The weather continues to be absolutely glorious here and I'm loving it. The high temperatures have disappeared and while it can be a bit nippy in the morning, by the afternoon it's just perfect! Definitely my kind of weather! With that in mind I realize I absolutely have to get out and start walking again before the snows come. I've let myself down pretty miserably this year on the walking front and have no real idea why - just lazy I guess. But the other day I started following a Haute Savoie hiking group on FB and the pictures they post are out of this world. I know I couldn't do most of these hikes because I'm just not fit enough, but the photos are pretty motivating - and to be honest, ain't none of us getting any younger are we, so if not now, then when?
Last Saturday we had our monthly (take "monthly" with a pinch of salt") board game evening at Jordan and Jen's and it was really fun. It was Jen's mom's 60th birthday that day and Jen had bought her a game - I forget the name of it - but it basically involved each of us drawing an image that would attempt to allow the same person to guess the word it represented, all while drawing against the clock. Jordan and I are absolutely useless at it as I try to go into too much detail and my pictures end up getting smaller and smaller and Jordan - well he's just crap! But we had such a great laugh, so if I can find the name of the game I'll have to get it for myself!
I was chatting with V and telling her about my ongoing slow-motion bathroom refit and how the plumber tends to come over after he's done some other small job in the area. I don't mind it going slow at all (unlike Dave) but I mentioned it was good to know a plumber who would take on smaller jobs. So many of them wouldn't be interested but as V pointed out, building work has slowed right down because of price increases and difficulty in obtaining parts (apparently) so maybe that's why the trades are willing to take on the smaller jobs. Good point! My neighbour Isabelle was the only one (out of her family of four) to make it that night. Her husband is a James Bond geek and was in Paris attending a James Bond "thingy" for the weekend (how great is that!), while both her children are studying abroad. Her daughter's in Canada for a year and her son's in New Zealand for six months, so guess who'll be having the holiday(s) of a lifetime shortly!
Last time the plumber came he was taking a ciggie break, so out of curiosity I asked him how much a carton of cigarettes was now - and nearly fell over when he told me around €115 for 200! Geez, it was around €55 when I used to buy them for my ex (in the vain hope of preventing him from going into town to buy them and then ending up in the sleazy bar opposite), but in any case he used to get through around two cartons a week so the cost would be about the same. Not that he actually smoked them - no, more often than not he used to just light them up, take a couple of drags and leave them to burn in the ashtray, so it truly was a case of money going up in smoke! But could you imagine spending around €800 per month on cigarettes??? I'm pretty sure that'd be a mortgage payment (or at least a car payment) for some. Another reason I'm so glad I never started!
Our retirees' group organized a cocktail last Wednesday but for the first time I wasn't able to make it. I don't remember what I was doing but the photos were lovely and it's amazing how well everyone looks (if a little fatter, but then aren't we all). Retirement definitely seems to suit!
My friend invited me out last Friday for a late birthday lunch. We went to a restaurant not too far from here and it was lovely. Neither of us had been there for a while and I reckon they must be doing a roaring trade as they've done it all up both inside and out!
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| La Ferme à Elise restaurant |
I don't know how we got on the subject but we were talking about how neither of us are particularly creative. Maybe it was me talking about how easy it has been putting together all the paperwork to request French citizenship and how "glad I was that I'm organized". So she pipes up that she's organized too and then we get onto the lack of creativity bit. I'm convinced it's to do with left brain/right brain and while yes, I am glad I'm organized, it's hardly very exciting is it. It's like when someone says to "follow your passion" and you realize you don't have one! My friend laughed and said that hers probably used to be reading or doing word puzzles (again, not very exciting), so I said we could mess with people's heads and engrave her gravestone in the form of a crossword puzzle (two down, begins with a "D") - yeah I know, we both have a dark sense of humour, but it gave the guys sitting next to us a good laugh!
Oh and as for the palaver last week with the Post Office website saying my village didn't exist, well thankfully that got resolved the next day so I guess someone somewhere was just having a bad day! But talking of websites, I heard someone mention the other day that her husband was trying to learn French online with Duolingo "as it was free", so out of curiosity I set up an account and have been "learning" Italian online for the last 10 days. So far I'm enjoying it and finding it pretty easy for the time being because I took a few lessons pre-covid, but I guess we'll see as we get further into it and move on from the basics!
And finally, when taking stuff out to my compost bin the other day I was surprised to find a blue and white croc in the garden.
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| One of these ... |
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| ... not one of these! |
The game night sounds like lots of fun. I wish we had one.
ReplyDeleteCreativity and being artistic are two ideas that people get wrong. Three of my four siblings are very creative, artistic. However, I am not. I was sewing Cabbage Patch clothing many years ago and in abundance for a craft show. The sewing teacher was looking at my doll clothes, looked up at me, and said, "You are an artist!" That statement took my breath away. Then, she said I was an artist with cloth and a needle. I suppose I am since I am very creative. Plus, she knew I was sewing with scraps. So, forever, I will consider myself an artist.
I was attending the sewing classes, not to learn to sew, but for the huge, tall cutting tables. I did not learn one thing and even helped other students to learn to sew. The scraps were in a huge barrel. Sometimes, scraps were yards long and sometimes only a foot. But, consider how small a scrap can be for a doll.
In other areas or needlework and home design, I have exhibited creativity. I have been sewing since I was four and am seventy-seven now. I have boxes of ribbons won for my creativity and skill.
So, maybe you are better than you perceive yourself to be.
I know you must be relieved to know your village exists. Imagine living in a place in your imagination. So, does that mean you would not exist except in your own mind?
