SHALL I CONTINUE

ONE GETS USED TO WRITING IN THE BLOG.. AS I SAY LIKE A DIARY.. BUT NOW THAT LIFE, I HOPE IS GOING TO RETURN TO NORMAL SHALL I CONTINUE TO POST STUFF? the Knee is far from finished.. so there will be news bout its progress.. but aside from that it will be just stuff about my life here.. If there is a desire for me to continue.. let me know .. either comment on the blog or write me on email.

third night of being at home

We ll the return journey was different. When I went through Passport Kontrol in Germany they officer looked at my passport for quite a while and then said, who did you get permission from? Permission for what said I ? My daughter wanted me to stay longer.. so I stayed.. said I. Finally it transpired that I should have only stayed 90 days. I was amazed having stayed in Europe over the many years of visiting for long lengths of time, much longer than 90 days. The attendant who was with me said, well they have 4 choices.. jail, or large fine. or restricted from visiting Europe for 2 years, OR maybe they will just let you go. The supervisor was called and after a conflab they said. well as you were only in Germany 2 hours on either side and you were in and out of Switzerland and France we are just going to stamp your passport and let you go… I kept thinking of the problems .. first of all, what would have happened to the dog? What about all the arrangements for people picking me up etc etc. Anyhow.. reasonableness prevailed. Apparently this is something to do with what they call the shengen agreement. It is newish.. like 4 to 5 years old.. and has to do with Switxzerland which is not a member of the eec.. but who has a tax free status or something. On arrival in Yvr.. there were a series of mixups. Thedoors at the end of the ramp leading up to the body of the airport were locked.. and altho there was someone on the other side she said she did to have the authority to open the doors… eventually the whole plane load of people were standing waiting for the doors to be opened. I was waiting for a wheel chair. EVentually me and 3 other ladies waited on a bench 45 minutes later we moved on in a cart. When we got to the baggage carousel there were very few bags.. there had been a blockage .. and so another 45 minutes passed.. the last bags to come off were the business class bags. Meanwhile I could see Anna in her crate peacefully waiting. I phoned Linda, thank heavens for cell phones.. and was able to reassure her that I was there but waiting. Finally bags came.. walked to check out when the woman stopped and asked if the dog had been checked. No.. so off we went to another section of the airport where finally an officer took pity of me and pushed us through. So the plane landed at 1130 and I left the airport at 1330. After that every thing went very smoothly. Home by 530.. a friend came and helped to unload. I looked with dismay at the 4 months worth of mail.. another friend had left a seafood gumbo for me.. I climbed into bed at about 1930 . and slept through most of the night. SUNDAY\Woke this morning to a snow storm. Large flakes falling straight down. Phone call from colleague with whom I work the water pump houses.. she has the most terrible cold, has had it for 3 weeks.. would I please go up and check not eh temperature of the pump houses… Got me out of the house, took the dog for her morning run. SATURDAYYesterday saturday, walked to get eggs.. and then watched a lot of The Fringe,on net flux.. am not sleeping during the day.. had two people to dinner, fish. Friday morning woke at 7 and decided to go to town. Did big shop, bought lots of fish.

Wednesday night

Packed.  Cannot believe it. Twisted my other leg,,,am hobbling

Thank heavens I arranged a wheel chair

Weather looks good

All should go well for trip

Up at 0400

Ouch

Curtains and cakes and celebrations

wednesday

Well the dogs crate is in the hallway and funnily enough the dog immediately went into it.. but now it is washed and vacuumed.. hopefully all the debris from chickens and dust etc have been removed. I can hardly believe that I am leaving.. it has been so comfortable here. Yesterday was a great day with the twins performing at their school assembly along with their class mates. It was so strange to see Ciara, lanky, blonde, keeping to the rear trying not to bring attention to herself.. I was taken back to an earlier time and say Sarah, my eldest.. who at the same age would have behaved exactly the same.. they have the same hair colur and body shape.. whereas Naomi was front and centre.. making up plays and words and funny.. she lead the dancing and has fabulous rhythm The best present for them was James coming home and in feat trepidation we waited his opinion on the curtains.. he was delighted!! The bunny cake was well received and in carnivorous joy we ate the bunnies ears and legs and arms. The twins each got scooters and today are out scooting along.. it is terrific exercise. I am making the lunch as C is with G at the dentist.. this being wednesday the little ones do not have school. Gemma has a half day. I am packing.. reluctantly.

the twins birthday…

This is part of the reason for my staying on until late february, Anna went up stairs to wake them up and some of their presents were hidden in her bed. The clues as to where the presents were … poor anna her bed is so uncomfortable time is ticking by.. ( so it was in the bottom of the grandfather clock) I had to make brownies for the class, the birthday person is allowed to bring cake to class for the recess. Then this evening we will have chocolate roulade cake stuffed with nutella whipping cream.. At lunch C is to make a bunny cake.. The best thing will be that James comes home this afternoon from Chicago and that will make them happy to have their Dad for the celebration. At english school this afternoon they are putting on a play so we are all going, we are picking up James at the airport and taking him straight to the school. Yesterday we hung the new curtains, a friend came over and installed the hardware but we found that the colour of the curtain rod was too cold so we rushed off and changed it for brushed copper.. it looks much better. The curtains make the room look finished. I shall try and take photos which may do them justice. Now only two evenings before I leave. Dreading the very early morning start on thursday.

