#mypotager

Bonjour a tous, I hope you are all safe and well. The blue sky has chased away the grey (for the time being) although I am hoping that it will be a dry day as I need to do jobs in the garden. Temperature is 17c and we have rain!

After the rollercoaster week of last week, this week has been taken at a sedate pace and I feel as if I am miles ahead with things that I am planning for the remainder of the year.

I have actually taken an interest in my knitting again, or rather finishing off what I had started. I have baby blankets and cardigans which I have to send to family so I have been working on completing those. Although I will still take the knitting workshop with the refugees, I think that I would like to do some sewing, well dressmaking, Anie sews a lot so if I got stuck I am sure that she would help me.

For the first time in months, I managed to report a weight loss, probably all the stress of last week but it has given me a boost. Lets hope that I can continue with this. Maybe it was just a result of foregoing wine (well there are calories in that too), not that I drink a lot but a couple of small glasses a couple of nights a week can add up.

Marie-Therese came over on Wednesday and instead of cake and coffee chez moi, we were invited to friends for lunch. We arrived a little too early and left a little too late but we had a lovely time, the food was good, conversation was great and there was even a little bit of humour as three English people were trying to pronounce “crumble” so that the French person understood, it was a little bit like “the policeman” in ‘Allo ‘Allo! After arriving home I was debating what to do with the rest of the day, when I saw another car pull up outside my house…………….recognised it as belonging to Jeannette a lady I haven’t seen in months! She called to invite me to an evening recital at the Chateau de Vaudremont on Saturday. We had a good two hours catching up on things and of course she was disappointed when I said I would be unable to attend, but being a “morning” person, I find it difficult to do much in the evening unless I have the option of leaving when I want too. However, it was a very kind offer and I was pleased to see her.

I have been busy organising birthday cards for the next couple of months (I like to be organised), my birthday book is one I have had since I was a teenager so it is interesting to read the names of people who at one time meant so much to me. Actually, I was just glancing through it now and realised that I had forgotten someone, so I will rectify that straight away!

It is the week of the Tesco order for my cousin in London, I have taken down quite a large order and will ring her again this afternoon to see if she has remembered anything else. Fortunately, “The Daddy” has booked the slot for her. She really appreciates this as she hasn’t left her flat for months (other than to take the rubbish to the dustbins). This pandemic has been hard on all of us, but this lady hasn’t seen anyone regularly, she is relying on her telephone, keeping in touch with cousins in the UK and abroad, it must be really hard for her (and others like her).

My little grandson was taken to A&E the other night as his parents were worried about him. Everything was okay but babies and children can be a worry and it is better to get them checked out. I received a photo this morning of my gorgeous granddaughter, she had chosen her own clothes all colour co-ordinated and she is only three years old!! “The Daddy” is on paternity leave which is good but as “The Mummy” is breastfeeding it is her who is called upon through the night. Hopefully, my grandson will settle and start sleeping longer through the night. My own children slept right through from just over 8 weeks.

“The ex-Paralegal” has been on his own “rollercoaster” this week. Hearing him talk, I remember having a similar conversation with my Mum, you are in your twenties, the years ahead seem bleak, what am I going to do? If I take this road in my life how will I know that it is the right road? I remember the song “ The other man’s grass is always greener, the sun shines brighter on the other side” but to be honest it took me a while to realise that the path you choose may not be the right path but there will be a turning up ahead and you can always try that route. I always say that as an adult, I have never regretted the choices I made (maybe at the time I didn’t feel that way) you make your own destiny. It’s nice to make plans but don’t beat yourself up if those plans go awry, (here is another song) “Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again”. After all that, which I am sure he doesn’t want to read, life is for living and as long as you can recognise the pitfalls and hopefully avoid them, you can then begin to enjoy yourself.

My friends in Bristol, sent me photographs of their tomatoes, they have rather a lot on their plants and some are ripening very well. My own cherry tomatoes have quite a few ripe ones on now and the bigger vine tomatoes are turning orange. I have had so much pleasure from my garden since I moved into this house and I am learning such a lot. Who would have thought that I would have turned into a gardener (of sorts) but it is enjoyable, gets me outside and also keeps my brain ticking over as I “google” things to find out why plants are doing this, that or the other. I am learning all the time, not only French but about plants too.

