Wheat and Chaff

Daughter no.1 has come to stay for a week with her two delightful children.

I just said that I needed to sort the Wheat from the Chaff, and she decided to come out and help me sort! In the house it isn't too bad as I have periodically gone through from room to room.

So, starting with minor things like kitchen drawers and pantry and working her way up to the big barn she has worked like a Trojan, ploughing through all the accumulated things that had been put aside, especially in the 'Barn'!

The 'Barn' is our French version of the 'Garden Shed', completely out of my jurisdiction and whenever I have taken a glimpse inside it seemed to have less space. Is it a case of for every cubic inch there is a cubic foot to fill it, like a sort of TARDIS? When Daughter no.1 headed in that direction, with her father in tow he began to get an anxiety attack. Himself has been beside himself, 'What is happening? Why is it happening? Where is all my stuff going?' etc. etc.

Daughter no.1 observed 'He is a bit of a drama queen nowadays!'

He does not argue with Daughter no.1 as she is one of lifes efficient organisers and will tell him to sit and say yea or nay to whatever she wishes to throw out. If he says no she checks with me and I say yes. He has had to concede and attached the trailer to the car and took two trips of the 'stuff' to the local dechetterie for proper disposal... we now have heaps of space in the barn and we can actually see the walls! hmmm I wonder how long it will take to fill up again....

Our dear Jensen has been in the wars, in a manner of speaking. At the end of March he had what seemed to be an abcess burst on his chest. Took him to our lovely vet and she cleaned it out, prescribed a course of antibiotics and an antiseptic spray. It was healing nicely and then opened up again.. Back to the vets, in for surgery and they opened him up and found a large cyst. Poor boy, 3" scar, 7 stitches, and another long course of antibiotics plus painkiller. Talk about placid at the moment, he just wants to sleep all day! Anyway, on day 2 after coming home he ripped the dressing off and took out the top two stitches, so back to the vet for staples and a 'lampshade' collar. He has another checkup at end of this week and we are hoping it will be the end of it. From what I can see the scar is healing nicely. Am so glad that this has happened out here, dread to think of the costs in the UK!!

We are going away beginning of May for a week at the Vendee coast, then we are off to the UK in August for a wedding as well as the trip for Daughter no.1's birthday.

This is all therapy for Himself, just trying to bring him out of the dark place he has been all winter... hope it works.