the weekend

Well on thursday C and I had to go shopping.. groceries etc but more importantly we looked for fabric to make more costumes for another school event, finding nothing suitable we went to a boutique designer store and there, much to the delight of C were drapes/curtains .. already made up and for 50% off. These curtains were an arm and a leg .. even with the reduction and one pair in particular C had been looking at for 3 years! So we settled down while a nice young shop assistant brought us all the curtains for sale.. these curtains hang on a straight rod , the curtain s have large grommets imbedded in the top of them. There also was a cushion that looked in the shop like it would go perfectly with her new sofas.. so we bought 5 curtains and the huge cushion… but within seconds of being in the house one could see that the cushion simply would not do.. so back it went. Friday C and the the class of the twins went skiing. It was cold wet and at about 3 pm C phoned asking that put on the sauna. So when she came home and after putting away all the ski equipment, dived into the sauna. Then wih the twins having a sleep over, Gemma at orchestra we went Friday evening shopping for the hardware to hang up these curtains. Saturday we woke to a "ƒøne" in others words a chinook.. the temp was plus 16 and the wind was strong bbut warm. But by the evening the wind got even stronger, the dog decided it was evil and would not go out in it.. the house groaned, the fire place chimney sort of howled and this morning, sunday we woke to smasses of new snow on the Jura and the temperature is at 0. We are going out to the neighbours for lunch and then there are only 4 evening meals before I catch the plane for home.

steam ovens and apologies for MINT MONT BLANC

When I am baking I have discovered that the steam oven has a setting called professional baking..I made a cake yesterday and today a lemon loaf and C said.. you put the item into the steam without preheating. So I did. The steam come on immediately for a while and then the heat begins. apparently the steam aids in the rising of the item.. obviously would be great for bread making. Anyow.. so far the items have emerged cooked and fine. Interesting eh?

School gates

School playground with pol larded. Trees

One small church

I

This is the only church in the village and you can hear the bells calling the faithful several times during sundayand early I the morning most days

This is the small tower on top of the children's school

Mint Blanc

Usually there is a cloud covering the top of mint Blanc but not yesterday

Thursday. A week to day

This doorway we pass daily 4 times at least and over head it dates 1839It was a beautiful day yesterday so went for a long walkw with dog and my iPad so that I could take some photos of some of the buildings with dates imprinted over head, I did not go up to the farms on the mountain where I know the dates begini the 1700 s

But still there r some that r interesting,

Ciara making a date for the afternoon

monday

rain.. torrents of rain.. so wet that C actually picked the girls up from school at noon.. fed the extra children and then C and I went out to SHOP for new flooring for her study and the bedroom I am occupying Made potato latkes for supper for the children with bacon and broccoli and shepherd pie for adutls.. it really apparently should be called cottage pie as it does not contain lamb but was made with left over beef. hence cottage pie. Upon looking up the recipes there were several articles written about the origin of the terms. I also wrote to Ken Follett today, not that he will come to a smart stand still and say.. my heavens.. but I was upset when he referred to a character in his book The Winter of the World , a women, being a Rhodes Scholar.. Women were not allowed, or should I say eligible to apply for the Rhodes Scholarship until 1977… I hate it when facts which are easily checked are allowed to slip.. is that the job of the editor? I know from personal experience that Women were not eligible as a very very good friend worked very hard in order to qualify, had top marks.. was good at sports etc.. and when she sent in her application was told.. no women need apply. This was in the '50s. And his book is set in the 30s and 40st.

Art class results

CNaomi did this one

Ciara did this one

sunday 9 feb

February is the month of birthdays now three have passed with today being my eldest grand daughters, she is now 17. Yesterday here in France the eldest became a teenager, now 13, her father is teasing her describing her in the following manner.. teenager opening fridge door, looking and saying duhhhhh. etc. In actual fact she had two girls over for the evening, home made pizza and a cake made to look like the Tardis.. at nearly midnight they were in the sauna and this morning they actually slept until late. Sending presents long distances is easy with all the on line services but timing is not always the greatest. Today sunday it is catch up with homework. Masses of it and long hours by parents and children. The life is complicated by having the two disciplines to catch up with, long essays now in english and then grammar questions, long and complicated in french. At the moment this is the 5th hour of constant homework and it is math. I am learning to enjoy rugby. James is watching it in-between the olympics, France is beating the heck out of Italy and it is interesting to watch the game.. fast moving and lots of gorgeous strong legs of the men. Some of them wear a head covering, a padded helmet which they tie under their chin. Apparently it is the players individual choice, but it does help against concussion. The english are thrilled to have won a first medal ever won on "snow" '"

Naomi the Corpse Bride

Little boy Paulo from next door, Ciara a pokemon figure, dog being crushed in hug from Naomi

Grandma crimped  my hair I did not want my photo taken

friday 7th feb

Well this morning we woke to the weather promised for the beginning of the week, but thankfully did not materialise. Sleety rain and wind and cold. Yesterday I went out to two restaurants. At lunch we took our friend up to the mountain view place called The Bois Joli which has a great view and homey food. We had a Tartiflette which is potatoes bacon and roblochon cheese all cooked together which is served with a green salad and a white wine. One is told that is you do not have wine , but drink water your tummy will be revolted and you will have problems. Then C drove our guests to Bellegarde to catch the train to Paris. In the evening I went with James to a micheiin starred restaurant where the interesting menu offered some nice options. YOu could have the complete menu with 7 courses and wine for each dish.. plus complicated desserts Or you could have 2 or 3 or 4 choices from the menu with wines for each dish plus dessert. We had 2 plates. The first for me was a white fish called Bar. I am missing fresh fish terribly and when I get back to the island intend to eat quite a bit of fish. This dish came with one oyster and was cooked in a red white sauce, which was good, a few veg, and the fish was about 3 inches long. My second dish was a piece of foie gras on top of pork tenderloin in a sauce.. which was ok. the desserts came as a platter and in quite small servings you got chocolate mousse, creme brule, and others similar.. each about 3 spoons worth. It was a fun evening This evening is carnival, I thought it was the beginning of Lent but am very wrong, as Lent does not start until mid March, Easter is very late this year. But this is a precursor to Lent which is a party held by the parents of the school as a fund raiser. C is making a quiche and has had to be quite inventive about costumes. I will try and include some costumes photos.

thursday comments

just READ my comment which was done on my iPad and as usual there are masses of errors.. I have been trying to eliminate the common errors but apparently on the iPad am not so successful.. so sorry.

