The view from my window

The view from my window
The view from my window

Tuesday 7 February 2023

Plodding along!

The weather these past few days has yet again been lovely - in my opinion at least. Cold, of course, but sunny and that's when I start thinking about spring and all the seeds I'm going to be planting (and killing) in my garden shortly. I was in LIDL last week and stopped to look at the veggie/flower seeds on display and got chatting to an older gent, who was doing the same and telling me how much he was looking forward to getting back out in the garden! I laughed and said that I was too but in reality I think I spend way too much money and time to get those "free" veggies and plants from my garden. Ain't that the truth! We chatted for a little while and he told me to pick up a couple of packets of zinnias as they seem to do really well in this climate! I tend to plant most of my veg in a few raised beds at the top of my garden and don't actually have much decent soil for flowers, but I'll give it a shot and see if they actually do turn out well under my regime of total neglect!

On Saturday Jen arranged for a few of us to meet up for dinner at a Lebanese restaurant in Cluses. As I was about to get into my car I heard a cracking sound and dived back under my porch just in time for a fair sized dump of snow to fall off the roof right where I was standing. My first thought was that it would have been quite funny if I had gotten clobbered but when I saw the solid sheets of ice that fell, I'd say I had a lucky escape as they would have hit like razor blades!

I was chatting with André over dinner and he was telling me that his work trip to Istanbul has been cancelled (although it was cancelled before the earthquakes) and he would now be going to Bangkok in March instead. He leaves on the Sunday and the conference finishes on the Friday, so he's going to ask for a week's leave in order to spend some time in Thailand. He's been before and loves it, and the jammy devil is flying business class with Emirates so I think he's really looking forward to it! He also told me he'd met a young woman who, it turns out, is Portuguese and works at the UN. They've been out for drinks a few times and he really likes her, but she doesn't like the UN so who knows what - if anything - will happen there! Still I'm glad for him that he's met someone he likes after the bitter blow that was his very much unexpected and unwanted divorce!

The neighbours a few doors up are in the process of moving out as the young woman who owns the house is selling it. When we first moved in that house was owned by M. Lesoeur, a divorcé with two teenage kids called Diane and Vincent. Vincent was 17 and as soon as he turned 18 he got his driving licence, bought a motorbike - and was killed a week later in a motorbike accident! Dad moved out and Diane has been renting the place out ever since - well until now, that is! The neighbours seem to have overlapped leaving this place with moving into their next place as they are taking their time to move (and seem to have loads of friends helping), but seeing all that work yet again makes me determined to keep getting rid of as much stuff as I can!

I've actually been on a roll again this week, spending every day painting in the bathrooms before the plumbers/tiler come (in early March, all being well) and I've also been either down in the basement sorting stuff for the tip or pulling kitchen cupboards out and throwing anything that's way out of date! I suppose I'll crash and burn in a couple of days, as that would seem to be my pattern, but even though there is loads more to do, I actually feel like I'm starting just slightly to break the back of this stuff!

In other news I would guess there is unbridled panic in some quarters where now bankrupt FTX (Sam Bankman-Fried) are demanding the return of donations made by Bankman-Fried to "numerous political figures and action groups" prior to FTX's bankruptcy in November last year (see here). Then tonight I started watching the Netflix series on Bernie Madoff. I'd always heard he ran a massive ponzi scheme but didn't know much more about it than that, so I'm interested to learn more about the whole fiasco! While I know many of the Madoff victims were smaller investors who were scammed out of relatively modest nest-eggs, boy am I glad I don't move in those kinds of circles!

And finally, seeing the horrific pictures coming out of Turkey and Syria after yesterday's devastating earthquakes, it hammers home just what is important in this life, and it sure as heck isn't the Bernie Madoffs and the Bankman-Frieds of this world. (And T'Pol, I really hope that by now you've gotten word of your family and that they are safe)!


16 comments:

  1. OK Jordan!!! Sounds like a lot of fun, and I am glad he is dating! For fun, I used to look up Bernie Madoff in prison because his term was SO long, he'd never have been released. Scumbag! I am not into crypto/bitcoin either, I would be so upset to lose my savings!!!

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    1. It'd better not be Jordan dating - he's the married one - but I'm so happy for André too! And I never knew enough about crypto to think it was safe, but it does make me wonder who put up the $250 million bail!

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    2. LOL oh gosh I am sorry! Go André!!

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  2. I am going to watch the Madoff series too.
    T'Pol's news was not good and that breaks my heart for her.
    The devastation is just horrible and I hate to see the pictures of it, but I am compelled to look and equally compelled to send to the relief fund.

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    1. I saw the one building come down and I always wonder "why that one and not the one next to it"? That's fate I guess. And I just saw T'Pol's news and will be donating too! When I see the children being pulled out of there it breaks my heart. One still had its umbilical cord attached!!! But I also wonder at the bravery of the rescuers too, going into and under all that crushed concrete. It's all too sad isn't it!

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  3. I love Zinnias. Oh my on the ice falling. It is so good you were able to get out of the way before getting hit with it. I love decluttering and getting rid of 'stuff'. I love open clear spaces. It is heart breaking to see the photos and videos from Turkey and Syria. The baby that was born under the rubble and the mother not surviving is just so sad.

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    1. The biggest sheet of ice to fall off the roof is still standing in my garden even now, four days later, so yep, I reckon that would have done some damage if it had hit me! And the dreadful situation in Turkey and Syria is awful to see, all the more so knowing that it is also bitterly cold and the survivors will need shelter too! It's just tragic!

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  4. The weather over here is very nice, as well. Thailand is very popular with tourists, though I've no particular interest in going. The devastation in Turkey and Syria is quite shocking. It's difficult to grasp just how many lives have been lost. This is truly terrible.

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    1. Thailand is one of the three or four remaining countries on my "hit list" of countries to visit before I can no longer do the long hauls, not so much for the beaches but for the culture. We'll see if I make it, I guess! And you're right, I don't think we can grasp just how dreadful the situation is out there. It truly is awful!

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  5. Zinnias are just about the happiest of flowers.
    I love your energy. You just get things done!
    I can't begin to comprehend the endless tragedy and horror in Turkey.

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    1. My energy seems to go nuts for about a week and then I crash so I guess I'll have to learn to work with what I've got. Still, I do feel like I'm getting somewhere at last. And as for the zinnias, I reckon I'll have to plant out in pots as my soil really is very poor. Hopefully I won't kill them and that gent was right!

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  6. The images coming out of Turkey are heartbreaking. I can't even imagine, hearing voices and being unable to reach people. I also didn't realize how cold parts of Turkey and northern Syria get. My ignorance is boundless.
    I hope you son has a lovely time in Thailand.

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    1. I was watching a broadcast on the quakes and that's when it hit me that they would also be dealing with the terrible cold also! The emergency services must be run ragged and yet they are so, so brave, risking their own lives too!

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  7. And you call all that "plodding"!

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    1. Ha ha, yes I do, I guess because I never charge in and "get it done". I always spread tasks out over a period of time in order to take it easy(ier)!

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