The North Wind.....

.......doth blow!! And we shall have snow!

Not a great deal admittedly, more like a sprinkling of icing sugar (!) but what we have had is rain, rain & hail, and then more rain!! Add to this not just the North wind but the East wind too which I swear has been coming straight from the Russians Steppes and it has been a very unpleasant weekend!

The normal trickle of a stream that runs through the villlage is swollen to a raging torrent , any minute now the village will be divided in two, and the low lying fields are under inches of water and no sign of a break in it either!! But -much as the pouring rain is driving me out of my mind, I am grateful that we didn't get snow, as 4 years ago we had a fall of approx 14 inches overnight and it was a nightmare!! This part of the world is certainly not geared up for big snow falls, it was 9 days before we could get out of the village other than in our very ancient Landrover, and , much as we love her - you would not want to travel very far in her - she gives a new meaning to Shake, Rattle & Roll !!

The wind is increasing as I write and we've already had a number of trees blown over and I expect there'll be quite a few more as the forecast for tomorrow is for even stronger winds!! The weather conditions throughout the world all seem to be vying toward the extremes and whilst we are not suffering like Australia and many other countries, you have to wonder where it is going to stop !

It has been several days now since I ventured out, I do not want to give the 'chest' a chance to get any worse - in fact it is a lot better, but I am not taking any chances ! We should have gone to pay for and arrange delivery of the new bed at the end of last week, but that hasn't happened I'm afraid, so we have a lovely newly decorated bedroom but no bed !!

Not a lot of sewing really, I have finished block 2 of Verandah Views

and Once Upon A Time (no gold button yet!)

but otherwise just a couple of fabric baskets to show , one from here

and the other from here


both of them fun to make! Otherwise, I keep plodding on with joining the 2" square together, then together again to make 4 patches, etc, etc............and so it goes on, well, you know the story !!!!

Another Coincidence!

It's been a very bitty week this week ,taken up with what seemed to be one long hospital appointment - 2 for me and one check-up for DH! The good news is that my lung function tests were OK, but the (not too) bad news is that they need to look a little further into a possible sleep/breathing disorder which might be causing my lack of energy and constant tiredness , so I am off to the local hospital next week to spend some time in the 'Sleep Clinic'. This is one that made me smile - as who can ever sleep in hospital !!!

As a result very little has been achieved on the sewing side of life other than a little more progress on the Holiday Swap mini, which I can't show yet. I did however get to the LQS yesterday and found this on their sale table for half price !



I haven't had a really good look at it yet, but like what I have seen so far , and there's certainly a good story behind it all ! Then look what arrived in today's post , all this lovely reproduction fabric !

Now, don't you think someone is try to tell me something !!!

Growing Your Own !

I'm afraid that neither DH or I are what you would call 'gardeners' . Don't get me wrong, I like to be surrounded by flowers and shrubs and we both do our bit to keep the grounds looking pretty good but - we both lack the passion that makes what I think of as a true gardener !

Since moving to Brittany we've noticed that lots of our fellow ex-pats have taken up the tradition of a French 'potagerie' ( kitchen garden) and grow their own vegetables ,which they (admittingly) wouldn't think of doing 'back home' ! Me, I have nothing but admiration for them as I hate the thought of all that weeding so we don't have a veggie patch !!!

We are very lucky though in respect that our French neighbours are generous to a fault ( also probably feel very sorry for our inadequacy !) and keep us supplied with a steady stream of seasonal produce. Lettuce by the bag full ; tomatoes by the bowl ; beetroot, radish and 'baby' new carrots by the bunch soon to be followed by courgettes (zucchini), , French beans and peppers ! Early potatoes are grown in the potagerie , whilst the main crop comes out of the field in mid September - last year we ended up with 6 sacks full for 2 of us !!!! So you can see that really we have no need to 'grow our own' vegetables and in my (lazy!) view this way is a lot less hard work !! However !! Like all the British ex-pats that I know, we do make one concession - and that is to grow a row of Runner Beans!!!

I can't even try to explain the difference between French beans and Scarlet Runners, but it's there ! At the moment our little row is producing so many beans that its our turn to supply the neighbours with 'English' beans, and they are going down a treat ! This is today's crop, a bit down on the last few days, but already we have a home for them with our biggest convert from 'French' to 'English', my 74 year old neighbour !!! Well , why not - after all there are only so many beans you can eat in a week !!!

I've managed to stay upright (!!) for 3 days now but am still on 'light duties', so I 've had a little time in my sewing room but have kept to smaller projects not to tempt fate too much !

A couple of Runaround Bags , such a lovely, easy and quick to make pattern, I just need to find my 'box of goodies' to make something to put on the zipper tabs.

QA inspection by the big boss, William !!

Plus a couple of trial Snap Happy Pouches

So not a totally wasted week after all ! Today I hope to finish off a couple of wall hangings that have been around for some time now !!!

Just to mention that I've had the results of my test, a couple of problems but nothing big, so I will write more about that later!