Wonderful visit

Our family have been friends since '69 which is a long friendship.  They r like me getting a little elderly

But still they took the trai to here

today Thursday I slept longer than them and Naomi gave them fast, she made tea and laid out fresh bread.  C was away with the dog Nd the reason Naomi was home was because she hD another doctors appt

At about ten c drove one of our guests to CERN where James had arranged him to meet with various leaders and the to go to lunch.    C and I took our friend for lunch where the view is breath taking

We reminisced

All sort of stories we share...so nice

well it was worth it

My friends arrived and immediately upon seeing them I knew that I was so glad they came. So far we have had a wonderful visit. I did not make yorkshire pudding…. having that off my shoulders it meant that I could relax and enjoy the meal and the visit.

wednesday /TOMBOLA SALES

A Tombola is a raffle ticket. The twins have a book of twenty to seek at 2 euros each. There is a prize for the person who sells the most and so the minute these little books were handed out Ciara and Naomi started their sell technique.. and in less than half an hour sold most of them, only conning Grandma into 3 each. They spend their time now counting the money making sure that it is all there and then starting all over again. Today my friends come from Paris, and somehow the extra work seems daunting and I hope the pleasure of their visit is not undone by the work . They really are very easy people but the chaos of the house on wednesday is something to get used to, but as grandparents of 14 and parents of 5.. I know they will just be fine. Finally the parcel for Thalia in Canada arrived, I traced the tracking until it was said to that the parcel was on the front porch It is a standing globe. I think a globe gives you such a better perspective of the world and if is on a stand then it can go anywhere and does not need desk space. I just hope she likes it and does not think me mad. So nice to get emails from friends that are not involved with the politics of the island.. I gather the weather is getting cold,or colder. Here altho it was expected to be awful the sky is clear and the views wonderful.

tuesday 4 feb..

The weather as promised has turned foul, rain sheeting down and I have to go out in it. The children left in their wet weather gear and the dog came home soaking. I have given France Surgery the address of this blog allowing them to show November and December. But really a blog is in the public domain so anyone can read it if they can access it. France Surgery which is the company through which I organised my surgery was just a fledging when I began to deal , but now they have expanded what they can do for clients. For example they have good discount rates with Lufthansa for their medical clients They are arranging long term recovery accommodation near rehab hospitals and their marvellous thalasa spas. They have a couple from Montreal who recently had hip replaced through their auspices and they are now recovering on the Riviera near a Rehab clinic in a house they rented for them.. So they are becoming more and more able to deal with clients from abroad. We were running out of milk just before closing time so rushed to the local store which only had preserved (long life, not to be confused with tinned milk) and the coffee tastes a bit odd.

monday.. and good results with amazon

Today is the birthday of one of my grand children and I sent her off via Amazon.ca a present , I was given the tracking number and the arrival date, but apparently the parcel was left on the front porch and was stolen from that porch.. I contacted Amazon, chat mail, and they reimbursed me plus when I ordered another they paid one day delivery.. then. for another grand child I ordered something form amazon.co.uk this came damaged, no problem return it.. but the cost of the postage from France to the UK was really the cost of the item, but no matter, again from chat line they agreed to reimburse the postage.. hurrah for good public relations. We went out for Indian food on sunday lunch, had a splendid meal, joined up with another family, the fifteen year old boy sitting beside me ordered food which made him and James sweat.. the fifteen year old said that he has always loved hot food. His Mother said that when he was young he once swallowed, by mistake, a spoon of hot, very hot, salsa, and said,.. wow that is good. I wonder if one is born without a sensitivity.. or did he really like it? No rain today altho the week is supposed to be awful weather wise. We are expecting friends from Paris and C bought a wonderful roast of beef and wants me to make yorkshire pudding..maybe? not sure I will manage. The children here say that they hope that 20th february never comes.. (i.e… missing dog already)

early sunday

well yesterday the skiing went well.. all downhill.. so lot of upping and downing.. then they went out for a fancy meal and had a great time. Home about 6 in the evening.. what to feed them ? always a question. James likes to eat late after getting all his chores done and the children in bed.. and this is ok but a little hard on the digestion. Eating at about 9 at night makes for an uneven sleep. Poor Mary T having the flu. Sounds awful. hopefully we have had what ever we are going to get. the crazy notice board is to the brim with long , very long, letters.. really too long. Maybe we are victims of watching Sesame Street.. where you get information in short bursts. These long bursts.. ???

saturday evening.

Everybody home.. Gemma is on Skype with her cousins Gabriela.. great hilarity. There were pleadings for others to sleep over but Mom said no.. made french onion soup..for adults.. steak and potatoes for children.. is there something wrong with this scenario?

blue sky.. lovely mountains.. clearly etched.