I am now going out to turn the compost, add some more compostable materials and check on the potager. Then I need to have lunch and do a zillion and one other jobs. Wish me luck!

The photographs were taken in town a couple of months ago, it is part of the display in front of the Town Hall and I think it is splendid.

I visited St Paul's Cathedral, where we had to wait before being allowed up the street, a blockbuster movie was being filmed. We then walked over the Millenium Bridge, saw the "Golden Hind", visited Southwark Cathedral and went into Borough Market, Neal's Yard Dairy was where we purchased the cheese. Then it was up to Wembley Park for a bus ride to the Hindu Temple. A walk along Regent's canal up to Camden Market, I really think that Gasholder Park was my favourite as it brought back memories of the gas holders from my childhood. An exhibition in the British Museum was next on the list and the following day, it was Sky Garden and then the cable car across the Thames, both would have been so much better if the sun had been shining, but you can't have everything can you. The sun did shine for the visit to Kew Gardens, now I know a lot of people who truly love this place but I think I was just drained by then and the highlight for me was spotting the plant that saved my life.

So here I am ensconced in my own home, where the temperature is currently 26c and a high of 29c is expected. I am pleased to be back, my fruit and vegetables had missed me, they were in need of water. Now I have been rewarded by flowers on the broad beans, tomatoes and strawberries. The peas, mange tout and salad foods (beets, radish, mixed leaves) are all well established and the nasturtium and calendula are coming along. I moved a table and chairs onto the terrace at the front of the house, so that I can sit there and watch the sun setting over the colline. It really is the simple things in life that can give so much pleasure.

My gorgeous granddaughter had her fourth birthday this week, she also got chicken pox, now that’s a present you can really do without! Her little brother (nearly 10 months) decided to impress his parents and "Grand-mere" by walking with his baby walker around the lounge, he was so proud of himself and now there is no stopping him. I am so proud as the first steps both children have taken were when I was on a video call, I may be miles away but I am not missing out on the important steps in their development.

Thursday was the day I had waited for all my life, I applied for my old age pension! I was told there could be a delay in paying it as experienced staff are having to train newcomers and this is leading to delays. Goodness me, don't they know that when I started work pension age was 60 then it was increased by 2 years and now I have had to wait even longer....... come on you civil servants get your finger out!

Apart from the usual events in my week, knitting workshop with the refugee ladies, contact with Anie and Marie-Therese, I received a couple of phone calls yesterday (mobile and landline) it was the 91 year old lady who was at the knitting group I attended on a Wednesday afternoon. She was ringing to remind me about the barbecue next Saturday, was telling me that I needed to take aperos or gateau. Also that it was another ladies birthday coming up (not sure if it is the same day) and then provided me with the worst news ever......... as the "navette" does not run on a Wednesday and she needs it to get into town, the knitting group will meet on a Friday! Now a Friday is when I meet my refugee ladies and I know that this group is only on fortnightly but it still throws a spanner in the works. Anyway I emailed the President of the club, for confirmation of all of this (due to my understanding rather than the ability of the 91 year old to convey the message).

More good news is that I have been invited to the "Repas pour Benevoles" again, it takes place on the 8 June and it looks as if Anie and I will be attending together. Also the lovely room that has been created for the knitting workshop, classroom etc is going to be officially opened on the 23 June and I have been invited to the "Grand Opening" along with my ladies, there is to be food afterwards (now that is something I will definitely attend).

After a nightmare trying to get this blog done and that it is quite a long read today, we will forego the poem but rest assured poetry will return.

Greetings! It is the first day of August, the sun is shining, the sky is blue, it is 18c, so all is well with me this morning.

This week I have “endured a ride on life’s rollercoaster”, with the wonderful news that things are looking “less bumpy” for my family in the UK while I was “jolted” back to reality with a health scare.

