It's too early to be putting those bedding plants out, Mme and myself agreed at the weekend. Trays of them had appeared on trestle tables outside the newsagents. Sure enough, there was a frost last night, and any tender plants would have died. My suspicion is that the growers get them out early so that they can replace them; and increase their sales.
It would appear that the breeding season has returned to our small hamlet. Not human breeding, all a bit long in the tooth for that, but the ducks have returned again to our village pond. Four drakes, who give the lone female a torrid time, pulling her feathers out in their excitement to be the father of the eight chicks that will be seen later paddling around. Now that the rushes have grown again, there is plenty of cover to build a nest away from would be predators.
Every two years, I get a sinking feeling as Mme's little Fiesta has to have its CT or in English MOT. It was first registered in 2008, so is not in the first flush of youth. Against the age however is the fact it has only done 64,000 miles, so the emission tests show an almost new engine. Today was the day, and it passed again, so don't need to start a search for another car. There was a recommendation to replace the tyres. So four cheapies should do I think.
Mme Yorkie has a 2008 Fiesta similar mileage..... they keep suggedt changing the timing belt... but barely worth it...she only does 750 miles a year
Thanks for reminding me - the MOT for my 2004 Suzuki Ignus is due next month. Has little bit of rust on the bonnet but is otherwise ok - although being unable to drive right now I may have to de-register it for a while.
ERRRRRRRRR the international break is upon us. Not much to report here, can finally sleep okish. Getting to the hot time of the year here!
I enjoy Sweet and Sour sauce with various dishes. Uncle Bens jars disappeared; but there was a LeClerc one that was almost as good. Then that disappeared off the shelves, so onto the internet. Plenty there from UK companies, so I restocked. Run out; so attempt a re-order. The same UK company is now charging £29 delivery, making the price just hopeless. Others similar amounts. Others have seen what is happening to a popular item, and moved to N. Ireland, but their transport costs have increased, and a jar is now too expensive. Others have seized the opportunity; and my jars left Austria Monday and are on their way. As someone who wants the UK to do well for the sake of my family there; I just wish politicians would admit what 70% of the population know. Something was a disaster.
Suffering a bit this morning. My stay in hospital meant I lost nearly a stone, despite their efforts to feed me up. A lot of the loss was from muscles on the arms and legs, and although it has come back on the arms, my exercises did little to help the legs. I needed something more vigorous, so attacked some logs that are too long for the wood burner. Lots of use for the legs, bending up and down, but the hamstrings are not happy. Better not mention it at WFC, I could be out for weeks.
Tracking tells me that my sweet and sour sauce is en-route for delivery today. So as that is solved for now, the tea bags that I still can buy in the UK cheaper than here, will need restocking shortly. Twice a year sees an order for 900 go to England, and they arrive within the week. My normal seller has put a limit of half the number I want, so a change will have to take place.
It has been very quiet on here today. I hope everyone is OK. My parcel arrived safely around midday, so there was time to drive to town and get the shopping over and done with. The hedgerows are turning green, and everywhere there are Spring colours. It is a lovely picture on a day like today, with a clear blue sly lighting it all up.
If yesterday was warm with a bright blue sky, today is the opposite. Grey and foggy, leaving everything out there damp. Mme is complaining about how these conditions are bad for her arthritic joints, but it is her monthly meeting this afternoon with other ladies, where they have a good natter, and eat cake. Her aches will no doubt disappear for a couple of hours.
I received an e-mail from the Haute Autorité de Santé asking me to complete a survey about my stay in hospital, and the treatment I received. It was lengthy, and delved into every nook and cranny, from the attitude of the doctors and nurses, the meals and wanted to know if my room was comfortable. It was so detailed it took an hour to complete, and the only thing I could fault was the size of the staff name badges that were too small to read. Having sent my thoughts off, I could read how others rated it. 9/10 was the overall response, which I think is well deserved. I hope that those of you with health problems are also getting first class treatment, and feel that your situations are improving.
If you have done much driving in France, you may have noticed that all cars registered here have a little green certificate on the windscreen, with the date on to show you are legally insured until that date. It arrives weeks before you need to display it, so I was slightly concerned when my new one hadn't arrived. On checking up on the insurer's website, I found that from yesterday they will not be required. Checks on vehicles will all be possible now at a central database and the numberplate. I believe the UK has this in place already.