Woke a little late , James up, and when the rest got up the blue sky called them. Gemma, Ciara and James are off to the Alps .. will be gone for the day. Catriona cleaning the ovens… lousy job but while the horrible stuff was working we went shopping for materials for Naomi's costume for Carnival.. ( the beginning of lent) and organic products.. We then met up with a friend who has the young sammy puppy.. I closely looked at this wee thing and concluded that she must be finished being in heat as there is very little sign left. 'thank heavens…This is a very small puppy and cannot imagine her carrying a litter. We had coffee in a new bakery place and I do not think I have ever tasted such awful coffee.. told C it was not potable.. so we ordered a large jug of steamed milk which drowned the taste. The husband of our friend was flying home on easy jet and they refused to allow him on the plane because his picture page of his passport is torn. So he is on his way on eurostar Apparently the airline company will be fined if he is not accepted at this final destination. This is the first day of February, and the real count down to my return begins. I am wondering if I should ask someone to put my boat back into the water before I get home? I am so grateful to so many people I cannot thank everyone enough.

the hundred best books?

On wikipedia they apparently asked several famous authors to list the best books in the world.. Looking at the list I am not a well read person at all.

thursday/friday

It has been decided that as much as possible I am going to go to the place where the physio has her "cabinet" an office of a sort with a consulting room and a small gym with equipment in order to give me a better work out. The problem is timing, so twice a week she can drop me off, but the other day C will have to pick me up, it is just a bit too far to walk back to the house. The physio manipulated the non operated leg yesterday .. she is a kinesiologist, and often she seems to make one move in minute ways. I was amazed how much the other leg was affected by her , an example…you assume the position of a lunge, holding still in the position, the physio on her knees, she puts her and behind the knee and pulls but not a lot and then pushes in the front and then with hr fingers pushes side to side.. she does this movement say 10 times in a minute.. but it kind of destabilised the old knee . Shall have to talk to her about it when she I go this morning. She has two young children and C has given her old car seats to her.. she is amazingly grateful. The snow is nearly all gone, a small snow man is the only testament. Went to the shopping centre for groceries and for me to get some money out of the banking machine. Insead of money I got a message saying I should contact my bank.. always a heart stopping message. Anyhow it turned out that I had, many years ago, made an arrangement to limit the amount of money I could remove from the bank in a day , and asking for 300 euros..exceeded the limit. I had not thought to reduce the amount I asked for.. but will next time. Gemma is writing in french an essay on the development of the romanesque style in churches. So all evening we have been buttressed with questions. As C said, the definitive development was the flying buttress, allowing for more light. Think of the Rose Window in Notre Dame in Paris. ed My friends are coming from Paris next week to visit me.. James has arranged a nice tour of Cern and lunch with the chief of research for the husband , who was a colleague of Henrys. I will be home all next week said James but then he is gone for 10 days. Now looking on line for colourful cushions, EBAY is a remarkable source.

wednesday//snow tires

Well the adults returned safe and sound. They came bearing crumpets and english bacon and tea. They devoured the curry and then James cleaned up.. hurrah. This morning it began to snow, and snowing it is. C rushed off for snow tires. They do not provide a spare tire now when you buy a new car. I find it hard to imagine. But the garage fellow told her that the latest is a tire which when it gets a flat fills up with something that allows you to drive a certain distance to a place to REPLACE the tire. The garage fellow said that this has become a great problem as very few people carry these tires. So C got the old fashioned snow tires and a canister that can be used to pump something into the flat so that she can get to a garage. I shudder to think about being in the wilds of Canada where you might have to drive a hundred miles at least to get to somewhere to have your tire replaced. The children are doing their homework in-between going out to play in the snow. Anna cannot go without being on a lead because the chickens are loose The chickens are so funny, when you go outside they rush up to you in that funny chicken walk/run, imagine that you are running with your hands tied firmly to your side.. you would waddle, well these chickens do a waddle run. The chickens are hopeful that there will be tidbits. It is still snowing hard, about 5 hours of it now but it is quite mild so as C says, when you shovel the drive it melts quickly. The new car is so far a success. All mod cons as they would say.. As James said.. here is a German owned car, assembled in Portugal, sold in England and now registered in France. Buying it is England saved them about 20,000 euros. So well worth the journey. The car has heated seats.. I must say I would hate to own a car that did not have heated seats. While living in Edmonton during the winter even tho the car was in the garage it would take a long time for it to warm up but the heated seats came on immediately and made you cosy cosy. Saxaphone lessons, english homework, french devoir.. lots happening. Costumes being readied for Carnival.

tuesday evening

Well all the activities have happened and all the chldren are home, in PJs teeth brushed etc. they are hoping that their parents will get home before they must go to bed. C phoned from Folkstone is where you get on the train with your car.. this is not the old fashioned car ferry that most of know about , but rather an amazing train which you drive you car along and when there is an open door on what is a sort of box car you drive your car in. You stay in your car and the journey lasts about 40 minutes.. and then voila you are in France. the journey from Calais is about 7 hours or so.. so I am hoping they will arrive around 2200 hrs. I made a green thai curry from scratch, going to the market on sunday I was able to find some lovely hot peppers and the rest I improvised. No lemon grass, but I ground up the skins of the lemons and the effect is rather pleasant. I have no idea whether or not they will want to eat anything after that long drive, but one thing about a chicken curry it keeps . C's friend came for Anna again and we walked up along past some old farms where the children often go to get fresh pasteurised milk and amazing cream. The little dog now is on chlorophyl pills.. and is doing fine. This is the first dog this family has ever owned so it has been a bit of a learning curve.

tuesday.. the busy day

When we went outside yesterday to walk to school a very large dog about the size of a german shepard but the colour of a grey collie dog was there.. he walked to school with us and was friendly, a long plume tail waiving about and with a grin on his face. Ciara who a few months ago would not have walked anywhere near this size of dog was fine with it , altho pretty wary..which is not necessarily a bad thing. Then a friend of C's came to walk Anna and her young Sammy up the mountain , her little 8 month old has just come into heat and this grey dog found them and the walk was difficult as of course this large dog thought he had come to heaven. I had walked so much on the Saturday that altho I walked quite a bit yesterday I did few exercises. This morning the day starts at 0600. Gemma makes herself porridge each morning and we sit in companionable silence while we both gather ourselves together. By the time I waken the twins and make their breakfast and walk them to school one feels that a good part of the day has already passed.