I go for blood tests every six months and I had visited the doctor to collect the prescription for the test and the appointment was booked for Monday morning, off I toddled all smiles and “thank you’s” after the blood was taken. The results come through to my computer the following day and late afternoon I printed off the results and then I settled down to have a look, everything was good on page one, then on page two I noticed some figures in bold……..oh not much higher than last time, when I looked at page 3 the bold figures swam in front of my eyes, one was 100 more than the previous test and was way above a “normal” figure. As I was trying to take all of this in, the doctor rang and said a prescription was waiting for me at reception and I had to go to the hospital and arrange an ultrasound scan. Now I am sure that anyone who has had a serious illness has that tiny seed at the back of their mind that “it may happen again”, I have the blood tests to reassure me that if anything does change it is spotted in a six month window and, as previously, it can be caught early. It still didn’t help, I had three days of anguish, should I leave the shutters closed in case they whisk me into hospital, what is going to happen to the house that I am looking after while friends are away, what about the food in the fridge etc etc! Well I went for the scan, and the doctor at the hospital told me that everything was normal……… my own doctor rang later in the day and said that I need to have another blood test done in September to see if these levels have returned to normal, if not then I will be sent for more tests. So a little breathing space and life has returned to “my sort of normal”.

Anie and Marie-Therese were a great comfort really. I had told Anie on the phone and she called the following day bringing me bearded iris rhizomes to plant in the garden. Marie-Therese had called for the usual coffee and cake and had brought me another dianthus, which I have planted in the raised bed. It is funny that some sort of “crisis” happens when my friends are on their holidays, last year it was the tap that would not turn off in the garage and I had a flood, until I turned the stop tap off “sous l’evier”. Having to get down onto the floor and grope around for the tap then caused a problem with my back that meant visiting an osteopath twice before it was resolved!!

So onto happier things……….”The Daddy” and “The Mummy” and now my two gorgeous grandchildren got moved into their nice new house. I have seen the room which has been allocated to me, if all of this political argybargy around Covid, is resolved. It amazes me that if one has money or is involved with something that could bring money into “a country’s coffers” you can fly around the world and I would like to make a 21 mile crossing and yet I am treated like “something undesirable on the sole of your shoe”.

“The ex-Paralegal” went camping with Lucy and the “babies” Tilly and Chester. The tent was erected and the “babies” were taken for a walk around the nearby reservoir, I was having a video call with him when he said those immortal words “wow, look at that black cloud”. He cut the call short then rang me later as the rain pelted down and they were soaked to the skin! Apparently the trip was a little “nightmarish” as there were two adults and two dogs on one airbed! Now anyone who has had a dog that has slept on a bed, knows that that lovely little animal weighs a ton when it is asleep and it suddenly grows to such a size as it gets itself stretched out, so imagine two!!!

There was no knitting workshop this week and so I have not seen the family who received their “right to remain”, I hope that I see them before they move away.

I had messaged my Syrian friend in Paris, he told me that he is well but that he still has no papers. I know what I was like waiting for my residence card and I was eligible, so the stress that he (and others like him) must be under is unbelievable.

I saw, from the newspaper, that there was an exhibition on the history of Bar-sur-Aube at the Mediatheque in town. So I decided to visit, a lot of it I already knew but for me it was a time to put my reading and comprehension of the French language to the test. I was amazed by how much I could understand and I found the photographs of the Champagne Riots of 1910 and 1911 fascinating, there were huge demonstrations in my town. Google it if you are interested in reading more not just about my town but about how a significant exclusion of the Aube district which includes the town of Troyes, the historic capital of the Champagne region, was part of the reason for the riots here. I purchased a postcard which showed the building where I stayed for a week when I first arrived in France. I will let “The Daddy” and “The Mummy” see it as they will be interested to see what it looked like around 1906.

The tomatoes in my garden are starting to ripen, the peppers/chillies are flowering and I am still able to pick a few strawberries everyday. The strawberry runners have “taken” in their new pots and so I will have more plants next year. I just wish I could get rid of “escargots” they are slithering and sliming all around plants and on the side of pots. I throw loads of them over the hedge and still there are more……..at least I don’t have to contend with slugs, I had enough of those in the UK to last me a lifetime!

I have quite a few jobs to be done today, one of which involves crouching under the hedge to clear any snails then dig a large hole and plant a clematis which I purchased yesterday and I am hoping that it will spread out and provide privacy in the rear garden. The two pieces of honeysuckle I am hoping to produce roots, so that I can plant them around the same area for the same reason, at first I thought they were doing really well, but now I am not too sure. I also pulled up two small roots of hibiscus and planted those. My neighbour told me they wont come to anything but they were growing happily in the ground before I pulled them up so why not?