Crikey, what a week it's been! As was expected, my favourite neighbour's mom died about 10 days ago. She was 93 years old and it was, as I say, expected, but the sad thing is she died a day or two before my neighbour got there. While I guess these things happen, I'm sure relations next door won't be improved one iota by the fact that they had to wait to leave until after a doctor's appointment for him, since, as I've mentioned before, he walked out of the hospital before his operation last time because he was "pissed off at having to wait"!
I then heard that the farmer had also died (pancreatic cancer). I only found out after the funeral but I would have gone if I had known. He was definitely "a character". His son died about four months ago and never had any intention of taking over the farm anyway, so I'm assuming the girls will sell up. I thought I saw him about 10 days ago, but it was obviously someone else taking care of the animals. I don't know what will happen but I already miss the sound of the goat bells in the upper field and, of course, the beautiful donkeys in the field at the back of my house!
After that I heard that a former colleague of mine had died at the age of 78. She had been ill for a few years, so again it was expected, but I do remember her fondly as I took over her job in HR when she retired and had nothing but respect for her professionalism. A funny story she told me - although not funny at the time - she was English and married to an Italian from Naples. One time when they went to Naples to see family, they were staying in a hotel and as it was hot they had the window cracked just a little. When they woke up the next morning they found they had been robbed during the night! Apparently the thieves had pumped sleeping gas into the room through the crack in the window and must have had a small child go in and take their valuables! The police reckoned they were followed to the hotel since they had Swiss plates. You would have thought, being a native, that he would have known better about sleeping with the window open, but she said it was a hard lesson well learned!
Then my friend sent me a FB message regarding her return trip from Spain today (I was to pick her up at the airport) and told me that her cousin in England had just been found dead at home at the age of 60. They were thinking it might have been a diabetic coma but the family have asked for an autopsy so that they can be sure. I didn't know him, but 60 still seems young to me to be dying so suddenly! Anyway, my friend had a PCR test booked for the day before her flight and wouldn't you know it but it came back positive - despite the fact that she had no symptoms whatsoever! So flight cancelled, pick-up cancelled and she's stuck in Spain for at least the next 10 days, not only because of having to isolate but also because it will depend on when she can get a flight out. Mind you, being "stuck" in Spain doesn't strike me as such an awful thing to have to endure, although having to isolate would be a pain. On the positive side, she and her sister own their home over there so she won't be running up horrendous bills, except for extending the cat's stay in the cattery!
Moving swiftly on, Jordan showed up at the depot for work last Monday to find no-one there to open up. Max has been off for a while as he broke his arm skiing and as Jordan waited for his brother to show up, he found out that A, the brother, was also off sick after throwing up violently all night (it only lasted a day though). So that left Jordan stuck with no way to get into the depot or load up the van. The two apprentices were also off with covid - one quite seriously (although better now), and the other just a mild case, like Jordan's, so Jordan was well and truly on his own. When Max's dad showed up to open up they had already agreed that Jordan needed to have a key to the depot and they are apparently getting him his own van - so some good news came out of it. On the down side, instead of asking him to head to the site near me where he has been working for a couple of months, Max asked him to go to the Chamonix site as it was more urgent. Jordan told me he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing up there so he just picked up the jack hammer and started "jackhammering"!
Also last week Max's gf 's dad had to be helicoptered off the mountain when he'd been out skiing (turns out he had injured his back - hence the helicopter, but it was not as serious as initially thought), and then the gf broke her own arm while out skiing - this being the young disabled woman in a wheelchair. I know, she goes skiing???? More power to her but I'm sure she could have done without breaking her arm! So Max and his gf only have one pair of hands between them at the moment. Somehow I don't think I'll be going skiing much in the future, and for good reason!
I stopped in to see the Munchkin this week and he was on fine form, but when I left there it was already starting to get dark and the fog was horrendous! As I got up nearer to home I was so grateful that I knew the roads because I could barely see 10 feet in front of me. No street lights, winding mountain roads and even a couple of idiots out running - wouldn't you think they'd wear reflective jackets if they wanted to stay safe????
On the positive side, I finally got an email from the French authorities for me to upload the rest of my documents regarding my citizenship request - just 30 months after I started! So I had a look at it this afternoon as I already have all the documents, but bugger me if my bloody scanner has stopped working. After a couple of hours doing other stuff I decided to just give up for today and then luckily googled "the best scanning app to download onto an iPhone". And that was when I found out that iPhone has a handy little app buried in the "notes" section that allows you to scan documents into your notes and save them. Old dog, new tricks I guess!
And finally, after the horrible fog we've had, this weekend has been just beautiful, so Jordan and Jen decided to take Charlie on his first sledding outing with their neighbours, who have a little boy about six months older than Charlie. The weather was glorious, the skiing crowds haven't started to arrive yet and Charlie and his buddy had a whale of a time!
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| Charlie's hidden under a huge snow jacket and of course his orange binky! |
Oh gosh! So much sad news, seems to be par for the course these days. Good news for Jordan indeed. Charlie sledding is too adorable! That is my main concern with travel right now, getting stuck somewhere for 10 days, I think I am going to stick here!
ReplyDeleteI have no intention of travelling either because the rules seem to change from one minute to the next and, as you say, can you imagine getting stuck somewhere with horrendous hotel bills????