sunday night / monday morning

I was determined to get everyone to bed early, as I knew that my early start would feel better if they felt better. Aat the English bookstore I had bought 3 books which I said would be a surprise..so last night shortly after 7 we were all upstairs.. one of the books had a great title.. Tell me something happy, then in smaller print..before I go to bed.. It was charming and the narrator was a bunny, Ciaras favourite thing. This little book was so charming that they read it several times over Ciara read it out loud, Gemma came and listened as well. The book I bought for Naomi was called Captain Cat, about an old sailor who tho a trader who would give away treasure for a cat. This brought him ridicule but eventually fortune. Naomi read that out loud to all of us. This settled everyone down nicely by shortly after 8. For Gemma I bought a book by that author which I always find delightful., Eve Ibbotson.. about a boy and a dog.. that she read to herself. On the whole it worked and at least there was peace and quiet fairly early. Then at 0300 the dog began to bark and bark. waking everyone.. I sleep on the ground floor , the others upstairs, but even so.. a loud barking dog in a sleeping house is very noisy. I got up, of course, checking doors etc and then finally let the dog out. who just stood by the front door.. did not venture any further than the length of her body , it was very windy and rainy, I think something must have blown around, but whatever , there was not way she was going out.. so in she came, back to bed we all went and then the 0600 alarm forGemma. It has already been a long day. A friend came to walk Anna up the mountain with her 8 month old sammie.. but Anna did not want to venture without me. so we had the usual abandon and hide routine until she gave me up. I can walk to the beginning of the mountain path b ut not up it, as it is very rough and I do not have hiking boots with me.

sunday

Well J and C got off to London early the in the morning, but not before James had made up batter for crepes. We had breakfast, and then in due course I went to the market with a friend of Cs. It was nice to visit and to get fresh supply of meat, veg and cheese. There are now two places selling rotisserie chickens and they are delicious one of the things they do is roast potatoes under the turning spits and the juices from the chicken drip down on to the potatoes.. they drop very herbs like rosemary thyme and sage.. down on to the potatoes.. and you can buy small to large containers.. they are always tasty. We are now facing the sunday on slaught of visitors.. little ones.. a friend of Ciaras who is in her athletic class.. Ciara asked me what I thought they should do, I asked what does her friend like to do.. she replied.. she likes to RUN! They are now outside k jumping on the trampoline and running. she is a french friend and marvels of marvels understands my french when I speak to her .

Anna forgiven

Saturday evening/near disaster

RrJames Gemma ,Naomi and I went into Geneva it visit ab English  book store..a kitchen shop and the an exotic food floor at a Swiss store called globes.

All this took a lot so walking, stair climbing and descending g..we went I to the old town..all up hill. But u know the addGe what goes up must go. Down.

F

Inally after ,a little cafe break,,Gemm had strudel!!  Etc we made out way home..about 1730

No reply at home....finally Gemma called on her cell to C's cell,a all we cld hear was.  Oh. No repeatedly, finally a tearful C tells us that the dog has disappeared up into the forest I e Jura.  She had let Anna off the lead....something she does often now, Anna obviously saw something, C said she was creeping around in the long grass slowly. Normal for her...maybe a mouse. But suddenly disappeared Fortunately it was near An isolated house

Also there was a landmark..and rarely enasasosugrh there was someone in the house...C left her phone #. After two hours the man called..she was by the house, but would not come into the house , nor would she let the man touch her...she just. Circled around. Looking for C....stand this is usual modus operandi !!!!!!returning to where she last saw  her person,,,which of course is usually me but C has replaced

Me.

/so we have a tired house

saturday jan25

Well I put up a birthday date to remember on my reminder on the computer .. the bday was for someone on the west coast of Canada and at 0900 here in France I got a blinking light telling me at this exact time my friend had just had his birthday.. so it was spot on for seconds past midnight of the 25th. These big numbers really give a sense of importance to ones life.. a milestone.. a reminder that one has to get on with ones life. Last year the islanders threw me a marvellous party, half way into the decade it was and now I have to take my own advice and get on with life. This is early saturday morning and the hurly burly of this household is revving up.. three are going skiing this morning, another is making a costume for Carnival which is Feb7 and a large event here, but obviously not to rival Rio deJaneiro. The dog has been walked, the bakery visited, breakfast porridge, eggs all made and consumed. A little child spent the night and is now involved with a complicated board game. There is a shopping list to prepare as C and J leave tomorrow morning for London UK and I am in sole charge and Monday the only shops near by are closed. I am not allowed to drive their cars, it is not that I am not able but that the cars are insured and licenced for only C and J. I watched on IplayerBBC a swedish/danish serial. It was a police vs eco alert nasty people. They were murdering people to make a point about environmental issues. BUT the interesting thing I learned.. and maybe all of the rest of the world knew this, that there is now a huge complicated bridge joining up Denmark and Sweden. The city of Malmo is the Swedish point. The bridge leads to an island and then there is tunnelling . It looks like an engineering feat of great magnitude. It was open to the public in the year 2000.

