More Eating Out

17.10.20: JJ's birthday. An apéro at the bar, a really good lunch in the sun at the restaurant after which we retired to Jacques' terrace for cava, more cava and some snacks. Bit by bit folk Nicole, Carmen, Antoine, Sandrine) fell by the wayside leaving only JJ and myself by the time it was cool enough to send us inside. Was nearly 10pm when we went home. For me it was straight to bed.

Weather:22°, sunny

16.10.20: Made it to Perpignan with Francoise for the expo, "Queens of France"

showing paintings from Versailles. There was also another temporary exhibition in contrast featuring local modern artists. Bits of rusty metal and splodges were not my thing. Lunch was no great shakes either. A fast food place where we could sit outside.

Weather: 18°, chilly start, wind lighter, sunny.

15.10.20: Lunch at the restaurant, too cold to be on the terrace.  The computer and tv filled the rest of the day.

Weather: 14° windy

 14.10.20: Lunch chez JJ  with André and Nany, Michèle and Henri. Took advantage of a lift afterwards with the latter to see Briget’s expo. Rather than wait in the cold for a bus, Hortense drove me home after we’d had a cuppa sitting out in front of the bakery. Didn’t even have room for one of their delicious pastries to brighten up the day.

Weather: 15°, cold and miserable. Rain came on late afternoon

13.10.20:

Was going to go to an exhibition in Perpignan today with Françoise but the uncertain weather put us off. Yeah, yeah. I know, we were wimps but you need to understand that the least little bit of rain sends us scurrying indoors! By mid morning the sun was out  so Françoise and I were able to take our coffee out on the terrace of the café.

I'd banked on having lunch out so  it was with pleasure that I accepted Jacques' invitation to join him for a lunch of duck breast and wild mushrooms that had been gathered by our neighbours, Gérard and Anna. I can confirm what you've probably read in articles about rural France; people do hang bags of produce on your door. I found my little bag of mushrooms on Sunday which went into last night's omelette.

Spent the most part of the afternoon actually getting some admin done and all of the evening watching tv. Yes, again.

Weather: 19°, sunshine and showers

11.10.20:

The wind blowing hard woke me up during the night so after losing a bit of sleep, I was surprised that I did my treadmill stint. Well wrapped up, I joined Nicole for a coffee and listened to the local banda. Jacques should have come with us to Martine's for lunch but he cried off. JJ was a last minute replacement for an excellent meal. Battered courgette flowers, mozzarella balls and pesto tomato mini skewers, homemade cheese biscuits and cava got us off to a good start. Smoked salmon, duck, cheese and apple sorbet well doused in calvados followed.

While the other two went off home, Martine and I went to a brass band concert given by musicians of the Toulouse Orchestra.The Gershwin was brilliant and the rest of the programme filled your ears with rich sound.

Weather: 16°, blue sky, strong cold wind

Enjoying Wonderful Weather

7.10.20 - 10.10.20:

😎 The next few days were uneventful apart from my second eye check up, a trip to Collioure with Ann and Terry to see Maggie who's still there being "rehabillitated" and lunch at the bar after the market with Carmen, Nicole and JJ!

Weather: Continued warm and sunny, hitting a high of 25° on Thursday

The Eyes have it!

6.10.20: Another morning without a treadmill session. There was an early morning check up to attend. Michel kindly took me as there wasn't a bus. Have another one at the end of the week. Had a coffee on our return at the bar. Jacques offered me lunch which I gladly accepted and watched "Summerland" in the afternoon. A bit of computer time and then more tv interspersed with 2 lots of drops to use 3x/day and 1 to use 4x/day. Almost need a spreadsheet to keep track of it all.What's even worse, eye make up is prohibited for a week and what with that and the ravages of the operation, I look as if I've aged 10 years so the selfie is not for publication.

Weather: 22°, sunshine and clear blue skies

5.10.20: Admission to clinic for cataract op at 10h30; home by 14h45. Taken by Jacques and collected by Françoise. All went well. Under instruction, I spent the rest of the day resting avoiding the computer, tablet and smart phone; only the tv was allowed. Not a guilty thought in my head!

Weather: 20°, sunshine and cloud. Sun in the morning, rain in the afternoon

 

4.10.20: Even though Martine, Nicole and Jacques were coming for lunch, there was still time to have a session on the treadmill; I'd taken an easier road than usual and ordered a couscous from the local butcher. There was even time for a cuppa at the café. The meal for 3 was loads for the 4 of us and there's enough left over to literally see me through the week. Now, that's what I'd call a result! We toasted Martine as it's her birthday tomorrow and gave her the choice of which decoration to put on the cake. Next Sunday we're all invited over to hers for a second round. Another result!

Ended the afternoon with a cup of Lapsong at Michel's and spent another evening watching TV.
Weather: 19° and blue sky for most of the day, becoming cloudy and chillier with rain.

3.9.20: A coffee at the market in the morning with Jean, Françoise, Jacques and Nicole. Made dessert and some savouries for tomorrow's lunch. Spent the evening watching tv.

2.10.20: Coffee with Françoise; just about warm enough to sit outside. Heavy rain came on after lunch so I was really glad that Martine had offered to take me for my pre hospital admission covid test. It was the kind of day that just lent itself to a pot of tea and some tv when I got home. Well, if I'm honest a lot of tv.

Weather: Rain eased in the evening but temperatures dropped to an unseasonal 7°

1.10.20: Coffee with the usual Brits, lunch at home, caught up with the blog and made some nibbles to take to Jean-Jacques' hopefully to be enjoyed by his guests Michel, Françoise and Claude.

Weather: 20°, cloudy with sunny spells

Ups and Downs of Daily Life

 28.9.20 - 30.9.20:

Monday I took the bus to the local clinic for my pre op visit with the anaethestist and the administration. As luck would have it, someone from the village was controlling entries so she let me in and saw me right so well that I was dealt with and out 10 minutes before my scheduled appointment! Enough time to scoot around the supermarket and get the bus back without delay. Oh, could it have been the same for my trip to Perpignan for a routine check up with a specialist. Bus times have changed and there are now only 3 buses direct to Perpignan. There is the possibility of  a seamless pick up about 4 miles out of the village but my bus was a little late; the connecting bus was still at the stop but blow me, didn't the driver pull off before my bus had come to a stop!!! Luckily I'd planned for such an eventuality and left earlier than need be and the sun was shining. Nothing else to do but find a rock to sit on and wait the hour out before the next bus came along. Thank goodness for a phone well stocked with reading material. Not sure that protest letters will make any difference but getting about without a car is going to be so much more difficult for me and others like me. The icing on the cake was that the specialist, who is new, wasn't up to speed with my file. During the 15 minute appointment I had to challenge him a couple of times. He'll maybe get another chance next year but if I hear that others don't rate him, I'll change to someone else.

Thank goodness there were some pleasurable moments along the way. Some music ♫ ♫ at the café on Monday evening, coffee with Nicole and Françoise on Tuesday morning and on my way home Jacques invited me in for an impromptu lunch. Then on Wednesday night JJ and I went over to Jean and Françoise's for take-away pizza.

Weather:

After the cold weekend, temperatures rose steadily, reaching a very pleasnt 25° on Wednesday

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