Deletehuh - I did not now that about the scan function in note, LOL.
ReplyDeleteOld dogs, new tricks indeed!!! You can google it but basically you create a new note, which then allows you to hit the camera/scan function. Very handy!
DeleteThat's a lot of deaths in a short time in your circles. Don't take this wrong, but your post read like a conversation with my MIL, who goes down her list of people she knows if died or are about to, and don't I know them... Difference though is your post is a single post- the pattern is the norm with her. I do feel bad as soon all her friends her age and older will be gone. I'm glad you get to see the little guy. I drive so little now at dark I'd be nervous in the fog. I look forward to your catch-ups and stories. Not really like my MIL's story telling.
ReplyDeleteHa ha, I know what you mean about your MIL. I guess when we hit 80+ we'll be the same right. The farmer's death was unexpected for me and I didn't know the man in England but yes, it does seem to be a lot of bad news all hitting at once. As for the fog, it was NASTY so I try not to do much night driving, in the winter at least!
DeleteFreezing fog at night has to be the worst. We set out yesterday afternoon in foggy conditions after delaying our journey in the forlorn hope that the fog might lift, hoping though that we’d arrive in daylight. Then, would you believe it, as we gained altitude the fog lifted, temperature rose by 6.5 degrees, and we had blue sky and wonderful views. Sometimes I guess you need foul conditions to really appreciate how beautiful the world can be when the sun shines - just like in that beautiful photo you’ve included.
ReplyDeleteAt Jordan's place they had bright sunshine too, but by the time I headed back it was dark and foggy. Plus, the worst, was no streetlights in the villages near where I live. Uuuugghhh!
DeleteSo many bad news in a short time but as we get older, I guess it is normal. A good friend of mine lost her mom the day before and another has her mom hospitalized for the last 9 days just like my mom. We should be thankful for every good day at our age I guess.
ReplyDeleteI know death goes with the territory as we get older - the circle of life kinda thing - but sometimes it just seems like there are so many all at once doesn't it. You're right about carpe diem though!
DeleteI find it interesting that as we all approach a certain age we begin to say things like 'the death was expected,' or 'that's not surprising.' 60 is young to die, though. We had an associate die of Covid last week, but he was 76 and in ill health so what most said at work was "well, it's not surprising." Perhaps we're all becoming numb in regard to certain things.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of the 93 year old she was ill and of course she was 93. For my 78 year old colleague she had had severe kidney problems for years so while you can be 78 and fit as a fiddle, I guess her outlook was not good. As for the 60 year old (I didn't know him but I knew his sister), it was a shock for everyone. I guess the autopsy will tell. But of course as we get older it is more "expected" isn't it. I don't think we should become numb to death though but, say, in my father's case it was definitely a relief (he said so himself). I guess all we can do is hope the grim reaper stays as far away from the young people as possible and for the rest of us, make the most of the time we have!
DeleteSometimes, death does seem to go into a harvesting frenzy. I don't know how you manage to drive those roads in such conditions. I would be afraid on the sunniest, clearest days! You are quite the determined, strong woman.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad little Charlie is getting his time outside in the sun and the snow.
And of course there are always more deaths in winter in any case aren't there, but last week did seem to reap a grim harvest. As for the roads, we're going to a "light festival" in one of the higher ski resorts on Saturday. I'm not looking forward to driving there either AND it will be frigid, but apparently it's worth it. Jen did a few runs on the sled with Charlie and apparently he was roaring laughing, so yeah, he definitely enjoyed it!
DeleteWhen you get older I think you do notice deaths more. When you’re young you dismiss it in a way but it does become more real as you age. I love the picture of Jordan, Jen and Charlie and the scenery is amazing. I look at it and think wow, look at that view. It’s the stuff dreams are made of.
ReplyDeleteWhen you're young 60 is ancient isn't it, but it hits a bit closer to home when you're 60 yourself! As for the scenery you're right, even over 40 years later I am still amazed at the scenery too!
DeleteWe seem to get periods of bad news all at once don't we. We've been saying recently we're getting (have got) to that age when you hear more about people dying than being born or getting married!
ReplyDeleteGood to hear your citizenship is on the march again. Fingers crossed it won't be too long now. Lovely to see the wee one in the snow. Its a lovely photo. x
There are definitely periods when you hear more about deaths aren't there, and winter doesn't do anyone any favours (nor does a pandemic, I guess). As for the citizenship, once I get the papers uploaded I have no idea how long it will take (I will still have the "what do you know about France" interview to do) but since my residency papers are in order I can wait - although God knows I would love to be able to help vote Macron out in two months time!
DeleteI cannot tell you how envious I am of not only your scenery, but especially your visits with the wee one. Charlie is as lucky as you are to be able to share your lives!
ReplyDeleteSadly deaths happen and seem to come in spurts. We have gotten to that age where it happens more frequently than it used to.
I get what you are saying about Charlie - he's lucky enough to have both grandmas 30 minutes away and you're right, it's a benefit all round. My parents had four grandchildren in Denmark, two in France, two in North Wales and just two nearby, so I guess it was hard when the younger grands came along as they were all overseas. Still, it was always like a great big party when we all got together too - just very different!
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