Friday

Something new today ,went to the cabinet.  (Think of saying. Cab  /bin/nay).     Itis just a little too far to walk. To,and. Had let jMes take the cRd,fortunately

HrfriendwSvreeNdzhedro e

Wedidslivhtlydifferentexer izes in lauding sorking with a large rubber ball shaped like a huge hour glSs,

It gave interesting dimension to the e recuses.  The physio is an expert I ki eseology...the practice. Of very small movements.  So while my heel was resting o thence tre of the hour glass and telling me to keep very still she moved the object back dn forth in small degrees.. She does a wflot a of these things...I do a lunge,,hold it ..while she pushes at the front side and back of the knee while I must stay. Dry still

Home again..Cand twins have gone skiing, 

ThursdAy

Well I am going to try. And make. Nachos with hamburger etc

Will see if the. Children like them

Today is another music day.  Piano teacher comes to the house and all three have an half hour lesson each.  if James is home he also has. Lesson.   He is learning

 A Beethoven minuet

Forbidden to drink or eat in the. Living roo m!!!!have to protect. The new furniture. It is. appreciation night at the English school so c and. J r away for the early part of.   The evenin

I am sorry to all. Y readers. I wondered if I was boring you. But several say no. So I shall continue.   Errors and all

New sofas photos

The new sofa r very cimfortabletolieom and.ooknicewebougjt sheep ski toprotectthearmsandalso because they are white and fluffy they look a bit like the dog

No group of photos is complete without the dog

wednesday jan 22

every once in a while I think.. maybe I should stop writing in this blog and then I get a nice cheery email from someone who says.. love reading your blog and catching up what so .. the new sofas came.. one a love seat and one a large comfy easy to put your feet on sofa.. two men came and with seemingly no effot carried them up then c sat on the big one a noticed a klunk sound.. we thought that a spring had broken, but no.. so she phoned the shop and they are sending out their experts to adjust.. they are SOFA ENGINEERS!!!!!! whats in a name eh. Wednesday.. and saxophone lessons.. last week the barracuda of a teacher sent Gemma and Naomi home in tears.. but it seems to work as they worked much harder and this time had a good , non screamed at.. lesson. Catriona and James leave on Sunday morning for 2 nights 3 days.. C is lining up lots of people to drive and to be t my beck and call if necessary. They are going to pick up a 7 seater volkswagan b us///suitable for all of us to travel around in.. right now if we all go the 4 people crowd illegally into the back seat. Great curry this evening made my C.. and James made something for dipping in the puppadums… brinjal chutney mixed liberally with yoghurt.. it was delicious.

monday jan 20th.. nearly 2 months to the day of the operation

Went shopping in Ikea today.. we must have walked miles.. or so it seems.. so I am obviously in increasingly good shape. The people who were buying the new sofas came and decided not to take them.. so we are scurrying around looking for a home for them, the neighbours are coming over , they have bought a new house and have a lot of space and are looking for furniture.. so maybe. Never the less the new ones come on wednesday James is in Valencia giving a lecture. He left this morning at 5. the weather when he arrived was very sunny, on the med, plus 15.. nice. All the children have a long day.. leaving early and not getting home until after 6 pm.. mad rush to get all homework done and a decent meal. Tomorrow is another mad day.. Sarah is NOT coming to meet me when I arrive in Vancouver. We both think that the logistics of winter travel are such that we just may not meet up. Last year at this time I was delayed two days due to winter storms in Germany. The previous year to that I was delayed also by weather in Germany. Another time I was diverted to Amsterdam and did not get home for another 24 hours.. so better not try and coordinate. Sarah herself was two days getting home from her journey here, not that our weather has been bad , but the weather in Canada has been formidable. Will show you some photos of the unwanted sofas.. do you know that they call them canapé in french…and now is the month of the canapé lit!!!! an

Recovering

we all just might survive.  Here is a heartwarming

  Photo of contented dog in her very expensive dog bed, mTerial goods r more expensive here 

friday late in the day

well no doubt stepping on the scale after this would show a positive in the negative.. if you see what I mean. This thing is still going on… The children had a good ski, and now Gemma is off for orchestra, one of the twins i gong for a sleep over and Iam walking the halls trying to get to a receptacle on time.. If this a twenty four hour thing.. will that mean that I should be on the mend by tomorrow early. I took a gravel now, one of the ones I had for the dog.. having just had an upchuck I thought there was a chance of it staying with me.. do you really want to know all this….??probably not.. but as this is a sort of diary .. ??

friday jan 17

o m g.. woke up with the :runs" and then violent vomiting.. something I ate.. horrible feeling… horrible horrible. James came home mid morning saying he felt green also.. is in bed.. there is something going round which the french call a Gastro.. what ever it is it is awful. Have just made a little chicken broth.. hope it stays down. C and the girls are off skiing for the afternoon.. and as the weather has turned cold there is lots of snow on the JURA. Not so dizzy this time.. immersed I'm gripping books..

wednesday 15 jan/2014, not Ulysses but even the dog was excited.

Well this is an exciting day. First of all got an email with advice that my eldest goddaughter has been captured on camera while meditating.. this looks marvellous, but not at all like herself. Then James is home full of enthusiasm for Tanzania and the K climb. He has a certificate which shows that he has successfully reached the summit, the name of the summit, the time .. they arrive in time for the sunrise, hence they walk in the dark, from midnight to dawn reaching the peak about 0610. He said on the route up they walked a zig sag path up a slippery but frozen scree slope, but on the way down they ran down the scree for about a kilometre. This being Wednesday there are math tutoring and saxophone lessons.. .I am making the cassolet and to my dismay the garlic sausage C bought has no garlic.. it is not a pleasant tasting sausage.. it is funny that the French , on the whole , do not make great sausage. They need some east europeans to set up a butcher shop. Coming from the prairies, garlic sausage is part of your kitchen supply. When C come to BC she always buys a garlic sausage, saying that she just cannot find the same thing in France. Anyhow, the dish has lots of garlic clove added and the confit is always interesting. It is now cooking in the oven on a low temp for nearly 3 hours.

