The view from my window

The view from my window
The view from my window

Monday 25 May 2020

This and that!

Things are fairly quiet here at the moment but then I suppose it is still only Monday right. With all but one of my classes now being formally cancelled until September at least, I've now only got just the one weekly yoga class until the end of June, but that's fine too I guess. I'm not much good for anything when the heat really picks up so the thought of sweating it out in an exercise class over the summer to make up for the missed classes doesn't really do it for me!

I had yoga again this morning and we were lucky enough to be able to do it outdoors. There was quite a breeze first thing so I thought it actually might be a bit cold but it ended up being a very pleasant temperature, even though I had to keep moving about trying to stay in the shade. How the others can practice yoga in bright sunshine beats me but then it may be that I'm the weird one and not them. That being said, my sister can just sit out in the sun for ages so I guess we're all different. And I remember when I met up with Steve in Rhodes, he and I used to hop from one shady spot to the next while out and about, while his brother and sister-in-law's idea of a good time was lazing on sunbeds by the pool all day, and then meeting up with us later in the evening. I'm not knocking them for that, I just couldn't understand how they could do it!

Anyway today she was going to have us do "exercises for the abdomen", and I remember thinking I haven't seen my abs since I was about 25, but made a valiant effort anyway. Even though it wasn't one of my favourite classes, I again came out of there feeling good. I then headed off back to Thyez for another hour's walk and ended up getting over 13,000 steps in today so I'm well pleased, even if the Thyez walk is probably now getting to be a little too easy. Time to find something more challenging I guess, although round here that shouldn't be a problem, as you can imagine. As I was walking along the river I noticed loads and loads of stinging nettles, so I'm now trying to think of a cunning plan to bag myself a few to make liquid nettle fertilizer for my garden. It's supposed to be wonderful, particularly for tomatoes, but I understand it stinks to high heaven too! I guess taking a huge trash bag, garden clippers and wearing full skiing gear on my next walk might look a bit weird though, don't you think!

I finally managed to get my hair cut on Saturday (after three months?) - or at least after two home hair cuts. I don't know if she was being polite or she has just given up on me but she said the top and sides weren't too bad, although the back was a sight to behold (obviously) and needed sorting out - but then I don't really care what impression I make on people as I'm leaving anyway! I then stopped in at the supermarket and finally found the dual cartridge ink packs I have been looking for for my printer but crikey, they've gone from €34 per duo pack to €40!!!!! Not only that, but everything seems to have shot up in price. I guess much of our produce was coming in from Spain and Italy and now we're "stuck" with the more expensive French produce. Seriously, the cost of my weekly grocery shop has just sky-rocketed, and while this may not be such a big deal for me, I hate to think the effect it might be having on families! In fact, I was finally able to take my donations down to the food bank on Tuesday night for the first time in three months and they were telling me that demand has just gone through the roof!

In other news I've also got an appointment to take quite a bit of stuff to the tip tomorrow afternoon (it's by appointment only at the moment) but wouldn't you know the fuel people called tonight and they want to deliver tomorrow afternoon also. It all happens at once doesn't it! I also got that bloody wasgij (jigsaw) puzzle finished finally and while it's "satisfying" to have finished it I'm not sure I'd buy another one - I might not have any hair left to worry about by the time I finished a second one!

The picture on the box
The finished puzzle!
I was chatting with my friend last night and he mentioned that his daughter had just received her $1,200 stimulus cheque from the US! I had no idea she was American, even though I know she had lived and worked in New York for a few years, and I hadn't actually given it any thought that they might be mailing out cheques to American citizens overseas. I guess I don't see why not - I just hadn't paid any attention to it. So with that in mind I set to and prepared Jordan's US tax return and while he earns a pittance and it isn't that complicated to do, every time I got the forms completed and printed, when I went to save them all the data was erased!!! I did it three bloody times with the same result. I remember that happening last year too so I guess the IRS will just have to make do with the printed copy because I'm not doing it again! Maybe with any luck my kids will now also receive the stimulus cheque - who knows. It'll be a nice surprise for them if they do but then again, don't count your chickens right!

And finally, when I got home tonight I saw an email from my neighbour who is on the town council, letting us all know of his decision to stand down but also informing us that as from today they are introducing a hosepipe ban due to "drought conditions"! So no car washing, no swimming pools to be filled up - you get the idea. I'm just so glad I got my "swimming pool" (oversized paddling pool, truth be told) filled up a couple of days ago or could you imagine me getting stuck with that thing on my terrace and ending up filling it with tomato plants instead?

So anyway, a joke for you. Bill's walking down the road one day when he bumps into Jack and they get chatting about how they're coping during the pandemic. So Bill says "oh I lost my job due to lock down but decided to set myself up in a little business working for myself, being my own boss, kinda thing. I was doing pretty well to begin with - I had a great little number going on performing colonic irrigations - and then they introduced the bloody hosepipe ban"!

