(Thursday, 23 April 2020)
I have become painfully aware that I get some lovely comments and replies to my daily inane wafflings and some of them remain unacknowledged, despite my best efforts. I just wanted to say, that regardless of whether I actually reply, each and every one of them is massively appreciated and brings a smile to my face. 😘
I’ve settled into something of a routine of writing some notes or thoughts about the day in the evening and then in my early morning de-zombifying stage, I read my notes and write my update properly. I then post it, write the captions for the pictures and glance over it again quickly to check for typos, grammatical errors and in some cases, simply appalling sentence construction. 🤨 Sometimes, if the errors are particularly bad I go back and edit it again… but in all honesty, this is only if they are horrifically bad and the rest depends on whether I can actually be assed. Sorry, but I did say my wafflings would be honest at least. 😂
What generally happens is that in the time it takes me to do this, one or two of you may have posted replies and I consequently read them and reply. Then I go off and do stuff that I have planned for the day. I drop in and out at various times to read the comments and if I get a chance, to reply. But I don’t always have more than a few minutes, so sometimes I just simply read them. I also have taken to reading them at night just before sleep and laying in bed balancing an ipad above your head doesn’t make it the best time to type replies. Hence the erratic nature of my responses. I really hope I haven’t offended anyone by being so lax. 😘
Yesterday, I had to take Jack to the vets again, just for a check up and to pick up some more tablets as we only had enough to see how he got on with it. Whilst he is settling to the medication quite well, with only extra thirst and hunger to contend with, the vet wants to reduce the amount again by half, to see if it will continue to improve the side effects. The tumour in his mouth hasn’t grown which is good but we are thrilled to see that none of us can actually find the tumour on his side which was the original one. It seems to have disappeared completely! In terms of showing that the medication is working, it’s great news but, of course, it’s not the really dodgy one. Nevertheless, this is a positive thing which we are super happy about. 👍 😁
Unlike our old vets in the UK, here you just turn up during opening hours and get to see the vet without the need for an appointment. Sometimes there’s a bit of a wait, but usually not too bad at all. Today we were told the vet who wanted to see Jack was operating and would be free in half an hour. Just enough time for a walk in the park and a paddle in the stream. Jack was overjoyed!
Getting out of the car at my chosen parking place, I ran into one of our English friends and had a chat for a few minutes. Another of the friends I’ve not seen since all this began and it was lovely to catch up, even if just for a few minutes. I think if there is one thing that makes you feel at home anywhere, is that when you go out you run into someone you know. It always has the effect of making me feel part of the community, or settled, if that makes any sense. Maybe not so much to the city dwellers among you, but for a country bumpkin like me, it is always a very pleasing event.
Work on the ‘sodding balcony’ continues and slowly but surely Mark is cutting, staining and refitting the various parts of it. He really has worked so very hard on it and my heart goes out to him, it’s a gutsy job. 😔 My contribution is limited to occasional holding of stuff or passing stuff, but that’s it really. My part will probably take place in a week or so, when we have finished assembling all the required parts and gadgets… My skills are far more attuned to fiddly bits than climbing up and down ladders – I’m really not so good at that!
On the gardening front, we have sadly lost a couple of beautiful rhododendrons that were well on their way to being covered in striking flowers. They sit in a large container on the porch by the front door and are such a wonderful splash of colour when they come out. Having suddenly wilted, first one and then the other, I pulled them out yesterday to investigate and found vine weevil grubs in there. Grrr!!! I spent a ‘happy’ ( 😔) couple of hours sifting all the soil out of the container to see if I could find the offending objects that had literally eaten the roots of both the plants. One of them is less affected than the other so I have dumped both of them in big buckets of water as I read somewhere that the weevils can’t survive underwater. I’m sceptical of being able to save them, but I have to try. 😢
We had an hour sitting in the sun with a beer at the end of the day enjoying the heat of the sun before it disappeared over the mountain tops. The heat of the sun at this time of year is fab, there’s some real strength in it and the benefit of the cooler air, makes it just perfect to sit out and enjoy with a couple of aperitifs before it gets too cool to sit out. Prost! 😁
Stay safe everyone xx
