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.