The weather has been crappy here again today, a perfect day for just sitting around doing nothing. If I'm being really honest I probably could have gotten a walk in this morning before the rain/snow started if I'd put my mind to it but I didn't (put my mind to it) as it turns out, so there's now a bum-like indentation on my sofa from where I've been parked most of the day reading - and I have to admit, it's been rather nice! I've done so much cooking with André being here that I've got tons of leftovers, so while he's gone I'm going to try to eat those up. So no cooking, and not much else of note was achieved today!
We had a bit of a drama earlier in the week though. Tuesday night (or more exactly around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning) Jen started having pretty strong contractions that were coming around five minutes apart. She's only 29 weeks pregnant so now is absolutely not the time for Biboo (as she calls him/her/it) to put in an appearance. It got so bad that Jordan ended up taking her to the emergency room, where they kept her in. They gave her something to try to stop the contractions and also cortisone injections to boost the baby's lungs in case he decided he couldn't wait, but so far so good. She was beside herself with worry, of course, all the more so since if a mother goes into labour earlier than 32 weeks round here they take them to the hospital in Chambéry (about an hour away) as it's better equipped to deal with extreme preemies. She had a good night's sleep but was still having contractions the next day so they ended up keeping her in for four nights. Long story short, the contractions have calmed down now and after doing a scan of her cervix (which is fine), they've allowed her to come home but on complete bed rest. Thank God for that! Actually Jordan asked André if he would move back in with them for the time being since he can work from home and he (Jordan) will be more reassured if someone is with Jen during the day (although "André" and "emergency" are not words that would trip off my tongue easily together). I plan to go over pretty much every day and cook/clean and I'm sure Jen's mom will do the same as she's off on sick leave at the moment, although she is not currently here in Haute Savoie right now. I'm more than happy to help out and I think Jen will be reassured having André around. Ha, I never thought anyone would see the day that they would be spoilt rotten by my kids! Still, all's well that ends well and the longer Biboo decides to "stay in the warm" the better!
It's all go at the moment though. My neighbour was scheduled to have surgery on her hand on Thursday but the same day her husband came home in a panic as he was struggling to walk. He has had several operations to insert stents into the veins in his legs as they keep collapsing. So he ended up going for emergency tests at the hospital which showed a build up of "plaque" in the stents which could cut off blood supply. I offered to take her to hospital on Thursday and pick her up but her daughter did the necessary and I've offered to come in and help her if she needs it because she can't use her right hand. Then he has to go into hospital on Sunday to have his legs operated on again and should be in probably until Wednesday. She can't drive anyway and even without the operation to her hand she can't/won't drive in the dark, nor will she drive to Annemasse. She was telling me that her son would come and take his dad in on Sunday but the French are implementing a ban on all non-essential travel to France as from Sunday (the son lives in Switzerland) and for those having to travel they must now provide a covid test less than 72 hours old! And all that's in addition to the 18h curfew! Actually, even though this region now has an R number of 1.2, it's looking more and more like we might be forced back into lockdown again sometime soon. So it's all go at the moment and I might be seeing more of the inside of a hospital than I've seen in the past 10 years but at least I'm here and I'm free to run her/them around. Hell, it's not like I've got much else to do is it!
On Friday I picked up my mail and saw I had a letter from the "divorce registry" people and was delighted at the prospect of getting the copy of my divorce certificate so quickly. Except yes, they had handled it quickly, but had returned my request because they wanted a copy of my ID! Well why didn't they state that on the bloody form then? It's not like I "misunderstood" the form - they didn't ask for it! Grrr! But talking of "misunderstanding", I was reading a new-to-me blog today and the lady was bemoaning the trials and tribulations of living in a country where you don't speak the language fluently. Well one of the comments was from a lady who had lived in Spain for a while and she was saying that one day she got her "churros" and "burros" mixed up and ended up asking for "donkeys and chocolate"! Ha, that tickled me because we've all been there!
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| "Churros"! |
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| "Burros"! |
And finally, I saw in the news that President Biden will be attending the G7 to be held in Cornwall in June but they won't be using "The Beast" (the presidential limo) because it can't handle the narrow Cornish roads. I love narrow country lanes. I think the first time I ever saw such tiny roads was in Herefordshire on the way to the village where my brother-in-law grew up. Talk about picturesque! I'm a bit baffled though as to why they are having an in-person G7 to be honest, and holding it in a place like Carbis Bay, which must be a logistical nightmare when so many heads of state will be attending!
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| Carbis Bay, Cornwall |
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| Church Cottage, Coddington. Built in the 1600s and the house my brother-in-law grew up in. It was totally "renovated" when his parents moved out and is now a B&B! |
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The issue of not being able to use The Beast for the presidential visit reminded me of the time in 2011 when President Obama visited Ireland. As the presidential convoy was leaving the US Embassy The Beast got stuck on a speed bump - and it was hilarious, if embarrassing. I would have loved it if he had gotten out of the vehicle and gone over to greet the crowds but I guess the Secret Service would have none of it! Shame that!
Hopefully, the baby will stick for a while. You do have a busy schedule and lots of folk down for you to tend to and drive around. Thanks for that video of Biden's car. I could hear it clunk. It must be heavy. How did they get it going?
ReplyDeleteI don't mind helping out at all, particularly since I know they would do the same for me and right now I have nothing much to do anyway. As for the car, I've no idea how they got it moving but it sure must have been embarrassing!
DeleteOh goodness-I sure wull keep Jen in my thoughts. Every werk she can rest and ward off delivery the better.