16 comments:

  1. A haircut! Did you have to wear a mask? Our hairdresser called and hubby has an appt booked...I will wait a few more weeks as due to my home cut it needs to grow out a bit so she has something to work with. We both have to wear masks here to get one. I don't think capturing stinging nettles then brewing tea out of them would be worth the fertiziler qualities but you go girl :)

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    1. Yes we have to wear masks to get a haircut. I don't wear them when I'm out and about somewhere in the country but I always have one for when I'm in town/shopping. I hate the bloody things though. And for the nettles you just dump a load of them into a bucket of water and let them sit and use the water. I only have one or two in my garden so those on my walk looked so tempting. You can also just chop them up and dump them in the hole before you plant your tomato plant (which I did with my one and only stinger). We'll see if they live up to their reputation I guess.

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  2. The puzzle was 1000 pieces and the picture on the box was not the puzzle picture? That is just crazy! I feel sorry for people who cannot get food for their children, fresh fruits and vegetables.

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    1. Apparently "wasgij"s ("jigsaw" backwards) are quite the craze. The picture on the box only looks something like the finished puzzle and you have to figure it out from there. And I know what you mean about struggling to feed your family, hence my trips to the food bank to drop stuff off. By November they'll be struggling to meet demand as that's when their stocks run really low every year.

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  3. As always you sound busy and cheerful and quite productive! It is a VERY good thing that you got your little pool filled before the ban. Better luck than Bill's!

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    1. I usually am quite cheerful, although not always, and not always very productive! And yes I'm glad I got my pool filled as I would have been annoyed otherwise. I do find it a bit hard to believe that we're ALREADY in a hosepipe ban but I guess they know their water levels round here.

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    2. My, there's a bit of a difference between the puzzle and the box cover, isn't there?
      I think I'm probably going to cut my own hair from now on. I don't see why I should pay someone to do what I can do, pretty much a buzz cut. Even with the 'senior discount' a man's haircut is $15 and they expect a tip on top of that.

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    3. That puzzle drove me nuts to begin with but got slightly more satisfying as I got more pieces in, even though I'm still not sure I'd buy another one. And if I only had to pay $15 for a cut I'd be thrilled. For me (short hair) a basic cut is €40. I have no idea how much that would be in the States but yet again I think it might be "pink" discrimination!

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  4. Gosh its early for a hosepipe ban isn't it. We have several Wasgijs from the 80's/90's when we used to take them to our caravan holidays. The kids used to love trying to guess the picture. They can be very frustrating though can't they! I agree shopping has gone up, same here. I got quite a shock at the checkout and checked my till receipt as I was sure there had been a mistake. Certainly here there's not as many 'promotions' in the supermarkets as previously but I wouldn't have thought that made up a huge amount of my shopping but yes, its more expensive and I fear once this is over and Brexit gets underway again, it can only get worse. xx

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    1. I was a bit shocked at the hosepipe ban also but in our village we use untreated mountain spring water. Where I live is called "les Champs de Chant" (the fields of song), not because of bird song, as I originally thought, but because the underground springs "sing" as they come down the mountain. Because it's untreated we can't sell our excess on to the local town of La Roche but it would seem that our water levels are already low. Barely any snow this year and very little rain. That's not a problem I ever remember from living in England!

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  5. Our hair salon in town isn't open yet, but luckily I am good with clippers and a mirror and have been cutting my own hair. I feel that if I muck it up I can always shave it all off and no one will notice!

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    1. More than once I've thought I wouldn't mind shaving my head but haven't had the courage to do so yet. Sometimes when my hair looks like a nuclear mushroom cloud I'm severely tempted!

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  6. I love wasgij puzzles, I bought quite a few from charity shops 3 years ago. I still have 3 to do. My sister can sit in a beach all day and eat chillies straight from the packet.

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    1. The jury's still out on the wasgij to be honest. But isn't it funny how members of the same family are so different. I genuinely would smell like bacon in about 3 minutes if I sat out in the sun and yet my sister can lap it up for hours on end - and yet the same pale-skinned parents!

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  7. I am trying something different this year and planted carrots with my tomatoes. Supposedly they are great friends. Time will tell I guess.
    The puzzle would drive me batty, but I am not a puzzle person anyway. My sister is and I might have to get her one just to irritate her.

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    1. You can tell you're a sister - "I'll buy her a wasgij just to irriate her" (but we all do that don't we). As for gardening, I'm learning but I hear marigolds are great for keeping the bugs away. Still haven't managed to grow any successfully but I'll let you know. In the meantime I'm still working on my nettle "tea"!

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