This and that!

Progress on all the stuff I want to tackle round here is very slow but at least it is making some forward momentum. Jordan had to come back to my place to replace the piping underneath the sinks in the large bathroom as he wasn't happy with it. As he was doing whatever it is he does, he asked what kind of screwdrivers I had because he needed to poke a hole in the one piece of piping, so I suggested he might prefer to use my soldering iron instead! "You have a soldering iron"? Ha, yes I do, I bought it the other week because I'm starting in on my annual "let's grow fruit and vegetables in weird containers" kick, so I bought it to poke drainage holes in the large plastic jugs/buckets etc. that I'm hoping to use once we can plant outside. Actually I've already got one bucket out in the garden with peas in (I read they're fine to plant out already) and so far they're going great guns. Jordan was actually late getting here because traffic was all backed up on his way through Marignier - which was how he came to tell me that they are laying huge underground piping which will link Marignier to Cluses (about 10 km) in preparation for hooking it up to a kind of power station that will be used to burn trash and supply heat using the generated steam. That's a round about way of saying that they've started an ambitious project to turn our trash into energy, and I think that's great!

I've always been interested in "alternative technology" and different ways of doing things (hence growing lettuces up my cherry tree in plastic bottles a few years ago (the neighbours brought their friends round to have a look)! Many moons ago, when I was pregnant with André, we went to see family in North Wales and my cousin took us to visit the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth - I found it fascinating. I've just looked up their website and they've obviously made great strides over the last 35 years since my visit so I would love to go again!

Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth!

Then the other night I was watching Youtube videos on gardening when up popped a video about a lady's fabulous garden in the Ecovillage in Findhorn, Scotland! So of course I had to head over there and take a look and found another great place that I would like to visit sometime. At Findhorn they used to use enormous vats to distil whiskey - I mean seriously huge vats - and some of those vats were turned into living quarters after they had outlived their usefulness in the whiskey business. Imagine that, living in a whiskey vat. I wonder if they have detectors to indicate if you might be running the risk of suffocation by whiskey fumes?

Ecovillage, Findhorn!

Like the UK, we also got hammered last week by the wind and rain carrying sand from Africa and leaving our cars filthy and my velux windows looking like someone had been stabbed to death on them. I got the car cleaned up pretty easily but the windows are quite another matter and look dreadful still!

I also managed to get to the gym twice this past week and thoroughly enjoyed myself. As always, it seems to me if I go in the middle of the day I can pretty much have the upper floor (the weight room) to myself so what's not to like? No hassle and no-one to witness my pathetic efforts!

I also went to IKEA, Geneva, twice this week and for someone trying to declutter I guess that doesn't make much sense. Actually I went with Jen and her mom and got to have a good look round at bathroom installations. I think I've made up my mind on the wash basin and unit I want for the smaller bathroom. Jordan told me I can buy what I want at IKEA but not the nuts and bolts because he always says that the hardware in these places is crap and he will provide that stuff or get it from where the professionals get it. I'm happy to oblige as he'll be installing it after all!

Since last Monday France has (finally) lifted 99% of its covid restrictions. We no longer have to wear masks everywhere indoors (with the exception of hospitals, etc.) and no pass is required to go to cinemas, restaurants, museums or to sit on a café terrace and have a coffee! Hallelujah, what it feels like to be free! Because of that on Saturday Jen and I were able to go to a bourse in her small town. I've finally figured out that a bourse is like a vide-grenier/car boot/garage sale but concentrating on one particular range of items. In this case it was children's stuff - clothes, toys, books etc., all second-hand, and we came out of there with a fair few items of clothing and books for Charlie for when he's around two years old. Jen had put a few items in the sale and ended up selling for €108 so she was well pleased. But how times have changed! All sellers were given their own identification code, and as each item was sold the seller's QR code was scanned and they could keep track of sales as the day went on. A QR code for a vide-grenier? Bloody hell, they've got QR codes for everything now, haven't they!

I was delighted to see that British/Iranian citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was finally released from Iran after being held for six years on "spying charges". There has since been somewhat of a backlash after she gave a press conference in which she was less than gracious about those that secured her release. Whatever the truth of it all, I have to say she has an absolute diamond of a husband because he has worked tirelessly these last six years to keep her name in the spotlight - even going on hunger strike at one point - so I wish them nothing but good things going forward!

Nazanin and Richard Ratcliffe and their daughter!

And finally, we had our first board game evening in goodness knows how long last Saturday up at André's place and it was really fun. It gave everyone a chance to see his new place and to meet Charlie, if they hadn't already done so - and we had a really good time!

We split into two groups to play two different games as we were just too big a group to play all together. The game we played involved getting your team to say a particular word - first by using as many words as you like to describe it, second time round the table by using just one word, and third time round by miming the word. At one point André was trying to get his team mate, Fabrice, to say the word chevreuil!

Chevreuil - a doe!

Trouble is, André must have got hold of the wrong end of the stick and ended up doing a wonderful impersonation of an ecureuil - I'm guessing beer may have been involved!

Ecureuil - a squirrel!

Poor Fabrice, I'm not sure how he was ever going to guess "doe" with André doing his award-worthy impression of a squirrel! Somehow that tickled me to bits and I got a severe fit of the giggles afterwards, which was of course infectious and we all ended up roaring! My ex arrives here Sunday morning to meet Charlie for the first time and will be staying with André for three weeks, as he will be on leave. While he's looking forward to seeing his dad they stand a chance of clashing too (his dad can be bloody hard work), but André said if that happens he'll just drive him down to Jordan and Jen's and abandon him, so he's got it all worked out, just in case! Fingers crossed that it all goes well - I'm sure it will!