ReplyDeleteYep fingers crossed. Much as we already love Biboo we don't want to meet him much before Valentine's Day, if then. They reckon he currently weighs around 1.4 kg (nearly 3 lbs) so that isn't bad for 29 weeks, but every extra day is a plus isn't it!
DeleteI'd forgotten that about The Beast. That clang would have scared me to death!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure a few Secret Service guys nearly laid an egg when they heard that too!
DeleteFor a moment I thought you said Jen was calling the baby Bilbo, as in Baggins and thought it interesting she like the name of a hobbit so much. And I've grown quite skilled in dealing with customers who are learning to speak English. About 30% of our customers are either Indian, Slovakian, Latino, or African. seriously, patience is a virtue.
ReplyDeleteBilbo Baggins - eeww no! Take it from me, my mom was wrong about speaking to foreigners. If they are having a hard time the trick is to speak S-L-O-W-L-Y, not L-O-U-D-L-Y (she must have thought all foreigners were deaf)!
DeleteIt must be very scary for all of you with Jen's condition. I admit, I am slightly phobic (if that is a thing) about pregnant women. I remember being very worried about mom when she was pregnant with my sister. I even kept it a secret from my friends just in case they could jinx it and mom or the baby would have a problem. Being a worrying seven year old is no easy task. When my teacher told the entire class that I was going to have a sibling, how I hated her! And there was another time a friend was pregnant with twins and her husband was abroad for weeks due to work. I felt compelled to go see her every single day just in case she was not feeling well. I am wishing Jen the best and a super timely and smooth delivery with a healthy baby.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing phobic about being kind enough to go and see a pregnant friend every day to make sure she's ok. That's human kindness! But I agree, being a worrybutt at 7 must have been tough. I have to admit I'm not a worrier. I always think everything will turn out ok and goodness knows life's a lot easier that way. Oddly enough I do remember being in Washington and at the end of my first pregnancy a few women asking me if it was my first and when I said yes, they said "may God be with you". I thought it was strange - but very sweet! May life never prove me wrong and everything work out ok for Biboo. Thanks so much for your good wishes, I'm sure Biboo can sense them!
DeleteOh, how I do hope that Jen's baby will stay where they are for many more weeks! No one wants a baby to have to start from that disadvantage.
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten or else never knew about Obama's car getting stuck. That seems like poor planning on someone's part. How did they get it unstuck?
I have to tell you- I do so enjoy your posts. I really do. They bring smiles. Thank you.
Thank you for your good wishes for the babe Ms Moon. I'm sure everything will go well and I can't wait to love my Biboo. As for Obama's car, I have no idea how they sorted it out. It would have made sense for the first car to come back and pick him up, even if it was not hermetically sealed and anti-tank and all that stuff. Seriously I reckon the worst that could happen in Ireland would have been that he would have been overcome by the Guinness fumes - and I say that kindly because I love the Irish. And if my posts make you smile so much the better. My brain is all over the place so I just prattle on about whatever - but if that brings a smile to someone's face then so much the better!
DeleteI hope the baby decides to stay in Momma's tummy for some time, so complicated right now. So good of you to help out with hospitals etc for your neighbors - our hospitals are full and it isn't even because of covid (few cases on our island right now and mostly several hours away) and hubby couldn't visit me, very depressing. I couldn't get out of there fast enough. And they made me do 2 covid tests, 1 when we went in for a few hours on a Tuesday trying to figure out what was wrong, I went home and then the next day got admitted for 4 days and they insisted on another covid test because I got admitted! I was pissed (and my nostrils were even angrier) lol
ReplyDeleteApart from the physical realities of covid the fact that your family can't visit is even harder I think. My ex's cousin died alone and he had a large, loving family. In Jen's case Jordan was allowed to visit because it was a non-covid ward but it was still hard on her!
DeleteWishing your entire family the best and Biboo a safe, but much delayed arrival. Any fun, but low-stress ideas on keeping Jen occupied? Movies, knitting, audio books, Jigsaw puzzles, perusing Jordan's baby photos...
ReplyDeleteShe has my last wasgij puzzle (she loves puzzles) and is sewing up a storm - all baby stuff - but she was saying if she even sits too long it puts pressure on and the contractions start again, so it really will be lying down 99% of the time. It'll be hard on her but it's better than being in hospital!
DeleteWe were pretty nonplussed when we heard the venue for the G7 summit too, so much so that we checked it out on a map and spotted Penzance Heliport just down the road! Hopefully the Presidential helicopter can manoeuvre into that without mishap. Also, as someone who spent great chunks of her pregnancies in and out of hospital, I’m sure your offers to cook and clean will be met with open arms and hope that all continues well and without too many alarms.
ReplyDeleteAs lovely as Cornwall is it doesn't strike me as the ideal place for a summit like that but then they must know what they're doing (one would hope). As for Jen, I'm thinking I might cook at my place and just take stuff over every day as it's always easier than finding your way around someone else's kitchen isn't it!
ReplyDeleteI am thrilled they got Jan's contractions under control and will add them to my daily prayers.
ReplyDeleteI laughed at the churro/burro confusion. I am trying (badly) to learn Swedish and say the wrong thing nearly all the time.
Thanks Anne, she's much happier now she's at home. It's a bit of a logistical nightmare ferrying food over there what with the curfew and everything (and I suspect we might hear about another lockdown tomorrow when Macron speaks to the nation again). But we'll get there. And Swedish is easy - watch the Swedish chef on the muppets. Nothing to it!
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