie. I stayed till around 9 then came home, ate a light salad and had an early night. And that’s all the news. You’ll get one more from me and then Matt should be back.