tuesday early morning.. feeling better.. have energy

I woke early this morning .. about 0500 and realised that with the time difference I could with an easy mind call home.. so did. It was so nice to talk to V this morning. Then I decided to fix my iPhone.. I had opened it the other day and there was a message saying something about running out of memory.. so I shut down a few things and in the process lost all my phone contacts.. I knew they had to exist somewhere .. found then of course on the computer and this morning in a burst of energy managed to sync the contacts from the computer to my iPhone. hurrah. By 0630 this house was humming with activity.. I am usually just drinking tea in bed.. or if lucky.. coffee.. but today was up.. C has rushed to the store to get supplies to make crepes.. the school is having a sale of crepes and she promised to make a bunch.. twins are up.. one is playing the saxophone, another the piano.. and then the usual scurry.. is all the homework packed away.. Am waiting for the kitchen to clear in about an hour so that I can get the soaking dried white beans on to boil to continue the work for the cassolet. N has brought down the scale, at my request, so the ugly truth of how much I have regained is to be met. Have been eating potatoes, having an Irish husband, potatoes were usually part of every meal, obviously with a few exceptions. one does get accustomed. Well that was rather good news.. have not gained anything.. so my rings revolving around my fingers is obviously a good indicator.

Monday jan 13 2014///Osteopath

Well the visit to the Osteopath was as usual a wonderful experience. For an hour you are are gently handled.. Zxel is his name and I have been going to him off and on for several years. C often takes her children as well as herself and others He has has had 8 years of training in the UK.. speaks therefore lovely english.. and has a successful practice. I just wish we had someone as competent in Victoria. There is one person listen in the yellow pages who is a MD plus an Osteopath. I have not been to visit this person. anyow.. I guess I was very tense ,, muscles all bunched up and with gentle fingers he undid a lot of that. He also relaxed my operated knee so that is no longer is so terrible painful..but as he said.. that pain will come and go as I work it . We picked up Gemma who is still coughing terribly badly. I am taking cold fx.. reckoning that I do not need to catch what ever it is. Read Sandys summing up on the questions.. so well answered and so well written. Weather has returned to winter here.. zero and rain/sleet.. so no more easy walking .

sunday 12 january/new pain

Well this is the day C usually goes to the market and buys the weeks supply of meat etc I am planning t0 make a cassolet for the mountain comber.. but as I was working at the stove a terrible sharp pain invaded right into the middle of the knee operated cap. It was quite awful. I stopped what I was doing immediately,got ice.. put leg up and wondered what what was happening Catriona was off for a long walk with the dog and friends and the children were with me and I was planning to have dinner on the table when she came home.. but I abandoned all thought of that and got on to the internet to check what might be the cause. I probably over did it yesterday.. too many stairs were climbed.. too long on the bike, too many walks.. knew my leg was very tired and I was icing it saturday ight.. but this new pain was something els.e I am to go to the Osteopath tomorrow .. he is a marvellous person and usually fixes any back aches I may get.. and so am hoping that he will be able to figure something out. Meanwhile I am staying pretty still, icing.. leg and back on the pain killers.. had been off them for a few days. will keep you all up to date. the poor physio will be upset as she keeps warning me to go slowly.

Speech with the climbers

One of the hardest things they have done, lack of oxygen, means little sleep etc. but done now and they are back in civilization .....so to speak...onto some safaris

Home Wednesday

QI am making a cassoulet to celebrate,,, C ordered all sorts of    stuff from the butcher for it she will pick it up at the market tomorrow morning

Stuffed mushrooms this evening... Made duxelles for the stuffing...nice to feel useful

All week I had a stomach bug...shades of Wendy...dizzy and had to stay 

Pretty close to home

Náomi knitting a scarf

saturday

We are all in a state of joy over the successful climb of James and his friend to Mnt Kilimanjaro  We are now planning a celebratory dinner when he returns mid week.
The children have been doing homework but the hardest worker  is Naimo who seeing me knitting decided to take it up again.. I taught her a few years ago , at her request, but she really was a bit too young but how she is going gang busters on a scarf.
The weather here is still warm but not as yesterday.  Being on Emergency services I got the note saying that the west coast is in for nasty winds.
Gemma has a terrible nasty cough and altho she was to go to a music camp and she made her best effort to get there when she ran to catch her ride she doubled up with coughing and so gave up and I bundled her into bed with hot water bottles on her chest.. my sure cure of nasty coughs.

We are listing to Bach while Naomi knits, C has gone for a walk with the dog.  A peaceful saturday afternoon.

friday early

Have received some interesting emails from people I do not usually hear from.. it was so nice.
Yesterday the day was spring .. very confusing to birds and flowers.. plus 15.. and my heavy winter duvet was thrown off by me in the middle of the night, unfortunately on top of the dog who sleeps beside by bed ..I threw it off while semi asleep forgetting her..there was a scrabbling noise and then clitter of dog foot steps..poor dog.

Catriona took her out for a long walk and she rolled in something horrible.. phone call from C saying be prepared.. C did not want to take her to school with her smelling to high heaven.. but honestly when she arrived at the house , she really was not bad.. her favourite rolling material is wet horse  and on Piers she comes back into the house delighted with herself  and has to be into the shower quickly.

We keep an avid eye on James, the web site for his kilimanjaro climb is very good.  He and his friend will reach the summit sometime today.. we received a photo of him , sitting at table with friend and fluffy.. a stuffed dog of his daughters..amongst the debris.