It's not false modesty when I say I'm not creative, I really do struggle with most anything sewing related. I guess where I'm not bad is hiding my mistakes then, but it does frustrate me when I see others producing the most beautiful creations and I'm still trying to get supposedly equal sized squares to fit together!!! Oh well, at least my French citizenship paperwork is well put together!!! And yes it was a bit of a "phew" moment to find my village actually exists. It's a bit like having an imaginary friend - he actually exists but you just imagine he's your friend!
DeletePlumbers are exorbitantly expensive! Almost as expensive as cigarettes. Out of curiosity, I asked a friend who smokes how much they cost a few weeks back and he told me he paid $70 a week, and I was floored. And I use Babbel to refresh my French and I'd be fine if I put more time into it.
ReplyDeleteI think ciggies are even more expensive in the UK so I really do pity people who are hooked on them - for more reasons than just the financial one, obviously! As for Duolingo, I am finding it easy at the moment as I mentioned above, but it's actually moving quite fast and I like the way it's structured so far. Keep going with the French (I take it you gave up on Greek then)!
DeleteThe Mystery of the White Crocs.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought was that it was kids coming up through our back gardens too, but I guess the fox makes more sense - unless it was a bunch of kids with a VERY severe case of the munchies chewing on that other croc!
DeletePictionary (board game)?
ReplyDeleteI played Pictionary ages ago and we really did have a lot of fun (my friend drew a pie in the oven and I came up with "air traffic control" one time)! So no it's not that but I'll have to get Jen to give me the name of it. At one point Isabelle and I completely erased what we'd drawn because it was so bad, so when it came time to reveal all, we both ended up holding up blank pages! It's no wonder no-one wants me/her on their team! Mind you, she got a severe attack of the giggles so it was worth it just to watch that!
DeleteI heard some neurologist on an interview say that it's not the way we used to think with the right and left brain thing. But that made so much sense, didn't it? But it is true that some people are simply more creative than others. And I've always found it interesting how so many musicians are good artists, too. I truly resent that. I'm good at neither! One group of people should NOT get all the gifts!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're having fun and learning and out in the world. It sounds like a very good life to me.
I'm dispassionate about it for the most part but as I get older I find it kinda weird how I just can't do the creative stuff. Still, at my age I don't suppose it's going to get any better now is it, so I just have to be grateful for what I have! I'll take my pleasure where I find it but maybe my passion is travel - as long as these old bones can do it!
DeleteI have always considered myself to not be creative too. You should see my attempts at craft! Truely awful! But someone pointed out I am creative in coming up with solutions to issues at work. So maybe you have a different form of creativity?
ReplyDeleteStill, like you, I can’t draw. What’s in my mind never seems to come via my hand.
Have you seen that cigarettes are going to be illegal in the UK. Wonder what will happen to the black market and organised crime.
Oh I'm "practically creative" and that's not such a bad thing, but I would just love for once to be really creative! As for the ciggies, I remember reading somewhere about "outlawing cigarettes until age 40" (or something like that) but damn, can they just stop with the Big Brother WEF crap. Time for people to just say no right? Haven't we all had enough of their crap? Trying to sell us on how cow farts are bad for the environment while they're flying around the world in private jets and destroying the Amazon????
DeleteSounds like you've been having a lovely time. Good that you found a plumber that will work. It is so hard to find people here now. We had a landscaper come out and we told him what we wanted done. He said he would call us with a quote. Never heard from him. It's frustrating.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, but thankfully this plumber is one of the good ones. I used a trades site to find him and it was where I found the guy who has twice installed velux windows for me, so I guess they don't allow "no shows" on their site. I did ask a second tiler for a quote and three months later I've still got nothing. I seriously hope the days of "oh I can't be bothered" have gone though. I always told my son that if you are respectful and show up when you say you will you will make a killing, and I'm pretty sure that's true!
DeleteI think organization can be a passion. I like to organize things as well. No need to be inefficient:)
ReplyDeleteI agree it's a great way to be because life can get really complicated if you aren't organized. I wonder how on earth some people make it through life to be honest!
DeleteI'll never understand spending that much money for cigarette's either. Especially, when you don't have much to begin with. The neighbor couple we had when we lived in town, both smoked. I never saw him without a cigarette in his hand.....but complained they couldn't afford to buy a house (they rented), couldn't afford this or that. I so wanted to say, well, between your rent now and your monthly cigarette bill, there's your house payment..........
ReplyDeleteIt's horrendous isn't it. I don't blame people who are hooked on cigarettes because, well they're hooked, but I really resented paying for it. My ex supposedly stopped when he moved back to the States but I saw him outside having a smoke several times when he was here so who knows. And then he wonders how I can do so much on a pension that is half of his!!!
DeleteLol at the mystery crocs! I played Cards Against Humanity over the weekend and we had a blast! A good game is always fun.
ReplyDeleteOur card game evenings were supposed to be about playing belote and tarot but somehow we never got around to it. Still some of the games we have played have been howlers so I'm not complaining. As long as it's not too "French" biased I'm good with it because not having grown up here I'm at a huge disadvantage.
DeleteI was born creative. I used to be creative. Somewhere along the line it got lost when as part and parcel of my career I elevated the organisation of files (paper and digital) to an art form and lost myself in straight line thinking. Made me a marvellous professional but come retirement I'm still trying to reacquaint myself with that artsy Bohemian and passion for something that I'm convinced must still linger deep inside. It buries itself deep doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteI think you hit the nail on the head. I was very organized and had a good memory - which certainly helps at work, but when I see the ladies at sewing club producing something new every week it does get me down because after all, I have just as much time as them! Or maybe I'm just not into sewing!!! Good luck with finding your creative side again (and I hope the home repairs aren't going to be too stressful)!
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