From Bad to Worse !!

Just when I was starting to think I was getting over the dreaded bronchial infection - wham !! - back it came again and this time even worse !! I really am fed up with feeling so terrible all the time, not to say feeling sorry for myself (and for DH who is getting the full force of my displeasure !!) Bed rest is all very well and good, but so BORING!!!!, there is only so much reading one can do and very little else !! At the moment I am waiting for the results of more blood tests to try and determine the cause of all this - honestly, I am begining to feel like one of Dracula's victims the amount of blood being drained from me !!! Moan! Moan!! Moan!!

I have to admit though that Sunday and Monday I had no ambition to get out of bed and that is a very bad sign (!) as normally I have to be strapped in, but all the coughing is really tiring me out( and making chest Xrays a bit difficult ) to say the least. Today is a lot better so far (dare I say it !!) so maybe the treatment is kicking in at last ! Its ironic really though - all this bed rest has given me such a bad backache, now I don't know what to hold when I get a coughing fit !!!

Sewing - well, that's become a thing of the past for the time being, but I did manage to get my Miniature Booty swap quilt finished and it will go off in the post some time next week. Also managed to get my August Birthday Block out in the post today as well as some red/white blocks for Clare . Not a great deal to show for 2 weeks is it , and no photos either I'm afraid, but just a little something to keep my hand in (when DH is not around standing guard !!!) . I did get a great big parcel yesterday with my batting and thread from Asding in the UK , so now I have no excuse not to get quilting once I am able !!!!

Summertime Blues !!

It seems ages since I blogged - in fact it' s ages since I did anything at all !! I 've missed all the lovely sunshine , and haven't been further than the bottom of the garden in over a week, and no, there weren't any fairies to be seen anywhere when I got there !!!

Seriously, though, I am feeling a lot better than I did a few days ago and I am hoping by the weekend I can get back to some kind of normality ! I am the world's worse patient for sure, and I am so glad this last week is over !!!

Nothing to report on the sewing scene other than I have made a start on my Miniature Booty Swap Quilt, but not worth showing at the moment. I did make a number of 'resolutions' whilst lying around doing nothing (VBG!) not the least being that I MUST do something to reduce the ever increasing number of UFOs, and I did manage to order a load of batting from the UK !! The idea is that this should arrive just about the time I am feeling well enough to start crawling around the floor and get some quilts put together - well, that's the master plan !!!

Best Laid Plans !

My intention this week was to try and get the Churndashes flimsy well on the way to being quilted and the binding on - but like a lot of plans, this didn't happen - in fact nothing did !!

I have spent the last 2 days confined to bed , doped up with antibiotics, trying to combat yet another bronchial infection !! I started feeling a bit 'off' over the weekend but thought it was just the start of a summer cold - Wrong! It has turned into the real thing !! Today I do feel a little better, but still very groggy and have the most awful sounding cough you can imagine (!) so its back on the old inhaler, cough syrup and any other drugs thought likely to put a halt to it !!!

The problem I had in January was bad enough, but then it was quite a hard winter, which would explain a little why one might end up with a bronchial infection - but do you know what is really bugging me now ? This is the nicest weather we have had so far this summer , temperatures are in the very high 20s, and me, I' m in bed through most of it !!!!!!

Decision Time !

Bugs 1 - Modern Medicine 0

So after 15 days of antibiotics and all other treatments my surgery has been cancelled!Given the suspense of the last few days I don't know if I am sorry not to be going (!) or relieved ! I will have to go before too long , but as I feel my general health has suffered over the last weeks, and infection aside, perhaps surgery wouldn't have been a good idea at this time! We are very fortunate to have excellent Health Care here in France, possibly the best in Europe , no such things as waiting lists would you believe, so having to cancel at the last minute didn't seem to bother the hospital staff at all - the attitude was 'don't worry, just let us know when you would like to reschedule'!! Today I am off for chest & sinus X-Rays, so we'll see where I go from there, I just wish I could stop coughing and maybe get my voice back to normal 'cos at the moment I sound like a very bad impersonation of Dastardly !!!!

Enough complaining !! Yesterday also brought a treat - I was allowed out of the house for half an hour to go see Megan, the first time in ages!! As it didn't actually rain all day , DH ( Chief Stable Lad promoted to Head Groom )granted me visiting rights for a few minutes BUT only if I agreed not to play in the mud with her !! It really was great to get out of the house, as other than doctors' appointments , I have been confined to barracks for the last 2 weeks, mainly because of the foul weather and also staying in a constant temperature seems to lessen the coughing !

I did manage a sneak around

the garden at the same time

and found more evidence of

Spring

These were another little surprise, a small gift from a friend to cheer me up - aren't they lovely?

Hopefully, by tomorrow life will settle down into a more normal routine and I will get over feeling sorry for myself and do something constructive for a change !! Might even force myself to the nearest fabric shop for a pick- me-up !!!