Difficult days, sunny days and the first harvests

 

The last ten days have been very difficult.  A friend from bowls was ambulanced to hospital early last week with a brain stem haemorrhage and I went to the hospital with her devastated husband to help with translation.  There was nothing that the hospital could do to help her although the staff were very kind and caring.  Eight days later, and two hours after life support was withdrawn this week she passed away.  Four of her sisters, one of her brothers and her son came over from England for the cremation yesterday and some of them stayed in my cottages.  It was a brutal shock and very sad.  I think her husband will need a lot of support from friends once all the family members have returned to the UK.  Her son read a poem during the service which I had never heard before but which I really like.  The Dash by Linda Ellis.  The dash refers to the line between the birth date and the death date on a coffin or headstone.  (For example, my father's would be 1907-1981.)  That dash represents all of the life spent by that person while on earth and only those who loved her know what that small line is worth.

 

 

For it matters not, how much we own, the cars, the house, the cash,

What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard; Are there things you would like to change?

For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough to consider what is true and real

and always try to understand the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger and show appreciation more

and love the people in our lives like we have never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile,

Remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read with your life’s actions to rehash…

Would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?

 

The beautiful sunny weather continues and I can't now remember when it last rained.  It has become a habit to get dressed into something skimpy for sunbathing without even looking out of the window first.  The swimming pool has been emptied, cleaned and chemicals done for the second time and I have been taking full advantage of it to have cooling down swims and do some aqua jogging.  My farmer neighbour has just told me that it is forecast to rain on Thursday.

 

I was approached in the supermarket car park the Thursday before last by a man laughingly asking if my Landrover was full of wine in the back.  When I looked at it I saw that it looked as if it was ready for takeoff with the back almost on the ground and the front high in the air.  It seemed that the compressor which controls the rear suspension airbags had died.  On Friday, I ordered a new one from Paddocks, the wonderful on-line Landrover parts supplier, and for the princely sum of £5 delivery to France they despatched it to arrive on Tuesday morning - great service!  My worker, Andy, has fitted it and this morning I collected it and brought it back home with everything level again.  He now has my VW campervan windows to sort out.  The electric system which replaced the original winding handles has failed and I am relying solely on the roof windows to let in air in this very hot weather.  There's always something!

 

This week I have been harvesting broad beans, peas, large gooseberries, carrots and garlic, all from the raised beds in the veggie patch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rhubarb, which had been moved while the raised  bed edges were replaced, has finally settled down and is now holding its leaves proudly erect again.  I had worried that it wasn't going to make it.  This rhubarb was given to me years ago by a friend and gardener, John Reeves, in Gloucester in the 1980s.  I dug up the crowns and moved them to Cornwall in 1996 when we went to live there.  Finally they crossed the water in 2007 and came to ground in St André where they have produced kilos and kilos of fruit and provided many plants for other people.

 

 

 A car boot last Sunday successfully tempted me to buy these large earthenware boat-shaped dishes.  They are for serving moules frites (mussels and chips) and cost the princely sum of €1 for the two.  The fruit bowl is not small so you can get some idea of the size - they are just over 40cm from bow to stern.  I haven't been to a car boot for months, possibly years, and although it was relatively small I did enjoy it.

 

 

Having had my scooter in the garage apart from two frightening - to me - outings.  I have finally been to Carhaix to visit the office who will issue me with a new Carte Grise - registration document - as I don't think I ever received one when I bought it. 

 

This will enable me to sell it as I am obviously not of the mentality to ride around on two motorised wheels.  When riding I am tense and terrified and know this is not going to change now - enough is enough.

I am expecting to collect three more sheep this week.  These will be sheep for eating.  There is a four year old Mum with eight week old female lamb and a two year old Texel ram.   I intend to keep the ram unless he is troublesome when he could become the first into the freezer.  Next year I hope to breed and fatten any new lambs for the freezer.   I wasn't going to keep sheep again but lamb is so expensive here.  I do love it and at least if they're my animals I know that they've had happy lives and been well looked after.

Three things I like:

1.   Hearing that my special friend who, after his regular six month check up because of previous kidney cancer, has been declared still cancer free.

2.   Swimming in my pool during this wonderful sunny weather.

3.   My neighbour's newly fitted automatic garage door which is silent and doesn't wake me when he leaves for work at 0645 hrs.