The children want a samoyed stuffed dog.. impossible to find.. the few available look really odd.  Surely someone could manufacture one which actually resembles a sam.

wednesday 8 jan 2014

Yesterday the physio came and set up a tougher regime for me. She is determined that I shall return to Canada in very good state.
We spent quite a lot of time bending my knee (both) backward and in such a manner that the upper leg muscles were all brought into play.  She wants these muscles to become extra strong so that I can go up and down stairs without the use of the cane.

We did go up the stairs with out the cane and using both feet.. so to speak.. i.e. not just going up a step with the so called good leg, but alternately.  Coming down is bit more tricky as there is a lot of pressure on the legs .

We then walked over high boots, so that it was like climbing over a series of stiles.

Then a few more things.  I was quite tired at the end of it and when C and I went off shopping I fell asleep in the car.. and every time there after.

We keep up to date with James hike on the mountain.  He seems quite happy and is being blessed with good weather.  If he had gone a few days earlier there was nothing but snow and rain .

The school year will be different next year.  Instead of the long days.. and only going to school for 4 days.. they will go every day of the week, cutting off 45 minutes from the day, and only a half day on wednesday.
When we lived in France in 1972 the day free was thursday and then they went to school saturday morning.

The flights in Canada have been cancelled I gather, so Sarah is happy as she was to fly to Calgary for a meeting and then return the same day.

Saxophone lessons today.. and it is a balmy plus 15.

monday jan 6 2014 visit to surgeon

Well this is , presumably my last visit to the surgeon who did the deed.  We arrived in Lyon at the Clinic de Sauvegarde at about 1020  were met once again by our english speaking guide who is a miracle worker for parking and taking us around.
We waited with the great unwashed for X-rays.. tell me why the X-ray techs are always tiny little women..
then with copies of X-rays in hand we walked out of one building into another and waited for a small while until we  say Dr Demay.
He is such a nice nice nice man.. honestly you could not have anyone more thorough and apparently patient.  We reviewed the op, he showed me and C the actual prothesis and the patella.  He examined the x- rays and compared them with the ones taken shortly after the op.  Then he examined the actual
surgical site.  Exclaimed at my ability to bend my knee easily to 110 degrees and said keep working on increasing that angle.  He thought the scar was fine. The prothesis was in place as it should be.

We then discussed the OTHER knee.  He looked at the X-rays of the right knee.. taken a few months before , he said it would not be necessary to have MRI done as it , altho not as serious as the other knee was afflicted in a similar way.  The patella was not involved tho.

He said to  wait at least 6 months before considering any action on the right knee..and wondered if some of the shots available wld help if the physio did not help .  The durolane shots in Canada, are not covered by health care and cost 300 each, in France they are not covered either but cost 200 euros for a set of three.
The maximum you may receive are 3 shots, as after that I think they are not effective.

So feeling relieved and happy we offered to take our translator out to lunch and went to a lovely fish restaurant.. for scallops st jacques .. ( coquilles st Jaques) followed by a coffee gourmand which meant
a demi tasse coffee, with two small similar sized dishes of creme brûlée, vanilla with choc sauce and almond cake.. a great dessert.

We have just arrived home, it is about 4 pm having left at 0830.  What a wonderful daughter I have.

We took the dog with us and when we were in the restaurant the waiters could see her in the car and told us to bring her in.. which of course we did.. they brought her a container, marked dog, with water and everyone made a great fuss of her.  I shall miss taking her to restaurants in Canada.. she smooths the way to lots of positive attention.  Even the chef popped out for a second.

new years resolutions

I rejoined a brain training organisation called Lumosity , they sent me, and no doubt all their members a great thing about adding a habit to your existing habit.. and in the process keeping ones resolve to change something for 2014.  I have copied it here.

3 steps for building positive habits

Start small A tiny habit is easier to stick to. Do you resolve to exercise more often this year? Start with just 10 pushups a day or a short jog around the neighborhood — something so quick that there’s no excuse not to do it. Once a habit begins to feel natural, increase the amount of time or effort you spend.

Fit new habits together with existing habits Choose a habit that’s already second nature, then schedule your new habit immediately after. Think about your own days: what existing habits can be extended or transformed? If you’ve resolved to read more, place a book next to your cup of morning coffee. If you intend to brush up on a new language, stick vocabulary cards into your gym bag and take advantage of that post-workout jolt of energy. Existing habits can be a seamless gateway to new activities.

Practice makes perfect You’ll probably need a few nudges before your resolution truly becomes second nature. Create checkpoints to help you stay on track: enlist a friend to keep you honest, set alarms throughout the day, or mark your successes on a calendar. The more regularly you practice your new activity, the more quickly it’ll become a part of your life.

January 5th 2014

The week with my eldest daughter and her child passed all too quickly.  They left this morning at 0500, to the despair of the twins who wanted to be awake to give them a last large hug good bye.  Gabriela kept saying she did not want to leave so we presume that means that she had a good time despite the weather of the past few days.
Last night a storm swept through the valley, the shutters banged  so loud that I could not sleep and not wanting to go out into the howling gale just put up with them.  But this morning it had blown itself out and we have blazing sunshine, much snow on the Jura  and it is gorgeous.  Unfortunately our travellers will not see it, but by now will be flying out of Amsterdam for the at least 10 hour flight home.

I have kept up, as much as possible with the notice board reports re the discord in the island and have for the first time decided to add a comment.  Probably a useless thing to do.

My stationary bike is being put to good use but the seat is terrible unforgiving and if anything drives me away from that exercise it  is the numb bum.. as they say.  I probably should get biking pants with those inner lined bottom protectors.

Off tomorrow early for the last visit with the surgeon.

Dog well hugged

HAPPY NEW. YEAR S. TO ALl French knees readers

Do nuts not usual shape

New Years fun stuff

Charades