This week I visited an Ear, Nose and Throat consultant. He did hearing and other diagnostic tests in both ears, as both are affected by the firm fluttering feeling and sounds which last for between ten minutes and four hours, mainly, but not exclusively during the hours I would like to be sleeping. His diagnosis was that the muscles controlling the eardrum are causing the problem in exactly the same way as a twitch on your cheek or eye may occur. The treatment is Magnesium, taken as a supplement, although it is also to be found occurring naturally in dried fruits, beans, nuts, green leafy vegetables, brown rice, wholemeal bread and chocolate. I shall start taking Magnesium today and hope that my years of poor sleep may be coming to an end. It also seems like a perfectly sound reason to be eating chocolate! I seem to remember Magnesium is recommended for cramp too and that is something I get frequently – another muscle related thing I suppose.
Tuesday saw me with a friend and
the medium-paced group of Marcheurs de St Nicolas du Pélem doing a demanding
walk starting and finishing at St Gilles Pligeaux. The day started with a temperature of 2°C
when I did the animals at 0845hrs. By
1345hrs the temperature for the walk had risen to 10°C.
There were a couple of little showers but I was almost grateful for those on the up and down terrain of the route. There were wonderful fungi all along the paths we took and I was able to stop just to take photos of this fly agaric before I got left behind.
I was absolutely
shattered after the 2½
hours of strenuous walking – 8kms – thank goodness for the walking poles which
help so much with climbing and then not slipping when descending again. I was so tired when I got home. Then I walked up to the field to put the
animals to bed and fell over in the mud on the field, jarring my hip and
back. I felt rubbish all evening, very stiff and
very old – luckily a good night’s rest did help.
We parked the car at St Gilles Pligeaux church and walking back these lovely trees were along the path. I haven't seen spindle for years - there used to be trees on the way back from church when I was at school in Clevedon. I don't know what the other tree is, on the right here, but it was beautiful.
We had our Annual Bowls Club Presentation Lunch on Friday at La
Vallée in St Gilles Vieux Marché. The two members opposite me at the table
seemed to have a huge collection of trophies in front of them at the finish,
whereas I have never been presented with anything, of course, but the company
was good and it was an very enjoyable few hours with friends.
The weather has certainly changed for the worse since November
arrived but the sunsets have been spectacular.
There has been so much rain with some sunshine too and the inevitable rainbows in the village.
The animal field entrances and
paths are quagmires. I think we will
have to spread stones on the ground to give me some purchase when I’m working
up there or I shall spend more time flat in the mud than on my booted feet. Talking
about boots, when I was back in Engand and visiting B&Q, I treated myself
to this very girly pair, which I am rather partial to, and keep me drier than
the open backed gardening shoes I usually wear.
Mia's Mum posted a photo of Mia on the beach in a very similar coloured pair so I guess we're keeping it in the family!Here's a new photo showing both Mia and her Mum, Emma - such beautiful girls!
In the village the hydrangeas on the next door verge are all changing colour
and there are blue fungi on the way to my field - so pretty.
The cats have been coming in drenched after sudden showers and are spending much more time inside in the warm. Claude and Purrdy are usually here asleep but Gracie does tend to spend more time out and about in spite of the weather.
This year, it was really difficult to get hold of a poppy to wear for Remembrance Day. Eventually a friend from Bowls managed to come up trumps.
I have temporarily changed my profile photo on Facebook to a photo that I took in my garden in June this year and posted a poem that I wrote last November.
And all across the
Flanders fields they lay
The bodies of the fallen
in the war
For us they made the
ultimate sacrifice
And we will remember them
forever more.
Red poppies decorate
November clothes
And where there once was
only dirt and mud
The summer lands are
covered in the flowers
The poppies which remind
us of spilt blood.
Their lives were lost to
give us lives to live
Hard to imagine the
horrors that they shared
Our thanks to those we
lost, to all of them,
Thanks too to those who
fought and who were spared.
November 2013
Sandra E Chubb
